MLB Day 99 2012

After four days off revolving around the All-Star Game, we get back to the grind on a fine Friday. The first game is a matinee at...

Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs host the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ian Kennedy and Paul Maholm are set to open the second half. After a lengthy rain delay, Arizona quickly found the scoreboard in the first inning when Justin Upton grounded into a double play to get Willie Bloomquist home. Chicago tied it in the second inning when Alfonso Soriano scored on a wild pitch. The Cubs took the lead in the fourth inning with a Soriano solo home run. Chicago padded the lead in the fifth inning as Soriano hit a three-run home run, sweeping in David DeJesus and Anthony Rizzo. The Cubs added on in the sixth inning as Maholm reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Geovany Soto to dash home. Chicago extended the lead in the seventh inning with a Soriano ground rule double to force in Starlin Castro and Bryan LaHair reached on an error to get Rizzo in. This made it 8-1, a final, with Maholm taking the win and Kennedy getting crushed in the loss.

Back east, the New York Yankees host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. C.J. Wilson and Hiroki Kuroda receive the starting nods. Los Angeles began in the third inning when Erick Aybar hit a solo home run. New York answered in the bottom of the third as Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run, also scoring Derek Jeter. The Angels fired back in the seventh inning on a three-run Mark Trumbo home run, sweeping in Albert Pujols and Kendrys Morales. Los Angeles added on in the eighth inning when Pujols hit a ground rule double to force in Mike Trout. The Yankees replied in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run homer by Teixeira, plating Jeter and Curtis Granderson, followed by a Russell Martin single bringing in Dewayne Wise. This gave them a 6-5 lead that they held onto, which set up Chad Qualls for the win, Rafael Soriano closed for the save, and Scott downs was on the hook for the loss.

Into Baltimore, as the Orioles host the Detroit Tigers. Doug Fister pitches against Jason Hammel. Detroit began with a 2-RBI Brennan Boesch single to drive in Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera in the first inning. Baltimore got one back in the third inning as Nick Markakis hit a ground rule double to force in Wilson Betemit. The Tigers answered in the fourth inning as Ryan Raburn doubled in Alex Avila. Detroit extended the lead in the fifth inning with a solo home run by Cabrera, followed by a three-run homer from Jhonny Peralta, sweeping in Delmon Young and Boesch. The Orioles tried a ninth inning rally when Matt Wieters doubled to score Adam Jones, but this only made it 7-2, a final. Fister picked up the win while Hammel was dealt the loss.

Up in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays welcome the Cleveland Indians. Justin Masterson and Ricky Romero are the well-known starters. Cleveland started with a second inning Travis Hafner solo home run. This was all the scoring here, with the final sitting at 1-0. Masterson pitched extremely well for a win, while Chris Perez notched his twenty-fifth save of the season, and Romero took a hard luck loss.

Back stateside, the Cincinnati Reds host the St. Louis Cardinals. Adam Wainwright and Mat Latos are the staff aces pitching. St. Louis got going in the second inning as Skip Schumaker singled home Yadier Molina. The Cardinals added on in the third inning with a Matt Holliday fielder's choice allowing Rafael Furcal to get home. Cincinnati got on the board in the fifth inning with a Todd Frazier solo home run. The Reds added on in the seventh inning, as Ryan Hanigan singled in Brandon Phillips, and also Jay Bruce when an error occurred, followed by Zack Cozart hitting a sacrifice fly to provide time for Frazier to dash home. St. Louis got one back in the eighth inning as Shane Robinson singled to drive in Allen Craig. Cincinnati took it back in their half of the inning on a Ryan Ludwick triple to force in Phillips. This made it 5-3, a final, where Alfredo Simon was in line for the win, Aroldis Chapman turned the save, and Wainwright was on the hook for the loss.

Down in Tampa Bay, the Rays host the Boston Red Sox. Franklin Morales and Jeremy Hellickson are slated to start. Boston led off with a David Ortiz solo home run in the first inning. The Red Sox added on in the second inning with a 2-RBI Pedro Ciriaco single to plate both Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Sweeney. Tampa Bay got on the board with a sixth inning Sean Rodriguez double to knock in Ben Zobrist. They got no closer, falling 3-1, with Morales earning the win, Alfredo Aceves tossing his twentieth save of the season, and Hellickson suffered the loss.

Still in Florida, the Miami Marlins host the Washington Nationals. Jordan Zimmermann and Josh Johnson take the mound. Washington opened in the second inning on an Ian Desmond single to knock in Adam LaRoche. The Nationals padded the lead in the third inning as Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run home run, also scoring Bryce Harper. Washington struck again in the sixth inning with a 2-RBI Jesus Flores single, driving in LaRoche and Desmond. Miami found the scoreboard in the seventh inning as John Buck singled to plate Justin Ruggiano. This only made it 5-1, which was final, with Zimmermann picking up the win and Johnson was stuck holding the loss.

Up a little to Atlanta, where the Braves host the New York Mets. Chris Young and Tim Hudson are given the green light to pitch. Atlanta opened in the first inning with a Jason Heyward single to knock in Michael Bourn, followed by a bases-loaded walk drawn by David Ross to force Heyward in. The Braves added on in the third inning with a three-run Ross home run, sweeping in Chipper Jones and Freddie Freeman. New York got going in the fourth inning as Scott Hairston doubled home David Wright before scoring alongside Lucas Duda on a Kirk Nieuwenhuis single, followed by Ruben Tejada singling Nieuwenhuis the rest of the way home. Atlanta responded in the sixth inning as Jones hit a solo home run, followed by Dan Uggla singling to knock in Freeman. The Mets got some back in the eighth inning when Andres Torres singled to get Ronny Cedeno home. This wasn't good enough, and they lost 7-5, with Cristhian Martinez picking up the win, Craig Kimbrel notching the save, and Young taking the loss.

Northwest to Milwaukee, where the Brewers host the Pittsburgh Pirates. James McDonald and Zack Greinke take the hill. Milwaukee quickly established a lead in the first inning with a Ryan Braun solo home run followed by a Rickie Weeks double to knock in both Aramis Ramirez and Corey Hart. Pittsburgh got on the board in the third inning when Garrett Jones reached on an error, allowing the pitcher McDonald to come home. The Pirates pulled closer in the fourth inning when Drew Sutton doubled in Rod Barajas before taking the lead on a three-run home from Neil Walker, also scoring Clint Barmes and Sutton. The Brewers answered in the fourth inning on a Braun single to bring in Martin Maldonado. Pittsburgh shot back in the fifth inning on a solo shot from Pedro Alvarez. Milwaukee fired back in their half of the inning on a Travis Ishikawa single to get Weeks safely home. The Brewers tied it in the sixth inning on another solo home run by Braun. Milwaukee took the lead in the eighth inning on a grand slam from Cody Ransom to sweep in all of Braun, Ramirez, and Weeks. The Pirates tried a ninth inning rally on an Andrew McCutchen solo shot, but it wasn't good enough and they lost 10-7. Francisco Rodriguez was in line for the win while Tony Watson was handed the loss.

Down in Kansas City, the Royals host the Chicago White Sox. Jose Quintana and Bruce Chen are tabbed to pitch. Chicago led off in the first inning with a two-run home run by Adam Dunn, also scoring Kevin Youkilis, followed by a solo home run from Alex Rios. Kansas City replied in the second inning, with Mike Moustakas hitting a solo shot, followed by Lorenzo Cain singling home Salvador Perez and then coming home himself on an Alex Gordon single. The Royals took the lead in the fourth inning as Jeff Francoeur hitting a solo home run and Alcides Escobar reaching on a bunt single to knock in Cain. The White Sox retook the lead in the fifth inning on a three-run home run by Dayan Vicieco, sweeping in Dunn and A.J. Pierzynski. Kansas City stormed back ahead in the eighth inning as Escobar tripled to force in both Cain and Gordon. Chicago tied it in the ninth inning with a Pierzynski single that allowed Youkilis to come home. The White Sox took the lead in the twelfth inning as Gordon Beckham doubled to plate Jordan Danks. The Royals tied it in the bottom of the twelfth on a Gordon groundout to get Francoeur in safely. Chicago took another lead in the fourteenth inning as Youkilis hit a sacrifice fly, allowing Beckham to cross the dish. This stood up for a 9-8 win. Dylan Axelrod was in line for the win while Everett Teaford was given the loss.

Back north, the Minnesota Twins host the Oakland Athletics. A.J. Griffin and Francisco Liriano have the manager's approval to start. Minnesota was first to score in the second inning on a Josh Willingham solo home run. Oakland took the lead in the fourth inning with a Jonny Gomes grand slam, sweeping in Jemile Weeks, Yoenis Cespedes, and Chris Carter. The Twins shot back in the bottom of the fourth as Willingham hit another home run, a two-run blast that also scored Joe Mauer. The Athletics padded the lead in the ninth inning with Gomes singling in Cespedes and Brandon Inge doing the same for Carter, making it 6-3 in the end. Griffin got the win, Ryan Cook picked up the save, and Liriano was stuck with the loss despite striking out fifteen batters.

Southwest to Colorado, as the Rockies host the Philadelphia Phillies. Cliff Lee and Christian Friedrich were sent out to pitch. Colorado drew first blood in the second inning with a Josh Rutledge double to score Michael Cuddyer. Philadelphia answered in the third inning as Jimmy Rollins doubled in John Mayberry. The Rockies fired back in the sixth inning as Rutledge hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Tyler Colvin and Eric Young singled to knock in Jordan Pacheco. Colorado padded the lead in the seventh inning when Ramon Hernandez singled home Carlos Gonzalez, followed by Cuddyer tripling to force in Hernandez and then scoring on an error by Carlos Ruiz. The Phillies got one back in the eighth inning as Chase Utley hit a sacrifice fly that got Rollins home. This made the eventual final 6-2, setting Friedrich up for a win while Lee was given the loss.

Up in Seattle, the Mariners host the Texas Rangers. Derek Holland and Kevin Millwood are the underrated pitchers. Texas started in the fifth inning as Ian Kinsler singled home Michael Young. The Rangers added on in the sixth inning as Adrian Beltre hit a two-run home run, also scoring Josh Hamilton. Seattle tried a ninth inning rally as Michael Saunders reached on an error to get Kyle Seager home, followed by Justin Smoak scoring on a passed ball, but they couldn't tie the game, falling 3-2. Holland was given the win, Joe Nathan turned an ugly save, and Millwood was not freed from the loss.

South to Los Angeles, where the Dodgers welcome the San Diego Padres. Claytons Richard and Kershaw pace the game. San Diego began with a second inning Everth Cabrera groundout to bring in Yasmani Grandal. Los Angeles replied in the sixth inning as Mark Ellis hit a two-run home run, also scoring Jerry Hairston, Jr. This was all the Dodgers needed for a 2-1 win. Kershaw got the win, Kenley Jansen closed for the save, and Richard was dealt the loss.

Finally, we end in San Francisco, where the Giants host the Houston Astros. Wandy Rodriguez and Madison Bumgarner are the staff aces pitching. San Francisco led off in the first inning with a two-run Buster Posey home run, also scoring Ryan Theriot. The Giants added on in the second inning as Joaquin Arias singled to score Angel Pagan, followed by Justin Christian grounding out to bring in Brandon Belt. Houston got on the board in the seventh inning with a solo home run by Chris Snyder. San Francisco replied in the eighth inning on a Pagan sacrifice fly to drive in Pablo Sandoval. This made the final 5-1, with Bumgarner getting a dominant win, Santiago Casilla mopping up a mess for a save, and Rodriguez having little help in the loss.

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