The Pirates led the Cardinals 3-2 going into the ninth inning. With one out, Daniel Descalso hit a sinking liner into left field. Starling Marte got a beat on the ball and went to catch it…but the ball popped out of his glove with no spurring from anything else. Matt Carpenter struck out for out number two, and after a Carlos Beltran walk, Allen Craig singled in Descalso to send the game into extra innings. Each team had numerous opportunities to score in the extra frames, but neither could until the 14th, when Adron Chambers singled home Jon Jay to give the Cardinals the win and hand the Pirates a devastating loss.
PIC OF THE DAY
Paul Goldschmidt gets a gum shower (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Diamondbacks 4, Orioles 3. The Orioles had an easy 3-0 lead in this one before Arizona started to chip away. In the seventh, a Martin Prado RBI groundout and Gerardo Parra solo homer cut the lead to one. Paul Goldschmidt struck out in the ninth against Jim Johnson, homering to tie the game. In the 11th, Goldschmidt struck again against TJ McFarland, homering to give Arizona a walkoff win to keep pace with the Reds in the NL Wild Card race.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Marlins phenom Jose Fernandez helped the Fish to a 1-0, ten inning win over the Royals, allowing three hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out six and walking one. Bruce Chen pitched just as well in the loss, giving up three hits in seven shutout frames, walking three and striking out six. Ryan Dempster helped pitch the Red Sox to a 4-2, 11 inning over the Blue Jays, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out four and walking a pair. Todd Redmond pitched well for Toronto in their defeat, going 5 1/3 scoreless innings allowing three hits, one walk, and punching out five hitters. Kris Medlen had a solid outing for the Braves in their 3-1 win over the Phillies, giving up one run on five hits in seven inning, striking out five while walking one and adding an RBI double for the hell of it.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Alfonso Soriano provided the boom for the Yankees in their 14-7 win over the Angels, going 3/6 with three runs, six RBI, and two homers. In that Diamondbacks win over the Orioles, Goldschmidt finished his night by going 3/5 with a pair of homers. Rookie Scooter Gennett helped the Brewers top the Rangers 5-1, going 2/4 with two homers and three RBI. In Tampa Bay's 5-4 loss to Seattle, Ben Zobrist went 2/5 with a pair of homers with three RBI, while Brad Miller went 2/5 with a pair of solo homers in the win for the Mariners.
Other Games: The Nationals doubled up the Giants 4-2. The Reds topped the Cubs 6-4 in 11 innings. The Padres beat the Rockies 7-5. The White Sox beat the Tigers 4-3 in 11. The Indians got off the schnide, topping the Twins 5-2. Hyun-Jin Ryu outdueled Matt Harvey as the Dodgers beat the Mets 4-2. The Astros edged the A's 5-4.
What You Missed: Dan Uggla is on the DL after LASIK surgery. The NL MVP race is highly entertaining and very complicated. Tommy Hanson's demotion shows just how dysfunctional the Angels are.
Today's Games: Ervin Santana and the Royals host Jacob Turner and the Marlins. Andrew Cashner and Jorge de la Rosa duel in Denver. Chris Tillman takes on Pat Corbin in Arizona. Jered Weaver starts for the Angels in the Bronx. Jon Lester gets the nod for the Red Sox in Toronto. Tim Lincecum takes on Jordan Zimmermann in Washington. David Price and the Rays host the Mariners. Francisco Liriano and the Pirates take on Shelby Miller and the Cardinals. Matt Garza starts for the Rangers against the Brewers. Jarred Cosart and Jarrod Parker will face off in Oakland.
National TV: Padres-Rockies (3 PM, MLB Network), Orioles-Diamondbacks (3:30 PM, MLB Network), Pirates vs Cardinals (8 PM, ESPN)
MLB.tv Free Game: Mariners-Rays (7 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Francisco Liriano vs Shelby Miller (Pirates vs Cardinals, 8 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
