We've touched on how surprising the NL Central race has been this season, but I think Wednesday's games really put the division in a nutshell. The first place Cardinals now have just a two game lead on the fourth place Reds, with the Pirates and Brewers sandwiched between them. The games on Wednesday saw the Pirates storm back from a 4-2 deficit in the eighth inning to beat Milwaukee 6-4, and the Cardinals edged the Reds 4-2. If only it weren't for the Cubs…
PIC OF THE DAY
Indians catcher Carlos Santana slides in safely underneath Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. (Eric P. Mull-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Pirates 6, Brewers 4. I touched on this in the open, but this game deserves a full writeup. Milwaukee took a 3-1 lead in the fourth after homers by Ryan Braun and Yuniesky Betancourt, but Pittsburgh cut the lead to a run after Michael McKenry hit a solo homer in the seventh. Jean Segura singled in Khris Davis in the bottom of the inning to stretch the lead to two once again. In the eighth, John Axford struck yet again for Milwaukee, allowing a two-run homer to Starling Marte to tie the game at four. Brandon Inge and Pedro Alvarez added RBI singles in the eighth to give the Pirates their first lead of the game, and Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli shut the door in the last two innings to hold the win for Pittsburgh.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Jordan Zimmermann tore through the Braves in a 2-0 Washington win, allowing two hits in eight shutout innings, striking out eight without a walk. In a losing effort for the Braves, Paul Maholm allowed two runs on three hits in eight innings, striking out four and walking two. Scott Feldman threw his first complete game for the Cubs in their 6-2 win over the Padres, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out 12 and walking only one. Clay Buchholz dominated the Blue Jays in Boston'10-1 romp, allowing two hits in seven shutout frames, striking out eight while walking three.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Mike Napoli gave Buchholz all of the offense he needed in Boston's victory, going 3/4 with three runs, four RBI, a walk, a double, and two homers. David Wright had a good game for the Mets in their 7-6 win in Miami, going 3/5 with three runs, a double, and a homer. Luke Scott did well for the Rays in their tough 9-8 loss to the Royals, going 3/3 with two runs, two RBI, a walk, and a homer. Angel Pagan helped the Giants to a 9-6 win in Arizona, with a 2/4 game that included three runs, two RBI, a walk, a double, and a homer. In a losing effort in the same game, Cliff Pennington went 2/4 with four RBI, a double, and a homer.
Other Games: The Twins beat the Tigers 6-2. The Angels edged the A's 5-4. Trevor Bauer and the Indians shut out former Indians Cliff Lee and the Phillies 6-0. The Yankees slid by the Astros 5-4. The White Sox defeated the Rangers 5-2. The Rockies blitzed the Dodgers 7-3. The Mariners beat up the Orioles 8-3.
What You Missed: April's best and worst players. I broke down how bad the Marlins offense will be without Giancarlo Stanton. Michael took a look at Boston's shortstop problem.
Today's Games: The shockingly solid Ervin Santana gets the nod for the Royals against the Rays. Dan Haren and Kris Medlen will duel in Atlanta. Ryan Dempster takes on Josh Johnson in Toronto. Jake Peavy starts for the White Sox in Texas. Jake Westbrook looks to keep his ERA under 1.00 in Milwaukee.
National TV: Nationals-Braves (7 PM, MLB Network), Marlins-Phillies (7 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
