Two nights after Tim Hudson won his 200th career game, Jake Westbrook of the Cardinals won his 100th career game, as St Louis held on to beat Milwaukee 6-5. We were actually deprived of the exact same historical moment for Ervin Santana, who also came into Thursday sitting on 99 career wins and got the start. But his outing against the Rays ended through three and a half innings thanks to snow in Kansas City, and he'll have to wait until next week to pick up his milestone.
PIC OF THE DAY
Game of the Night: Tigers 7, Astros 3 (14 innings). Hey look, another long game. A Victor Martinez single tied the game at three in the eighth inning, and then, the two teams fell into an abyss of zeroes. Detroit had chances in the 11th, 12th, and 13th innings, but finally broke through in the 14th, when Don Kelly singled home the go-ahead run after both Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder were intentionally walked by Dallas Keuchel to load the bases. After Kelly singled, Jose Cisnero replced Keuchel on the hill, and allowed a two-run double to Matt Tuiasosopo and a sac fly to Jhonny Peralta to extend the Tigers' lead to four. Luke Putkonen successfully finished the game off, and the Tigers earned a hard-fought win in Houston.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Chris Tillman shut down the Angels in a 5-1 Orioles win, allowing only three hits in eight scoreless frames, walking two and striking out three. Dan Haren led the Nationals to a 3-1 win in Atlanta, allowing one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out four and walking one. Hector Santiago was fine for the White Sox in their 3-1 win over the Rangers, allowing one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two. RIck Porcello had a quality start for the Tigers in Houston, allowing three runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out seven and walking none.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Domonic Brown helped the Phillies to a 7-2 win over the Marlins, going 3/4 with two runs, two RBI, and a homer, while Ryan Howard went 1/2 with two runs, two walks, and a homer. Denard Span was solid for the Nationals in their win in Atlanta, going 3/4 with a run, two RBI, a walk, and two doubles. Tyler Flowers gave the White Sox all the offense they'd get in Texas, going 1/4 with a three-run homer. Nate McLouth went 2/5 with a two-run homer for the Orioles in their win in Anaheim.
Other Games: The Padres rallied late to beat the Cubs 4-2, despite a freakish catch by Anthony Rizzo in the seventh inning. Boston beat Toronto 3-1 to become the first team in baseball to get to 20 wins. The Rays and Royals started play, but the game was called after three and a half innings due to snow.
What You Missed: Ian wrote about Terry Collins, and how he shouldn't be on the hot seat for the Mets. Garrett broke down the horrendous Angels bullpen, and then talked about potential changes to be made to extra inning games. Roy Oswalt signed with the Rockies. Jack Morris lobbed napalm at Clay Buchholz and accused the Boston starter of throwing spitballs.
Today's Games: Justin Masterson gets the nod for the Indians against the Twins. CC Sabathia and the Yankees host the A's. Felix Hernandez starts for the Mariners in Toronto against the returning Ricky Romero. Mike Minor starts for the Braves against Shaun Marcum of the Mets. AJ Burnett and Ross Detwiler will duel in Pittsburgh. Shelby Miller will take on Kyle Lohse in Milwaukee. Jeremy Guthrie will start for the Royals, hosting the White Sox. Doug Fister will start for the Tigers in Houston against Bud Norris. Matt Moore and the Rays travel to take on the Rockies. Wade Miley will start for the Diamondbacks in San Diego. Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers take on Barry Zito and the Giants.
National TV: Red Sox-Rangers (8 PM, MLB Network), Cardinals-Brewers (8 PM, MLB Network [alternate])
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
