Thursday, September 20, 2012

MLB Day 168 2012

First of all, I apologize if this is a repeated number as the interface for posting has been universally updated. Anyway, today is a Thursday, and we have thirteen games split nearly down the middle between morning and evening. We start in...

Cleveland, as the Indians host the Minnesota Twins. Esmerling Vasquez and Corey Kluber are the completely unknown pitchers. Minnesota opened in the fourth inning as Ben Revere scored on a wild pitch. Cleveland answered in the bottom of the fourth as Casey Kotchman singled in Jason Kipnis, followed by Brent Lillibridge doing the same for Carlos Santana. The Twins retied it in the fifth inning as Denard Span doubled to drive in Pedro Florimon. Minnesota took the lead in the sixth inning on a Trevor Plouffe solo home run. The Indians tied it in their half of the inning with Jack Hannahan singling to knock in Kotchman. Cleveland won 4-3 in the tenth inning as Kotchman singled Shin-Soo Choo across the plate. The win went to Esmil Rogers while Anthony Swarzak was dinged for the loss.

Up in Detroit, the Tigers host the Oakland Athletics. Tommy Milone and Anibal Sanchez are the inconsistent starters. Detroit got going in the second inning as Gerald Laird singled to score Jhonny Peralta, and Austin Jackson hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Avisail Garcia to dash home. Oakland got on the board in the third inning when Stephen Drew grounded into a fielder's choice, which combined with an error to get Josh Donaldson home. The Athletics tied it in the fifth inning on a Seth Smith solo home run. The Tigers took the lead back in their half of the inning as Prince Fielder doubled to bring in Miguel Cabrera. Oakland charged ahead in the sixth inning with Brandon Moss doubling Yoenis Cespedes across the plate before scoring on a single by Donaldson, who was then forced in alongside Smith as George Kotteras tripled. Detroit got one back in the bottom of the sixth when Andy Dirks hit a solo shot. The Athletics extended the lead in the ninth inning as Cespedes hit a sacrifice fly to allow Kotteras to score, Daric Barton walked with the bases loaded to push in Cliff Pennington, Smith doubled to sweep in all of Josh Reddick, Moss, and Barton, and then he scored on a double from Donaldson. This produced the 12-4 final, with the win belonging to Pat Neshek, while Sanchez was dinged for the loss.

South to St. Louis, with the Cardinals hosting the Houston Astros. Bud Norris and Jaime Garcia are the under-performing starters. Houston started in the first inning as Brandon Laird walked with the bases loaded to force in Jose Altuve. St. Louis took the lead in their half of the inning with a three-run home run by Allen Craig, sweeping in Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday. The Astros retied it in the third inning as Justin Maxwell doubled to plate Brandon Barnes before finishing his trip on a single by Laird. The Cardinals regained the lead in the sixth inning as Carlos Beltran doubled to knock in both Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma (apologies to Mr. Kozma, as I'm certain I've called him Paul before). Houston took one back in the seventh inning as Barnes singled to drive in Scott Moore. This made the final 5-4, with Garcia picking up the win, Jason Motte throwing the save, and Norris was stuck with the loss.

North again to Chicago, as the Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds. Johnny Cueto faces a lesser foe in Jason Berken. Cincinnati led off in the seventh inning as Didi Gregorius singled to knock in Denis Phipps, followed by Joey Votto doing the same for Ryan Hanigan, Xavier Paul following suit to finish Gregorius' trip around, and Henry Rodriguez doubling both Mike Leake and Paul across the dish. Chicago got on the board in the bottom of the seventh as Anthony Rizzo singled to score David DeJesus. The Cubs got another in the eighth inning on a Welington Castillo solo home run. Chicago tried a ninth inning rally as Rizzo grounded into a fielder's choice that allowed DeJesus to come home, but this only made it 5-3 in the end. Cueto notched the win, Alfredo Simon turned a spot save, and Manuel Corpas was stuck holding the loss.

Southwest to Arizona as the Diamondbacks host the San Diego Padres. Clayton Richard and Tyler Skaggs receive the starting nods. San Diego was first to score in the first inning as Jesus Guzman hit a three-run home run, sweeping in Chase Headley and Yasmani Grandal. Arizona got on the board in the bottom of the first inning as Aaron Hill hit a solo home run. The Padres padded the lead in the second inning when Logan Forsythe doubled Richard in. The Diamondbacks shot back in the fourth inning on a Chris Johnson single, plating Justin Upton. San Diego extended the lead in the sixth inning with Chris Denorfia doubling Andy Parrino around before finishing his trip on a double by Headley. Arizona chipped away in their half of the sixth with Paul Goldschmidt singling to give Upton time to score, followed by Johnson singling Goldschmidt the rest of the way home. The Diamondbacks pulled closer in the seventh inning on a solo shot by Adam Eaton. They failed to tie the game, losing 6-5, with the win going to Richard, the spot save tossed by Anthony Bass, and Skaggs was pinned with the loss.

Out in San Francisco, the Giants host the Colorado Rockies. Jorge De La Rosa and Barry Zito are the back-of-the-rotation pitchers. San Francisco began in the first inning on a Pablo Sandoval solo home run. Colorado tied it in the second inning as Jonathan Herrera singled in Wilin Rosario. The Giants took the lead back in the third inning as Sandoval reached on an error that allowed Angel Pagan to come home. The Rockies pulled even again in the fourth inning when De La Rosa singled Andrew Brown around. San Francisco rallied to a lead in the bottom of the fourth with Hector Sanchez scoring on a wild pitch, Marco Scutaro singling to plate Xavier Nady, Sandoval hitting a three-run home run to sweep in Pagan and Scutaro, and Buster Posey followed that with a solo shot. The Giants got another in the sixth inning as Scutaro singled to drive in Francisco Peguero. This stood as a final, with the score reading 9-2, giving Zito the win and De La Rosa the loss.

Back east, the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Milwaukee Brewers. Mike Fiers and Wandy Rodriguez are the solid starters. Milwaukee got going in the first inning with Ryan Braun grounding into a fielder's choice to get Norichika Aoki home, followed by a two-run home run by Aramis Ramirez, also scoring Braun. The Brewers got another in the third inning as Jonathan Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly to allow Ramirez to dash home. Pittsburgh got on the board in the bottom of the third as Andrew McCutchen hit a three-run home run, sweeping in Starling Marte and Travis Snider. The Pirates tied it in the fourth inning on an Alex Presley fielder's choice that provided time for Pedro Alvarez to score. Pittsburgh pulled ahead in the sixth inning with Clint Barmes hitting a solo home run, followed by Marte singling to knock in Chase d'Arnaud, and Snider hit a sacrifice fly to plate Josh Harrison. Milwaukee rallied back ahead in the eighth inning as Aoki doubled Carlos Gomez in, before scoring alongside Jean Segura on a Rickie Weeks triple, and Weeks came the final 90 feet on a Ramirez single. The Brewers added on in the ninth inning as Logan Schafer singled Gomez across the dish. This made it 9-7, a final, with the win belonging to Manny Parra, while John Axford converted the save, and Chris Resop was dealt the loss.

Over in DC, the Washington Nationals host the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chris Capuano and Ross Detwiler are on the mound. Washington led off in the third inning as Ryan Zimmerman doubled home Bryce Harper before scoring on a wild pitch. Los Angeles got on the board in the fourth inning with a Mark Ellis solo home run. The Nationals extended the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Danny Espinosa doubled to knock in Ian Desmond and then scored as Kurt Suzuki hit a sacrifice fly. This ended the scoring at 4-1, with Detwiler earning the win, Drew Storen closed out for the save, and Capuano had little help in the loss.

Into New York, as the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays. Aaron Laffey and Phil Hughes draw the starts. Toronto opened in the second inning with Kelly Johnson doubling home Adam Lind. The Blue Jays added on in the third inning as Moises Sierra was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in Colby Rasmus. New York got on the board in the bottom of the third as Ichiro Suzuki hit a solo home run. The Yankees pulled ahead in the fourth inning when Suzuki doubled to knock in Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson, followed by Derek Jeter singling to plate Casey McGehee, and then Nick Swisher hit a grand slam, sweeping in Suzuki, Jayson Nix, and Jeter. Toronto answered in the fifth inning as Sierra hit a two-run home run, also scoring Lind. New York responded in their half of the inning as Nix doubled Granderson around before scoring on a double by Jeter. The Blue Jays pulled back in the eighth inning with Johnson hitting a solo shot, followed by Brett Lawrie singling J.P. Arencibia across the dish and Mike McCoy grounding into a fielder's choice that allowed Anthony Gose to dart home. This wasn't enough to avoid a 10-7 loss, with the win going to Hughes, David Robertson picked up a spot save, and Laffey was on the hook for the loss.

Staying in the Big Apple, the New York Mets host the Philadelphia Phillies. Tyler Cloyd and Jeremy Hefner are the called-up pitchers. Philadelphia started in a huge way in the first inning, as Chase Utley singled Jimmy Rollins home, Ryan Howard did the same for Juan Pierre, Domonic Brown followed suit to finish Utley's trip around, Kevin Frandsen drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Howard, Erik Kratz was hit by a pitch to push in John Mayberry, Rollins singled to knock in both Frandsen and Kratz, and Utley singled to again score Rollins, concluding an eight-spot. New York answered meekly in the fifth inning as Mike Baxter hit a solo home run. The Phillies replied in the eighth inning as Utley singled Cloyd across the plate. Philadelphia embarked on another rally in the ninth inning with Rollins drawing a bases-loaded walk to knock in Frandsen, Pierre singling Kratz home, Utley getting hit by a pitch to bring around Nate Schierholtz, and Howard capping off a seven-spot with a grand slam to sweep in Rollins, Pierre, and Michael Martinez. This produced the 16-1 final, with Cloyd getting plenty of support around a stellar outing for the win, while Hefner failed to record an out in the loss.

South to Tampa Bay, with the Rays hosting the Boston Red Sox. Clay Buchholz and David Price are on the hill. Boston began in the sixth inning when Cody Ross doubled to knock in Jose Iglesias, before scoring on a Ryan Lavarnway single. The Red Sox got another in the eighth inning as Mauro Gomez tripled to force in Lavarnway. Tampa Bay got on the board in their half of the inning when Ben Zobrist hit a sacrifice fly to allow Desmond Jennings to dash home. Boston extended the lead in the ninth inning on an Iglesias solo home run. The Rays rallied back in the bottom of the ninth as Carlos Pena singled to drive in Matt Joyce, followed by Jennings singling both Jeff Keppinger and Rich Thompson around to time the game, before winning it as B.J. Upton lifted a three-run home run to sweep in Elliot Johnson and Jennings for a 7-4 final. Burke Badenhop was in line for the win and Andrew Bailey blew the save in a big way.

Westward to Kansas City, as the Royals host the Chicago White Sox. Francisco Liriano and Jeremy Guthrie are the struggling starters. Chicago got going in the first inning as A.J. Pierzynski singled in Alejandro De Aza. The White Sox added on in the second inning with Gordon Beckham sacrificing, which combined with an error to get Dan Johnson safely home, followed by Dewayne Wise grounding out to give time for Alexei Ramirez to score. Kansas City got on the board in the fifth inning when Johnny Giavotella tripled to force in both Mike Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur. The Royals tied it in the sixth inning as Billy Butler doubled to knock in Alex Gordon. Kansas City won 4-3 in the ninth inning on an Eric Hosmer single, plating Jarrod Dyson. The win went to Greg Holland, while Jesse Crain was dinged for the loss.

Finally, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim host the Texas Rangers. Yu Darvish and Zack Greinke pace the game. Texas finally opened in the fifth inning as Geovany Soto hit a sacrifice fly to get Nelson Cruz home. Los Angeles got on the board in the sixth inning when Torii Hunter grounded into a fielder's choice to bring in Peter Bourjos. The Rangers took the lead in the ninth inning on a two-run home run by Adrian Beltre, also scoring Michael Young. This held up as a 3-1 win, with the win going to Darvish, the save converted by Joe Nathan, and the loss was stuck on Ernesto Frieri.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion.

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