The Tigers led the Red Sox 3-2 on Wednesday night. The teams traded runs, and Detroit took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning. Then, Boston went off. David Ortiz tied the game with a solo homer in the fourth, and Dustin Pedroia gave Boston a 5-4 lead with a sac fly in the fifth. The Red Sox proceeded to score eight in the sixth in an inning highlighted by a Will Middlebrooks grand slam and a two-run Daniel Nava homer. The Red Sox added five more in the seventh thanks to two-run homers from Ortiz and Ryan Lavarnway. Finally, they added three more in the eighth, highlighted by a two-run Mike Napoli homer. All in all, the Red Sox mashed eight homers in the victory. All in all, the final ended up being 20-4 in favor of the Red Sox. Every starter but Dustin Pedroia reached base, and every starter but Shane Victorino and David Ross drove in at least one run. Hell, the Boston bench drove in five runs, more than the entire Tigers team. It's just a shame we didn't get a position player on the mound for Detroit.
PIC OF THE DAY
Justin Morneau isn't pleased with Wily Peralta (Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Cardinals 5, Reds 4 (16 innings). This meets my usual analogy, to an extent. After a Carlos Beltran RBI single in the sixth tied the game at three, the teams went into drought of offense until the 14th inning. The St Louis bullpen threw five perfect innings in the middle of all that, while the Cardinals offense did threaten with men on the corners in the 11th, but came away empty-handed. Then in that 14th inning, Matt Adams led off with a solo homer to put the Redbirds ahead. In the bottom of the inning, Ryan Ludwick led off with a single, and just like Tuesday night, Billy Hamilton pinch ran for him. And just like Tuesday night, Hamilton stole second. Unlike Tuesday night, it was a Zack Cozart RBI single that scored Hamilton to tie the game. In the 15th, the Cardinals got Kolten Wong to second with one out, but couldn't score while the Reds got Shin-Soo Choo to third, but a botched suicide squeeze ended their inning. Then in the 16th, Adams came through again with another solo homer. Carlos Martinez shut the Reds down, and the Cardinals picked up a game on both the Reds and Pirates in the NL playoff race.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Pitching wasn't exactly on full display on Wednesday, so the bar has been lowered…but not too far. Dillon Gee led the Mets to a 5-2 win in Atlanta, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking one. Randall Delgado pitched the Diamondbacks to a 4-3, ten inning win over the Blue Jays, giving up three runs on four hits in seven innings, punching out six without a walk. Jeremy Hellickson was fine for the Rays in their 3-1 in over the Angels, allowing four hits in 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out four and walking a pair. Roy Halladay was good for the Phillies in their 3-2 loss to the Nationals, giving up one run on three hits in six innings, walking five and striking out five.
Hitting Lines of the Day: In the Giants' 13-5 mauling of the Padres, Pablo Sandoval went 4/5 with three homers and six RBI. In Boston's blowout win over the Tigers, David Ortiz ended up going 3/5 with three runs, four RBI, a double, and two homers, while Will Middlebrooks went 3/5 with two runs, four RBI, a double, and a homer. In that Rays win in Anaheim, Wil Myers went 3/4 with two homers and three RBI. Adeiny Hechavarria had a nice game for the Marlins in their 9-7 loss to the Cubs, going 3/4 with a grand slam.
Other Games: The Astros walked off on the Twins 6-5. The A's pounded the Rangers 11-4. The Indians topped the Orioles 6-4. The White Sox rallied, but fell to the Yankees 6-5. The Mariners got two in the ninth to beat the Royals 6-4. The Brewers smashed the Pirates 9-3. The Rockies held off a Dodgers rally to win 7-5.
What You Missed: The post-mortem and hope for the hopeless for the Marlins are here. The Indians brought a chicken on the field during batting practice.
Today's Games: Jake Peavy starts for the Red Sox in New York against Ivan Nova. Lance Lynn gets the nod for the Cardinals in Cincinnati. David Price starts for the Rays in Anaheim. Sonny Gray and the Athletics host the Astros.
National TV: Red Sox-Yankees (7 PM, MLB Network), White Sox-Orioles (7 PM, MLB Network)
MLB.tv Free Game: Mariners-Royals (2 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Jake Peavy vs Ivan Nova (Red Sox vs Yankees, 7 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
