I’m not going to break down the *specific* bad decisions that took place last night, if only because I don’t want to completely turn this column into a mess of analysis. But we had one game on the east coast start at a time that would be considered late for a west coast game, and then go into 11 innings. We had a west coast game go ten innings after already being delayed for a half hour thanks to pregame ceremonies. We had another west coast game go 19 innings and end after 3 AM on the east coast. There are going to be quite a few people exhausted on the diamond today.
Game of the Day: Blue Jays 3, Tigers 2 (ten innings). Great job by Detroit to waste a spectacular start by Max Scherzer. The Tigers led 2-1 going into the ninth, and Brad Ausmus went with embattled closer Joe Nathan to seal the deal. It ended poorly. Jose Reyes led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a Jose Reyes fly out, and scored on a single by Dioner Navarro (after a Jose Bautista intentional walk). Nathan was pulled after a wild pitch by Nathan and another walk, but the damage was done. Joakim Soria got out of the ninth with no further damage, but Joba Chamberlain kept the tenth nice and brief. Danny Valencia reached on an infield single to start the inning, and Nolan Reimold promptly doubled him home to give Toronto a well-deserved comeback win.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Good pitching Saturday strikes again, and we apologize to those who had quality starts that won’t get detailed here – Francisco Liriano, Cole Hamels, Clay Buchholz, Tanner Roark, Trevor Cahill, Garrett Richards, James Paxton, Eric Stults, Brandon McCarthy, Aaron Harang, Jeff Samardzija, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Scott Feldman.
And now, the nitty gritty. James Shields threw a complete game shutout in Kansas City’s 5-0 win over the Giants, allowing four hits, walking one, and striking out five. In Detroit’s loss in Toronto, Max Scherzer gave up one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out 11 without a walk. Marcus Stroman countered for the Blue Jays by allowing two runs on four hits in nine innings, walking three and striking out four. Mike Fiers pitched the Brewers to a 4-1 win over the Dodgers, allowing one run on three hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out five. Jake Odorizzi shined in Tampa Bay’s 4-0 win over the Cubs, tossing six shutout innings while allowing three hits, walking none and punching out nine. Corey Kluber stayed hot in Cleveland’s 3-0 win in the Bronx, giving up four hits over six scoreless frames, striking out ten while walking one. Hector Noesi pitched well for the White Sox in their 2-1, ten inning win in Seattle, allowing one unearned run on five hits in 7 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out four. Dillon Gee and the Mets beat the Phillies 2-1 in 11 innings, allowing one run on three hits in seven innings, walking three and striking out four.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Delmon Young helped the Orioles beat the Cardinals 10-3, going 2/4 with a double, a homer, two runs, and three RBI. Teammate Nelson Cruz went 2/5 with a double, two runs, and two RBI. In Cleveland’s win over the Yankees, Jose Ramirez went 3/4 with a homer, two RBI, and a stolen base. Mike Trout went 3/8 in the Angels’ 5-4, 19 inning win over the Red Sox, adding a homer, two runs, two RBI, and a walk to his ledger. In Washington’s 4-1, 11 inning win over Atlanta, Adam LaRoche went 3/5 with a solo homer and two runs scored.
Hitting Lines of the Night, Chase Field edition: The Diamondbacks smashed the Rockies 14-4, and several players from both sides shined. David Peralta went 3/5 with a double, a homer, two runs, and five RBI for Arizona. Nolan Arenado went 2/3 with a double, a homer, two runs, and three RBI for Colorado. Cliff Pennington went 3/4 with a double, four runs, an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base for the Diamondbacks, and teammate Mark Trumbo went 2/5 with a homer, two runs, and four RBI.
Other Games: The Padres beat the Pirates 2-1, and no runs were scored at all after the first inning. The Marlins edged the Reds 4-3. The Astros topped the Rangers 8-3. The A’s pummeled the Twins 9-4.
Today’s Games: Hiroki Kuroda and the Yankees host the Indians. David Price starts for the Tigers in Toronto against Mark Buehrle and the Blue Jays. Johnny Cueto and the Reds take on the Marlins. Lance Lynn and Kevin Gausman will duel in Baltimore. Zack Wheeler takes the hill for the Mets in Philly. Tyson Ross and Charlie Morton will battle in Pittsburgh. Danny Duffy and the Royals host Tim Lincecum and the Giants. Dallas Keuchel and the Astros take on the Rangers. Clayton Kershaw goes for the Dodgers in Milwaukee. Alex Cobb starts for the Rays in Chicago against teh Cubs. Jason Hammel and the A’s host Phil Hughes and the Twins. Gio Gonzalez starts for the Nationals in Atlanta against Alex Wood and the Braves.
National TV: Dodgers-Brewers (2 PM, TBS), Braves-Nationals (8 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
