Yardwork: Phils Beat Reds in 19 & Greinke Homers
By Tim Ryan
He hit 90 on the gun, shook off the catcher, and managed to retire both Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. I’m sure someone has already made the joke that this one lasted as long as a typical Red Sox-Yankees game, which is a shame, because that is downright hilarious and I really wanted to make that joke.
Braves 4, Pirates 2, 11 innings — The Pirates have lost three straight and sit four games under .500. It will most certainly be their 19th straight losing season, but fans of the Buccos must look at the glass half-full and acknowledge the positive: Unlike last year, they will probably lose less than 100 games.
Marlins 7, Giants 6, 12 innings — As you can see, the games that went extra innings are taking priority today. The winning run for the Marlins came in the top of the 12th via sac fly and a pretty brutal, but clean collision at home plate between Scott Cousins and Buster Posey. Relievers Edward Mujica and Leo Nunez were bailed out after disgracefully blowing a four-run lead in the ninth.
Brewers 6, Nats 4 — Zack Greinke wanted to come to the NL so he could hit on a regular basis. Riiiiiight, surely it had nothing to do with the inferior lineups and lack of deep divisions like the Al East. Well last night he hit the go-ahead home run and fanned 10 over seven innings. He even wrote a hit play.
O’s 9, Royals 2 — Baltimore scored eight runs in a vicious fourth inning assault that saw Adam Jones get two hits and two RBI. Like the Pirates, the Royals have slipped to four games under .500. Is the dream of being at least average over for them too? The Orioles meanwhile are winners of four straight and are certainly in the mix despite sitting in last place. Until their winning streak is snapped, I will keep feeding you clips of The Wire.
Red Sox 14, Indians 2 — Manny Acta on whether or not the Indians are for real: “What do we have to do? Sweep every series? Win the rest of our games? I understand people didn’t think we were going to contend. That’s fine. We are contending now.” Well, Manny, considering your team has lost two straight, you could start by winning some games again. With the Tribe’s starting pitching starting to tail off or as some might say, come back to earth, my guess is they’ll be in second place by the end of June.
Yankees 7, Blue Jays 3 — I suppose it’s worth noting that Mariano Rivera became the first player in major league history to make 1,000 appearances for the same team. He really is the Richard Alpert of Major League Baseball, except for when he removes his hat.
[Pie photo via the Fightins]