The Washington Nationals have lost five games in a row, with last night's 9-0 laugher in Miami as the latest bit of futility. Stephen Strasburg also terribly struggled last night, which immediately has some people screaming for him to be shut down….please. Despite Washington's struggles lately, they've actually picked up a game and a half in the NL East standings over the Braves, who have gone 15-12 compared to Washington's 16-10. Nothing is over yet, but the Nationals need to patch together a couple of wins in the next few days to stave off talk of a meltdown from the mainstream media…even though that's pretty much the furthest thing from reality right now.
Game of the Night: Royals 9, Tigers 8. With Justin Verlander on the mound, no one gave the Royals much of a chance in this one. When the Tigers took a 3-0 lead, that looked like more than enough for Verlander…until Kansas City answered with seven of their own in the first and second innings. Detroit made it a one-run game with a trio of runs in the third, but the Royals extended their lead to two in the sixth on a Sal Perez double. The Tigers tied it up after a Miguel Cabrera RBI single in the seventh and a Jhonny Peralta solo homer in the eighth. The Royals took a 9-8 lead in the eighth after a Mike Moustakas RBI double. Detroit nearly took the lead after fly ball that would have been a three-run homer by Delmon Young was called foul, but Greg Holland would retire Young to end the game.
Pitching Lines of the Night: There were a lot of shutouts tonight…six to be exact. Ricky Nolasco threw a complete game shutout against the Nationals, allowing five hits and striking out six hitters without a walk. Kris Medlen dominated the Padres in a 2-0 Braves win, going eight shutout innings and allowing five hits and nine strikeouts without a walk. In a big 9-0 win over the Cardinals, James McDonald threw seven shutout frames for the Pirates, giving up two hits, a walk, and six strikeouts. In a 6-0 Orioles win over the White Sox, Chris Tillman threw seven shutout innings and gave up just one hit, walking four and striking out five. Yovani Gallardo dominated the Cubs in a 4-1 Brewers win, allowing one run over seven innings on three hits, wakling three and striking out nine. Yu Darvish notched seven shutout frames for the Rangers in their 1-0 win over the Rays, giving up six hits, two walks, and ten strikeouts. His counterpart James Shields allowed just one run over seven on three hits, with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Pedro Alvarez paced the Pirates offense in a big way, going 4/5 with three runs, four RBI, a double, and a pair of homers. Justin Ruggiano was the Marlins offensive star last night, going 4/4 with two runs, two RBI, a walk, and a homer. In an 8-4 Rockies win over the Dodgers, Wilin Rosario went 3/4 with two runs, three RBI, and his 22nd homer of the year. New Mets catcher Kelly Shoppach went 3/5 in a 9-5 win over the Phillies in ten innings, homering and driving in three runs.
Other Games: The A's shut out the pathetic Indians 7-0. The Yankees edged the Blue Jays 2-1. The Giants rallied late to beat the Astros 3-2. The Mariners beat the Twins 5-2 behind the arm of Hisashi Iwakuma. The Angels walked off on the Red Sox, winning 6-5. Johnny Cueto won his 17th in a 5-2 Reds win over the Diamondbacks.
Today's Games: CC Sabathia starts for the Yankees, hosting the Blue Jays. Joe Saunders makes his Baltimore debut against the White Sox. Mat Latos takes on Pat Corbin in Arizona. Alex Cobb and Matt Harrison will duel in Texas. Mets rookie Matt Harvey will take on Cole Hamels. Anibal Sanchez starts for the Tigers in Kansas City. Zach Stewart will make his Red Sox debut against CJ Wilson. Mike Fiers takes on Jeff Samardzija in Chicago.
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
