With so many top-tier starting pitchers changing teams at the trade deadline, it’s no wonder that fans expected the same teams to dominate the playoff standings. But after a little over a month, things haven’t gone too well for the starters that changed teams. John Lackey and Justin Masterson have been a horror show in 14 appearances for St. Louis. Jason Hammel has been a disaster with the A’s, while Jeff Samardzija has disappointed and Jon Lester has been quite good (albeit with a lower strikeout rate than he posted in the first half). David Price’s ERA with the Tigers is ugly, though the underlying statistics don’t support that number. Jake Peavy’s been fine with the Giants despite a rough start to his tenure there. Hell, you could argue that the two best starting pitcher acquisitions came by teams further down the contender spectrum – Brandon McCarthy by the Yankees, Jarred Cosart by the Marlins, and Drew Smyly by the Rays. In three weeks, maybe we’ll look back on the non-moves to bolster their rotations by the Pirates, Orioles, and Brewers and realize they knew what they were doing all along.
Game of the Night: Angels 8, Twins 5. The Angels are really cranking on all cylinders, even if it didn’t look like that through four. They trailed the Twins 5-3 at that point, which wasn’t a surprise given that Saturday was the “piggy back” spot in the rotation where they throw out a couple of relievers to start the game and hope and pray they don’t get hammered. Once Michael Roth left the hill in the fourth inning, the Angels bullpen allowed bupkis on four hits and two walks in the remaining 5 1/3 innings of the game. Meanwhile, their offense began to wake up once Phil Hughes left the game to begin the eighth. Albert Pujols began the eighth with a single, and Howie Kendrick tripled him in to make it 5-4. Erick Aybar then followed up with a sac fly to knot the game at five. Joe Mauer led off the bottom of the inning with a ground-rule double, but died there after the Twins couldn’t get a ball out of the infield. In the ninth, C.J. Cron singled with one out, and pinch runner Tony Campana moved up to second on a Brian Dozier error after the second out. Mike Trout was walked, and Pujols doubled in Campana and Trout to make it 7-5. Kendrick then followed up with a single to make it 8-5, and Huston Street was able to overcome a pair of ninth inning singles to shut the door to keep the Angels six games up in the AL West.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Corey Kluber was back to his Corey Kluber ways in Cleveland’s 3-1 win over the White Sox, allowing one unearned run on five hits over a complete game victory, striking out eight without a walk. Francisco Liriano allowed three hits over six shutout frames, walking two and punching out nine in Pittsburgh’s 5-0 win over the Cubs. In Cincinnati’s 2-1 win over the Mets, Johnny Cueto gave up one run on six hits in seven innings, walking a pair and striking out eight. Drew Smyly allowed one run on four hits in six innings for the Rays in their 3-2 win over Baltimore, striking out eight while walking two. Scott Feldman nearly shut down the A’s in Houston’s 4-3 loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hist in 8 1/3 innings, striking out six without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the Angels’ win in Minnesota, Albert Pujols went 3/5 with a double, a homer, three runs, and three RBI, while Howie Kendrick went 4/5 with a double, a triple, a run, and three RBI. Miguel Cabrera went 2/4 with two homers and three RBI for the Tigers in their 5-4 loss to the Giants. In the win for San Francisco, Buster Posey went 3/3 with a solo homer, a walk, and two runs scored. Justin Morneau went 4/6 with a homer and two RBI in Colorado’s 7-6, 12 inning win over the Padres. Kyle Seager went 3/5 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI in Seattle’s 4-3 win over Texas.
Other Games: The Pirates beat the Cubs 5-3 in 11 innings to complete Friday’s rain-suspended game. The Yankees topped the Royals 6-2 after Danny Duffy left the game in the first inning. The Braves beat the Marlins 4-3 in ten innings. The Phillies defeated the Nationals 3-1. The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 4-3. The Cardinals topped the Brewers 5-3. The Dodgers used an eighth inning three-spot to beat the Diamondbacks 5-2.
Today’s Games: Carlos Carrasco starts for the Indians against the White Sox. Julio Teheran and the Braves take on the Marlins. Zack Wheeler and Mat Latos will duel in Cincinnati. Cole Hamels faces off with Gio Gonzalez in Washington. R.A. Dickey starts for the Blue Jays in Boston. Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals take on the Brewers. C.J. Wilson takes the hill for the Angels in Minnesota. Gerrit Cole and the Pirates battle the Cubs. James Paxton starts for the Mariners in Texas against Derek Holland and the Rangers. Zack Greinke and the Dodgers host the Diamondbacks. Dallas Keuchel gets the nod for the Astros in Oakland. Tyson Ross will toe the rubber for the Padres in Denver. Tim Hudson gets the start for the Giants in Detroit.
National TV: Royals-Yankees (1:30 PM, TBS), Giants-Tigers (8 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
