During a DD earlier this week, I wrote about how a long game isn't necessarily a good game. Well, the Blue Jays-Padres game in San Diego last night beat home that point in spades. A double by Jedd Gyorko tied the game at three in the fifth inning, and then both teams fell into the abyss of inaction until the Padres pushed a run across in the 17th to win the game 4-3. Toronto's bullpen allowed just six hits and three walks in 11 2/3 innings, while San Diego's allowed five hits and no walks in 11 2/3 innings of their own. The biggest stars in the game turned in flops of performances, with Melky Cabrera going 1/8, Jose Bautista going 0/7, Chase Headley and Yasmani Grandal each going 0/6 with a walk. If you're going to invest nearly five hours in a game, I sure hope it's more exciting than that.
PIC OF THE DAY
Chris Dickerson of the Orioles gets the traditional post-game pie in the face following his walkoff homer against the Tigers. (Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Dodgers 7, Rockies 5 (ten innings). Los Angeles jumped out to a 5-0 lead, and with Clayton Kershaw on the hill, that looked like it would be enough. The Rockies cut the lead to 5-2 in the fourth, and got another run in the eighth after a Wilin Rosario run-scoring double play groundout. In the ninth against "closer" Brandon League, the mummified shell of Todd Helton hit a game-tying, pinch hit, two-run homer to knot the game at five and send it to extras. In the tenth, Carl Crawford scored on a groundout by Luis Cruz that was deflected by Rafael Betancourt, and Juan Uribe added an RBI single of his own. Ronald Belisario didn't throw a ball in the bottom of the inning, shutting Colorado down on seven pitches to seal the victory.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Johnny Cueto dominated the Pirates in a 6-0 Reds win, allowing one hit in eight scoreless innings, walking one and striking out six. Bartolo Colon threw a complete game shutout in Oakland's 3-0 victory over the White Sox, allowing five hits and striking out three with no walks. Max Scherzer pitched well in Detroit's loss to Baltimore, allowing three runs on three hits in eight innings, walking two and striking out ten. CC Sabathia tore the Red Sox a new one in the Yankees' 4-1 win, giving up just one run on six hits in 7 1/3 frames, striking out ten without a walk. Finally, Jacob Turner's season debut was a success for the Marlins in their 5-1 win over the Mets, allowing five hits over seven shutout innings, striking out three and walking one.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Jonathan Lucroy had a great game for the Brewers in their 8-5 win in Philly, going 5/5 with three runs, four RBI, a double, and two homers. The white hot Domonic Brown countered him by going 2/4 with two homers and four RBI. Adrian Beltre carried the Rangers to a 7-2 win in Kansas City, going 4/4 with two runs, two RBI, and a homer. James Loney had a great game for the Rays in their rain delayed, marathon win over the Indians, going 2/5 with a pair of homers and three RBI. Adam Jones was the standout star for the Orioles in their walkoff win over the Tigers, going 3/4 with three runs, two RBI, and a homer.
Other Games: The Cubs smacked down the Diamondbacks 7-2. The Mariners shut out the Twins 3-0 behind the arm of Hisashi Iwakuma. The Nationals edged the Braves 3-2 despite just two innings from Stephen Strasburg. The Astros doubled up the Angels 6-3. The Cardinals and Giants were postponed due to tornadoes in the midwest.
Today's Games: Matt Cain and Shelby Miller will give it another go in St Louis, while Adam Wainwright and Madison Bumgarner will go at it in game two of the doubleheader. Chris Archer makes his season debut for the Rays in Cleveland. Justin Verlander starts for the Tigers in Baltimore. Zack Greinke takes on Jhoulys Chacin in Denver. James Shields starts for the Royals in Texas. Jose Fernandez and the Marlins host the Mets. Gio Gonzalez starts for the Nationals in Atlanta. Jeff Samardzija and the Cubs host the Diamondbacks. Mike Leake takes on Francisco Liriano in Pittsburgh.
National TV: Tigers-Orioles (4 PM, MLB Network), Royals-Rangers (4 PM, MLB Network), Nationals-Braves (7 PM, Fox), Yankees-Red Sox (7 PM, Fox), Diamondbacks-Cubs (7 PM, Fox), Reds-Pirates (7 PM, Fox), Giants-Cardinals (7 PM, Fox)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
