MLB Day 126 2012

Only nine games on today, and five of them come early, so you know it's travel day. We start in...

New York, with the Mets hosting the Miami Marlins. Josh Johnson and R.A. Dickey pace the game. New York started in the second inning as Josh Thole singled in Ike Davis. Miami tied it with a fourth inning Justin Ruggiano solo home run. The Mets retook the lead in their half of the inning on an Andres Torres double to knock in David Wright. New York added on in the sixth inning as Torres hit a solo shot. The Mets got another in the seventh as Wright singled to plate Mike Baxter. New York padded the lead in the eighth inning as Torres tripled to force in Jordany Valdespin and then came home on a Thole single. This was good for a 6-1 win, with Dickey going the distance for the win, and Johnson was stuck with the loss.

Over in Detroit, the Tigers host the New York Yankees and rain. Hiroki Kuroda and Doug Fister are on the mound. New York got the lead in the second inning as Raul Ibanez tripled in Eric Chavez and then came the final 90 feet home on an Ichiro Suzuki single. Detroit tied it in the fifth inning with a two-run home run by Alex Avila, also scoring Jhonny Peralta, and they took the lead as Andy Dirks doubled home Quintin Berry. The Yankees took the lead back in the eighth inning with back-to-back solo shots by Mark Teixeira and Chavez. They held on for a 4-3 win, with the win credited to Clay Rapada, the save picked up by Rafael Soriano, and loss was pinned on Joaquin Benoit.

Down in Tampa Bay, the Rays host the Toronto Blue Jays. Henderson Alvarez and Matt Moore are penciled in to pitch. Toronto was first on the board in the first inning as Rajai Davis scored on a balk. Tampa Bay took the lead in the second as Jose Lobaton singled both Ben Zobrist and Jeff Keppinger home, followed by B.J. Upton grounding into a fielder's choice to get Ryan Roberts home. The Rays added on in the third inning with Roberts singling to score Zobrist. Tampa Bay struck again in the fourth inning with Evan Longoria singling to plate Upton. The Rays got another in the fifth inning on a Lobaton single, driving in Carlos Pena. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the eighth inning as Longoria doubled Matt Joyce across the dish. This made it a 7-1 final, with Moore earning the win and Alvarez taking the loss.

Northwest to St. Louis, as the Cardinals host the San Francisco Giants. Madison Bumgarner and Adam Wainwright are the staff aces pitching. St. Louis opened with a first inning two-run Carlos Beltran home run, also scoring Allen Craig. San Francisco got on the board in the fifth inning with a Marco Scutaro sacrifice fly that allowed Joaquin Arias to score. The Cardinals answered in the sixth inning as Craig hit a sacrifice fly to get Jon Jay home. This was enough to win 3-1, with Wainwright earning the win, Jason Motte finishing off for his twenty-fifth save of the season, and Bumgarner took an unlucky loss.

Back to the east a bit, the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Arizona Diamondbacks. Joe Saunders and Wandy Rodriguez are the veteran pitchers. Arizona led off with a first inning two-run Jason Kubel home run, also scoring Aaron Hill. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second inning as Michael McKenry singled in Gaby Sanchez, before tying it with a Jordy Mercer sacrifice fly to knock in Neil Walker, and taking the lead as Starling Marte singled to plate McKenry. The Diamondbacks took the lead again in the sixth inning on a two-run Wil Nieves home run, sweeping in Chris Johnson. Arizona added on in the seventh inning as Kubel went yard with another two-run home run, bringing Hill with him again. This made it 6-3, a final, with Saunders picking up the win, J.J. Putz earning the save, and Rodriguez was handed the loss.

Over in Ohio, the Cleveland Indians host the Boston Red Sox. Felix Doubront faces a lesser foe in Ubaldo Jimenez. Cleveland started in the first inning with a Jason Donald solo home run. Boston answered in the fourth inning on an Adrian Gonzalez two-run home run, also scoring Dustin Pedroia. The Red Sox got another in the fifth inning with Pedroia singling in Jacoby Ellsbury. The Indians rallied back in the bottom of the fifth as Asdrubal Cabrera doubled in Lou Marson, Carlos Santana singled to score Donald, and Michael Brantley hit a sacrifice fly to finish Cabrera's trip around. Cleveland extended the lead in the eighth inning when Donald grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Ezequiel Carrera. They held on for a 5-3 win, with the win going to Jimenez, the save turned by Chris Perez as his thirtieth of the season, and the loss was dealt to Doubront.

On the east coast again, the Baltimore Orioles host the Kansas City Royals. Will Smith is mismatched with Wei-Yin Chen. Kansas City quickly got on the board in the first inning as Alex Gordon hit a leadoff solo home run, followed by a three-run Billy Butler home run, sweeping in Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain. The Royals added on in the third inning with Mike Moustakas doubling Butler home, before scoring on a Jeff Francoeur double. Kansas City struck again in the fifth inning as a Salvador Perez sacrifice fly allowed Butler to score. Baltimore answered in their half of the inning with a Nick Markakis sacrifice fly to get Manny Machado home. The Royals fired back in the sixth inning on an Escobar single, plating Gordon. The Orioles shot back as Matt Wieters hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth. They got no closer, losing 8-2, with Smith picking up the win and Chen suffering the loss.

West to Chicago, where the Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds and try to dodge raindrops doing it. Mike Leake and Chris Volstad are the uninspiring pitchers. Cincinnati began in the first inning after a lengthy delay with a Zack Cozart leadoff solo home run, followed by Ryan Ludwick grounding out to get Drew Stubbs home. Chicago got on the board in their half of the inning with Anthony Rizzo singling home David DeJesus. The Reds got another in the fourth inning on a Todd Frazier solo shot. The Cubs tied it in the sixth inning as Starlin Castro hit a 2-RBI double to knock in Darwin Barney and Rizzo. Chicago took the lead in the eighth inning on a two-run home run by Alfonso Soriano, also scoring Rizzo. This was it for the scoring, leaving the final at 5-3, with Shawn Camp taking the win, Carlos Marmol tossing the save, and Sean Marshall was responsible for the loss.

Finally, we end in Houston, as the Astros host the Washington Nationals. Jordan Zimmermann and Lucas Harrell are on the hill. Washington opened in the fourth inning as Adam LaRoche singled in Roger Bernadina, followed by a Michael Morse sacrifice fly to score Ryan Zimmerman. The Nationals added in the sixth inning when Morse hit a solo home run. Washington struck again in the eighth inning with another Morse solo shot. The Nationals padded the lead in the ninth inning as Zimmerman hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Izturis. This was it for the scoring, with the final sitting at 5-0, giving Zimmermann a dominant win and Harrell had no help in the loss.

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