Prof: Hey fam, sorry about skipping out on yesterday’s post. I fell asleep super early the night before. But you’ve got me now, so let’s go. Gonna go a bit obscure for today’s musical theme. Well, maybe not obscure. But certainly not popular in my age group!
Red Sox 0, Blue Jays 8 – Prof: Once again, the Red Sox get blanked by a team much younger and stronger than they are, but this time it was Toronto, who isn’t even hovering near .500 on the season. What’s going on in Boston? Anyway, enough about them, let’s talk about the people who actually got stuff done. As usual, solid play from G-Unit and the Baby B’s – Vlad Jr had a two run single and an RBI sac fly, Randal Grichuk had a two run double. Bichette and Biggio were in the mix as well.
Diamondbacks 0, Mets 9 –Prof: Steven Matz is a good dude. Earlier today, he announced that he’s donating to a 9/11 charity in New York. Then, he went out on what’s essentially a sacred day in that city and pitched a gem. Six innings, seven Ks. Helped out by homers from his homies Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Todd Frazier, the Mets steamrolled over the Gritty Snakes and got ever closer to taking third place in the NL East from the Phillies on their own merit.
Brewers 7, Marlins 5 – Prof: Brent Suter has come back strong after his injury, and Milwaukee needs his positive attitude (and pitching skills) now more than ever after the terrible news that reigning MVP Christian Yelich is out for the season. Last night was Mike Moustakas’ birthday as well, and Moose brought the presents – two multi-RBI homers! Zack Davies, who started the game and got the no decision, even got in the act with an RBI single.
Braves 3, Phillies 1 – Prof: This game has an immaculate inning, every run scored in one lowly inning, and one heck of an ump show! First things first; Dallas Keuchel, I see you my dude! He started out a bit rough, but the closer we get to the postseason, the more the Keuchel of old comes out. Six innings, eight strikeouts, and only the one earned run. The Braves bullpen, which earlier in the season was such a dumpster fire, was rock solid – anchored by that immaculate inning from recent addition Chris Martin. Shane Greene and Mark Melancon finished it up with two beautiful performances. Finally, the ump show! Oh, yes, the ump show. Home plate umpire Ted Barrett left his contacts at home and refused to call strikes when they were clearly strikes. Towards the end, poor Melancon wasn’t getting a call to save his life. The game could have ended a good five minutes earlier if Barrett had simply called a strike correctly.
Nationals 6, Twins 2 – Prof: Stephen Strasburg is now 17-6. I didn’t even realize that. Man, this pitching staff! And it was pretty much all Curly Dubs at the plate, as well; Ryan Zimmerman had an RBI single and a two RBI homer, while the Treat Urner had a solo diner and Howie Kendrick Lamar had a two run double.
Rays 9, Rangers 10 – Scouts: Not a great night for the Rays. First they gave up 7 runs in the first. Then they battled back and even took a lead before throwing several runs away via terrible baserunning. Then Rougned Odor smoked a three run homer in the third and this one was put to bed.
Reds 3, Mariners 5 – Scouts: It’s not every day that a rookie breaks up a no-hitter by launching a three run bomb, but that’s exactly what Kyle Lewis did. It’s also the second night in a row that Lewis has broken up a no-hitter. If nothing else, Seattle is keeping things interesting.
Spiders 4, Angels 3 – Prof: Cookie Carrasco gets another win! He’s been working in the bullpen since coming back from cancer. Delicious Francisco Lindor truffle broke it open in the second inning, putting the Magical Land of Cleve up four nil. Los Angeles of Anaheim of Southern California of North America tried, bless them, with Shohei Ohtani hitting his 18th dinger of the season (not too shabby for an AL pitcher, right?) and Kole Calhoun getting a knock in, as well, but it was too little too late against the Spiders.
Royals 8, White Sox 6 – Scouts: Jorge Soler picked up homers numbers 42 and 43, part of a 5 homer outburst for Kansas City.
Athletics 5, Astros 3 – Prof: Houston can’t win them all (but they also didn’t have any of their stable of studs on the mound either). All credit due to Marcus Semien, who went 3-5 including a solo homer, and Matt Olson whose two run double broke the tie in the sixth inning.
Cardinals 1, Rockies 2 – Prof: Colorado keeping it interesting in the NL Central race. With the shocking news about the Brewers’ Yelich, and the Cubs being down one Javy Baez, it seemed like St. Louis was on their way to easy street. The Rox wanted to make them work for it. Ian Desmond broke the stalemate in the sixth inning with a solo moonshot.
Pirates 6, Giants 3 – Scouts: Neither starting pitcher fared very well in this one, but Pittsburgh’s bullpen was a bit better than San Fran’s, allowing Pittsburgh to pick up a few runs the old fashioned way.
Cubs 0, Padres 4 – Scouts: Chris Paddack likely pitched his final start of the season and he sure made it a good one, shutting out Chicago, striking out 7 in 6 innings.
Dodgers 3, Orioles 7 – Prof: In the Wonders Never Cease department, the sad Orioles defeated the NL West Champions handily last night. Granted, The Dodgers didn’t have to put much effort into it, seeing as how they’ve already won their crown and they probably just want to coast into their next important match-up. These games simply are not important to them. I mean, they brought out six pitchers, one of them being Joe Kelly and his 4.56 Fight Club ERA. A guy you’ve never heard of from Baltimore – and let’s be honest, that’s half the team these days – drove home two runs, while Jonathan Villar had a three run homer in the seventh.
Yankees, Tigers – PPD
Fan Interference 
I said the other day as the Nats embarked on their final 20 games that a 10-10 record ought to be enough to get them to the postseason, and so far they’re 1-1 on their journey, so they must’ve taken my words to heart.
They wake up this morning 3 1/2 games ahead of both the Brewers and Cubs, which seems like both a sizeable lead and not nearly enough at the same time, especially with all the other teams in the mix. Rubber game in Minneapolis tonight, then fly home for three with the Braves before heading out again to St. Louis and Miami. 6-4 or better during these next ten games seems like a good goal.
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