So, I’m forcing myself to use MLB’s play-by-play, even though I’ve never liked their look, plus their pitch-by-pitch requires individual clicks. But that’s where the videos are, so maybe I can get used to it.*

Pirates 2, @Cubs 0: Chicago left 2 aboard in the 2nd, 4th and 5th (5 of the 6 men via walk). So in the 6th, Russell Martin’s 2-out double on a Travis Wood hanger brought the game’s first run, and Darwin Barney’s tardy arrival at 2nd in the 9th spoiled a sure DP and let another run in. Despite the walks, Francisco Liriano went 7 scoreless for the 2nd time this year; he had no such games for 2 full years after his no-hitter on 2011-05-03, a span of 56 starts. Melancon/Grilli allowed 3 hits between them, but fanned 5, recording their 19th hold and 23rd save, respectively.

Continue reading →

Game Notes is out sick from his day job, so we’re going for full coverage. Don’t miss the “sub-busted no-no’s” at the bottom.

@Red Sox 6, Rangers 3: It can’t be easy for a manager when the assuredly right move means you choose to face the man with the most game-winning hits this century. The pass to Pedroia was logical, but David Ortiz sent the next pitch to the bullpen, his 11th game-ending HR and 19th walk-off RBI. Both are tops in the bigs since 2000, but the first for Papi since 2009 and ’10, respectively.

Continue reading →

Note: This is a follow-up to a recent post and discussion about which box-score counting stat best predicts the winner of a game. I’m sure the following research has been done more thoroughly by others, but I had the data and wanted to stretch my Excel skills, so here it is.

This might not surprise you, but: In this year’s games through June 4, team winning percentage improves steadily with each walk drawn in a game, even when you take out all intentional walks. (IBBs are more often issued by teams that are already trailing, so they would tend to distort these records. All further mention of “walks” means unintentional walks.)

Continue reading →

Belated notes on Tuesday games with Eastern clubs: Bless Dusty and Charlie … what would a nerd like me do without ’em?

@Phillies 7, Marlins 3: This year’s first 2-HR game by a substitute was a little short of a “Shamsky,” but a better result for his team …

Continue reading →

Our West division report runs a day late, as usual:

Athletics 10, @Brewers 2: No matter the weather, Oakland loves hot Coco. The leadoff man never known as Covelli watched the first pitch as a courtesy, then crunched the next over the right-field wall, providing Milwaukee their customary early deficit. Oakland scored 6 more in the 5th, starting with 5 straight hits and adorned with the first of Tommy Milone‘s two bingles, and the rout was on. Crisp had 4 hits and a walk, raising his slashes to that happy land, .300/.401/.513.

Continue reading →

“One of these days in your travels a guy is going to come up to you and show you a nice brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken, and this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of the deck and squirt cider in you ear. But son, do not bet this man, for sure as you stand there, you are going to wind up with an earful of cider.”

— Damon Runyon

Continue reading →

Rough day for the Centrals, 1-7 in intradivisional contests. So we’ll start with an NLC showdown. (And if you read far enough, you’ll find something never seen before.)

@Pirates 5, Reds 4: Time and tide were sweeping away from the Bucs as they came to bat in the 8th. Down 4-2, with Chapman looming, they were about to fall farther into 3rd place in the NL Central. Jonathan Broxton hit Starling Marte with a 1-and-2 pitch leading off (he’s been plunked 12 times this year), but Neil Walker rapped the next for a 6-4-3. Andrew McCutchen beat out an infield hit on a full count, and up came Garrett Jones. Broxton fell behind, 2-and-1 —

Continue reading →

Pausing the divisional plan for a day, here’s what I got from around the majors:

@Cards 7, Giants 1 (nightcap): No walks, 10 Ks in a CG for Adam Wainwright, now at 6 and 84 for the year. The qualified record SO/BB ratio is 11.00 by Bret Saberhagen, 1994 (143/13, in 177 IP). The best by a 200-K pitcher was 9.58 by Curt Schilling in 2002 (316/33). The highest with 150+ Ks was 10.28 by Cliff Lee, 2010 (185/18).

Continue reading →

 Just a few for me tonight; you can help fill in the blanks. We’re back to the Central divisions.

Reds 6, @Pirates 0 (box): Two of May’s hottest teams, and only one could go out a winner. For the 3rd time in 4 nights, a righty’s assault knocked the Bucs for a loop, and this time they couldn’t get off the canvas. Johnny Cueto faced the minimum in the 2nd through 8th, after working out personal issues in the 1st, and Sam LeCure finished off the combined 1-hitter. Cueto has owned them as no other since 2008, now 13-4, 2.44 ERA in 21 starts — 21% of his career wins, in 14% of his starts — and 13 straight with 3 runs or less.

Continue reading →

Did the Mets play tonight? I was busy…. Anyway, our divisional hopscotch continues with the big uglies. Oh, and the very best wishes to KC’s new hitting coach.

Red Sox 9, @Phillies 2 (box): Like records, streaks are made to be broken. Jonathan Pettibone‘s career began with 7 starts of 5+ innings and 3 runs or less. A modest threshold, perhaps, but he’s the only Philly rook who can say that since at least 1916, and the club had won 6 of those 7. But the BoSox have roughed up righties this year (.818/.684 OPS split for RHP/LHP), and they wasted no time in their quest for a series split. Four Sox made the four-cornered pilgrimage to the pentagon in the top of the 1st, two on a big 2-out double by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Continue reading →