Something odd happened in Arizona this week that quite frankly, I didn't even notice. The Diamondbacks swept the Orioles, which isn't too eye-opening. But they won all three games in walkoff fashion, with Wednesday's 5-4, 14 inning victory as the cherry on top. The Diamondbacks also beat the Mets 5-4 in a walkoff win on Friday, giving them their last four wins via the walkoff. That certainly is an odd run, and it's good for Arizona that they wound up on the right side of those four games, given the scorching play of the Dodgers in the NL West.
PIC OF THE DAY
Chris Getz and Alcides Escobar meet a bucket of fail. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Day: Indians 9, Twins 8 (12 innings). This was a wild, wild game, and the Tribe picked up a win they desperately needed. Minnesota exploded for a total of three runs in the sixth and seventh innings to expand their lead to four. In the eighth, a Michael Brantley RBI single made it a 7-4 game, and Jason Giambi tied the game up with a three-run homer. The game went into extras, and Carlos Santana led off the tenth with a solo homer off of Glen Perkins to put Cleveland in front. Chris Perez came in to close the game out, and with one out, Joe Mauer hit a solo homer to tie the game that just barely cleared the left field wall. We continued on in the extra innings, and the Tribe took the lead once again after a sac fly by Brantley in the 12th. Joe Smith relieved Perez to close the door, and did it with ease.
Pitching Lines of the Night: The Pirates got back on the winning side of things, topping the Cardinals 5-1 as Francisco Liriano allowed one run on four hits over a complete game, walking one and striking out six. Bronson Arroyo propelled the Reds to a 5-0 win over the Cubs, allowing two hits over seven shutout innings, striking out seven without a walk. Jarred Cosart and Jarrod Parker put together a nice pitchers duel in Houston's 2-1, 11 inning win in Oakland, with Cosart allowing three hits over six shutout innings, walking one and striking out four, and Parker giving up one run on eight hits in 8 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking one. Esmil Rogers pitched well for the Blue Jays in their 4-3, ten inning win over the Red Sox, giving up one run in five hits in six innings, walking one and striking out six.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Alfonso Soriano had his second straight monstrous game as the Yankees smashed the Angels 11-3, going 3/3 with a double, two hours, three runs, seven RBI, and a walk. In the Twins' loss to the Indians, Joe Mauer went 5/7 with a homer, two runs, and four RBI. Juan Francisco hit well for the Brewers in their 5-4 loss to the Rangers, going 2/4 with two homers and four RBI. Corey Dickerson had a good game for the Rockies in their 4-2 win over the Padres, going 3/4 with two runs, two RBI, two doubles, and a triple. Domonic Brown had a good game for the Phillies in their 6-3 loss to the Braves, going 3/4 with a double, a homer, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Tigers beat the White Sox 6-4. The Marlins beat the Royals again, 5-2. The Nationals withstood a late Giants rally, winning 6-5. The Rays rallied to walk off on the Mariners 5-4. The Dodgers beat the Mets 5-4 in 12 innings.
What You Missed: Rajai Davis pulled off a Little League home run! Former BALCO head Victor Conte thinks 50% of MLB players are on PEDs. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats lost on an intentional walk. The Royals picked up Emilio Bonifacio from the Blue Jays…appropriate, given the pic of the day. Instant replay was used perfectly on Tuesday night in Oakland. The Marlins are selling $1 tickets for a game against the Dodgers.
Today's Games: CJ Wilson starts for the Angels in New York. AJ Burnett and Lance Lynn will duel in St Louis. Sonny Gray and the A's host the Astros. Ryan Vogelsong and Dan Haren will square off in Washington. Jake Peavy starts for the Red Sox against his former White Sox teammate Mark Buehrle in Toronto. Jeremy Guthrie and Anibal Sanchez will duel in Detroit. Alex Cobb returns to the hill for the Rays, hosting the Mariners. Kyle Lohse and the Brewers host the Reds. Zack Wheeler starts for the Mets in San Diego.
National TV: Angels-Yankees (1 PM, MLB Network), Pirates-Cardinals (1:30 PM, MLB Network), Royals-Tigers (7 PM, MLB Network), Red Sox-Blue Jays (7 PM, MLB Network)
MLB.tv Free Game: Reds-Brewers (8 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Jeremy Guthrie vs Anibal Sanchez (Royals vs Tigers, 7 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
