Roy Oswalt was scratched from his scheduled start yesterday for the Rangers against the Red Sox due to a reoccurance of back problems that have nagged Oswalt for most of his career. Scott Feldman started in his place, and for at least one night, Feldman didn't look like a guy who had trouble pitching in the majors this year. Against a rather strong Boston lineup, Feldman allowed only one run on seven hits over seven innings, walking none while striking out five in a 9-1 Rangers victory. The seven innings marked his longest outing of the year, and the one run was the lowest he's allowed in a start this season. Maybe, just maybe, Texas can make do with the rotation they have.
Game of the Night: Phillies 7, Brewers 6. Francisco Rodriguez continues to be haunted by his former rivals in Philly. Milwaukee took a 6-3 lead in the ninth, and entrusted their newly appointed closer to finish the deal. He got Laynce Nix to strike out to start the inning, and then allowed six straight hitters to reach base, with three of them scoring. That brought up Ty Wigginton, who hit a sac fly to left, bringing in Erik Kratz to give the Phillies a huge 7-6 walkoff win and keep their deficit in the NL East at a paltry 14 games.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Jeff Samardzija threw eight innings of one hit shutout ball, walking one and striking out five in the Cubs' 2-0 win in Pittsburgh. Similarly, Josh Johnson threw a one hit shutout against the Braves over six innings, striking out nine without a walk. Johnson left the game early with a blister issue in Miami's 2-1 win. In that Cubs-Pirates game, Pittsburgh starter Erik Bedard was also dominant, allowing one run on two hits over seven, walking two and striking out 11. In the Yankees' 4-1 win over the Mariners, Hiroki Kuroda allowed one run over seven innings on just three hits, walking one and striking out nine. Ian Kennedy allowed just two runs over eight innings on five hits, walking none while striking out seven in Arizona's 6-3 win over the Rockies.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Buster Posey went 3/4 with two runs, four RBI, and a homer in the Giants' 7-1 win over the Padres. In that heartbreaking Brewers loss to the Phillies, Carlos Gomez went 2/2 with three runs, three RBI, a walk, a homer, two stolen bases, and a hit by pitch. Talk about a complete game. The White Sox beat the Twins 7-4, and veteran Paul Konerko went 3/4 with two runs, three RBI, and a homer. The Nationals scored six in the tenth to beat the Mets 8-2, and all-world rookie Bryce Harper went 2/4 with two runs, three RBI, a walk, his ninth homer of the year, and a stolen base.
Other Games: The Indians beat the Orioles 3-1 to stave off a four game sweep. The Angels beat the Royals 6-3 after an eighth inning rally. The Reds used some late offense to beat the Astros 8-3. The Dodgers edged the Cardinals 5-3.
Today's Games: Jeremy Hellickson takes on Wei-Yin Chen in Baltimore. Zack Greinke takes on Cliff Lee in Philly in the matchup of the night. Deadline acquistions from a year ago duel in Cleveland, with Doug Fister taking on Ubaldo Jimenez. Pirates ace James McDonald starts at home against the Cubs. Gio Gonzalez takes on RA Dickey at Citi Field. Veterans Tim Hudson and Mark Buerhle will go at it in Miami. The surprising Jose Quintana and the White Sox host the Twins. Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers travel to Busch Stadium to take on Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals. Felix Hernandez starts at home for the Mariners against former Seattle starter Freddy Garcia and the Yankees. Madison Bumgarner starts for the Giants, who are hosting the Padres.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
