MLB Game Recaps: Alex Rodriguez Powers The New York Yankees Past The Kansas City Royals

AMERICAN LEAGUE

New York Yankees 8, Kansas City Royals 3

Alex Rodriguez finally saw his power return on Wednesday. The most controversial member of the 600 home run club added two more bombs to his collection en route to an easy Yankee win. Andy Pettitte, surely glad to have his name associated with something other than steroids and syringes and cleft chins, continued his nice comeback story with seven more solid innings and eight strikeouts. The Royals got help in the form of Billy Butler‘s ninth home run, while Curtis Granderson continues to prove that 2011 wasn’t exactly a fluke. Eric Hosmer quietly had three hits, so maybe he’s about to turn things around. As bad as the Tigers are playing, the Royals could certainly stand to capitalize now.

Boston Red Sox 6, Baltimore Orioles 5

The Daniel Bard as a starter thing hasn’t gone all that well, but the Red Sox scored enough runs to overcome a shaky effort from the former reliever. Most of the team’s production came from the bottom of the order, as Daniel Nava and Kelly Shoppach each hit home runs in the victory. Scott Podsednik, who the FBI believed to be dead for the better part of two years, also went yard for Boston. Nick Johnson once again showed shades of what could have been with two home runs and a walk in the loss. He was not injured during the events following either base-on-balls.

Tampa Bay Rays 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4 (F/11)

The Rays won on a walk-off double by B.J. Upton, who had three hits overall and looks primed to fulfill just his second career Really Good B.J. Upton season with free agency looming. James Shields was excellent in the no-decision, as he struck out 10 and allowed just two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings of work. The Blue Jays scored their runs the way they usually do, as Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion sent baseballs into the stands to account for three of the team’s four scores. Jays starter Ricky Romero had something of a bizarre outing, as he went six innings while allowing only two hits, but he also walked an obscene seven batters.

Los Angeles Angels 3, Oakland Athletics 1 (F/11)

Cy Young candidate Jered Weaver and rookie sensation Jarrod Parker both turned in quality outings despite neither one spelling their given name the way you would expect. The starters didn’t figure in the decision, though, as this one lasted until Alberto Callaspo doubled in a pair of runs in the top of the 11th. After accumulating just one hit Tuesday and three Wednesday, the A’s now have just four hits in their last 20 innings of play. Ew.

Seattle Mariners 5, Texas Rangers 3

The Mariners used six shutout innings from Kevin Millwood and the first career grand slam of Alex Liddi to finish off the Rangers and take two in the series. Adrian Beltre chipped in his ninth homer of 2012, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Scott Feldman‘s rough outing. Feldman found his way back into the Texas rotation after Neftali Feliz hit the disabled list, but the team may be wise to look elsewhere for a solution based on the starter’s track record.

Cleveland Indians 4, Detroit Tigers 2

Doug Fister and Zach McAllister each surrendered two runs in just over six innings of work, but the game was decided on two unearned Cleveland runs that came off Phil Coke. Coke, a decidedly better beverage than pitcher, had no choice but to watch as the Indians scored the eventual winning run on a Prince Fielder error in the eighth. Jason Kipnis collected three hits for the winner, while Travis Hafner hit a two-run homer.

Chicago White Sox 6, Minnesota Twins 0

Chris Sale may have a weird arm motion and all, but his conversion to starting has gone swimmingly thus far. Sale tossed seven shutout innings and struck out six Wednesday, and he now has a 2.50 ERA and a K/9 rate just south of 9.0 in 50 1/3 innings. Alex Rios and Paul Konerko each hit home runs for the White Sox, while Joe Mauer was the only Twin to reach base more than once in the game.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

St. Louis Cardinals 6, San Diego Padres 3

The Cardinals completed their sweep of the Padres thanks to their dynamic offense, as Carlos Beltran and David Freese both homered and rookie Matt Adams collected two hits and his first career RBI. Lance Lynn took home his seventh win despite starting off poorly. Will Venable went 3-5 with his third home run, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the fact that Jeff Suppan started the game for San Diego.

Arizona Diamondbacks 11, Los Angeles Dodgers 4

An offensive barrage from the Diamondbacks ended the Dodgers’ winning streak in abrupt fashion Wednesday night. Justin Upton and Ryan Roberts homered for Arizona, while Aaron Hill and Willie Bloomquist each added three hits to the serpentine attack. A.J. Ellis went deep in the Dodger loss, and his magical season doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. Ellis is now hitting .327/.449/.513, and you’d have to be named Joey Votto to be taking walks at a higher clip than the Dodger catcher.

New York Mets 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Another win has the Mets four games over .500, and this one can be largely attributed to the performance of Jonathon Niese. Niese, who recently received both a contract extension and a new nose, pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowed one run, and struck out five. Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 2-3, scored a run, and drove in a run for the Mets. As is seemingly the case every day the Pirates play, Andrew McCutchen was responsible for his team’s only run.

Milwaukee Brewers 8, San Francisco Giants 5

The Giants made two errors that led to four unearned runs, but it’s not as if the Brewers didn’t do their share to claim a victory against their bayside opponents. Jonathan Lucroy went 2-4 with a home run, while Aramis Ramirez went 2-5 with three RBI. San Francisco got three RBI from Hector Sanchez and five shutout innings from its bullpen, but these efforts were not enough. Ryan Braun stole his ninth base of the season, and one more steal will put him in double digits in both this category and home runs. That’s pure fantasy baseball bliss!

Philadelphia Phillies 4, Washington Nationals 1

Unlike in his last start against Washington, Cole Hamels made news for his performance rather than his proclivity for pelting teenage phenoms with fastballs. Hamels pitched eight innings, didn’t allow a run, and struck out eight. The Nationals were actually hitless against Hamels until the sixth inning, and Adam LaRoche had to homer off Jonathan Papelbon to get them on the scoreboard. The Phillies got nice games out of Carlos Ruiz (three hits) and Shane Victorino (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) in the win.

Cincinnati Reds 2, Atlanta Braves 1

The Reds remained hot by winning their fifth in a row and shutting down the Atlanta offense once again. Bronson Arroyo struck out seven and allowed a single run in 6 2/3 innings of work, but the real hero was Todd Frazier. Frazier sent the Reds home a winner with a walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the ninth off Cristhian Martinez. The Braves got their only run on a solo home run from Dan Uggla, while Brandon Phillips drew three walks to break his streak of relative impatience that has started 2012.

Colorado Rockies 8, Miami Marlins 4

Like a flash of lightning, Troy Tulowitzki struck violently to help the Rockies take down the Marlins Wednesday. Tulo went 2-4 with a home run, two runs, and four RBI as the Rockies enjoyed a rare easy win. Carlos Gonzalez had a nice game as well, going 2-4 with two runs and two RBI. Jose Reyes drove in a pair of runs for the Marlins, but his first season in Miami (well technically it’s the whole team’s first season claiming to be from Miami) remains a lackluster one so far. Carlos Zambrano has pitched well with the letter M on his cap, but he allowed seven runs and took the loss in this one.

Houston Astros 5, Chicago Cubs 1

The Dodgers may have seen their winning ways end for now, but the Cubs couldn’t do the same with their much more dubious streak. Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in seven innings to deal the Cubs consecutive loss number nine, while converted reliever Jeff Samardzija pitched well despite his team’s ultimate fate. J.D. Martinez and Carlos Lee both had three hits for the Astros, though it was Martinez who drove in three runs despite Lee’s well-known reputation as a “RBI guy.” If I didn’t know better, I’d think RBI might be a completely useless statistic…

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