And That Happened

Athletics 7, Royals 0:  Guillermo Moscoso took a no-hitter into the eighth inning . He allowed only two hits in all in eight and two-thirds and, between his last start against the Mariners and this one against the Royals, retired 30 batters in a row. Heck, if a hitting streak can stretch between two seasons, I’d say we can give Moscoso a perfect game for that, right?

Mets 1, Marlins 0: In an unexpected turn of events, Dickey beat Hand.  Oh please. Like you haven’t been waiting for that one all year.

Rays 5, Rangers 4: A walkoff homer for Desmond Jennings in the bottom of the 10th. The Rays are eight back of the Red Sox for the wild card and start a three-game series against them on Friday. Funny that people will talk about the AL Central “race” or the NL Central “race,” when each of those have wider deficits than this wild card thing and no one — really no one — talks about the Rays as if they have a shot. Which I don’t really think they do, but I do think it’s interesting that no one says anything. Well, I just said something, but I don’t really count.

Orioles 5, Yankees 4: Mark Reynolds struck out four times and then hit what ended up being the tie-breaking single in the 10th. That’s pretty much Mark Reynolds for you. This game was filled with fill-ins, and the regular starters who did play were likely gassed after that late game Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. And it rained some more, which everyone has to be sick of.

Tigers 8, Indians 6: Justin Verlander wasn’t really on his game and it took a Tigers rally in the top of the seventh after he had already thrown his last pitch for him to get the win. But hey, he got the win and someone will give him MVP votes because of it, conveniently forgetting the specifics of this game. Shelley Duncan hit two homers off Verlander. Which was pretty cool for me on a personal level as I got to tell my daughter Mookie that her favorite player totally pwned the best pitcher in the American League.

Phillies 3, Braves 2: And the sweep. Ross Gload with the pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth to win it. And of course it came off the Braves’, what, fourth? Fifth best reliever? Because you can’t use your closer in a tie game on the road? GRRRRRR.

Cardinals 2, Brewers 0: Chris Carpenter tosses a four-hit shutout. The Cardinals are creeping up on the Braves in the wild card chase, by the way. Six and a half back. And they have a series coming up against the Braves in St. Louis tomorrow.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3: Arizona finishes a six-game road trip at 4-2 and play 13 of their last 19 games at home.

Padres 3, Giants 1: The Giants drop their third in the last four games. Aaron Harang allowed one run in seven innings.

Angels 3, Mariners 1: Jerome Williams gave up only one hit — a homer — in eight innings of work. Who’d a thunk he would be helping keep someone’s playoff hopes alive this year?

Twins 5, White Sox 4: The Twins scored four in the third — their first scoring in 20 innings — and they snapped a five game losing streak. Ozzie “I don’t think we lose. I think we just gave this game away.” Sometimes that kind of sentiment is construed as a slam on the other team. But since this was the Twins, it’s probably the best explanation.

Cubs 6, Reds 3: Carlos Pena with a three-run homer in the eighth to break the tie. After the game he talked about coming up in those kinds of situations and how, oftentimes, hitters try “to do too much.”  “See, I could have swung extra hard to try to hit a grand slam with two men on, but I settled for the three-run homer,” I imagined him thinking.

Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 10: Tim Wakefield keeps trying to get that 200th win. Last night the bullpen collapsed, allowing five runs in the eighth and six overall to snatch defeat. This kind of thing should be more concerning for the team, however, than it is for Tim Wakefield’s pursuit of a round number.

Pirates 5, Astros 4:  Andrew McCutchen homered twice. Clint Hurdle got his 600th career victory.

Dodgers vs. Nationals: POSTPONED: My kid’s soccer game went on in driving rain, as scheduled. Man-up, baseball players. Well, no, not really. I understand the difference (dirt, mostly). I just want to tell people that even though I was sick as a dog yesterday I went out to the soccer field anyway, stood in a downpour and watched six-year-old boys hog a soccer ball. Next time I bring the flask.