The New York Yankees were left for dead in a gutter to start last week after a 1-4 start. New York's offense looked listless in losing two out of three to the Red Sox to start the year, and the first two to Detroit. But in the three games since, the Yankees have scored 32 runs in roughing up the Tigers and Indians, with last night's 14-1 beatdown of the Tribe coming as a high point of the season. Yeah, I think we all wrote off the Yankees a tad bit too soon. They'll still be at least a little bit of a factor this year.
PIC OF THE DAY
Will Venable, a shaving cream pie, and a camo teddy bear. (Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports).
Game of the Night: Nationals 8, White Sox 7. This was an odd game. After the White Sox batted in the top of the sixth, the game was tied at two, but Washington took a 6-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning after two-run homers from Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche. Paul Konerko hit a three-run homer in the seventh to cut the lead to 6-5, but the Nationals extended their lead to three again following an RBI single from Werth and another two-run homer from LaRoche. In the ninth, Chicago cut the lead to one after a two-run homer from Alex Rios off of Rafael Soriano, but that was the only damage, and Washington hung on to win 8-7.
Pitching Lines of the Night: I actually had to dig a little bit to find some great pitching in a night dominated by offense. The Cardinals beat the Reds 5-1, and Lance Lynn allowed one run on four hits over six innings, walking one and striking out ten. Rangers rookie Nick Tepesch shined in his first career start in Texas' 6-1 win over the Rays, allowing one run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings, walking three, striking out five, and picking up 15 groundball outs. Kris Medlen shut down the Marlins in the Braves' 3-2 win, allowing one unaerned run on three hits over seven innings, walking two and striking out one. Anibal Sanchez baffled the Blue Jays in Detroit's 7-3 win, allowing two runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out eight with one walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In that Yankees blowout over the Indians, Robinson Cano went 4/6 with two runs, five RBI, two doubles, and his third homer of the year. Chris Carter powered an Astros offensive breakout in their 16-9 win over the Mariners, going 4/6 with three RBI and two homers, while Jose Altuve went 4/6 with two runs, four RBI, a double, and a homer. Miguel Cabrera provided the offense in Detroit, going 4/5 with three runs, four RBI, and his first homer of the year. Will Venable led the Padres to a 9-3 win over the Dodgers, going 2/3 with two runs, four RBI, two walks, a triple, a homer, and a stolen base.
Other Games: The Phillies beat the Mets 8-3 behind a three homer barrage. The Royals used a strong first inning to beat the Twins 7-4. The Brewers bullpen collapsed once again, and they fell to the Cubs 6-3. The A's blew an early lead, but then rallied late as they beat the Angels 9-5. The Pirates edged the Diamondbacks 6-5. The Giants beat the Rockies 9-6 despite a shaky start from Tim Lincecum.
What You Missed: Carlos Carrasco was ejected from the blowout in Cleveland for throwing at Kevin Youkilis' head. The Twins tried to charge fans to watch batting practice, and immediately backpedaled on it. Jered Weaver broke his elbow, and will miss four-six weeks. Garrett broke down the myth of the proven closer. I looked at just how much Marty Foster screwed the Rays on Monday. Ian looked at John Lackey's cursed career with the Red Sox.
Today's Notables: Mark Buehrle takes on Rick Porcello in Detroit. Matt Moore starts for the Rays in Texas. Gavin Floyd and Jordan Zimmermann will duel in Washington. Mike Minor gets the start for the Braves in Miami. Wade Miley starts for the Diamondbacks, hosting the Pirates. Ryan Dempster will start for the Red Sox against the Orioles. Kyle Lohse makes his second start for the Brewers, against the Cubs. Chad Billingsley makes his season debut for the Dodgers in San Diego.
National TV: Yankees-Indians (7 PM, ESPN2)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
