I crack jokes every so often about “good pitching days”, when multiple starting pitchers light the world on fire. Yesterday was probably the most prime example of this – 15 of the 16 pitchers that got starts went at least six innings, and 14 of the 16 threw quality starts. We also had four complete games on the day, three of which came by pitchers that earned losses.
Sometimes, you just can’t win, no matter how well you pitch.
Game of the Night: Dodgers 2, Padres 1. Tyson Ross and Clayton Kershaw spit fire at one another on Thursday night, combining to throw just 200 pitches over eight innings each, walking four and striking out 18. The two traded zeroes until the seventh, when San Diego broke through. Kershaw allowed a single to Abraham Almonte to lead off the inning, then walked Jedd Gyorko. Almonte moved up to third on a fly out, and Gyorko moved up to second on a Kershaw wild pitch. Rene Rivera then singled in Almonte to make it 1-0. Kershaw finished the inning with no further damage, and Ross coasted until the bottom of the eighth. Carl Crawford reached on an infield single, and Justin Turner followed up with a two-run homer into the first row of the left field bleachers to give the Dodgers a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish after Kenley Jansen shut the door in the ninth.
Pitching Lines of the Day: The Rays beat the Tigers 1-0, even though David Price allowed just one unearned run on one hit in eight innings, striking out nine and walking one. Alex Cobb tossed seven shutout innings, giving up two hits, walking two and punching out six in the win. Brandon McCarthy threw a complete game shutout for the Yankees in their 3-0 win over the Astros, giving up four hits and striking out eight without a walk. Matt Shoemaker led the Angels to a 2-0 win in Boston, allowing one hit over 7 2/3 shutout innings, walking one and punching out nine. Clayton Kershaw outdueled Tyson Ross in the Dodgers win, giving up one run on three hits in eight innings, striking out ten and walking two. Ross allowed two runs on four hits in eight innings, walking two and striking out eight. Gio Gonzalez led the Nationals to a 1-0 walk off win over the Diamondbacks, tossing seven four-hit innings, walking three and striking out six. In Minnesota’s 4-1 win over Cleveland, Phil Hughes gave up one run on five hits in seven innings, punching out eight without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the Giants’ 5-3 win over the Cubs, Buster Posey went 4/4 with two homers, a solo homer, two runs scored, and a walk. Teammate Pablo Sandoval chipped in by going 3/4 with two doubles and two RBI. Justin Ruggiano went 2/3 with a two-run homer for Chicago in their defeat. Twins rookie Kennys Vargas went 3/4 with a double, a solo homer, and two runs scored in their win over the Indians. Justin Turner went 2/3 with that big game-winning two-run homer in the Dodgers’ win over the Padres.
Other Games: The Cubs beat the Giants 2-1 in the conclusion of their suspended game from Tuesday. The Braves smashed the Reds 8-0.
Today’s Games: Kevin Gausman and Jake Arrieta will duel at Wrigley. Mat Latos and the Reds host the Braves. Marcus Stroman and the Blue Jays take on Drew Smyly and the Rays. Doug Fister and the Nationals host the Giants. Felix Hernandez gets the nod for the Mariners in Boston. Yordano Ventura starts for the Royals in Arlington. Yovani Gallardo and the Brewers host the Pirates. Henderson Alvarez and the Marlins take on the Rockies. Sonny Gray and the A’s host the Angels in a crucial AL West matchup. Jon Niese starts for the Mets in Los Angeles.
National TV: Giants-Nationals (7 PM, MLB Network), Braves-Reds (7 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
