Baseball 5/6

Another day of me actually covering baseball has to be a surprise for anyone still reading here. But we do start off with a bunch of fresh, new series today, which begin in the...

Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, Chicago, where the Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds. Edinson Volquez opposes Matt Garza from the mound. Chicago opened with Garza scoring on a passed ball. Cincinnati replied with a three-run tater from Jay Bruce, also bringing in Edgar Renteria and Joey Votto. The Cubs came back with Geovany Soto's grounding into a double play, allowing Alfonso Soriano to reach home. The Reds replied once more with Votto singling to score Paul Janish and Brandon Phillips doing the same for Renteria. Chicago got one run back with Aramis Ramirez singling in Darwin Barney. The Cubs made it 5-4 in the sixth inning with Soto's RBI single driving in Marlon Byrd, but the game was scoreless from there on and Cincinnati held on to win. Volquez had the win, Sam LeCure and Nick Masset had holds, and Francisco Cordero closed out for a save, while Garza suffered another loss. Bruce (1-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI) and Byrd (2-4) took the honors of top hitting.

Over to Pittsburgh, with the Pirates hosting the Houston Astros. Wandy Rodriguez and Paul Maholm are the starters. Houston led off the first inning with a Hunter Pence sacrifice fly to drive in Jason Bourgeois. Pittsburgh got on the board in the fifth with a Brandon Wood double knocking in Lyle Overbay. The Pirates took the lead with a seventh inning Neil Walker solo home run. The Astros tied it back up with a Pence double to score Michael Bourn, followed by a Carlos Lee single to finish Pence's trip around the bases. The final would have the Astros up 3-2, giving Rodriguez a win and Mark Melancon a save, while Chris Resop took the loss. Pence (2-4, 2 RBI) and Wood (2-3, 1 RBI) were the best batters.

Into Maryland, where the Baltimore Orioles host the Tampa Bay Rays. James Shields and Zach Britton oppose each other from the mound. Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the second inning with B.J. Upton's RBI double bringing in Evan Longoria, before Brandon Guyer went over the wall for a two-run shot, completing Upton's trot around the bases. Baltimore got on the board with a sixth inning solo home run by Derrek Lee. Casey Kotchman got the run back for the Rays with his single that brought in Longoria. Tampa Bay extended the lead with a two-run homer by Johnny Damon, also scoring Ben Zobrist. The Orioles added on a run with Luke Scott's double to score Vladimir Guerrero, but they would lose 6-2. Shields was the winner and Britton had the loss. Guyer (1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI) and Lee (1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI) had top batter status.

Back to Pennsylvania, with the Philadelphia Phillies hosting the Atlanta Braves. Derek Lowe and Cliff Lee got the starting orders. Atlanta opened the scoring in the third inning with a Chipper Jones single to score Alex Gonzalez, Brian McCann doubling in Jones, and Dan Uggla bringing McCann back around home. The Braves stuck in the dagger with a Martin Prado single to score Jason Heyward and Gonzalez singling in Prado before getting caught trying to make it to second. This produced a 5-0 Atlanta victory, with Lowe snatching the win, Eric O'Flaherty and Johnny Venters getting saves, and Lee taking the loss. Gonzalez (3-5, 1 RBI) and Placido Polanco (1-3) took top batting honors.

Going north of the border, the Toronto Blue Jays host the Detroit Tigers. Phil Coke and Jesse Litsch get the nod. Toronto opened with a first inning Adam Lind single knocking in the speedy Rajai Davis, followed by Juan Rivera batting in Yunel Escobar with a single, and J.P. Arencibia doing the same for Lind. The Blue Jays did some more damage in the third with Arencibia's double scoring Rivera. Jhonny Peralta put Detroit on the board with a groundout to allow Victor Martinez safe passage home. Toronto got a boost with a solo home run by Lind in the seventh inning. The Blue Jays padded their lead with a two-RBI double from Corey Patterson, knocking in Edwin Encarnacion and Mike McCoy. The Tigers got to work in the top of the ninth with Brandon Inge doubling in both Ryan Raburn and Peralta, before Scott Sizemore's single allowed Inge to come home. This would not be enough, as Toronto got a 7-4 win, with Litsch earning the win, Frank Francisco converting the save, and Coke taking the loss. Inge (1-4, 2 RBI) and Patterson (3-5, 2 RBI) were the best batters.

Into Manhattan, with the New York Mets hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hiroki Kuroda and Jonathon Niese take to the mound. Los Angeles struck in the first inning with a Matt Kemp single scoring Jerry Sands. New York replied with a Carlos Beltran sacrifice fly to bring in Jose Reyes. The Dodgers retook the lead in the second with a solo shot by Rod Barajas. The Mets retied it on a solo shot by Ike Davis. Los Angeles regained the lead again with Juan Uribe grounding out to provide a way home for Jamey Carroll. New York grabbed the lead with a three-run tater off Jason Pridie's bat, bringing in Beltran and Davis. The Mets added on with a Jason Bay single knocking in Reyes. New York would hold on for the 6-3 win, and Ryota Igarashi took the win while Francisco Rodriguez converted the save and Kuroda was stuck with the loss. Barajas (2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and Pridie (1-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI) were the best hitters.

Over to Massachusetts, where the Boston Red Sox welcome the Minnesota Twins to Fenway Park. Scott Baker and Tim Wakefield have the pitching honors. Minnesota struck in the first with a Trevor Plouffe solo home run. The Twins added on with a second inning Denard Span single, scoring two runs as Michael Cuddyer and Danny Valencia crossed home, before Ben Revere came home via a balk. Boston replied with a J.D. Drew solo home run in the bottom of the inning. The Red Sox also had a solo shot from Adrian Gonzalez's bat in the fourth inning. In the fifth, Minnesota got some runs back with Valencia's single knocking in a pair of runs, Plouffe and Justin Morneau. The Twins added on with Jed Lowrie's error allowing both Cuddyer and Valencia to come home. Minnesota kept going with a fluky strikeout by Morneau, another error by Lowrie allowing Plouffe to get to third and then score on a balk. This made it 9-2, which would be a final score. Baker got the win and Wakefield was stuck with the loss. Valencia (2-5, 2 RBI) and Drew (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) took the top batting title for the game.

Down the coast to Florida, with the Marlins hosting the Washington Nationals. Jordan Zimmermann and Ricky Nolasco get the starts. Washington opened in the second inning with a double by Jerry Hairston, Jr., providing a safe route home for Ivan Rodriguez. The Nationals extended their lead in the fourth inning with Ian Desmond hitting a sacrifice fly for Adam LaRoche. Florida got on the board in the fifth inning with an Omar Infante sacrifice fly to score Greg Dobbs. The Marlins tied it in the sixth inning with a Gaby Sanchez single bringing around Emilio Bonifacio. Florida won the game 3-2 with a ninth inning solo home run by Mike Stanton. Drew Storen was pinned with the loss and Leo Nunez was the winning pitcher. Hairston, Jr. (3-3, 1 RBI) and Stanton (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) took the top hitters status.

Westward to Texas, with the Texas Rangers hosting the New York Yankees. Ivan Nova and Matt Harrison are starting. New York started off with a first inning two-run home run by Curtis Granderson, also scoring Derek Jeter. The Yankees tacked on another run with an error by the pitcher Harrison leading to Russell Martin finding a way home. New York added another run with Granderson hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning. Texas finally got on the board with a Julio Borbon single to score Mike Napoli in the eighth inning. This would bring the game to its 4-1 New York final, with Nova grabbing the win, Rafael Soriano taking a hold, Mariano Rivera converting the save, and Harrison being stuck with the loss. Granderson (2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and Borbon (1-3, 1 RBI) were the best hitters.

North into Missouri, with the Kansas City Royals hosting the Oakland Athletics. Gio Gonzalez and Sean O'Sullivan are pitching. Kansas City started the scoring in the first with a solo home run by Alex Gordon.The Royals extended their lead with a Mike Aviles triple, allowing time for Matt Treanor to score. Oakland got busy in the fifth, as Andy LaRoche singled to bring in Kurt Suzuki, Kevin Kouzmanoff's grounding into a fielder's choice brought in Ryan Sweeney, and Coco Crisp doing the exact same for LaRoche. Oakland would hold on for the 3-2 win, Gonzalez getting the win, Grant Balfour picking up a hold, Brian Fuentes converting a save, and O'Sullivan being left with the loss. LaRoche (1-3, 1 RBI) and Gordon (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) were named best batters.

Also in Missouri, the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. Randy Wolf and Jaime Garcia were handed the ball for the game. St. Louis struck first with a Matt Holliday double bringing around Ryan Theriot. The Cardinals added on with Theriot scoring on a Colby Rasmus triple before Albert Pujols finished Rasmus' trip off with a sacrifice fly. St. Louis added on again in the fourth with a solo home run by Yadier Molina and a two-RBI single from Pujols that scored Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso. This finished off a 6-0 Cardinals win. Garcia threw a 2-hit shutout victory while Wolf was pinned for the loss. Rickie Weeks (1-4) and Molina (2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) were the best batters.

Out to the west coast, with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hosting the Cleveland Indians. Justin Masterson and Tyler Chatwood were the starting pitchers. Cleveland opened with a Travis Hafner groundout that brought in Asdrubal Cabrera. Anaheim answered in the sixth inning with Maicer Izturis doubling in Bobby Abreu. The tie lasted until the eleventh inning, where the Angels got a single from Torii Hunter to score Erick Aybar and win the game 2-1. Justin Germano was stuck with the loss, while Fernando Rodney picked up the win. Carlos Santana (2-5) and Izturis (2-5, 1 RBI) were the top batters.

Down to San Diego, with the Padres welcoming the Arizona Diamondbacks to Petco Park. Armando Gallaraga and Tim Stauffer opposed each other on the mound. San Diego opened the scoring in the third inning with Eric Patterson coming home on the successful suicide squeeze by Stauffer, who reached second base on subsequent errors, before Will Venable hit a sacrifice fly to knock in Rob Johnson. The Padres tacked on some more in the fifth inning with a Chase Headley single to score Venable. Arizona tied it with Gerardo Parra doubling in Ryan Roberts and Kelly Johnson reaching on an error to push in Juan Miranda and Parra. San Diego would take the win in the eleventh inning however, with the tie-breaking run coming on a walk of Headley, forcing in Chris Denorfia. Sam Demel was the losing pitcher, Luke Gregerson and Mike Adams had holds before Heath Bell imploded, but Chad Qualls was available for the win. Parra (2-4, 1 RBI) and Venable (3-5, 1 RBI) were the best of the hitters.

North to Seattle, with the Mariners hosting the Chicago White Sox. Phil Humber and Felix Hernandez got the starting nods. Chicago scored first in the fourth inning with a Paul Konerko sacrifice fly that drove home Juan Pierre. Seattle tied it on Milton Bradley double that allowed Ichiro to score, followed by a Justin Smoak ground rule double to take the lead as Bradley made it home. The White Sox retied it with a solo home run by Carlos Quentin. The Mariners took the win in the bottom of the ninth with Brendan Ryan singling to score Adam Kennedy for a 3-2 win. Hernandez went the distance for the win, and Matt Thornton got stuck with the loss. Quentin (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and Ryan (2-4, 1 RBI) were the top batters.

Back down to San Francisco, with the Giants hosting the Colorado Rockies. Aces Ubaldo Jimenez and Matt Cain were on the mound. Colorado struck first in the second inning with a solo shot from Troy Tulowitzki. The Rockies added on in the third with a Jonathan Herrera single scoring Chris Iannetta and a Carlos Gonzalez sacrifice fly to drive in Dexter Fowler. San Francisco got on the board with a Buster Posey groundout to bring in Mike Fontenot. The Giants tied it with a 2-RBI double by Nick Schierholtz, knocking in Posey and pinch-runner Darren Ford. San Francisco took a 4-3 lead and win with a Freddy Sanchez single, scoring Cody Ross for a 4-3 final. Matt Lindstrom had a hold before Rafael Betancourt blew the save, and Felipe Paulino finished off the loss, while Brian Wilson grabbed the win. Tulowitzki (1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and Schierholtz (1-4, 2 RBI) were the best hitters.

That's all from Friday. Going to try and do this again on Saturday, but no guarantees.