I don’t have much to say about the Toronto Blue Jays other than “wow”. The Jays won their eighth straight game on Tuesday after beating the Rays 9-6. Mark Buehrle is 9-1 on the season. Edwin Encarnacion has 12 homers in May, and 16 on the season. Scrap heap pickup Juan Francisco has nine homers already this year in part-time duty. Melky Cabrera is playing like he did in 2012 for the Giants, prior to his failed PED test that ended his year one plate appearance shy of the NL batting title. Jose Bautista is…Jose Bautista. This team is clicking on all cylinders, and with the rest of the AL East struggling, they can gain some distance in the division.
Game of the Night: Brewers 7, Orioles 6 (ten innings). Milwaukee smashed Wei-Yin Chen early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead through four. The Orioles fought back in the middle innings, and led 6-5 after seven. In the ninth, Zach Britton blew the save for Baltimore. Lyle Overbay led off with a single, and pinch runner Elian Herrera was bunted to second and moved to third on a ground. Jonathan Lucroy then came up, and an infield single allowed Herrera to score to tie the game. We went into extras, and Ron Roenicke and Buck Showalter tried to outmanage each other. Francisco Rodriguez didn’t allow a hit in the tenth, but did intentionally walk Chris Davis with two outs and the bases empty. Then in the bottom of the tenth, Buck Showalter intentionally walked Mark Reynolds with two outs and the bases empty and the pitcher’s spot coming up. You can imagine what happened here – Yovani Gallardo pinch hit for Rodriguez and smashed a walk off double to left center. What a bizarre game.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Lance Lynn threw a complete game shutout in St. Louis’ 6-0 victory over the Yankees, allowing five hits, walking three, and striking out two. Collin McHugh continued his great start to the year in Houston’s 3-0 win in Kansas City, giving up five hits over seven shutout innings, walking none and punching out nine. Tim Hudson pitched very well for the Giants in their 4-0 win over the Cubs, allowing six hits over seven scoreless frames, striking out five without a walk. And really, that’s about all for great pitching, unless we want to laud Chris Sale’s three no-hit innings.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Andre Ethier powered the Dodgers to a 6-3 win over the Reds, going 2/4 with a triple, a homer, two runs, and four RBI. Adam Lind spurred the Blue Jays offense to their win over the Rays, going 3/5 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI. Matt Holliday had a nice night for the Cardinals in their win over the Yankees, going a perfect 3/3 with a solo homer, two runs, and a walk. Tommy Medica played well in San Diego’s 4-3 win over Arizona, going 3/4 with a homer and two RBI. Angels rookie C.J. Cron had a nice night in Anaheim’s 6-4 win over Seattle, going 2/4 with a double, a homer, two runs, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Red Sox topped the Braves 6-3 after a four-run seventh. The White Sox beat the Indians 2-1 in a rain-soaked game. The Rockies beat the Phillies 6-2. The Twins earned a 4-3 walk off win over the Rangers. The Mets edged the Pirates 4-2. The Tigers rallied late to beat the A’s 6-5. The Marlins and Nationals were postponed because of the rain.
Today’s Games: Charlie Morton and Bartolo Colon will duel in New York. Jarred Cosart starts for the Astros in Kansas City against Danny Duffy and the Royals. Henderson Alvarez starts for the Marlins in Washington against Jordan Zimmermann. Gavin Floyd and the Braves take on the Red Sox. Jordan Lyles starts for the Rockies in Philly. A night after his walk off winner, Yovani Gallardo starts for the Brewers, hosting the Orioles. Hiroki Kuroda starts for the Yankees in St. Louis against Shelby Miller and the Cardinals. Anibal Sanchez and Scott Kazmir will duel in Oakland. C.J. Wilson and Felix Hernandez will face off in Seattle. Homer Bailey starts for the Reds in Los Angeles against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.
National TV: Pirates-Mets (1 PM, MLB Network), Astros-Royals (2 PM, MLB Network), Braves-Red Sox (7 PM, MLB Network), Yankees-Cardinals (8 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
