MLB Game Recaps: Nelson Cruz leads Texas Rangers over Toronto Blue Jays
Texas Rangers 14, Toronto Blue Jays 3
Led by a monster 8-RBI performance from slugger Nelson Cruz, the Texas Rangers blew out the Toronto Blue Jays 14-3. Both teams are playing well this season, with the Rangers still at the top of our site’s power rankings. Adrian Beltre, Michael Young, and Mitch Moreland all had three hits each to supplement Cruz’s four-hit ballgame. Elvis Andrus finished with three walks, Cruz homered, and Josh Hamilton hit a shot in the second for his 19th of the year. Rangers starter Derek Holland shut down the Jays over 7.1 innings with five hits, two runs, and a walk allowed to go with nine strikeouts. Brandon Morrow gave up six earned runs, five hits, and three walks and got only two hitters out.
Orioles 8, Royals 2
Adam Jones celebrated his new deal by driving in two runs, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Royals, who actually have a winning record on the road. This victory is the O’s 29th of the year, and Nick Markakis led the way with three hits (two doubles) and has a .350 OBP this season. Jeff Francoeur made life difficult for the O’s with three hits (a homer and a double). Jason Hammel continues to pitch well this season and is doing as well as he did a couple of years ago (2.78 ERA). The 6-1 starter tossed six scoreless innings of five-hit ball with one walk allowed and seven K’s.
Pirates 1, Cubs 0
A.J. Burnett and the bullpen combined to shut down one of the three worst teams in baseball. The offseason trade acquisition pitched 5.1 scoreless frames and picked up six strikeouts.
Rays 7, Red Sox 4
Matt Joyce drove in four runs for the visitors, and it came from a Grand Slam in the third inning to drive in Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton, and Ben Zobrist. Alex Cobb got the win, and Fernando Rodney saved his 15th game of the season after a perfect ninth.
Rockies 6, Reds 3
Todd Helton had a homer, two hits, and three RBIs, and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki added three hits to help the Colorado Rockies defeat the Cincinnati Reds and chase Johnny Cueto out of the game before he finished five innings. Helton made it a 2-0 ballgame in the second after homering for the fifth time this year, and the Rockies never looked back. Rafael Betancourt has a 2.65 ERA this season, and he picked up his eighth save after downing the Reds in a perfect ninth.
Mets 6, Padres 1
Dillon Gee had no trouble shutting down the Padres offense in seven innings of one-run ball. He allowed just four hits and three walks, and Gee also struck out nine. The Mets received two steaks from Ike Davis in an encouraging performance, and Lucas Duda homered for the home team.
Marlins 7, Giants 6
In the sixth inning, Chris Coghlan hit a three-run shot for his first home run of the season to give the Miami Marlins a crucial and somewhat commanding 6-3 lead after the game was tied. Heath Bell nearly lost the game, but Tim Lincecum‘s awful start was not going to go unpunished.
Nationals 7, Braves 4
In a battle between the NL East powers, the Washington Nationals emerged victorious behind star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Both of his hits were doubles, and he also drove in three runs to help Chien-Ming Wang notch a win in relief.
White Sox 9, Indians 3
A.J. Pierzynski tripled and scored three runs, and he also homered in the White Sox big win over the division leaders. Jeanmar Gomez had a game to forget, and Adam Dunn knocked his 15th HR out of the park while facing Gomez in the first inning.
Tigers 10, Twins 6
Prince Fielder, Delmon Young, and Brennan Boesch hit in the 4th, 5th, and 6th slots in the Detroit Tigers line-up. All three of them managed to get three hits apiece, with Boesch leading the way with two doubles. The Twins received three hits from lead-off hitter Denard Span, who has a .362 OBP this season, but his two doubles weren’t enough to defeat the Tigers high-powered offense. Alex Avila had two doubles and drove in three runs to lead the Tigers on the run-producing side of things.
Phillies 5, Cardinals 3
The Philadelphia Phillies took down the St. Louis Cardinals after ten innings of action-packed baseball, with Hunter Pence‘s extra-innings shot to right being the game-winning hit in this one. Jonathan Papelbon has now saved 14 games this year. The Cards are dealing with the loss of Lance Berkman for eight to ten weeks, and Allen Craig is still out, Matt Adams has been doing work over at first and notched three hits in this one.
Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 1
Milwaukee Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo outdueled D’Backs starter Ian Kennedy, as Gallardo allowed just five hits and a run in 7.1 innings. Corey Hart homered for the tenth time this season, and Brewers superstar slugger Ryan Braun blasted his 13th of the year off of Kennedy in the fourth. For the Diamondbacks, Jason Kubel got on base a game-high four times with two hits and two walks (only player on the team to get on base more than once). His homer in the fourth was his fourth of the season and came off of Gallardo for the team’s sole run.
Yankees 6, Athletics 3
Josh Reddick hit another home run for the A’s, but the home team could not overcome a decent start from Ivan Nova in a 6-3 win for the New York Yankees. Rafael Soriano allowed a hit and struck out two for his fourth save of the season, and the Yankees hit three home runs in this game. Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher not only homered, but they also had a double each.
Angels 6, Mariners 4
In this game between sub-.500 AL West clubs, the Los Angeles Angels won behind a three-run shot from Albert Pujols in the sixth off of Blake Beaven to open up the scoring. Beaven thoroughly outpitched Ervin Santana, and the Angels were down 4-0 before Pujols’s homer. Afterwards, they scored three runs in the ninth and the bullpen shut down the M’s in the win. After tying up the game on a fielder’s choice at 4-4, the Angels received a walk-off, two-RBI single from Howie Kendrick to score Alberto Callaspo and Erick Aybar, who were in on the last play. Aybar got on base, while Callaspo made it to third due to a costly error from Brandon League (0-4, 4.43 ERA, fourth blown save of the year). A personal favorite of mine, Scott Downs notched his fourth save of the year and has not allowed an earned run yet.
Astros 3, Dodgers 1
Lucas Harrell and Clayton Kershaw were both about even in this pitching duel, but Harrell was slightly better and thus emerged victorious. The Astros starter did not strike anyone out, but he only allowed a run and five hits in 7.1 strong innings. Kershaw, meanwhile, allowed two earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. Jose Altuve doubled twice for Houston, and J.D. Martinez homered. Dodgers No. 3 hitter Bobby Abreu got on base four times with a single and three walks.