There were two marathon games yesterday, and quite frankly, both were painful to watch. The Blue Jays blew a 3-0 lead against the Rangers, with Texas scoring a pair in the ninth inning to knot the game at three. That would be the last scoring in the game until the bottom of the 18th, when a Rajai Davis single won the game for the Jays. Runs should have been scored something like five or six times in extras before they actually did, but that's what happens when you play with fire sometimes. Then over in Flushing, the Marlins beat the Mets 2-1 in 20 innings. Each team actually got better outings from their second starting ptichers (Kevin Slowey, Shaun Marcum) than their first starting pitchers (Jose Fernandez, Matt Harvey), and the result was a hellhole of a game that saw Mike Redmond actually bring in closer Steve Cishek in the 20th to pick up the save.
PIC OF THE DAY
Carlos Gomez of the Brewers scales the wall to rob a homer (Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Twins 4, Nationals 3 (11 innings). Washington tied this game up at three in the seventh when Kurt Suzuki doubled in Anthony Rendon, depriving Kevin Correia a win for Minnesota. This game also ended up going to extras, but it was a sprint rather than a marathon. Despite Davey Johnson nearly emptying his entire bullpen in a game that went just 11 innings, Ryan Doumit singled in Chris Herrmann off of Craig Stammen to put the Twinkies in front. Glen Perkins got out of the bottom of the inning without much of an issue to finish the game off for Minnesota.
Pitching Lines of the Night: John Danks shut down the A's in a 4-1 White Sox win, allowing one run on three hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out six. Tommy Milone nearly matched him by allowing only a sole run on four hits in seven innings, striking out seven with one walk. Andy Pettitte dominated the Mariners in the Yankees' 3-1 victory, giving up one run on three hits over 7 1/3 frames, punching out six without a walk. Jeremy Hellickson dominated the Orioles in an 8-0 Rays win, allowing four hits in six scoreless frames, walking none and striking out five. Kris Medlen turned in a 2012 starts in Atlanta's 2-1 win over the Dodgers, allowing five hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings and striking out six while walking one. Finally, AJ Burnett led the Pirates to a 6-2 win over the Cubs, allowing two runs on four hits in 8 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out five.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Mike Carp continued his hot streak for the Red Sox in their 9-5 game one loss to the Angels, going 3/5 with two runs, two RBI, and a homer. His teammate David Ortiz went 2/5 in Boston's 7-2 win in game two with three RBI, a double, and a homer. In the Twins' win in Washington, Joe Mauer went 3/5 with a walk, a double, and a solo homer. Hunter Pence's bat carried the Giants to a 10-5 win Arizona, as he went 2/5 with three runs, two steals, a double, and a homer. Domonic Brown stayed red hot for the Phillies in their 4-3 loss in Milwaukee, going 2/4 with three RBI, a homer, and a double.
Other Games: The Tigers beat the Indians 6-4. The Reds doubled up the Cardinals 4-2. The suddenly hot Royals smashed the Astros 7-2. The Padres beat the Rockies 4-2.
Today's Games: Josh Johnson starts for the Blue Jays against the Rangers. Justin Masterston gets the nod for the Indians against the Tigers. Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals host the Twins in a doubleheader. Matt Moore starts for the Rays against the Orioles. Jeff Locke and the Pirates take on Edwin Jackson and the Cubs at Wrigley. Mike Minor starts for the Braves in Los Angeles. Felix Hernandez and the Mariners host the Yankees. Tyler Skaggs and the Diamondbacks host the Giants. Lance Lynn starts for the Cardinals in Cincinnati.
National TV: Angels-Red Sox (1:30, TBS), Cardinals-Reds (8 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
