I think it’s a bit misleading to say that the Kansas City Royals are fading, which I did in the subject of this post, but Kansas City has lost two in a row to Detroit in interesting fashion. The Royals got pummeled from pillar to post on Friday, and barely lost on Saturday, thanks in large part to a controversial call in the sixth inning. But let’s not put all of the blame on that one call – James Shields allowed two runs in the seventh to give the Tigers the lead, and the Royals put runners on base in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, but only totaled one run. That’s baseball, baby. Kansas City is now two and a half back of the Tigers with eight games (and three outs against the Indians) left, and they’re still in the playoff picture because of Seattle getting smashed in Houston on Saturday.
Game of the Night: Cubs 8, Dodgers 7. The Cubs did the Giants a favor on Saturday, but San Francisco was content to lose to the Padres again. The Dodgers jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in this one, and led 7-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. However, the normally dependable J.P. Howell simply didn’t have it on Saturday. Howell walked Chris Coghlan to lead off the inning, allowed him to move to second on a Javier Baez ground out, and moved him up to third on a wild pitch. Anthony Rizzo singled home to make it 7-3, and Mike Olt then singled to put to men on. Luis Valbuena flied out for the second out of the inning, and Arimendy Alcantara launched a three-run homer to cut the deficit to just a run. Brandon League got out of the inning, and Brian Wilson replaced him for the eighth. Wilson allowed a single to Jeff Baker to start the inning, and after a failed bunt by Matt Szczur, Coghlan hit a two-run homer to make it 8-7 in favor of the Northsiders. Hector Rondon set the Dodgers down in order in the ninth, and the Cubs inexplicably could still finish with fewer than 90 losses and in fourth place in the NL Central.
Pitching Lines of the Night: In Pittsburgh’s 1-0 loss to Milwaukee, Edinson Volquez allowed three hits over seven shutout innings, walking three and striking out six. Andrew Cashner pitched the Padres to a 3-2 win over the Giants, giving up two runs on four hits in eight innings, striking out seven and walking one. In Houston’s 10-1 thrashing of Seattle, Dallas Keuchel allowed one run on seven hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out eight. Jerome Williams gave up four hits in seven shutout innings as the Phillies beat the A’s 3-0, walking one and striking out three, while Drew Pomeranz allowed one hit in five shutout innings in Oakland’s loss, striking out six and walking two. Chris Archer tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings in Tampa Bay’s 3-1 win over the White Sox, allowing two hits, walking four and striking out three.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Chicago’s win over the Dodgers, Chris Coghlan went 4/4 with a double, two homers, three runs, three RBI, and a walk. Adrian Gonzalez went 2/5 with two homers and five RBI. Adam Jones helped the Orioles beat the Red Sox 7-2, going 2/4 with two homers and four RBI. In Cleveland’s 7-3 win over Minnesota, Yan Gomes went 3/4 with a homer, two runs, and four RBI. Mike Trout helped the Angels top the Rangers 8-5, going 2/3 with a triple, a homer, three runs, two RBI, and a walk. Kolten Wong went 3/3 with a homer, two runs, two RBI, and a walk in the Cardinals’ 8-4 win over the Reds. In Toronto’s 6-3 victory in the Bronx, Jose Bautista went 2/2 with a solo homer, four runs, and three walks.
Other Games: The Tigers edged the Royals 3-2. The Rockies topped the Diamondbacks 5-1. The Mets doubled up the Braves 4-2. The Nationals edged the Marlins 3-2.
Today’s Games: Masahiro Tanaka makes his long-awaited return to the Yankees rotation against the Blue Jays. Stephen Strasburg starts for the Nationals in Miami. Wily Peralta and the Brewers take on the Pirates. Nate Karns and the Rays host the White Sox. Jacob deGrom and Ervin Santana will battle in Atlanta. Rick Porcello starts for the Tigers in Kansas City. Corey Kluber gets the nod for the Indians in Minnesota. Hisashi Iwakuma and the Mariners take on the Astros. Ryan Vogelsong and Ian Kennedy will duel in San Diego. Scott Kazmir and the A’s host A.J. Burnett and the Phillies. Lance Lynn and the Cardinals battle Alfredo Simon and the Reds.
National TV: Tigers-Royals (2 PM, TBS) Reds-Cardinals (8 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
