And That Happened

Yankees 7, Rangers 4: The platonic ideal of a late-dynasty Yankees game: Four hits for Jeter, homer for A-Rod, a CC Sabathia win and a Mariano Rivera save.  I sorta feel like I wanna be the guy who starts writing the breathless “can Derek Jeter hit .400?” articles. Maybe I’ll do one later today.

Giants 6, Mets 1, Giants 7, Mets 2: In the first game, Tim Lincecum  finally pitches like Tim Lincecum. Well, not really like Lincecum — more like a shadow of Tim Lincecum who likes to walk guys — but after his first couple of stinkers, this was quality. Madison Bumgarner ties up the Mets in the nightcap.

Blue Jays 4, Royals 1: Eleven straight losses for K.C., 10 at home. In other news, someone you love lost their job since 2008 while Ned Yost remains gainfully employed. For now.

Cubs 3, Cardinals 2: Jason Motte came in to lock down a 2-1 lead in the ninth, but the Cubbies had different ideas: walk, walk, groundout to put both runners in scoring position and then a Joe Mather two-run RBI single to win it for Chicago. A great Jaime Garcia start was wasted (7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER).  If Tony La Russa were still alive, Motte would be working mopup duty tomorrow and La Russa would be claiming that the Cardinals never had a closer, and who are you talking about anyway?

Red Sox 6, Twins 5: Cody Ross homered in the seventh to tie it and homered again in the ninth to put the Sox ahead for good. Jon Lester wasn’t sharp — he gave up five runs in seven — but the pen actually held Minnesota scoreless for two innings, which is a cause for celebration with the Sox.

Dodgers 7, Braves 2: I watched the first couple innings of this. Between listening to Vin Scully and watching Dee Gordon and Matt Kemp play, I’m sorta tempted to turn heel on my Braves and root for the Dodgers this entire series. It was especially easy to do last night what with Jair Jurrjens becoming this year’s version of 2011 Derek Lowe and over four innings of Livan Hernandez Time.

Diamondbacks 9, Phillies 5: The return of an effective Justin Upton (2 for 3, HR 2 RBI). I may have said on the HBT Extra going up today that Kyle Kendrick filling in for Cliff Lee wouldn’t be horrible. Which just goes to show you that you can’t believe anything you see on video (3 IP, 11 H, 7 ER).

White Sox 4, Athletics 0: Jake Peavy throws a three-hit shutout, overshadowing another great Bartolo Colon start.

Brewers 6, Astros 5: Ryan Braun was 3 for 4 with a double, homer and two RBI, breaking a 2-for-20 slump. Zack Greinke struck out nine in six innings. As go the Brewers stars, so go the Brewers.

Rockies vs. Pirates: POSTPONED: When the rain falls, there’s magic in our lives. When the rain falls, we’re happy deep inside. When the rain falls, it cleans away the corners of our minds.