Something cool happened in the Rangers' 16-5 smashing of the Astros on Monday night. After a marathon third inning that saw Texas plate ten runs, Houston manager Bo Porter threw utility infielder Jake Elmore behind the plate to catch, replacing Carlos Corporan. After Wade LeBlanc and Phil Humber had varying degrees of success with Elmore behind the plate, Porter made a stunning switch for the eighth inning, putting Elmore on the mound for the Astros. Of course, he threw a perfect 1-2-3 inning. Take what you can get, Astros fans.
PIC OF THE DAY
Yasiel Puig gettin salty (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Athletics 2, Mariners 1. This was a nice pitchers duel, and both starters kept their outings quick and efficient for the crowd of a little more than 11,000 in Oakland. The game was tied at one heading into the bottom of the ninth when Brandon Moss hit a solo homer to dead center off of Carter Capps to give the A's a walkoff win in a brisk 2:19. Aside from Moss' homer, there was just one extra base hit over the course of the game and only one walk by either team.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Francisco Liriano continued in his role of stopper for the Pirates in their 3-1 win in San Diego, allowing four hits over seven shutout innings, punching out 13 and walking just two. Jeff Samardzija threw a complete game in Chicago's 11-1 thrashing of the Nationals, giving up one run on six hits in a complete game, striking out five without a walk. In that pitchers duel in Oakland, Jarrod Parker gave up one run on eight hits in a complete game, striking out eight without a walk. Dillon Gee pitched the Mets to a 6-1 win in Minnesota, allowing one unearned run on six hits in 7 2/3 innings, walking one and punching out nine. Jon Lester ran through the Giants in Boston's 7-0 win, giving up six hits in 8 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking two.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Nate Schierholtz had a great game for the Cubs against the Nationals, going 3/4 with a double, two homers, and six RBI. His teammate Donnie Murphy went 2/4 with a pair of solo homers as well, while Dioner Navarro went 1/2 with three runs, three RBI, two walks, and a homer. AJ Pierzynski had a good game for the Rangers in Houston, going 4/5 with two runs, four RBI, a double, and a homer. Matt Wieters played well for the Orioles in their 4-3 loss to the Rays, going 3/5 with a double, a homer, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Phillies edged the Rockies 5-4 to finally win consecutive games for the first time since the All-Star Break. The Reds topped the Diamondbacks 5-3. The Marlins beat the Dodgers 6-2, handing LA their first losing streak in nearly two months. The Indians beat the Angels 5-2. The Cardinals beat the Brewers 8-5.
What You Missed: David DeJesus is a National, and we have no idea why.
Today's Games: Alex Cobb starts for the Rays in Baltimore. Zack Wheeler and the Mets host Brandon Beachy and the Braves. Jorge de la Rosa starts for the Rockies in Philly. Pat Corbin takes on Tony Cingrani in Cincinnati. Jacob Turner and the Marlins host the Dodgers. Jarred Cosart starts for the Astros in Arlington. Ervin Santana and the Royals host John Danks and the White Sox. Lance Lynn and Kyle Lohse face off in Milwaukee. CJ Wilson and the Angels host the Indians. AJ Burnett gets the nod for the Pirates in San Diego. Sonny Gray and the A's host the Mariners. Jake Peavy starts for the Red Sox in San Francisco against Ryan Vogelsong.
National TV: Diamondbacks-Reds (7 PM, MLB Network), Rays-Orioles (7 PM, MLB Network)
MLB.tv Free Game: Rays-Orioles (7 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Pat Corbin vs Tony Cingrani (Diamondbacks vs Reds, 7 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
