The Orioles-Rays game on Friday night was, in a word, absurd. A total of 21 pitchers were used. Once the game went into extra innings, the teams combined for just seven hits. A total of 593 pitches were thrown. A total of 28 hitters stepped to the plate, though somehow, only seven of those were Orioles. Rays rookie Wil Myers gets the dreaded badge of disappointment, going 0/8. Tampa Bay stayed atop the Wild Card race with their 5-4 victory in 18 innings. And top everything off, the two teams had to be back at the Trop something like eight hours after the game ended thanks to a 1 PM game on Fox today. Oh baseball, you never let me down.
PIC OF THE DAY
Friday night's game in Tampa was so long that Luke Scott now resembles Chewbacca (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Cardinals 7, Brewers 6 (ten innings). I chose this game instead of Reds-Pirates to avoid twisting the knife in the heart of Pittsburgh fans. This contest was knotted at four going into the ninth, when Matt Adams hit a two-run homer off of Brewers closer Jim Henderson to put St Louis ahead. In the bottom of the ninth, Edward Mujica had a disastrous outing for the Cardinals. He started his save opportunity by allowing a double to Jeff Bianchi, and after a Yuni Betancourt ground out, Mujica gave up back to back singles to Norichika Aoki and Logan Schafer, scoring Bianchi to make it a 6-5 game. Jonathan Lucroy walked to load the bases, and that was it for Mujica. Enter John Axford, the former Brewer. Axford got a dribbler from Aramis Ramirez, but Daniel Descalso couldn't bare hand it, and the tying run scored. Carlos Gomez stepped up with a chance to win the game, but grounded into an inning ending double play. In the top of the tenth, Michael Blazek made the suffering quick, walking Kolten Wong, allowing a double to Matt Carpenter, and giving up a go-ahead sac fly to Beltran. Carlos Martinez threw a perfect tenth, and that took care of that.
Pitching Lines of the Night: The Nationals staved off elimination for one more day, beating the Marlins 8-0 as Jordan Zimmermann threw a complete game shutout, allowing two hits, walking one, and punching out nine. Robbie Erlin pitched the Padres past the Dodgers 2-0, giving up four hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out seven. In the Pirates' heartbreaking 6-5, ten inning loss to the Reds, Francisco Liriano allowed two runs on three hits in eight innings, striking out seven and walking three. Jon Lester allowed the Red Sox to clinch the AL East as they topped the Blue Jays 6-3, giving up one run on five hits in seven innings, walking a pair and punching out eight. In Oakland's 11-0 romp of the Twins, Bartolo Colon gave up five hits in six shutout innings, walking one and striking out eight.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In that Brewers loss to the Cardinals, Aramis Ramirez went 3/4 with a homer and five RBI. In the victory, Matt Adams went 3/5 with a homer, a walk, and three RBI. The Braves beat the Cubs 9-5, thanks to Chris Johnson's 3/4 effort with two runs, two RBI, a walk, a double, and a homer. Torii Hunter helped the Tigers smash the White Sox 12-5, going 4/5 with two runs, three RBI, a walk, and a double. In the loss, Avisail Garcia went 2/4 with a triple, a homer, and three RBI.
Other Games: The Indians moved into the second AL Wild Card spot, beating the Astros 2-1 in a rain-shortened seven innings. The Yankees beat the Giants 5-1 thanks to Alex Rodriguez's record-breaking 24th grand slam. The Mets beat the Phillies 6-4 in David Wright's return to the New York lineup. The Royals beat the Rangers 2-1 thanks to a bases loaded walk in the eighth. The Rockies officially eliminated the Diamondbacks from the playoff picture with a 9-4 victory. The Angels beat the Mariners 3-2 in 11 innings.
What You Missed: Poolgate continues with Brian Wilson going after John McCain, and I can't believe I just typed that. Jason Heyward is back in Atlanta's lineup after breaking his jaw last month. Andy Pettitte is joining Mariano Rivera in retirement land after the season. The final edition of the watchability rankings this regular season.
Today's Games: Ivan Nova and the Yankees host the Giants. Alex Cobb and the Rays take on Miguel Gonzalez and the Orioles. Jarrod Parker and the A's look to take another step towards clinching the AL West, hosting the Twins. Kris Medlen starts for the Braves as they look to lock up the NL East in Chicago against Travis Wood and the Cubs. Scott Kazmir and the Indians host the Astros. Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to start for the Nationals against the Marlins, but who in the hell knows if that will even happen? Homer Bailey and AJ Burnett will face off in Pittsburgh. Chris Sale starts for the White Sox in Detroit. Lance Lynn and Yovani Gallardo will duel in Milwaukee. Mark Buehrle starts for the Blue Jays in Boston against Clay Buchholz. Matt Garza and the Rangers take on Jeremy Guthrie and the Royals. Clayton Kershaw starts for the Dodgers in San Diego.
National TV: Giants-Yankees (1 PM, Fox), Rays-Orioles (1 PM, Fox), Reds-Pirates (7 PM, MLB Network), Rangers-Royals (7 PM, MLB Network)
MLB.tv Free Game: Dodgers-Padres (8:40 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Homer Bailey vs AJ Burnett (Reds vs Pirates, 7 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
