Everyone knows how good Victor Martinez is. He’s homered 18 times this year, and struck out just 21 times. He’s actually having a better season with the stick than Miguel Cabrera. But did you know that there’s another Martinez that is playing well for the Tigers? Former Astro J.D. Martinez has filled in admirably in the outfield this year, hitting .317/.348/.615 with seven homers in just 112 plate appearances. The Tigers have always done a pretty good job finding a third banana on their offense behind Cabrera and Martinez (when healthy), and it looks like this year, they’ve got another Martinez to stick in t he middle of their lineup.
Game of the Night: Blue Jays 14, Reds 9. The Reds scored eight runs in the second inning, embarrassing Toronto starter Liam Hendriks and long reliever Todd Redmond in the process. Through five, they led 9-3, with all of Toronto’s offense coming on a three-run homer by former Red Edwin Encarnacion. Then, things began to get hairy. Mat Latos allowed three straight hits with one out in the sixth, making it a 9-4 game. Latos exited after getting the second out, but Manny Parra and Logan Ondrusek followed up with back to back walks to make it 9-5. In the seventh, a solo homer by Brett Lawrie and a two-run homer by Juan Francisco off of Jumbo Diaz cut the Reds’ lead to just a run. That lead would be gone in the eighth following an RBI double by Dioner Navarro. Then the ninth inning came, and the bandwagon exploded with Aroldis Chapman on the hill. Chapman walked Colby Rasmus to lead off the inning, and let him score the go-ahead run on a double by Erik Kratz. After striking out Jose Reyes, Chapman gave up a single to Melky Cabrera to make it 11-9. He then walked Jose Bautista and was replaced by Sam LeCure, who let the game get out of reach by allowing a three-run homer to Encarnacion. Bam, sucker.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Not much in the way of studly pitching performances tonight – the bats really shined, though. A.J. Burnett tossed a complete game in the Phillies’ 5-1 win over the Cardinals, allowing one run on seven hits, walking one and striking out three. David Price earned the loss in Houston’s 3-1 win over the Rays, giving up two runs on six hits in eight innings, striking out a dozen and walking three. The winner of that contest for the Astros was Jarred Cosart, who allowed six hits over eight shutout frames, walking one and punching out a pair.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Edwin Encarnacion powered Toronto’s offense in their win against his former club in Cincinnati, going 2/5 with two homers, three runs, six RBI, and a walk. Milwaukee beat Colorado 13-10 in an offensive explostion, thanks in large part to Jean Segura going 3/5 with two homers and three RBI. In the loss for the Rockies, Corey Dickerson went 4/5 with a homer, three runs, three RBI, and a stolen base, while Justin Morneau went 2/5 with a double, a homer, and five RBI. The Padres earned a wild 6-5 win over the Dodgers, thanks in large part to Seth Smith going 3/3 with a double, a pair of solo homers, and a walk. The aforementioned J.D. Martinez went 3/4 with a double, a homer, and three RBI in Detroit’s 6-4 win over Cleveland.
Other Games: The Cubs doubled up the Pirates 6-3. The Braves beat the Nationals 6-4 in 13 innings. The Yankees earned a 5-3 walk off win over the Orioles. The Mariners rallied late to beat the Royals 7-5. The Marlins hung on to beat the Mets 3-2. The Twins walked off on the White Sox 5-4. The Diamondbacks topped the Giants 4-1. Oakland beat Boston 4-3. The Angels defeated the Rangers 7-3.
Today’s Games: Mike Leake and the Reds host the Blue Jays. Jesse Chavez and the A’s host the Red Sox. Cole Hamels and Adam Wainwright will duel in St. Louis. Wily Peralta starts for the Brewers in Denver. Julio Teheran and Doug Fister will face off in Washington. Travis Wood and the Cubs host the Pirates. The scuffling Justin Verlander and the Tigers take on Trevor Bauer and the Indians. Jered Weaver and the Angels host the Rangers. Josh Beckett and Tyson Ross will cross paths in San Diego. Ryan Vogelsong will take the hill for the Giants in Phoenix.
National TV: Orioles-Yankees (1 PM, MLB Network), Red Sox-Athletics (4 PM, MLB Network), Blue Jays-Reds (4 PM, MLB Network), Braves-Nationals (7 PM, Fox), Pirates-Cubs (7 PM, Fox), Tigers-Indians (7 PM, Fox), Rangers-Angels (10 PM, Fox Sports 1)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
