Yardwork: The Streaking Tigers, and Manny's Disappointing Mugshot
By Tim Ryan
Tigers 14, White Sox 4 — The Tigers have won 10 straight and at this rate, home field advantage (Detroit 85-62; NYY 89-57) is certainly attainable. See, between that and the Rays and Red Sox suddenly fighting for the wildcard spot, we have stuff to root for and pay attention to. Ryan Rayburn was 4-for-5 with a homer and 3 RBI. A hot team with the best pitcher in baseball is a scary state of affairs.
Rays 5, O’s 2 — The Rays have won 5 straight and 8 of 10 and have the fortune of playing the embarrassing Baltimore Orioles for the next two nights.
Yanks 9, Mariners 3 — In a bit of a stunner, the Yankees got to King Felix for a change (6 IP, 6 ER) while Phil Hughes was pretty solid for six innings of one-run ball in his latest edition of Jekyll and Hyde. Scott Proctor “pitched” two innings and allowed two runs on three hits. So I guess I have to ask again: Why is Scott Proctor on the New York Yankees and why is he being used?
Pirates 6, Cards 5 — Pittsburgh scored three runs in the eighth which brings me to… La Russa offered you a chance to be a closer, Marc Rzepczynski, he offered you a chance and you bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew it!
Marlins 5, Braves 4, 12 innings — Just as quietly as they were winning, the Braves are now quietly losing. Last night was their fourth straight loss. So while the Cards did blow it last evening, they are still only 4.5 games back of the wildcard. Fredi Gonzalez is already using injury excuses: “That’s 24 wins sitting on the bench next to us. That’s not good.”
Astros 5, Phils 1 — Hunter Pence went 2-for-4 in his return to Houston but former Astro Roy Oswalt was kind enough to take a beating: 7 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Houston improved its record to a visually-pleasing 50-97.
[Photo via Getty]