MLB Game Recaps
By Editorial Staff
Last night, my father-in-law told me the Phillies were up 1-0 through one. He laughed and predicted that the game was over.
It looked as if this guess would hold true before the Pirates scored their first run of the season on a wild pitch. At that point it was anyone’s guess when the contest would end.
Philadelphia threatened in the 10th following back-to-back singles by Placido Polanco and Jimmy Rollins, but Hunter Pence was unable to deliver. Pittsburgh was able to end things in the bottom half of the inning as Rod Barajas led off with a double and his pinch runner came home to score on Alex Presley’s infield single.
American League
Toronto Blue Jays – 7
Cleveland Indians – 4
For the second game in a row the Indians and Blue Jays required extra innings. Once again the Blue Jays posted a crooked number after regulation to top the Tribe.
Kansas City Royals – 6
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 3
Kansas City roughed up Angels starter Dan Haren to even the opening series at 1-all. I’m obligated to type that Albert Pujols is batting .143 through two games.
Boston Red Sox – 0
Detroit Tigers – 10
The Red Sox didn’t wait until the end to blow this one; they decided to give it up in the first. Following Doug Fister’s early exit, the Tigers bullpen limited Boston to four hits over 5 1/3 scoreless frames. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder each went yard twice to pace Detroit offensively.
Minnesota Twins – 2
Baltimore Orioles – 8
Baltimore’s bats came alive as Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters all went yard. Orioles starter Tommy Hunter didn’t need much support, as he didn’t surrender an earned run over his seven innings of work.
New York Yankees – 6
Tampa Bay Rays – 8
New York didn’t need Mariano Rivera to blow this one; Hiroki Kuroda put in most of the leg work early. Matt Joyce and Luke Scott combined to go 5-7 with six RBIs.
Chicago White Sox – 4
Texas Rangers – 3
A day after tallying his first save as a Ranger, Joe Nathan took his first loss. Alex Rios took Nathan deep in the ninth to provide the go-ahead run.
Seattle Mariners – 8
Oakland A’s – 7
Yoenis Cespedes hit his third home run of the season, but the Mariners balanced approach was more than Oakland could handle. Every Mariners starter collected a hit and all but two collected at least one RBI.
National League
Washington Nationals – 7
Chicago Cubs – 4
Gio Gonzalez was un-good in his Nationals debut but he was removed from the hook by the even worse performances of Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol. The back-end of the Cubs bullpen has now accounted for two losses and two blown saves in two games.
Atlanta Braves – 2
New York Mets – 4
So Lucas Duda’s ready to play. Duda’s pair of home runs along with David Wright’s solo piece was all R.A. Dickey and the Mets bullpen needed.
St. Louis Cardinals – 0
Milwaukee Brewers – 6
Zach Greinke and the Brewers ‘pen blanked the Cardinals. Corey Hart hit two home runs and drove in three.
San Francisco Giants – 4
Arizona Diamondbacks – 5
Aaron Hill’s two home runs and Chris Young’s pair of doubles account for all of Arizona’s RBIs. Daniel Hudson bested Madison Bumgarner and the Diamondbacks ‘pen was able to hold on again.
Colorado Rockies – 3
Houston Astros – 7
Jamie Moyer looked to be nearly a half-century old. Lucas Harrell was more impressive, holding the Rockies to three hits over seven scoreless innings. J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three for the Astros.
Miami Marlins – 8
Cincinnati Reds – 3
The new-look Marlins collected their first win of the year behind a solid outing from Ricky Nolasco. Mat Latos’s debut for the Reds didn’t go so well. Giancarlo Stanton tallied three hits and three RBIs for Miami.
Los Angeles Dodgers – 6
San Diego Padres – 5
The Dodgers and Padres also offered fans free baseball last night. Dee Gordon was a fiend, reaching base five times and collecting three stolen bases for the Dodgers. His 11th inning single put LA up for good.
You can follow Call to the Pen on Twitter at @FSCalltothePen or like us here on Facebook.