The Mets stink this year. But on Tuesday, a glimmer of hope poked through the sky. The Mets swept the Braves in a doubleheader, winning by scores of 4-3 and 6-1. Each of the two games was started by a young phenom: game one by Matt Harvey, and game two by Zack Wheeler in his major league debut. Both men performed extremely well, with Harvey striking out 13 and no-hitting the Braves through six innings and Wheeler punching out seven and throwing six shutout frames. Now, if only New York could get some hitters…
PIC OF THE DAY
The aftermath of the Upton brothers colliding in the Braves outfield. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Red Sox 3, Rays 1. Game two of the doubleheader at Fenway Park today went just as poorly as the rain-soaked game one, which Tampa Bay lost 5-1. Felix Doubront dominated the Rays in game two, and it looked like a solo homer by Daniel Nava in the second inning would hold as the only run of the contest. Doubront handed the ball off to Andrew Bailey in the ninth, and he promptly allowed a game-tying solo homer to Kelly Johnson. Joel Peralta came in for Alex Torres in the ninth for Tampa Bay, and began the inning by walking Nava. That brought up Jonny Gomes, who launched the first pitch he saw from Peralta over the Green Monster to propel the BoSox to a 3-1 win, and their ninth win in 11 chances this season against Gomes' former team.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Doubront's line against the Rays was excellent, as he gave up just three hits over eight scoreless innings while striking out six and walking none. Cliff Lee led the Phillies to a 4-2 win over the Nationals, allowing two runs on five hits in eight innings, striking out nine without a walk. Ervin Santana pitched well for the Royals in their 4-3 loss to the Indians, giving up one run on three hits in seven innings, walking two and punching out six. Jeff Samardzija nearly went the distance fo the Cubs in their 4-2 win over the Cardinals, finishing by giving up two runs on seven hits in 8 1/3, striking out six while walking one. Matt Cain pitched like…well, Matt Cain in the Giants' 5-4 win over the Padres, allowing two runs on six hits in seven innings, striking out ten without a walk. Finally, the Harvey/Wheeler duo: Harvey allowed three runs on three hits in seven innings, walking three and striking out 13, while Wheeler gave up four hits in six shutout innings, walking five and striking out seven.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Joe Mauer led the Twins to a 7-5 win over the White Sox, going 3/5 with two runs, two RBI, a double, and a homer. Matt Dominguez powered Houston to a 10-1 blowout win over Milwaukee, going 2/3 with a homer and five RBI. The pairing of JP Arencibia and Edwin Encarnacion combined to fuel Toronto's offense in their 8-3 win over the Rockies, with Arencibia going 3/4 with a double, a homer, and two RBI, and Encarnacion going 2/4 with two runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer. JJ Hardy had a good game for the Orioles in their 5-2 win in Detroit, going 3/4 with a two-run homer.
Other Games: The Pirates shut out the Reds 4-0, giving Charlie Morton his first win since last May. The A's increased their lead in the AL West over the Rangers, beating Texas 6-2. A Paul Goldschmidt walkoff homer gave the Diamondbacks a 3-2 win over the Marlins. The Mariners beat the Angels 3-2 in ten innings. The Yankees and Dodgers were rained out in the Bronx.
What You Missed: Just who are these streaking Padres? The Yankees are banged up. This young Dodger fan has learned a valuable lesson already.
Today's Games: Hyun-Jin Ryu and Hiroki Kuroda battle in game one of the Yankee Stadium doubleheader. Jose Fernandez starts for the Marlins in Arizona. The shockingly good Eric Stults starts for the Padres in San Francisco against Madison Bumgarner. Gio Gonzalez starts for the Nationals in Philly against Kyle Kendrick. Kris Medlen and the Braves host Shaun Marcum and the Mets. Justin Masterson and the Indians host the Royals. Jeff Locke and the Pirates take on Bronson Arroyo and the Reds in Cincinnati. Chris Sale starts for the White Sox in Minnesota. Kyle Lohse starts for Milwaukee in Houston. CJ Wilson and the Angels host the Mariners.
National TV: Dodgers-Yankees (1 PM, MLB Network; 7 PM, ESPN2), Orioles-Tigers (1 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
