On Sunday, Josh Beckett added another accolade to his career ledger. He threw the first no-hitter of the 2014 season, and the first of his career, in the Dodgers’ 6-0 win over the Phillies. It was another highlight for him in a career that has mixed flashes of brilliance with crippling disappointment. Sunday, all of that disappointment disappeared, and Beckett was the star of the day.
Game of the Day: Angels 4, Royals 3. A strong week from the Angels and a rough week from the Athletics has cut the deficit in the AL West to just a game and a half, which seemed unfathomable a week ago. Kansas City put a three-spot on the board in the third inning, and that lead held until the seventh inning. The Angels offense awoke in the seventh, when Chris Iannetta led off with a single against Jason Vargas. After Vargas struck out Kole Calhoun, Kelvin Herrera replaced him and allowed a single to Raul Ibanez to put two on with one out. Herrera got Howie Kendrick to fly out, but allowed an RBI double to Mike Trout, making it a 3-1 game. Herrera plunked Albert Pujols to load the bases for David Freese, and Freese singled in Ibanez and Trout to tie the game at three. C.J. Cron followed up with a single, but Pujols was thrown out at home to end the inning. But it didn’t matter – Iannetta homered in the eighth to put Anaheim out in front. Ernesto Frieri allowed a one-out double to Sal Perez in the ninth to make Angels fans nervous, but stranded him following a fly out and pop up.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Obviously, Josh Beckett is the star: nine innings, no hits, no runs, three walks, six strikeouts. Adam Wainwright dominated the Reds in a 4-0 Cardinals win, allowing just five hits over eight shutout innings while walking one and striking out 12. Dallas Keuchel continued his unbelievable start to the season in Houston’s 4-1 win over Seattle, throwing a complete game while allowing one unearned run on four hits, striking out six without a walk. Madison Bumgarner pitched the Giants to an 8-1 win over the Twins, giving up one run on three hits in seven innings, punching out ten without a walk. J.A. Happ pitched the Blue Jays past the A’s 3-1, allowing four hits over seven shutout innings, walking three and striking out seven. In the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks in game one of their doubleheader, Rafael Montero gave up one run on two hits in six innings, striking out ten and walking three. New York won game two 4-2.
Hitting Lines of the Day: Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy helped the Brewers to a 7-1 win in Miami, with Braun going 4/5 with a double, a triple, two runs, and an RBI, and Lucroy going 3/5 with two doubles, a triple, a run, and two RBI. Derek Jeter powered the Yankees to a 7-1 win over the White Sox, going 4/5 with a triple, a run, and two RBI. Evan Longoria spurred the Rays to an 8-5 win over the Red Sox, going 3/5 with a homer and two runs scored. In that Giants win over the Twins, Michael Morse went 3/3 with three doubles, a run, and four RBI. Evan Gattis helped the Braves beat the Rockies 7-0, going 2/4 with a pair of homers and three RBI.
Other Games: The Rangers smashed the Tigers 12-4. The Orioles doubled up the Indians 4-2. The Nationals prevented a sweep by the Pirates, winning 5-2. The Padres topped the Cubs 4-3.
Today’s Games: Day games, day games almost everywhere! Yes! Ervin Santana and the Braves host the Red Sox. Nate Eovaldi will start for the Marlins in Washington against Tanner Roark. Josh Tomlin and Jose Quintana will face off in Chicago. Chris Tillman gets the nod for the Orioles in Milwaukee against Kyle Lohse. Michael Wacha and the Cardinals host the Yankees. Tyler Skaggs starts for the Angels in Seattle. Jeff Samardzija starts for the Cubs in San Francisco, and probably won’t win again. Drew Hutchison and the Blue Jays host the Rays. Scott Feldman takes the hill for the Astros in Kansas City against Yordano Ventura and the Royals. Johnny Cueto and Hyun-Jin Ryu will square off in Los Angeles. Tyson Ross starts for the Padres in Arizona.
National TV: Red Sox-Braves (1 PM, ESPN), Yankees-Cardinals (4 PM, ESPN), Reds-Dodgers (8 PM, MLB Network), Astros-Royals (8 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, and Happy Memorial Day, everyone.
