This would have been it for the Cleveland Indians – they could have taken a huge step forward in the AL Central race and made both the Tigers and Royals sweat. But that didn’t happen – they got the three outs they needed in the completion of the suspended game from August to pick up a game, and immediately dropped it after getting shut down by Danny Duffy. The Indians are now 3.5 games back of the Royals with just five games remaining on their slate. It’s going to take one hell of an effort for them to pass the Royals and make the playoffs for the second straight year, but remember – the Indians won ten games in a row to finish 2013, forcing their way into the top Wild Card spot.
Game of the Night: Giants 5, Dodgers 2 (13 innings). Nothing much going on last night, so we’ll focus on this one. A pair of runs in the fifth inning by the Dodgers tied the game up at two, and after that, the two starters and bullpens began to enter a pitchers duel. The Giants put runners on base in each inning from the seventh through 12th innings but couldn’t score before finally breaking through in the 13th. Brandon Belt singled with one out, and moved to second on ground out by Juan Perez. Brandon Crawford was intentionally walked, and Andrew Susac singled in Belt to make it 3-2. Gregor Blanco followed up with a two-run double to make it 5-2, and was thrown out at third to end the inning. Hunter Strickland (nailed it) shut down the Dodgers in the bottom of the 13th to end it,
Pitching Lines of the Night: Michael Pineda shut down the Orioles in the Yankees’ 5-0 win, allowing one hit over 7 1/3 shutout innings, walking one and striking out eight. In the Cardinals’ 8-0 win over the Cubs, Adam Wainwright gave up three hits in seven scoreless frames, walking one and punching out eight. Dan Haren allowed two runs (one earned) on just one hit in seven innings out in Los Angeles, striking out seven without a walk. In Atlanta’s 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh, Aaron Harang gave up one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out seven and walking two. Francisco Liriano gave up three hits in six shutout innings in the win for the Pirates, walking four and punching out seven. Chris Bassitt threw 7 2/3 shutout innings in Chicago’s 2-0 win over Detroit, allowing six hits, walking one, and striking out three. Jeff Samardzija pitched the A’s to an 8-4 win over the Angels, giving up one unearned run on five hits in seven innings, striking out three without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Toronto’s 14-4 thrashing of Seattle, Jose Bautista went 3/3 with a homer, three runs, two RBI, and a walk, while Danny Valencia went 2/5 with a double, a triple, two runs, and three RBI. Didi Gregorius went 3/4 with three doubles, a run, and an RBI in Arizona’s 6-2 win over Minnesota. In the Giants’ win over the Dodgers, Gregor Blanco went 2/7 with a double, a homer, two runs, and two RBI. In the Yankees’ win over the Orioles, Jose Pirela went 2/3 with a triple, two runs, and an RBI.
Other Games: The Royals beat the Indians 2-0 in Monday’s full game. The Padres shut out the Rockies 1-0.
Today’s Games: Brandon McCarthy and the Yankees host the Orioles. Bartolo Colon starts for the Mets in Washington. Gerrit Cole and the Pirates could clinch a playoff spot against Alex Wood and the Braves. Yordano Ventura starts for the Royals in Cleveland against Danny Salazar and the Indians. Johnny Cueto and the Reds host Mike Fiers and the Brewers. Felix Hernadnez gets the nod for the Mariners in Toronto against R.A. Dickey and the Blue Jays. David Price and the Tigers host the White Sox. Cole Hamels gets the nod for the Phillies in Miami against Henderson Alvarez and the Marlins. Alex Cobb starts for the Rays in Boston. Madison Bumgarner and Zack Greinke will duel in Los Angeles. Sonny Gray and the A’s host the Angels.
National TV: Orioles-Yankees (7 PM, ESPN), Giants-Dodgers (10 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
