Twins 1, White Sox 0. Francisco Liriano threw a no-hitter despite six walks and only two strikeouts. (See where it stacks up amongst “the worst pitched no-hitters of all time”). The Twins only had six hits themselves, with their lone run coming on a Jason Kubel solo homer in the fourth. Ironic that Edwin Jackson was Liriano’s counterpart in this game, as he’ll also make that list of worst pitched no hitters.
Rays 3, Blue Jays 2. This was a pitcher’s duel, with the Jays taking a 2-1 lead into the ninth. They gave the game to Jon Rauch to finish, who promptly allowed a single to Ben Zobrist and a walk-off homer to BJ Upton. To make matters worse, he did it all in the span of nine pitches. Adam Lind and Corey Patterson (who is inexplicably starting for the Jays) each had two hits for Toronto. Wade Davis and Jojo Reyes each get quality starts despite combining to strike out five hitters.
Tigers 4, Yankees 2. Brad Penny gets a quality start and the win with one strikeout in six innings for the Tigers. That about sums it up. Scott Sizemore had three hits in his season debut for Detroit, and former Yankee farmhand Austin Jackson had a double and a triple. Mark Teixeira hit a solo homer for the Yankees to continue his torrid start. April slump, my ass.
Phillies 4, Nationals 1. This was the Cole Hamels show. He threw a complete game, allowing just the one run and five hits while walking one and striking out six. He nearly pitched better than Liriano, with the benefit of allowing hits. Five Phillies each had two hits, including Hamels himself and the frigid Raul Ibanez. The Nationals did a whole lot of nothing. But that’s to be expected. At the end of the day, they’re still the Nationals.
Red Sox 7, Angels 3. Jon Lester was dominant for Boston, striking out 11 and walking one in seven innings. Dan Haren struck out eight and walked none in seven for the Angels, but extra base hits doomed him. Marco Scutaro and Adrian Gonzalez each had two hits and two RBI for the BoSox, who are just a game away from being at .500 on the season. And hey, they’re not in last in the AL East anymore. Big day.
Astros 10, Reds 4. Mike Leake got pounded, allowing seven runs while only getting 11 outs. JA Happ wasn’t impressive for Houston, but let’s give him the win anyway. Brett Wallaca had two hits for the Astros to continue his torrid pace, while Chris Johnson got the two difficult parts of the cycle (triple, homer). Reigning NL MVP Joey Votto had a pair of hits for the Reds, who only had two extra base hits on the night. That’s a surefire way to lose a game when your opponent puts up a ten-spot.
Giants 7, Mets 6. RA Dickey and Ryan Vogelsong both realized who they are, and got shelled. It turned into a bullpen battle, which the Giants won after an Aubrey Huff homer in the tenth. Nate Schierholtz also homered for the champs, while Carlos Beltran and Ike Davis went yard for the Mets. Odd stat: the Giants have played 20 of their first 29 games on the road. Not too much of an advantage for the defending World Champions.
Royals 6, Orioles 5 (10 innings). This game was put together explicitly to taunt me, as Jeff Francoeur had two hits and drove in two, including the game winner in the tenth. Melky Cabrera also had two hits. Why hast thou forsaken me!? Adam Jones had three hits for the Orioles, and Vladimir Guerrero walked for the first time all year. So, there’s that.
Cardinals 7, Marlins 5. This game was tied at four when starting pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Kyle McClellan left the game, but a late three run homer by Daniel Descalso put the Cards in front for good. Descalso and Matt Holliday each had two hits and two runs scored, with Descalso driving in three and Holliday driving in two. Lance Berkman added three walks for the Redbirds, while for the Fish, Gaby Sanchez had four hits. All of Sanchez’s hits were singles though.
Diamondbacks 4, Rockies 3. Jorge De La Rosa and Joe Saunders both put up mediocre, quality start worthy lines, but it was an eighth inning solo homer from Justin Upton that was the overall difference. Upton had three hits for the DBacks, while Carlos Gonzalez homered for the Rockies and reached base four times.
Indians 4, Athletics 1. The first team in baseball to 20 wins is…Cleveland? Yup. Fausto Carmona and Tyson Ross engaged in a tight pitchers duel, each only allowing one run on the evening. It was an Indians rally in the ninth against Brian Fuentes that would be the difference, with the fightin’ Cabrera duo driving in three runs during the pivotal ninth. Asdrubal Cabrera had three hits and two RBI for the Tribe.
Padres 6, Pirates 5. Mat Latos left the game with a 3-2 lead after six before Luke Gregerson allowed three in the seventh to give Pittsburgh a 5-3 lead. But the Padres would battle back against the Pirates bullpen, scoring three in the late innings on a bases loaded walk, bases loaded double play, and a solo homer to take the lead. Pedro Alvarez and Orlando Hudson each left the game for the Pirates and Padres respectively, Alvarez with a quad injury, and Hudson with a strained hamstring.
Mariners 4, Rangers 3. Alexi Ogando continued his great start, allowing one run in six innings while striking out six and walking only one. Erik Bedard nearly matched him though, with only two runs and two hits through seven. The Mariners would plate three off of the normally effective and hard throwing Pedro Strop, and hung on for the win. Nelson Cruz left for Texas with a quad injury. Justin Smoak continued his great start by notching three hits and two RBI.
Cubs 4, Dodgers 1. Ryan Dempster and Chad Billingsley each only allowed one run through seven, and when the Dodgers put Jonathan Broxton in for the ninth, he walked two of the three batters he faced while only throwing three strikes. They’d both come around to score on a Geovany Soto double, and Carlos Marmol would slam the door shut in the bottom half of the inning. In more important news, Andre Ethier singled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 29 games.
Brewers @ Braves – postponed. This will be made up today as part of a doubleheader. This will be the second one for the Braves already this year.
Lines of the Night
Hitting
Justin Smoak, Mariners. 3/4, 1 2B, 2 RBI
Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians. 3/5, 2 RBI
Daniel Descalso, Cardinals. 2/3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB
Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox. 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 K
Scott Sizemore, Tigers. 3/4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 K
Pitching
Francisco Liriano, Twins. 9 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 2 K. Game score: 83
Jon Lester, Red Sox. 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K. Game score: 71
Chad Billingsley, Dodgers. 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Game score: 71
Cole Hamels, Phillies. 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Game score: 78
Fausto Carmona, Indians. 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Game score: 72
What To Watch
Brewers @ Braves x2, 4:10 PM. Doubleheaders are awesome, especially doubleheaders with great pitching matchups. Marko Estrada vs Tommy Hanson in game one, while Zack Greinke makes his Brewers debut in game two against Tim Hudson.
Blue Jays @ Rays, 6:40 PM. I like this pitching matchup, pitting Brandon Morrow of Toronto against the vastly underrated Jeff Niemann of the Rays.
Angels @ Red Sox, 7:10 PM. Ervin Santana against a resurgent Josh Beckett, and the game is nationally televised on ESPN. You can’t get much better than that!
