MLB Recaps: Diamonbacks Spoil Harper’s Arrival in Washington
By Matt Musico
Bryce Harper made his long-awaited debut in front in Washington at Nationals Park, but his presence and arm wasn’t enough to halt the team’s current losing streak, as Trevor Cahill was dominant in the 5-1 Arizona win.
The 19-year-old showcased the type of arm he has from left field last night, but he and the rest of the Washington lineup couldn’t figure
out Cahill on the mound for 7.1 innings.Justin Upton and Paul Goldschmidt combined for five hits, two RBI, and two runs scored, while Cahill won his second game of the year, tossing 7.1 innings of one-run ball, giving up six hits, one walk, and striking out 5.
National League:
Philadelphia Phillies- 4
Atlanta Braves- 2
Both Cole Hamels and Brandon Beachy partook in a great pitcher’s duel through the first half of the game, and the contest was left to the bullpens upon their exit. Ty Wigginton singled in the first two runs of the game in the fourth, and when the game was tied in the eighth, the go ahead run scored on a Jonny Venters wild pitch, and an insurance run on a Hunter Pence base hit. Jonathan Papelbon came in to shut the door for his ninth save of the season.
Houston Astros-6
New York Mets- 3
Jonathon Niese experienced his shortest outing in two years, only going three innings while giving up two early home runs to Jed Lowrie and Chris Snyder. J.A. Happ and co. put together six 1-2-3 innings, including the last four frames of the game, which led to their 10th win on the season, continuing to surprise the league.
St. Louis Cardinals- 10
Pittsburgh Pirates- 7
Adam Wainwright has had a frustrating return from missing all of 2011 so far, with the offense not scoring a single run during the month of April while he was on the mound. That changed last night, with Matt Holliday, David Freese, and Rafael Furcal all going deep. Couple that with four Pittsburgh errors, and it’s an easy win for the Cards.
Los Angeles Dodgers- 7
Colorado Rockies- 6
On the day that the sale of their team was completed, the Dodgers staked themselves to a big lead, and then were able to hold off Colorado for a one-run victory. Dee Gordon led off the game with his first career home run, and Ted Lilly was solid through his six innings of work. The Rockies scored all six of their runs from the 6th-8th, and threat in the ninth until Carlos Gonzalez struck out to end the game.
San Diego Padres- 2
Milwaukee Brewers- 0
A day after Ryan Braun absolutely went off, the Pads and Brew Crew were locked in a pitcher’s duel until the bottom of eighth, when Mark Kotsay came up in a pinch to take Francisco Rodriguez deep. Neither Edinson Volquez or Shawn Marcum got the win, even though they both went seven shutout innings and only surrendering three hits.
Miami Marlins- 2
San Francisco Giants- 1
Pablo Sandoval homered in the sixth inning off of Ricky Nolasco, but that was the only offense supplied by the Giants as Nolasco pitched 7.1 innings for his third win of the year. Heath Bell recovered from his last save situation and notched his third save of the season. Giancarlo Stanton hit his second home run of the season and Hanley Ramirez added an RBI to make the difference for the Fish.
Chicago Cubs Postponed
Cincinnati Reds
Weather denied the Cubs and Reds from meeting head-to-head at the Great American Ballpark.
American League:
Baltimore Orioles- 7
New York Yankees- 1
The O’s continue their quest to stay at the top of the division, and they got an encouraging start from Brian Matusz, who went 6.1 innings, giving up only one run. Phil Hughes struggled again for the Yankees and lost his fourth game of the year. Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, and Alex Rodriguez combined for seven hits, but that was the total number of hits produced by the Yankees.
Detroit Tigers- 9
Kansas City- 3
The Tigers have had a rough couple of weeks; not only have they lost eight of ten games, but Delmon Young was arrested and then suspended for his run in with the law. What will cure their cold streak? Playing the Royals, of course! Rick Porcello pitched eight strong as the Tiger offense, led by Austin Jackson, touched up Luke Hochevar for nine earned runs in four innings pitched.
Toronto Blue Jays- 8
Texas Rangers- 7
This was a game of quick offensive outbursts; the Rangers started it with a five-run second, then the Blue Jays countered in the bottom of the third with four runs of their own. Toronto took the lead with three runs in the seventh, but the save was blown by Francisco Cordero in the ninth. Thankfully for him, Brett Lawrie hit his third home run of the year to walk off with the Jays’ 13th win of 2012.
Tampa Bay Rays- 3
Seattle Mariners- 1
The Rays got some bad news before the game, finding out they would be without Evan Longoria for 1-2 months with a partially torn hamstring, but that didn’t discourage Tampa Bay. Matt Joyce was front and center, driving in two runs with a solo home run and triple. Matt Moore pitched five innings, giving up one run and striking out seven, handing it off to the bullpen, who threw four shutout innings to secure the victory.
Oakland A’s- 5
Boston Red Sox- 3
Jarrod Parker was able to silence the Boston bats for 6.2 innings to earn his first career MLB victory, and Jemile Weeks broke out with two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored to help lead Oakland to their 12th win of the season, snapping a five-game win streak by the Red Sox. Boston was mounting a comeback in the bottom of the ninth against Grant Balfour, but Jordan Norberto came in to stop the bleeding and earn the save.
Chicago White Sox- 7
Cleveland Indians- 2
Chicago and Cleveland had to wait an extra hour to get things started due to rain, but the White Sox supplied some power as A.J. Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham homered in consecutive innings against Ubaldo Jimenez. Chris Sale went six strong innings for his third win of the year for Chicago.
Los Angeles Angels- 4
Minnesota Twins- 0
The Angels started off May better than they started April, and Jerome Williams threw a three-hit shutout, his first in nine years. LAA took their second series win of the season by taking the first two against the Twins. And no, Albert Pujols did not hit a home run, and he didn’t even get a hit, lowering his season batting average to .208.
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