Fan Interference

Scouts: Good morning everyone!  I have returned from my much needed mini-vacation!  A special Thank You to Prof for covering in my absence.  I had been completely and totally over worked to the a point where I pretty much couldn’t take it anymore, so the break was very needed and enjoyed.  I pretty much stayed from all technology, no emails, no work, no websites, just a lot of rest and some quality time with friends and family.  I did get to find some time to go see a few movies, first I saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which I very much enjoyed.  The movie was classic Tarantino, although I could understand why some many not enjoy it as much as others.  It’s one of those things you kinda have to get to understand, which is a nice way of saying it doesn’t have broad appeal.  But there’s nothing wrong with that.  Then I went and saw the Hobbs and Shaw movie with a friend of mine.  We’ve made it a special point to watch all the Fast and Furious movies as sort of a guilty pleasure.  You very much can’t take those movies too seriously but they can be a lot of fun if you let them.  Two wildly different experiences, both quite enjoyable.

 

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Yankees 9, Orioles 4 – Scouts: The O’s were starting to scare people for a little while there winning a few games.  Good to see them back on the losing path.  It looks like it’s going to be a dog fight to that prized first place draft pick.  Meanwhile the Yankees reminded everyone why they are in first and the O’s are in last with 6 total home-runs, making it look like batting practice out there.

 

White Sox 5, Tigers 3 (Game 1) – Prof: First game of the doubleheader brings us Jose Abreu going 3-4 with three RBI (including a solo home run).

White Sox 6, Tigers 10 (Game 2) – Scouts: Drew Verhagen showed off the slider he’s been lacking, and with it survived the fifth inning for the first time in his previous two starts since joining the Tiger’s rotation two weeks ago.  In his previous 6 MLB starts, VerHagen was 0-5 with a 9.35 ERA, so it’s nice to see the guy pickup a win.

Blue Jays 6, Rays 7 F/10 – Scouts: Down 6 runs, the Rays worked a 6 run 4th inning to tie things up, and then held on to walk it off on a wild pitch in the 10th.

Angels 4, Reds 8 – Scouts: Here’s something interesting I didn’t know before today.  The Reds are MLB’s best hitting team in the first inning.  They lead in runs, home runs, RBI’s, and batting average in the first.  It’s only immediately after that they seem to struggle.  Well the Reds used their first inning power to recover from down a quick 3 runs, and eventually was able to pull ahead and take the game.

 

Athletics 11, Cubs 4 – Prof: Lordy, this is a mess. Jon Lester gets yet another loss, and this one was just that bad. Oakland was up by eight in the second inning. Stephen Piscotty went 2-5 but had a three run homer in the fourth. For Chicago, two costly errors in the second inning really put the hurt on them, and they didn’t even score until Kris Bryant hit a two run homer in the sixth.

Rockies 6, Astros 11 – Prof: This was the debut of Zack Greinke in Houston. ZG was a bit rough – five earned runs and only two strikeouts – but it was probably just a little bit of nerves. Once the novelty wears off, he’ll be the same ol’ ZG that is on a fast track to eternal greatness. Anyway, he could have laid a giant goose egg anyway and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, because Houston was on fire offensively. Carlos Correa and  Yordan Alvarez both homered. Yuri Gurriel did twice!

 

Braves 12, Twins 7 – Scouts: Wow, now this was a pretty nifty matchup, that was much more of a blowout than it first appears.  The Braves jumped out to a 11-0 lead before teh Twins started to go to work in the 6th.  Unfortunately it was way too late to get anything going.  Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, and Freddie Freeman combined to go 10-16 with 8 RBI’s in the game.

Phillies 4, Diamondbacks 8 – Scouts: The Phillies believe they are still in the playoff hunt, but these are the games you gotta win to prove it.  They had Arizona on the ropes in the 6th, but Andrew Chafin entered the game and shut things down.  It ended up being the turning point as Arizona stepped up and took the lead immediately after and never looked back.

Nationals 5, Giants 3 – Scouts: The Nats arrived in San Francisco losers of 3 consecutive series, and 7 of their past 10 games, looking to face the hottest team in baseball.  It’s a position the Nats have found themselves in a lot this year, looking up, needing a big win.  Anibal Sanchez and the bullpen stepped up, and picked up a crucial win that the Nats hope to be a turning point for the squad.

Cardinals 1, Dodgers 3 – Scouts: Sandy Koufax was in attendance and he got to see a little of the old Clayton Kershaw that we’ve all been missing so much.  Kershaw shut down the Cardinals to 1 run and 9 strikeouts over 7 strong innings, reminding everyone he’s not quite done yet.

Padres 9, Mariners 4 – Scouts: Dinelson Lamet was a little shaky at first, but quickly settled in to finish with 7 scoreless innings, and came within 8 outs short of the first no-hitter in franchise history.  Lamet’s final tally included 12 strikeouts and two hits over 7 strong innings.

 

Brewers 4, Pirates 3 – Prof: The Brewers are falling further behind, and a lot of it has to do with the pitching staff suffering bizarre injuries. However, Milwaukee was able to power through and win a much needed game against a division rival. It was small ball for the Brew Crew with Christian Yelich getting the night off to rest his back, but it all worked out in the end.

Royals 6, Red Sox 2 – Prof: It was good while it lasted, Boston. Sorry. Andrew Cashner can’t secure a win if you gave it to him in a fireproof safe. Kansas City’s Jorge Soler hit two monster dingers over the Green Monster, and how can you let that happen in Fenway? With one of the very worst teams in baseball?

 

Marlins 0, Mets 5 – Prof: Y’all, the Mets are over .500 and they just won’t stop! Zack Wheeler went eight solid innings, while Super Rookie Pete Alonso hit yet another home run. New York has won 12 out of 13 games. Talk about a winning streak.

Rangers, Spiders – PPD