Washington Nationals 4, Philadelphia Phillies 3
Young catcher Wilson Ramos came into a 3-3 ballgame between two NL East rivals in the bottom of the eleventh, and the pinch-hitter was up with the bases loaded and two outs. It’s a dream situation to be in, but it can also be a demoralizing situation to be in if things don’t go well for the hitter.
There wouldn’t be any of that, as Ramos hit a walk-off single into center field to score in Stephen Lombardozzi in the 11th and win the game for the Nationals 4-3.
Stephen Strasburg out-pitched Kyle Kendrick, even if he did give up two more runs than the Phillies starter. It was Chad Qualls who blew the game for the Phillies by allowing Jesus Flores to hit an RBI-double to tie it up, and Michael Schwimmer sealed it by allowing three hits, a run, and two walks in the final 2.2 frames.
Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz had two hits and his fifth homer of the year, and Hunter Pence hit a two-run shot for the Phillies; both players provided the main offensive output. Lombardozzi and Rick Ankiel had three hits each, and Chad Tracy, Danny Espinosa, and Flores were also instrumental for the Nats on the offensive end.
Cubs 5, Dodgers 4
Alfonso Soriano led the way with three hits and two doubles in the 5-4 victory for the Cubs over the Dodgers, with David DeJesus doubling and also ending up with three hits. Jerry Hairston Jr. led the way for Los Angeles with three hits and two RBIs, which were thanks to a triple and homer.
For the Dodgers, Chad Billingsley had a rare poor outing and was outpitched by former Pittsburgh Pirates de facto ace Paul Maholm. He allowed just three hits and a run with no walks in six innings. Rafael Dolis slammed the door shut with his second save of the year in a perfect ninth after Kerry Wood allowed two runs in the previous inning.
Indians 6, Rangers 3
Michael Young went 2-4 with two runs and two doubles, but the Texas Rangers couldn’t stop the Cleveland Indians. The home team received their first home run of the year from Shin-Soo Choo, and it came off of Colby Lewis with a runner on and one out in the second.
Lewis had a poor game, as he gave up ten hits and six runs in 6.2 innings with just two strikeouts to his name. Jeanmar Gomez has a solid 2.82 ERA this year, and he had an average game on the mound. Gomez surrendered eight hits and three runs in seven innings with two strikeouts and a walk allowed.
Tigers 5, White Sox 4
Chicago White Sox closer Matt Thornton blew his first save of the game, and Jose Valverde won his second game of the season. The reason being was a dramatic two run homer in the bottom of the ninth from shortstop Jhonny Peralta. He also drove in Gerald Laird with that bomb.
Drew Smyly and Jake Peavy pitched as well as each other in this match-up, with Peavy being slightly better. He allowed seven hits and three runs in 7.2 with one walk and six strikeouts. Smyly, meanwhile, allowed seven hits and two runs in six innings. He did, however, strike out seven hitters without allowing a walk.
Reds 6, Pirates 1
Zack Cozart and Drew Stubbs had two hits and a homer apiece to lead the Reds over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who received their biggest offensive contribution from No. 3 hitter Nate McLouth. The center fielder went 2-4 with a run for the Pirates, and it was Pedro Alvarez who drove him in for his 15th steak of the season. Jay Bruce homered for the eighth time this season and also hit his seventh double of the year, with the HR traveling an even 400 feet and only being outdone by Stubbs’s 422 foot shot.
Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto is now 4-0 on the year with a 1.31 ERA after a fantastic outing; he threw a complete game. Cueto allowed seven hits, one run, and no walks in those nine innings of baseball.
Orioles 6, Red Sox 4
The Baltimore Orioles are now 17-9 this season after pulling off the 13-inning victory on a sacrifice fly from Mark Reynolds to score offseason acquisition Wilson Betemit. Reynolds finished the game 2-4 with two runs and two RBIs, and he doubled for the fifth time this year while also hitting his first home run of the 2012 season. Matt Wieters went 2-6 with two runs for the victors and hit his first triple of the year. The man who scored the winning run, Wilson Betemit, put himself in a position to succeed by going 1-3 and drawing three walks.
Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4
Paul Goldschmidt and Colby Rasmus teamed up for two and three RBIs respectively, with the contribution from Rasmus being a pleasant surprise. The former Yankee homered off of Mets starter Dillon Gee for his third homer of the year, and he now has ten RBIs in 2012.
Gee pitched well and allowed just four hits and two runs in six innings, but it went to waste as Jon Rauch blew the game for the Mets. He allowed three hits and a run in 0.2 innings, but he is still 3-1 on the year (first loss) and has a 2.92 ERA. Rauch was the one who allowed Rasmus to drive in Goldschmidt for the winning run in the eighth, after Goldschmidt doubled off of Tim Byrdak to score Jason Kubel and Justin Upton in the eighth.
Rays 7, Athletics 2
No. 5 hitter Jonny Gomes went 2-3 with a run and did what he could for the Oakland A’s, and he even doubled for the first time this year off of David Price. Cliff Pennington hit a solo shot off of Price and Kurt Suzuki doubled for the seventh time this year, but Price did not give up anything besides those three hits.
The Tampa Bay Rays starter finished with an 83 Game Score, as he allowed just three hits and a run in eight innings with one walk allowed and 12 strikeouts. He stymied the Rays and was much better than the A’s starter, as Oakland’s Tyson Ross finished with a dreadful Game Score of 14.
B.J. Upton scored twice, had two hits, drove in two runs, and both of his hits were doubles in a game of twos for the No. 2 hitter. Veteran catcher Jose Molina hit his first home run of the year, and Luke Scott had a two-out, two-RBI single in the third to score Upton and Matt Joyce.
Astros 5, Cardinals 4
Rafael Furcal, Jon Jay, and Matt Holliday all had three hits at the top of the Cardinals order, and Holliday even hit his first triple of the year off of Lucas Harrell. However, second baseman Jose Altuve outdid them all, as the Astros young star just keeps rising. He finished the game 2-5 with two runs, three RBIs, and a homer as the team’s No. 2 hitter. That three-run shot drove in his pitcher and Jordan Schafer. The lead-off hitter and former Atlanta Brave, Schafer scored twice and is having a solid season thus far.
Yankees 6, Royals 2
Mariano Rivera is done for the year, but he isn’t done for his career. C.C. Sabathia led the way for the Bronx Bombers by allowing seven hits and just two runs and no walks in eight innings. Sabathia struck out five Royals hitters and thoroughly out-did Royals starter Bruce Chen.
Derek Jeter went 2-5 with two RBIs and two runs for the Yankees, and he hit his fifth home run of the year in the seventh inning off of Chen. It traveled 414 feet, but it dwarfed Mark Teixeira‘s beautiful 432 foot shot in the first that also drove in DJ. Star reliever David Robertson had a truly perfect ninth, and the strikeout artist punched out all three hitters he faced.
Braves 9, Rockies 8
The Atlanta Braves prevailed in 11 innings because of Eric Hinske‘s two-run shot in the top of the eleventh that drove in young shortstop Tyler Pastornicky. It was necessary, because Troy Tulowitzki scored on a groundout from Todd Helton in the bottom of that inning in this high-scoring game. Still, Craig Kimbrel held on for his ninth save of the year.
Freddie Freeman spearheaded the Braves offensive attack with four hits, two runs and two RBIs, and he and Chipper Jones (three hits, three runs, two RBIs) both homered for the fifth time this season. Michael Bourn added three hits of his own, and the best base-stealer in baseball took two bases in this contest. Hinske finished the game with four hits and three ribbies to help overcome big offensive games from Rockies hitters Helton and Jonathan Herrera.
Blue Jays 4, Angels 0
Young gun Henderson Alvarez is now 2-2 on the season with a 2.83 ERA after shutting down the Los Angeles Angels for a complete game shutout. He allowed six hits and a walk with three strikeouts in the winning effort, and it was necessary with the way Ervin Santana pitched.
Although the Angels starter allowed three runs, they came on just three hits and two walks. Santana also struck out ten hitters and was hurt by a three-run third inning for the Blue Jays, which included a two-run homer from Jose Bautista that was the only shot of the game.
Twins 3, Mariners 2
The Minnesota Twins got three runs off in the top of the seventh, and Matt Capps closed things out for his fifth save of the year with a perfect ninth that included two strikeouts. Jason Vargas pitched well for Seattle in the losing effort, and Jesus Montero went 2-4 with a double for the M’s.
Brewers 6, Giants 4
The 12-14 Brewers received their only extra base hit from catcher Jonathan Lucroy, and it was a triple for him. Lucroy has a .356 OBP this year and finished the game with two hits and two RBIs, as he drove in Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez with a single in the first.
Center fielder Angel Pagan went 2-4 and extended his hitting streak to 18 games, despite having a .259 batting average this season. Fellow outfield offseason trade acquisition Melky Cabrera had two hits as the left fielder and No. 3 hitter, and his triple was also the only extra base hit for the Giants. Both Lucroy and Cabrera have tripled twice this year.
Marlins 9, Padres 8
Josh Johnson was chased out of the game after allowing six runs in the third inning, and it was a triple from Padres starter Anthony Bass that did him in. Even so, the Marlins won after blowing a 5-0 lead that was attained in the first inning by winning 9-8 in 12 innings. In the top of the 12th, Omar Infante struck a double to score Hanley Ramirez, and this game featured many good liners for extra base hits. Infante had a terrific game, as he went 3-5 with two RBIs and a steal. Both Giancarlo Stanton and Hanley Ramirez homered, with Han-Ram driving in three runs in the game and Stanton walking three times.
Anthony Bass was subpar on the mound due to a poor first inning, but he had an impactful game at the dish going 2-3 with three RBIs. He recorded his first Major League hit, extra base hit, triple, and RBI by clocking one off of Johnson in the third to score Orlando Hudson, Jason Bartlett, and Cameron Maybin with the bases loaded and two outs. Young, powerful first baseman Yonder Alonso led the way for the Padres with two doubles in a 4-7 game.
Add us as a preferred source on Google