Domonic Brown of the Phillies has largely struggled in his major league career…until the calendar turned to May this year. Last month, Brown hit 12 homers in 109 at bats and posted a .991 OPS without the benefit of a walk. Through two games in June, Brown has added another homer to his total and collected four hits and two walks, pushing his OPS for the season to .895. On Sunday in Philadelphia's 7-5 win against the Brewers, Brown fell just a double shy of the cycle. Brown's 16 homers are currently pacing the National League, and his OPS is just outside of the top ten. He and Jimmy Rollins are the only current Phillies starters with a wRC+ above 100 (as Chase Utley is currently on the DL), and you really need to wonder where they'd be in the standings without him in their lineup.
PIC OF THE DAY
Coco Crisp meets the wall trying to catch this ball off the bat of Adam Dunn that wound up being a double. (Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Day: Pirates 5, Reds 4 (11 innings). The Reds jumped out to a 4-0, first inning lead against Jeanmar Gomez. That would be all they got, and after Gomez left the game after the game's opening frame, Pittsburgh's bullpen spun ten scoreless innings against the Cincinnati offense. The Pirates got on the board in the second with a solo homer from Pedro Alvarez. An RBI single from Andrew McCutchen in the sixth cut the lead to two. In the eighth, Garrett Jones came up and hit a homer into the Allegheny River on the fricking fly to tie the game. In the 11th, the Pirates got the win when Travis Snider singled home Russell Martin, who reached on a Zack Cozart throwing error. Worth noting: Aroldis Chapman didn't throw a pitch for the Reds.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Yu Darvish got a no decision in the Rangers' 3-1 win over the Royals, but not because of his own doing, allowing three hits in seven shutout innings, striking out six and walking two. Ervin Santana also got a no decision, giving up one unearned un on three hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out five. Jarrod Parker snapped out of his funk in Oakland's 2-0 win over the White Sox, giving up just two hits in 6 1/3 scoreless frames, walking two and punching out seven. Scott Diamond pitched well (not that he needed to) in the Twins' 10-0 pounding of the Mariners, allowing only four hits in six innings, walking one and striking out three in typical Diamond fashion. In Boston's rain-shortened 3-0 win over the Yankees, Clay Buchholz allowed two hits in five shutout innings, walking one and striking out four.
Hitting Lines of the Day: I already touched on Domonic Brown, but he finished his day by going 3/3 with a triple, a homer, a walk, and four RBI. Dexter Fowler had a good game for the Rockies in their 7-2 win over the Dodgers, going 2/3 with a pair of homers, three RBI, and two walks. Marlins rookie Marcell Ozuna continued to rake, going 3/5 with two runs, four RBI, a double, and a triple in Miami's 11-6 win over the Mets. Another Marlins rookie, Ed Lucas, also had a good game, going 4/4 with two runs, two RBI, a walk, and a double. Brian Dozier gave Diamond a nice bit of offense in Minnesota's destruction of Seattle, going 3/4 with two runs, two RBI, a double, and a homer.
Other Games: The Braves beat the Nationals 6-3, taking two out of three from their rivals. The Rays smashed the Indians 11-3. The Orioles rallied to beat the Tigers 4-2 behind the bat of Chris Davis. The Astros edged the Angels 5-4, withstanding a late rally. The Giants got back on the winning track, defeating the Cardinals 4-2. The Diamondbacks doubled up the Cubs 8-4, and Pat Corbin improved to 9-0. Toronto beat San Diego 7-4 in 11 innings.
Today's Games: AJ Burnett and Kris Medlen will duel in Atlanta. Justin Masterson and the Indians will take on Andy Pettitte and the Yankees in the Bronx. Kyle Kendrick and the Phillies host the Marlins. Tyler Chatwood starts for the Rockies against Bronson Arroyo in Cincinnati. Trevor Cahill and Lance Lynn will be matched up in St Louis.
National TV: Indians-Yankees (7 PM, ESPN)
Enjoyy your day of baseball, everyone.
