MLB Game Recaps: Bryce Harper Pushes Washington Nationals Past New York Mets
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington Nationals 7, New York Mets 6 (F/12)
The Washington Nationals triumphed for the time being in the battle for NL East supremacy Tuesday night. In a game that lasted 12 innings, Bryce Harper drove in the winning run with his second base hit of the game. The hit was the first game-clencher of Harper’s young career. Ian Desmond drove in three Washington runs as well, while Jordan Zimmermann had a quality start no-decision. David Wright hit a home run in the loss, while his teammate Scott Hairstonreached base all three times he had the chance. Washington led the game 3-2 after seven, though things became increasingly wild the more the bullpens got involved.
Los Angeles Dodgers 2, Philadelphia Phillies 1
Chad Billingsley pitched seven innings while allowing just one run, while Cliff Lee allowed two and struck out 12 in 7 2/3. The one run difference was enough for the Dodgers, as Kenley Jansen shut the door to down the Phillies. Elian Herrera drove in both L.A. runs, while Hunter Pence had two hits and the Philadelphia RBI. Cliff Lee‘s quest to denounce pitcher wins as a category of any meaning continued, as the left-hander is now 0-3 in nine starts despite holding a 2.92 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 6/1 K/BB ratio.
Pittsburgh Pirates 8, Cincinnati Reds 4
The Pirates took care of the Reds to add to their second straight surprisingly fast start. Neil Walker and Casey McGehee both went deep, while Clint Barmes had three hits and three RBI. The Reds couldn’t match Pittsburgh’s collection of sub-par players having better than sub-par games, though Joey Votto did have two hits, a walk, two RBI, and a stolen base. He pretty much does something every night. He’s good at baseball.
Atlanta Braves 11, Miami Marlins 0
While the Marlins have been on fire of late, their Tuesday night performance served to make them look much more human. Tim Hudson tossed a complete game shutout for the Braves, while Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez got hammered for seven earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. This game really wasn’t a blowout until the seventh inning, as the Braves scored eight times after that point. Dan Uggla had the line of the game, going 4-5 with two homers, a double, three runs scored, and five RBI.
Houston Astros 9, St. Louis Cardinals 8
The Cardinals rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a quick and bloody outing from Jaime Garcia. Houston got four hits from lil’ Jose Altuve and home runs from Justin Maxwell and Brian Bogusevic in the win. Rookie Matt Adams and decidedly non-rookie Rafael Furcal each cleared the fences for the Cardinals. The much-maligned St. Louis bullpen was actually pretty good despite the loss (6 IP, 2 ER, 9 K), but the six runs surrendered by Garcia were too much to deal with.
Chicago Cubs 10, Milwaukee Brewers 0
Ryan Dempster held the Brewers scoreless over seven innings and the Cubs offense got off to a quick start to put things out of reach. Bryan LaHair and Alfonso Soriano both homered, while Starlin Castro had three hits of his own. Obviously no one on the Milwaukee roster did much of anything, though Yovani Gallardo did strike out 10 in six innings despite allowing five runs.
Arizona Diamondbacks 10, Colorado Rockies 0
It’s like deja vu from the Cubs-Brewers game! Gerardo Parra and Jason Kubel teamed up to go 7-1o wjth six RBI, and both of them left the yard in the Arizona win. Aaron Hill joined the party as well, going 3-5 and finishing a double short of the cycle. All this offense was nice, but the D-Backs didn’t need it. Starter Ian Kennedy went six shutout innings and fanned 12 Rockies in the process.
San Diego Padres 6, San Francisco Giants 5
Tim Lincecum finally made a start in which he didn’t walk everyone, but he still gave up four runs to the lowly Padres. Carlos Quentin, who still must be super excited just to be not injured, hit a pair of home runs to lead his team to victory. The Giants failed to take advantage of a three-hit game from Ryan Theriot, and they may never again get the chance.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland Indians 4, Detroit Tigers 2
Ubaldo Jimenez wasn’t missing bats like his vintage self, but six innings with just one run allowed were enough to push the Indians to a win over division rival Detroit. The four Cleveland runs were each driven in by different players, while Miguel Cabrera went 2-4 with a RBI in the loss. Chris Perez notched his 18th save, and he’s now on pace for a ridiculous 54.
New York Yankees 7, Tampa Bay Rays 0
Hideki Matsui‘s old team easily shut down Hideki Matsui‘s new team, as Andy Pettitte pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings and struck out 10. James Shields was far less fortunate, as he gave up a grand slam to Russell Martin in the fourth inning that quickly swayed the direction of this game. The man formerly known as Godzilla went hitless in the loss to his previous employer.
Baltimore Orioles 8, Boston Red Sox 6 (F/10)
Well, the Orioles have at least temporarily shoved themselves back into a tie for first with their extra-inning win over the Red Sox. The Sox rallied to tie the game off Baltimore closer Jim Johnson in the ninth thanks to the 11th homer of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Boston catcher is now slugging an obscene .593. Makeshift closer Alfredo Aceves turned around and gave up two runs in the next half-inning, though, and Johnson settled down to finish out the game. Endy Chavez had three hits in the win, which is infinity times more hits than anyone would expect him to have.
Toronto Blue Jays 9, Chicago White Sox 5
Philip Humber didn’t at all throw a perfect game in this one, and Toronto’s Colby Rasmus attempted to regain his exciting prospect sheen in one night. Rasmus had five hits, homered, drove in three, and scored four runs to lead the Blue Jays to a win. The Jays are now two games out of first, while every team in the AL East is within three games of the lead or better. Adam Dunn slugged his 18th home run for the losing team, while A.J. Pierzysnki also went deep and surely has plenty of people narrowing their eyes at his early season success.
Kansas City Royals 1, Minnesota Twins 0
On a night of many shutouts, this one was really the only legitimate pitcher’s duel. The two hurlers in question happened to be Bruce Chen and the icky version of Francisco Liriano, which makes the whole thing a little weird. Chen held the Twins scoreless through seven, while Liriano allowed only one RBI to Brayan Pena and struck out eight in six innings of work. Denard Span was most thrown off by Chen’s brand of pitching, striking out three times in four trips.
Los Angeles Angels 6, Seattle Mariners 1
If you were expecting Mark Trumbo to slow down any time soon, apparently you were wrong. The mashing Trumbo went Hulk on the Mariners, going 4-4 with two homers, a double, and four RBI. Garrett Richards made sure Trumbo’s efforts were appreciated, as he limited the Mariners to just that one run in seven innings. Richards also struck out eight. Michael Saunders homered to score the only Seattle run.
Texas Rangers 6, Oakland A’s 3
Derek Holland won this game, but he once again struggled against a terrible offense in the wake of his mustache’s demise. The offensive attack was spread out for the Rangers; only Ian Kinsler drove in more than one run, and he drove in two. Oakland received long balls from Collin Cowgill, who has never worked in a rodeo despite what you may think, and Yoenis Cespedes.
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