It’s been an eventful couple of days from the Oakland Athletics. They were involved in a confusing, long replay. They played a game under appeal. They received approval from Bud Selig to move if they couldn’t reach an agreement on a new lease. They agreed on a new lease. They won in walk off fashion on Friday. Then late Friday night, the finale went off high in the sky – the A’s had landed both Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Chicago Cubs. Needless to say, it’s quite an interesting time to be an Athletics fan.
Game of the Night: Angels 7, Astros 6. The Astros jumped on C.J. Wilson, chasing him in the fifth inning of this contest. The only issue with that was the Angels equally ravaged Dallas Keuchel, knocking him out of the game after five innings. With Houston leading 6-5 going into the seven inning, Josh Zeid allowed a lead off single to Albert Pujols. Darin Downs replaced Zeid and struck out Josh Hamilton, but Pujols miraculously stole second on the strike three pitch. Josh Fields then came in to replace Downs, and allowed a game-tying double to Howie Kendrick. After Fields got out of the seventh and notched the first two outs in the eighth, Tony Sipp relieved him and got a ground out from Kole Calhoun to end the inning. Sipp stayed on the hill in the ninth, and that was a mistake – because Mike Trout smashed a walk off homer to left center to send Angels fans home happy.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Clayton Kershaw kept his scoreless innings streak alive in the Dodgers’ 9-0 thrashing of the Rockies, allowing two hits in eight shutout innings, walking one and striking out eight. Chris Sale dominated the Mariners in Chicago’s 7-1 win, giving up one run on six hits in nine innings, punching out 12 without a walk. Marcus Stroman was great for the Blue Jays in their 1-0, 12 inning loss in Oakland, allowing three hits in seven scoreless innings, walking three and striking out seven. In the A’s victory, Tommy Milone gave up four hits over six scoreless frames, walking one and striking out six. Eric Stults pitched the Padres to a 2-0 win over the Giants, giving up four hits in seven shutout innings, walking a pair and striking out six. Yordano Ventura led the Royals to a 7-1 win in Cleveland, allowing one run on six hits in 8 1/3 innings, walking two while punching out six. Gerrit Cole shut down the Phillies in Pittsburgh’s 8-2 win, giving up just one hit over five scoreless innings, walking one and striking out five.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the Yankees’ 6-5 win over the Twins, Brian Roberts went 4/5 with three doubles, a triple, two runs, and an RBI. Andrew McCutchen had another nice day for the Pirates, going 4/5 with two doubles, a triple, a stolen base, a run, and two RBI in their win over the Phillies. Albert Pujols went 3/4 with a homer, three runs, two RBI, and a stolen base for the Angels in their win over the Astros. Dayan Viciedo had a massive night with the stick for the White Sox, going 4/4 with a solo homer and two runs scored. Royals rookie Christian Colon played well, going 3/4 with two doubles, a triple, three runs scored, and a RBI. Justin Ruggiano spurred the Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Nationals, going 3/5 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI. In Tampa Bay’s 6-3 win over Detroit, Evan Longoria went 2/2 with a double, a homer, two runs, and two walks.
Other Games: Ervin Santana pitched the Braves to a 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks. The Reds doubled up the Brewers 4-2. The Mets edged the Rangers 6-5. The Cardinals hung on to beat the Marlins 3-2. The Orioles and Red Sox were rained out, and will play two today.
Today’s Games: Jon Lester starts for the Red Sox in the first game of their doubleheader with the Orioles, while John Lackey starts game two against Ubaldo Jimenez. Felix Hernandez starts for the Mariners in Chicago against Jose Quintana. Andrew Heaney and Shelby Miller will duel in St. Louis. Gio Gonzalez and the Nationals host the Cubs. Chris Archer starts for the Rays in Detroit against Anibal Sanchez and the Tigers. Matt Garza and Homer Bailey will cross swords in Cincinnati. Dan Haren gets the nod for the Dodgers in Colorado. Jeremy Guthrie will take the hill for the Royals in Cleveland. Bartolo Colon and the Mets host the Rangers. Tim Hudson starts for the Giants in San Diego against Padres rookie Odrisamer Despaigne. Scott Feldman and the Astros take on the Angels. Scott Kazmir and the A’s host the Blue Jays.
National TV: Orioles-Red Sox Game 1 (1 PM, Fox), Diamondbacks-Braves (4 PM, Fox Sports 1), Rangers-Mets (7 PM, Fox), Giants-Padres (7 PM, Fox), Orioles-Red Sox Game 2 (7 PM, Fox), Blue Jays-Athletics (10 PM, MLB Network), Astros-Angels (10 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
