MLB Scoreboard: The St. Louis Cardinals Spoil Hanley Ramirez’s First Game As A Los Angeles Dodger

NATIONAL LEAGUE

St. Louis Cardinals 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (F/12)

Hanley Ramirez had a nice first game as a Dodger, going 2-4 with a walk, RBI, and run scored. Ramirez’s efforts were not enough, however, as the Dodgers were foiled by a game-winning single in the bottom of the 12th inning courtesy of Rafael Furcal. Starters Aaron Harang and Kyle Lohse were both exemplary. Harang struck out eight and gave up two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings, while Lohse gave up two earned runs and didn’t walk a man in seven innings. David Freese had two hits and scored a run to help his team to the win, something he did quite frequently last fall.

Washington Nationals 5, New York Mets 2

The Nationals won their fifth game in a row thanks to a masterful start from ace Stephen Strasburg. The dominant hurler went seven innings, allowed just one run, and struck out 11 to get his 11th win of the season. Michael Morse, Danny Espinosa, and Adam LaRoche all homered in the win. Ike Davis hit his 16th home run of the season for the slumping Mets.

Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Chicago Cubs 2

Kevin Correia pitched six solid innings to outduel Ryan Dempster and help the Pirates to another win. Neil Walker and Michael McKenry each hit solo shots for Pittsburgh, while Anthony Rizzo went deep for the Cubs.

Atlanta Braves 7, Miami Marlins 1

The Marlins, who are in full-on firesale mode, got trampled by the Braves on Wednesday. Juan Francisco went 3-4 with a home run and drove in three runs for Atlanta, while Michael Bourn and Jason Heyward also left the yard. Tommy Hanson gave up a single run and struck out seven in five innings, but he also walked seven batters.

Philadelphia Phillies 7, Milwaukee Brewers 6 (F/10)

Every single game of this series has resulted in a 7-6 Phillies win, which is just totally weird. After the Brewers took an extra innings lead on an Aramis Ramirez sac fly, Carlos Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins drove in runs in the bottom of the 10th to secure the win. Rickie Weeks had a four hit game in the loss, while Chase Utley had three hits and three RBI in the win.

San Diego Padres 6, San Francisco Giants 3

I never would have thought I would have to type the sentence “Jason Marquis outpitched Tim Lincecum” at any point ever. Lincecum scuffled yet again, while Jason Marquis struck out eight and allowed one run in seven innings. Jesus Guzman homered twice, while Chase Headley hit a home run of his own.

Cincinnati Reds 5, Houston Astros 3

The Francisco Cordero era has not started well in Houston, as the newly-acquired closer blew another save Wednesday thanks to hits from Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce. Homer Bailey and Bud Norris each turned in quality starts and fanned seven hitters, while Jose Altuve had three hits.

Colorado Rockies 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 2

Dexter Fowler had three hits and Marco Scutaro drove in three runs to help the Rockies to a rare victory. Jeff Francis pitched very well in six innings, though he did surrender solo homers to Jason Kubel and Miguel Montero. Kubel now has 22 home runs and is slugging .583 as a National Leaguer.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Chicago White Sox 8, Minnesota Twins 2

The White Sox scored two runs in four consecutive innings to down the Twins easily. Dayan Viciedo had a banner day, going 3-4 with a home run. Alex Rios homered as well, and he’s looking more and more like the good hitter that shows up every two years or so. Jake Peavy struck out six and allowed one earned run in six innings for the win.

Los Angeles Angels 11, Kansas City Royals 6

Torii Hunter had four hits, homered, and drove in three to lead the Angels to an offensively-fueled victory. Mike Trout added his 16th home run of the season and is now slugging over .600. What a ridiculous talent! Billy Butler hit his 20th homer of the season and still has a very outside chance of challenging Steve Balboni’s franchise record of 36 long balls in a season.

New York Yankees 5, Seattle Mariners 2

The Mariners got six free passes from Yankees starter Ivan Nova, but they didn’t do much with them. Derek Jeter homered in the win, while Jayson Nix added a key three-run double in the eighth to crush any illusions of a Mariner victory. John Jaso accounted for half of those Mariner walks all by himself.

Tampa Bay Rays 10, Baltimore Orioles 1

David Price struck out 10 in seven innings and became the first starter in baseball to 14 wins. He didn’t even have to pitch as well as he did to get that win, however, as the Rays jumped out to a huge lead early. Ryan Roberts homered in his first game as a Ray, while Jose Lobaton went 3-3 with four RBI and the first home run of his career.

Detroit Tigers 5, Cleveland Indians 3

Max Scherzer is generally either great or terrible, and he fell on the right side of the line for the Tigers Wednesday. The powerful righty struck out eight and allowed just two runs in seven innings of work. He was backed by a 3-4, two RBI performance from Quintin Berry and runs driven in by Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Casey Kotchman and Travis Hafner both went deep for Cleveland.

Oakland Athletics 16, Toronto Blue Jays 0

The A’s scored eight runs in the second inning and didn’t stop there. The offensive attack was balanced, as four players had multi-hit games and five players drove in multiple runs. Coco Crisp homered twice, while Chris Carter hit another ball out as well. Carter is now hitting .279/.415/.721 and reminding us all of why he was such a prospect. A.J. Griffin tossed six shutout innings and struck out nine for the win.

Texas Rangers 5, Boston Red Sox 3

The Rangers got a couple of late runs to slip by the Red Sox after a Josh Beckett wild pitch and a solo home run from Nelson Cruz an inning later. Derek Holland has had a tough season when he was supposed to break out, but he pitched 7 2/3 solid innings against the Sox on Wednesday night.

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