I apologize to anyone whom I *may* have disappointed with these abbreviated notes.
Rays 3, @Red Sox 0 — A two-hitter for his first career shutout gave the opener of this four-game first-place showdown to the streaking Rays and Matt Moore, who’ve both won six in a row. James Loney drove in the first two runs, with Ben Zobrist (3 hits) in the middle of both rallies. Moore had gone 8 innings just twice before and was averaging 5-2/3 IP this year, but he mowed through 29 Boston batters on 109 pitches, and won the race to 14 wins by an hour or so. He walked just one, a far cry from his 9-inning average of 4.6.
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Dodgers 14, @Blue Jays 5 — A.J. Ellis started the rout with a 2-run homer, then added three RBI singles, as L.A. scored here, there and everywhere against five Toronto pitchers (with 5 runs off the two All-Star relievers). Josh Johnson was hammered for 5 runs in 2+ innings, and the Dodgers rolled up 16 hits in all, 10-19 with men in scoring position. With the Snakes trailing late, the Dodgers could hit their pillows alone in first place.
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Tigers 7, @White Sox 3 — In a duel of the All-Star Game’s starter and winner, Max Scherzer bested Chris Sale over 8 innings by each, yielding 2 singles and 2 solo shots, and Detroit pulled away late to seal his 14th win. Scherzer’s control offset Sale’s 11 Ks; the Sox southpaw was scintillating, but the 3 runs that scored on 2-out RBI singles by Prince Fielder (in the 3rd) and Victor Martinez (5th) were set up by 3 walks, 2 going to Miguel Cabrera. Miggy left the game in the home 5th with a sore hip; he’s missed only 3 games since the start of 2011, and less than 40 in his 11-year career.
- Martinez had 4 singles, 2-3 with RISP. He’s hitting .425 this month, with 14 RBI in 18 games, and I’m baking a fresh batch of crow. He still has no power, but a .300 singles hitter behind Cabrera and Fielder is all they need.
- Two of the 4 runs off Sale were unearned, and 5 of the 7 total. Two miscues by SS Alexei Ramirez gave him 16 errors this year, 2 more than his 2011-12 average.
- Chicago’s 39-57 record is their worst at this point since 1987. They’re on pace to lose 96, which would be their worst since the Bicentennial.
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Pirates 6, @Nationals 5 — Andrew McCutchen hit two 2-run HRs off Dan Haren, each preceded by a free runner, and Vin Mazzarro pulled the grilled cheese from the fire with the tying run on 2nd. Jason Grilli walked the first man with a 3-run lead, then gave up Jayson Werth’s homer and a one-out double. He fanned Wilson Ramos and threw a strike to the next batter, but left with a possible forearm injury. Mazzarro got the last out on a grounder, for his first career save.
The Nats trailed 5-0 before chipping away. They drew to 5-3 in the 7th on Werth’s first homer, knocking out Charlie Morton. A wild pitch by the struggling Drew Storen let in an inherited runner and upped it to 6-3 in the 8th, setting up their near-miss in the 9th.
- After more than 2 years with no multi-HR game, Werth’s done it twice in a row. He’s hitting .381 this month, with 18 RBI in 18 games…
- … but the Nats are 7-11 this month, a season-worst 3 games under .500 and 8 games out in the East, 7.5 from the wild card.
- Washington’s 16-26 against winning teams.
- McCutchen ran 3rd in last year’s MVP vote, but with less power this year, he’s gotten less ink. Yet his all-around play should put him in that discussion again; he began the night 3rd in NL WAR, 2nd among non-pitchers.
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Braves 2, @Mets 1 — Jason Heyward, just back in the lineup and playing center for the first time since May (fifth career game), sped into the gap and dove to grab Justin Turner’s drive with two aboard. The gem ended the game by saving the tying and perhaps winning runs for Craig Kimbrel, with a 15-foot belly-slide on wet grass afterwards. Atlanta was stymied until that frame, as Dillon Gee no-hit them for 6, then escaped bags full in the 7th. But they rallied off Bobby Parnell, starting with Brian McCann’s shift-beating grounder, and then a quail into right. A one-out passed ball took off the DP chance, so Chris Johnson’s grounder to short tied it, and Reed Johnson’s line single put them in front.
New York took a 1-0 lead in the 4th, helped by RF Justin Upton’s sliding whiff that turned a single into a leadoff triple. That was one of 4 hits off Julio Teheran (6 IP, 6 Ks), who generally baffled the Mets with his changeup, curve and moving fastball.
- Kimbrel fanned 2 in his 28th save, but his command was sketchy. He worked into trouble with a 2-strike hit batsman, a 2-out wild pitch and a full-count walk, then ball one and a hittable heater to Turner.
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@Rangers 3, Yankees 0 — Yu Darvish came off the DL with his 6th scoreless outing this year, putting a stop to his team’s 4-game skid. He held New York hitless into the 5th, and worked into the 7th on 90 pitches, helped by 2 DPs. Joe Nathan cashed in his 15th straight save; he’s allowed 1 run and 11 runners in 20.1 IP since his last blown save, and now sports a career-best 0.76 WHIP.
- Ivan Nova was solid in 7 innings, but not good enough when the Yanks had 3 singles all night — their 18th no-XBH game this year, their most since 1989. They’re 14th in AL slugging.
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Reds 11, @Giants 0 (7th) — Tim Lincecum went from no-hit hero to same old struggles, touched for 3 in the 1st and 8 runs in his 3.2 innings (3 HRs). As of this writing, Cincinnati has scored in every inning.
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Orioles 9, @Royals 2 — Baltimore laced 18 hits and Chris Davis drove in 3, taking over the RBI lead with 97. K.C. got 5 singles off Scott Feldman, who went 8 in the Orioles’ fifth straight quality start (5-0, 2.23 ERA).
- Baltimore’s won 8 of 9, and in their next 23 games are just 6 against winning teams, Boston and (just barely) Arizona.
