And That Happened

Orioles 12, Blue Jays 0: Zach Britton throwing seven shutout innings + Mark Reynolds driving in four + Yankees losing = First place for the Orioles dudes.

Rays 5, Yankees 2: This is that Yankees loss I just mentioned. Freddy Garcia allowed five runs over five. I know this isn’t the case, but as I sit here today I can’t envision any Freddy Garcia starts that weren’t five runs over five innings. And the offense ain’t helping either.

Brewers 8, Marlins 4: Giancarlo Stanton hit his 30th homer of the year, but he can’t do it alone. Norichika Aoki and Jeff Bianchi each homered and drove in three.

Reds 2, Phillies 1: A two-run shot for Jay Bruce — his third homer in as many games — and Mat Latos allowed one run over seven innings.

Royals 6, Rangers 3: The Nu-Look Jeremy Guthrie continues to roll, tossing seven innings of five-hit, two-run ball.

Rockies 6, Braves 0: A quartet of Rockies pitchers shut the Braves out. Carlos Gonzalez’s solo homer in the first inning was all that Colorado needed.

Nationals 11, Cubs 5: Six homers for the Nats, including two from Adam LaRoche who is absolutely scorching hot right now. On the baseball field, I mean. He still looks like Adam LaRoche.

Indians 3, Tigers 2: Justin Masterson was in control, allowing two runs over six innings. The Tigers, meanwhile are a game away from being swept by the Indians and the Royals, interrupted by a sweep of the White Sox, which makes no damn sense at all. But that’s baseball.

Cardinals 5, Mets 1: Jamie Garcia scattered nine hits over seven and a third. That’s an official ruling, by the way. The Scattered Hits Institute certifies such statements whenever a winning pitcher allows more hits than innings pitched.

Twins 18, White Sox 9: Minnesota put up a ten-spot in the fifth inning, which made it 17-4 at that point. Mr. Perfect, Phil Humber, gave up eight runs in a third of an inning himself. DeWayne Wise pitched for Chicago. It was just one of those nights.

Diamondbacks 8, Giants 6: Aaron Hill went 5 for 5 with a homer. Jason Kubel tripled home the tiebreaking run in the 11th. The Giants used 11 pitchers which, wow, viva expanded rosters.

Padres 6, Dodgers 3: But hey, at least L.A. lost in 11 innings too. This, in part, because the Dodgers bullpen is pretty overworked at the moment, forcing Don Mattingly to use his secondary and tertiary options in late innings.  Yasmani Grandal tied it in the eighth with a two-run shot and Logan Forsythe hit a two-run single in the 11th putting San Diego ahead for good.

Red Sox 4, Mariners 3: The losing streak ends at seven. The sixth inning was where the magic happened, with homers from Cody Ross and  Ryan Lavarnway.

Angels 6, Athletics 1: Zack Greinke is finally coming around, winning his third straight start. The Angels have won four of five and 11 of 14 overall. They’re three and a half back in the wild card race.

Pirates 6, Astros 2:  Andrew McCutchen had four hits, driving in three. Pittsburgh remains two and a half back of the Cards in the wild card race. Brock Holt — BROCK HOLT! — had four hits too.