Fan Interference

Prof: I knew that there would be a trade that no one saw coming but I didn’t think that it would be the Astros trading for Zack Greinke! My beloved Braves also went HAM with relief pitchers and a much needed backup catcher. My small son Scooter Gennett got shipped off to San Francisco, the Cubs traded Martin Maldonado and Carl Edwards Jr. What did your favorite team do yesterday before the trade deadline? And what do you see in your team’s future? Let’s talk about it!

 

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Giants 5, Phillies 1 – Scouts: The Giants had a lot of movement at the deadline, trading away Sam Dyson, Drew Pomeranz, and Ray Black, but they also picked up Scooter Gennett and kept Madison Bumgarner.  The moves didn’t phase them one bit however, as they went right out and beat up on the Phillies thanks to a dominant 6th inning where Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and Kevin Pillar all homered in to the tune of 5 RBI’s.

Astros 4, Spiders 10 – Prof: You can’t win them all, but the Astros will probably be winning more than their share with their new acquisition. I talk about that more a little later, because this was the Magical Land of Cleve’s time to shine. Roberto Perez hit two home runs, The Real Slamtana – Carlos Santana – and Jason Kipnis also hit three run homers a piece.

Rays 8, Red Sox 5 – Prof: Tampa was in on this trading thing, too. It just wasn’t as monumental or exciting. The Sea Creatures did some business with in-state Miami, and the jewel (?) of the trade was Ryne Stanek, whom the Rays have used as their opener. Stanek has done yeoman’s work for the Rays, and now he gets to throw balls for yet another Florida Marine Life Team. The luckiest man in baseball, Rick Porcello, wasn’t so lucky last night, getting the loss and giving up six runs.

 

Twins 7, Marlins 4 – Scouts: These are the games the Twins need to be winning, and winning with ease.  Jose Berrios picked up his 10th win on the season by striking out 11 Marlins and allowing just a pair of hits across 7 shutout innings.

Braves 5, Nationals 4 F/10 – Prof: Sorry, Phillies, but this is the real battle in the NL East. The Nats are roaring back stronger and the Braves continue to get better. Back and forth and back and forth, and in the ninth inning the Curly Dubs tie it up with a Kurt Suzuki single and a Gerardo Parra RBI ground out. On we go to extras. Washington brought out the big guns – Sean Doolittle – and then…the Bringer of Rain arrived. Josh Donaldson hit a solo home run and that’s all the Braves needed to hold on. Atlanta took two of three in the series and are now up by about six games in the division.

Pirates 1, Reds 4 – Prof: ‘Cause baby, now we got bad blood…you know it used to be mad love… Well, I don’t know about that last part, but the first? Yep. Managers being unusually quiet towards each other, even when they are supposed to chat, and the teams themselves being chastised little children one day after that epic 300-style brawl. The Reds get the win this time. The Queen City also says goodbye to her favorite son (well, one of them), the eternally cheerful Scoots Magoots. He played his last game with no fanfare – 1-3 with no RBI.

 

Diamondbacks 5, Yankees 7 – Prof: Zack Greinke pitched five innings, struck out seven, and then peaced out with his 2.90 ERA to Houston. So his last start for the Gritty Snakes was a no decision. It’s all right, ZG. You’ll be winning more soon. Anyway, the Yankees pretty much had this in hand from the jump. It was never as close as it might look.

 

Blue Jays 4, Royals 1 – Prof: Y’all know how I call the super group of young talent in Toronto the G Unit? Well, now we have Bo Bichette called up, and if you add him with major league offspring Cavan Biggio we have the return of the Killer Bs! The G Unit and Killer Bs 2.0! I don’t know about y’all but I’m HYPE. Galvis and Bichette both smashed solo dingers. Cavan Biggio was walked twice, and Vlad Jr didn’t play. But still – YAY SONS OF MAJOR LEAGUERS.

Dodgers 5, Rockies 1 – Scouts: Both of these teams were shut out the first 8 innings, until finally Will Smith and Kristopher Negron homered for LA to break up a terribly boring game.

Tigers 9, Angels 1 – Prof: Wow, El Tigre with the claws! Jake Rogers, Brandon Dixon, and Gordon Beckham all went yard and Daniel Norris actually got the win. Mike Trout got a homer, too, but it didn’t mean anything. Detroit swept Los Angeles of Anaheim of Southern California.

Cubs 2, Cardinals 0 – Scouts: The Cardinals are back into a tie for first place thanks to Kyle Hendricks shutting out the Cardinals with 7 hits and 7 strikeouts over 7 innings.

 

Mariners 7, Rangers 9 – Scouts: Ryan Minor picked up the win despite giving up 5 runs in 5 innings, but that’s thanks to his counterpart Wade LeBlanc allowing 6 over 4.1.

Mets 4, White Sox 2 – Scouts: The Mets decided that being 5 teams back and 4.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot, was close enough to make a run at it, and instead of selling as expected, became buyers.  Jacob deGrom who was highly expected to be moved ended up back on the mound for New York, and stuck out 11 over 7 innings, but didn’t get the win despite allowing just a single run.  That’s because the Mets did most of their damage in the 9th when Todd Frazier and Michael Conforto singled in three runs.

 

Brewers 4, Athletics 2 – Scouts: The Brewers may have missed out on Zack Greinke, Trevor Bauer, and Marcus Stroman, but they seem to be doing quite well with Jordan Lyles.  Lyles held the A’s to 1 run over 5 innings and helped get the Brew Crew a much needed win.