The Pittsburgh Pirates have been energized since the promotion of Gregory Polanco. The team lost Polanco’s debut on Tuesday, but have won four in a row since. Polanco himself is smashing the baseball, and has notched a hit in all five games of his career. Pittsburgh can make a move in the NL Central over the rest of this month – the only game they have with a team currently above .500 is today’s series finale with the Mets. In fact, following that game with Miami, their only series with a team not currently in fourth or fifth place in their division is a four-game matchup with the Cardinals in St. Louis before the All-Star Break.
Game of the Night: Angels 11, Braves 6 (13 innings). This was a tough loss for the Braves, and at the same time, a disappointing win for the Angels. Anaheim led 5-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning and blew it. Evan Gattis homered in the eighth to make it 5-1. In the ninth, Atlanta beat the tar out of Ernesto Frieri, scoring four runs on five hits before Frieri could even record an out. Mike Morin miraculously got out of the jam without losing the game, and the Angels took the lead in the tenth after Josh Hamilton singled in Albert Pujols, with Craig Kimbrel on the hill. But the Braves rallied to tie once again, thanks to a one-out RBI single from Jason Heyward. Cam Bedrosian once again escaped without blowing the game, and the teams traded zeroes in the 11th and 12th. But in the 13th, David Hale imploded for the Braves. After allowing a bunt single to Erick Aybar, he walked pinch hitter C.J. Wilson, and plunked Chris Iannetta. After forcing John McDonald to pop up, Kole Calhoun singled in Aybar to make it 7-6. Mike Trout followed with a two-run double to make it 9-6, and Albert Pujols put the cherry on top with a two-run single. Former Brave Cory Rasmus set the heart of Atlanta’s order down in the bottom of the inning, and that was that.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Danny Duffy pitched the Royals to a 9-1 win over the White Sox, allowing five hits over seven shutout innings, walking one and punching out nine. Jesse Hahn and the Padres beat the Mets 5-0, with Hahn giving up just one hit in six scoreless frames, striking out seven while walking three. Mat Latos returned with flair in Cincinnati’s 4-2 loss to Milwaukee, allowing two hits in six shutout frames, walking none and punching out four. He actually outpitched Yovani Gallardo, who allowed one run on six hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out eight. Garrett Richards dazzled the Braves in Anaheim’s win over Atlanta, giving up four hits in six scoreless innings, punching out ten and walking three.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Detroit’s 12-9 win over Minnesota, Eugenio Suarez went 3/4 with a double, a triple, a homer, three runs, two RBI, and a walk. In Anaheim’s win over Atlanta, both Albert Pujols and Mike Trout went 3/6 with a double, a homer, two runs, and four RBI, with Trout also adding a walk and a stolen base. Marcell Ozuna played well in Miami’s 8-6 loss to Pittsburgh, going 2/3 with a triple, a homer, two runs, three RBI, and a walk. Mike Moustakas showed a pulse in Kansas City’s victory over Chicago, going 3/4 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI. Martin Prado played well in Arizona’s 6-4 loss to the Dodgers, going 3/4 with a double, a homer, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Orioles edged the Blue Jays 3-2. The Phillies beat the Cubs 7-4. The Indians rallied to beat the Red Sox 3-2. The Rockies earned a shocking 5-4 win over the Giants thanks to a ninth inning inside the park homer. The Astros beat the Rays 7-3. The A’s prevailed over the Yankees 5-1, even with a power outage at O.co Coliseum. The Rangers edged the Mariners 4-3. The Cardinals used a late Matt Adams homer to beat the Nationals 4-1.
Today’s Games: Rick Porcello and the Tigers host the Twins. Henderson Alvarez gets the nod for the Marlins against the Pirates. Corey Kluber starts for the Indians in Boston. Travis Wood and A.J. Burnett will face off in Philly. James Shields takes the hill for the Royals against the White Sox. David Price and the Rays take on the Astros. Mike Leake and the Reds battle the Brewers. Doug Fister and Jaime Garcia will face off. Madison Bumgarner and the Giants host the Rockies. Jesse Chavez and the A’s host the Yankees. Hisashi Iwakuma and the Mariners take on the Rangers. Josh Beckett and the Dodgers take on the Diamondbacks. Mike Minor and the Braves host the Angels.
National TV: Indians-Red Sox (1:30 PM, MLB Network), Nationals-Cardinals (2 PM, MLB Network), Angels-Braves (8 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone. And Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there – especially mine.
