Relief Roundup: Tampa Bay Rays, Nathan Eovaldi flirt with perfection
Nathan Eovaldi took a perfect game into the 7th inning for the Tampa Bay Rays, and more in today’s Relief Roundup!
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 have brought back our daily piece into our collection with all of the night’s scores in the major leagues, the top performers in the minors, the minor league schedules, and a bit of history/birthdays at the very end.
Without further adieu, let’s begin!
Yesterday’s MLB Scores
New York Yankees 2, Toronto Blue Jays 1, 10 innings in Toronto – A solo home run in the 6th inning gave Toronto the chance to push the game into extra innings, but the Yankees were just able to continue generating quality contact and bringing in elite arms to outlast the Jays.
Oakland Athletics 6, Cleveland Indians 0 in Cleveland – Oakland shut out the Indians to take the weekend series in Cleveland from the Indians with Sunday’s win. Every Athletics hitter reached base on the day.
Tampa Bay Rays 9, New York Mets 0 in New York – Nathan Eovaldi was the talk of the day as he took a perfect game into the 7th inning and finished the day with one hit and no walks over 7 innings, striking out 9 in an incredibly impressive performance.
Texas Rangers 3, Detroit Tigers 0 in Detroit – A day after Big Sexy was denied a win in spite throwing a complete game, the Rangers made sure they supported their pitcher giving a tremendous performance to get the Sunday victory.
Miami Marlins 10, Washington Nationals 2 in Washington – After taking a beating at the hands of the Nationals on Saturday, the Marlins turned the tables on Sunday, holding down the Nats offense and putting up double-digit runs of their own.
Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Philadelphia Phillies 1 in Pittsburgh – After Philly tied the game at 1 in the top of the 4th, the Pirates responded in the bottom of the inning with 3 runs and that finished the scoring in the finale of a well-fought interstate series.
Milwaukee Brewers 10, Atlanta Braves 3 in Milwaukee – The Braves entered the day with a chance to earn a split of the series, but after a 5-run bottom of the third inning, the Brewers had the game put away for all intents and purposes.
Minnesota Twins 10, Baltimore Orioles 1 in Minnesota – If the Twins could just play the Orioles every weekend, the team would be back in playoff contention in no time. Finishing a weekend series that they dominated the O’s, both teams were off the board until the bottom of the 5th, and then the Twins offense was just busting out from then on.
Houston Astros 2, Chicago White Sox 1 in Houston – One of the best starts of the season from young Lucas Giolito was spoiled from an even better performance from Dallas Keuchel as the Astros are able to get the Sunday victory.
Boston Red Sox 7, Kansas City Royals 4 in Kansas City – The Red Sox put the game out of reach with a 3-spot in the top of the 7th and then their talented bullpen shutting things down in the end.
Chicago Cubs 6, Cincinnati Reds 5, 10 innings in Chicago – The Cubs walked off with a win in the bottom of the 10th over the Reds in a hard-fought battle in a series that challenged the Cubs much more than they likely thought they would be looking ahead to this weekend even a month ago.
San Francisco Giants 13, St. Louis Cardinals 8 in San Francisco – The Giants and Cardinals put up 28 hits and 21 runs on Sunday in a game that could have plenty of place for the postseason.
Seattle Mariners 6, Colorado Rockies 4 in Seattle – The Mariners got 3 runs in the first, and when that lead was threatened in the top of the 6th, they put up another 3 runs to cement the victory for surprising Wade LeBlanc.
San Diego Padres 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 3, 16 innings in Arizona – This game required an extra pot of coffee to be brewed mid-game for everyone to last all the way through for 16 innings. Both teams used big chunks of their pitching staffs as 19 pitchers appeared in the game.
Los Angeles Angels k, Los Angeles Dodgers 3 in Los Angeles – The Dodgers jumped out early on Angels starter Andrew Heaney, but he bounced back well to throw 7 strong innings, and his teammates crawled back into it to back his efforts.
Top Pitcher
Pretty easy choice on the day as Nathan Eovaldi threw a beauty of a game into the 7th inning, perfect through six innings. He ended up finishing his day against the Mets with 7 innings pitched, just one hit allowed, no walks, no runs, and 9 strikeouts on a day when as many as 10 teams were scouting Eovaldi as a possible low-cost trade option. His cost may have gone up a notch or two Sunday.
Top Hitter
Primarily a platoon player entering the season, Jesus Aguilar is having a big year for the Brewers, and his weekend against the Braves was no exception. On Sunday, as the two division leaders squared off, Aguilar went 2-4 with a pair of home runs and 4 RBI and also drew a walk. Over the 4-game set, Aguilar hit .357/.412/1.071, hitting 3 home runs and driving in 8 as the Brewers took the series 3 games to 1.
Today’s Game to Watch
Monday’s game between the Dodgers and Padres will feature two pitchers of intrigue as Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will take the mound, looking to re-establish himself after his return from injury. Also seeking to re-establish himself is young Padres hurler Luis Perdomo, who was a sabermetric darling coming into the season but struggled heavily to open the year. He’s making his second start since being recalled from the minors.
Next: AA/AAA