And That Happened

Lots of games got delayed last night due to rain causing them to end after my usual bedtime. As such, there wasn’t a chance that I was going to be able to be as comprehensive with these recaps as I usually am, seeing as though I’m writing way more of them this morning than I usually do. We’ll see how they go, however. Oh, and I’m punting box score links again. To get them, go here.

Indians 4, White Sox 0: Four runs is a lot of support for Cliff Lee. Didn’t need three of those runs, though, as he shuts the Sox down over seven innings, and the Cleveland bullpen somehow doesn’t get lit up for once. Jermaine Dye struck out to end the sixth inning, and was ejected for throwing his helmet and pouting and calling the ump whatever you call the ump to get ejected and stuff. The box score said “Jermaine Dye ejected in the top of the sixth.” Moments later Ozzie Guillen was ejected from barking at the ump over the same strikeout. The box score said “Ozzie Guillen ejected in the bottom of the sixth.” Gentlemen: I think if we review the tape we may finally be able to definitively determine when the top of an inning ends where the bottom begins! UPDATE: I’m told that Guillen’s ejection actually happened during Jhonny Peralta’s at bat in the actual bottom of the inning. Apologies for the confusion. I didn’t see the game, and the game story was not at all clear on this.

Nationals 6, Giants 3: Zimmerman’s hitting streak snapped. And this from the game story: “Zito (1-3) gave up eight hits and four runs while pitching into the seventh, losing control of a tight game late in another tough loss on his 31st birthday.” He had other tough losses on his 31st birthday? No wonder he lost. He was tired!

Braves 8, Mets 7: Atlanta blows leads in the first, fourth and eighth innings but somehow holds on to win in twelve innings. Jeff Francoeur was supposed to have the day off because he’s tired/terrible but he still got in the game for two at bats. He goes 0-2, getting himself out on the first pitch once and striking out the other time. I’m pained by his presence on my team’s roster.

Dodgers 9, Phillies 2: Has Jamie Moyer finally hit the wall? He’s got an 8.15 ERA and has given up 52 hits in 35 innings and the opposition is hitting .342 against him.

Yankees 8, Blue Jays 2: Scott Richmond is the first of the Blue Jays’ improbably good rotation to turn into a pumpkin (1.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER). Jeter is still out. Matsui is out. Posada is still out. Who are all these kids in Yankees uniforms and what are they doing on my lawn?

Rays 8, Orioles 6: Plate umpire Tom Hallion was struck in the right hand by Orioles’ starter Brad Bergesen wild pitch in the third. You have to figure that if you do that, you’re not going to be getting too many calls for the rest of the game. Bergesen only walked one, but he did give up nine hits. One wonders if he was throwing it right down the middle because he knew Hallion had it in for him.

Pirates 5, Cardinals 2: It’s the first time the Pirates have won back-to-back games since April 25-26th. Adam LaRoche had a home run reversed on replay. He’s the first player to have one taken away since the program began last year.

Brewers 8, Marlins 6: Didn’t you feel all clever when you snagged Rickey Nolasco in a late round of your fantasy draft? Yeah, well, that’s why fantasy largely sucks (ERA = 7.78). Ross Gload has a home run reversed on a replay. He’s the second player to have one taken away since the program began last year.

Reds 10, Diamondbacks 3: The Reds stay on a roll and the Diamondbacks continue their descent.

Astros 15, Rockies 11: With Mike Hampton and Jason Marquis starting, this kind of a score shouldn’t really be a surprise, though each of the did have help setting the fires (Geoff Geary, Glendon Rusch).

Athletics 7, Royals 2: The A’s have about the worst offense in baseball, but they scored 20 runs and 20 hits against Kansas City in the past two days. Brian Bannister left the game early due to shoulder stiffness. The fairytale may be over in Kansas City.

Cubs 6, Padres 4: The Cubs have won nine of twelve.

Angels 8, Red Sox 4: Tim Wakefield getting shelled was bound to happen eventually — a knuckler sometimes just doesn’t knuckle — and last night was the night (4.2 IP, 11 H, 7 ER).

Rangers 6, Mariners 5: The Rangers are surging right now — winners of nine of eleven — keeping my prediction of them winning the west viable. It was a completely wild-ass guess of a prediction, of course, so I shouldn’t take any credit for prescience, but it’s still nice to look kind of smart for a little while.

Twins 14, Tigers 10: A walkoff grand slam from Joe Crede in the 13th inning wins it for Minnesota. Dontrelle Willis’ return: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER. I suppose it could have been worse based on where he was when we last saw him, but it’s hard to be encouraged either.