On Friday night in Boston, something strange happened – four different men served as manager of the Boston Red Sox. Confused? Let me explain. First, it was John Farrell, the actual Red Sox manager. Farrell was ejected in the first inning for arguing after David Ortiz was hit by David Price and Price wasn’t ejected. Bench coach Torey Luvullo took over for Farrell, and he was ejected in the fourth inning when Price wasn’t ejected after he hit Mike Carp. Third base coach Brian Butterfield took over for Luvullo, and *he* was ejected in the sixth inning when Red Sox starter Brandon Workman threw a pitch behind Evan Longoria. After all that chaos, hitting coach Greg Colbrunn replaced Butterfield and finished the game unscathed.
Game of the Night: Red Sox 3, Rays 2 (ten innings). There weren’t many really wild games last night, so I went ahead and gave this emotional game the nod. In the seventh, with David Price running on fumes, Xander Bogaerts doubled in Jackie Bradley Jr. to tie the game at two. Boston put men on the corners with two outs in the ninth and Joel Peralta on the hill, but the Rays escaped without giving up the game. They didn’t get that lucky in the tenth, because after Juan Oviedo got David Ortiz to ground out, he plunked Jonny Gomes (unintentionally, this time). A.J. Pierzynski followed up with a long drive to deep right center, and the ball fell in after Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers collided. Gomes scored all the way from first, and that was that for Tampa Bay. It goes down as a walk off triple for Pierzynski, which is hilarious.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Madison Bumgarner led the Giants to a 9-4 win over the Cardinals, allowing three hits over seven shutout innings, punching out ten while walking one. In Cleveland’s 5-2 win over Colorado, Corey Kluber gave up two runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings, while one while striking out a dozen. Ian Kennedy helped the Padres to a 4-1 win over the White Sox, giving up one run on four hits in six innings, tallying nine strikeouts while walking three. Brett Oberholtzer pushed the Astros to a 2-1 win over the Orioles, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, walking none and striking out just one. Francisco Liriano pitched well (although briefly) in Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win over the Dodgers, allowing five hits over 5 2/3 shutout innings, walking two and striking out eight,
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Oakland’s 9-5 win over the Angels, Josh Donaldson went 3/4 with two homers, three runs, four RBI, and a walk. Devin Mesoraco had a nice night for the Reds in their 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks, going 2/4 with a pair of homers and five RBI. Lorenzo Cain pushed the Royals to a 6-1 win in Toronto, going 3/4 with a homer and four RBI. In Milwaukee’s 11-5 win over the Cubs, Ryan Braun went 3/5 with a homer, two runs, and three RBI. Yonder Alonso supplied Kennedy and the Padres with all the offense they needed in Chicago, going 3/4 with a homer, a stolen base, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Nationals pounded the Marlins 9-2. The Braves edged the Marlins 3-2. The Phillies earned a 6-5, 14 inning win over the Mets. The Twins beat the Yankees 6-1. The Tigers double up the Mariners 6-3.
Today’s Games: Doug Fister and the Nationals host the Rangers. Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees host the Twins. Tyson Ross starts for the Padres in Chicago against the White Sox. Michael Wacha and the Cardinals host the Giants. Ervin Santana gets the nod for the Braves in Miami. Dallas Keuchel and the Astros battle the Orioles in Houston. Jason Hammel and Wily Peralta will duel in Milwaukee. Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Dodgers take on the Pirates. Johnny Cueto starts for the Reds in Arizona.
National TV: Braves-Marlins (4 PM, Fox Sports 1), Rays-Red Sox (7 PM, Fox), Dodgers-Pirates (7 PM, Fox)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
