Here are the scores. Here are the highlights:
Rangers 5, Orioles 3: The Rangers avoid the sweep thanks to their new additions. Jonathan Lucroy hit his first homer with Texas and Carlos Beltran had two hits and an RBI. When I first wrote that first sentence I accidentally typed “new editions.” That’s a totally different thing. A totally different and super cool thing.
Indians 9, Twins 2: The Twins have given the Indians a lot of trouble this year but Cleveland figured them out at least for one afternoon. The longball helped as Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor and Joe Ramirez all went deep. Hector Santiago made his first start with the Twins, giving up four runs on five hits in five innings and a couple of those bombs.
Rays 3, Royals 2: The Rays were down two in the bottom of the eighth when Brad Miller came up and smacked a three-run homer. The Rays only had four hits in the game. Three of them came in that eighth inning.
Reds 7, Cardinals 0: I talked up Joey Votto and his hitting streak yesterday so of course he comes out and drops an 0-for-4. He probably didn’t mind too much, though, as his teammates certainly came through. Particularly catcher Ramon Cabrera, who singled in three runs and starter Brandon Finnegan who tossed six scoreless. The Reds are 12-6 since the All-Star break.
Giants 3, Phillies 2: These two went to extras for the second day in a row. This time the Giants prevailed thanks to Denard Span’s leadoff homer in the 10th inning. Matt Moore made his Giants debut after coming over from Tampa Bay. He allowed two runs and three hits in six innings, which ain’t bad! He also walked six , which ain’t good!
White Sox 6, Tigers 3: Jordan Zimmermann came back and got shelled for six runs in less than two innings then got sent for an MRI. No word if he stepped on a rake in the front yard and dropped his cell phone in the toilet, but that would’ve been in keeping with his day. The Tigers’ eight-game winning streak came to an end. Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia homered for Chicago.
Athletics 8, Angels 6: Yonder Alonso hit an RBI double in the 10th inning to but Oakland over and help them end their five-game losing streak. It also made up for the fact that Alonso’s error in the eighth inning is what allowed the Angels to tie it in the first place.
Mets 4, Yankees 1: The Bruce is loose! Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer while Bartolo Colon allowed one run while pitching into the seventh. That homer broke an 0-for-10 start in New York for Bruce. If that had kept up I’m sure the press coverage would’ve been super understandable and compassionate.
Braves 5, Pirates 2: Ryan Vogelsong allowed only one run in six innings and left with the game tied 1-1, likely feeling pretty good about how his first start in two months went. Then the Pirates fell apart, allowing two runs in each the seventh and eighth innings. The Pirates have lost five of six. They’re three back in the Wild Card but five teams are ahead of them. What a disappointing season it’s been for them.
Blue Jays 4, Astros 1: This is one of those dog days series that seem like it has gone on for 10 games. Really, can’t remember the last time I didn’t do a recap with these two facing each other. Maybe they only play one another, 162 games a year, and we’ve all been tricked into thinking it’s normal. I don’t know. The Jays took three of four from the Astros according to the official version Major League Baseball wants you to believe, but it feels more like 30 of 40 or something.
Dodgers 4, Rockies 2: Kenta Maeda allowed two runs over five and two-thirds innings and Corey Seager hit his 19th homer. That ties a record for homers by a Dodgers shortstop. It’s not like it’s some venerable record by an all-time great or anything, though. It was Hanley Ramirez in 2013. Imagine him playing shortstop now. Dodgers salvage the series.
Red Sox 3, Mariners 2: Brock Holt with an 11th inning RBI single. Travis Shaw hit a solo homer. The Sox’ bullpen pitched five scoreless innings