Game of the Day

@Indians 5, Mariners 4: What disaster? On a shirtsleeve day in Cleveland, the unflappable Tribe shook off the top-half’s shocks and went straight to their work in the last of the 9th, and the lunchpail gang wound up with on-field congrats for the 2nd time in 18 hours.

Jason Kipnis, Friday’s hero, led off with a single off Oliver Perez, his second big 2-strike hit off a lefty. Asdrubal Cabrera, slowly emerging from his early doldrums, hit a deep double after twice failing to sacrifice. And after an IBB, contact hitter Mark Reynolds got the job done with a humble grounder for his 3rd RBI of the day and 3rd-ever walk-off event. The Tribe have won 16 of 20, and sit alone in first place pending the night games.

• Paging Craig Kimbrel … please report to the trauma counseling unit. With 2 outs in the 9th, Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak tied the game with back-to-back HRs, each on a 1-1 pitch from Chris Perez. Cleveland’s closer had allowed just 2 runs all year, and had never been charged with a run in 15 games against Seattle. He hadn’t allowed 2 HRs in a game since 2010, when A-Rod (slam) and Cano went back-to-back.
• Reynolds delivered 2-out RBI hits in the first and fifth innings; he’s 9 for 18 with 2 outs and RISP. In 23 PAs with a man on 3rd, he’s produced 14 RBI and just 3 Ks. His BA, OBP and SLG would all be career highs.
• Zach McAllister cruised to the 8th with a 4-0 lead, but he left after a shocking 2-run HR by Brendan Ryan, who banged a hanger for his first tater and 2nd extra-base hit of the year (101 ABs). McAllister has a 2.65 ERA and hasn’t had a bad game yet, and 2 of his last 3 began with 7 scoreless frames. His worst outings were 3 runs in 5 IP, and 4 runs (2 ER) in 6 IP.
• Ibanez has 6 HRs in his last 6 games. Smoak had never before hit a tying or go-ahead HR after the 8th inning.
• Frustrating game for Ryan, in spite of the HR and his 3rd straight 2-hit game. The game-winning grounder was the second time he almost cut off a run at the plate with a contortionate play.

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@Braves 3, Dodgers 1: Though they were held to 2 hits by Kris Medlen, LA was ahead in the last of the 8th, 1-0, the run unearned. A single by B.J. Upton (!) off Chris Capuano brought Evan Gattis to pinch hit, and fireballing Kenley Jansen relieved. The count went 2-and-2, and Gattis fouled off 3 straight. Then Jansen threw a cutter in, the wrists flashed, and the bear was loosed. Andrelton Simmons tomahawked the next pitch to the same vicinity, and Kimbrel closed it out in style, a big win for the Atlanta Braves.

• Of his 8 HRs, Gattis has hit 3 in the 8th, all go-ahead drives, 2 in the pinch.
• Atlanta goes for 3 in a row Sunday night, something they’ve not done in a month since their 10-game streak.

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Diamondbacks 1, @Marlins 0: Hope you didn’t stop off for Jujyfruits … Didn’t we just talk about this rarity? First man of the game homers on the first pitch, and that’s it? Brandon McCarthy, who was leading the NL in hits allowed, went the distance on 3 hits and 99 pitches to earn his first win for Arizona, putting the alone in 1st place. It’s the 4th 1-nil CG this year, and the 6th in Snakes history, first since Edwin Jackson’s 2010 no-no.

• Gerardo Parra‘s first-pitch bullpen visit was the 5th in the majors this year, and his first ever leading off the game. He’s having a great year, more so if you believe his off-the-charts D-metrics.
• Sympathy chuck on the shoulder to Miami’s Tom Koehler (6 IP, 7 Ks), who’s allowed 3 runs over 2 starts and lost them both.
• The Fish were blanked for the 8th time overall, and the 4th in their last 11, averaging 1.5 R/G with a 1-10 record.

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Brewers 6, @Cardinals 4 (10): Rookie Jeff Bianchi stroked a 2-out, 2-run single in just his 2nd start of the year, and Milwaukee’s bullpen trumped the Cards for the last 4 innings, breaking a 4-game skid. Forgotten closer Jim Henderson breezed through his first save chance in 11 days, lowering his BA to .143.

• The Crew survived a daring stratagem in the last of the 9th. With 2 outs and 2 on, a 3-and-1 count on Yadier Molina, they gave ball four on purpose, pushing the winning run to 3rd. John Axford escaped when PH Daniel Descalso swung through a 2-2 pitch.
• The winning rally was stoked by opening singles from Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez, the 3rd hit for each, putting the lead run on 3rd with no outs. The first 4 in the Brewers’ order amassed 11 of their 13 hits, including a 2-out, 2-run triple by Jean Segura and Braun’s pair of run-scoring knocks, breaking his 5-game fast.

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@Padres 2, Nationals 1: A wild throw by Zimmermann (two n’s) set up Everth Cabrera‘s go-ahead liner, and the timely hit made a winner of Eric Stults. The veteran righty held Washington hitless through 5, throwing 20/28 first-pitch strikes, and used just 89 pitches in working 8 innings for the first time since 2009. Jordan Zimmermann crafted a CG gem of his own, but was backed by less than 4 runs for the first time in 9 starts this year.

• 2nd time since 1996 that both starters went 8+ IP on less than 90 pitches.
• Beleaguered Huston Street walked 2 in the 9th, but catcher John Baker helped him through it.

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@Athletics 2, Royals 1: A little soon for a sequel, guys.

• So we were right that KC would have trouble contending this year, but for the wrong reason. The front of their rotation continues to shine, with Shields, Guthrie and Santana (tonight’s tough loser) all holding ERA+ well over 140 while averaging about 7 IP per game. Only Texas can match those 3 qualified SPs at 140+. The Royals have never had that over a full season, and their only year with 2 such was the 1985 title team.

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Reds 10, @Phillies 0: Ryan Hanigan supplied the early lead on a 3-run shot, his first HR this year; 7 of his 19 career HRs have scored 3+ runs. Kyle Kendrick kept it a game through 6, but Bronson Arroyo silenced their bats for the 3rd straight time (after dropping 6 consecutive non-quality starts to them through 2011), and Cincy piled on in the final frames.

• Joey Votto reached in all 6 trips, bumping his OBP to .473, with teammate Shin-Soo Choo at .463. Only 7 teams in modern history have had 2 qualified OBPs of .450+, all between 1923-32: 1925 Tigers (Cobb, Heilmann, Wingo), 1927-28, ’30 and ’32 Yankees (Ruth & Gehrig), 1930 Giants (Ott & Terry), and 1923 Indians (Speaker & Sewell). Only Ruth and Gehrig ever teamed up at .460+.
• Neftali Soto made his big-league debut as Votto’s glove in the 9th. So our long national Neftali-free nightmare is over.
• I still expect to see Astroturf when these teams play, and Pete Rose, Joe Morgan & Tony Perez on one side or the other.

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@Yankees 7, Blue Jays 2: Pitching and two-run homers works just fine. This was the second straight strong outing for David Phelps, who fanned 8 and lasted 7 innings for the first time. Brandon Morrow couldn’t close out on Robinson Cano, yielding a pair of 2-out, 2-run shots, and Travis Hafner filled out the trifecta in his return to the lineup.

• 12th career 2-HR game for Cano. The only 3-HR game by a Yankee second baseman is a fairly well-known contest. The searchable database has 19 3-HR games by those who started at 2B, and only Bret Boone did it twice (once for the Reds, once against them). There are also 19 by shortstops. Lazzeri is the only one with a 3-HR game at 2B and one at SS; only Jeff Blauser did it in a game where he played both positions.
• Second 3-HR game in 24 home contests for the Yanks, who averaged 15 such in the park’s first 4 years. Last year’s home marks of 138 HRs and 1.7 HR/G were both franchise records, as were their 245 total HRs — the 2nd time they’ve advanced that record in the new park.

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Rays 10, @Orioles 6: The streak is dead at 109. The O’s led after 7 innings, and Jim Johnson came in for the 9th with a 6-4 lead. The first out came easy, but he lost his release point and could not retire another: HR, walk, walk, single, go-ahead double and gone. The O’s would yield 6 runs in the inning, 2 more than any other this year.

Darren O’Day, so adept at stranding runners, fanned Johnson’s flames with another 2-run double. A third double blooped in against the defense. And an intentional walk was followed by another 4-pitch walk, forcing in the last run before a DP.

• Alex Torres made his season debut Thursday, retiring his lone batter. Today he came in for the 5th with his team down, 6-4, and held the O’s hitless for 4 innings, setting down the last 8 in a row and earning the win. It ties the longest no-hit relief outing this year; there’s been just one longer in the majors since 2009, and one longer in Rays history. (I did not recall that Tampa started 7-4 in their maiden voyage.)

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@Angels 12, ChiSox 9: After 4 beastly innings (10 hits, 4 runs), Joe Blanton had a 6.66 ERA and was staring at 0-8, with 85 hits in 50 innings. Had his year ended then, it would have been the most hits ever allowed in 50 IP or less.

Blanton’s season did not end. And although he left in the 5th with the bags full and 1 out, he was soon off the hook. Robert Coello bailed him out with a couple of strikeouts, and the bats scored the game’s next 10 runs, helped by as many walks (4 to Chris Iannetta). The Sox comeback fell short; they remain the only AL team without a 10-run game this year.

• Chicago catcher Hector Gimenez had the best day of his young career, 4 hits and the 3-run HR off Ernesto Frieri that brought them within a run.
• By Sunday, Chicago will have played 7 games with the Angels. They don’t face division rival Detroit until July 9, then play 19 of their last 75 against the Tigers, including a 13-of-33 stretch.

But there’s another story here: The White Sox registered the ultimate modern game, 17 hits and 15 strikeouts — a combination never before seen in regulation. The reverse, 15 hits and 17 Ks, has never been done, nor 16 of each. The historical progression to this moment:

• 17 hits with: 10 Ks–1931; 11 Ks–1937; 12 Ks–1957; 13 Ks–1977; 14 Ks–2001; 15 Ks–2013.
• 15 Ks with: 10 hits–1941; 12 hits–1959; 16 hits–1975.

The White Sox, by inning:

1. 2 hits, 2 Ks
2. 2 hits 0 Ks
3. 2 hits, 3 Ks
4. 3 hits, 1 K, 4 runs
5. 1 hit, 2 Ks (both with bases loaded)
6. 0 hits, 1 K
7. 1 hit, 1 K
8. 5 hits, 2 Ks, 5 runs
9. 0 hits, 3 Ks

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Astros 4, @Pirates 2 (11): It’s still the same old story … The ace relievers work an inning apiece, then a lesser light goes long and loses.

• Sure looks to me like Castro touched the plate before he was tagged; what do you think? And I think C.B. Bucknor was right on this one, too.
• A.J.’s still singin’ them run-support blues, as Melancon gave up the tying run in the 8th. The Bucs have averaged 2.3 runs per 9 innings while he was in the game, 5th-worst in the NL.

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@Rockies 10, Giants 2: Number of times a SF starter allowed 6+ runs: 2012–12, 3rd-best in the majors; 2013–13, worst in the majors.

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@Cubs 8, Mets 2: Scott Feldman notched his 5th straight start of 6+ IP on 2 runs or less, matching the Cubs’ longest streak of the past 4 years, and the team’s won all 5. He also broke the game open with a 2-out, 2-run double on a 1-2 count in the 4th. (A pretty piece of hitting, actually.) After that 4-run outburst, Jeremy Hefner (0-5, 5.00) left for a PH with 1 out and none on, which I thought was silly; he’d thrown 76 pitches, our bullpen’s atrocious, and what are we playing for, exactly? Let’s give him as much rope as we can stand.

• The Mets have lost all 8 Hefner starts, as much due to their hitting as his pitching. (They’ve averaged about 1.6 runs per 9 innings while he was in the game, dead last among NL starters.) He’s matched the club record of 8 losing starts in the first 40 games, shared by Randy Jones ’81, Pete Falcone ’79, and Roger Craig ’62; only Hefner and Jones had no winning starts mixed into that quarter-season.
• The Mets made nothing of two early 2-on threats, built on Starlin Castro’s misplays. They’d go 0-5 with RISP, shared equally by the nos. 1-5 in the lineup. Ike Davis, reassured of a big-league job at least to Memorial Day, went 0-4, popping out with men on the corners and 1 out in the 1st, and booted an easy grounder. Returned to the cleanup spot a week ago because “that’s where RBI guys hit,” he’s gone 1 for 28 with one walk, no ribbies, no runs.
• Anthony Rizzo stroked a long HR off Robert Carson‘s 2nd pitch, the 7th HR in 44 batters faced by Carson. Had his year ended then (too much to hope for), it would be the fewest batters ever faced in a season of 7+ HRs allowed.
• “Your trash is our treasure”: The Mets hitting highlights belonged to Rick Ankiel, who first said “get that weak shift outta here,” then made a slight edit to that statement. Ruben Tejada started a spectacular DP in the 8th, but the Cubs still scored 2 after 2 outs and none on.

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Friday bonus coverage

@Yankees 5, Blue Jays 0: Mark Buehrle is 174-125 against all other teams (.582), but 1-10 in 15 starts against the Yankees, with a 6.28 ERA. Since 1916, he’s one of 13 pitchers with 10+ starts against the Yanks and a W% of .100 or less. Dennis Martinez (2-19 overall, 1-16 in starts) has the most losses in that group. Red Ruffing went 1-16 in 19 starts before joining the Yanks and building a HOF career. Mike Torrez was 1-10 overall, 1-8 after his one year with them. Fred Heimach went 1-12, all before joining the Yanks in ’28. John Burkett set the all-around standard of futility: in 10 starts, he went 0-6 with an 8.87 ERA and not a single QS.

D-backs 9, @Marlins 2: Paul Goldschmidt logged the second 4-run, 4-RBI game in the majors this year and the 10th in club history (and here’s my favorite of those, naturally). It’s the 10th in the last 20 years when the team scored less than 10 runs (8 runs was the fewest), and the first such by a Snake. Goldschmidt’s 2nd HR came on the 13th pitch, the longest AB of the year ending with a homer and the 2nd-longest since 2010. It was the longest PA of his career; in 18 career PAs lasting 9+ pitches, he’s 7 for 15 with 4 HRs, a double, 3 walks and 4 Ks.

• First 4-hit game since 2006 for Eric Chavez, now hitting .327. I didn’t realize he’s never been an All-Star. He’s the active WAR leader in that regard (37.4), and #4 in the All-Star era (Tony Phillips, Tim Salmon, Kirk Gibson).
• Did you know … Arizona has never had a 4-WAR year by a first baseman. Their high is 3.7 by Chad Tracy, 2005; his 132 OPS+ was also the best by a D-back first-sacker with 400+ PAs. Since Arizona’s debut, MLB 1Bs have 102 four-WAR years by 37 different guys. Goldy’s already their career leader at 1B with 6.5 WAR, passing Erubiel Durazo (4.3).
• His MLB-best 186 OPS+ would set another Arizona record, now held by Luis Gonzalez at 174. No other D-back has topped 141 in a qualified season.
• The positional WAR leader from Delaware is Delino DeShields, 24.5 WAR.
• And his defensive metrics are also way up; here, he started a 3-6-3 DP to wipe out a corners threat.

Red Sox 3, @Twins 2 (10): A vital piece of a ballplayer’s make-up is being able to forget the past. Dustin Pedroia‘s regulation ABs were a model of costly futility: 2 GDPs, one with men at the corners and 1 out, and two other outs in RBI spots. But he led off the 10th with a single to right, and wound up as the winning run.

• Do or die: The Twins have been among the better teams at turning the DP this year, but the tandem came up short here. Ellsbury’s screamer up the middle was a DP ifPedro Florimon could corral the slicing short-hop, but it caromed past and the tying run scored. Boston’s first run was set up by a Dozier overthrow. Florimon had overcome that with a go-ahead HR in the 3rd, just the second HR off Buchholz this year.

@A’s 2, Royals 1: 10th time that James Shields has gone 8+ IP on 2 runs or less in a team loss, and the 3rd this year. Active leaders are: 14–Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez; 13–Bartolo Colon; 11–Cole Hamels; 10–Shields, Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett and Jake Westbrook.

• Josh Donaldson‘s 157 OPS+ would be the highest by a qualified A’s 3B since Home Run Baker, who topped it in 1912-13.
• Nice season debut for David Lough, with a couple of big hustle plays.
• “Hostakas” are a combined 8 for 55 with RISP.
• Shields has a 2.45 ERA, but the Royals are 3-6 in his starts. And given the same distribution of run support, they’d probably have the same record had a AAA pitcher taken those starts. They’ve won all 3 when scoring 8 runs or more, and lost all 6 scoring 3 runs or less (total of 9 runs in those 6). Shields has a 3.86 ERA in the wins, 1.80 in the losses.
• Nolan Ryan’s 1987 season is well known to you all — 8-16 record, NL best in ERA (2.76) and ERA+ (142) — but a losing record with that sort of performance is not incredibly rare. From 1920-2012, there are 29 qualifying seasons with ERA+ of 140 or better and a losing record. But only 4 of those had a 160 ERA+, which is the ground currently held by both Shields and Trevor Cahill.
• Constructive suggestion for Ned Yost (please don’t tell him the logic is bogus): Alcides Escobar’s career OBP is .299 whether batting 2nd or 9th. But while batting 2nd, he’s scored just 71 runs per 650 PAs, versus an 84-run rate hitting 9th. That’s star production for a #9 hitter, so get him down there where he can do the most good.

Rays 12, @Orioles 10: Baltimore’s biggest inning of the year, a 6-run 8th, wasn’t enough to match Tampa’s biggest game, as the Rays took the opener of the 3rd series between these 2012 contenders. Thirty-seven-year-old Joel Peralta got the last 4 outs in a row for his 1st save of the year, 11th career.

• First game this year with both starters yielding 7 earned runs or more.