MLB Game Recaps: Matt Kemp spoils Bryce Harper Debut
Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Washington Nationals 3
Young phenom Bryce Harper will become one of the best hitters in baseball in the future, and he did not disappoint in his debut. Harper hit an RBI double in the ninth to score in Rick Ankiel and give the Nats a 2-1 lead. By the time the bottom of the ninth came around, Washington was up 3-1. However, the Dodgers put up two runs in the bottom of the final frame to tie it up 3-3 in the action-packed late innings. Juan Uribe hit a ground-rule double and scored on a wild pitch to be the hero in the ninth, but the hero in the tenth was superstar Matt Kemp who hit a 429 foot homer, his 11th of the year, to win the game for the Dodgers.
Pitcher Stephen Strasburg is the pitching equivalent of Harper, and he pitched a strong seven innings, allowing five hits and a run without a walk and striking out nine. Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley also delivered in seven innings, and he also allowed just five hits and a run. However, he struck out “just” six batters and allowed two walks.
Much like Harper, Strasburg also hit the first double of his career off of Billingsley. Adam LaRoche homered for the fourth time this season, 17 RBIs, and Matt Kemp stole 2nd base when Tyler Clippard was pitching.
Angels 2, Indians 1
Howie Kendrick went 1-3 with a walk and a run for the Angels, as he was the man who scored on Kendrys Morales‘s bloop single in the first to draw first blood for the Angels. Dan Haren tossed eight innings of four-hit ball and allowed just one run and two walks with seven strikeouts. Scott Downs saved his first game of the season while stepping in for the benched Jordan Walden.
Cardinals 7, Brewers 3
The St. Louis Cardinals always bring their best offensively against one of their rivals in the NL Central, and Yadier Molina provided the merciless barrage of hits. He went 4-4 with his fourth homer of the year, scored twice, and he drove in two runs. Jon Jay went 3-4, David Freese went yard for the fifth time in 2012, and Skip Schumaker got into the act with a two-RBI double in the eighth.
For the Brewers, Aramis Ramirez had two hits and two runs, with one of those hits being a solo shot to center in the fourth.
Tigers 7, Yankees 5
The Detroit Tigers edged out the New York Yankes, as Drew Smyly held the Bombers to just two hits and one run in six innings. He struck out seven and walked two. Jose Valverde pitched the final frame for the Tigers and gave up three runs, as Curtis Granderson drove in a run and scored against his former team to try and form a late rally for the Yanks.
LF Andy Dirks and Miguel Cabrera both homered and drove in three runs, with Dirks hitting his first homer of the year and Cabrera driving in his 19th run. Nick Swisher and Granderson led the way for the Yankees, with Swisher homering twice- including a shot in the ninth.
Blue Jays 7, Mariners 0
The Toronto Blue Jays absolutely shut down the Seattle Mariners, and Brandon Morrow led the way on the mound by allowing just five hits and no walks in six scoreless innings. The strikeout artist sent down nine M’s hitters on strikes, and Jason Frasor and Darren Oliver followed him by notching holds.
Two Mariners hitters, including Ichiro, had two hits, while the Blue Jays had three to accomplish that feat. One of them,designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, drove in five runs and homered for the sixth time this year. Jose Bautista scored twice, as the Jays overcame a decent start from Kevin Millwood to get four runs off of Hisashi Iwakuma.
Reds 6, Astros 0
Cincinnati Reds starter Johnny Cueto is now 3-0 after tossing seven scoreless and allowing just five hits and a walk against the Houston Astros. Opposing starter Lucas Harrell gave up nine hits and five earned runs, with Jay Bruce doubling and hitting a homer to lead the way for the Reds (four RBIs).
Orioles 10, Athletics 1
The Baltimore Orioles put up runs at no end, with star CF Adam Jones scoring three times and notching three hits in this ballgame. Chris Davis had three hits, two runs, and four RBIs as he crushed a 411 foot homer to right in the seventh. A’s starter Tyson Ross was helpless, as he allowed 11 hits and nine runs in four innings. Meanwhile, Wei-Yin Chen allowed just one run in seven innings for the O’s to move his record up to 2-0 on the season.
Phillies 5, Cubs 2
Carlos Ruiz went 2-4 with two runs and three RBIs, and he hit a homer to left field in the sixth inning to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead. Joe Blanton put up a solid starter, and Jonathan Papelbon finished it out by pitching a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to record his seventh save of the year. 1B Bryan LaHair‘s double was the only extra-base hit for the Cubs.
Red Sox 1, White Sox 0
In this terrific pitching duel, it was Jon Lester who emerged victorious despite Jake Peavy pitching better. Peavy has three wins this year, and this first loss of the season was a complete game for a Game Score of 81. He allowed just four hits, one run, and one walk while striking out seven. Lester was also great, as he had a Game Score of 73 and pitched seven scoreless frames. He allowed five hits and walk, and he also struck out seven batters.
Alfredo Aceves finished the game for Boston by pitching a perfect ninth and notching his fifth save of the year, but it did take him 20 pitches (14 strikes) to finish Chicago off. Paul Konerko was everything for the Sox offensively, as usual, and he went 2-3 with two doubles. Ryan Sweeney scored the only run of the game and led the way for the Red Sox with two hits (one double). It was Adrian Gonzalez who singled in the fourth to drive in Sweeney.
Pirates 4, Braves 2
Erik Bedard allowed just one run and struck out nine in five innings, and he received some run support for the first time en route to his first win of the year. Joel Hanrahan pitched a perfect ninth (finally) and struck out two in that inning for the save. The Pirates torched young Braves starter Randall Delgado by getting eight hits, four runs, and three walks off of him.
Left fielder Alex Presley had another solid game at the top of the order and went 2-5 with two runs and a double, and Pedro Alvarez doubled twice to pace the Pirates offensive attack. Neil Walker also had two hits and a double, as did Braves LF Martin Prado. Michael Bourn also notched two hits at the top of the order, so the table setters in the Braves order once again had two hits apiece.
Marlins 3, Diamondbacks 2
Anibal Sanchez was terrific in seven innings, as he allowed just three hits and two runs. He did walk four, but Sanchez also struck out 14 batters and is always a threat to have a memorable performance on the mound.
Rangers 7, Rays 2
Jeff Niemann paid the price for being average against the Rangers, as he is now 1-3 on the season. However, it was Burke Badenhop who gave up the four runs and three hits in an inning to Texas and struggled in this one. Colby Lewis is now 3-0 on the year after allowing just three hits and a run in six innings.
Evan Longoria went 2-4 with a double, and Matt Joyce homered for the fifth time this year in the second inning. Ian Kinsler scored twice, Josh Hamilton went 2-3 with two run and two RBIs, Adrian Beltre went 2-3 with three RBIs and a homer, and No. 9 hitter and 1B Mitch Moreland had two hits and a double for the Rangers.
Mets 7, Rockies 5
After an 18-9 loss, the New York Mets got their revenge in a high-scoring game, but definitely not as high-scoring as yesterday’s game. The No. 2, 3, and 4 hitters on the Mets (Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy, and David Wright) all had two hits, with Wright scoring twice and driving in two runs. Lucas Duda went 2-4 with four RBIs and hit a 422 foot homer off of Guillermo Moscoso (still never get that trade) in the second.
Dillon Gee struck out seven in seven innings to record the win for the Mets, Tim Byrdak pitched another strong eighth inning, and Frank Francisco nabbed his fifth save of the year despite allowing a run. Rockies starter Moscoso was rocky in five innings and allowed nine hits and six runs for a Game Score of 29.
Giants 2, Padres 1
Melky Cabrera went 2-4 with two doubles, and Brandon Belt hit a double in the seventh to basically win the game for the Giants. Before that two-bagger, San Diego was winning 1-0, but Belt’s two-RBI knock gave the Giants a 2-1 lead that would not be relinquished.
Anthony Bass, much like Jake Peavy, was charged with the loss and is 1-3 on the year despite pitching a complete game. Bass allowed six hits, no walks, and two runs with eight strikeouts in a great performance. However, Tim Lincecum was even better in his eight innings and allowed no earned runs (one unearned) with four walks and three hits allowed. Santiago Casilla pitched a perfect ninth to earn his third save of the season.
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