This was one of those weeks were some teams just seem snakebitten, and they can’t get on the right side of the ledger when it comes to walk offs. Sure, that will happen when you’re on a week-long road trip, but I digress.
May 13th, Red Sox vs Twins – snuffing the comeback.
This was the first walk off hit of Chris Parmalee’s career, and it came at a pretty opportune time – after the Twins blew a four-run lead to the Red Sox. Hey, the Twins will take what they can get at this point.
May 13th, Reds vs Cardinals – plunakge.
A walk off hit by pitch.
That’s so Cubs.
May 14th, Rangers vs Astros – capping the comeback.
I’m not sure *what*, but the Astros showed me something this week. After five innings, they were down 4-0 to the Rangers, and hope looked fleeting. Then, they reeled over five runs in the game’s last four innings to pick up the win – and this walk off single by Matt Dominguez was just a couple of feet away from being a tremendous walk off homer.
May 15th, Red Sox vs Twins – deja vu all over again.
This hasn’t been a good week for the World Champions. They rallied back to tie this game at three in the ninth, and let a win slip through their fingers in the tenth by allowing this walk off single to Aaron Hicks, who had been lambasted by Twins management earlier in the day about his pregame and in-game preparations.
May 15th, Pirates vs Brewers – little brother.
What a disastrous loss for the Pirates – another defeat at the hands of the NL Central leading Brewers. Mark Melancon, who was so good last year, didn’t even get an out in the ninth inning on Thursday. It was just a disastrous afternoon for the Buccos, and another great win for Milwaukee.
May 15th, Rays vs Angels – Trout finally does it.
If you thought the Pirates’ meltdown was something…how about this one by the Rays? Tampa Bay entered the bottom of the ninth with a three-run lead, and closer Grant Balfour seemed determined to blow it in the simplest way possible. He walked the first two hitters he faced, allowed a single to Collin Cowgill to make it 5-3, and was replaced by Brad Boxberger, who allowed the three-run homer that was the deathblow by Mike Trout. That whole mess took just 22 pitches. The dumpster at the end of Rays’ games is burning strong.
May 18th, Padres vs Rockies – reborn.
The reborn player in this situation is Justin Morneau, whose ninth homer of the year gave Colorado an 8-6 win after LaTroy Hawkins blew the game in the ninth inning. Morneau is already more than halfway to his 2013 home run total while coming to the plate more than 400 fewer times.
May 19th, Tigers vs Indians – Brantley pulls the Indians through.
The Indians ended up blowing this game late, one that they led nearly wire to wire. But in the bottom of the tenth, Michael Brantley saved their bacon with this walk off homer, ending Detroit’s winning streak and maybe giving Cleveland a little bit of a push going forward.
