Aroldis Chapman has been the best reliever in baseball this year. But that moniker took a solid bump after his outing last night. Chapman blew the save and took the loss when he allowed three runs to the Astros in the ninth inning in the Reds' 5-3 loss to the NL Central's worst team. The blown save was Chapman's first since June 24th, and it was the first time he's allowed multiple runs in a game since the same game. Chapman still leads all reliever in fWAR (by nearly a full win over Craig Kimbrel), so it's not like his season is completely over. But I think this will nip the Cy Young talks in the bud a little bit.
Game of the Night: Brewers 5, Cardinals 4 (13 innings). This game went 4:30…and also kicked off with a 2:32 rain delay, meaning that the game ended SEVEN HOURS after it was scheduled to start, or around 3 AM eastern. Anyway, The Cardinals led 2-0 after the first inning, but the Brewers fought back and ended up taking a 4-2 lead in the eighth. Of course, Yadier Molina tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom half of that inning, deadlocking the game and sending it to extras. The teams didn't score until the 13th, when all-world MVP candidate Ryan Braun blasted his 38th homer of the year, a career-high, to put Milwaukee out front 5-4. John Axford shut the door in the bottom of the inning, and Milwaukee's slim playoff hopes are still hanging on by a thread.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Derek Holland was dominant for the Rangers in their 3-1, 11 inning loss to the Rays. He allowed one run on two hits over eight, striking out 11 and walking just two. Max Scherzer had a great outing for the Tigers in their 3-2 walkoff loss to the Angels, allowing a pair of runs over eight innings on five hits, striking out nine without a walk. Travis Wood dominated the Pirates offense in a 12-2 win, not that he needed to. Wood allowed just one hit over six shutout innings, walking three and striking out five.
Hitting Lines of the Night: The Padres blew a 5-0 lead against the Diamondbacks but will won 6-5, thanks to Chase Headley going 2/4 with four RBI and a pair of homers. Likewise, the Marlins blew a 6-2 lead in Washington, but still won 9-7 thanks to Jose Reyes, who went 3/6 with two runs, three RBI, and a pair of triples. Lorenzo Cain propelled the Royals to a 7-5 win over the White Sox, going 2/5 with three RBI and two homers. Russ Canzler pushed the Indians to a 7-6 win over the Twins, going 3/4 with three RBI, a walk, and his first homer of the year.
Other Games: The Yankees and Orioles combined for six homers in an 8-5 win for New York. The Blue Jays homered three times and beat the Red Sox 7-5. The Phillies rallied late to beat the Rockies 3-2. The Braves picked up their third shutout in a row, beating the Mets 3-0. The A's jumped all over Felix Hernandez and beat the Mariners 6-1. The Giants poured it on late and prevailed over the Dodgers 5-4.
Today's Games: Bruce Chen takes on Chris Sale in Chicago. Mark Buerhle will battle Ross Detwiler in DC. CC Sabathia and Joe Saunders will duel in Baltimore. Kris Medlen looks to keep rolling against Jeremy Hefner and the Mets. Chris Capuano and Matt Cain will battle by the bay. Cole Hamels and the Phillies host the Rockies. Yu Darvish will take on Chris Archer in St Pete. Jeff Samardzija will take on James McDonald at PNC Park. Justin Verlander and CJ Wilson will go at it in Anaheim. Brett Anderson looks to continue his dominance this year, against Hisashi Iwakuma in Seattle. Mike Fiers takes on Jake Westbrook in St Louis. Wade Miley and fellow rookie Casey Kelly will battle in San Diego.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
