Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 1. The Sox delivered on Patriots’ Day, pounding the bejeezus out of Jays pitching and starter Ricky Romero, who allowed five in only 4 1/3 innings. Daisuke Matsuzaka was excellent for the Red Sox for once, allowing only three baserunners in seven shutout innings. Jed Lowrie had four hits and four RBI for Boston, who are dangerously close to getting out of the cellar in the AL East.
Rays 5, White Sox 0. David Price went eight strong, striking out nine without allowing a run to score, as the Rays won for the sixth time in seven games. Felipe Lopez drove in three of the Rays runs and had three hits, including a homer off embattled Sox closer Matt Thornton in the eighth. Edwin Jackson had his second stinker of a start in a row, and nothing seems to be going right for the ChiSox right now.
Twins 5, Orioles 3. The Twins got production from the bottom of their order, with two hits each for Michael Cuddyer, Danny Valencia, and Drew Butera. Francisco Liriano got the win for the Twins, despite walking five hitters and allowing a pair of homers. Unfortunately for the Orioles, the three homers they hit were all of the solo variety. If just one hitter got on base ahead of the dingers, it would be a totally different story. Chris Tillman pitched well for Baltimore, walking none and striking out five in 6 2/3 innings.
Pirates 9, Reds 3. Kevin Correia went the distance for the Pirates, despite allowing three runs. All but one of the Pirates offensive starters had two hits on the evening. The Reds high octane offense couldn’t get it going against Correia, and only scraped out four hits. No one on the Reds pitching staff dazzled, with the exception of Aroldis Chapman, who touched 106 on the stadium gun. MLB Gameday had the pitch listed at 102, and I’d tend to trust that a little more than a possibly juiced stadium gun.
Cubs 1, Padres 0 (10 innings). A pair of great starts in this game, highlighted by some dominance by Carlos Zambrano (8 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 10 K). Tim Stauffer wasn’t exactly chopped liver for the Padres either (7 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K). At the end of the day, it was a walk off, pinch hit double from Tyler Colvin that drove in Geovany Soto that gave the Cubbies the victory. One run scored and only ten hits combined in 19 2/3 innings makes for a quick game, only going 2:26 despite the extra frame.
Rangers 7, Angels 1. Ervin Santana wasn’t good for the Angels (6 ER in 4 IP), but CJ Wilson was the opposite for the Rangers (7 IP, 1 ER, 9 K). Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland both had a pair of hits and three RBI for the Rangers, who’s lead in the AL West is only a game over LA now.
Giants 8, Rockies 1. Tim Lincecum threw 6 1/3 no hit innings before a single to Carlos Gonzalez in the seventh, who’d score the lone Rockies run on a Todd Helton double. Esmil Rogers allowed eight in only three innings for the Rockies, but Clayton Mortensen put out the fire by throwing six scoreless innings in relief. Lincecum would finish with ten strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings, and Nate Schierholtz had three hits in his first start in a week.
Brewers 6, Phillies 3 (12 innings). Both teams emptied their bullpens after a pair of great starts by Joe Blanton and Shaun Marcum. John Axford blew the save in the ninth, but an awful twelfth inning by Kyle Kendrick gave Milwaukee the win. Ryan Braun had three hits and two RBI for the Brewers. The Phillies still have the best run differential in the NL, so one bad loss isn’t going to destroy the team.
Indians 7, Royals 3 (10 innings). Royals bullpen mighty mite Tim Colllins allowed four in the top of the tenth to give Cleveland the victory. The Indians hold a two game lead over the Royals in the AL Central. Kyle Davis struck out seven without a walk in six innings for KC, and Grady Sizemore reached base four times for the Indians.
Tigers 8, Mariners 3. Max Scherzer and Jason Vargas allowed two runs in six innings for their respective teams, but it was a seventh inning meltdown from Josh Leuke that gave the Tigers a lead they wouldn’t give up. Miguel Cabrera scored three runs for Detroit, and Jhonny Peralta drove in three. Milton Bradley reached base four times for Seattle, and he’s honestly not having that bad of a year.
Dodgers 4, Braves 2. The Dodgers jumped on Tim Hudson early, getting their four runs over the game’s first three innings, and were able to hold off a late Braves rally for the win. Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 15 games, and Ted Lilly threw seven shutout innings for the Dodgers. In his major league debut, Jerry Sands had a double and a RBI.
Pitching Lines of the Night
Ted Lilly, LAD. 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, Game score: 73
Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS. 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Game score: 77
David Price, TB. 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. Game score: 81
CJ Wilson, TEX: 7 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. Game score: 63
Carlos Zambrano, CHC: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. Game score: 85
Hitting Lines of the Night
Jed Lowrie, BOS: 4/5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR
Felipe Lopez, TB: 3/4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
Nate Schierholtz, SF: 3/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
Milton Bradley, SEA: 2/3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 2 BB
Matt Diaz, PIT: 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HBP
Games To Watch
Yankees @ Blue Jays. After the Jays got drubbed by New York last night, they send young phenom Kyle Drabek to the hill to take on perennial Yankees bust AJ Burnett, who not even New Yorkers like watching pitch.
Brewers @ Phillies. Former Phillie Randy Wolf is in town to take on the current Phillies toast of the town, Roy Halladay. Both bullpens were heavily taxed last night, and the Phillies are probably thanking their lucky stars that their innings eating ace is on the hill.
Giants @ Rockies. The Giants pounded the NL West leading Rockies last night, and look to do it again tonight. This time, they send the enigmatic Jonathan Sanchez to the hill to take on Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez, who is presumably over his cuticle issues.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
