The American League Central is…not a good division. At 35-26, the Tigers are the class of it. They've got a 5.5 game lead on the Indians, who have lost seven in a row and 15 of 19. The Royals, who closed out May by losing 13 of 15, are a game behind Cleveland for second place in the division. The Twins and White Sox, who haven't done much to impress anyone all year, are two and 2.5 games respectively behind the Tribe for second. All of the teams in the division are even further back of the wild card leading Yankees and A's than they are of the division-leading Tigers, meaning that they're going to need to sock the defending AL champions in the mouth to reach the playoffs. Meanwhile, Detroit keeps rolling on with the best run differential in the AL, an elite offense, and a fearsome starting rotation. You might as well book their ticket to October right now.
PIC OF THE DAY
Giants outfielder Juan Perez makes an incredible running catch in right center field at Chase Field before smashing into the wall. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Day: Rockies 8, Padres 7 (ten innings). Something about these two teams, man…anyway, Colorado staked Juan Nicasio to a 4-0 lead, and he left the game up 4-2. Edgar Escalona proceeded to allow a solo homer to Cameron Maybin and a two-run jack to Mark Kotsay to put the Padres in front 5-4. In the top of the eighth, Matt Belisle proceeded to allow two more runs across to extend San Diego's lead to three runs. In the bottom of the ninth, the usually reliable Luke Gregerson allowed an RBI single to Tyler Colvin to make it a 7-5 game, and then gave up a two-run double to Carlos Gonzalez with two outs to tie the game. Tyson Ross got out of the inning to send it to extras, and he remained on the hill for the Padres in the bottom of the tenth. Ross walked Todd Helton and followed that up by getting a free out when Yorvit Torrealba couldn't get a bunt down. Jonathan Herrera singled to put two on with one out, but the Padres couldn't turn a grounder by Colvin into an inning ending double play. That brought up Dexter Fowler, who connected on his fourth hit of the day to score pinch runner DJ LeMahieu and give the Rockies the win.
Pitching Lines of the Day: Jordan Zimmermann carried the Nationals to a doubleheader sweep of the Twins by scores of 7-0 and 5-4. In game one, he allowed just two hits over seven scoreless frames, striking out eight and walking two. Kyle Lohse led the Brewers to a 9-1 win over the Phillies, giving up one run on four hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out six. Edwin Jackson helped the Cubs to a 4-1 win over the Pirates, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out eight. Luis Mendoza and Lucas Harrell engaged in a pitchers duel in the Royals' 2-0 win, with both pitchers completing seven scoreless innings. Mendoza allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out three, while Harrell allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out one.
Hitting Lines of the Day: Dan Uggla helped the Braves to an 8-1 win over the Dodgers, going 2/2 with two walks, two homers, and four RBI. Jarrod Saltalamacchia led a Red Sox offensive assault in their 10-5 win over the Angels, going 2/4 with two homers and four RBI. Dexter Fowler and Troy Tulowitzki combined to power the Rockies to their walkoff win, with Fowler going 4/6 with three runs, an RBI, a stolen base, and a double, and Tulowitzki going 2/3 with two runs, two RBI, two walks, a homer, and a double. Marco Scutaro played well for the Giants in their 6-2 win in Arizona, going 3/4 with two runs, a walk, and a homer. Finally, Adam Jones' bat spurred the Orioles to a 10-7 win over the Rays as he went 3/5 with two runs, a double, and a homer. In the Cardinals' 11-4, ten inning win over the Reds, Matt Holliday went 2/4 with two runs, four RBI, two walks, a double, and a homer.
Other Games: The Rangers avoided a sweep in Toronto, beating the Blue Jays 6-4. The Tigers beat the reeling Indians 4-1, finishing off a sweep in Detroit. The Marlins beat the Mets 8-4 in ten innings. The White Sox beat the A's 4-2. The Yankees beat the Mariners 2-1 after a Chris Stewart ninth inning single.
Today's Games: John Lackey takes on Alex Cobb in Tampa. Jered Weaver gets the nod for the Angels in Baltimore. Yovani Gallardo leads the Brewers into Miami to take on Ricky Nolasco and the Marlins. Scott Feldman and the Cubs host the Reds. RA Dickey starts for the Blue Jays in Chicago against the White Sox. Doug Fister takes on Jeremy Guthrie in Kansas City. Hisashi Iwakuma and the Mariners host the Astros. Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers host the Diamondbacks. Braves rookie Julio Teheran starts for Atlanta against the Padres.
National TV: Red Sox-Rays (7 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
