Relief Roundup: Chicago Cubs, Kyle Schwarber go deep
As the MLB season pushes into warming weather across the country, a handful of intriguing matchups of West division teams take center stage, including young fireballer Walker Buehler’s starting debut.
At Call to the Pen, we want to ensure every MLB team is getting coverage, and that you’re well-informed as the reader! As part of that, we will be including a new daily piece into our collection each morning with all of the night’s scores at every level of the majors and minors, along with a bit of history/birthdays at the very end.
Without further adieu, let’s begin!
MLB Scores
New York Yankees 8, Minnesota Twins 1 in New York – The highlight game for Tuesday’s from yesterday’s post didn’t turn out quite as expected. The wily veteran starter was nails, as CC Sabathia pitched his team to a comfortable win, holding the Twins scoreless until the 7th after a first inning run. Twins starter Jose Berrios allowed 5 runs in 4 innings, though. Gary Sanchez hit 2 of the Yankees four home runs.
Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore, PPD
Arizona Diamondbacks 8, Philadelphia Phillies 4 in Philadelphia – A back-and-forth game through 6 innings, the Diamondbacks sealed the game with a 3-run 8th inning in a crazy game where light-hitting Jarrod Dyson hit a home run and slugger Paul Goldschmidt stole a base!
Toronto Blue Jays 4, Boston Red Sox 3, 10 innings, in Toronto – Toronto scored 3 runs in the first inning, but had to walk off in the 10th inning to get the victory over Boston on Tuesday, Boston’s third straight loss. Curtis Granderson provided the extra-inning power with a walk-off home run off of Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel.
Seattle Mariners 1, Chicago White Sox 0 in Chicago – Two former prospects squared off for an impressive pitchers’ duel on Tuesday as Marco Gonzales threw six shutout innings to best the White Sox, who started the game with Chris Volstad on the mound.
New York Mets 6, St. Louis Cardinals 5, 10 innings, in St. Louis – Jay Bruce homered in the top of the 10th inning to secure the Mets victory after tying the game in the 8th inning. Prior to that home run, the two teams went back and forth all game in a very exciting game with two ties and three lead chagnes.
Milwaukee Brewers 5, Kansas City 2 in Kansas City – The Brewers won their 7th straight game behind a big night from Lorenzo Cain in his return to Kansas City. Ryan Braun joined in with a similarly big game at the plate.
Detroit Tigers @ Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, PPD
Chicago Cubs 10, Cleveland Indians 3 in Cleveland – Playing in an American League park agreed with the Cubs lineup, as they were able to use all their best offensive weapons, putting Kyle Schwarber at DH. Schwarber and Ian Happ combined for 3 home runs on the night, two by Schwarber, as the Cubs pounded out 7 extra base hits.
Cincinnati Reds 9, Atlanta Braves 7, 12 innings, in Cincinnati – Atlanta was shut out by Tyler Mahle for 6 innings, but Freddie Freeman broke up the no-no with a home run in the 7th, and the Braves came all the way back with a 4-run 9th to force extras, where Scooter Gennett knocked out the game-winning home run, his second homer of the day.
Oakland Athletics 3, Texas Rangers 2 in Texas – A scoreless contest through 5 innings, the A’s pieced together runs in 3 consecutive runs to maintain their standing as the hottest team in the American League with their fourth straight victory.
Colorado Rockies 8, San Diego Padres 0 in Colorado – Kyle Freeland tossed a gem, throwing 7 scoreless innings and striking out 8 as the Rockies shut out the Padres. Trevor Story hit a grand slam in the second inning off rookie starter Eric Lauer making his major league debut.
San Francisco Giants 4, Washington Nationals 3 in San Francisco – Washington put up 3 runs in the 4th inning, but the Giants put up a run in the first inning and never seemed out of control of the game at any point on the night. Mac Williamson continued his big power barrage since joining the Giants, with his third home run, taking the lead for good for the Giants.
Los Angeles Angels 8, Houston Astros 7 in Houston – The Angels continued to establish themselves in the AL West as serious threats to the Astros’ crown. Andrelton Simmons hit a pair of home runs on a day that saw five home runs between both teams.
Miami Marlins 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2 in Los Angeles – The Marlins scored a run in the 8th and 9th to eek out a victory over the Dodgers in a tight ball game after a controversial balk call in the 8th inning on Dodgers reliever Tony Cingrani advanced a runner to second base that possibly would not have scored without that balk call.
Standouts
His bullpen cost him the victory, but Blue Jays starter JA Happ was dominant in his matchup against the only 4-0 pitcher in the American League, Rick Porcello. He tossed 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and no walks, striking out 10.
On a night with 5 multi-homer games, Scooter Gennett takes the nod due to his extra inning game winner for the Reds as he went 3-5 on the game against the Braves with 3 runs, 4 RBI, and his 2 home runs.
Other hitters
Kyle Seager, Sea, 2-4, R, 2B
Ian Happ, ChC 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Kyle Schwarber, ChC, 2-5, 2 HR
Jose Ramirez, Cle, 3-3, R, 2B
Eduardo Escobar, Min, 3-3, R, RBI, BB, 2 2B
Aaron Judge, NYY, 3-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR
Didi Gregorius, NYY, 3-4, R, 3 RBI, HR
Gary Sanchez, NYY, 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR
Freddie Freeman, Atl, 2-6, 2 HR
Kurt Suzuki, Atl, 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Alex Avila, Ari, 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Hanley Ramirez, Bos, 3-5, R, RBI
Curtis Granderson, Tor, 3-5, R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Andrelton Simmons, LAA, 3-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR
Marwin Gonzalez, Hou, 2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Lorenzo Cain, Mil, 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, HR
Ryan Braun, Mil, 2-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, SB
Jay Bruce, NYM, 3-5, R, 2 RBI, 3B, HR
Tommy Pham, StL, 3-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, HR
Other pitchers
Tyler Chatwood, ChC, 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 5 K
Marco Gonzales, Sea, 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
Chris Volstad, ChW, 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K
CC Sabathia, NYY, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Rick Porcello, Bos, 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 9 K
Andrew Triggs, Oak, 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Kyle Freeland, Col, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Kenta Maeda, LAD, 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K
Wednesday’s Game to Watch
Wednesday’s game between Arizona and Philadelphia will feature two of the primary competitors for the 2015 National League Cy Young Award. Jake Arrieta, then with the Cubs, now with the Phillies, won the award with a 22-6 record and a 1.77 ERA, garnering 17 of the 30 first-place votes. Zack Greinke, then with the Dodgers, now with the Diamondbacks, finished second in the voting with 10 first-place votes, going 19-3 and leading the league with a 1.66 ERA.
Interestingly enough, the third horse in that season’s three-horse race for the award was Greinke’s Dodger teammate Clayton Kershaw, who earned the other 3 first-place votes with a 2.13 ERA, leading the league in innings and striking out 301 batters. Kershaw starts Wednesday’s game for the Dodgers against Miami.
Next: AA/AAA