Fan Interference

Scouts: I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and fun 4th holiday.  It’s one of those weird holidays where half the office took today off, and the other half is in here, wishing they took the day off.  Personally, I took the time to go see the new Spider-Man movie, and aside from the family next to me who wouldn’t shut the hell up the entire movie, it was quite enjoyable.  Thanks to Prof for covering while I was enjoying a little extra sleep.  Let’s dive right into it shall we?

 

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Phillies 6, Braves 12 – Scouts: They got off quite a few fireworks in Atlanta as the Braves slugged 5 homers, including a pair by Dansby Swanson who ended the night with 5 RBI’s.

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 7 – Scouts: Boston did most of their work in the 6th, but it was a Marco Hernandez homer in the 9th that proved to be the key to the win.

Angels 3, Rangers 9 – Scouts: Lance Lynn was able to hang in there long enough for Rougned Odor to help him out with a pair of homers and 5 RBI’s.

Padres 1, Dodgers 5 – Scouts: LA and Cody Bellinger just keeps on trucking, as Bellinger passed Duke Snider and Gil Hodges for most Dodger homers before the All-Star break with number 30.  His next targets are Reggie Jackson (37), Mark McGwire (33), and Willie Mays (31), with most pre-break homers under the age of 24.  With 3 games left it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

 

Marlins 2, Nationals 5 – Prof: Don’t look now, but the Nats are on fire! The Curly Dubs swept Miami and Anthony Rendon hit his 20th home run of the season. Rendon is a well deserved All-Star choice for this team, and one of the most underrated players in the National League even with the nod. Braves fans – like myself – fear him. Speaking of their division rivals, former Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki got in on the fun with a solo homer of his own.

Spiders 8, Royals 4 – Prof: Appropriate that the Royals would be defeated on the 4th of July. When you look at the inning-by-inning rundown on this game, the same names are mentioned over and over again: Francisco Lindor. Jose Ramirez. Cam Gallagher. It’s not always for the best reasons – for example, Gallagher had a throwing error which allowed delicious Francisco Lindor truffle to reach home and took the Spiders up by three runs in the seventh. Ramirez homered twice.

 

Tigers 11, White Sox 5 – Scouts: Matthew Boyd allowed two homers and 9 hits over 5.1 innings, but also picked up 13 strikeouts.  Meanwhile, Sox pitcher Reynaldo Lopez also allowed 9 hits over 5.1 innings, but only managed 3 strikeouts, so  there’s something.

Brewers 0, Reds 1 – Prof: If any team needed the All-Star break, it’s Milwaukee. The Brew Crew’s slumping as of late, and they lost again to NL Central foe Cincinnati. Once again, Yasiel Puig was the catalyst, hitting the RBI single in the first inning to score the only run of the game. The usual Brewer hot bats were stone cold yesterday, as well.

 

Cubs 11, Pirates 3 – Prof: There was some excitement in this game both on the field and on the sidelines. First things first, Chicago manager Joe Maddon was ejected in the fourth inning, after he took umbrage at a call against Javier Baez. After Maddon’s toss, the Cubs got fired up and promptly scored seven more runs against a deflated Pirates team. For example: in the fifth inning, there was a bases loaded hit by pitch, and then immediately afterwards a bases loaded walk. And then immediately after that, a two run single. These Pirates just weren’t seaworthy.

Twins 2, A’s 7 – Scouts: Speaking of fireworks, Marcus Semien caused some when he hit a Grand Slam into left center field in the 8th.  Minnesota seems to have been struggling a little lately, and the All-Star break seems to be approaching at just the right time.

 

Cardinals 5, Mariners 4 – Prof: Featuring home runs from Matt Wieters and Dexter Fowler, the Redbirds came back from a two run deficit in the seventh to defeat Seattle.

Yankees 8, Rays 4 F/10 – Scouts: Tampa scored two in the 9th to send it to extra innings, and the Yankees decided they weren’t going to have any of that, and went out and put up 5 in the 10th to really put the game out of reach, capped with a Gary Sanchez three run homer.  Aroldis Chapman picked up a win the hard way, first blowing his third save on the season, and then hanging around long enough for his offense to bail him out.  Sorry J.A. Happ!