Giants 5, Pirates 0: Now, that’s more like a $100-million man. Matt Cain retired the first 17 batters, gave up a clean single to opposing pitcher James McDonald (an .079 career hitter), then put away the last 10 Pirates, for his third career 1-hitter. He finished with 11 Ks, 1 off his career high, and a personal-best 96 Game Score. Pittsburgh, now hitting .178 with 7 walks, suffered their second shutout this year; they’ve scored 11 runs in 7 games.
White Sox 5, Tigers 2: Just the second known regulation game in which Detroit pitchers got 15+ strikeouts in a loss. The other was a 15-K CG by Paul Foytack in 1956, which was the game record for a Tigers pitcher until Mickey Lolich had a pair of 16-K games in 1969.
Nationals 2, Reds 1: Washington has allowed 18 runs in 8 games. In 75 IP, they’ve yielded 49 hits and 28 walks (1.03 WHIP), with 79 Ks. Their starters have led the way with a 1.89 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 3.83 SO/BB ratio.
Orioles 7, Blue Jays 5: Toronto became the first team this year to lose while hitting 4 home runs. All 7 HRs in the game were lonesome travelers.
Mets 5, Phillies 2: After getting just 3 runs (1 ER) in 3 prior games against Cliff Lee, New York nicked him 4 times Friday. No blow was bigger or longer in coming than the 2-run HR to right-center field by Jason Bay in the 1st inning.
- Bay’s only RBI in the first 6 games this year came on a sac-fly/DP; his 18 HRs in 224 Mets games was fewer than he’d hit in the first 69 games of his last pre-Mets season.
- Philly out-hit the Mets, 11-6, but went 0-8 with RISP.
- The Phils trail Washington by 2.5 games, their biggest deficit since Sept. 1, 2010.
Cubs 9, Cardinals 5: Two swings ended a pair of year-long schneids: Bryan LaHair hit Chicago’s first grand slam since Sept. 2010, and Ian Stewart hit his first HR since August 2010. Those droughts had reached 148 and 168 PAs, respectively.
Yankees 5, Angels 0: In a crisp home opener, Nick Swisher capped 2-out rally in the 1st with a 3-run double, and Hiroki Kuroda pitched 8 scoreless for his first Yankee win. The Bombers turned 3 DPs, and the Halos never got a man past 2nd base. Alex Rodriguez hit his 4th HR in his last 48 games, dating to June 2010.
Dodgers 9, Padres 8: Take your pick:
- Aaron Harang fanning 9 straight en route to a career high 13 Ks;
- Chase Headley‘s 2-out, 2-run game-tying HR in the 9th; or
- A game-winning rally made of four straight 2-out walks, the last on four pitches from incoming reliever Joe Thatcher.
The past three days have brought the year’s first game-ending walk, HBP and wild pitch. What’s next?
