5/21 Baseball INTERLEAGUE play

The middle games in the series of interleague play that is set for this weekend. We begin with...

The Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Houston Astros. Brett Myers and Brandon Morrow get the ball. Houston led off with Brett Wallace hitting a sacrifice fly to score Michael Bourn and Chris Johnson singling in Hunter Pence. Johnson also ripped an RBI-single in the third, this time bringing home Carlos Lee. Johnson changed his method in the fifth, using a sacrifice fly to score Lee again and extend the Astros lead. Toronto found their bats as Jose Bautista launched a three-run rocket in the sixth, also bringing home Jose Molina and Yunel Escobar. The Blue Jays were back at in the seventh with Molina's single to bring in Eric Thames, before Escobar let a two-run tater tip to finish the trip. Toronto got some insurance from Bautista in the eighth with a solo home run. Houston got an Angel Sanchez double in the ninth as they started playing catch-up, with Bourn coming in again. The final would be 7-5, with Myers taking the loss, Casey Jansen getting the win, Jason Frasor and Jon Rauch grabbing holds, and Octavio Dotel getting the save. Johnson and Bautista were the top batters.

Into the Battle of Missouri, where the Kansas City Royals host the St. Louis Cardinals. Jake Westbrook and Nate Adcock are the starters. St. Louis opened the scoring in the eighth with Matt Holliday's two run home run, also bringing in Albert Pujols. The Cardinals made it 3-0 with Ryan Theriot hitting a sacrifice fly to bring in Daniel Descalso. This was a final, with Westbrook getting the win, Fernando Salas converting a save, and Tim Collins suffering the loss. Holliday and Alex Gordon were the best hitters.

North to Chicago, with the White Sox hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle are on the mound. Chicago opened with a first inning single by Paul Konerko to drive in Alexei Ramirez. Los Angeles replied with a groundout in the third inning from Matt Kemp that allowed Jamey Carroll to score. The White Sox got the lead back with a two-run Alex Rios home run that also scored A.J. Pierzynski, followed up by Ramirez lining a two-RBI single to knock in Omar Vizquel and Brent Lillibridge, and Konerko doing the same for Gordon Beckham and Ramirez. The Dodgers snagged a run back as Jerry Sands blasted a solo shot in the sixth. Chicago answered with Lillibridge sending a two-run homer out of the park, also scoring Pierzynski. Garland took the loss and Buehrle came out with the win. Sands and Ramirez were named top hitters.

Onward to the Maryland-Area rivalry, with the Washington Nationals visiting the Baltimore Orioles. John Lannan and Jeremy Guthrie are set to pitch. Washington opened the scoring as Laynce Nix reached on an error and Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Ian Desmond both found home. Baltimore tied it with Nolan Reimold drilling a two-run homer, also scoring Mark Reynolds, followed by Nick Markakis singling, and Adam Jones dashing home on an error and Vladimir Guerrero's single finishing up Markakis' trip. The Orioles got back to work in the seventh as Robert Andino doubled in Brandon Snyder, Markakis singling in Andino, Matt Wieters doing the same for Markakis, and J.J. Hardy also following suit to get Guerrero home. The Nationals made it 8-3 with Wilson Ramos sacrificing himself to get Matt Stairs around the basepaths. Guthrie picked up the win and Lannan had the loss. Desmond and Reimold were the top hitters.

Another in-state game, this time from Ohio, has the Cleveland Indians hosting the Cincinnati Reds. Homer Bailey and Josh Tomlin get the starting nods. Cincinnati opened the scoring in the seventh with Scott Rolen's groundout allowing Brandon Phillips to dash home. Cleveland replied in the bottom of the seventh with Travis Buck's two run shot, also scoring Asdrubal Cabrera for a 2-1 lead. This was a final, with Tomlin getting the win, Vinnie Pestano picking up a hold, Chris Perez converting the save, and Bailey unfortunately taking the loss. Ryan Hanigan and Buck were the best batters.

South to Florida, where the Florida Marlins host their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays. David Price goes against old foe Javier Vazquez. Florida struck in the first to take an early lead as Logan Morrison doubled in both Emilio Bonifacio and Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez would late launch a solo home run, in the sixth. The Marlins tacked on some more in the seventh, with Omar Infante's two run tater, bringing in Wes Helms. Tampa Bay got on the board in the eighth with Kelly Shoppach walking with the bases loaded, forcing in Justin Ruggiano, and Johnny Damon's two-RBI single to score both B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria. The final would be Florida up 5-3, with Price losing, Vazquez winning, Edward Mujica having a hold, and Leo Nunez converting his 17th save of the season. Damon and Ramirez were the top batters.

Into Pittsburgh, with the Pirates hosting the Detroit Tigers. Max Scherzer and Kevin Correia got the starts. Detroit led off with Miguel Cabrera doubling home Andy Dirks, followed by Brennan Boesch doing the same for Cabrera. Pittsburgh got going in the sixth with a Garrett Jones ground rule double to score Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker sacrificing himself for Jose Tabata to score, and Lyle Overbay doing likewise for Jones. The Pirates added on with Matt Diaz singling in Jose Veras and McCutchen in the seventh, followed by Tabata dashing home after a called-strike, for a 6-2 score, the eventual final. Scherzer suffered the loss, Correia got the win, and Joel Hanrahan converted the save. Cabrera and McCutchen were named top hitters.


Bay Area Baseball is next, with the San Francisco Giants hosting the Oakland Athletics. Brett Anderson and Tim Lincecum are set to pitch against each other. San Francisco led off with a Buster Posey first inning groundout, allowing Andres Torres to score. The Giants followed this up with Cody Ross' single in the eighth inning, knocking in Posey, before Miguel Tejada sacrificed himself to bring Ross all the way around. This made the score 3-0, the final, with Anderson losing and Lincecum taking a 3-hit victory. Ryan Sweeney and Posey had top batting honors.

Following up, the Subway Series, with the New York Yankees hosting the New York Mets. Chris Capuano and A.J. Burnett were given the green light to start. The Mets opened with Jason Bay's sacrifice fly to score Jose Reyes, and Justin Turner singling in Daniel Murphy. The Yankees answered with a pair of two-run bombs, in the second and third innings, with Russell Martin knocking around Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira doing the same for Derek Jeter. Carlos Beltran answered for the Mets with a single to bring Reyes home again. The Yankees replied by having Curtis Granderson and Rodriguez both hit solo shots in the sixth. Capping it off in the eighth, the Yankees got a sacrifice fly by Teixeira to bring Jeter around again. The final was 7-3, with Capuano taking the loss, Burnett snagging the win, and David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain both taking holds. Reyes and Teixeira were the best hitters.

The NL-Only game features the Milwaukee Brewers hosting the Colorado Rockies. Clayotn Mortensen and Shaun Marcum got the starting nods. Colorado led off with a solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Milwaukee answered in the bottom of the first with Prince Fielder doubling in Rickie Weeks, and Fielder scoring on an error. The Brewers added on one more run in the fifth with Jonathan Lucroy's solo shot. The Rockies made it 3-2 on Seth Smith's groundout that allowed a dash home by Troy Tulowitzki, but it wasn't enough to win. Mortensen took the loss, Marcum got the win, and John Axford converted a save. Gonzalez and Lucroy were the top batters.

Over to Philadelphia, with the Phillies hosting the Texas Rangers. Colby Lewis and Cliff Lee were handed the game ball. Philadelphia started off the scoring with a second inning solo home run by Ryan Howard. In the sixth, the Phillies added on with a John Mayberry single leading to Raul Ibanez coming around home, for a 2-0 lead, the eventual final. Lewis was the losing pitcher, while former teammate Lee had the win, and Ryan Madson closed out the save. Michael Young and Howard were the top hitters.

Into Boston, where the Red Sox hosted the Chicago Cubs. Carlos Zambrano and Alfredo Aceves were on the mound. Chicago opened in the third with Aramis Ramirez doubling home Kosuke Fukudome. Boston answered with a two-run homer by David Ortiz, also scoring Kevin Youkilis. In the sixth, the Red Sox padded their lead with Jacoby Ellsbury lining a double to get Carl Crawford home. The Cubs got dangerous in the eighth, with Carlos Pena leading the massacre on a bases-loaded walk squeezing in Darwin Barney, followed by Reed Johnson doubling both Starlin Castro and Ramirez home, Pena scoring on a Jed Lowrie error, Jeff Baker hitting a two-RBI double to bring around Johnson and Alfonso Soriano, Barney flying out and Soriano scoring on an error, and Baker doing the same on another error, and finally Castro doubling home Fukudome. This carnage led to a 9-3 Cubs win, with Sean Marshall being lucky enough to pick it up, while Dan Wheeler and Rich Hill had holds before Matt Albers Chernobyl'd it. Castro and Ortiz were the top batters.

To Anaheim, with the Angels hosting the Atlanta Braves. Tommy Hanson and Joel Pineiro were given the ball. Anaheim led off with a two-run Bobby Abreu home run, also scoring Erick Aybar in the first. The Angels added on in the fifth with a two-RBI single by Torii Hunter, driving home Maicer Izturis and Abreu. Atlanta got on the board with Joe Mather's three run blast, also scoring Freddie Freeman and Alex Gonzalez, and tying it on Brian McCann's RBI-double, scoring Martin Prado. The Braves won it 5-4 in the twelfth as Mather doubled in Gonzalez to win the game. Scott Proctor got the win, and Craig Kimbrel converted the save, while Fernando Rodney had a hold before Hisanori Takahashi blew the save, and Trevor Bell suffered the loss. Mather and Abreu had the top hitting status.

A little farther south, the San Diego Padres host the Seattle Mariners. Michael Pineda duels with Clayton Richard. Mike Wilson opened for Seattle with a single to score Franklin Gutierrez, followed by a Jack Wilson sacrifice fly to bring around Brendan Ryan. Mike Wilson added on in the fourth with a double to knock in Ryan. The Mariners added on with Jack Wilson dashing home on an error.This made it 4-0, the eventual final, with Pineda taking the win and Richard being stuck with the loss. Mike Wilson and Orlando Hudson were the best batters.

Lastly, the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Minnesota Twins. Scott Baker and Micah Owings are on the mound. Minnesota opened with Danny Valencia's solo home run in the second inning. Juan Miranda answered with a fourth inning double that drove home Miguel Montero. The Twins got the lead back when Delmon Young dashed home as Denard Span reached on an error. Minnesota added on with a Jason Kubel solo home run and Valencia singling in Justin Morneau in the sixth. The Diamondbacks answered with Chris Young doubling in Stephen Drew in the bottom of the inning, and Gerardo Parra laying down a bunt single to squeeze in Young. The Twins got the Valencia's RBI-single to score Morneau, and Michael Cuddyer dashing home on a pair of errors. Arizona replied with Miranda doubling in both Young and Montero, before they got a 9-6 lead on a grand slam by Kelly Johnson, bringing in Parra, Josh Wilson, and Ryan Roberts. This lead would hold for the win, which Aaron Heilman picked up, and J.J. Putz preserved for a save. Phil Dumatrait, Alex Burnett, and Joe Nathan had holds before Matt Capps blew it up. Valencia and Miranda were the best hitters.

That's all for Saturday. More to come next week.