MLB Scoreboard: Josh Hamilton’s Texas Rangers Edge Boston Red Sox
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas Rangers 10, Boston Red Sox 9
The Texas offense came to life to hold off the Red Sox and maintain a 5.5 game lead in the AL west. With the game tied in the ninth inning, Adrian Beltre hit a sacrifice fly that wound up being the winner. Josh Hamilton went 3-5 with his 30th home run and four RBI, while Elvis Andrus also had three hits. Will Middlebrooks hit a three-run homer for the second straight day, while Cody Ross hit his 17th dinger of the year. Adrian Gonzalez stayed hot in the loss, going 3-5 with three runs scored and three RBI. Texas may have won, but Roy Oswalt didn’t look any better in the bullpen. The veteran pitcher gave up four earned runs in 1 1/3 IP.
Oakland Athletics 9, Los Angeles Angels 8
The A’s remain within 5.5 games of Texas with this win, while the Angels fell to seven games back. Chris Carter hit his 10th home run of the season in just 90 at-bats, while Geoge Kottaras hit his first homer as an Athletic. Kendrys Morales went deep twice for the Angels, while teammate Mark Trumbo hit his 29th bomb of the season.
Cleveland Indians 6, Minnesota Twins 2
After losing 11 in a row, the Indians are finally back in the win column. Justin Masterson allowed two runs and struck out seven in seven innings, while Shin-Soo Choo went 4-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Alexi Casilla, who normally doesn’t bother with hitting, clubbed his first 2012 home run in the loss.
Baltimore Orioles 9, Seattle Mariners 2
Steve Johnson’s first start was a six-inning, two-run effort with nine strikeouts. That was more than enough for the Oriole offense, as Matt Wieters drove in five and Mark Reynolds homered. The Orioles are now nine games ov er .500.
New York Yankees 12, Detroit Tigers 8
The Yankees welcomed Anibal Sanchez to the American League with a bang, rocking him for seven runs in three innings. Curtis Granderson hit his 30th home run and drove in four runs, while five other Yankees had multi-hit games. Omar Infante homered for his new/old team in defeat.
Tampa Bay Rays 3, Toronto Blue Jay2
Alex Cobb pitched seven solid innings and struck out seven as his Tampa offense scored all three of their runs in the third inning. B.J. Upton drove in a run and stole a base in the win.
Kansas City Royals 2, Chicago White Sox 1
Jeremy Guthrie, who was picked up for Jonathan Sanchez in a “let’s trade our garbage” deal, went eight shutout innings and struck out six without walking anyone. Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez each hit solo homers to score the Royal runs.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee Brewers 3, Cincinnati Reds 2
The Reds have now lost four straight after the Brewers upended them in the bottom of the eighth inning on Wednesday. Carlos Gomez singled to drive in the tying run, while a Ryan Braun double plated the eventual game-winner. Randy Wolf pitched six innings and struck out seven for a no-decision, while the late Milwaukee rally spoiled a great start from Mat Latos (7 IP, ER, 3 H, 8 K).
San Diego Padres 2, Chicago Cubs 0
Clayton Richard controlled the Cubs by throwing a complete game shutout with five strikeouts on Wednesday. Yonder Alonso and Chase Headley each had two hits in the win. Jeff Samardzija pitched well in the loss, going seven innings and allowing just one run.
Atlanta Braves 12, Philadelphia Phillies 6
The Braves scored multiple runs in four different innings to batter Kyle Kendrick and the Phillies. Michael Bourn homered and went 3-5 with three RBI, while Dan Uggla went 3-4 with three RBI and a walk. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard went deep in the loss.
Pittsburgh Pirates 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 6
The Pirates inched closer to the Reds by holding off the D-Backs in a close one. Neil Walker homered and drove in five of the Pittsburgh runs, while Sterling Marte and Jordy Mercer also cleared the walls.
Miami Marlins 13, New York Mets 0
Perhaps jaded by their unexpectedly bad season, the Marlins unleashed the pain on the Mets all at once. Fresh off the disabled list, Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, had four hits, and drove in four runs. Newcomer Nathan Eovaldi pitched five shutout innings despite walking six.
San Francisco Giant15, St. Louis Cardinals 0
The Giants led 2-0 entering the sixth inning and then exploded for 13 more runs in the final four frames. Marco Scutaro hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs, while Ryan Vogelsong tossed seven shutout innings to remain the NL ERA leader.
Washington Nationals 4. Houston Astros 3
…and there’s another loss for the rebuilding Astros. Gio Gonzalez went the distance, allowed three runs, and struck out seven for his 14th win. He also hit a two-run homer just in case you weren’t happy enough with his pitching performance. Jose Altuve reached base three times for poor Houston.
Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Colorado Rockies 4
After a couple of days of sputtering, the Dodgers offense got back on track. Matt Kemp had three hits, three RBI, and a home run. New acquisition Shane Victorino chimed in with three hits and three runs scored of his own. Nothing cool happened for the Rockies.
If Brian’s writing strikes your fancy, read his work at StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @vaughanbasepct.