Right now, it’s not a very good time to be Trevor Cahill. The Diamondbacks moved Cahill from the rotation to the bullpen after his disastrous start on April 13th. At the time, his ERA sat at a ghastly 9.17. In the bullpen at first, Cahill rebounded, allowing just one hit over six scoreless innings while also striking out eight without a walk. But that streak came crashing down on Saturday night. Cahill came into the Diamondbacks’ game with the Phillies in the eighth inning, leading 5-2. Cahill promptly allowed the first three batters he faced to reach, and cutting the lead to 5-3. After striking out Freddy Galvis, pinch hitter Cody Asche doubled in two runs to tie the game, and Ben Revere followed with a single to make it 6-5. Just like that, Cahill’s ERA was back up to 7.66, and questions about his future once again surfaced on the minds of Diamondbacks fans.
Game of the Night: Astros 7, Athletics 6. This game was deadlocked at three heading into the eighth inning, and Houston took off in the bottom of the inning. The Astros tattooed newly-extended Oakland reliever Sean Doolittle, as the first four batters of the inning all singled against the left-hander to give Houston a 5-3 lead. Luke Gregerson replaced Doolittle and traded outs for runs twice, giving the Astros a 7-3 lead. In the top of the ninth, a gassed Jerome Williams allowed a single to Josh Reddick to lead off the inning, walked Craig Gentry, and gave up a three-run homer to Brandon Moss to cut the lead to just a run. After a Nick Punto single and a Coco Crisp fielder’s choice, Raul Valdes replaced Williams and got the final two outs to let Houston hang on for the win.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Tanner Roark threw a complete game shutout for the Nationals in their 4-0 win over the Padres, allowing three hits, one walk, and punching out eight hitters. David Hale led the Braves to a 4-1 win over the Reds, giving up one run on two hits in eight innings, walking a pair and striking out four. Phil Hughes pitched well for the Twins in their 5-3 win over the Tigers, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits in seven innings, striking out six without a walk. Marco Estrada had a nice night for the Brewers in their 5-3 win over the Cubs, allowing three runs on four hits in 7 2/3 innings, punching out nine without a walk. On the other hand, Jean Segura’s night for the Brewers wasn’t so good, as he didn’t even get to bat before leaving the game.
Hitting Lines of the Day: In Toronto’s 7-6 loss to Boston, Jose Bautista went 3/5 with a double, a homer, two runs, and two RBI. Justin Upton went 3/3 in Atlanta’s win over Cincinnati, adding a solo homer, a walk, and a stolen base to his ledger. Yankees catcher J.R. Murphy went 2/3 in New York’s 4-3 win over the Angels, homering and driving in three runs. Brandon Moss had a nice night for the A’s in their loss to the Astros, going 2/4 with a three-run homer. In Houston’s win, Dexter Fowler went 2/4 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI. A.J. Pollock played well for Arizona in their loss to Philadelphia, going 3/5 with a double, a triple, a run, and an RBI.
Other Games: The Pirates topped the Cardinals 6-1, even after Francisco Liriano left early with flu-like symptoms. The Giants beat the Indians 5-3. The Orioles picked up a 3-2 walk off win over the Royals in ten innings. The Rays shut down and shut out the White Sox 4-0. The Marlins prevailed over the Mets 7-6 in ten. The Rangers rallied late to beat the Mariners 6-3. The Dodgers topped the Rockies 6-3.
Today’s Games: Jon Lester and R.A. Dickey square off in Toronto. James Shields starts for the Royals in Baltimore. Johnny Cueto and Julio Teheran will duel in Atlanta. David Price starts for the Rays in Chicago. Wily Peralta and the Brewers host the Cubs. Justin Verlander starts for the Tigers in Minnesota. Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals host the Pirates. Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Dodgers host Jorge de la Rosa and the Rockies. A.J. Burnett starts for the Phillies in Phoenix. Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees host the Angels.
National TV: Reds-Braves (1:30, MLB Network), Royals-Orioles (1:30 PM, MLB Network), Angels-Yankees (8 PM, ESPN)
MLB.tv Free Game: Pirates-Cardinals (2:15 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
