Last week, I attended a Braves-Phillies game in Philadelphia. Cole Hamels threw a complete game shutout, allowing just five hits and not allowing a Braves runner to reach second base all night. Last night, Hamels did it again, this time in Miami against the Marlins. The newly-extended ace once again threw a complete game shutout, allowing seven Marlins hits, one walk, and tallying five strikeouts in a 4-0 Phillies victory. Hamels wasn't AS dominant last night…I mean, the Marlins had multiple runners on base in three innings! But it was no matter for Hamels, who didn't allow any aquamarine players to score in his 113 pitch gem.
Game of the Night: Blue Jays 3, White Sox 2 (11 innings). The teams each got a run near the beginning of the game, and a Moises Sierra solo homer in the seventh put Toronto ahead 2-1. Both starters pitched quite well, but when Casey Janssen came in to finish the Sox off, he allowed a game-tying solo homer to Adam Dunn. The game went into extras, and in the 11th, the Sox used three pitchers…and only got one out. Rajai Davis popped out against Jesse Crain to start the inning, and Leyson Septimo walked Kelly Johnson on four pitches. He was relieved by Nate Jones, who allowed back to back singles to Edwin Encarnacion and David Cooper to give the win to the Jays.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Aside from Hamels' gem, there were some great starts around the league tonight. The Cubs dominated the Astros 7-1, and Jeff Samardzija allowed one run on four hits in seven innings, walking three and striking out 11. Carlos Villanueva was excellent in Toronto's win over Chicago, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings, walking one while striking out eight. His counterpart Jake Peavy was nearly as good, allowing two runs on five hits in eight innings, walking two and striking out six. In the Rays' 4-1 win in Seattle, Alex Cobb allowed one run on four hits over seven innings, walking two and striking out five.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the White Sox loss to the Blue Jays, Adam Dunn was the whole show on offense for Chicago, going 3/5 with a pair of solo homers. The Dodgers edged the Pirates 5-4 despite the best efforts of Garrett Jones, who went 4/4 for Pittsburgh with a run, three RBI, and a pair of doubles. The Twins crushed the Tigers 9-3, and Ryan Doumit went 3/4 with two runs, three RBI, and a homer. In Milwaukee's 9-6 loss to Colorado, Carlos Gomez went 3/4 with two runs, two RBI, and a homer. In a 14-2 blowout win for the Nationals in San Francisco, Danny Espinosa went 4/6 with three runs, three RBI, and his 12th homer of the year.
Other Games: The Yankees pounded Ryan Dempster and the Rangers, winning 8-2. Eric Stults shut down the Braves in a 4-1 Padres win. The Angels continued their slide, falling 6-2 to the Indians.
Today's Games: Alright, back to a full slate today. Matt Harrison takes on Hiroki Kuroda in the Bronx. Tim Hudson will start for the Braves, hosting Clayton Richard and the Padres. Mat Latos starts for the Reds, who welcome the Mets to Cincinnati. Josh Johnson goes for the Marlins against the Phillies. Jarrod Parker and the A's travel to Kansas City to take on Jeremy Guthrie and the Royals. Doug Fister starts for the Tigers in Minnesota. Ubaldo Jimenez and the Indians take on Zack Greinke and the Angels in SoCal. Matt Moore and the scorching Rays take on Kevin Millwood and the Mariners. Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals take on Madison Bumgarner and the Giants.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
