Over the first two weeks of the MLB season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the toast of the town. The team was 9-1 through its first ten games, though many just looked at that record as opposed to the quality of the opposition. A six game road trip concluded yesterday with a 12-0 shellacking in Houston, and the team ended the road trip with a 3-3 record, dropping them to 12-4 on the season. The Dodgers return home to Los Angeles this week for a six game homestand, but a 3-3 record could be a difficult task, with the team facing three games each against the cream of the NL East crop this season, the Braves and Nationals. It wouldn’t surprise me at all for the team to win one, or even zero, games during this stretch. If that happens, memories of that hot start would quickly be wiped from our minds.
Game of the Day: Orioles 3, Angels 2 (ten innings). After losing the first two games of the series by identical 6-3 scores, the Orioles salvaged the series in Los Angeles. The Angels got an early run that held until the eighth inning, when Balitmore took a 2-1 lead on a single by Nick Markakis. Of course, because this always happens, the Angels tied it in the bottom of the inning on a Howard Kendrick solo homer. The game went to extras, and Baltimore would get the game-winning run hom on a single off the bat of Markakis (again). Aaaaaand the Angels bullpen blows another game. This is already old hat for their fans.
Pitching Line of the Day: In the Astros’ thumping of the Dodgers today, Wandy Rodriguez threw seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out six. Pretty solid day all-around, but with Houston putting up a 12-spot, Rodriguez didn’t *need* to be that good. The rest of the pitching performances for the day are pretty blah, though Yovani Gallardo did allow just one run in seven innings against the Rockies, striking out eight with just one walk. Of course, the Brewers lost the game.
Hitting Line of the Day: For the Padres, Nick Hundley went 2/4 with two runs scored, four RBI, and a homer. Gerardo Parra went 2/4 for Arizona with a grand slam and a stolen base. Josh Hamilton had a complete day for the Rangers, going 3/3 with a homer, a walk, and a stolen base.
Spotlight Series: The Rangers-Tigers matchup lived up to its billing, going into extra innings. In the eleventh, Alberto Gonzalez squeezed home Nelson Cruz to give the Rangers a 3-2 win, and a 3-1 series victory. Both starting pitchers had solid games, with Colby Lewis allowing two runs over seven innings, and Drew Smyly allowing just one over six. Smyly struck out seven and walked just two, while Lewis had just two strikeouts and no walks. Each pitcher allowed a solo homer, which accounted for the scoring in the game through the first seven innings. The big blow though, was the Tigers bullpen. In five innings of work, they walked five batters while striking out just one. That’s not going to get it done.
Other Games: The Rays beat the Twins 6-2 as they whooped up on Francisco Liriano. The Cardinals beat the Pirates 5-1 despite another good start from Erik Bedard. The Blue Jays used a four run fifth to beat Danny Duffy and the Royals 5-3. The Rockies used some late runs to topple the Brewers 4-1 despite a great start from Yovani Gallardo. Tyson Ross had a great start for Oakland in their 5-1 win over the Indians. The Reds beat the Cubs (again), and Chicago has now dropped to 4-12. The White Sox finished off a sweep of the Mariners with a 7-4 win. The Padres shockingly won a series over the Phillies following a 6-1 win. The Diamondbacks used Gerardo Parra’s grand slam to beat the Braves 6-4.
Today’s Games: The Rangers continue their northeast swing, and will send Derek Holland to the hill against CC Sabathia of the Yankees. Tim Lincecum goes for the Giants in a makeup of a rainout from yesterday against the Mets. Game two features the newly extended Madison Bumgarner. Brandon Morrow takes on Royals ace (cough) Bruce Chen. Jon Lester looks to right the sinking Red Sox ship against the Twins. A shockingly solid matchup from former Cy Young winners who many thought weren’t alive takes place in Oakland, with Jake Peavy taking on Bartolo Colon. Jaime Garcia and Matt Garza duel in Chicago in a battle of divisional rivals. Zack Greinke goes for the Brewers against the Astros.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
