MLB Day 170 2012

The season continues to wind down, and a couple of teams may clinch their division today. Full slate is set to go, beginning in...

Washington, as the Nationals host the Milwaukee Brewers. Wily Peralta is mismatched with Gio Gonzalez. Washington opened in the third inning as Bryce Harper doubled home Jayson Werth before scoring on a double by Adam LaRoche, who then scored as Ian Desmond singled and produced an error. The Nationals extended the lead in the fourth inning with Ryan Zimmerman hitting a three-run home run to sweep in Werth and Harper, and Desmond also went yard on a three-run blast, bringing LaRoche and Michael Morse with him. Milwaukee got on the board in the sixth inning as Ryan Braun grounded out to allow Norichika Aoki to score, followed by Aramis Ramirez hitting a sacrifice fly to plate Rickie Weeks. Washington shot back in their half of the inning on a LaRoche solo home run. The Brewers took some back in the ninth inning as Taylor Green hit a two-run home run, also scoring Jeff Bianchi. This produced the 10-4 final, with the win going to Gonzalez, while Peralta was dinged for the loss.

Into New York, as the Yankees host the Oakland Athletics. Travis Blackley and Ivan Nova receive the starting nods. Oakland led off in the first inning as Seth Smith doubled to score Stephen Drew, before scoring on a Yoenis Cespedes double. New York replied in their half of the inning as Ichiro Suzuki hit a solo home run, before tying it as Robinson Cano singled home Alex Rodriguez, and then they took the lead when Andruw Jones drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Cano. The Yankees struck again in the second inning when Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch. The Athletics took one back in the third inning when Drew hit a solo shot. Oakland tied it in the fourth inning as Cliff Pennington singled to plate Josh Donaldson. New York took the lead again in the fifth inning as Raul Ibanez hit a solo home run. The Athletics retied it in the seventh inning when Chris Carter's sacrifice fly got Cespedes home. Oakland did damage in the thirteenth inning with a two-run home run by Jonny Gomes, also scoring Drew, followed by Cespedes and Carter each hitting solo shots. The Yankees matched it in their half of the inning as Suzuki scored on a wild pitch, followed by Eduardo Nunez hitting a sacrifice fly to get Rodriguez in, and Ibanez hit a two-run home run, sweeping in Cano. New York won 10-9 in the fourteenth inning as Nunez reached on an error that allowed Suzuki to score. Cory Wade picked up the win and Tyson Ross was responsible for the loss.

Out west, the Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals. Adam Wainwright and Travis Wood are the staff aces pitching. St. Louis got going in the second inning as Pete Kozma walked with the bases loaded to force in Allen Craig. The Cardinals added on in the third inning as Matt Holliday doubled home Carlos Beltran before scoring on a Yadier Molina sacrifice fly. Chicago got on the board in their half of the inning when Wood scored on a wild pitch. The Cubs got another in the sixth inning as David DeJesus hit a solo home run, followed by Welington Castillo hitting a sacrifice fly that allowed Anthony Rizzo to dash home and Dave Sappelt singling Alfonso Soriano in for a lead. St. Louis tied it in the ninth inning with Carlos Beltran hitting a solo shot. The Cardinals took the lead in the tenth inning on a Jon Jay double to drive in Matt Carpenter. This was good for a 5-4 win, with Mitchell Boggs in line for the win, while Jason Motte turned the save, and Jaye Chapman was given the loss.

Back east, the Boston Red Sox host the Baltimore Orioles. Randy Wolf and Aaron Cook are the below-average starters. Baltimore started in the first inning as Adam Jones grounded out to score Nate McLouth. Boston tied it in the bottom of the first as Ryan Lavarnway singled Dustin Pedroia around. The Orioles took the lead in the second inning on a Manny Machado single, plating Chris Davis. Baltimore added on in the fourth inning with a solo home run by Mark Reynolds. The Red Sox pulled even in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run by Danny Valencia, also scoring Mike Aviles. The Orioles took the lead again in the sixth inning as Ryan Flaherty tripled to force in Davis and Machado. Baltimore extended the lead in the seventh inning on a Jones solo shot. Boston took one back in the bottom of the seventh as Cody Ross grounded into a fielder's choice to give Scott Podsednik time to dash home, followed by Lavarnway doing the same for Pedro Ciriaco. The Red Sox tied it in the eighth inning on a Podsednik double to plate Daniel Nava. The Orioles took the lead in the twelfth inning with Jim Thome hitting a ground rule double to force in Jones, followed by Endy Chavez singled Xavier Avery around, and Machado doing the same to finish Chavez's trip. This held up for a 9-6 win, picked up by Tommy Hunter, while Jim Johnson turned the save, and Alfredo Aceves was dinged for the loss.

To New York again, as the Mets host the Miami Marlins. Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey pace the game. New York began in the second inning as Jason Bay hit a two-run home run, also scoring Lucas Duda. The Mets added on in the fourth inning as Scott Hairston hit a solo home run. New York padded the lead in the fifth inning when Daniel Murphy reached on a fielder's choice, which gave time for Josh Thole to dash home. Miami got on the board in the ninth inning as John Buck hit a three-run home run, sweeping in Greg Dobbs and Donovan Solano. They failed to tie the game, with Dickey getting the win, Jon Rauch closing out for the save, and Buehrle was pinned with the loss.

Northwest to Detroit, as the Tigers host the Minnesota Twins. Samuel Deduno and Doug Fister will get the starts in that were rained out yesterday. Detroit was first to score in the first inning as Austin Jackson hit a solo home run. The Tigers added on in the second inning as Alex Avila singled home Andy Dirks. Detroit struck again in the third inning as Prince Fielder singled to knock in Quintin Berry, followed by a three-run Delmon Young home run, sweeping in Miguel Cabrera and Fielder, and Dirks scored on a wild pitch. The Tigers got another in the fourth inning as Cabrera hit a solo shot. This was all they needed to win 8-0, with Fister going the distance for a seven-hit shutout, while Deduno was shelled in the loss.

Down in Cincinnati, the Reds host the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stephen Fife and Mat Latos are penciled in to pitch. Cincinnati led off in the fourth inning on a Jay Bruce solo home run. The Reds added on in the fifth inning as Todd Frazier singled Brandon Phillips around. Cincinnati struck again in the seventh inning when Phillips hit a solo shot. The Reds extended the lead in the eighth inning as Chris Heisey sacrificed, which combined with an error to get Frazier home, before he scored alongside Bruce on a single by Zack Cozart. This made it 6-0, the final, with the win going to Latos and Fife took the loss.

Over in Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Phillies host the Atlanta Braves. Mike Minor and Roy Halladay are on the hill. Atlanta opened in the first inning on a three-run home run by Freddie Freeman, sweeping in Jason Heyward and Chipper Jones. The Braves padded the lead in the second inning with a 3-RBI double from Heyward, plating all of Brian McCann, Michael Bourn, and Martin Prado, before scoring on a double by Jones. Philadelphia got on the board in the third inning as Darin Ruf hit a sacrifice fly to knock in Kevin Frandsen. The Phillies got another in the fourth inning when Ryan Howard hit a solo home run. Atlanta extended the lead in the eighth inning as Heyward singled to drive in Bourn. This produced the 8-2 final, with the win going to Minor and the loss pinned on Halladay.

Down in Houston, the Astros host the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kevin Correia and Dallas Keuchel are the back-of-the-rotation pitchers. Houston got going in the first inning as Brett Wallace singled Scott Moore in. Pittsburgh tied it in the second inning on a Gaby Sanchez solo home run. The Astros took the lead again in the seventh inning on a three-run home run by Jason Castro, sweeping in Tyler Greene and Matt Dominguez. This was it for the scoring, with the final being 4-1. Keuchel picked up the win, Wilton Lopez shut the door for a save, and Correia was on the hook for the loss.

Up in Kansas City, the Royals host the Cleveland Indians. Ubaldo Jimenez and Will Smith are the struggling starters. Kansas City was first on the board in the first inning with Alcides Escobar doubled in Jarrod Dyson before scoring on a single by Billy Butler. Cleveland tied it in the fifth inning when Cord Phelps hit a two-run home run, also scoring Thomas Neal. The Royals took the lead again in the bottom of the fifth with Eric Hosmer reaching on a fielder's choice to bring in Alex Gordon, followed by a Brayan Pena sacrifice fly that allowed Mike Moustakas to dash home, and an Irving Falu single to plate Jeff Francoeur. The Indians got one back in the eighth inning as Michael Brantley reached on an error that provided time for Carlos Santana to score. This only made it 5-3, the final, with Smith getting the win, Kelvin Herrera tossing a spot save, and Jimenez was stuck with the loss.

Southwest to Tampa Bay, as the Rays host the Toronto Blue Jays. Brandon Morrow and Matt Moore are the young starters. Toronto opened in the first inning as Edwin Encarnacion singled home Brett Lawrie, followed by Adam Lind hitting a sacrifice fly to bring in Rajai Davis. Tampa Bay got one back in the bottom of the first as Ben Francisco drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Desmond Jennings. The Rays took the lead in the second inning as Evan Longoria hit a three-run home run, sweeping in Jose Molina and Jennings. Tampa Bay added on in the fourth inning with a Jennings solo home run. The Blue Jays got some back in the fifth inning with Adam Lind tripling to push in both Anthony Gose and Lawrie. The Rays extended the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Francisco doubled Jeff Keppinger home before scoring on a single by Ryan Roberts, who then scored on a two-run home run by Molina, followed by a two-run home run from B.J. Upton, also scoring Jennings. Toronto got one back in the eighth inning as Adeiny Hechavarria singled to plate Moises Sierra. This was as close as it got, with the final being 11-5, with the win belonging to Nurke Badenhop, while Morrow was rocked in the loss.

Out in Colorado, the Rockies host the Arizona Diamondbacks. Patrick Corbin and Jhoulys Chacin are the inconsistent starters. Arizona started in the first inning as Aaron Hill grounded out to get Adam Eaton home, followed by Paul Goldschmidt doubling in Justin Upton before scoring on a Jason Kubel single. Colorado replied in the second inning as Andrew Brown hit a solo home run, followed by Chacin singling to knock in DJ LeMahieu, and Jordan Pacheco doubling to plate both Chacin and Josh Rutledge. The Rockies got another in the third inning on a Wilin Rosario solo shot. The Diamondbacks charged ahead in the sixth inning as Hill tripled to force in all of John McDonald, Mike Jacobs, and Eaton, before coming the final 90 feet on a Kubel sacrifice fly, and then Chris Johnson singled around Upton. Colorado responded in their half of the inning as Matt McBride singled to drive in Tyler Colvin. The Rockies chipped away in the seventh inning when Rosario grounded into a double play that gave time for Rutledge to dart home. They failed to get the equalizer, falling 8-7, with the win going to Brad Bergesen, the save tossed by J.J. Putz, and the loss was handed to Carlos Torres.

Further west, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim host the Chicago White Sox. Jose Quintana and Dan Haren are the well-known pitchers. Los Angeles quickly scored in the first inning as Albert Pujols hit a ground rule double to score Mike Trout, followed by Torii Hunter singling Erick Aybar in, and Mark Trumbo singling to plate both Pujols and Howie Kendrick. Chicago got on the board in the second inning as Paul Konerko hit a solo home run. The White Sox got another in the seventh inning as Dewayne Wise grounded out to bring in Alex Rios. This produced a 4-2 final, with Haren getting the win, Ernesto Frieri tossing his twentieth save of the year, and Quintana was on the hook for the loss.

Up in San Francisco, the Giants host the San Diego Padres. Andrew Werner and Madison Bumgarner have the green light to pitch. San Diego got going in the first inning as Chase Headley grounded out to get Chris Denorfia in. San Francisco took the lead in the bottom of the first with Buster Posey hit a sacrifice fly to get Angel Pagan home, followed by Hunter Pence doing the same for Marco Scutaro. The Giants got another in the second inning as Bumgarner singled to drive in Brandon Belt. San Francisco extended the lead in the fourth inning when Scutaro singled both Belt and Brandon Crawford across the dish. The Padres shot back in the sixth inning with Yonder Alonso hitting a two-run home run, also scoring Logan Forsythe. The Giants replied in the bottom of the sixth as Pagan singled to knock in Francisco Peguero, followed by Scutaro singling to finish Pagan's trip around. San Diego took one back in the eighth inning on a Headley groundout that again brought Denorfia around. San Francisco answered in the bottom of the eighth on a Belt solo home run. This ended the scoring at 8-4, with the win belonging to Bumgarner and the loss going to Werner.

Finally, in Seattle, the Mariners host the Texas Rangers. Matt Harrison and Blake Beavan are on the mound. Seattle began in the second inning with Michael Saunders solo home run. This was it for the scoring, with the final standing at 1-0. Beavan picked up a strong win, Tom Wilhelmsen shut the door for a save, and Harrison took an unlucky loss.

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