MLB Scoreboard: Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s Continue To Roll With Win Over Toronto Blue Jays
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland Athletics 7, Toronto Blue Jays 2
That’s six straight wins for the red-hot Oakland Athletics. The A’s took an early lead and never looked back thanks to three runs driven in by Yoenis Cespedes and a two-run homer by rookie Derek Norris. Travis Blackley was no slouch either, going seven innings while allowing just one run and striking out eight. The Blue Jays got solo homers from J.P. Arencibia and Travis Snider, but weren’t able to really put anything together. It’s pretty shocking to see the underdog A’s now leading the American League wild card race over teams much more heralded entering the season.
Tampa Bay Rays 3, Baltimore Orioles 1
Jeremy Hellickson pitched a solid 6 1/3 innings to limit the Orioles to only one run. Adam Jones hit his 23rd blast of the season to get his team on the board, but a two-run homer by Brooks Conrad was enough to get the Rays the win in Baltimore.
Cleveland Indians 3, Detroit Tigers 2
The surging Tigers were stopped in their tracks by the Indians thanks to a late run off Detroit starter Doug Fister. Ubaldo Jimenez deserves plenty of the credit thanks to his scoreless six inning start, while Asdrubal Cabrera had three hits for the Tribe. Miguel Cabrera plated both Tiger runs with his 24th home run of the season. In related news, Miguel Cabrera is awesome.
Boston Red Sox 2, Texas Rangers 1
This has to be the only low-scoring contest between these two offensive juggernauts all season. Clay Buchholz, recently off the disabled list, gave up just one run in seven innings to top a fine effort by Martin Perez. A Mike Aviles single wound up being the difference in this extremely close game.
Chicago White Sox 11, Minnesota Twins 4
The White Sox routed the Twins to even things in the AL Central Tuesday night. Adam Dunn cleared the fences for the 30th time this season and drove in four runs, while Paul Konerko went 4-4 with a home run of his own. Josh Willingham hit two home runs and drove in all four Minnesota runs, yet another indicator that plenty of teams will be interested in his services prior to the trade deadline.
Kansas City Royals 4, Los Angeles Angels 1
All of the runs in this game came in the first two innings. Lorenzo Cain hit a two-run homer and remains on fire since returning to the Major League level, while Alex Gordon had three hits. Mark Trumbo doubled and drove in the only Angel run.
Seattle Mariners 4, New York Yankees 2
Felix Hernandez pitched 7 1/3 solid innings to give his team the win, but this game wasn’t the only loss for the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez looks to be out a while after suffering a broken hand. Curtis Granderson and Michael Saunders homered in the game, while Ichiro Suzuki contributed a double against his former team.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia Phillies 7, Milwaukee Brewers 6
This marks two straight days the Phillies have marched back against the Brewers to win by the same score. The Phillies scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a lead they managed to hold on to. Hunter Pence drove in the ultimate winning run, but a three-run double from Carlos Ruiz may have been the biggest blow. Even though his team lost after he exited the game, Zack Greinke was masterful and may have caught the eye of plenty of contending teams.
Chicago Cubs 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
The Cubs have now taken two straight against the Pirates. Starlin Castro and Alfonso Soriano each hit home runs, while possible trade target Paul Maholm went eight innings and allowed just one run while striking out seven. Somehow, and we haven’t had to say this very often, Andrew McCutchen was hitless.
Washington Nationals 5, New York Mets 2
Things are normalizing at an alarming rate for the Mets, as New York’s second favorite team has now dropped five straight and nine of 10. Ryan Zimmerman had three hits and Adam LaRoche delivered a key two-run homer. As has been the case most of the year, Gio Gonzalez was dominant. The Washington starter went seven innings without allowing an earned run in the win.
Atlanta Braves 4, Miami Marlins 3
The Marlins are sellers now, and they’re playing accordingly. Tim Hudson delivered a quality start, while Jason Heyward reached base three times and drove in two runs. Jose Reyes had two hits and hit his sixth home run of the season in the loss.
Cincinnati Reds 4, Houston Astros 2
The Astros have added to their minor league depth a lot through the trade market, but they’re still plenty terrible in 2012. That 34-64 record stands as the worst in baseball, but at least this loss came at the hands of the solid Reds. Drew Stubbs hit a two-run homer to give his team a lead in the ninth inning and Aroldis Chapman closed the door.
St. Louis Cardinals 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 2
The Cardinals snapped a losing streak against the Dodgers by jumping on ace Clayton Kershaw in the middle innings. Rafael Furcal reached base three times and drove in three runs, while Allen Craig and pitcher Adam Wainwright each drove in multiple runs as well. Wainwright earned his keep on the mound as well, going 7 1/3 innings and striking out seven.
Arizona Diamondbacks 6, Colorado Rockies 2
Joe Saunders limited the Rockies to two runs in seven innings and struck out nine in the process. Chris Young reached base all four trips to the plate and hit his 11th home run of the season in the win.
San Francisco Giants 3, San Diego Padres 2
The Giants continue to try and pull away from the Dodgers with another key victory. A walk-off RBI single from shortstop Brandon Crawford sealed the deal in this one. Madison Bumgarner went seven innings and struck out nine to complete a slightly better effort than that of his adversary Edinson Volquez. Jesus Guzman had two hits and drove in a run for San Diego.
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