Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha nearly continued the dandy little trend of Cardinals rookies throwing no-hitters. Wacha made it through 8 2/3 without allowing a hit on Tuesday night in St Louis' 2-0 win over Washington, but all it took was a cue shot from Ryan Zimmerman over Wacha's head that Pete Kozma couldn't field cleanly to end his march to history. Imagine being a Nationals fan, and seeing your team get no-hit the night after getting eliminated from the playoffs…
PIC OF THE DAY
Jason Giambi, killing the White Sox once again. (David Richard-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Night: Indians 5, White Sox 4. What a crushing loss for the ChiSox, not that it matters in this point of their season. With Cleveland leading 3-2 heading into the ninth, Indians closer Chris Perez allowed a solo homer to Dayan Viciedo to lead off the inning, knotting the game at three. Two batters later, Perez allowed a solo homer to Alejandro de Aza to give Chicago a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Addison Reed sandwiched a pair of strikeouts around a single by Michael Brantley. Brantley stole second during Jason Giambi's pinch hit appearance, but Giambi proved the steal moot by launching a home run to right field to give the Tribe a walk off win and continue their match to the Postseason.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Wacha is clearly the highlight here, allowing one hit in 8 2/3 shutout innings, striking out nine and walking two. Jason Vargas threw a complete game shutout for the Angels in their 3-0 win over the A's, giving up four hits, walking one, and striking out five. Seattle bet Kansas City 4-0, and James Paxton twirled seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out ten without a walk. In Arizona's 2-1, 12 inning win over San Diego, Wade Miley gave up four hits in six scoreless frames, striking out seven and walking one, while Tyson Ross allowed one run on three hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking three. Chris Tillman had a nice outing for the Orioles in their 3-2, ten inning loss to the Blue Jays, giving up one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out nine while walking one. Tyler Chatwood pitched the Rockies past the Red Sox 8-3, allowing one unearned run on three hits in seven innings, striking out a pair and walking one. Hyun-Jin Ryu had a nice start for the Dodgers in their 2-1 win over the Giants, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking one.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Cleveland's win over the White Sox, the aforementioned Brantley went 3/4 with two runs, two RBI, a stolen base, and a homer. Austin Jackson helped the Tigers beat the Twins 4-2 and clinch a playoff berth, going 3/5 with a two-run homer. In the loss, Ryan Doumit went 2/4 with two runs, a double, and a homer for Minnesota. Daniel Murphy helped the Mets beat the Reds 4-2 and give the Pirates some breathing room in the NL Wild Card race, going 2/4 with a three-run homer. In Colorado's win over Boston, Charlie Blackmon went 2/4 with a solo homer, a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored.
Other Games: The Braves walked off on the Brewers 3-2. The Rays smashed the Yankees 7-0, pushing the team to the brink of elimination. The Phillies beat the Marlins 2-1, giving Miami their 100th loss of the season. The Pirates beat up the Cubs 8-2. The Rangers edged the Astros 3-2.
What You Missed: Manny Machado's leg is somehow *not* destroyed. This Yankees fan was fired from his job for skipping work for baseball. Todd Helton's Hall of Fame case. The post-mortem for the Washington Nationals. Ruben Amaro is cool with Roy Halladay being run into the ground.
Today's Games: Mat Latos and the Reds host the Mets. Jordan Zimmermann and Shelby Miller will face off in St Louis. Francisco Liriano and the Pirates take on the Cubs in Chicago. Jered Weaver and the Angels host Dan Straily and the Athletics. David Price starts for the Rays in the Bronx. Bud Norris and the Orioles host the Blue Jays. Danny Salazar starts for the Indians against the White Sox. Kyle Lohse starts for the Brewers in Atlanta. Cole Hamels starts for the Phillies in Miami. Martin Perez and the Rangers host the Astros. Jake Peavy and Jhoulys Chacin will duel in Denver. Max Scherzer takes the hill for the Tigers in Minnesota. Hisashi Iwakuma and the Mariners host Ervin Santana and the Royals. Ricky Nolasco starts for the Dodgers in San Francisco.
National TV: Mets-Reds (12:30 PM, MLB Network), Nationals-Cardinals (1:30 PM, MLB Network), Rays-Yankees (7 PM, ESPN), Dodgers-Giants (10 PM, ESPN)
MLB.tv Free Game: Brewers-Braves (7 PM)
Pitching Matchup of the Day: Jordan Zimmermann vs Shelby Miller (Nationals vs Cardinals, 1:30 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
