MLB Game Recaps: Seattle Mariners Plate 21 Runs To Embarrass Texas Rangers

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Seattle Mariners 21, Texas Rangers 8

Before this game started, one would have surely thought the Rangers were the more likely team to erupt for 21 runs. Incredibly, the Seattle Mariners scored 16 of their runs in the second and third innings, collected 20 hits, walked six times, and received a breakout night from Justin Smoak. Smoak went 3-5 with two homers, six RBI, three runs, and a walk. Jesus Montero had three hits, a homer, and four RBI as well. Texas starter Derek Holland had the roughest outing in a game of rough outings, giving up eight earned runs and allowing 10 baserunners in 1 2/3 innings. The first place Rangers are going to need a pep talk and quite possibly a drink or two to forget this one.

Kansas City Royals 6, Cleveland Indians 3

The Royals used a balanced offensive attack to down the Indians, as six different players each drove in a single run. Jason Kipnis reached base twice and stole two bases for Cleveland, but the Kansas City bullpen was able to stop the opposition from scoring past the fifth inning. Jonathan Broxton got the save in this one (that’s number 11), and his ERA is down to 1.83, but the strikeout stuff that made him an elite reliever just hasn’t been there.

Minnesota Twins 4, Oakland Athletics 0

Francisco Liriano probably isn’t going to recapture his 2006 or even 2010 form ever again, but there’s nothing like the A’s offense to make viewers temporarily think otherwise. Liriano, who’s been in and out of the Twins rotation, kept the A’s scoreless in six innings while striking out nine. Josh Willingham, who’s been quite the Minnesota hero of late, hit his 10th home run and drove in three runs to comprise most of his team’s offensive output.

Chicago White Sox 4, Tampa Bay Rays 3

On a completely weird night in  Tampa, the White Sox chalked up their eighth straight win and had their starting pitcher (Jose Quintana) ejected after one of his pitches went behind Ben Zobrist. Manager Robin Ventura was angered by Quintana’s tossing and got the hook himself, while White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson’s call of these events was pretty much a childish tirade that could have resulted in cardiac arrest. Dayan Viciedo‘s hot streak continued with three hits, while Adam Dunn made like it was 2011 and whiffed four times in five tries.

Toronto Blue Jays 4, Baltimore Orioles

The Jays and O’s just keep moving in opposite directions. While the Orioles still hold a tie for the AL East lead, that’s only because the Rays have lost three straight compared to their five in a row. Brandon Morrow was plenty stifling on the mound, striking out eight and allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings. Toronto scored all four runs on solo homers from Edwin Encarnacion (again!), Colby Rasmus, Brett Lawrie, and Rajai Davis.

Boston Red Sox 6, Detroit Tigers 4

The Boston offense continued rolling Wednesday against the struggling Tigers, as the Sox overcame another sub-par Jon Lester start to win the game against the opposing bullpen. David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, and Wes Middlebrooks each had two hits and a long ball to power their team to its third straight victory. Miguel Cabrera came alive for the losers, going 4-5 with three doubles, a run scored, and a RBI.

New York Yankees 6, Los Angeles Angels 5

Starters Ivan Nova and Ervin Santana each surrendered five earned runs, but the Yankee bullpen was just a little better than that of the Angels. The Yanks jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the top of the third on the strength of Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano homers only to watch the Angels rally back immediately in the fourth. Mark Trumbo homered again as he continued his run of pitcher pillaging that has spread its way up the west coast. Flipping the numbers of Trumbo and Albert Pujols would really make them seem a lot more logical.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Chicago Cubs 8, San Diego Padres 6

Need to snap a double-digit losing streak? Play the Padres! That’s a sweep for the Cubs, and they used big games from odd sources to get there. Darwin Barney, owner of the nerdiest name in the history of ever, went 2-3 with two walks, a home run, three runs, and three RBI. Cub catcher Steve Clevenger was 2-4 with two RBI of his own, though his baseball card values probably aren’t soaring just yet. The Padres stayed in the game largely because Carlos Quentin is super-pumped to be playing baseball again. After homering Tuesday, Quentin upstaged himself with a pair of blasts, a double, and a walk on Wednesday. Something tells me that 2.226 OPS might not last long.

Pittsburgh Pirates 2, Cincinnati Reds 1

Johnny Cueto pitched well (seven innings, two runs), but A.J. Burnett was just a little bit better. Burnett didn’t allow an earned run in seven innings, and he’s really having a pretty solid year for his new team. Burnett allowed 12 earned runs to the Cardinals on May 2, which is four more than he has allowed in his other seven starts combined. Pirates first baseman Matt Hague drove in both of his team’s runs, while Joey Votto of course got a hit in his only at-bat.

Atlanta Braves 10, St. Louis Cardinals 7

Tim Hudson and Kyle Lohse both got bombed, but the Atlanta bullpen was able to solidify things while the St. Louis bullpen imploded. Brian McCann is off to a rough start, but the Braves catcher went 2-4 with a homer and four RBI in Wednesday’s win. Freddie Freeman, who has himself a sweet new pair of glasses, returned from the DL to collect three hits, one of which cleared the center field wall. Matt Holliday was 2-5 with a pair of RBI in the loss.

Philadelphia Phillies 10, New York Mets 6

The bullpens combined to surrender 11 of the 16 runs scored in this game, and a six-run top of the ninth inning was the key to Philadelphia’s victory. Jimmy Rollins was a big part of that half-inning, hitting his second home run of the season with two men on base. Lucas Duda had a huge night for the Mets in the loss. The New York right fielder finished the night 3-4 with two homers and three RBI. Maybe he should’ve gotten a chance to pitch, too.

Miami Marlins 5, Washington Nationals 3

I know the Marlins have lost games this season, but they haven’t done much of that lately. The fish-themed team finished their sweep of the first place Nationals in part thanks to yet another Stantonian blast from Giancarlo Stanton. That’s right; “Stantonian” is totally a thing now. Start using it. Josh Johnson chimed in with a quality start, while Bryce Harper failed to do anything interesting for once in his life.

Colorado Rockies 13, Houston Astros 5

The Rockies have won three straight against the Astros this week. It’s a fitting number, really, because it matches the number of times Carlos Gonzalez went deep against Houston Wednesday night. Gonzalez’s line looked like this: 4-5, three homers, three runs, four RBI, three pitchers’ psyches broken. Michael Cuddyer added a grand slam to the win, while Troy Tulowitzki had to exit early with what I’ve decided to call a “balky nether-region.” He’s probably just fine, though. I could mention an Astro or two, but do you really want me to?

Milwaukee Brewers 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

Clayton Kershaw vs. Yovani Gallardo sure sounded like a pitcher’s duel, but the two starters combined to give up eight runs and 23 baserunners in 11 2/3 innings of work. Carlos Gomez had a nice night for the Brewers, going 4-5 with two RBI. Andre Ethier helped his team stay close with three hits of his own, though Matt Kemp left the game after feeling additional hamstring pain and then screaming at a baseball bat. The Dodgers have to be praying this doesn’t become something bigger, because they’ll find it very difficult to contend all season without their MVP candidate.

Arizona Diamondbacks 4, San Francisco Giants 1

Ian Kennedy began to get back on track with a solid start against the Giants on Wednesday. Kennedy went 7 2/3 innings, allowed one run, and struck out seven. The D-Backs got a lot of their offense from the powerful but flawed Paul Goldschmidt, as the first baseman homered and reached base three times. Tim Lincecum was the loser in this one, though he pitched reasonably well aside from his five walks.

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