Prof: A quiet day in baseball, which is great because I needed some time to relax and unwind. Let’s chill today. Jack Johnson always puts me in a good mood. How about y’all?
Athletics 2, Rays 6 – Prof: Charlie F’n Morton can’t be beat. No, seriously. Dude is 8-0, and in this game he went seven innings and struck out seven to boot. Lowe, Choi, and Kiermaier all with two run dingers.
Diamondbacks 13, Phillies 8 – Scouts: Jarrod Dyson, Ketel Marte, David Peralta, Jean Segura, Eduardo Escobaar, Alex Avila, Scott Kingery, Eduardo Escobar, Ildemaro Vargas, Scott Kingery, Ildemaro Vargas, Rhys Hoskins, and finally Jay Bruce. 13 homers between the two teams. As you might imagine this set a MLB record, not only for a baseball game, but probably for the damn home run derby. Not a good day to be a pitcher that’s for sure.
Rangers 4, Red Sox 3 F/11 – Prof: Boston started the game with a heavy heart as word of David Ortiz’s shooting in the Dominican Republic made its way to Fenway Park. There was a moment of silence before this contest. In the first inning, Andrew Benintendi hit a two run homer to start. However, Texas came roaring back with smart baserunning and well placed singles. Brock Holt tied it up for the Sox in the bottom of the ninth, and into extras we go. Elvis Andrus was the her of the game for the Rangers.
Cardinals 4, Marlins 1 – Prof: Ooof, the Marlins turned back into a pumpkin against the Redbirds. The sixth inning was particularly bad; Kolton Wong sacrificed, but then Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna both came home due to a throwing error. I mean, that’s embarrassing. A nice outing for Michael Wacha.
Pirates 7, Braves 13 – Prof: Well, that started out weird. A slight argument between Josh Donaldson and Joe Musgrove led to benches clearing and both Donaldson and Musgrove being ejected in the first inning. Fans of both teams – as well as neutral observers – agree that this was an Ump Show, plain and simple. After the ejection, the Braves started getting hot; Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a no-doubt grand slam to put Atlanta up 4-1. Ozzie Albies and Sterling Marte both hit two home runs, while Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis hit two run homers a piece.
Nationals 12, White Sox 1 – Prof: Give it up for Kurt Suzuki and his grand slam! The Treat Urner also had a good night at the plate with a home run (and went 3-6). Anibal Sanchez gave the bullpen a bit of a breather by pitching effectively into the seventh inning.
Cubs 5, Rockies 6 – Scouts: This one went back and forth a little bit with both teams scoring 4 in the 3rd, then battling it out in the 7th and 8th innings. Eventually it was a Daniel Murphy double that setup Ryan McMahon to single in the game winner.
Dodgers 3, Angels 5 – Scouts: It’s pretty rare these days that the Dodgers not only lose a game, but blow a early lead, but that’s exactly what happened. The Dodgers fall to just 23 games over .500 with the loss. Mike Trout picked up his 18th homer and is as usual having a much better season than that team deserves.
Mets, Yankees – PPD
Fan Interference 
One of the reasons the Nats pursued Kurt Suzuki in the off-season was his role in Anibal Sanchez’ resurgence last year with the Braves. While their early work together this season wasn’t good, something has happened with Sanchez since his return from the IL on May 29; in three starts since then, he’s pitched 17 1/3 innings, allowing only 12 baserunners and just 2 earned runs.
As for one Mr. Treat Urner, his 3 for 6 last night was a single short of a cycle (yes, really), and while it looks like he’s regaining his hitting stroke for good, he made a play in the 9th that may go a long way toward any success the Nats have this year (or maybe not).
The Nats were up 6-1 heading into the top of the 9th, and Davey got Trevor Rosenthal up to warmup (along with Javy Guerra) because it looked to be a low-enough leverage situation to give him a shot. It took them a while, but the Nats scored six more runs in that inning (including Suzuki’s grand slam) and so the bottom of the 9th belonged to Rosenthal alone.
He proceeded to walk Jose Rondon on four pitches, although one or two were close, and Davey resisted the urge to get Doolittle up in the pen. Jose Abreu was next, and on a 1-2 count, Abreu hit a ground ball up the middle. If it gets through, it’s first and third, none out, and everyone’s worried Rosenthal’s gonna melt down again, but Treat dove for the ball, picked it, and started a sweet 6-4-3 double play. Rosenthal then got James McCann to fly out to right to end a scoreless inning.
Treat’s hustle in a 12-1 game (along with Suzuki slowing Rosenthal down a little bit by going to his slider more than his fastball) could prove to be huge in Rosenthal’s mental rehabilitation, or it could be forgotten in two weeks when Rosenthal gets DFA’d due to lack of effectiveness, but it was nice to see him sell out like that. This team looks like one that’s having fun and wants to play for each other, and six games back in early June isn’t that big a deficit, is it?
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If the Nats can right this ship and the Phil’s keep crapping the bed, it can be a three horse race again in the NL Beast. 🙂
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“Elvis Andrus was the her of the game for the Rangers.” So will his name now change to Elvira Andrus or maybe Elvis Androgynous? 😃
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Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
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My Dog Fister moment has arrived! I’ve made Elvis Andrus a lady!!!
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Well, Scouts, we come to the battle of the AL East Cellar Dwellers, as your birds host my birds for a 3-game series. Sort of like the “stoppable force” meeting the “movable object”. Two upsides for the Jays… they can’t fall to last place as they are 3 games up on the O’s. And they have a great chance here to pad their home run numbers. Other than that… meh!
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Ultimate bird-off: Would an “all-star” team combining the 2 AL bird teams stand a chance against the NL bird team?
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Better back off. We got the first pick this year, and we plan to get the first pick next year…
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The way they’re playing, the O’s oughtta be renamed The Pelicans. Frankly, as long as Angelos owns this team, it ain’t goin’ nowhere. Same with Moreno and the Muffin’s Halos.
I’ll have a full report on what I’ve been eating over here tomorrow. On the downside, it looks like both the T20 cricket matches I was hoping to attend (Surrey v Yorkshire) are gonna be rained out. Phooey!
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The clouds have parted and the MiLB team that has so far scored the most runs this year has squared off against the MLB team that has allowed the most runs so far.. The once in a not just generation but once in a life time, because I have seen several generations including the 1968 Tigers, Twins teams are ahead by virtual of a 0 – 0 score in the bottom of the second by three outs. My granddaughter, who in her fourth day as a legal adult, who I told you about Saturday bought me lunch today, just to talk some. Once in a lifetime.
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Back to back and the Twins have it tied. El Bomba!!! Now Oliva’s up. Once in a lifetime!!!!
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