The Rays' hopes and dreams to make the playoffs appear to be fading. Last night, Tampa Bay fell to Boston 5-2, moving them five games back of the Orioles (who beat Seattle 10-4) for the AL's second wild card spot. Hell, the Rays have even been passed by the Angels in the standings and are just half a game up on the TIgers. It just looks like this won't be the Rays year.
Game of the Day: White Sox 5, Tigers 4. Detroit jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third off of White Sox starter Jose Quintana, but Chicago tied it with three of their own in the fourth against Doug Fister in the fourth, and both starters were done after four innings. In the fifth, a Delmon Young RBI single make it a 4-3 game, but the White Sox immediately came back, scoring one run on a Dayan Viciedo groundout and another when Omar Infante threw the ball away on that play trying to turn two. After those runs scored, the Tigers didn't even get a runner on base in the final four innings of the game, and that was that.
Pitching Lines of the Night: In the wee hours of the morning, Kevin Correia dominated the Cubs in a 3-0 win, allowing two hits over seven shutout innings, walking one and striking out six. Cliff Lee looked like the Cliff Lee of old in a 3-1 Phillies win over the Mets, allowing one run on seven hits over eight innings, striking out ten and walking just one. Chris Tillman was solid in Baltimore's big win in Seattle, allowing one run on three hits over six, striking out four and walking none.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Matt Wieters was awesome for the Orioles, going 3/5 with two runs, three RBI, and a homer, and Adam Jones went 3/4 with four runs, an RBI, a walk, and a double. Jacoby Ellsbury went 3/5 with three RBI and just his fourth homer of the year in Boston's win over Tampa Bay. Dan Uggla beat up his former team in a 7-5 win in Miami, going 2/3 two runs, three RBI, a walk, and a homer, while Martin Prado went 4/4 with a run and two RBI.
Other Games: The Giants beat the Rockies 2-1, continuing to roll in the NL West.
Today's Games: The sliding Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals welcome Aaron Harang and the Dodgers to town. AJ Griffin and the A's take on Max Scherzer and the Tigers in a big series between contenders. Yovani Gallardo and AJ Burnett will duel in Pittsburgh, as wild card contenders fight for a playoff berth. Andy Pettitte returns for the Yankees against the Blue Jays. Matt Harvey and the Mets take on Tyler Cloyd and the Phillies in a next gen pitching matchup. Jeremy Hellickson starts for the Rays against Felix Doubront and the Red Sox. Ryan Dempster takes on Jered Weaver in Anaheim as the Rangers look to ice the Angels. Kyle Lohse starts for the Cardinals against the Astros.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
