Pirates 5, @Brewers 4: The Bucs have allowed 4 earned runs or less in 19 straight games, the longest such streak this year and their longest since 1970. Their May pitching stats look like some Cy Young seasons: 2.44 ERA in 210 IP, 199 Ks, 58 walks, 14 HRs and a 16-7 record. A 2-inning stint by Vin Mazzaro ran his scoreless string to 12.2 IP (plus stranding all 5 inherited). Jason Grilli converted his 20th straight save; he’s 5 saves ahead of any other Pirate after 50 games.

• The Brewers in May: 5-18, 4.83 ERA, 7 quality starts.
• Amen to Tom Verducci’s statement during Saturday’s broadcast: “It’s hard to get an error in the major leagues these days.” If this isn’t an error by Carlos Gomez (turning a double into a triple), I don’t know what is.

@D-backs 6, Padres 5: Patrick Corbin‘s ERA took a hit, all the way up to 1.71, but he still racked up his 6th straight winning start, tying Clay Buchholz for the longest this year. Not his best game on the mound, but he did drive in the go-ahead run with a 2-out hit in the 5th.

• I guess Heath Bell‘s turned it around, but I’d still feel queasy watching him with a 1-run lead.
• 12th one-run win for the Snakes, tops in the game.
• Corbin has started 10 team wins, also #1.

@Blue Jays 6, Orioles 5: Munenori Kawasaki capped a career day with a 2-out, 2-run double on a full-count pitch from Jim Johnson, for his first game-winning hit.

• Small sample, or is the sinker sunk? Johnson converted all 14 saves with an 0.95 ERA through May 10, but has blown 4 of 5 since, with 13 hits and 12 runs in 5 IP. The 4 hits and the walk today all came with 2 strikes; he’s fanned just 2 of 30 in this slump. The O’s are 5-9 since May 10.
• Chad Jenkins allowed 2 runs in 5 innings for the 2nd straight start, and calmly snagged this slo-mo liner to start a DP in the 1st. Don’t look too closely at his 1.90 WHIP, though.
• Manny Machado laced his 22nd double, but rapped into a bags-full DP to end the 6th when the score was 2-1.
• Nick Markakis’s baserunning stats have gone downhill. I can’t believe he was dead at the plate on a 2-out double that got to the LF wall.
• Matt Wieters stroked 3 doubles among his 4 hits, his 2nd game ever with 3 XBH.

@Giants 7, Rockies 3: This might not be the story of the game, but … Carlos Gonzalez went 0 for 5, 4 of those with men in scoring position. He whiffed with 2 on in the 1st and in the 2nd, whiffed with a man on 3rd and 1 out in the 5th (game tied), and flied out with 2 on in the 7th. The Rockies had 16 ABs with men in scoring position but produced just 2 hits there, 6 overall.

@Tigers 6, Twins 1: After 32 games, Torii Hunter ended one of his longest homer droughts with an oppo blast in the 1st, and Max Scherzer didn’t need much more to win his 7th straight decision (a personal best) without a loss this year. Avisail Garcia plumped the pillow in the 6th with a pinch-hit 3-run triple to the farthest reaches, after fouling off a pair with 2 strikes. Minnesota got 3 hits in Scherzer’s 6 stanzas and none off the bullpen, with another stout long-relief stint by Drew Smyly (2.1 IP, 3 Ks), who has a 2.30 ERA in 31 IP while waiting for a rotation shot. (Not that having a good long reliever is a problem.)

@Nationals 6, Phillies 1: A scintillating matchup of 2012 All-Stars (combined 32-12) looking to change their luck (combined 3-12 this year). Cole Hamels came in at 1-7 and, not coincidentally, near the bottom of the run support tables (1.9 R/G while he was in). Valiantly he matched zeroes with Stephen Strasburg through 6 innings in their first meeting, working around an error in the 1st, retiring Bryce Harper to end the 3rd and 6th with men on base. He even got himself into scoring position with 1 out in the 3rd, but died there. At last, trouble found Hamels in the 7th, and the defense let him down again. The 5-run inning sent him to a 5th straight losing start, the first such streak by a Phillie since 2001. Strasburg dominated for 8 IP with a season-high 9 Ks in his third straight strong outing, nicked only by his own balk after the outcome was all but sealed, and even went 2 for 2 off Hamels.

• Phils have scored 1 run or none in 6 of 11 starts by Hamels, and just 4 other games this year.
• Michael Young made the 2-run throwing error that , and went 0 for 4 with his MLB-high 12th GDP. Despite a solid .359 OBP, his D, his DPs, and his lack of power have his WAR in the red.

@Cubs 5, Reds 4 (10): What you must remember is that the best time to use Aroldis Chapman is with a 3-run lead in the 9th — not a 3-run lead to start the 8th; not with 2 outs in the 8th and a slugger coming up as the tying run against a pitcher who’s just allowed 2 straight hits; and certainly not with the game tied in the 10th, not when you can use another guy for his 2nd inning. The fact that Alfonso Soriano had a HR in 5 prior trips against Logan Ondrusek, and just a single and 4 Ks in 8 tries against Chapman, does not upset the equation.

• But then, maybe Chapman wasn’t available, having worked 3 of the past 4 days … protecting 3-run leads.

@Mariners 4, Rangers 3 (13): With his club staring at a 9th straight loss and a second sweep by Texas, home-run hero Raul Ibanez roped Joe Nathan’s first pitch into the RF stands, tying the game in the home 11th. That offset A.J. Pierzynski‘s go-ahead pinch-hit in the top half against the lefty Oliver Perez, who was summoned to face him. With 2 outs in the 13th, Jason Bay came up for the 3rd time — his pinch-hit in the 9th had set up a winning chance that fizzled — and lined the first pitch into left, scoring Kendrys Morales (1-out double) with the winning run. Morales had tied the game with a 2-run shot in the 6th.

• It’s just the 5th game-ending RBI in Bay’s long career, and his first since 2011.
• Hisashi Iwakuma recovered from a leadoff HR by Jurickson Profar (his first of this year) and an early 2-0 deficit to work 8 innings, with 8 Ks and no walks. He’s gone walk-free in 6 of 11 starts and has issued just 11 in 72.2 IP.
• Fans wanted Ibanez’s head on a pike when he batted .158 in April, but he has 7 HRs and 17 RBI in just 13 games this month.
• Pierzynski has 29 hits, but still no doubles — and still not halfway to Rafael Belliard‘s record of 61. Rangers are hoping for the power he flashed last year with 27 HRs, 2nd all-time by a catcher age 35 or older. But only 3 catchers age 36 and up have hit 20+ in a season.

@Red Sox 6, Indians 5: Ouch. Despite opening the 9th with a walk and a double, Chris Perez got to 2 outs with a 1-run lead and nobody aboard. But he filled up the sacks with a walk, a hit, and another walk (to notorious hacker Jose Iglesias), then left with arm trouble after falling behind 2-and-1 to Jacoby Ellsbury. The mess became Joe Smith’s inheritance, and with just one pitch, the estate tax got everything.

• Ellsbury’s game-winning double broke a 12-game drought in extra-base hits, now slugging .338. He had 83 XBH in 2011, on pace for 42 this year in full-time play.
• Boston’s rally left Corey Kluber with nothing to show for a career-best outing — 10 Ks, 1 run and 3 hits in 6.2 IP.

@Rays 8, Yankees 3: Alex Cobb mastered the Yanks for the 3rd straight time since last September, taking a shutout into the 9th (8 Ks, no walks), and Tampa got 7 runs and 7 RBI from the nos. 5-9 hitters.

• CC’s had rough months before, but you know he’s off when James Loney goes yard; his last southpaw HR was in 2011. Sabathia’s allowed 11 HRs, halfway to his career high.

Angels 5, @Royals 2: Teams riding 7-game streaks seem to have no problem rallying on the road. Teams in free-fall go 2 for 17 with RISP and watch their bullpen implode. J.B. Shuck and Erick Aybar (combined 16 RBI) came through with the tying and go-ahead hits off Bruce Chen in the 7th, and the Angels plated 4 free runners in their comeback win. They’ve allowed 11 runs in their last 7 wins, and are 14-10 in May.

• On May 1, KC was alone in 1st place. They’ve gone 6-16 since.
• Albert went 0-5 with his 11th GDP. He’ll have to heat up to extend his career-long streak of 300-total-base seasons; currently on pace for 259.

@Mets 4, Braves 2: Shaun Marcum got no decision despite 12 Ks and no walks in 7 innings, 2 runs on 4 hits (one a Ruben Tejada lollygag). Ike Davis got the tiebreaking hit in the 8th, and ESPN named him the “player of the game.” OK, sympathy vote — but my sympathy lies with Marcum.

_______________

Saturday

Good day for a couple of bad starting pitchers.

Yankees 4, @Rays 3 (11): With 2 outs and none in the 9th, down 3-1, Lyle Overbay had coaxed a walk from Fernando Rodney — not that he needs much coaxing these days, and ball 4 wasn’t close — and the Yanks rallied to tie it, spoiling Matt Moore‘s bid for a 9-0 start. Ichiro helped them get to extras. Overbay’s next time up was 2 gone in the 11th, and this time he was more direct.

• Vidal Nuno held the Rays to 2 runs in 6 IP in his second start. His first was 5 scoreless against Cleveland.
• Ivan Nova made his first relief appearance since 2011 and worked himself into a bags-full mess in the 10th. But he fanned James Loney on 3 pitches and bounced out Matt Joyce to escape, leaving the Rays 2 for 15 with RISP, and thus earning his 2nd win of the year.
• If you drop the common letters from those pitchers’ names, you can spell “valud,” a phonetic description of their work.
• Can’t say I was ever a fan of Rodney’s off-center cap style; I always thought there’s a reason they call it a uniform. But it may be the perfect topper for a 6.05 ERA.

@Red Sox 7, Indians 4: Vinnie Pestano needed one out to get through the 8th and hand off a 4-3 lead to his closer, but pinch-hitter Mike Carp had other ideas, and he came off the bench swinging. He sliced the first pitch off the Monster for the leveler, and the inning unraveled for 4 runs. Pestano had never allowed more than 3 in 153 prior outings.

• 11 of Carp’s 15 hits are for extra bags, slugging .680 in part-time duty.
• Rookie SS Jose Iglesias, recently recalled from the minors, went 3-4 with 2 runs, and is 13 for 27 this year. He went 8 for 65 last year.
• The Tribe came in tied for 2nd in AL HRs, but they’ve hit just 2 in their 1-4 dip.

Twins 3, @Tigers 2: The drawing for Doug Fister’s Bad-Inning Bingo came up “1st,” and the Twins filled in a “W” on the scoresheet for the first time since May 13. Fister gave up no more through 7 IP (1 walk, 7 Ks), but Detroit’s answering threat in the 2nd fizzled with the bases full, and Minny’s bullpen retired 9 of the last 10. P.J. Walters (6.39 ERA in 113 prior IP) earned the win in his season debut, allowing 9 runners and one HR in 6 IP, but only 2 runs. Miguel Cabrera struck out to end the 5th with a man on 2nd, his only RBI chance.

• Joe Mauer homered among his 3 hits, just his 2nd RBI in his last 11 games. They just don’t get anyone on ahead of him; he’s batting .347 overall, .357 with RISP, but has 14 RBI.
• Walters is 4-1 in the month of May (3.12 ERA), with wins in 2010, ’12 and ’13. In all other months, he’s 1-4, 8.00 in 75 IP.
• Fister’s scoring innings, by game: 3 in the 5th, 1 in the 2nd, 2 in the 4th, 3 in the 3rd, 3 in the 4th, 3 in the 7th, (3 in the 1st and 2 in the 2nd), 2 in the 2nd, (1 in the 2nd and 4 in the 5th), 3 in the 1st. He’s allowed any runs in 12 of 62 innings, but 10 of those were crooked numbers.

Angels 7, @Royals 0: The Angels are so hot, the Royals so cold, that Billy Buckner‘s first MLB appearance in 3 years resulted in 5 scoreless innings and his first win since 2009. Mike Trout manufactured the only run they’d need in the 5th, with a walk, a steal and an overthrow, coming in on an Albert groundout. They tacked on progressively, just in case the Royals remembered how to hit, but no. KC has lost 15 of 19, scoring 3 or less in 12 of the losses.

• Congratulations, Eric Hosmer! Your bunt in the 2nd inning — no score, no outs, man on 1st — made you the 3rd first baseman credited with a sacrifice this year, and the 8th player to do that from the #5 spot. Just one other came before the 5th.
• Mike Moustakas, come on down! You shrugged off a rare time on base, getting caught stealing for the first out of the 3rd.
• Things I don’t understand: MLB.com has a 49-second clip titled “Getz ejected after arguing double-play call.” Seven seconds is devoted to the play, shown in long-shot; the rest is Ned Yost arguing and reaction shots of Getz in the dugout. No replay. They have another clip of the same play: 12 seconds, long-shot, no replay. It sure looks like Getz was safe, so is this another misguided case of MLB “protecting” the umpires?

@White Sox 2, Marlins 1: And they say the complete game is dead! Jake Peavy was 2 outs away from a 1-0 shutout when Derek Dietrich drilled a 1-and-2 pitch for the tying home run, his 2nd straight game with a dinger. Peavy got the next out on a whiff, but he walked Chris Coghlan on 4 straight, balked him into scoring position, and fell behind 2-and-0 on Justin Ruggiano, Miami’s RBI leader, his pitch count at 116.

But Ruggiano flied out on the next offering, and Ryan Webb, who bailed out a mess in the 8th, ran out of magic. Dewayne Wise led off with a double, and when Conor Gillaspie laced the next pitch into left, Webb had his 2nd walk-off loss in 2 days, and Gillaspie had his first game-winning hit. The Sox have won 8 of 11, now just a game under .500.

• Peavy missed a start early this month, but has won 3 of 4 since, now 6-2, 2.97.
• Webb had a 1.44 ERA for his first 25 IP, including 17 straight scoreless (during which the Fish went 3-10). But his last 3 games have plumped it up to 2.70.
• Miami is last in the majors in most offensive measures, but they nosed ahead of the White Sox in walks tonight, as did the Royals. The Chicago teams are now 29th and 30th in walks drawn. Must be something in the Italian beef juice.

Braves 6, @Mets 0: Atlanta actually outscored New York 8-0 tonight, but two of those runs won the suspended game. In the main event … Two outs and nothing doing in a scoreless top of the 5th, number 8 man up. And then: Single, HR, double, single, double, single, 5 runs. It goes without saying that Mike Minor came in as one of the worst hitters in MLB history, 8 for 108, no HRs, 54 Ks, then homered for his first 2-hit game, and was robbed on a screamer in his 3rd trip. “Gee, you don’t smell terrific!” Rotting corpses never do.

• [Deep breath] OK, Dillon Gee has pitched poorly, getting worse each time through the order. But it must be tough never having a lead. He has the worst run support (while in the game) of anyone with 8 starts or more, about 1.7 runs per 27 outs. And Jeremy Hefner is close behind at 2.0.
• The Mets, not the Fish, are last in the majors in hits.
• I can’t think of a reason these Mets won’t lose 100 games. Tom Seaver couldn’t save the ’67 Mets from 101 losses; Matt Harvey won’t save this edition. And nothing will ever change under current ownership. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down these Wilpons!“

@Reds 5, Cubs 2: That’s right, it’s another 3-run save for Chapman!

• The expected Choo Correction has begun: 1 for his last 19, hitting .224 this month. Still drawing plenty of walks, though, and has 17 runs in 20 May games.

Athletics 11, @Astros 5: The “Share the Wealth” Award goes to Oakland, with an RBI for all 9 starting players. The last team to cover all spots with such an even distribution was the 2006 Royals, in a 10-8 victory.