Three different extra innings games took place on Monday night. Two of those games ended in 12 innings, and one ended in 13. In Pittsburgh, the Giants beat the Pirates 11-10 in 13 innings, coming back from an eight run deficit, tying the game in the ninth, and taking the lead in the 13th after a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt. In Chicago, the Cubs and White Sox totaled two runs and five hits through the first nine innings of their affair before the White Sox mercifully scored two in the 12th to take a 3-1 lead, thanks to an RBI double and a bases loaded walk. And then there’s San Diego, where the Royals took a 5-4 lead in the 12th before Tim Collins allowed a two-run, ground-rule, walk off single (yes, single) to Will Venable to end the game. You can’t get much more diverse in three extra inning games than that.
Game of the Night: Marlins 4, Mets 3. Even though it’s the Mets, when do we just admit that the Marlins might actually be a pretty good team? Miami trailed this one 3-0 going into the bottom of the eighth, but New York’s bullpen predictably (and hilariously) imploded to hand the Marlins the win. Daisuke Matsuzaka replaced a sterling Jon Niese to begin the inning, and immediately walked both Christian Yelich and Ed Lucas. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a single to make it 3-1, and Casey McGehee reached on an error by Omar Quintanilla, allowing Lucas to score and make it a 3-2 game. Jarrod Saltalamacchia then doubled in Stanton, and all of a sudden, the game was knotted at three. After Kyle Farnsworth got out of that mess and Steve Cishek set the Mets down with little incident in the ninth, Scott Rice walked Yelich to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Gonzalez Germen replaced him, allowed a sac bunt to Lucas, intentionally walked Stanton, and gave up a walk off single to McGehee to hand Miami another wild win.
Pitching Lines of the Night: In Detroit’s 2-0 win over Houston, Max Scherzer gave up three hits over eight shutout innings, walking one and striking out nine. Jeff Samardzija and Jose Quintana had a solid duel in Chicago, with Samardzija allowing one unearned run on three hits in nine innings, striking out seven while walking two. Quintana gave up one run on one hit in seven innings, walking three and punching out three. In the Angels’ 4-1 win over the Yankees, Jered Weaver gave up one run on six hits in eight innings, walking one and punching out seven. Jon Niese was great for the Mets in their loss in Miami, allowing five hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out six and walking one. Zach McAllister and Kyle Gibson had a nice battle in the Twins’ 1-0, ten inning win over the Indians, with McAllister allowing five hits over 6 2/3 shutout innings while striking out eight and walking one and Gibson giving up three hits in seven scoreless frames, striking out one and walking htree.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Colorado’s 8-2 win over Texas, Troy Tulowitzki stayed molten, going 2/3 with two homers, four RBI, and two walks. Carlos Gomez continued his hot start to the year in Milwaukee’s 8-3 win over Arizona, going 2/2 with a homer, two runs, three RBI, and three walks. Martin Maldonado tacked on a 2/3 game with a double, a homer, a walk, two runs, and two RBI. In Kansas City’s loss to San Diego, Eric Hosmer went 3/6 with a homer and three RBI. Despite Pittsburgh’s tough loss to San Francisco, Andrew McCutchen went 4/7 with two runs, a double, and a triple.
Other Games: The Cardinals edged the Braves 4-3. That loss combined with Washington’s 4-0 win over the Dodgers knocked Atlanta out of first place in the NL East. The Blue Jays shut out the Phillies 3-0 in J.A. Happ’s triumphant return to Philadelphia. The Mariners doubled up the Athletics 4-2.
What You Missed: This week in replay. A look at the tragic career of Matt Bush. Also, a look at Heath Bell’s disastrous journey down the tubes.
Today’s Games: Clayton Kershaw makes his return for the Dodgers in Washington. Robbie Ray will make his major league debut for the Tigers, hosting the Astros. Gavin Floyd makes his first start as a Brave against the Cardinals. Homer Bailey starts for the Reds in Boston. Cole Hamels and the Phillies host the Blue Jays. Chris Tillman and Chris Archer will duel in Tampa. Tim Hudson starts for the Giants in Pittsburgh. Bartolo Colon and Henderson Alvarez will face off in Miami. Marco Estrada and the Brewers host the Diamondbacks. Hiroki Kuroda and C.J. Wilson will duel in Anaheim. The white hot Jesse Chavez and the A’s host the Mariners.
National TV: Reds-Red Sox (7 PM, MLB Network), Phillies-Blue Jays (7 PM, MLB Network)
MLB.tv Free Game: Mariners-Athletics (10 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
