During his career, Rick Porcello has almost been thought as a disappointment. This is a guy who was a first round pick out of high school in 2007, and made his major league debut in 2009 at age 20. His rookie year ERA was 3.96, and that has been his career best up until this point. He’s never thrown 185 innings in a season. But this year at age 25, Porcello has developed into an absolute monster. On Tuesday, Porcello threw a complete game shutout against Oakland, leading the Tigers to a 3-0 win. It’s Porcello’s second career shutout, and he’s spun his streak of scoreless innings to 25 in a row. Maybe, just maybe, he’s finally turned the corner.
Game of the Night: Pirates 3, Diamondbacks 2. Wade Miley was rolling along in Pittsburgh, and came out for the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead, looking for the complete game shutout. Miley allowed a single to Neil Walker to lead off the inning, and followed that up by giving up a single to Gregory Polanco. He was pulled and was replaced with Addison Reed, and things got ugly. Josh Harrison lined out for the first out, and Starling Marte followed up with a two-run double (that was nearly a three-run, walk off homer) to tie the game at two. Reed intentionally walked Andrew McCutchen, but it didn’t matter, as Ike Davis followed up with a walk off single to give the Pirates an improbable victory.
Pitching Lines of the Night: In Rick Porcello’s shutout win over the A’s, he allowed four hits – but didn’t walk or strike out a batter. Tim Lincecum dominated the Cardinals in San Francisco’s 5-0 win, allowing four hits over eight shutout innings, walking two and striking out six. Wade Miley’s final line in that heartbreaker in Pittsburgh was eight innings, four hits, two runs, ten strikeouts and zero walks. Drew Hutchison ran over the Brewers in Toronto’s 4-1 win, giving up one run on three hits, walking two and striking out ten. The Angels swept the White Sox in a doubleheader, and in game one, Garrett Richards allowed three runs on two hits in eight innings, walking two and striking out nine. Stephen Strasburg helped the Nationals beat the Rockies 7-1, giving up one run on five hits in 7 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out eight. David Price boosted his stock in Tampa Bay’s 2-1 win over New York, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out nine and walking three.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Seattle’s 13-2 win over Houston, Kyle Seager went 3/5 with a double, a homer, two runs, three RBI, and a walk. Teammate James Jones went 3/6 with a triple, three runs, and two RBI. Seth Smith helped the Padres top the Reds 8-2, going 3/4 with a double, a homer, three runs, and a walk. Carlos Quentin also chipped in, going 2/4 with a double, a homer, and three RBI. Eduardo Nunez shined in Minnesota’s 10-2 win over the Royals, going 3/5 with a homer, three runs, two RBI, and a walk.
Other Games: The Braves edged the Mets 5-4. The Orioles crushed the Rangers 8-3. The Marlins beat the Phillies 5-4 in 11 innings. The Cubs topped the Red Sox 2-1. The Indians beat up on the Dodgers 10-3.
Today’s Games: Wily Peralta starts for the Brewers in Toronto. Jake Odorizzi takes the hill for the Rays in the Bronx. Justin Verlander and the Tigers host Jesse Chavez and the A’s. Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Dodgers host Trevor Bauer and the Indians. Johnny Cueto and Tyson Ross will duel in San Diego. Doug Fister and the Nationals host the Rockies. Charlie Morton and the Pirates host the Diamondbacks. Travis Wood and the Cubs take on the Red Sox. Julio Teheran and the Braves take on the Mets. Cole Hamels starts for the Phillies in Miami. Chris Tillman and the Orioles host the Rangers. Tyler Skaggs makes his return for the Angels in Chicago. Adam Wainwright and Ryan Vogelsong will duel in San Francisco.
National TV: Rays-Yankees (1 PM, MLB Network), Athletics-Tigers (1 PM, MLB Network), Cubs-Red Sox (7 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
