The Miami Marlins are one of the most confusing teams in baseball. At Marlins Park, they cannot be stopped – the team is 17-5 at home this year, and they’ve outscored their opponents by 55 runs in those 22 games. On the road, the club is a mess – they’re 3-13 and have been outscored by a mind-numbing 40 runs. This weekend, they lost three out of four to the Padres and were outscored 25-11. Those Padres came into this series with a 15-20 record and a -37 run differential that was better than just the Diamondbacks and Astros. And that team went ahead and spanked the Marlins. Yeah, that makes so much sense.
Game of the Day: Mets 5, Phillies 4 (11 innings). The Phillies led this one 4-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, and the insurance run they got in the top of the inning helped prolong their inevitable loss. With Jonathan Papelbon getting the day off, Antonio Bastardo tried to pick up the save and failed miserably. Bastardo allowed a leadoff double to Eric Young Jr., and followed that up by allowing a two-run homer to Daniel Murphy, making it a 4-3 game. After striking out David Wright, Bastardo allowed a double to Chris Young, and was replaced on the hill by starter Roberto Hernandez. Pinch hitter Bobby Abreu singled to move Young up to third, and he scored on a slow roller ground out by Juan Lagares. Hernandez struck out Anthony Recker to send the game to extras, and New York moved quickly in the 11th inning. Young reached on an infield single, was bunted to second by Zack Wheeler, stayed put following an intentional walk to Lagares, and moved to third on an infield single by Recker. With none out and the bases loaded, the end seemed near, and Ruben Tejada ended it with a single through the drawn-in infield.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Scott Kazmir pitched the A’s to a 9-1 win over the Nationals, allowing four hits over seven shutout innings, striking out four without a walk. In the Reds’ 4-1 win over the Rockies, Homer Bailey gave up one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings, walking a pair and punching out six. Robbie Erlin had a nice start for the Padres in their 5-4 win over Miami, giving up five hist in 6 1/3 shutout innings, striking out seven and walking none. Cole Hamels starred for the Phillies in their rough loss at Citi Field, allowing one run on seven hits in seven innings, walking three and striking out six. Chase Anderson pitched well in his major league debut during Arizona’s 5-1 win over the White Sox, allowing one run on two hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out six. Tigers rookie Robbie Ray had another good start in Detroit’s 4-3 loss to Minnesota, giving up four hits in six scoreless frames, walking one and striking out a pair.
Hitting Lines of the Day: In Oakland’s win over Washington, former Nationals catching prospect Derek Norris went 2/4 with a walk and a pair of three-run homers. Hank Conger and the Angels thumped the Blue Jays 9-3, thanks in large part to Conger going 3/4 with a double, a homer, a walk, and five RBI. In Seattle’s 9-7 loss to the Royals, Dustin Ackley went 3/4 with two solo homers. Daniel Murphy had a nice day for the Mets, going 3/4 with two doubles, a homer, two RBI, and two walks. Nyjer Morgan’s beast mode tendencies returned in Cleveland’s 6-5 win over the Rays, going 3/4 with a homer, three runs, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Braves beat the Cubs 5-2 to finish off a three-game sweep. The Astros prevailed over the Orioles 5-2. The Brewers walked off on the Yankees 6-5. The Red Sox topped the Rangers 5-2. The Giants beat the Dodgers 7-4 in ten innings. The Cardinals held off the Pirates 6-5 to avoid a sweep in Pittsburgh.
Today’s Games: East Coast fans won’t be pleased with today’s schedule – there are just as many late games as early games, and only one features a team outside of the Eastern Time Zone. Rick Porcello starts for the Tigers in Baltimore. Bartolo Colon and Hiroki Kuroda will face off in the Subway Series in the Bronx. C.J. Wilson and the Angels take on Mark Buehrle and the Blue Jays. Jordan Zimmermann starts for the Nationals in Arizona. Felix Hernandez and the Mariners host the Rays. Tom Koehler starts for the Marlins in Los Angeles against Dan Haren. Gavin Floyd and Tim Lincecum will square off in San Francisco.
National TV: Cubs-Cardinals (8 PM, ESPN)
MLB.tv Free Game: TBA
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
