Friday, August 19, 2011
And That Happened
Posted by Craig CalcaterraAngels 2, Rangers 1: Mark Trumbo hits a walkoff homer off Mike Adams to help Anaheim salvage one in what was still a disappointing four-game set. They trailed the Rangers by just 1½ games early last week and now it's six. Oh, and Jered Weaver, while pitching well, still managed to get visibly annoyed at his own shortstop for missing a popup and then jawed at the Rangers dugout after Mike Napoli hit a home run. Such a mature young man this Weaver is turning out to be.
Braves 1, Giants 0: Mike Minor and Tim Lincecum were each fantastic, but Lincecum left one out over the plate to Chipper Jones in the fifth inning. Turned out one mistake was the difference. Viva New Deadball Era.
Blue Jays 7, Athletics 0: Ricky Romero tossed a three-hit shutout for his fifth straight win. Colby Rasmus homered and scored three times.
Dodgers 5, Brewers 1: Of course the day after I write about how the Brewers are unstoppable, someone stops them. Clayton Kershaw, specifically (8 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 6K).
Nationals 3, Reds 1: Jordan Zimmermann beats Bronson Arroyo, with the difference-maker being a two-run bases loaded single for ex-Red Jonny Gomes.
Phillies 4, Diamondbacks 1: Rain turned this from a battle between Ian Kennedy and Vance Worley into a battle between Micah Owings and David Herndon. Thing was, Kennedy was in long enough to dig a hole and Herndon and the rest of the Phillies pen wasn't very generous to the Dbacks in return. A two-run homer for John Mayberry, Jr.
Padres 3, Marlins 1: The last time we saw Tim Stauffer he was giving up five homers in a 13-1 loss to the Reds. He's feeling much better now (7IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 5K).
Yankees 8, Twins 4: Nine strikeouts for CC Sabathia and homers from Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones. Joe Mauer played right field, which was fun. And this nugget from the game story was even more fun: "The outfield of Rene Tosoni, Ben Revere and Mauer has four homers combined this season, compared to 34 for Curtis Granderson of the Yankees."
Red Sox 4, Royals 3: The Red Sox keep pace after Josh Beckett -- who struggled early -- settled down and figured it out. Dustin Pedroia went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI.
Indians 4, White Sox 2: The Tribe leaves for Detroit on a positive note. Even more positive: they don't have to face Justin Verlander this weekend. Pretty critical series ahead. And speaking of heads ...
Craig writes the HardballTalk blog for NBC Sports.com
AT the game, you could hear the ball hit Humber’s head from where I was sitting, then he goes down on his back. Scary.