Even though they won on Sunday, the Texas Rangers are a disaster. Not only were they the first team in baseball to be eliminated from the playoff race, but they also have a whopping five game lead on the Rockies and Diamondbacks for the top pick in next June’s MLB Draft. Their magic number for clinching the worst record in baseball and that top pick is just 15, a number just higher than 80-61 Washington’s magic number for clinching the NL East crown. It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that Texas could clinch that top pick in the Draft before any of the six division leaders wrap up their division championship. That my friends, is crazy.
Game of the Day: Orioles 7, Rays 5 (11 innings). Baltimore earned their 83rd win of the season in dramatic fashion down in Florida. The Rays led 4-2 going into the ninth, and Joel Peralta came on for the save. Naturally, he struggled. The first three hitters Peralta faced were Ryan Flaherty, Jimmy Paredes, and Adam Jones – and all three singled to load the bases. Peralta struck out Delmon Young for out number one, but gave up a triple to Nelson Cruz, plating all three hitters and putting Baltimore ahead 5-4. Cesar Ramos got out of Peralta’s mess without allowing any more runs, but the damage was done. In the bottom of the inning, Evan Longoria reached on an error by Flaherty, moved to second on a James Loney single, and moved to third after a sac bunt by Brandon Guyer. Sean Rodriguez followed up with a ground out to plate Longoria to tie the game, and after a Logan Forsythe walk, Ryan Hanigan flew out to send the game into extras. The tenth was uneventful, but Cruz struck again in the 11th, blasting a two-run homer off of Ramos to make it a 7-4 game. Andrew Miller struck out the side in the bottom of the 11th, and Orioles magic continued to shine brightly for Baltimore.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Carlos Carrasco pitched the Indians to a 2-0 win over the White Sox, allowing four hits over 8 2/3 shutout innings, striking out eight without a walk. Adam Wainwright threw a complete game for the Cardinals as they thumped the Brewers 9-1, giving up one run on seven his, walking one and striking out three. Derek Holland made his second great start as Texas beat Seattle 1-0, tossing seven scoreless frames, giving up six hits and striking out five without a walk. Franklin Morales shined in Colorado’s 6-0 win over San Diego, allowing four hits, walking two, and punching out six over six shutout frames. In Toronto’s 3-1 win in Boston, R.A. Dickey allowed one run on six hits in seven innings, punching out four without a walk. Brad Hand gave up five hits over six scoreless inning in Miami’s 4-0 win over Atlanta, striking out three and walking none.
Hitting Lines of the Day: Nelson Cruz went 4/5 with a triple, two homers, seven RBI, and a walk in Baltimore’s win over the Rays. Adrian Gonzalez went 2/4 with a pair of three-run homers in the Dodgers’ 7-2 victory over the Diamondbacks. The Angels thumped the Twins 14-4 thanks to Howie Kendrick going 3/4 with a triple, a homer, a walk, two runs, and four RBI, while Mike Trout helped out by going 2/4 with a double, a homer, a walk, three runs, and two RBI. Adam LaRoche provided the power for Washington in their 3-2 win over Philadelphia, going 2/4 with a pair of solo homers. Pittsburgh beat the Cubs 10-4 after Neil Walker went 3/5 with a homer, three runs, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Mets held on to beat the Reds 4-3. The Royals shut out the Yankees 2-0. The A’s didn’t allow a hit in the ninth inning, but still blew the save and lost 4-3 to the Astros. The Tigers beat the Giants 6-1 to prevent a sweep and move within a half game of the playoffs.
Today’s Games: Danny Salazar and the Indians host Jered Weaver and the Angels. Justin Verlander and the Tigers take on the Royals in a critical AL Central series. Mike Minor and Doug Fister will square off in Washington. Marcus Stroman and the Blue Jays host the Cubs. Jon Niese gets the start for the Mets against the Rockies. Sonny Gray and the free falling A’s take on the White Sox. Yovani Gallardo starts for the Brewers against the Marlins. Felix Hernandez and the Mariners look to lay waste to the Astros.
National TV: Angels-Indians (1 PM, MLB Network), Royals-Tigers (4 PM, MLB Network), Braves-Nationals (7 PM, MLB Network), Cardinals-Reds (7 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
