[Lots of words in here, but don’t miss the table way down under Friday’s White Sox-Mariners score.]

@Mariners 3, White Sox 2 (14 inn.) — Baseball’s oldest cliche is also the best loved: It just takes one pitch to turn a goat into a hero. Brad Miller came up in the 14th toting an 0-for-5 albatross — 0-3 in ribby chances, each with two aboard — and his error starting the home 9th had set up a White Sox walk-off threat. Now, Michael Saunders was on first with a one-out single, and Miller quickly fell into a two-strike hole.

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Columns by Buster Olney and Tyler Kepner today bemoan this year’s scoring average of 4.13 runs per game. Naturally, I have some thoughts, too.

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Dodgers 3, @Rockies 2 — Zack Greinke gave up the tying run in the 8th, on Justin Morneau’s long triple. But he buckled down and held the tie, popping up Tulo, then pumping eye-high 94 past Nolan Arenado. Juan Uribe helped get the run back with his third hit, and Kenley Jansen put Zack’s 11th win in the books.

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@Blue Jays 7, Brewers 4 — Just like old times in Toronto … like, May 1 through June 6, when they averaged 1.6 HRs and 5.5 runs, going 26-9 with three walk-off wins. But something new, too: The long-ball leaders owned none of this year’s 39 walk-off blasts — until Edwin Encarnacion worked a 3-and-1 count against Brad Kintzler, and then lifted off.

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Cubs 2, @Red Sox 0 — Not Stephen Drew … Really? Stephen, eight-for-sixty-two, Drew, who’d fanned in both at-bats?? … Well, he had seen 19 pitches from Jake Arrieta by that point.

So, what would you have done, if Arrieta had gotten Drew out with pitch #120, to complete eight no-hit innings?

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Reds 4, @Giants 0 — It had to be “Buster,” right? With two out in the 8th seventh, Buster Posey’s clean line-drive to right broke up Homer Bailey’s bid for a third no-hitter, and second against the Giants. Now, Homer had to focus on his 1-0 lead.

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A lotta stuff happened in a long day of baseball. Let’s dig in!

Red Sox 2, @Yankees 1 — An epic duel between Jon Lester and Masahiro Tanaka, with a big twist at the finish. Tanaka was one strike away from nursing a 1-1 tie through the top of the 9th. But he was also living on borrowed time; he wasn’t finishing all his pitches. The first two batters hit liners, but the one by Big Papi turned into a double play. Tanaka then hung one to Mike Napoli, but the slugger swung through it. On one-and-two, everyone looked for the knockout splitter.

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Athletics 9, @Marlins 5 — Oakland blew a big lead in the 6th, but pulled even in the 8th on Josh Reddick’s two-out triple, then scored four in the 9th on five singles off Steve Cishek. A clean closeout by Sean Doolittle — 12 strikes, one ball — ran his season line to 55 Ks and one walk in 38 IP. Oakland’s won NINE games that they trailed after seven innings …

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@Giants 4, Padres 0 — With his second complete game in the last three seasons, Tim Lincecum became the 23rd* pitcher since 1914 with two or more no-hitters, and the first with two against one opponent. (One guy double-dipped before the searchable era.) Lincecum walked only one, despite just 12 first-pitch strikes out of 28 batters.

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@Cubs 7, Reds 3 — Jake Arrieta’s six perfect innings ended when he just missed gloving Billy Hamilton’s grounder. Two hits with two outs halved his 4-0 lead, but Arrieta rose to the challenge with his 9th strikeout, getting Ryan Ludwick as the tying run. Rick Renteria ran through four arms in five batters to hold Cincy at bay in the 8th, and Joey Votto’s whiff of leather widened the lead. Anthony Rizzo’s 3 hits and 17th home run led Chicago, which got just three other knocks.

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