Hey, look who it is, crawling up the American League standings…it’s the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays won their seventh in a row on Wednesday night, shutting out the Cardinals 2-0. Tampa Bay is an MLB-best 13-4 in July, and has allowed only 11 runs during this winning streak. They’re now just 4.5 games behind the Mariners for the second Wild Card and seven games back of the Orioles in the AL East. About that David Price guy…yeah, you can’t have him.
Game of the Night: Giants 3, Phillies 1. This is getting the nod for the sheer ridiculousness of it all. After A.J. Burnett and Madison Bumgarner pitched their hearts out for eight innings, the bullpens nearly ruined it. Jonathan Papelbon replaced Burnett in the ninth, and immediately hit Michael Morse to lead off the inning. After striking out both Adam Duvall and Tyler Colvin, Papelbon intentionally walked Brandon Crawford to get to pinch hitter Hector Sanchez. He promptly walked Sanchez. Hunter Pence came up with the bases loaded, and dropped a blooper down the right field line that cleared the bases. In the bottom of the ninth, Jimmy Rollins doubled with one out, and Marlon Byrd singled him in with two outs to make it 3-1. Tying run Carlos Ruiz then flew out to end the game, sending Philadelphia to another disappointment.
Pitching Lines of the Night: A.J. Burnett and Madison Bumgarner traded goose eggs in Philly, with Burnett allowing four hits over eight shutout innings, walking four and striking out six and Bumgarner giving up five hits in eight scoreless frames of his own, walking none and striking out six.. Alex Cobb pitched those Rays to a 3-0 win in St. Louis, giving up five hits over 6 2/3 shutout innings, stirking out nine without a walk. In Atlanta’s 6-1 win over the Marlins, Ervin Santana gave up one run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings, walking three and punching out ten. Jered Weaver pitched well for the Angels in their 3-2 win over the Orioles, allowing two runs on six hits in eight innings, walking none and striking out six. Bartolo Colon sliced through the Mariners in the Mets’ 3-2 win, allowing two runs on three hits in 7 1/3 frames, striking out five while walking one.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Milwaukee’s 5-1 win over Cincinnati, Mark Reynolds went 3/4 with two homers and three RBI. Yoenis Cespedes went 2/4 with two homers and five RBI in Oakland’s 9-7 win over Houston. Miguel Cabrera spurred the Tigers to an 11-5 win in Arizona, going 2/4 with a homer, two runs, three RBI, and a walk. Jose Bautista surged in Toronto’s 6-4 win over Boston, going 2/4 with a double, a homer, two runs, and two RBI. Travis Snider shined for the Pirates in their 6-1 victory over the Dodgers, going 2/3 with a solo homer, a walk, and three runs scored. In the Nationals’ 6-4 loss to the Rockies, Denard Span went 4/5 with two runs, an RBI, and a stolen base.
Other Games: The Twins topped the Indians 3-1. The Royals edged the White Sox 2-1. The Yankees beat the Rangers 2-1 in a five inning, rain-shortened disaster of a game. The Padres beat the Cubs 8-3.
Today’s Games: Marcus Stroman and the Blue Jays host the Red Sox. Brandon McCarthy gets the nod for the Yankees against the Rangers. Tim Hudson and Cole Hamels will square off in Philadelphia. Jeff Samardzija starts for the A’s against the Astros. Henderson Alvarez takes the hill for the Marlins in Atlanta. Tyson Ross and the Padres take on the Cubs at Wrigley. Corey Kluber and Danny Duffy will duel in Kansas City. Dillon Gee and the Mets take on Matt Garza and the Brewers. Max Scherzer and Garrett Richards will match up against each other in Anaheim. Hisashi Iwakuma starts for the Mariners against Wei-Yin Chen and the Orioles.
National TV: Rangers-Yankees (1 PM, MLB Network), Giants-Phillies (1 PM, MLB Network), Marlins-Braves (7 PM, MLB Network), Tigers-Angels (10 PM, MLB Network), Orioles-Mariners (10 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
