Friday, June 15, 2012
And That Happened
Posted by Craig CalcaterraReds 12, Indians 5: One in a bunch of lopsided Thursday games. Brandon Phillips simply abuses Indians pitching as a rule and he did so again yesterday, driving in four. And he likes it too. He said after the game: "Deep down, it feels good to beat up on the Tribe." Michael Brantley extended his hitting streak to 21. The Reds sweep the Indians for the first time in four years. They are so close to claiming victory in the Battle of Ohio. And to the victor goes the spoils! Soon the Reds will dine on the finest bologna and Velveeta the Buckeye State has to offer and the streets of Columbus, Lima and Akron will flow with the blood of the non-believers!
Cardinals 5, White Sox 3: Adam Dunn tied Josh Hamilton for the major league lead in homers with his 22nd bomb. He's on pace for 57 homers and 255 strikeouts. His average is .227 yet his OPS is .940. Dude is too weird to live, too rare to die. Sure, the Cardinals won, but that's a mere detail. We're in the business of building this donkey's legend here, friend.
Mets 9, Rays 6: Johan Santana was less-than-sharp, but the Mets sweep the Rays behind two homers from Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Jason Bay added one too. That's something considering he's on a "hey, good for you!" basis for doing anything more than falling over these days.
Tigers 5, Cubs 3: Detroit wins its second straight over Chicago and Justin Verlander notches a win for the first time in a month. Most notable, however: just how thoroughly Detroit fans took over Wrigley Field in this series. It was basically a home game for the Tigers. Someone in Chicago had better come up with some sort of "Cubsitude" campaign. Or something.
Orioles 12, Pirates 6: Baltimore unloads on former mate Erik Bedard for its biggest offensive night of the season. Steve Pearce homered and drove in five. Matt Wieters drove in five and did it without even hitting a homer. The O's were up 10-0 before the Pirates got a run. Just a shellacking.
Athletics 8, Rockies 2: Oakland has one of the worst offenses in the game but leaves Colorado having scored 26 runs in a three-game sweep. Meanwhile, Jarrod Parker allowed only three hits over seven scoreless innings. The Rockies are simply cratering.
Phillies 6, Twins 1: Know what Charlie Manuel needed? A night when he didn't have to call on that freak show bullpen of his. And Joe Blanton gave it to him. Blanton threw a complete game, allowing one run on seven hits. Jim Thome hit a three-run bomb because he is Jim Thome and all he does is mash taters.
Royals 4, Brewers 3: For the second night in a row the Royals got to the back end of Milwaukee's bullpen. Though really, this isn't all on John Axford. He struck out the first man he faced but strike three was a wild pitch, allowing the batter to reach (note: like 75 percent of wild pitches seem to come on balls the catcher should at least knock down and passed balls are rarely called these days). The winning run scored on a dumb decision by shortstop Edwin Maysonet, who cut off a throw from the outfield in an effort to get the batter which allowed the lead runner to come around and score.
Diamondbacks 11, Rangers 3: Arizona salvages one and breaks out of a run scoring drought to do it. Daniel Hudson struck out seven in seven innings, rebounding from a nightmare start his last time out.
Astros 6, Giants 3: It was an extremely Barry Zito third inning, as he walked the bases loaded and then allowed a grand slam to J.D. Martinez. Brandon Belt hit his third homer in as many games. It's gonna be extra fun when Bruce Bochy comes up with an excuse to bench him next time. I'm gonna go with "those homers are rally-killers" or some variation on that theme.
Padres 6, Mariners 2: The sweep. Edinson Volquez allowed one run and four hits while pitching into the seventh. Overall, Padres starters basically shut down the M's lineup. Good for them and all, but I hope the pitching doesn't continue to be good. Because I'll be at the Padres-Rangers game with my kids on Monday night and if anyone takes a no-hitter late, I can totally see my kids being all like "can we GO?" At which point I'll put them up for adoption.
Craig writes the HardballTalk blog for NBC Sports.com