Scouts: Is it already almost time for the All-Star break? Seems days are going by faster and faster. Who’s your pick for the most likely biggest All-Star snub on your team?
Phillies, Nats – PPD. Prof – Yours truly was at this game that wasn’t with a dear friend of mine from Braves Twitter. This was going to be an exciting match-up of Arrieta vs Corbin, and I was really stoked to be able to go with a friend and just talk NL East baseball all night. But The Nats’ patented Rain Delay That Never Ends was in full effect – did it rain? Yes. But was it dry for long periods of time and they could have gotten at least five or six innings in? Also, yes. Game never got started and my buddy and I just made fun of the people wearing defaced Bryce Harper (Loser, Traitor) jerseys all night.
Rays 0, Yankees 3 – Scouts: It’s not enough to have a terrifying offense, you have to be able to pitch once in a while to back it up. Masahiro Tanaka had himself one of his finer performances, throwing a complete game, 2 hit shutout.
Angels 10, Blue Jays 3 – Prof: You know I had to use my favorite EVERYBODY GETS ONE! gif for this game. Let’s run down the players, for both teams, who went yard:
- Cavan Biggio
Justin Upton - Kole Calhoun
- Shohei Ohtani
- Mike Trout
- Randal Grichuk
- Cavan Biggio – again
Not only did Mike Trout homer (his 20th of the season by the way), but he had four hits and finished a triple away from the cycle. Scary moment for Toronto when Teoscar Hernandez crashed into the outfield scoreboard and had to leave the game in the seventh inning (saw this on the Natsvision TV during the never ending rain delay, too).
Astros 2, Reds 3 – Prof: Houston almost caught up in a wild seventh inning, thanks to throwing errors and a Michael Brantley double, but Orbit’s Boys just couldn’t outplay Super Rookie Nick Senzel, whose 2 RBI single made the difference here.
Mets 3, Braves 12 – Prof: While my friend and I sat in Nats Park waiting and waiting, they were kind enough to cut into other games that were being played, and this was one of them. I’m pretty sure we were the only people in DC cheering on Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis. But it wasn’t just those two, the whole squad was turnt, as the kids would say. Zack Wheeler got the loss but you could only hang four runs on him. Atlanta was just built to steamroll. Mike Soroka gets his eighth straight win, while Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr, and old man Brian McCann all went deep.
Spiders 2, Rangers 7 – Prof: A rough one for returning pitcher Michael Clevinger, who only lasted 4 2/3 innings, and gave up five runs. Ouch. That included a two run homer to Danny Santana. Francisco Delicious Lindor Truffle made it interesting in the fifth with a solo homer, but the Magical Land of Cleve couldn’t quite get one over on Lance Lynn and the Rangers.
Red Sox 2, Twins 0 – Prof: It takes a lot to keep Minnesota’s bats cold, but somehow Rick Porcello did it. Props to him. J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts were your driving force for the evening.
Marlins 0, Cardinals 5 – Prof: It was the Matt Carpenter show, as the St. Louis third baseman hit a solo homer, then scored on an error, and was also involved in Dexter Fowler’s three RBI homer as well.
Orioles 2, A’s 3 – Scouts: The O’s drop to 30 games below .500 as Mike Fiers absolutely dominated them at one point retiring 17 consecutive batters. In perfect Orioles fashion, 2 of the 3 A’s runs came as a result of an error.
Giants 3, Dodgers 2 – Scouts: Tyler Beede hasn’t had the best start to his major league career. He posted a 8.06 ERA in his first four starts, but the Giants stuck with him, and he rewarded that patience with a win over the best team in the NL. Beede held the Dodgers to three hits and just a single run over 6 strong innings, and the bullpen was able to take over from there.
Brewers 0, Padres 2 – Scouts: Joey Luccesi gave his bullpen a much needed day of rest, absolutely shutting down the Brewers to the tune of 3 hits over 7 dominant innings. Manny Machado doubled and homered.
Royals 6, Mariners 4 – Scouts: Jorge Soler picked up his 19th homer, a two run blast, and Martin Molonado pitched in with a pair of RBI’s himself.
Fan Interference 
SomeDaughterInVa, The Original, was also at Nats Park last night, although she and her friends bailed around 9PM I think, trying to take advantage of Nats policy where they’ll let you exchange tickets for any game that’s delayed at least an hour. They didn’t even get to do that, though, because the exchange required using an outside box office, and a deluge hit while they were waiting.
It was a tough situation for the weather last night; I know from watching social media that there were long stretches with no rain, but the storms were rolling through from west to east on a line that had Nats Park pretty much on the exact northern edge of the line:
We’ve got a few more days of dicey weather coming up, so I expect lots of stops and starts over the next three days before the Braves come to town. Only benefit for the Nats of last night’s rainout is that they get to alter their rotation a bit to ensure that Strasburg (and hopefully Good Corbin) will face the Braves this weekend, while Scherzer (and hopefully Good Corbin) pitch against the Phillies. Prior to the rainout, the Braves were going to miss Stras and Scherzer, so…
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I just saw a story about Max Scherzer breaking his nose in batting practice. I guess in your part of the country it never rains but it pours.
I can’t stop myself from an open pun. Sorry, all.
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Yeah, he was kind of half-assing his way through bunting practice and this happened:
He may effectively miss a start, but with all the rain we’re getting, everyone’s going to be going on more than five days’ rest by the time they play ball again.
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