The Angels continue to be a boat without a rudder, a model of inconsistency in baseball today. The team fell 5-3 to the Tigers in Detroit on Saturday, despite a solid outing from Dan Haren. The Angels' record is now 66-61, just five games above .500 and 9.5 games out in the AL West, which is looking like a pipe dream at this point. In the AL Wild Card race, which the Angels seemingly have a better shot at, they're 3.5 games back of the Orioles and A's, who are tied for the second spot. The Rays are perched just a half game above those two teams, and the Tigers are in front of the Angels in the standings, a game back of the Baltimore/Oakland duo. These five teams, along with the three division leaders, are the only playoff contenders left in the AL. But if the Angels don't put together a winning stream soon, that list of teams will be pared down to seven.
Game of the Night: Royals 10, Red Sox 9 (12 innings). Game one post-megadeal didn't go so well for the Red Sox. Aaron Cook allowed three runs to the Royals in the first inning, but hunkered down and finished the sixth allowing just those three runs. Meanwhile, Boston's offense went banans, scoring nine runs between the second and fourth, and taking a 9-3 lead. After Cook left the game to start the seventh, all hell broke loose. Andrew Miller, Mark Melancon, and Craig Breslow combined to allow six runs in the seventh inning, capped off with a Mike Moustakas two-run triple off of Breslow to tie the game at nine. The game stayed deadlocked until the 12th, when Tony Abreu singled home Jeff Francoeur to give Kansas City a 10-9 lead. Greg Holland threw a perfect, 11 pitch bottom of the 12th to end the game, and send Boston to a painful loss.
Pitching Lines of the Night: In an 8-2 win over the Marlins, Clayton Kershaw was fantastic for the Dodgers, allowing two runs on three hits over eight innings, striking out eight while walking two. The Pirates got back on the winning track with a 4-0 win against the Brewers, with Jeff Karstens allowing seven hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out four without a walk. Hiroki Kuroda allowed just three runs on four hits over eight innings against the Indians, tallying six strikeouts and two walks, but the Yankees fell 3-1 to the Tribe. Brandon McCarthy shut down the Rays, giving up only two runs on four hits in seven, walking two and striking out seven in a 4-2 A's victory.
Hitting Lines of the Night: The Mariners fell 5-4 to the White Sox despite the best efforts of Kyle Seager, who went 2/4 with a pair of homers and four RBI. The Rangers romped the Twins 9-3, and Ian Kinsler went 3/5 with four RBI, a triple, and a homer…just a double shy of the second straight cycle for Texas. Andre Ethier gave Kershaw and the Dodgers all the offense they needed, going 4/4 with two runs, a double, and a homer. Mauro Gomez did a solid job replacing Adrian Gonzalez for one night in Boston against the Royals, going 4/6 with three RBI and his first career homer. The Orioles stayed hot with an 8-2 win over the Blue Jays, and JJ Hardy went 3/5 with three runs, two RBI, a double, and a homer.
Other Games: The Rockies edged the Cubs 4-3 despite Brett Jackson's third homer in seven games. RA Dickey continued to roll in a 3-1 Mets win over the Astros. The Reds pounded the Cardinals late, winning 8-2. The Braves stayed on top of Madison Bumgarner and the Giants all game, winning 7-3. The Phillies beat the Nationals again, winning 4-2. The Padres steamrolled the Diamondbacks in a 9-3 win.
Today's Games: Adam Wainwright takes on Homer Bailey in Cincinnati. Jordan Zimmermann takes on Cliff Lee in Philly, with Washington attempting to avoid a sweep at the hands of their older brother in the division (figuratively and literally). Mark Buerhle and the Marlins take on Aaron Harang and the Dodgers. Edinson Volquez will start for the Padres against the Diamondbacks, scheduled to start Joe Saunders, who is apparently involved in trade negotiations. Tim Hudson starts for the Braves, looking for the series split against Tim Lincecum and the Giants. Not a very good slate of games today.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
