Do you like offense? Well, I hope you didn’t watch many games on Friday night – the year of the pitcher continued. Of the 14 games that took place on Friday night, six ended with a goose egg in one team’s run column. Another seven teams scored either one or two runs. That means that nearly half of the teams that played yesterday scored between zero and two runs. Do people still think we’re in a golden age of offense, or nah?
Game of the Night: Marlins 7, Giants 5. This was a wild game, something you typically wouldn’t expect from the Marlins and Giants…but here we are. Miami just kept pulling back in the early going, holding leads of 1-0, 4-1, and 5-3 before the Giants finally tied the game at five after an RBI single by Gregor Blanco. The score remained knotted until the ninth, when Santiago Casilla laid an egg in his second inning of work. He walked Christian Yelich to lead off the inning, and Derek Dietrich followed that up with a single. After striking out Giancarlo Stanton, Casilla allowed a Casey McGehee single to make it a 6-5 game. Reed Johnson lined out for out number two, and Javier Lopez replaced Casilla. Of course, Lopez allowed an infield single to Garrett Jones to increase Miami’s lead to 7-5. Steve Cishek walked Hector Sanchez to start the ninth, but got the Giants’ top three hitters in order to end the game.
Pitching Lines of the Night: There were 14 quality starts on Friday, so I’m going to need to be a little selective here – apologies to Max Scherzer, Jered Weaver, Chris Archer, Kyle Gibson, Kyle Kendrick, Jon Lester, Eric Stults, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Lohse. Drew Hutchison threw a complete game shutout for the Blue Jays in their 2-0 win over the Rangers, allowing three hits, one walk, and striking out six. He outdueled Yu Darvish, who gave up two runs on five hits in eight innings, walking three and punching out 11. Chris Tillman threw a complete game shutout for the Orioles in their 4-0 win over the Royals, giving up five hits, one walk, and striking out three. Jorge de la Rosa and the Rockies topped the Padres 3-1, with de la Rosa allowed one hit over seven shutout innings, striking out five and walking one. Alfredo Simon dominated the Phillies in the Reds’ 3-0 win, allowing five hits in 7 2/3 scoreless frames, walking one and striking out eight. Zack Greinke and the Dodgers stomped the Diamondbacks 7-0, with Greinke giving up five hits in eight shutout innings, striking out six while walking two. Sonny Gray led the A’s to an 11-1 mauling of the Indians, allowing one run on two hits in six innings, walking three and striking out nine.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In Oakland’s win in Cleveland, Josh Reddick went 2/4 with a pair of homers and six RBI. Yasiel Puig stayed hot in the Dodgers’ win in Arizona, going 3/5 with a double, a homer, two runs, and two RBI. Christian Yelich had a nice night for Miami in San Francisco, going 2/4 with a solo homer, a walk, a stolen base, and four runs scored. Adam Dunn looked like his old self in Chicago’s 7-2 win in Houston, going 2/4 with a double, a three-run homer, and a walk. Yunel Escobar gave the Rays all the offense they needed in their 3-0 win in Anaheim, going 3/3 with a walk and a solo homer. Brian Dozier powered the Twins to a 5-4 win over the Mariners, going 2/5 with a double, a homer, two runs, and two RBI.
Other Games: The Brewers edged the Cubs 4-3. The Tigers slipped by the Red Sox 1-0. The Nationals beat the Mets 5-2. The Cardinals topped the Braves 5-2. The Pirates and Yankees were rained out and will play two on Sunday.
What You Missed: A review of Million Dollar Arm. The longest homers of the week.
Today’s Games: Aaron Harang starts for the Braves in St. Louis against Shelby Miller. Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson will duel at Wrigley. Jarred Cosart and the Astros host the White Sox. Gio Gonzalez and the Nationals host the Bartolo Colon and the Mets. Scott Kazmir starts for the A’s in Cleveland against Josh Tomlin and the Indians. Homer Bailey and Cole Hamels will duel in Philly. Rick Porcello starts for the Tigers in Boston. Mark Buehrle gets the nod for the Blue Jays in Texas. Clayton Kershaw starts for the Dodgers in Arizona. Tim Lincecum and the Giants host Tom Koehler and the Marlins. C.J. Wilson and the Angels host the Rays.
National TV: Pirates-Yankees (4 PM, Fox Sports 1), Tigers-Red Sox (7 PM, MLB Network), Orioles-Royals (7 PM, MLB Network)
MLB.tv Free Game: Mariners-Twins (7 PM)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
