Yardwork: Cervelli Pulls a Rickey Henderson, and Doc Dominates
By Tim Ryan
So after belting a home run out of Fenway Park last night off John Lackey, he completed his home run trot with an emphatic clap in the direction of Jarrod Saltalamacchia as he triumphantly stepped on home plate. Of course, the next time Cervelli came up to the plate, Lackey put one in his back. And this is what I love about Terry Francona and the Red Sox. Have an issue? Address it immediately. The Yankees took six years to finally drill David Oritz for his lengthy resume of showmanship. When Cervelli was asked about his spastic fist pump after Boone Logan escaped the seventh, he said, “That’s Cervelli.” I really don’t think we’re ready for Francisco Cervelli referring to himself as Francisco Cervelli. The two requirements to speak in such a manner are A) you must be an everyday player and B) you must be Rickey Henderson. As Pedro Martinez might ask, “Who are you, Francisco Cervelli?”
D-Backs 9, Rockies 4 — Last night’s win makes it eight straight for the Diamondbacks. They finish up with the Rockies tonight and then head to San Francisco to demoralize the Giants for three games beginning Friday. Justin Upton hit his 26th homer and Gerardo Parra went 4-for-5 with a double, a triple and an incredibly seductive video.
Cubs 5, Giants 2 — Six games back? The Giants put up two runs, causing manager Bruce Bochy to offer the following inspiring quote: “We were better.” Carlos Beltran was 0-for-4 and left six men on base. More on this debacle later today.
Phils 9, Reds 0 — Roy Halladay allowed two hits over seven innings and struck out nine. I would really like to know who plans on beating the Phillies in the postseason. Hunter Pence and Raul Ibanez each went deep, and Ryan Howard did so twice.
Tigers 2, Royals 1 — Ramon Santiago hit a walkoff homer in the 10th inning to keep the Tigers lead over the White Sox at five games. Fister did solid work for 7 2-3 innings, only once receiving the Shocker from the Royal bats in the form of a sac fly.
Rangers 2, Rays 0 — BJ Upton went 1-for-3, heroically upping his average from .224 to .225. He also struck out once and was caught stealing. The Rangers gained a half game on the idle Angels and lead the division by 3.5.
Cards 2, Brewers 1 — Edwin Jackson held the Brewers to one run over seven innings and even helped his own cause with an RBI single in the fifth. The Cards are 9.5 back with 5 more games against Milwaukee. Is it possible they could hop out of the coffin and make Brewer fans sweat a little?
O’s 6, Blue Jays 5, 10 innings — Kevin Gregg: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB. What a guy.
Astros 8, Pirates 2 — The Pirates are 11 games under .500? That’s disappointing. A .500 finish would have been pretty awesome for these guys. Meanwhile, the 46-90 Astros will definitely lose 100 games. Hilarious. The following Astros song will force you to drink Windex:
[Photos via Getty]