A lot has been made about the recent winning streaks by the Indians and Royals to make the AL Central race interesting. Lost in all that hoopla has been the fact that the Tigers picked up their tenth straight win on Tuesday night. Detroit is 23-8 since the beginning of July, and has managed to pick up four games on both Cleveland and Kansas City…despite those two teams each winning at a .613 clip since July 1st.
PIC OF THE DAY
Not sure if Dustin Pedroia, or Richard Nixon… (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Rangers 8, Angels 3. There weren't many "good" games on Tuesday night, so why not pick on the Angels a little more? Both starters had good nights, and the game was knotted at three heading into the eighth inning. The Rangers manufactured a run in pretty slick fashion in the top of the inning after Elvis Andrus led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on an Adrian Beltre single. But in the ninth, Nick Maronde dumped gasoline on the field and Ernesto Frieri took a flamethrower to it. After getting the first two outs pretty easily, Maronde walked Craig Gentry, allowed him to steal second, and Gentry scored on an error by first baseman Kole Calhoun. Frieri replaced Maronde on the hill and proceeded to allow four straight singles, bringing home three more runs to crack the game wide open like a coconut. Frieri has a 23.14 ERA over the last two weeks, and his ERA has shot up two runs over that same time period.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Justin Verlander looked like the Verlander of old in Detroit's 5-1 win over Cleveland, allowing one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out seven without a walk. In his first career start, Andrew Albers spun a gem for the Twins in their 7-0 win over the Royals, giving up four hits over 8 1/3 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out a pair. Mat Latos pitched the Reds past the A's in Cincinnati's 3-1 win, allowing four hits over 7 1/3 shutout frames, walking three and punching out three. Matt Cain pitched well for the Giants in their 3-1 loss to the Brewers, allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings, striking out six without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: The Red Sox topped the Astros in a 15-10 slugfest, and Jacoby Ellsbury carried the day for Boston, going 2/4 with two homers, four RBI, three runs, and two walks. David Ortiz chipped in with a 4/4 game along with two runs, two RBI, and a walk, while in the losing effort, Robbie Grossman went 2/3 with two runs, three RBI, a homer, a walk, and a stolen base. Adam Jones propelled the Orioles to a 4-1 win over the Padres, going 4/4 with two runs, two RBI, a stolen base, and a homer. Ace RHP Don Kelly provided the Tigers with all of the offense they needed, going 3/4 with a three-run homer.
Other Games: The Braves picked up their 12th win in a row, beating the Nationals 2-1 in DC. The White Sox edged the Yankees 3-2. The Phillies hung on to beat the Cubs 9-8, despite the best efforts of Jonathan Papelbon. The Pirates walked off on the Marlins 4-3 thanks to Josh Harrison. The Mets slipped by the Rockies 3-2. The Cardinals finally stopped the Dodgers' road winning streak at 15, beating LA 5-1. The Blue Jays rolled Felix Hernandez and the Mariners 7-2. The Diamondbacks topped the Rays 6-1.
Today's Games: Bartolo Colon and Homer Bailey will face off in Cincinnati. JA Happ makes his long-awaited return for the Blue Jays in Seattle. Eric Stults and the Padres host Miguel Gonzalez and the Orioles. Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Braves. Doug Fister starts for the Tigers against Indians wunderkind Danny Salazar. Travis Wood and Cole Hamels will face off in Philly. Matt Harvey and the Mets host Jhoulys Chacin and the Rockies. CC Sabathia and the Yankees take on the White Sox in Chicago. Danny Duffy makes his return to the majors following Tommy John surgery for the Royals, hosting Samuel Deduno and the Twins. Ricky Nolasco and the Dodgers take on Shelby Miller and the Cardinals. Ryan Dempster and the Red Sox will battle Jarred Cosart and the Astros in Houston. Chris Archer starts for the Rays in Arizona. Madison Bumgarner and the Giants welcome the Brewers to San Francisco.
National TV: A's-Reds (12:30 PM, MLB Network), Dodgers-Cardinals (8 PM, ESPN)
MLB.tv Free Game: Blue Jays-Mariners (3:40 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Ricky Nolasco vs Shelby Miller (Dodgers-Cardinals, 8 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
