Sox and O’s split in a wild series

April 17 @ Fenway Park

Ubaldo Jimenez vs Joe Kelly

 

Baltimore wins 4-3

WP: Jason Garcia (1-0)

LP: Anthony Varvaro (0-1)

SV: Zach Britton (4)

HR: Jonathan Schoop (3), Adam Jones (2), Ryan Hanigan (1), Allen Craig (1)

Game MVP: Jonathan Schoop (1-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R)

 

The Red Sox got a  very good start by Joe Kelly (6IP, 6 h, 0 ER, 7 K) but Anthony Varvaro and the Red Sox bullpen quickly threw it away against the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles.  Staked to a 2-1 lead thanks to a 2nd inning RYan Hanigan HR, Varvaro entered to start the 7th inning with Kelly at 112 pitches.  A leadoff single by Evereth Cabrera and a HR by Schoop quickly erased that lead and put the O's out in front 3-2.  Varvaro was then replaced by Craig Breslow who got through the 7th but when Breslow gave way to Alexei Ogando in the 8th, the O's bats struck again.  Adam Jones drove his 2nd HR of the year to lead off the 8th and give the O's a 4-2 cushion.  That run would prove huge as Allen Craig hit a pinch hit solo HR off Baltimore closer Britton in the 9th.  Britton was able to settle down though and close it out by retiring Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz with the tying run, Mookie Betts, at first.  The Baltimore bullpen was HUGE in this game.  Starter Jimenez (4IP, 7 H, 2 R, 9 K)was pulled after 4 due to a high pitch count, but Jason Garcia, Darren O'Day and Tommie Hunter gave up just 2 hits over the next 4 innings to get the game to closer Britton leading 4-2.

 

 

 

April 18 @ Fenway Park

Chris Tillman vs Clay Buchholz

Boston wins 4-2

WP: Clay Buccholz (1-1)

LP: Chril Tillman (1-2)

SV: Koji Uehara (1)

HR: none

MVP: Koji Uehara (1.2 IP, 0 H, 4 K, SV)

 

 

Boston once again staked its starter (Buchholz 7IP, 8 H, 2 R, 7 K), to an early lead thanks to a 3 run 3rd inning highlighted by a 2 run double off the Green Monster by Hanley Ramirez.  In the 5th Inning, the Orioles made it a 1 run game, but Boston responded in the bottom of that same inning with an insurance run when Xander Boagaerts singled home Ramirez.  Unlike the previous night, the Sox bullpen was up to the task if holding on to the slim lead it was given.  Although it got off to a rocky start when Junichi Tazawa was ejected 2 batters into his appearance.  Tazawa struck out lead off batter Steve Pearce to begin the 8th but then was tossed by the home plate umpire sfter arguing a tight full count pitch to Chris Davis.  Boston rolled the dice by turning to closer Koji Uehara to get the last 5 outs of the game.  Koji was up to the task with an impressive 39 pitch outing, retiring 5 of the 6 batters he faced.  Evereth Cabrera was the only better to put the ball in play with a weak grounder to 2nd to end the game and even the series.

 

 

 

April 19 @ Fenway Park

Miguel Gonzalez vs Rick Porcello

Baltimore wins 7-5

WP: Darren O'Day (1-0)

LP: Alexei Ogando (0-2)

SV: Zach Britton (5)

HR; none

MVP: Chris Davis (2-5, 2 2B, 2 Rbi, 1 R)

 

 

Both teams had been pretty much kept in check offensively in the first 2 games of the series, but they combined for 27 hits in this back and forth matchup.  Baltimore jumped out to another early lead with 2 in the 1st and another in the 3rd thanks to extra base RBI hits by Chris Davis and Adam Jones.  The Sox fought back to take the lead with 4 runs in the 4th.  Boston put 3 doubles (Betts,Ramirez and Bogaerts) together off of starter Miguel Gonzalez.  Unfortuantely the lead was short lived for Boston, as Baltimore ties it up in the 5th when Davis hit his 2nd RBI double of the game to score Jimmy Paredes.  RBI hits by David Ortiz in the bottom of the 5th and Evereth Cabrera in the top of the 6th had the game ties once again at 5 as both starters hit the showers without a chance to claim a victory.  FOr the 2nd time in the series, the O's bullpen got the best of their counterparts by blanking the Sox bats over the last 2 1/3 innings. Alexei Ogando once again struggled to retire Oriole hitters.  In the 8th, Ogando gave up a single to Travis Snider and then a triple to Manny Machado to give Baltimore a 1 run lead.  Machado would score on a Sac Fly by Ryan Flaherty to make it a 7-5 game.  That was more than enough for Zach Britton as he closed out the win for his 5th save of the season.  Mookie Betts (4-5, 2 R)) and Xander Boagaerts (3-4, 2 RBI) had big games in a losing cause for Boston.  Baltimore was led by Evereth Cabrera (3-5, 1 RBI) and 4 batters (Paredes,Jones,Davis and Snider) with 2 hits apiece.

 

 

 

April 20 @ Fenway Park

Wei-Yen Chin vs Justin Masterson

Boston wins 11-3

WP: Justin Masterson (1-2)

LP: Hei-Yen Chen (2-1)

SV: none

HR: Mike Napoli (1)

MVP: Dustin Pedroia (2-5, 3 Rbi, 2 R, 2 2B)

 

Boston was able to work a split in this series with the first blowout of the 4 game set.  Red Sox hitters jumped all over starter Chen with 2 runs in the 1st and 5 in the 2nd.   Once again doubles were a key part of the Boston attack.  Betts, Hanigan, and Pedroia, twice, each had key doubles to drive in key runs early for Boston.  Justin Masterson was able to pitch well enough to keep the O's from mounting a comeback.  Masterson went into the 8th inning allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 4 batters.  The Boston offensive attack did not slow down as they continued to pound Oriole pitching for a total of 14 hits and 11 runs led by a 3 for 3 day by Hanley Ramirez.  Betts, Pedroia, Napoli and Hanigan all added multi hit games as well.  Ryan Flaherty had 3 hits with 2 of those being doubles in a losing effort for the O's.

 

 

Baltimore now stands at 8-5 after the series.  This is a 1 game improvement over the 7-6 record they held at the same point in real life.

Batting Leaders:

Adam Jones .400 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 SB

Manny Machado .286 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 2 SB

Travis Snider .311 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI

Pitching Leaders

Wei-Yen Chen 2-1, 3.79 ERA, 14 K, 19 IP

Darren O'Day 5 G, 6 IP, 11 K, 1.50 ERA

Kevin Gausman 3 G, 7.2 IP, 7 K, 1.17 ERA

Boston is now 5-8.  That is a 3 game decline over the 8-5 record they had in real life.

Batting Leaders

Dustin Pedroia .382, 2 HR, 10 RBI

Mookie Betts .319, 5 2B, 7 RBI, 3 SB

Pablo Sandoval .333, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Pitching Leaders

Wade Miley 2-0, 3.46 ERA, 13 IP, 6 H, .133 OPP BA

Joe Kelly 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 11 IP, 8 H, 11 K, .200 OPP BA

Clay Buchholz 1-1, 2.81 ERA, 16 IP, 14 H, 14 K

--submitted by Peter Daly--

Giants Starters are Giant Disaster as Rockies Take Series

With Matt Cain out, SF is having trouble finding good starters, as they drop to 3-7. The Rockies young starters -- all in their first or second years --- aren't great, but the team wins anyway as they move to 4-5.

Game One; SF 5, COL 4

W: Casilla (1-0)
L: Logan (0-1)
S: Machi (1)

SF jumps out to a 4-1 lead, getting run scoring triples in spacious AT&T Park from Nori Aoki and Angel Pagan. The Rox tie it at four in the eighth as Justin Morneau doubles off Santiago Casilla. But the Giants come right back off reliever Christian Friedrich with an RBI single from young 3B Matt Duffy in the bottom of the inning, and Jean Machi holds down the Rockies in the ninth.

Game Two: COL 13, SF 11
W: Friedrich (1-0)
L: Petit (0-1)
S: Oberg (1)

SF's Tim Hudson is battered for five runs and 12 hit in 4.1 innings, part of an eight run inning by Colorado in the fifth after the team is down 6-2. With Colorado's young Christian Bergman struggling early, Friedrich settles things down. But after he leaves, Brooks Brown allows four more Giants runs as they attempt to come back again. However, Rafael Betancourt pitches two scoreless innings to stop the scoring spree -- before the Rox Scott Oberg allows another run in the ninth to make it interesting -- as the Rockies win a slugfest. Carlos Gonzalez goes four for five with four RBIs to lead Colorado, with Gregor Blanco also going four for five with three RBIs and a homer for SF.

Game Three: COL 8, SF 4
W: Matzek (1-0)
L: Lincecum (0-1)

Tim Lincecum is battered for seven runs and six hits in two-thirds of an inning, as Colorado comes out of the gate with a huge 7-0 lead in the first. The Rockies' Tyler Matzek struggles but pitches six innings for his first win. Nolan Arenado hits two doubles and drives in four to pace the Rockies, as the Giants can't score runs until late in the contest.

Brew Crew Flexes Braun vs Redbirds

  April 13  Brewers 8  Cardinals 4
The Brewers plated 6 runs in the final 2 innings to overcome a 4-2 deficit.  Ryan Braun went 3-5 with a homer and 3 rbis.  Neal Cotts picked up the win in relief while Randy Choate suffered the loss.

  April 15  Cardinals 6  Brewers 1
The Cardinals plated 5 runs off of Wily Peralta in the 5th inning to cruise to a 6-1 victory.  Lance Lynn went 5 scoreless with Kevin Siegrist picking up the win in relief.  Kolten Wong had 2 hits including a double.

  April 16  Brewers 11  Cardinals 4
The Brewers roughed up Cardinal pitchers John Lackey and Carlos Villanueva for 11 runs.  4 Brewers had 3 hits apiece.  Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez, Gerardo Parra, and Scooter Gennett accounted for 12 of the 20 hits.  Gennett also had 4 rbis.  My Cardinals now are 4-4.
--submitted by Milo Miller--

'Stros/A's split...Altuve hits inside the park-er

Game 1: Kazmir (OAK) at Feldman (HOU)

Feldman goes 8 innings, the Astros explode for 15 runs with all starters getting at least two hits except for Chris Carter who went 0 for 5. Houston wins 15-1.

Game 2: Graveman (OAK) at Peacock (HOU)

This one went to extras as it took a Billy Butler ground out to bring in Gentry to give the A's a 3-2 victory.

Game 3: Pomeranz (OAK) at McHugh (HOU)

Houston had two homers, including an inside the parker by Jose Altuve in the 5th. But...the A's scored 11 with the help of Marcus Semien's 4 RBI's. Oakland wins 11-2.

Houston falls to 3-6. (Real life at this point they were 4-5, so they are only one game worse in this league).

Oakland improves to 5-5, which matches their real life record after 10 games.

--submitted by Keith MacDonald--

Taylor Made for Nats

April 13 @ Fenway Park
Jordan Zimmerman vs Rick Porcello

Washington wins 3-1
WP: Zimmerman (2-0)
LP: Porcello (0-2)
SV: Storen (4)

HR: Taylor (5)
MVP: Jordan Zimmerman (Win, 8.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 9 K)

Michael Taylor continued his hot start for the Nationals with a 3 run homer in the 5th of Porcello.  It was all the scoring Washington would get and all that they would need as Jordan Zimmerman held the Boston bats in check throughout.  Zimmerman took a shutout into the 9th, but a double by David Ortiz and an RBI single by Pablo Sandoval made it a 3-1 game and that was the end of the night for Zimmerman.  Drew Storen came in from the pen and hit Daniel Nava with a pitch to put bring the winning run to the plate with 1 out.  But he got Shane Victorino to ground into the 4-6-3 double play to end the game and save the win for Zimmerman.

 

April 14 @ Fenway Park
Stephen Strasburg vs Justin Masterson

Washington wins 5-3
WP : Strasburg (2-0)
LP: Masterson (0-2)
SV: Storen (5)

HR: Desmond (1)
MVP: Ian Desmond (1-3, 1 HR, 2 Rbi, 1 R, 1 BB)

Another strong start by a National starter as Strasburg goes 5.1 innings, allowing just 1 ER despite allowing 7 hits.  The Red Sox had a brief lead in the bottom of the 5th at 2-1 after scoring 2 off Strasburg thanks to some poor infield play by the Nationals.  But Washington came right back in the top of the 6th and put 3 on the board off starter Masterson.  The key hit in the inning being a 2 out 2 run homer by Ian Desmond.  Washington added an insurance run in the 7th to make it 5-2.  Boston would score a single run in the bottom of the 7th to close the gap to 2 runs.  Then they were able to load the bases off closer Drew Storen in the 9th with 2 outs but Storen settled down to get Pablo Sandoval on a fly ball to medium RF to end the game.

April 15 @ Fenway Park
Gio Gonzalez vs Wade Miley

Boston wins 9-6
WP: Miley (2-0)
LP: Gonzalez (0-2)

HR: Taylor (6), Haroper (3), Victorino (1)
MVP: Shane Victorino (3-4, 1 HR, 2 Rbi, 1 R)

The Red Sox needed a strong start from Wade Miley and he delivered by holding the Nationals to 3 hits and 2 runs over 7 strong innings.  The Sox bats finally put a few hits together and staked Miley to an early 4-0 lead after 2 innings thanks a Sac Fly by Allen Craig and RBI singles by Brock Holt and Mookie Betts.  Boston would extend the lead in the 6th with 4 more runs capped by a Shane Victorino 2 run shot off Gio Gonzalez.  Washington had no quit in them and pieced together a threat in the 9th.  With Robbie Ross JR staked to a 9-1 lead Boston felt little need to warm up the big guns in their bullpen for the 9th.  Four straight hits by Washington, highlighted by a Danny Espinosa 2 run double sent Koji Uehara and Alexei Ogando scrambling to warm up.  After a Ross wild pitch and a Michael Taylor ground out made the score 9-6, Ogando was summoned.  After a ground out for out number 2 of the inning, Ian Desmond smacked a double off the green monster.  With Uehara warmed and ready to go, Ogando was left in the game to face Jayson Werth.  It looked like a bad decision, as Werth drilled a ball to the triangle in center field, but Mookie Betts was up to the challenge and ran it down 407 feet from home plate to end the game.
--submitted by Peter Daly--

Indians Sweep Tigers to Up Win Streak to Six

Cleveland gets its bats and pitching arms working in this series, unlike real life. Zach McAllister

(1-0) gets the start for the home opener, and the lanky righty performs well in front of the sellout crowd and best Detroit's Alfredo Simon (0-1). Carlos Santana goes deep and Michael Brantley knocks in a pair with a single...
Game Two's marquee pitching matchup of David Price and Corey Kluber turns into a surprise slugfest, won 7-5 by Detroit despite two Yoenis Cespedes homers...
In Game three, Detroit's Ian Krol and Joba Chamberlain get lit up for three runs in the bottom of the seventh as the bottom of Cleveland's order (Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez) hit key RBI singles in the 4-2 Indians win for the sweep. Santana goes yard again for his third homer.

‘Stros own state bragging rights over Rangers

GAME 1 – Globe Life Park
McHugh vs Holland
Astros 4, Rangers 2

Houston doubled up Texas 4-2.  Jose Altuve (2-4) continued to wield a hot stick (.429).  Jed Lowrie (2-4) supported his All-Star 2B.

GAME 2
Hernandez vs Gallardo
Rangers 3, Astros 0

Yovani Gallardo (8IP / 0 ER) was completely dominant fanning 11 and not walking a batter.  Houston managed just 2 hits against him.  Leonys Martin Hit a solo blast and Adrian Beltre knocked in two in support of Gallardo.  Klein pitched the 9th and notched the save, his first of the season.

GAME 3
Keuchel vs Lewis
Astros 14, Rangers 3

A 7 run second inning chased Colby Lewis (1.2IP / 8R) from the hill.  The Rangers pen wasn't exactly stingy as the Stros put a hurting on the boys from Arlington.  George Springer paced an offense that posted as many points as the Texans usually score.  Springer (4-5) knocked in 5 runs, scored 2 and hit a big fly.  Every Astro starter reached base via the hit as Houston posted 14 runs on 17 hits.