Dugout Digest – driving me crazy

Being a Rockies fan is something that would drive me insane. In losing nine out of ten games heading into this past weekend, the team scored just 23 runs, with eight of those coming in one loss. Of course, Colorado has won their last four games, scoring 33 games while sweeping the Pirates and taking the first game from the Padres. A lot of that probably has something to do with the Coors Field effect, but a lot has to do with the erratic nature of the offense, which would simply drive me up the wall.

PIC OF THE DAY

Hey look, we've found someone shorter than Lil Nicky Punto… (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Game of the Night: Diamondbacks 7, Orioles 6. This sure was a wild game. In the bottom of the seventh, with Baltimore leading 4-2, Arizona's offense struck. After Brian Matusz plunked Didi Gregorius to lead off the inning, Tommy Hunter relieved him and walked Matt Davidson. He got AJ Pollock to line out, and then allowed an RBI single to Adam Eaton. After a Paul Goldschmidt fly out, Aaron Hill and Martin Prado followed with back to back run-scoring singles to put the D-Backs in front. JJ Putz got the first two outs in the eighth, and Joe Thatcher came in to face Chris Davis…and allowed a homer to tie the game back up. LOOGY indeed. Wil Nieves led off the bottom of the eighth with a homer off of Troy Patton to throw the Diamondbacks in front once again. In the ninth, Brad Ziegler pitched for Arizona as opposed to The Heath Bell Experience, and the Orioles loaded the bases with one out. They got a sac fly from Nick Markakis to tie the game, but could have used so much more. But to lead off the bottom of the inning, Eaton homered off of Darren O'Day to give Arizona the win.

Pitching Lines of the Night: Yu Darvish dominated the Astros (again) in a 2-1 Rangers win, allowing one run on one hit over eight innings, walking one and striking out 15. Andrew Albers had his second straight great start for the Twins in their 3-0 win against the Indians, giving up two hits over a complete game shutout, striking out a pair and walking none. Hiroki Kuroda led the Yankees to a 2-1 win over the Angels, allowing three hits over eight shutout innings, striking out seven and walking one. Mat Latos ran over the Cubs in Cincinnati's 2-0 win, allowing six hits over eight scoreless frames, punching out nine without a walk. Cole Hamels got back in the win column as the Phillies topped the Braves 5-1, allowing one run on six hits in a complete game, walking one and striking out nine.

Hitting Lines of the Night: In Colorado's 14-2 smashing of the Padres, three players led the way for the Rockies offense. DJ LeMahieu went 3/4 with three runs, two RBI, a walk, a stolen base, a double, and a homer. Dexter Fowler went 3/4 with two runs, four RBI, two walks, and a double. Finally, Nolan Arenado went 4/5 with two runs and an RBI. In other news, Cody Asche had his best game in the majors, going 2/4 with two runs, three RBI, a stolen base, and a homer in Philadelphia's win in Atlanta, and Trevor Plouffe went 2/3 with a walk and a two-run homer in the Twins victory over Cleveland.

Other Games: The A's scored four in the ninth to top the Blue Jays 5-1. Chris Sale threw a complete game in the White Sox 6-2 win over the Tigers. The Royals moved into second place in the AL Central, besting the Marlins 6-2. The Dodgers continued to stay hot, beating the Mets 4-2.

What You Missed: Silly steroid talk with Pete Rose and Mike Trout! Adam Rosales, the human hot potato. If the trade deadline was this week, what would have happened?

Today's Games: CC Sabathia and the Yankees host the Angels. Madison Bumgarner takes on Gio Gonzalez in Washington. Chris Archer starts for the Rays, welcoming the Mariners to Florida. Homer Bailey takes on Jeff Samardzija in Chicago. Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals host the Pirates. Max Scherzer gets the nod for the Tigers on the South Side. Jose Fernandez starts for the Marlins in Kansas City. Matt Harvey and Hyun-Jin Ryu duel in Los Angeles. Bartolo Colon and the A"s host the Astros.

National TV: Pirates-Cardinals (8 PM, MLB Network), Reds-Cubs (8 PM, MLB Network)

MLB.tv Free Game: Tigers-White Sox (8 PM)

Pitching Matchup of the Day: Madison Bumgarner vs Gio Gonzalez (Giants vs Nationals, 7 PM)

Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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