MLB Day 160 2012

Full slate today, beginning with one early game. We take off from...

Philadelphia, as the Phillies host the Miami Marlins. Josh Johnson and Cliff Lee pace the game. Miami got going in the sixth inning as Carlos Lee singled home Donovan Solano. Philadelphia tied it in their half of the inning as John Mayberry singled to plate Jimmy Rollins. The Phillies took the lead in the seventh inning as Rollins hit a two-run home run, also scoring Pete Orr. This was it for the scoring, with the final being 3-1. Lee got the win, Jonathan Papelbon tossed the save, and Johnson was handed the loss.

Way west to San Diego, as the Padres host the St. Louis Cardinals. Kyle Lohse and Clayton Richard are on the hill. San Diego opened with a second inning Logan Forsythe solo home run. The Padres added on in the fifth inning as Cameron Maybin doubled, which combined with an error to get Yonder Alonso home. St. Louis tied it in the sixth inning on a two-run Matt Carpenter home run, also scoring Jon Jay. San Diego regained the lead in their half of the inning as Yasmani Grandal singled to plate Chase Headley. This ended the scoring at 3-2, with Richard picking up the win, Luke Gregerson converting the save, and Lohse was stuck with the loss.

Back east, the Baltimore Orioles host the Tampa Bay Rays. Alex Cobb and Miguel Gonzalez are the back-of-the-rotation starters. Tampa Bay wasted no time in scoring first with a first inning B.J. Upton solo home run. Baltimore charged ahead in their half of the inning as Matt Wieters singled in Nate McLouth, followed by Wilson Betemit doing the same for J.J. Hardy. The Rays retied it in the third inning as Ben Francisco doubled home Jeff Keppinger. The Orioles won by a 3-2 score with a ninth inning McLouth single to knock in Manny Machado. Jim Johnson was in line for the win and Kyle Farnsworth was stuck with the loss.

Up in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays host the Seattle Mariners. Kevin Millwood and Ricky Romero make the starts. Seattle led off with a second inning solo home run by Miguel Olivo. The Mariners added on in the fourth inning as Franklin Gutierrez singled both Brendan Ryan and Dustin Ackley home. Toronto pulled back in the bottom of the fourth as Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run home run, also scoring Colby Rasmus. They never tied it, losing 3-2, with Millwood picking up the win, Tom Wilhelmsen closing out for the save, and Romero was dealt the loss.

Back in the States, the Cincinnati Reds host the Pittsburgh Pirates. A.J. Burnett and Homer Bailey are the reliable pitchers. Cincinnati began in the third inning as Wilson Valdez grounded out to get Ryan Hanigan home. Pittsburgh tied it in the fourth inning on a Gaby Sanchez single to knock in Andrew McCutchen. The Reds took the lead in the sixth inning as Scott Rolen hit a sacrifice fly to allow Ryan Ludwick to score. This paced them to a 2-1 win, with Bailey earning the win, J.J. Hoover getting a spot save, and Burnett was handed the tough-to-take loss.

Eastward to Boston, as the Red Sox host the New York Yankees. David Phelps and Aaron Cook take their turns in the rotation. New York started in the fourth inning on a Curtis Granderson solo home run, followed by a two-run homer from Robinson Cano, also scoring Alex Rodriguez. Boston got on the board in their half of the inning as James Loney singled to knock in Dustin Pedroia. The Yankees added on in the seventh inning as Granderson hit a two-run blast, sweeping in Derek Jeter. The Red Sox pulled back in the bottom of the seventh as Mauro Gomez grounded out to get Jarrod Saltalamacchia home, followed by Mike Aviles doubling to plate Daniel Nava. Boston struck again in the ninth inning on a Saltalamacchia solo shot, but they couldn't tie it and lost 5-4. Phelps picked up the win, Rafael Soriano converted the save, and Cook was pinned with the loss.

Speaking of New York, we head there next to catch the Mets hosting the Washington Nationals. John Lannan and Matt Harvey are the solid pitchers. Washington got going with a fourth inning Ryan Zimmerman solo home run. The Nationals got another in the eighth inning as Ian Desmond hit a solo shot. This made it 2-0, the final, with Lannan pitching well for a win, Drew Storen tossed the save, and Harvey took an unlucky loss.

Way south to Texas, with the Rangers hosting the Cleveland Indians. Jeanmar Gomez is mismatched with Ryan Dempster. Texas opened in the first inning as Josh Hamilton grounded into a fielder's choice to bring in Ian Kinsler before scoring on a two-run home run by Adrian Beltre. The Rangers got another in the third inning as Hamilton hit a solo home run. Cleveland got on the board on in the fourth inning as Casey Kotchman grounded into a fielder's choice that allowed Carlos Santana to dash home. Texas shot back in their half of the inning on a Geovany Soto sacrifice fly that got Michael Young home. The Indians shot back in the fifth inning as Santana hit a sacrifice fly to score Ezequiel Carrera. They got no closer, losing 5-2, with Dempster earning the win, Joe Nathan turning the save, and Gomez was handed the loss.

Staying in the state, the Houston Astros host the Chicago Cubs. Travis Wood and Fernando Abad are the little known pitchers. Chicago was first to score in the first inning as Welington Castillo singled in Darwin Barney. The Cubs got another in the fifth inning as Alfonso Soriano hit a solo home run. Chicago added on in the seventh inning as Soriano singled home David DeJesus. The Cubs struck again in the eighth inning on an Anthony Recker double to knock in Dave Sappelt. Houston got on the board in the bottom of the eighth as Fernando Martinez singled to get Brandon Barnes across the dish. Chicago extended the lead in the ninth inning as Tony Campana scored on an error. This left the final at 5-1, with Wood getting the win and Abad taking the loss.

North to Chicago, as the White Sox host the Detroit Tigers. Max Scherzer and Gavin Floyd are the veteran starters. Chicago began with a fourth inning Kevin Youkilis solo home run. Detroit answered in the fifth inning as Omar Infante grounded out to give time for Brennan Boesch to score, followed by Austin Jackson singling in Jhonny Peralta, and Miguel Cabrera doing the same to finish Jackson's trip around. The Tigers extended the lead in the seventh inning on a three-run home run by Prince Fielder, sweeping in Andy Dirks and Cabrera. Detroit added on in the eighth inning as Alex Avila doubled to drive in Peralta before scoring on a Jackson double. The White Sox replied in the bottom of the eighth as Alejandro De Aza singled to bring around Dan Johnson, followed by a three-run Youkilis home run, driving in Orlando Hudson and De Aza. Chicago tried a ninth inning rally when Alexei Ramirez grounded out to give Alex Rios time to score, but this only made it an 8-6 final. Scherzer was given the win, Jose Valverde turned a messy save as his thirtieth of the year, and Floyd was stuck with the loss.

Further north, the Milwaukee Brewers welcome the Atlanta Braves. Paul Maholm and Yovani Gallardo are the staff aces pitching. Atlanta led off with a first inning Jason Heyward solo home run. The Braves added on in the fourth inning as Dan Uggla grounded into a double play that got Chipper Jones home. Milwaukee took the lead in the fifth inning on a three-run home run by Rickie Weeks, sweeping in Jeff Bianchi and Norichika Aoki, followed by Jonathan Lucroy singling to knock in Ryan Braun, and then Travis Ishikawa ripped a 3-RBI double that scored all of Aramis Ramirez, Lucroy, and Logan Schafer before scoring on a double by the pitcher Gallardo. This was it for the scoring, with the final being 8-2. Gallardo was given the win and Maholm got shelled in the loss.

Over in Minnesota, the Twins host the Kansas City Royals. Luke Hochevar and P.J. Walters are the uninspiring pitchers. Minnesota struck first in the first inning on a Josh Willingham single to drive in Denard Span. The Twins padded the lead in the third inning as Ryan Doumit drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Span and Jamey Carroll hit a sacrifice fly to knock in Willingham. Kansas City got on the board in the fourth inning as Salvador Perez hit a solo home run. The Royals rallied ahead in the fifth inning as Alcides Escobar singled to bring home Eric Hosmer, followed by Alex Gordon doing the same for Johnny Giavotella, Billy Butler hitting a 2-RBI single to plate both David Lough and Escobar, and Lorenzo Cain followed suit to get Gordon the rest of the way home. Minnesota pulled back in their half of the inning as Carroll singled both Justin Morneau and Doumit around. Kansas City busted out to extend the lead in the eighth inning with Escobar singling, which combined with an error to get Hosmer in, followed by Gordon reaching on a fielder's choice to provide time for Giavotella to come home, Butler singling to finish Escobar's trip around, and Perez did the same for Gordon. This rally gave them a 10-5 lead, the final, with Hochevar getting the win while Walters was knocked around in the loss.

Southwest to Colorado, as the Rockies host the San Francisco Giants. Tim Lincecum faces a lesser foe in Jeff Francis. San Francisco rallied to a first inning lead as Marco Scutaro singled to knock in Gregor Blanco, followed by Joaquin Arias doing the same to finish Scutaro's trip, Hector Sanchez following suit for Hunter Pence, and Brandon Crawford doubling to plate both Arias and Sanchez. Colorado got on the board in their half of the inning on a Wilin Rosario single to drive in Carlos Gonzalez. The Rockies got another in the third inning as Rosario hit a solo home run. The Giants extended the lead in the sixth inning with Scutaro singling Crawford across the dish. Colorado took one back in their half of the inning with Charlie Blackmon doubling Chris Nelson safely home. San Francisco padded the lead in the ninth inning as Pence tripled to force in Scutaro before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Arias. This was good for an 8-3 win, picked up by Lincecum, while Francis was dinged for the loss.

Down in Arizona, the Diamondbacks host the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aaron Harang and Trevor Cahill take the mound. Los Angeles began in the first inning as Adrian Gonzalez doubled both Shane Victorino and Matt Kemp in. Arizona got on the board in the second inning when Justin Upton hit a sacrifice fly to knock in Paul Goldschmidt. The Diamondbacks tied it in the sixth inning as Upton singled to knock in Goldschmidt, before taking the lead as Gerardo Parra singled to bring in Miguel Montero. They held on to win 3-2, with Cahill notching the win, David Hernandez turning the spot save, and Harang was given the loss.

Finally, we end the day as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim host the Oakland Athletics. A.J. Griffin faces a lesser foe in Ervin Santana. Oakland led off in the first inning as Yoenis Cespedes reached on an error to get Josh Reddick home. The Athletics added on in the sixth inning as Cespedes hit a solo home run. Oakland padded the lead in the eighth inning as Derek Norris doubled home Josh Donaldson, before scoring on a Coco Crisp single. Los Angeles got on the board in the ninth inning as Albert Pujols hit a solo shot, but this only made it 4-1. Griffin earned a strong win, Ryan Cook finished off for the save, and Santana was pinned with the loss.

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