Braves 11, @Nats 10 (11): As soon as Paul Janish came up in the 11th with the go-ahead run on 3rd, you just knew he would make a monkey out of your humble narrator, who had wondered aloud about this very situation two days ago: “How did it happen that Fredi Gonzalez let such a weak stick as Janish bat with the winning run on 3rd?” (OK, but look at this hit. If the infield wasn’t in, the SS coulda caught it in his hat.)
@Red Sox 3, White Sox 1: “Distinction’s nice, but next time just gimme the W.” When Cody Ross clubbed an inside fastball from Addison Reed for the most dramatic of his two-day, 3-run HR binge, it snatched a well-earned win away from ChiSox rookie Jose Quintana, who tossed 8 scoreless frames. But it did give him a unique(?) distinction:
Giants 9, @Braves 4 (11): Mere box-score trolling could never capture the extra-inning loop-de-loops of this wild ride. Instead, I’ll grab an earlier moment and try to gnaw it to the marrow. (If this ain’t your cuppa, there’s a few other game notes down below.)
Angels 13, @Tigers 0: I’ve always said, if you absolutely must end a franchise-record 159-game non-shutout streak, you might as well get crushed:
Monday in Boston, Aaron Cook tossed 7 innings of 1-run ball, with neither walk nor whiff. It was his 2nd start this year of 5+ IP with zeroes in both those columns. He’s just the 5th pitcher since 2000 with 2 such starts in a season; the high is 3 by Paul Byrd in 2008.
Saturday
@Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 1: The 5th straight scoreless start by Ryan Dempster matched the longest since Orel Hershiser‘s record run of 6 in 1988; only Brandon Webb has had 5 in a row in any season since.
Still 26 hours before Counting down to the next pitch that really matters (Friday 1:20pm CDT). Some empty calories will help pass the time….
2012-04-18 — Only game this year where both starters went 9+ scoreless innings. Also the only game in 7 years where one starter went 10+ scoreless frames. Here’s the last time both starters went 10+ scoreless.
(Wait … you mean there’s pro baseball going on right now?)
@Rangers 4, Twins 3 (13): Ian Kinsler‘s game-winning gapper was his 2nd career walk-off, both against Minnesota. The other one was a home run off R.A. Dickey.
“Who am I?” In my 9th year, and 3 years after being jettisoned by my original team, I currently have career highs in BA, SLG and OPS+.
@Cardinals 5, Marlins 4: Another Heath Bell crunch. Austin Kearns had put the Fish out front with a 3-run pinch-clout in the 7th, but the Redbirds scored 3 in the 9th to win. Rafael Furcal brought home the last two with a 1-and-2 single to left, as leadfoot David Freese slipped under a high tag. Furcal got his chance when Bell couldn’t finish .223-hitting Daniel Descalso, who battled from an 0-2 hole in a 10-pitch AB that ended with a walk.