Do you know why I dislike Red Sox-Yankees games? Every little thing gets taken to the extreme. Michael Pineda has *something* on his glove? HE’S GREASING THE BALL! The Yankees Mickey Mouse lineup gets a win? THEY’RE BACK IN BUSINESS NOW! The aforementioned Pineda shuts down Boston’s lineup? HE’S FINALLY HEALTHY AND DOMINANT AGAIN! Give it a rest, people.
Game of the Night: Diamondbacks 6, Giants 5 (ten innings). I don’t think anyone old the Giants that they were supposed to play defense in this one. San Francisco led 5-4 after seven, staging a comeback in the middle innings after falling behind 4-1 early on. In the eighth inning, Arizona tied the game at four after Pablo Sandoval hurried his throw trying to get Tony Campana at first base, throwing it away and allowing Gerardo Parra to score. In the bottom of the inning, the Giants loaded the bases with one out, but couldn’t score. In the ninth, Angel Pagan dropped a fly ball by Miguel Montero to allow him to reach and advance to second, but he was stranded there. In the tenth though, Arizona struck again. Cliff Pennington singled with two outs, stole second, and was singled home by Campana to put the Diamondbacks in front. Addison Reed threw a perfect bottom of the inning, and this one was over.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Stephen Strasburg dominated the Marlins in a 7-1 Nationals win, allowing one run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings, punching out 12 and walking one. Dan Straily led the A’s to a 6-1 win over the Twins, giving up one run on three hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out six. Dallas Keuchel pitched the Astros to a 6-4 win over Toronto, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking a pair. Travis Wood pitched well for the Cubs in their 5-4 loss to the Pirates, giving up one run on four hits in six innings, walking three and punching out nine. Pineda pitched pretty well in New York’s 4-1 win over Boston, allowing one run on four hits in six innings, walking a pair and striking out seven.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Justin Upton got back on his horse in Atlanta’s 6-4 loss to the Mets, going 3/4 with two homers and three RBI. In the win for the Mets, Daniel Murphy picked up three hits, a double, two runs, three RBI, a walk, and a stolen base, while Eric Young Jr. went 3/5 with a triple, four runs, and three stolen bases. Jose Abreu stayed hot in Chicago’s 6-4 win over Cleveland, going 2/4 with two homers and three RBI., and teammate Alexei Ramirez went 2/4 with a homer and three RBI.
Other Games: The Brewers beat the Phillies 6-2 to complete a sweep of the Fightins.
What You Missed: Avisail Garcia’s season is already over. Ian looked at how the Astros can take care of their retired number situation. The week’s best defensive plays. Tigers closer Joe Nathan is dealing with dead arm. The Phillie Phanatic took out some sausages. The Brewers released a ridiculous music video. Adam Jones is nonplussed by Masahiro Tanaka. Finally, in advance of Jose Fernandez’s start on Friday night, Randy looked at his vicious curveball.
Today’s Games: Fernandez starts for the Marlins in Philly against A.J. Burnett. Chris Tillman and the Orioles host the Blue Jays. Jon Lester and C.C. Sabathia will duel in the Bronx. David Price takes on Johnny Cueto in Cincinnati. Julio Teheran and the Braves host the Nationals. Scott Feldman takes on Yu Darvish in Arlington. Francisco Liriano and Wily Peralta will tangle in Milwaukee. Chris Sale and the White Sox host the Indians. Jeff Samardzija and the Cubs take on Cardinals. Hyun-Jin Ryu starts for the Dodgers in Arizona. Felix Hernandez and the Mariners host the A’s. Andrew Cashner starts for the Padres against the Tigers. Madison Bumgarner and the Giants host Jorge de la Rosa and the Rockies.
National TV: Red Sox-Yankees (7 PM, MLB Network, duh), Rays-Reds (7 PM, MLB Network)
MLB.tv Free Game: Pirates-Brewers (8 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
