MLB Day 62 2012

Full slate on the schedule today, and we begin in...

Canada, as the Toronto Blue Jays host the Boston Red Sox. Felix Doubront and Kyle Drabek are the young pitchers. Boston opened in the second inning with Will Middlebrooks singling to score Jarrod Saltalamacchia, followed by Nick Punto doubling in Ryan Sweeney, and Daniel Nava hitting a 2-RBI single to knock in both Middlebrooks and Punto. Toronto got on the board in the third inning with a Jeff Mathis solo home run. The Red Sox shot back in the fourth inning as Middlebrooks grounded into a double play allowing Kevin Youkilis to get home safely. The Blue Jays answered in the bottom of the fourth with Kelly Johnson singling in David Cooper. Toronto pulled closer with a fifth inning Jose Bautista solo shot. Boston padded their lead in the eighth inning as Sweeney singled, bringing home David Ortiz. The Blue Jays pulled closer in the bottom of the eighth as Brett Lawrie hit a single, which combined with an error plated Edwin Encarnacion. The Red Sox gained breathing room on a Punto solo home run in the ninth inning. This stood for a 7-4 win, with Doubront picking up the win, Alfredo Aceves turning the save, and Drabek taking the loss.

Stateside, the Kansas City Royals host the Oakland Athletics. Brandon McCarthy and Luke Hochevar draw the starts. Oakland quickly scored in the first inning as Collin Cowgill grounded out to score Jemile Weeks. Kansas City tied it in the bottom of the first with a Jeff Francoeur single to drive in Alex Gordon. The Athletics got the lead again in the fourth inning as Yoenis Cespedes scored on a wild pitch. Oakland added on in the fifth inning with a triple from Josh Reddick forcing in Kurt Suzuki and Weeks, followed by Cespedes singling to finish Reddick's trip around, and Kila Ka'aihue knocking Cespedes in with a double. The Royals got one back in the sixth inning as Eric Hosmer doubled to score Billy Butler. Kansas City got another in the seventh inning as Yuniesky Betancourt hit a sacrifice fly, allowing Jarrod Dyson safe passage home. The Athletics roared away in the eighth inning as Adam Rosales singled in both Suzuki and Cliff Pennington, before coming home as Reddick reached on an error. This was it for the scoring, leaving the final at 9-3, with McCarthy getting the win and Hochevar getting nailed with the loss.

Eastward to Washington, as the Nationals host the Atlanta Braves. Brandon Beachy and Stephen Strasburg show alliteration in the pitching battle. Washington started with a fifth inning Jesus Flores solo home run. The Nationals struck again in the seventh inning as Xavier Nady doubled in Danny Espinosa. This produced the 2-0 final, with Strasburg cruising to victory, while Tyler Clippard got the save, and Beachy took the loss with little support.

Over in Philadelphia, the Phillies host the Miami Marlins. Ricky Nolasco and Cole Hamels are the staff aces set to start. Philadelphia got things going in the first inning on a Carlos Ruiz groundout to bring in Juan Pierre. The Phillies added on with a second inning Jimmy Rollins single, driving in Placido Polanco. Philadelphia struck again with a third inning solo home run by Hunter Pence. Miami got on the board with a fourth inning Hanley Ramirez solo shot, before Justin Ruggiano doubled to score Logan Morrison. The Marlins took the lead in the sixth inning as Ramirez hit a two-run home run, sweeping in Omar Infante. Miami extended the lead with a seventh inning Jose Reyes double to knock in Chris Coghlan. The Phillies got one back in the eighth inning when Pence hit a sacrifice fly, paving the way home for Rollins. They couldn't tie it, falling 5-4, with Nolasco grabbing the win, Heath Bell converting the save, and Hamels was dealt the loss.

Way to the west, the Colorado Rockies welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aaron Harang and Juan Nicasio are the middle-of-the-rotation starters. Los Angeles wasted little time in scoring in the first inning with an Andre Ethier single giving Tony Gwynn, Jr. time to dash home. Colorado tied it in the bottom of the first on a Michael Cuddyer double, scoring Dexter Fowler. The Dodgers took the lead back in the second inning as Elian Herrera singled home both Dee Gordon and Gwynn. Los Angeles added on in the fourth inning as Ethier drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Gwynn. The Dodgers struck again in the sixth inning with a Bobby Abreu solo home run, followed by Adam Kennedy singling to plate Ethier. The Rockies got one back in the seventh inning as Willin Rosario doubled to drive in DJ LeMahieu. This was as close as it got, with Harang picking up the win in the 6-2 game, and Nicasio suffering the loss.

Back to the Atlantic, as the New York Mets host the St. Louis Cardinals. Lance Lynn and R.A. Dickey are the underrated pitchers. New York struck first in the second inning as Dickey reached on an error to bring home Ike Davis, followed by Kirk Nieuwenhuis grounding out, providing time for Omar Quintanilla to get home safely, and then Andres Torres did the same thing for Josh Thole. The Mets got another in the seventh inning when Daniel Murphy scored on a wild pitch. New York made it 5-0 in the eighth inning, an eventual final, as David Wright hit a solo home run. Dickey went the distance for a complete game shutout, allowing just seven hits while striking out nine, and Lynn suffered a lack of run support in the loss.

To the Midwest, as the Chicago White Sox host the Seattle Mariners. Hector Noesi is mismatched with Gavin Floyd for pitching purposes. Seattle led off with an Ichiro solo home run in the first inning. The Mariners added on in the second inning with a Justin Smoak solo shot. Chicago tied it in the bottom of the second with A.J. Pierzynski hitting a two-run home run, also scoring Alex Rios. Seattle got the lead back in the third inning with another Ichiro solo home run. The White Sox pulled back in the bottom of the third as Gordon Beckham singled in Orlando Hudson. The Mariners kept up the power show in the fourth inning with a two-run home run from Michael Saunders, sweeping in Mike Carp. Chicago answered with a solo shot by Rios in their half of the inning. The White Sox took a lead in the fifth inning on a two-run home run by Beckham, bringing in Alejandro De Aza. Chicago struck again in the seventh inning as Beckham singled to drive in De Aza. Seattle shot back in the eighth inning as Brendan Ryan doubled in both John Jaso and Saunders before scoring on a throwing error. The White Sox retied it in the bottom of the eighth on a Dayan Viciedo solo home run. The Mariners took a 10-8 lead in the twelfth inning as Jaso doubled, knocking in Munenori Kawasaki, before finishing his trip on a Chone Figgins single. They held on for the win, with Tom Wilhelmsen in line for the win, Hisashi Iwakuma turning the save, and Addison Reed getting dinged for the loss.

Down in Florida, the Tampa Bay Rays host the Baltimore Orioles. Brian Matusz and Jeremy Hellickson take their turns in the rotation. Baltimore got on the board in the third inning with an Endy Chavez solo home run. Tampa Bay tied it in the fifth inning as Drew Sutton reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Sean Rodriguez to dart home. The Orioles took the lead again in the seventh inning with Robert Andino reaching on an error, giving time for Mark Reynolds to get home. This was it for the scoring, with Matusz earning the win, Jim Johnson converting the save, and Hellickson pitching solidly but still taking the loss.

Northwest to Milwaukee, as the Brewers host the Pittsburgh Pirates. Erik Bedard and Shaun Marcum are the veteran pitchers. Milwaukee got things started in the second inning as Brooks Conrad hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Aramis Ramirez. Pittsburgh tied it with a fourth inning Garrett Jones solo home run. The Brewers got the lead back in the bottom of the fourth as Cody Ransom singled in both Ramirez and Rickie Weeks, before scoring on a two-run homer by Conrad. This was all for the scoring, as the final stood at 5-1 Brewers, with the win credited to Marcum and the loss handed to Bedard.

Over in Detroit, the Tigers host the New York Yankees. Hiroki Kuroda and Rick Porcello get the starting nods. Detroit finally opened things up in the fourth inning with a Miguel Cabrera solo home run. The Tigers got another in the fifth inning as Quintin Berry singled in Don Kelly. New York got on the board in the sixth inning as Raul Ibanez grounded out to bring home Robinson Cano. The Yankees struck again in the eighth inning as Nick Swisher singled to score Mark Teixeira. Detroit got the lead back in their half of the inning on another Cabrera solo shot. New York retied it in the ninth inning as Teixeira drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Dewayne Wise. The Tigers won it with a Omir Santos walkoff sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth that plated Brennan Boesch for the 4-3 final. Jose Valverde blew the save but got the cheap win, while Boone Logan was on the hook for the implosion in the loss.

Down in Houston, the Astros host the Cincinnati Reds. Mat Latos and Wandy Rodriguez are the well-known starters. Cincinnati quickly got going in the first inning as Drew Stubbs doubled to score Zack Cozart before coming home on a two-run home run by Joey Votto. Houston got some back in the bottom of the first on a two-run Jed Lowrie long ball, also scoring Jose Altuve. The Reds rallied ahead in the second inning with a solo home run from Todd Frazier, a three-run blast from Stubbs that brought in Ryan Hanigan and Cozart, and a Chris Heisey single to score Votto. The Astros answered in the third inning with J.D. Martinez grounding out to bring in Altuve, and Fernando Martinez hitting a 2-RBI double to drive in Lowrie and Chris Johnson. Houston rallied ahead in the fourth inning as Jordan Schafer singled, knocking in Jason Castro, followed by J.D. Martinez singling in both Schafer and Altuve, and Johnson singling to finish J.D. Martinez's trip around. Cincinnati retied it in the fifth inning with a Ryan Ludwick solo shot. The Reds got the lead in the sixth inning as Brandon Phillips doubled home Votto. Cincinnati roared away in the eighth inning as Phillips hit a 2-RBI single to knock in both Cozart and Stubbs. This stood up for a 12-9 win, with the win credited to Sam LeCure, while Aroldis Chapman turned the save and Fernando Rodriguez was pinned with the loss.

Northeast to Cleveland, as the Indians host the Minnesota Twins. P.J. Walters and Josh Tomlin are sent out to pitch. Minnesota rallied to an early first inning lead as Joe Mauer singled home Denard Span, followed by Justin Morneau doing the same for Ben Revere, and Trevor Plouffe hitting a 2-RBI single to drive in Morneau and Ryan Doumit. Cleveland got one back in their half of the inning as Michael Brantley grounded into a fielder's choice, bringing home Shin-Soo Choo. The Indians pulled closer in the third inning as Asdrubal Cabrera singled to score Jason Kipnis. Cleveland chipped away in the fourth inning on a Lou Marson groundout providing time for Johnny Damon to dash home. The Indians tied it in the fifth inning as Brantley singled, driving in Kipnis. The Twins got the lead again in the sixth inning on a Plouffe solo home run. Minnesota added on in the seventh inning with a two-run home run by Mauer, also scoring Revere. This made it 7-4, the final, with Brian Duensing in line for the win, Matt Capps successfully converting the save, and Tomlin getting stuck with the loss.

Out in California, the San Francisco Giants host the Chicago Cubs. Matt Garza and Matt Cain are the talented Matts taking the mound tonight. Chicago drew first blood with a fourth inning David DeJesus solo home run. San Francisco took the lead in the sixth inning as Aubrey Huff drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Ryan Theriot, followed by Joaquin Arias grounding into a fielder's choice that scored Melky Cabrera. This was good enough to give the Giants a 2-1 win, with Cain picking up the victory, Sergio Romo turning the save, and Garza getting no help in the loss.

Down in San Diego, the Padres host the Arizona Diamondbacks. Daniel Hudson and Edinson Volquez pace the game. Arizona got things going in the fourth inning with the pitcher Hudson hitting a sacrifice fly that allowed safe passage home for Miguel Montero. San Diego answered in the bottom of the fourth as Cameron Maybin singling to score Will Venable before coming home on a Yonder Alonso single. The Diamondbacks tied it again in the fifth inning on a Paul Goldschmidt solo home run. Arizona gained the lead in the seventh inning as Willie Bloomquist hit a single that combined with a balk to bring in Gerardo Parra. The Diamondbacks added on in the eighth inning as Parra drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Montero. This made the eventual final 4-2, with Hudson earning the win, J.J. Putz notching a sloppy save, and Joe Thatcher got stuck with the loss.

Finally, in Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim host the Texas Rangers. Yu Darvish opposes C.J. Wilson on the hill. Los Angeles finally opened things up in the sixth inning as Mark Trumbo reached on an error, allowing Albert Pujols to get home. Texas tied it in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by David Murphy, knocking in Nelson Cruz. The Angels rallied back in the bottom of the seventh as Alberto Callaspo singled to score Erick Aybar and Kendrys Morales hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Mike Trout. The Rangers got one back in the eighth inning as Michael Young's single, combined with an error, plated Elvis Andrus, but it wasn't enough to avoid a 3-2 loss. The win was given to Bobby Cassevah, while Ernesto Frieri picked up the save and Darvish was left holding the loss.

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