2020 MLB Season: Simulating NL games, May 22-24
By Bill Felber
2020 MLB Season: Simulating NL games (May 22-24)
National League Central
The Reds lost a golden opportunity to gain ground on the Cardinals, dropping a pair of extra-inning games to San Diego.
Cincinnati’s weekend started off fine with a 7-0 complete game shutout by Anthony DeSclafini, 5-3. DeSclafani allowed just three hits. Curt Casali homered and drove in three runs.
The Padres won 5-4 Saturday when pinch hitter Josh Naylor doubled Wil Myers home with the tenth inning hit that broke a 4-4 tie. Kirby Yates picked up his 14th save.
Manny Machado was Sunday’s hero, planting a Lucas Sims pitch into the left-field seats, again with Myers on base in the top of the 10th. That made the Padres a 5-3 winner.
Brewers pitchers made life in Milwaukee difficult for the Cubs. On Friday Adrian Houser, 3-6, allowed just three hits over eight innings of a 3-1 Brewers win. He beat Kyle Hendricks, whose record fell to 6-5. Houser also provided his own offense, his seventh-inning double driving the two tie-breaking runs home.
On Saturday, Brian Anderson duplicated Houser’s pitching expertise, if not his facility with the bat. Anderson, 6-2, held the Cubs to three hits in eight innings of a 4-3 victory that was decided when Alec Mills, 0-4, walked pinch hitters, Ben Gamel and Orlando Garcia. Kyle Ryan relieved Mills and surrendered Christian Yelich’s game-winning two-RBI base hit.
The Cubs came away with Sunday’s 3-1 decision, making early home runs by Jason Heyward and Albert Almora stand up. Yu Darvish, 4-5, was the winner; Josh Lindblom, 3-2, took the loss.
The Giants shut out Pittsburgh 8-0 Friday behind Tyson Ross, 2-0, then held on for a 6-5 victory Saturday. Tony Watson surrendered a two-run ninth-inning home run to pinch hitter John Ryan Murphy, but followed up by retiring Colin Moran to earn his first save.
Pittsburgh pulled out the Sunday game 9-7, Giants starter Drew Smyly seeing his record fall to 0-5. Smyly allowed seven runs in four innings, Josh Bell’s three hits – one a home run – driving in four runs.
Related Story. 2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, May 18-21. light
W-L Pct GB
St. Louis 33-22 .600 —
Cincinnati 31-23 .574 1.5
Milwaukee 28-27 .509 5
Chicago 25-29 .463 7.5
Pittsburgh 17-35 .327 14.5