I'm sure everyone knows the story of what happened nearly 100 years ago with Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore.In case you don't, here's a brief recap: Ruth hit the first batter he faced for the Red Sox against the Senators and was ejected. He was replaced on the mound by Shore. The hit batsman was thrown out stealing, and Shore set down the next 26 batters in a row. Well, something similiar happened in St Louis on Friday night. Eric Young Jr started off the game with a bloop single, and stole second base. He'd be the only Rockies hitter to reach base that night, as Cardinals starter Shelby Miller blistered the Colorado lineup by setting down the next 27 batters in a row, striking out 13 (or nearly half). The Cardinals won the game 3-0, and that little bit of offense was more than enough for Miller. By the way, Shelby Miller is 22 years old.
PIC OF THE DAY
Ike Davis tags out John McDonald and provides a great Photoshop opportunity for people in the process (Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Orioles 9, Twins 6 (ten innings). Despite the final score, this was a wild game. The Twins jumped out to a 6-0 lead against Jason Hammel, and all looked right with the world. Mike Pelfrey proceeded to allow four doubles in the sixth inning, cutting Minnesota's lead in half. Josh Roenicke then had a particularly awful seventh inning, leading to three more Orioles runs, with a Chris David double tying the game at six. Both teams remained scoreless and we went into extra innings, where Baltimore struck in the tenth. Baltimore put men on the corners for Manny Machado, who singled in Chris Dickerson to put Baltimore in front. Nick Markakis followed with a sac fly to make it 8-6, and Adam Jones followed that up with a single to give the Orioles a three run cushion for Jim Johnson in the ninth, who preserved the win for Baltimore.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Shelby MIller sure was dominant (9 IP, one hit, no runs, no walks, 13 strikeouts), but Jon Lester had a great start as well in Boston's 5-0 win over Toronto, throwing a complete game, one hit shutout, striking out five without a walk. Matt Cain took no prisoners in San Francisco's 8-2 win over Atlanta, allowing two runs on three hits in eight innings, striking out seven and walking two. Hisashi Iwakuma continued to dominate, leading Seattle to a 6-3 win over Oakland while allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings, striking out nine without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Lyle Overbay continued the parade of unlikely Yankees heroes, going 4/5 with two runs, five RBI, two doubles, and a homer in New York's 11-6 win over Kansas City. Ichiro chipped in by going 3/5 with three runs, two RBI, a double, a homer, and a stolen base. Ian Desmond propelled the Nationals to a 7-3 win over the Cubs, going 3/4 with three runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer. Garrett Jones had a good game for the Pirates in their 7-3 win over the Mets, going 3/5 with two runs, three RBI, two doubles, and a homer. Brendan Harris had a great game for the Angels in their 7-5 win over the White Sox, going 3/4 with two runs and a homer.
Other Games: The TIgers smashed the Indians 10-4. The Rays doubled up the Padres 6-3. The Reds edged the Brewers 4-3. The Diamondbacks rallied late to beat the Phillies 3-2. The Rangers beat the Astros 4-2. The Marlins beat the Dodgers 5-4.
Today's Games: Clay Buchholz takes on Mark Buehrle in Boston. Madison Bumgarner and the Giants host Paul Maholm and the Braves. Francisco Liriano makes his Pirates debut against Jon Niese. Jhoulys Chacin starts for the Rockies against Adam Wainwright. Justin Verlander and the Tigers host the Indians. Edwin Jackson takes on Stephen Strasburg in Washington. Andy Pettitte takes on James Shields in KC. Mat Latos and the Reds host the Brewers. Cliff Lee starts in Arizona for the Phillies. Yu Darvish starts for the Rangers in Houston. Hyun-Jin Ryu starts for the Dodgers against the Marlins.
National TV: Braves-Giants (4 PM, MLB Network), Brewers-Reds (4 PM, MLB Network [alternate]), Indians-Tigers (7 PM, MLB Network), Angels-White Sox (7 PM, MLB Network [alternate])
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
