Red Sox 7, @Athletics 6 (10 inn.) — As I said, Jon Lester is off to his best start ever. Clearly. (Now, pardon me while I bow towards Buster Olney.)

• I couldn’t handle the late pace of this game. I started writing when Boston led 6-1 in the 8th … just before the A’s rang up 3 runs with two outs.
• … and as I wrote that, they homered twice off Koji Uehara, tying the game with two outs on John Jaso’s pinch-jack, a pitch that was way inside. It was almost scary to see Oakland manhandle the champs and their ace closer (especially since my Mets face them next), so …
• … I looked away — and David Ortiz led off the 10th with a decisive blast.
• It’s Ortiz’s 17th go-ahead home run in the 9th or later (including walk-offs). Since 2000, he trails only Jason Giambi and that famous clutch hitter, Adam Dunn, each with 19.
• Jaso scored this year’s first pinch-hit, game-tying, last-gasp home run. Kevin Frandsen has the only go-ahead pinch-homer with two outs, off Addison Reed. The last PH walk-off bomb with two outs was also off Reed, by Giambi last September. And the last PH, walk-off-from-behind with two outs and two strikes was also by Giambi, in 2008 off B.J. Ryan.
• Stephen Vogt flailed at Uehara’s split/change for strike two. Koji wasted a fastball, then went back to the yo-yo. Too soon.
• I have no broad stats on players who homered and stole home in the same game. But I doubt that many looked like Mike Napoli. I do know that Jackie did it here … and here, in walk-off style. Red Sox media office noted that Rico Petrocelli did it in 1967, the last by a BoSox.
• Three guys who are mainly catchers homered in this game, although only Vogt and Davis Ross actually caught. Ex-catcher Napoli also went yard, and Oakland’s starting backstop, Derek Norris, had a “3-1-1-1” line, but no tater. There are seven known games with three guys who homered and caught in the game (including two in 2006).
• Uehara’s first blown save this year. And this just struck me: Koji’s become a big name, but he only has 50 career saves, with a high of 21 last year. Eleven different guys have had 50 saves in a season. Uehara’s 15 saves rank 15th in the majors this year; on pace for 32, which would have ranked 20th last year. Does his fame mean we’re finally getting past saves as the main measure of closers, or is it something else?
• By my count, teams are now 41-56 in blown saves that began in the 9th inning. Wouldn’t you expect worse?

Oddments: The A’s lost the DH and used up their last bench player when Derek Norris got clonked by another swing follow-through. So Sean Doolittle took the last at-bat against Uehara, and grounded to second. Doolittle began his pro career as a first baseman, but he hadn’t batted since 2009.

Vogt took over the gear when Norris got hurt. He had just moved to right field that inning, after starting the game at first base (his first action there). Six others since 1914 have played catcher, first base & right field in a game, but four of them did so as part of an “all-nine-positions” stunt (one, two, three, four). Those who did it for game reasons were Johnny Bench (1971) and Erik Pappas (1993).

Outside of the “all-nine” stunts, the following combinations of catcher plus two other fielding positions (not pitcher) have never been logged in a searchable game:

• C-1B-SS
• C-2B-LF and C-2B-CF
• C-3B-SS and C-3B-CF
• C-SS-LF and C-SS-RF

Who is the only player to log these combinations, except for the stunts? (Answers way down below.)

• C-1B-2B and C-2B-RF
• C-2B-SS
• C-1B-CF
• C-3B-LF
• C-3B-RF
• C-SS-CF
• C-LF-CF and C-CF-RF

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@Reds 4, Blue Jays 3 — Todd Frazier slugged a tiebreaking 2-run HR in his third time up against R.A. Dickey, leading the Reds to a series win despite Friday’s epic meltdown. Johnny Cueto let in two unearned runs in the 3rd, after a Joey Votto error and his own wild throw on a surprise bunt by Jose Bautista. But the Jays got no more until Edwin Encarnacion led off the 8th with his 24th homer. Cueto fanned two of the next three and got the ball to Aroldis Chapman, who did him one better. Cincinnati got to .500 for the third time this year, their high point to date.

• Cueto’s 7th time lasting 8 innings this year, but his first in 7 starts.
• Frazier leads all qualified 3Bs in OPS, slugging, extra-base hits, total bases — and steals (7).
• Bautista’s first bunt since 2009 could cost him a DL stint. The faltering Jays also lost Brett Lawrie, whose right index finger was broken by a Cueto pitch. They dropped 7 of 10 on this road trip, 11 of 15 overall.
• The third time through the order has killed Dickey all year: .296 BA, .930 OPS before today, with more walks than whiffs. First two trips produced a .220 BA, 57 Ks and 22 walks. This pattern extends throughout his knuckling years, even his 2012 Cy Young season. Out of 37 pitchers with 800+ IP since 2010, Dickey has the 5th-highest OPS ratio for this split vs. overall.

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Mariners 2, @Royals 1 — Mike Zunino led off the 7th with a tiebreaking homer off Yordano Ventura, and Seattle held on for a sweep. The 40-36 M’s have reached 40 wins faster than any year since 2007; they haven’t been over .500 past June since 2009.

• Did you know? Seattle’s run differential is 2nd in the AL. They’re 10-5 in blowouts, but just 8-12 in one-run games after winning two straight. Their rotation is humming, 2.59 RA/9 in June.
• About those resurgent Royals … Since pounding Detroit’s Cy Young winners, KC’s averaged 2 runs on 6 hits over 5 games, losing the last four to fall out of first place and a wild-card spot. Still lots of time left in these wide-open races, but the point is: A “statement series” in June doesn’t really say much.

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Orioles 8, @Yankees 0 — The Bronx had never been friendly to Chris Tillman: 9.62 ERA, no quality starts in six tries. But he got a lift right away, when Brett Gardner overslid third stretching a leadoff double. And after Jonathan Schoop homered off Masahiro Tanaka for a 1-0 lead, Tillman nursed it to the late innings. He got out of the 3rd on a Jeter GDP with two on, and popped up Brian McCann with a man on third and one out in the 4th. The O’s eased the tension with two in the 7th, Tanaka’s last inning, and J.J. Hardy put it in cruise control with a bags-clearing double.

• Right before Hardy’s hit, the umps missed a clear base of baserunner interference by Steve Pearce that caused a wild throw. But it had no real effect on the outcome, as New York’s last hit came in the 5th inning.
• Tanaka’s K rate with men on base has been otherworldly. Baltimore started the game with two hits, but he fanned Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis to end that. But as he neared 100 pitches in the 7th, Tanaka couldn’t muster the whiffs to escape a big jam and hold the margin at 1-0. A double by Manny Machado double put Birds on third and second with no outs, and Jonathan Schoop and Caleb Joseph delivered those runs with outs in play, before reaching two strikes.

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Giants 4, @Diamondbacks 1 —

• Brandon Crawford has 7 triples and 7 homers. Just two shortstops ever had 15 of each: Jose Reyes in 2006 and ’08, and Jimmy Rollins in between.

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@Twins 6, White Sox 5 — Phil Hughes had his worst game of the year, 5 runs in 5 IP. But he still got the win, and the Twins got a 4-game sweep by a total margin of 5 runs. Chicago wiped out a 3-0 deficit with 5 runs in the 3rd, on six hits plus a walk. But their other eight cracks at the dish produced two singles, both wiped out on DPs, as Minny’s bullpen put down the last 12 in a row. Joe Mauer tied it up with a hit in the 4th, giving him 6 RBI in four games (after 16 in his first 64), and Josh Willingham followed with a sac fly that brought home Brian Dozier with his MLB-best 58th run.

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Detroit 10, @Cleveland 4 — Josh Tomlin’s day unraveled after two straight drops in the 5th, and Detroit scored seven times for a 9-0 bulge. Twice in the first four innings, Max Scherzer worked through two-on jams against the meat of the order. Cleveland worked his pitch count past 110 in the 6th, but most of that work went for nought, as they went 1-9 with RISP until two meaningless knocks just before the final out. Miguel Cabrera drove in the game’s first 3 runs, including his 13th HR.

Miggy’s RBI single in the 3rd, along with Saturday’s game-winning hit, show how much Victor Martinez is affecting other teams’ strategy. Both spots had a base open and one out. Cabrera was IBB’d in 23% of those spots in 2010-13, and 15% in the past two years with Prince Fielder behind him. So far this year, not one IBB to Miggy in 25 such spots, even though V-Mart is a good DP candidate. They’re not pitching around him, either: 3 regular walks in those spots, half his walk rate for 2012-13 in the same situation.

• Miggy’s 1,321st RBI tied Jeff Bagwell for the most in a player’s first 12 years. He’s maxed out on that list, as Albert’s next with 1,434.
• “Who are those guys?” Scherzer was followed by Blaine Hardy, Pat McCoy and Chad Smith, who each began the year at Toledo. Hardy debuted Monday, the others today. Smith, a 17th-round draft pick three years ago, has come on fast. The door’s open, guys; get a few outs and you’ll be overnight heroes in Motown.

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@Rays 5, Astros 2 —

• Dexter Fowler’s first-pitch-of-game homer was MLB’s 5th this year, and the 16th by the first batter overall.
• That HR’s victim, Erik Bedard, has dominated men batting in the leadoff spot throughout his career: .213 BA, .287 SLG, both best among actives with 1,000 IP. He’s allowed one prior first-pitch home run (home or away), in 2007 to Ichiro (who’s done it nine times).
• Jonathan Villar practiced his specialty, stealing third base. Twelve of his 32 career steals have taken that sack, and 8 of his 14 this year, easily the highest proportion of anyone with more than a few thefts. (And darn lucky for him that replay got the call right. Stealing third with no outs and the top of the order up? You’d better be safe.)

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Mets 11, @Marlins 5 — New York feasted on Anthony DeSclafani, posting four crooked numbers behind a season-high 17 hits. Curtis Granderson reached four times, hitting .339 this month with a .469 OBP in 20 games. A 3-7 homestand dropped Miami under .500 for the first time since April.

• Felt big at the time: Jon Niese executed the sixth successful squeeze by a pitcher this year (and New York’s first squeeze since 2012), for a 2-0 Mets lead in the 2nd.
• Carlos Torres got six days off after a 4-IP stint last Sunday, but he still leads all relievers in pitches.

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Brewers 6, @Rockies 5 — Classic situational blunder by Corey Dickerson: Down by two in the 9th, he led off with a triple. The throw got away, no one backed up, so he lit out for home. And he would have scored easily — but he stumbled, and fell, and was tagged out. We don’t know that the next batter still would have homered, as Wilin Rosario did, had Dickerson stayed at third. But he had absolutely nothing to gain by scoring.

The odds of a runner falling down approach zero, but (obviously) they are not zero. That’s why every outfielder who catches an “obvious sac fly” by the warning track should still set up and make his best throw. Once in a great while, the runner will stumble. It does happen.

• Aramis Ramirez is heating up in his last 20 games: .387, 7 HRs and 18 RBI. When healthy, he’s one of the most consistent good hitters in the game, with an OPS+ between 126 and 139 each year but one since 2004.
• First game with a run scored off both Will Smith and Francisco Rodriguez.

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@Angels 5, Rangers 2 — As Texas sinks slowly in the AL West, the Angels are steadily rising. Tonight, they beat Yu Darvish, with no runs or ribs from Trout, Pujols or Hamilton. The Angels are #2 in AL scoring, #3 in starters’ ERA (right behind Seattle, but 12th in relief, with the most blown saves. If they ever find a bullpen….

• Matt Shoemaker is 5-0 in seven starts, 43 Ks and 8 walks.
• Shin-Soo Choo hit .370 with a .500 OBP through May 6, .175 and .296 since. He moved into the #3 hole halfway through this slump.

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Saturday

@Athletics 2, Red Sox 1 (10 inn.) — Jesse Chavez has a 2.71 ERA in 15 starts, with nine outings of 2 runs or less. Behind him, a strong bullpen and the league’s top offense. His run support average is among the best. So, how come his record is just 6-4?

• Desperate times call for daring dashes: It’s a wild pitch in the books, but Dustin Pedroia stole the tying run, by common-sense accounting.
• In three of his five starts, Rubby De La Rosa has gone 7 innings and allowed no more than one run and 5 baserunners. Just three pitchers have more such starts this year.
• Boston’s .242 BA would be their lowest in the DH era, and their scoring and slugging marks 2nd-worst.

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@Rays 8, Astros 0 — Jake Odorizzi led a one-hit effort, and Tampa matched their best offensive output of the last seven weeks. Odorizzi worked seven scoreless for the first time in his 21 starts, the only hit an infield job by MLB hits leader Jose Altuve. Ten whiffs raised his rate to 10.6 K/9 this year, 3rd in the majors. Pitch limits have held him to about five innings per game, and poor run support has cost him two or three potential wins, as with all Rays starters.

• Tampa had averaged 3.1 R/G in going 15-30 since their last 10-run game.

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Mets 4, @Marlins 0 — It took eight tries, but when Jacob deGrom finally saw a “W” beside his name, he knew he’d earned it. deGrom didn’t dominate — 7 Ks in seven innings is merely good, nowadays — but he pitched smart, slinging fastballs at the knees and corners, and keeping men off base in front of Giancarlo Stanton. The score was tight throughout his tenure; New York scored once each in the 4th and 6th off Tom Koehler, a coup in light of past encounters. No Marlin reached third until Giancarlo’s superfluous steal with two outs in the 6th, and deGrom handled that threat as he did all six Miami tries with a man in scoring position.

• The best of Koehler’s 38 prior starts both came against the Mets — 8-inning scoreless stints with six total baserunners. Two runs in 7 IP is his average over seven meetings, but his team was blanked in three of them.
• Jacob deGrom first four games included a debut 1-0 loss, and two strong outings when the bullpen blew his win. His next three starts were choppy, but the Mets have totaled 6 runs in his four losses.

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Brewers 9, @Rockies 4 — Just in case you’re one of the five fans who hasn’t yet see the bases-clearing wild pitch…. Two outs and a 1-2 count to pitcher Wily Peralta, a combo of wild pitch, throwing error and stand-up nap scored 3 runs.

• With starters Christian Bergman and Christian Friedrich yielding 16 runs over the last two games, Coors Field has been a little like the Roman Forum. (Sorry, it’s the best I could do. And I couldn’t just let it go by.)

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Detroit 5, @Cleveland 4 (10 inn.) — Joe Nathan blowing a save with two outs on three straight 2-strike hits doesn’t worry me. His biggest trouble this year hasn’t been 2-strike putaways, but too many times behind in the count. In his best years, Nathan had far more counts when he was ahead than behind, but that ratio’s been reversed this year.

• Putting aside the strikeout story, Victor Martinez has 19 homers, with 91 games left. He’s hit 20+ five times, but never more than 25. Nine HRs this May marked the first time he’d ever topped seven in a month. And he’s a hot-weather hitter, with a career BA that’s 30 points higher in the 2nd half.

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Pirates 5, @Cubs 3 —

A replay overturn extended Gregory Polanco’s hitting streak to 11 games. He also walked, and scored twice, giving him 11 runs and a .421 OBP.

• The last player to start his career with a hitting streak of 11 or more was Glenn Williams, in 2005. A 27-year-old from Australia, Willliams hit in all 13 games he played in June of that year, including two pinch-hits. But he was sent back to the minors, and never returned. I don’t know if anyone else hit in every game of a career of such length. But his .425 career average is the highest ever with at least 15 hits.

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Orioles 6, Yankees 1 — Home runs did all the scoring, and Baltimore does that much better than New York, so far. Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce knocked 2-run shots off Vidal Nuno, who also served a solo to Adam Jones. J.J. Hardy tacked one on in the 8th inning, notable only for what hadn’t come before.

• Nuno’s surrendered 15 HRs in 67 innings this year, all but two at home (13 HRs in 179 PAs).

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That’s his story: Saturday on MLB Network, John Smoltz reflected on Friday’s unlikely trio of bad outings by Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman (two blown saves and a 5-run loss), three of the most dominant closers of recent years. Smoltz related a day when something like that almost happened. As he recalled, Atlanta was in San Diego for a night game. Earlier, Eric Gagne — who “had 84 saves in a row” — had blown a save in L.A. Then Trevor Hoffman blew the save against Atlanta, who took the lead. And Smoltz almost blew it, spared by a relay throw that caught the tying run at the plate to end the game.

Many such tales by ex-players don’t check out, but this one is almost perfect. The date was August 18, 2004. The only possible flaw is the implication that Gagne’s blown save snapped his streak. That happened on July 5, but this day was his next blown save. And it was a doozy — four runs on four hits off the reigning Cy Young winner. Hoffman was coming off a year lost to surgery, looking as good as ever; he’d save 41 of 45 chances in 2004, passing Dennis Eckersley for 3rd place on the career list. But on August 18, he gave up a 2-run homer to Andruw Jones. With two outs in his save bid, Smoltz walked Mark Loretta, and Brian Giles pulled a double down the line. The relay from J.D. Drew through brother Marcus Giles nailed Loretta at home.

Smoltz, by the way, would finish his 3-year closing run averaging 48-4 in save chances, a close second to Gagne’s 51-2 average for those same years.

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“Catcher-plus” answers — the only ones to play these three positions in a single game, outside of the four who played all nine positions as a sort of stunt:

• C-1B-2B and C-2B-RF — Gene Tenace
• C-2B-SS — Jose Oquendo
• C-1B-CF — B.J. Surhoff (two days in a row?)
• C-3B-LF — Dave Cochrane
• C-3B-RF — Joe Lefebvre
• C-SS-CF — Cookie Rojas (not his only time behind the plate)
• C-LF-CF (twice) and C-CF-RF — Eli Marrero