MLB Game Recaps: R.A. Dickey shuts down St. Louis Cardinals
New York Mets 5, St. Louis Cardinals 0
A day after Johan Santana tossed the first no-hitter in 51 years of New York Mets history, R.A. Dickey shut down the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals for two straight shutouts for the Mets. The knuckleballer allowed seven hits, no walks, and struck out five. It took him exactly 100 pitches (that’s efficiency right there) from a pitcher who did an excellent job of getting swinging strikes, keeping the ball on the ground, and throwing first pitch strikes in a great performance on the mound.
Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 4
Felix Doubront got the win and outpitched former top prospect Kyle Drabek. Alfredo Aceves saved his 14th game of the year, but he still sports a high 4.73 ERA. Nick Punto doubled and homered for the first time this year, while Daniel Nava also had two RBIs for the Sox. The Blue Jays received a couple of hits from Edwin Encarnacion and homers from Jose Bautista and Jeff Mathis.
Athletics 9, Royals 3
Making his first start since a DL trip, Oakland Athletics ace Brandon McCarthy looked mediocre in six innings. He allowed eight hits with just two strikeouts, but you have to give him credit for only allowing two runs. Yoenis Cespedes has also recently returned from an injury and had two runs and three hits to pace an Oakland attack that was at its best. Jemile Weeks also had multiple hits and scored twice, and the lead-off hitter tripled in this game.
Nationals 2, Braves 0
Although Brandon Beachy pitched well, Stephen Strasburg prevailed in this battle of top young pitchers. He pitched seven scoreless innings with just four hits and no walks allowed. Strasburg struck out six, and the only extra base hit he allowed was Jose Constanza‘s first double of the year. In fact, the No. 9 hitter was the only player on the Braves to have multiple hits.
Marlins 5, Phillies 4
Ricky Nolasco and Cole Hamels were both mediocre on the mound for their respective NL East clubs, but Hanley Ramirez wasn’t mediocre at the plate. He crushed it and helped get to Hamels with two home runs in a magnificent performance for the star third baseman. The No. 3 hitter drove in three runs with those two round-trippers, and the Phillies only had one home run. Who hit that? Hunter Pence, of course.
Mariners 10, White Sox 8
This matchup between the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox went 12 innings and featured lead changes and intrigue in the eighth. In the 12th inning, John Jaso hit an RBI double to give the Mariners what would be a decisive 9-8 lead. Chone Figgins would drive him in with a single as Addison Reed ended up getting charged with the loss. Jesse Crain also had a hand in the loss and was credited with blowing the game for Chicago.
Dodgers 6, Rockies 2
Aaron Harang pitched six innings of four-hit ball and allowed just one run with three walks and six strikeouts. The former Cincinnati Reds ace pitched well in this game and has a 3.90 ERA this year. Bobby Abreu walked twice and hit his first home run of the year for the Dodgers, while Andre Ethier had two RBIs and doubled for the 18th time this year.
Orioles 2, Rays 1
Both Brian Matusz and Jeremy Hellickson are highly regarded young pitchers, with Hellickson being named AL Rookie of the Year last year and Matusz having struggled in his Major League career. Both starters brought their “A” games in this AL East battle, as Hellickson allowed just one earned run with eight strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Matusz, meanwhile, was even better and wove a 7.1 inning gem with just two hits and one run allowed. He struck out seven batters in the narrow 2-1 victory.
Brewers 5, Pirates 1
Erik Bedard was chased out of the game after 3.2 putrid innings and allowed all five runs that the Milwaukee Brewers had against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brooks Conrad hit a sac fly and hit a three-run shot for his first homer of the year. In fact, he had his first RBI of the year as well and scored the hot Cody Ransom in with his round-tripper. Ransom, by the way, drove in two runs hitting right in front of Conrad. The real story in this game was Shaun Marcum, who was great in seven innings and allowed five hits, one run, no walks, and struck out eight.
Twins 7, Indians 4
Joe Mauer had three hits, three RBIs, and a home run as the Minnesota Twins got ten hits and five runs off of Cleveland Indians starter Josh Tomlin. The hurt didn’t stop there, as Trevor Sipp allowed two runs coming in after Tomlin. Matt Capps struck out two in the final frame to get the save for Minnesota.
Tigers 4, Yankees 3
Kevin Long and Joe Girardi were thrown out in the top of the seventh after a quizzical decision by the umpire. The game was marked by a bases loaded walk from Jose Valverde to Mark Teixeira that tied it up at 3 and nearly blew the game for the Detroit Tigers. Instead, third-string catcher Omir Santos overcame some putrid defense to hit a game-winning sac fly- to be honest, I don’t see anything remarkable about a GW sac fly. The big story was Miguel Cabrera, who crushed a double and blasted two home runs that were way outta there and were clocked at 466 and 444 feet (I think they’re short changing him).
Reds 12, Astros 9
Brandon Phillips drove in three runs, Joey Votto had four hits and three runs, Drew Stubbs had three hits, scored three times, and drove in four runs, and Zack Cozart scored three runs in a huge offensive performance from the Cincinnati Reds. The Houston Astros were led by three runs and hits from Jose Altuve, three RBIs from J.D. Martinez, and three walks from Chris Johnson.
Diamondbacks 4, Padres 2
Willie Bloomquist had a big 3-5 game for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he helped Daniel Hudson get the win after pitching eight innings of two-run ball with just five hits allowed.
Giants 2, Cubs 1
Matt Garza pitched six solid innings for the Chicago Cubs, but Matt Cain was the best “Matt” in this game. Cain tossed eight innings of one-run ball with just five hits and two walks allowed. He struck out seven batters and his lone blemish was a 425 foot home run from David DeJesus.
Angels 3, Rangers 2
In a great pitching match-up between current Texas Rangers staff ace Yu Darvish and former ace C.J. Wilson turned into a loss for Darvish and a no-decision for Wilson despite both pitchers pitching well. Wilson was better in this one, and Ernesto Fieri struck out three to pick up a four-out save.