MLB Day 150 2012

Full slate as the playoff races heat up. First up...

The Cleveland Indians host the Texas Rangers. Derek Holland and Zach McAllister take their turns in the rotation. Texas opened with a third inning Jurickson Profar solo home run (welcome to the Majors), followed by Nelson Cruz hitting a ground rule double to force in Michael Young, and David Murphy singling both Josh Hamilton and Cruz in. Cleveland answered in their half of the inning on a two-run Carlos Santana home run, also scoring Jason Kipnis. The Rangers padded the lead in the fifth inning with three solo shots, hit by Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, and Murphy. Texas extended the lead in the eighth inning when Young doubled to drive in Elvis Andrus. The Indians took one back in the bottom of the eighth on a Thomas Neal double to get Santana home. This was as close as it got, with the final being 8-3, giving the win to Holland and the loss to McAllister.

East to New York, where the Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Tillman and Phil Hughes will pitch. New York got going in the second inning as Chris Dickerson hit a two-run home run, also scoring Russell Martin. Baltimore got on the board with a fifth inning Mark Reynolds solo home run. The Yankees answered in their half of the inning as Nick Swisher singled home Dickerson. The Orioles pulled ahead in the sixth inning as Matt Wieters singled in Nate McLouth, followed by a three-run Reynolds home run, sweeping in Adam Jones and Wieters. Baltimore extended the lead in the eighth inning with Robert Andino drawing a bases-loaded walk to force in Wieters, followed by Nick Markakis hitting a 2-RBI single to score both Reynolds and Manny Machado. This made the final 8-3, with Randy Wolf notching the win and Hughes suffering the loss.

Up in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays host the Tampa Bay Rays. Staff aces David Price and Ricky Romero are pitching. Tampa Bay began with a first inning Evan Longoria double to knock in Desmond Jennings. The Rays struck again in the second inning on a Ben Francisco solo home run, followed by Jose Molina singling to score Carlos Pena and Jennings doing the same for Ryan Roberts, a 2-RBI Ben Zobrist single to plate both Molina and Jennings, and Jeff Keppinger grounding out to provide B.J. Upton time to score. Tampa Bay added on in the third inning as Pena hit a solo shot. The Rays got another in the fourth inning as Francisco hit a ground rule double to force in Longoria. Toronto got on the board in the seventh inning with an Edwin Encarnacion sacrifice fly to drive in Adeiny Hechevarria, followed by Adam Lind singling to bring around Rajai Davis. The Blue Jays tried a ninth inning rally as Encarnacion hit a two-run home run, also scoring Colby Rasmus, but this only made the final 9-4. Price got the win while Romero was shelled in the loss.

Way south to Miami, as the Marlins host the New York Mets. Chris Young and Mark Buehrle are the overrated starters. New York started in the first inning as David Wright grounded out to bring in Ronny Cedeno, followed by a Jason Bay grand slam, sweeping in Justin Turner, Ike Davis, and Kelly Shoppach. Miami got on the board in the fifth inning as Justin Ruggiano double to knock in Rob Brantley. This was it for the scoring, with the final being 5-1, giving Young the win and Buehrle was handed the loss.

Back north, the Washington Nationals host the St. Louis Cardinals. Jake Westbrook is mismatched with Stephen Strasburg. Washington was first to score in the fourth inning on a Kurt Suzuki solo home run. The Nationals struck again in the sixth inning as Suzuki singled to plate Ian Desmond. St. Louis tied it in the seventh inning when Daniel Descalso hit a two-run home run, also scoring Pete Kozma. Washington got the lead again in their half of the inning as Desmond singled to knock in Eury Perez, followed by Danny Espinosa doing the same for Chad Tracy. The Cardinals shot back in the eighth inning as Tony Cruz doubled in David Freese. They failed to tie the game, falling 4-3, with Ryan Mattheus in line for the win, Tyler Clippard closing out for the save, and Lance Lynn was dealt the loss.

Southward to Houston, where the Astros host the Cincinnati Reds. Bronson Arroyo and Bud Norris will be handed the ball. Houston got things going with a fifth inning Brian Bogusevic fielder's choice that brought in Matt Dominguez. The Astros got another in the seventh inning on a Fernando Martinez triple to force in Jason Castro, followed by a Tyler Greene solo home run. Cincinnati tied it in the eighth inning on a three-run home run by Jay Bruce, sweeping in Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips, before taking the lead as Chris Heisey doubled home Todd Frazier before scoring on a Miguel Cairo double. This outburst paced them to a 5-3 win, picked up by Jose Arredondo, while Aroldis Chapman turned the save, and Xavier Cedeno was pinned with the loss.

North to Milwaukee, where the Brewers welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates. James McDonald and Yovani Gallardo take the mound. Pittsburgh led off in the first inning on a Gaby Sanchez single to knock in Andrew McCutchen. Milwaukee answered in their half of the inning as Ryan Braun hit a three-run home run, sweeping in Norichika Aoki and Rickie Weeks. The Pirates pulled back in the second inning on a Michael McKenry solo home run. The Brewers shot back in the bottom of the second on a Jeff Bianchi solo shot, followed by a two-run homer from Weeks, also scoring Aoki. Pittsburgh shot back in the third inning as McKenry singled both Jose Tabata and Garrett Jones across the dish. Milwaukee replied in their half of the third on a two-run Carlos Gomez blast, bringing in Corey Hart. The Brewers padded the lead in the fourth inning as the pitcher Gallardo hit a solo home run, followed by a 2-RBI Aramis Ramirez single to plate both Aoki and Weeks. The Pirates answered in the fifth inning with a two-run Sanchez home run, pushing in Jones, followed by Brock Holt singling to get McKenry safely home. Pittsburgh pulled closer in the sixth inning on a Jones solo shot. Milwaukee got it back in their half of the inning as Ramirez singled weeks across the plate. The scoring ended here at a final of 12-8, with the win belonging to Kameron Loe, the save tossed by John Axford, and the loss was handed to McDonald.

Backtracking to Kansas City, where the Royals host the Minnesota Twins. Esmerling Vasquez and Luis Mendoza are the relatively unknown pitchers. Minnesota opened in the first inning as Justin Morneau grounded out to get Jamey Carroll home. The Twins got another in the second inning on a Chris Parmelee solo home run. Kansas City rallied ahead in the bottom of the second as Eric Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Salvador Perez, followed by a 2-RBI single from Tony Abreu to plate both Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain. The Royals got another in the fifth inning when Billy Butler singled home David Lough. Minnesota tied it in the sixth inning on an Alexi Casilla single to score both Morneau and Ryan Doumit. Kansas City retook the lead in their half of the inning as Abreu singled to get Hosmer across the dish. The Royals extended the lead on an eighth inning Cain double that provided time for Perez to score. This produced the 6-4 final, with Tim Collins in line for the win, Greg Holland converting his tenth save of the season, and Vasquez was on the hook for the loss.

Over in Chicago, the Cubs host the San Francisco Giants. Matt Cain faces a lesser foe in Travis Wood. San Francisco began in the third inning as Angel Pagan singled to knock in Xavier Nady, followed by Pablo Sandoval doing the same for the pitcher Cain, and Buster Posey followed suit to finish Pagan's trip around. Chicago answered in their half of the inning as David DeJesus singled to drive in Darwin Barney. The Cubs rallied ahead in the fifth inning as DeJesus singled, which combined with an error to bring in Barney, followed by a three-run Alfonso Soriano home run, sweeping in DeJesus and Anthony Rizzo. The Giants replied in the sixth inning as Brandon Belt tripled to force in Nady, before he came home on a wild pitch. San Francisco got the lead in the ninth inning with Pagan singling to plate Gregor Blanco, followed by Marco Scutaro doing the same for Brandon Crawford. This was good for a 7-5 win, picked up by Santiago Casilla, while Javier Lopez turned the save, and Carlos Marmol was pinned with the loss.

Out west, the Colorado Rockies host the San Diego Padres. Casey Kelly and Jeff Francis are the back-of-the-rotation pitchers. San Diego wasted no time in scoring in the first inning on a two-run home run by Chase Headley, also scoring Logan Forsythe. The Padres added on in the third inning when Headley singled home Forsythe. Colorado rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the third with Dexter Fowler singling in Jonathan Herrera, followed by Jordan Pacheco doubling both Josh Rutledge and Carlos Gonzalez home before scoring on a go-ahead two-run home run from Tyler Colvin, and then Ramon Hernandez also hit a two-run blast, bringing in Chris Nelson. San Diego answered in the fourth inning when Chris Denorfia singled to drive in Cameron Maybin, followed by Headley hitting a 2-RBI single to get both Alexi Amarista and Denorfia in. The Padres retook the lead in the sixth inning as Forsythe singled to push in Amarista, followed by Headley doing the same to finish Forsythe's trip around. San Diego struck again in the seventh inning on an Amarista single that brought in Yasmani Grandal. The Rockies took the lead back in the bottom of the seventh on a three-run home run by Nelson, sweeping in Gonzalez and Pacheco. Colorado struck again in the eighth inning as Fowler singled Charlie Blackmon across the plate. The Padres tried a ninth inning rally as Amarista singled to push in Maybin, but they still lost 11-10. Guillermo Moscoso got the win, Rafael Betancourt tossed a rocky (no pun) save, and Brad Brach was given the loss.

Further west, the Oakland Athletics host the Boston Red Sox. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Brett Anderson are the oft-injured pitchers. Oakland staked out a first inning lead as Seth Smith hit a two-run home run, also scoring Coco Crisp. The Athletics added on in the second inning on a Stephen Drew solo home run. Oakland struck again in the third inning as Josh Reddick hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Crisp, followed by Drew singling to knock in Smith. The Athletics got another in the fourth inning as Yoenis Cespedes grounded out to get cliff Pennington home. Boston got on the board in the sixth inning with a Cody Ross single to drive in Pedro Ciriaco. The Red Sox tried a ninth inning rally as Mauro Gomez hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Dustin Pedroia to dash home safely, making the final 6-2. Anderson earned the win while Matsuzaka took a rough loss.

Up to Seattle, where the Mariners welcome the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Jered Weaver and Hisashi Iwakuma take the hill. Seattle opened in the fourth inning with a Jesus Montero solo home run. The Mariners added on in the fifth inning as Carlos Peguero hit a solo shot. Los Angeles got on the board in the ninth inning as Howie Kendrick singled home Vernon Wells, but they failed to tie it, falling 2-1. Iwakuma was credited with the win, Tom Wilhelmsen turned a rough save, and Weaver had little help in the loss.

Back south, the Los Angeles Dodgers host the Arizona Diamondbacks. Wade Miley and Chris Capuano are the surprisingly good starters. Los Angeles led off in the second inning as Matt Kemp hit a solo home run. Arizona tied it in the third inning as John McDonald hit a solo shot. The Diamondbacks took the lead in the fourth inning as Miguel Montero hit a two-run home run, also scoring Paul Goldschmidt. The Dodgers took one back in the sixth inning on an Andre Ethier groundout to bring in Kemp. Arizona shot back in the seventh inning on a McDonald single, driving in Goldschmidt. Los Angeles replied in their half of the inning on a Shane Victorino single that plated A.J. Ellis. The Dodgers won 5-4 in the ninth inning as Adrian Gonzalez hit a 2-RBI double to score both Mark Ellis and Victorino. Ronald Belisario was in line for the win while J.J. Putz blew the save and took the loss.

Way to the east, the Atlanta Braves host the Philadelphia Phillies. Cole Hamels and Paul Maholm pace the game. Philadelphia started in the first inning with a 2-RBI Ryan Howard double to plate Kevin Frandsen and Chase Utley, followed by a 3-RBI Erik Kratz double to sweep in Howard, Ty Wigginton, and John Mayberry. Atlanta answered in the second inning as Reed Johnson doubled in Jason Heyward. The Phillies shot back in the third inning as Hamels hit a ground rule double to force in Wigginton and Mayberry. The Braves replied in the sixth inning on a Johnson single scoring both Freddie Freeman and Heyward. Atlanta staged a ninth inning rally as Martin Prado doubled both Johnson and Paul Janish across the dish before Chipper Jones sealed the deal with a three-run home run, plating Bourn and Prado for an 8-7 win. Peter Moylan was in line for the win while Jonathan Papelbon blew up in extraordinary fashion for the loss.

Finally, we end in Detroit, as the Tigers host the Chicago White Sox. Chris Sale and Justin Verlander pace the game. Chicago began with a first inning Alejandro De Aza solo home run. Detroit tied it in the fifth inning on a Brennan Boesch solo shot. The Tigers took the lead in the sixth inning on a three-run home run by Delmon Young, sweeping in Omar Infante and Miguel Cabrera. The White Sox tried a ninth inning rally as Dan Johnson singled to knock in Jose Lopez, but this only made it 4-2 for a final. Verlander pitched well for the win, while Jose Valverde turned a messy save, and Sale had little help in the loss.

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