And That Happened
by Craig CalcaterraAugust 20, 2012
Pirates 6, Cardinals 3: For the second straight year the Pirates play a 19-inning game. This time, unlike the game against the Braves in which they were royally screwed, the Pirates won. Thank you Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen who drove in runs in the 19th, Alvarez with a homer. They had to burn Wandy Rodriguez for a couple of innings in this one even though he was supposed to start today, but a game against the Cardinals is worth way more to Pittsburgh than a game against the Padres. Eight shutout innings from Jaime Garcia ended up not mattering, but they weren't meaningless either.
Giants 7, Padres 1: At least I think that's the right score. I was directed to a scores website I had never seen before that showed the Giants as having one. Let me check the site's info for a second ... MELKY!
Yankees 4, Red Sox 3: Two homers for Ichiro, three hits for Jetes and eight strong innings from Hiroki Kuroda. That was the second time this season Ichiro has hit two homers in a game. Not bad for a guy who has only 102 in 12 years. I missed this game, unfortunately, as I spent all evening texting my girlfriend from Adrian Gonzalez's phone. Which makes about as much sense as anything else I've heard this week.
Phillies 8, Brewers 0: Kyle Kendrick threw eight shutout innings, striking out seven. This game had a rain delay. In Milwaukee. Where they have a retractable roof. That makes sense.
Rockies 3, Marlins 2: For the first time on seven games in Coors Field, Giancarlo Stanton didn't homer. Colorado has won five of seven.
Mariners 5, Twins 1: The M's sweep the Twins. We're starting to get to the point of the season where I ask myself whether if I got the scores of these meaningless games wrong -- like, as an accident, not for yuks like I did with the Padres-Giants score -- would anyone notice. I'm guessing not.
Diamondbacks 8, Astros 1: Obviously Tony DeFrancesco isn't the answer. Bring back Larry Dierker! Aaron Hill homered twice.
Athletics 7, Indians 0: Yesterday was apparently "pitcher throws eight shutout innings day." Jarrod Parker did it too. Another nightmare road trip for Cleveland, now 1-5 on the current nine-game jaunt out west.
Nationals 5, Mets 2: Gio Gonzalez wins his 16th game, setting a Nats team record. Bryce Harper tripled and homered. He homered on Friday night too -- I was there and it was fun -- so it looks like maybe he's heating up, bro.
Rays 8, Angels 3: The Rays sweep the Angels. So: your team has a big payroll after signing Pujols and Wilson in the offseason, you call up the best rookie since, I dunno, Fred Lynn, and you trade for Zack Greinke at the deadline. And yet you find yourself nine games out of first and four and a half out of the wild card, with four teams above you? Yeah, that's the kind of thing that could get you fired, Mike Scioscia.
Dodgers 5, Braves 0: Chad Billingsley pitched seven shutout innings and is now 6-0 since the break. The Dodgers move into first with that Giants loss. The Braves go to D.C. to face the Nats. Big series for them.
Royals 5, White Sox 2: Jeremy Guthrie flirted with a no-no, but mild controversy intervened. Eh, I've seen that kind of play called a hit in the past. It happens.
Reds 5, Cubs 4: The Reds won ugly, because of some bad defense. Dusty Baker actually asked this after the game: "Is there stink on the field?" Well, if it is on the field, that's gotta be an improvement as far as Dusty is concerned.
Rangers 11, Blue Jays 2: Michael Young drove in five runs with a three-run homer and a two-run double. It was Young's first homer in 88 games.
Orioles 7, Tigers 5: Everyone's been saying the Orioles are going to collapse eventually. But what happens if they don't collapse? Here they found themselves down 5-0 after the first inning yet didn't pack it in. They may not pack it in all year.
Craig writes the HardballTalk blog for NBC Sports.com
Well, you didn’t get the M’s - Twins score wrong, but you did get the Yankee - Red Sox score wrong. It was 4 to 1. Enjoy the column!