Friday, June 29, 2012

MLB Day 89 2012

Full slate again with one matinee, where we start as...

The Chicago Cubs host the Houston Astros. Bud Norris and Paul Maholm are the underwhelming starters. Chicago began in the second inning on a solo home run by Luis Valbuena. The Cubs added on in the fourth inning when Steve Clevenger hit a two-run home run, also scoring Bryan LaHair. Chicago made it 4-0 in the sixth inning with a solo shot by Alfonso Soriano. This was all for the scoring, with Maholm notching the win, Carlos Marmol picking up the save, and Norris was handed the loss.

East to Baltimore, where the Orioles host the Cleveland Indians. Derek Lowe and Jake Arrieta are the beleaguered pitchers. For a thorough recap, go to ultimatebasballfantasytrip.blogspot.com for the Game of the Day. Cleveland led off in the first inning when Michael Brantley singled in Shin-Soo Choo. Baltimore answered in their half of the inning when J.J. Hardy reached on an error to get Brian Roberts home before scoring on a Wilson Betemit double, followed by Chris Davis grounding out to bring in Adam Jones. The Indians got one back in the third inning as Asdrubal Cabrera hit a solo home run. Cleveland pulled ahead in the fourth inning as Choo drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Casey Kotchman before Jason Kipnis singled in both Lonnie Chisenhall and Lou Marson. The Orioles replied in the fifth inning when Xavier Avery grounded out to knock in Robert Andino. Baltimore took the lead in the sixth inning on a three-run home run from Matt Wieters, sweeping in Betemit and Davis. The Indians pulled back in the seventh inning as Shelley Duncan doubled to drive in Kotchman, before Duncan scored on a double play from Marson. The Orioles got the lead back in the bottom of the seventh when Ryan Flaherty singled Davis in. Baltimore got another in the eighth as Avery hit a solo shot. Cleveland attempted a ninth inning rally when Choo singled Duncan in, but they still lost 9-8. Matt Lindstrom was in line for the win, Jim Johnson got the save, and Joe Smith suffered the loss.

To New York, as the Yankees host the Chicago White Sox. Jose Quintana and Adam Warren are the unknown starters. New York was first to score as Curtis Granderson hit a two-run home run, also scoring Derek Jeter, followed by Andruw Jones doubling to plate Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher. Chicago went to work in the second inning on a A.J. Pierzynski solo home run, followed by Gordon Beckham doubling to score both Dayan Viciedo and Alexei Ramirez before coming home on a Kevin Youkilis groundout. The White Sox struck again in the third inning as Paul Konerko hit a solo shot and Pierzynski singled home Alex Rios. The Yankees pulled back in the fourth inning with a 2-RBI Jayson Nix double, plating Swisher and Jones. Chicago got another in the fifth inning on another Pierzynski solo home run. The White Sox padded the lead in the sixth inning when Rios singled home Adam Dunn. Chicago extended the lead with a two-run home run by Ramirez in the seventh inning, driving in Viciedo. New York got one back in the bottom of the seventh when Robinson Cano grounded into a fielder's choice to get Mark Teixeira home. The White Sox got at it again in the ninth inning when Ramirez doubled Viciedo across the dish before coming home alongside Beckham on a double from Alejandro De Aza, and De Aza scored on a Dunn single. This made it 14-7, a final, with the win going to Quintana and the loss to David Phelps.

Up in Toronto, the Blue Jays host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Ervin Santana and Carlos Villanueva will be called on to pitch. Los Angeles struck first with a third inning Torii Hunter single to knock in John Hester. The Angels padded the lead in the fourth inning on an Erick Aybar sacrifice fly to bring in Toronto rallied ahead in the bottom of the fourth when Edwin Encarnacion singled home Jose Bautista before scoring on a Yunel Escobar single, followed by a three-run long ball from Adam Lind to sweep in Escobar and Rajai Davis. Los Angeles got one back in the fifth inning as Albert Pujols doubled to score Hunter. The Angels tied it with a two-run home run from Hester in the seventh inning, also scoring Aybar. The Blue Jays got the lead back with an Escobar ground rule double in the bottom of the seventh, forcing home Encarnacion. Toronto got another in the eighth inning when Lind hit a solo home run. This was good for a 7-5 win, with the win going to Francisco Cordero, the save to Casey Janssen, and the loss to Jordan Walden.

Back stateside, the Tampa Bay Rays host the Detroit Tigers. Justin Verlander and David Price pace the game. Tampa Bay opened in the first inning when Luke Scott grounded out to bring in Carlos Pena. The Rays added on in the third inning with a Desmond Jennings solo home run. Tampa Bay got another in the fourth inning with a Ben Zobrist solo shot. Detroit got on the board in the fifth inning with a Delmon Young solo home run. The Rays shot back in their half of the inning when Jennings hit another solo shot. The Tigers answered on a seventh inning Prince Fielder groundout to knock in Ramon Santiago. This was all for the scoring, leaving the final at 4-2. Price picked up the win, Fernando Rodney turned the save, and Verlander was on the hook for the loss.

South still to Miami, where the Marlins host the Philadelphia Phillies. Cliff Lee and Josh Johnson take the mound. Miami began in the first inning with Logan Morrison grounding out to bring in Jose Reyes. The Marlins added on in the third inning as Giancarlo Stanton singled home Hanley Ramirez before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Omar Infante. Philadelphia shot back in the fourth inning as Hunter Pence hit a solo home run. Miami answered in the fifth inning as Justin Ruggiano doubled home both Stanton and Morrison before crossing the dish as John Buck singled. The Phillies got another in the ninth inning when Pence singled to drive in Chase Utley, but this only made it 6-2. Johnson took the win, and Lee was left with the loss.

North a tad to Atlanta, as the Braves host the Washington Nationals. Ross Detwiler and Randall Delgado will be sent to pitch. Washington started with a second inning Detwiler single to bring home Michael Morse. The Nationals added on in the third inning when Ian Desmond singled home both Adam LaRoche and Morse. Washington struck again in the fourth inning as Jesus Flores hit a solo home run. Atlanta found the scoreboard in the seventh inning when Martin Prado singled to score Freddie Freeman and a Michael Bourn sacrifice fly allowing Jack Wilson to come home, before Andrelton Simmons tied it with a two-run home run to finish Prado's trip around. The Nationals took the lead back in the eighth inning with a Morse solo shot. This made the final 5-4, with Sean Burnett earning the win, Tyler Clippard grabbing the save, and Chad Durbin took the loss.

Westward to Texas, where the Rangers host the Oakland Athletics. A.J. Griffin is mismatched with Matt Harrison. Oakland got going in the fourth inning when Yoenis Cespedes singled home Jemile Weeks. The Athletics added on in the fifth inning with a Coco crisp single to plate Chris Carter. Texas got on the board in the eighth inning with a bases-loaded walk by Nelson Cruz forcing in Elvis Andrus, followed by a bases-clearing triple from Craig Gentry to sweep in all of Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, and Cruz. Oakland tried a rally in the ninth inning as Carter hit a solo home run, but they fell 4-3. Harrison notched the win, Tanner Scheppers got a spot save, and Grant Balfour was on the hook for the loss.

Northwest to Colorado, where the Rockies host the San Diego Padres. Jason Marquis and Jeff Francis try to right the ship while pitching. Colorado led off with a first inning Carlos Gonzalez groundout allowing Marco Scutaro to score. The Rockies struck again in the third inning as Scutaro singled home Willin Rosario. Colorado rallied to extend the lead in the sixth inning with Gonzalez tripling Dexter Fowler in and then scoring on an error himself, followed by Tyler Colvin tripling to force in Michael Cuddyer and then coming the final 90 feet as Chris Nelson reached on an error. San Diego got on the board in the seventh inning with a Carlos Quentin solo home run. The Padres got another in the eighth as Will Venable singled home Alexi Amarista. The Rockies padded the lead in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run Cuddyer home run, also scoring Gonzalez, followed by another two-run bomb from Rosario, plating Nelson. The final stuck at 10-2, allowing Francis the win and handing Marquis the loss.

Back northeast a bit, the Minnesota Twins host the Kansas City Royals. Luis Mendoza and Brian Duensing are the little-known starters. Kansas City started with a first inning Billy Butler single to drive in Alex Gordon. The Royals added on in the second inning as Salvador Perez hit a solo home run. Minnesota got on the board in the bottom of the second when Ryan Doumit singled to plate Trevor Plouffe. Kansas City struck back in the fifth inning on a Yuniesky Betancourt double, allowing Alcides Escobar to dart home. The Royals got another in the seventh inning when Eric Hosmer singled Betancourt across the fish. The Twins tried a ninth inning rally with Joe Mauer doubling in Denard Span and Josh Willingham grounding out to get Ben Revere home, but they only made it 4-3 before losing. Mendoza got the win, Jonathan Broxton tossed an ugly save for his twentieth of the season, and Duensing was not freed from the loss.

Over east in Milwaukee, the Brewers host the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ian Kennedy and Randy Wolf are the veterans pitching. Milwaukee was the first to score in the first inning with Aramis Ramirez grounding out to bring in Norichika Aoki. Arizona tied it in the second inning when Hector Blanco hit a ground rule double to force in Paul Goldschmidt. The Diamondbacks rallied ahead in the third inning as Justin Upton singled in Willie Bloomquist, followed by Jason Kubel doing the same for Aaron Hill, and a three-run Goldschmidt home run finished Upton's and Kubel's trips. Arizona padded the lead in the fourth as Hill picked up his third piece to the cycle puzzle by hitting a two-run home run, sweeping in Bloomquist. He had a double in the first and a single in the third. The Diamondbacks struck again when Hill finished the cycle with a sixth inning triple to knock in Bloomquist. The Brewers got a couple back in the bottom of the sixth as Cesar Izturis doubled to score both Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. This was as close as it got, with the final standing at 9-3. Kennedy got the win and Wolf was on the hook for the loss. As a side note, Hill became the first player since 1931 to hit for a cycle twice in the same season, when Babe Herman did it for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers.

South to St. Louis, where the Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kevin Correia and Adam Wainwright are the well-known pitchers. Pittsburgh opened in the first inning as Neil Walker singled in Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen. St. Louis shot back in the second inning when David Freese grounded out to get Allen Craig home. The Cardinals rallied ahead in the third inning as Carlos Beltran singled to score Rafael Furcal before coming home alongside Jon Jay on a three-run home run from Craig. The Pirates tied it in the fifth inning on a 3-RBI double from Pedro Alvarez, driving in McCutchen, Garrett Jones, and Walker. Pittsburgh took the lead in the sixth inning with solo shots from Clint Barmes and Alex Presley, followed by a two-run long ball by Jones, also scoring McCutchen. The Pirates added on in the eighth inning as Casey McGehee singled Brad Lincoln across the dish, followed by a bases-loaded walk drawn by Alvarez to force in Tabata. Pittsburgh iced it at 14-5 when McCutchen went yard for a three-run home run in the ninth inning, taking with him Presley and Tabata. Correia had plenty of support for the win while Wainwright was shelled in the loss.

Out west to Los Angeles, as the Dodgers host the New York Mets. R.A. Dickey and Aaron Harang receive the starting nods. New York started off in the third inning when David Wright singled in Andres Torres and Ike Davis hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Ruben Tejada. The Mets added on in the fifth inning as Lucas Duda singled in Tejada before scoring alongside Wright on a Daniel Murphy double. New York got some more in the seventh inning with a three-run Murphy home run, sweeping in Davis and Duda, followed by Tejada singling home Josh Thole. This made it 9-0, with Dickey getting a dominant win and Harang taking an ugly loss.

Up into Seattle, where the Mariners host the Boston Red Sox. Aaron Cook and Hector Noesi will be pitching. Boston got going in the fifth inning with solo shots by Will Middlebrooks, Cody Ross, and Daniel Nava. The Red Sox got some more in the sixth inning on a two-run home run from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, also scoring David Ortiz. This made it 5-0, which was preserved to be a final, with Cook pitching a two-hit complete game shutout for the win and Noesi having no support in the loss.

Finally, down in San Francisco, the Giants host the Cincinnati Reds. Mike Leake and Matt Cain will be handed the ball. Cincinnati quickly grabbed a first inning lead with a lead off solo home run by Zack Cozart and a 2-RBI Jay Bruce double to knock in Drew Stubbs and Joey Votto. The Reds got another in the sixth when the pitcher Leake hit a solo shot. Cincinnati padded the lead in the seventh inning as Bruce doubled to drive in Brandon Phillips. San Francisco avoided the shutout in the ninth inning as Pablo Sandoval hit a solo home, producing the 5-1 final. Leake went the distance for the win, while Cain had a few struggles in the loss.

Follow me on Twitter @UltBaseballTrip and check out ultimatebaseballfantasytreip.blogspot.com for the adventure of a lifetime, passing through a storm-ravaged Baltimore area.

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