The San Diego Padres aren’t going to make the playoffs. However, they can make the playoff runs of various teams much more difficult down the stretch. The Padres took two out of three from the Brewers earlier this week, and topped the Dodgers in extra innings on Friday night. Since the All-Star Break, they’ve also gone 4-3 against the Braves, 3-4 against the Cardinals, and 2-1 against the Pirates. They still have five left with the Dodgers and seven left with the Giants to close out the season, so they could end up deciding the NL West race – and perhaps one of the NL Wild Card spots.
Game of the Night: Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 2. This game was wild. The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the sixth after David Peralta scored on a Christian Friedrich wild pitch, but a two-out double by Nolan Arenado off of Evan Marshall scored Drew Stubbs and tied the game at one in the seventh. In the eighth, Colorado loaded the bases with one out, and Charlie Blackmon put them ahead after a sac fly. Rex Brothers walked the bases loaded to start the bottom of the eighth, and he was replaced by Adam Ottavino. Ottavino nearly got out of the jam, forcing Mark Trumbo to ground into a fielder’s choice and striking out Miguel Montero…but Jake Lamb put an Ottavino pitch into orbit, hitting a grand slam to dead center field to put Arizona in front. Addison Reed set the Rockies down in order to seal the deal in the ninth.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Edinson Volquez pitched the Pirates to a 2-1 win over the Reds, allowing one run on three hits in 7 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out six. In the Angels’ 4-0 win over the A’s, Jered Weaver tossed seven shutout innings, giving up three hits, walking three, and striking out three. Miguel Gonzalez pitched the Orioles to a 9-1 laugher over the Twins, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, punching out six and walking one. Jacob deGrom shined for the Mets in their 4-1 win over the Phillies, giving up one unearned run on four hits in seven innings, walking a pair and striking out five. Josh Collmenter allowed one run on two hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Diamondbacks in their win over the Rockies, striking out five without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the Giants’ 13-2 smashing of the Brewers, Buster Posey went 5/5 with a triple, three runs, and three RBI, while Angel Pagan went 3/5 with a double, a triple, two runs, and an RBI. Jorge Soler led the Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Cardinals, going 3/3 with two homers, a walk, and three RBI. In Washington’s 8-3 win in Seattle, Anthony Rendon went 4/4 with a a double, a homer, two runs, and a walk, while Wilson Ramos went 2/4 with a pair of solo homers. Michael Choice powered the Rangers to a 13-6 win over the Astros, going 3/4 with a double, a homer, two runs, and three RBI. In the Dodgers 3-2, 12 inning loss to the Padres, Hanley Ramirez went 3/4 with a double, a homer, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Braves beat the Marlins 5-2. The Yankees doubled up the Blue Jays 6-3. The Red Sox scored eight early runs, and they held up in their 8-4 win over the Rays. The Tigers topped the White Sox 7-1. The Indians beat the Royals 6-1.
Today’s Games: Michael Pineda starts for the Yankees in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Max Scherzer and Chris Sale will face off in Chicago to begin the Tigers-White Sox doubleheader. Justin Masterson starts game one of the Cubs-Cardinals doubleheader in St. Louis. Alfredo Simon gets the nod for the Reds in Pittsburgh against the Pirates. Chris Tillman and the Orioles host the Twins and Kyle Gibson. Trevor Bauer and James Shields will duel in Kansas City. Scott Feldman and the Astros take on the Rangers. Bartolo Colon and the Mets host the Phillies. Jarred Cosart and Aaron Harang will face off in Atlanta. Jake Odorizzi and the Rays take on the Red Sox. Ian Kennedy and the Padres take on Zack Greinke and the Dodgers. Jeff Samardzija and the A’s take on the Angels. Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals battle the Mariners.
National TV: Yankees-Blue Jays (1 PM, MLB Network), Tigers-White Sox (1 PM, MLB Network), Reds-Pirates (4 PM, Fox sports 1), Brewers-Giants (9 PM, MLB Network), Nationals-Mariners (9 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
