On Wednesday, Yu Darvish threw the first complete game of his career. On Thursday, it was Max Scherzer’s turn. The reigning AL Cy Young winner outdueled Chris Sale in Chicago, going nine innings for the first time in 179 starts. It’s pretty wild that he had never done this before, but keep in mind – before last year, Scherzer had never even crossed the 200 inning mark in a season. Well, now he can finally cross that off of his bucket list, I guess.
Game of the Night: Astros 5, Diamondbacks 4 (ten innings). This Houston team is something else. They held an early 4-1 lead in this one, but the Diamondbacks kept chipping away. First, they cut it to 4-2 after Didi Gregorius scored on a Scott Feldman wild pitch in the sixth. Then in the seventh, they made it 4-3 following a Chris Owings solo homer. Finally, they tied the game at four in the ninth after Miguel Montero homered off of Chad Qualls. In the bottom of the ninth, the Astros loaded the bases with one out against Brad Ziegler, but he got a double play from Matt Dominguez to end the inning. But in the bottom of the tenth, there would be no need for baserunners – Chris Carter smashed the fifth pitch he saw from J.J. Putz into the Crawford Boxes, and that was all in Houston.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Scherzer’s full line in Detroit’s 4-0 win over Chicago consisted of him allowing three hits, walking three hitters, and striking out eight in nine shutout innings. Chris Sale was the hard luck loser in that one, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out ten and walking none. Jhoulys Chacin led the Rockies to a 10-3 win over the Braves, tossing seven shutout innings while giving up two hits, walking a pair, and punching out five. Kyle Lohse pitched very well in Milwaukee’s 5-1, 13 inning win over the Mets, allowing one unearned run on four hits in eight innings, striking out three without a walk. In New York’s loss, Jon Niese was also a stud, going 7 2/3 innings while giving up one run on six hits to go along with one walk and eight strikeouts. Alfredo Simon dazzled the Dodgers in Cincinnati’s 4-1 win, allowing one run on seven hits in eight innings, walking none and punching out five.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Charlie Blackmon had a nice rebound game following a down May for the Rockies, going 3/4 with two doubles, a homer, two runs, three RBI, and a walk. John Mayberry Jr. helped the Phillies sweep the Padres with a 7-3 win, going 3/4 with two doubles, a homer, and three RBI. In Milwaukee’s marathon win over the Mets, Aramis Ramirez went 3/5 with a double and a solo homer. Carlos Corporan supplied some offense behind the plate for the Astros, going 3/4 with a two-run homer. In Seattle’s 6-3 loss to the Yankees, Logan Morrison went 2/4 with a double, a homer, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Orioles topped the Blue Jays 4-2. The Red Sox prevailed over the Indians 5-2. The Giants avoided a four-game home sweep, beating the Nationals 7-1. The Pirates shut out the Cubs 4-0.
Today’s Games: Andrew Cashner and Bartolo Colon will duel in New York. Justin Masterson takes on John Lackey in Boston. Nate Eovaldi and the Marlins host the Pirates. C.J. Wilson and Aaron Harang will face off in Atlanta. Jose Quintana and the White Sox host the Royals. Alex Cobb starts for the Rays in Houston. Homer Bailey and Matt Garza will tango in Milwaukee. Jordan Zimmermann starts for the Nationals in St. Louis against Lance Lynn and the Cardinals. Sonny Gray and the A’s host the Yanekes. Felix Hernandez and the Mariners welcome the Rangers to Seattle. Clayton Kershaw starts for the Dodgers against the Diamondbacks.
National TV: Angels-Braves (7:30 PM, MLB Network), Nationals-Cardinals (7:30 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
