Monday, August 29, 2011
And That Happened
Posted by Craig CalcaterraRays 12, Blue Jays 0: David Price was dominant, punching out 14 Blue Jays. Not literally. If he actually punched them out he would probably have been arrested.
Rangers 9, Angels 5: Josh Hamilton and Elvis Andrus combined to go 6 for 9 with five driven in. Jered Weaver hung tough for a while on short rest, but really didn't have it. Not sure about that whole short rest thing on a 100+ degree day, but I guess decisions like that are why they pay Mike Scioscia the big bucks. The Rangers take two of three to retain a three-game lead over the Angles. They meet again in the final series of the season.
Orioles 2, Yankees 0, Yankees 8, Orioles 3: I don't believe the Yankees actually contested this double header given that the Orioles organization is still dealing with Mike Flanagan's death.
Reds 5, Nationals 4: Your standard 14-inning, won by a walkoff-by-Joey-Votto affair. Both managers were ejected. So too was Nationals' bench coach and by then acting manager Pat Corrales. Why yes, it was Joe West's crew umpiring. Why do you ask? Nineteen strikeouts for Reds pitchers.
Brewers 3, Cubs 2: There's no place like home: Zack Greinke goes to 10-0 at Miller Park. The Brew Crew sweep the Cubs.
Cardinals 7, Pirates 4: Kyle Lohse wins his 100th career game. If you put a gun to my head I never would have guessed that he had that many wins. Some guys just fly under the radar I suppose.
Twins 11, Tigers 4: For the past couple of days I've noticed people tweeting that the bottom third of the Twins' lineup was laughable. Luke Hughes was in that bottom third yesterday and drove in five. On Saturday he drove in three.
Royals 2, Indians 1: Bruce Chen just knows how to win. OK, that's not fair. Usually I use that as a backhanded compliment for mediocre guys who luck into wins. True, Chen is mediocre and has won five straight, but this one was legit. Chen allowed one run on five hits in seven and a third, salvaging one game of the series for the Royals.
White Sox 9, Mariners 3: The sweep. And now the Sox are in second place. It's a distant second place in a crap division, but hey, second place.
Diamondbacks 6, Padres 1: Aaron Hill was 3 for 5 with three RBI and Ian Kennedy got his 17th win. Guys the Diamondbacks trade for are the new inefficiency.
Astros 4, Giants 3: Matt Downs had the go-ahead RBI single in the 11th. The Giants are now four back of Arizona and have looked pretty crappy getting there.
Rockies 7, Dodgers 6: Four RBI for Kevin Kouzmanoff give the Dodgers their first loss in a week.
Athletics vs. Red Sox, Phillies vs. Marlins, Braves vs. Mets: POSTPONED: Irene-pocalypse.
Craig writes the HardballTalk blog for NBC Sports.com