Yu Darvish came so close to another no-hitter on Friday night. He didn’t allow a hit through 8 2/3 innings, but David Ortiz punched a hit through Texas’ shift to end Darvish’s bid at history. Darvish was perfect through 6 2/3 innings, but a controversial error call on right fielder Alex Rios broke that up. With two outs in the seventh inning, Ortiz hit a routine pop-up into right field that fell between Rios and rookie second baseman Rougned Odor because of some miscommunication between the two. The play was ruled an error, despite neither player touching the ball, and controversy loomed after Darvish went into the ninth without allowing a hit. At the end of the night, it was all moot.
Game of the Night: Reds 4, Rockies 3. Johnny Cueto dazzled the Rockies through eight innings, and the Reds went into the ninth with a 3-2 lead thanks to a sacrifice fly by Brayan Pena in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jonathan Broxton came on to save the game, and struggled, walking Nolan Arenado with one out and allowing a game-tying RBI double to Justin Morneau soon thereafter. After stranding Morneau at second, the game went to the bottom of the ninth, and Joey Votto promptly homered off of Boone Logan to hand Cincinnati the victory.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Darvish’s final line in the Rangers’ 8-0 win over the Red Sox included one hit, two walks, and 12 strikeouts in 8 2/3 shutout innings. That’ll do. Julio Teheran led the Braves to a 3-2, ten inning win over the Cubs, giving up one run on just one hit over eight innings, walking two and punching out nine. Tommy Milone and the A’s smashed the Nationals -0, due in large part to Milone giving up two hits in eight shutout innings, along with walking three and striking out seven. Tyson Ross and the Padres rolled the Marlins 10-1, with Ross allowing one run on four hits in seven innings, punching out eight and walking two. Johnny Cueto finished his night for the Reds by allowing two runs on five hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out eight. In Kansas City’s 6-1 win over Seattle, Jason Vargas allowed just three hits over seven shutout innings, striking out six without a walk. Madison Bumgarner pitched the Giants to a 3-1 win over the Dodgers, giving up one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out eight and walking one. My apologies to the other nine pitchers that had quality starts (and a dominant Jake Odorizzi as well), but I don’t have time to list all of your statlines.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In that Padres win over the Marlins, Jedd Gyorko took Jose Fernandez to the woodshed, going 3/4 with two homers and six RBI. Neil Walker helped the Pirates beat the Cardinals 6-4, going 3/4 with two runs, four RBI, and a homer. In the Rays’ 6-3 loss to the Indians, David DeJesus went 4/5 with three doubles, a run, and two RBI. The duo of Alexei Ramirez and Jose Abreu powered the White Sox to a 9-3 win over the Diamondbacks, with Ramirez going 2/4 with a triple and a grand slam and Abreu going 3/4 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Orioles edged the Astros 4-3. The Angels beat the Blue Jays 4-3 in a back and forth contest. The Twins beat the Tigers 2-1, and it was apparently the first time they’ve beaten Justin Verlander in four years. The Phillies beat the Mets 3-2 in 11 innings. The Yankees rode a four run fourth to a 5-3 win in Milwaukee.
Today’s Games: Tyler Skaggs starts for the Angels in Toronto. Max Scherzer and the Tigers host the Twins. Matt Cain and Zack Greinke will duel in LA. Lance Lynn starts for the Cardinals in Pittsburgh. Ervin Santana and the Braves host Jeff Samardzija and the Cubs. C.C. Sabathia returns to Milwaukee to take on Kyle Lohse and the Brewers. Jose Quintana and the White Sox take on the Diamondbacks. In a battling of surprising successes, Jordan Lyles and Alfredo Simon will duel in Cincinnati. Dillon Gee starts for the Mets against the Phillies. Jon Lester and the Red Sox take on Martin Perez and the Rangers. Nate Eovaldi starts for the Marlins in Ssan Diego. Sonny Gray and the A’s host the Nationals. Yordano Ventura starts for the Royals in Seattle.
National TV: Giants-Dodgers (4 PM, Fox Sports 1), Indians-Ryas (7 PM, Fox Sports 1)
MLB.tv Free Game: TBA
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
