By Peyton Wesner
American League
Today's Scores
Seattle 2, Toronto 8
Houston 10, Detroit 8
Baltimore 2, Miami 5 (Interleague)
Cincinnati 2, Cleveland 5 (Interleague)
Oakland 7, Tampa Bay 2
Los Angeles (AL) 1, Boston 6
Minnesota 8, Chicago (AL) 1
St. Louis 6, Kansas City 1 (Interleague)
Texas 5, New York (AL) 2
Game of the Day
Houston Brings an "Oso Blanco" and a Former Grizzly to the Tigers' Den
DETROIT---The Houston Astros walked into Comerica Park Sunday afternoon with an opportunity to make a statement by splitting a series with the Detroit Tigers, and they did not squander their chance.
Evan Gattis propelled Houston early with a triple on a first pitch fastball from Tigers' pitcher Anibal Sanchez with two runners in scoring position to give the Astros a 2-0 lead. Sanchez's struggles were just beginning though as he later balked to make the deficit three heading to the bottom of the first. Luckily for him, the Tigers have one of the most explosive offenses in Major League Baseball and Detroit used it to answer with five runs, three of which were driven in by Bryan Holaday on a bases loaded double, to take the lead 5-3 at the end of one inning. But the Tigers were not done extending thier winning margin as Anthony Gose and Nick Castellanos later drove in one apiece in the bottom of the fifth to put the team up four
Meanwhile, starter Anibal Sanchez began to find his groove after early turbulence by striking out eight of the next fourteen batters faced. Everything was going smoothly until "El Oso Blanco" walked to the dish for his third at bat of the game. CRACK! Evan Gattis strikes again, this time for a solo homerun to shrink the Tigers' lead to three. The righty from Venezuela rebounded by striking out Colby Rasmus and Jason Castro, but one out eluded him from exiting the sixth inning as the winning pitcher.
The situation was two outs, runners on the corners for pinch-hitter Preston Tucker. Tucker, a seventh round pick in 2012, was only playing in his thirteenth game of his career Sunday. Sanchez started the rookie with a fastball that was taken for ball one. The next offering was a changeup fouled off to even the count at 1-1. After missing again with another fastball to make the count 2-1, Sanchez tried once again to get his change-up past Tucker. Wrong move. CRACK! SEEYA! TIE BALLGAME!
Tucker's homerun chased Anibal Sanchez from the game and his final line included allowing seven earned runs despite eleven strikeouts.
The following inning, Houston was back in business with bases loaded, two outs, and 2013 All-Star catcher Jason Castro up with a chance to claim the lead for his team. Detroit reliever Tom Gorzelanny battled with Castro, but on the eighth pitch of the AB Castro was able to shoot a single to right scoring Marwin Gonzalez and Evan Gattis to push the Astros to a 9-7 advantage. In the top of the eighth, Houston scored again with a RBI single off the bat of Marwin Gonzalez. Even though the lead was in Houston's possession, closer Luke Gregerson would have to go through the heart of Detroit's order to end the game and get his team the victory
Leading off in the bottom of the ninth for the Tigers was Ian Kinsler and Gregerson put him away on four pitches by striking him put swinging. Next up, 2012 AL Triple Crown Winner Miguel Cabrera with a chance to feast. And did he ever. On the first pitch he saw from Gregerson, Miggy homered to left to cut the deficit to two. More life came from crowd after J.D. Martinez singled, putting the tying run at the plate in the form of Yoenis Cespedes. Since Gregerson and Cespedes were teammates the year prior in Oakland, both knew each's others strengths and weaknesses very well. Gregerson started Cespedes off with a slider that was taken for a ball followed by a fastball that evened the count at 1-1. Gregerson went back to his slider causing the slugging left fielder to foul it off. Cespedes would next foul off the four more sliders until Gregerson eventually sat him down swinging. The last hope for the Tigers was Nick Castellanos, but he grounded out to third on the second pitch he saw clinching an Astros' 10-8 victory to split the four game series.
Top Hitting Performers
1. Brian Dozier MIN
---2-5, 2 HR (8, 9), 4 RBI, & 2 runs scored
2. Evan Gattis HOU
---3-4, HR (9), 3B, 3 RBI, & 3 runs scored
3. Xander Bogaerts BOS
---4-4, 2B, & 2 runs scored
4. Mike Napoli BOS
---2-3, HR (8), 4 RBI & 2 runs scored
5. Preston Tucker HOU
---2-2, HR (2), 3 RBI, & 2 runs scored
Top Pitching Performers
1. Kyle Gibson MIN
---(W, 4-3) 8.0 IP, 4 H, ER, & 8 K
2. Wade Miley BOS
---(W, 4-4) 8.0 IP, 4 H, ER, & 2 K
3. Trevor Bauer CLE
---(W, 4-1) 7.2 IP, 5 H, ER & 4 K
Standings
AL East GB
1. Tampa Bay 24-21 --
2. New York 22-22 1.5
3. Boston 21-23 2.5
4. Baltimore 19-22 3
5. Toronto 20-26 4.5
AL Central GB
1. Kansas City 28-15 --
2. Minnesota 25-18 3
3. Detroit 26-19 3
5. Cleveland 20-23 8
4. Chicago 19-22 8
AL West GB
1. Houston 29-16 --
2. Los Angeles 22-22 6.5
4. Texas 21-23 7.5
3. Seattle 20-23 8
5. Oakland 16-30 13.5
PW's Game to Watch
1:35 EST
29-16 Houston (6-0 Keuchel)
at 19-22 Baltimore (1-3 Chen)
One team in this matchup has exceeded expectations while the other has not so far in 2015. The Houston Astros are not the same team they have been the last few years since considering they have the second best record in baseball behind the Kansas City Royals. Houston has been spurred by a conbination of power from sources like Luis Valbuena (10), Evan Gattis (9), Colby Rasmus (8), and Chris Carter (7), and pitching from Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel has been phenominal this season as he would be my early Cy Young winner in the American League since he has pitched four games of six plus innings while giving up no earned runs. Today's opponent for Keuchel will not be the easiest though. Although, the Baltimore Orioles are off to a slow start, the hope of another playoff berth is still present as long as All-Star centerfielder Adam Jones is in town. Jones is off to another good start this season as he is hitting .317 with six home runs and twenty-five runs batted in. Tomorrow's probable starter for Baltimore, Wei-Yin Chen, may not have the most appealing stats if you look at his win-loss record, but the earned run average tells the whole story (3.13) for the lefty. In fact, Chen has given up two or fewer runs in six of his eight starts this season.
National League
Today's Scores
Baltimore 2, Miami 5 (Interleague)
Cincinnati 2, Cleveland 5 (Interleague)
Milwaukee 1, Atlanta 2
New York (NL) 1, Pittsburgh 9
Philadelphia 1, Washington 4
St. Louis 6, Kansas City 1 (Interleague)
Chicago (NL) 3, Arizona 4
San Diego 11, Los Angeles (NL) 3
San Francisco 2, Colorado 11
Game of the Day
Goldy and Hellickson Lead D-Backs
With Saturday Night being Anthony Rizzo's time to show Major League Baseball he deserves to be starting at first base in Cincinnati this July, Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt had his turn Sunday afternoon and he wasted no at bats.
In his first at bat the slugging first baseman from Wilmington, Delaware, ripped a single to right-center field scoring Ender Inciarte from second base, slithering Arizona out to a 1-0 lead. The advantage would not withstand long though as former Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star catcher Miguel Montero showed what his former team was missing out on by sending a 1-1 pitch from Jeremy Hellickson to the bleachers. The former AL Rookie of the Year Hellickson would later find his rhythm by setting down the next eight of nine batters faced.
But Jeremy Hellickson can do more than just pitch! In the bottom of the third after a leadoff triple by Nick Ahmed, Hellickson sent a flyball to center that scored Ahmed while also giving himself the lead back. Later in the half-inning, Goldy was back at it again by obliterating a Jason Hammel offering for a two run homerun to make the Diamondbacks' lead three.
The Cubs didn't go down without a fight though as Chris Coughlan with a runner on second, jacked a Hellickson's fastball to bring the deficit to one. The Coughlan two-run blast would be Hellickson's last struggle of the day as he finished the game going six and two/thirds innings while giving up only three earned runs on four hits.
After three innings of pitchers' baseball (no runs scored by either side), Arizona sent submarine pitcher Brad Ziegler to the mound to shut the Cubs down in the top of the ninth.
The first batter due up was the dangerous Kris Bryant and the Rookie swung on the first pitch he saw, a sinker, to line out for out number one. Chicago star Anthony Rizzo followed, but Sunday was a new day compared to Saturday as he grounded out finishing the day 0-3. Starlin Castro was the final hope for Chicago. After two sinkers missed by Ziegler, Arizona's closer was able to locate two sinkers to get Castro swinging. It would all come down to the next pitch. The Chase Field crowd was rocking and hungry for the victory, but Castro took the 2-2 offering to left for a single to extend the game.
Could Miguel Montero get the ultimate revenge on his former team with a game winning homerun? The first pitch was a slider taken for a ball to get Montero ahead in the count. The next delivery was a changeup fouled off by the two time All-Star catcher with the following taken looking for strike two. Ziegler's 1-2 changeup was taken for a ball in additon to his 2-2 changeup resulting in a 3-2 count on Montero. Ziegler decided to go away from his changeup and throw Montero his sinker with the game on the line. CRACK! The ball soared through the air but did not have the distance and leanded in David Peralta's glove for the twenty-seventh out of the game.
Top Hitting Performers
1. Nolan Arenado COL
---4-5, HR (8), 3B, 4 RBI, & 3 runs scored
2. Justin Upton SD
---2-4, HR (12), 6 RBI, & 2 runs scored
3. Paul Goldschmidt ARZ
---2-3, HR (12), 3 RBI, & run scored
4. Andrew McCutchen PIT
---2-3, HR (7), 2 RBI, & 2 runs scored
5. Will Venable SD
---4-5 & 3 runs scored
Top Pitching Performers
1. Francisco Liriano PIT
---(W, 2-4) 6.0 IP, 6 H, ER, & 12 K
2. Michael Wacha STL
---(W, 4-2) 7.0 IP, 5 H, & 4 K
3. Chad Bettis COL
---(W, 1-0) 8.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, & 7 K
Standings
NL East GB
1. Washington 26-18 --
2. New York 24-21 2.5
3. Atlanta 23-21 3.5
4. Philadelphia 19-27 8
5. Miami 18-27 8.5
NL Central GB
1. St. Louis 28-16 --
2. Chicago 24-19 3.5
3. Pittsburgh 21-22 6.5
4. Cincinnati 18-25 9.5
5. Milwaukee 16-29 12.5
NL West GB
1. Los Angeles 26-17 --
2. San Francisco 25-20 2
3. Arizona 21-22 5
4. San Diego 21-24 6
5. Colorado 17-25 8.5
PW's Game to Watch
2:10 EST
26-18 Washington (0-2 Roark)
at 24-19 Chicago (NL) (0-0 Wada)
Two of the hotest teams and great young hitters will assemble at Wrigley Field tomorrow for game one of a three game series. The Washington Nationals have been a completely different team since the month of May started as they have passed the New York Mets for first in the NL East while going 14-5. Who helped start the streak for the Nats? Bryce Harper! Harper has been hotter than the scorching sun in an Arizona desert by hitting eleven homeruns, collecting twenty-six runs batted in, and batting an average of .491 since May 6! In addition, the $210 million dollar man, Max Scherzer, has been great for Washington by winning his last four starts, three of which he allowed one or fewer earned runs and two of he struck out ten or more batters. Chicago's big money man Jon Lester, has also found his previous form shown in four wins and one no decision in his last five starts. Despite neither ace taking the mound tomorrow, this matchup is still a must watch. Nationals' starter Tanner Roark is a hometown kid to the Chicago area as he grew up an hour and twenty minutes away from Wrigley Field in Wilmington, Illinois. In Roark's first start on the "North Side" last season, he did not have his "A-stuff" and allowed four earned runs in six innings. Today he will look to erase his previous performance from memory against Cubs starter Tsuyoshi Wada. Wada made his season debut for 2015 last Wednesday against the San Diego Padres and he did not disappoint. Wada ended up striking out nine batters in four and two/thirds innings while only giving up two earned runs. Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Tsuyoshi Wada will look to spoil Roark's second start at Wrigley tomorrow afternoon.
International League (AAA)
Today's Games
Charlotte 7, Lehigh Valley 5
Durham 13, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 10
Gwinnett 0, Columbus 4
Rochester 3, Norfolk 1
Indianapolis 3, Syracuse 5
Buffalo 5, Toledo 8
Pawtucket 4, Louisville 5
Tomorrow's Headline
Davidson and Charlotte Down Pigs Despite Three Hit Day by d'Arnaud
Top Hitting Performers
1. Richie Shaffer DUR
---4-5, 2 HR (1, 2), 3 RBI, & 4 runs scored
2. Yorman Rodriguez LOU
---3-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, & 2 runs scored
3. Chase d'Arnaud LHV
---3-5, HR (1), 2 RBI, & run scored
4. Mason Williams SWB
---4-5, 3B, & 3 runs scored
5. Andy Burns BUF
---2-5, HR (1), 4 RBI, & 1 run scored
Top Pitching Performers
1. Jhoulys Chacin COL
---(W, 1-1) 8.0 IP, 3 H, & 3 K
2. Tommy Milone ROC
---(W, 4-0) 8.1 IP, 6 H, ER, & 8 K
3. Paolo Espino SYR
---(W, 1-0) 7.0 IP, 4 H, & 3 K
Standings
IL North GB
1. Rochester 25-19 --
2. Pawtucket 24-21 1.5
3. Buffalo 23-21 2
4. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 22-23 3.5
5. Lehigh Valley 18-27 7.5
6. Syracuse 17-26 7.5
IL South GB
1. Charlotte 24-19 --
2. Norfolk 23-21 1.5
3. Durham 24-22 1.5
4. Gwinnett 19-25 5.5
NL West GB
1. Columbus 25-19 --
2. Indianapolis 25-19 --
3. Louisville 22-22 3
4. Toledo 18-25 6.5
PW's Game to Watch
6:15 PM EST
22-23 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2-3 Long)
at 24-21 Pawtucket (2-2 Owens)
With Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's offense coming off a tremendous ten run day, it will be interesting to see if the Railriders can sustain the hot offense against MLB.com's nineteenth top prospect Henry Owens, who has pitched a total of 11.1 innings while giving up one earned run and striking out ten all together in his last two starts.
Pacific Coast League (AAA)
Today's Scores
Albuquerque 4, Round Rock 5 (F/7)
(Gm 1)
Albuquerque 0, Round Rock 3 (F/7)
(Gm 2)
El Paso 10, New Orleans 3
Tacoma 4, Iowa 7
Colorado Springs 8, Salt Lake 9
Oklahoma City 2, Las Vegas 0
Memphis 5, Sacramento 4
Nashville 3, Fresno 5
Reno 12, Omaha 3
Tomorrow's Headline
Baez Blasts Two in Iowa Victory
Top Hitting Performers
1. Cody Decker ELP
---3-5, 2 HR (9, 10), 6 RBI, & 3 runs scored
2. Javier Baez IOWA
---2-4, 2 HR (4,5), 2 RBI, & 2 runs scored
3. Rymer Liriano ELP
---4-5, HR (5), 2 RBI, & 3 runs scored
4. Peter O'Brien RENO
---3-4, HR (11), 3 RBI, & 2 runs scored
5. Shane Peterson CSP
---3-5, HR (5), 3 RBI, & 2 runs scored
Top Pitching Performers
1. Zach Lee OKC
---(W, 5-3) 7.0 IP, 4 H, & 3 K
2. James Needy ELP
---(W, 4-2) 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, & 8 K
3. Dan Straily FRES
---(W, 3-3) 7.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, & 6 K
Standings
PCL American Northern GB
1. Oklahoma City 29-13 --
2. Iowa 22-20 7
3. Omaha 21-23 8
4. Colorado Springs 16-26 13
PCL American Southern GB
1. Round Rock 27-15 --
2. New Orleans 20-21 6.5
3. Memphis 21-23 7
4. Nashville 16-27 11.5
PCL Pacific Northern GB
1. Fresno 25-18 --
2. Sacramento 21-23 4.5
3. Reno 19-24 6
4. Tacoma 18-26 7.5
PCL Pacific Southern GB
1. Las Vegas 27-17 --
2. El Paso 23-20 3.5
3. Salt Lake 21-22 5.5
4. Albuquerque 18-26 9
PW's Game of the Day
1:05 EST
19-24 Reno (1-0 Arias)
at 22-20 Iowa (2-1 Jokisch)
This will be the last series of 2015 with two of the best power hitters in the Pacific Coast League on the same field barring both's selection to the Triple-A All-Star Game or the two playing against each other in the Big Leagues. The two prospects I am reffering to are Reno's Peter O'Brien and Iowa's Javier Baez. Today, both the catcher and the second baseman were top performancers as O'Brien had three hits, a homerun, and three runs batted in while Baez bombed two solo shots. Will they continue their impressive hitting tomorrow on Memorial Day?
Eastern League (AA)
Today's Games:
Reading 3, Portland 2
Bowie 2, Richmond 5
Trenton 4, Erie 0
New Britain 1, Harrisburg 2 (F/10)
Akron 4, Binghamton 2
Altoona 11, New Hampshire 3
Tomorrow's Headline
Josh Answers the Bell with 4 RBIs
Top Hitting Performers
1. Josh Bell ALT
---4-5, 4 RBI, & 2 runs scored
2. Eric Jagielo TRN
---2-5, HR, 3 RBI, & 1 run scored
3. Keon Broxton ALT
---3-4, RBI, & 2 runs scored
4. Marco Hernandez PORT
---3-4, 2B, & RBI
5. Jantzen Witte PORT
---2-3, 2 2B, RBI, & run scored
Top Pitching Performers
1. Caleb Smith TRN
---(W) 5.0 IP, H, & 3 K
2. Devin Burke NBR
---(ND) 7.0 IP, 3 H, ER, & 4 K
3. Angel Sanchez ALT
---(W, 4-1) 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, & 4 K
Standings
EL Eastern GB
1. New Britain 28-14 --
2. Binghamton 24-19 4.5
3. Reading 23-19 5
4. New Hampshire 22-21 6.5
5. Trenton 22-21 6.5
6. Portland 18-26 11
EL Western GB
1. Altoona 24-17 --
2. Bowie 22-21 3
3. Harrisburg 19-23 5.5
4. Akron 19-24 6
5. Richmond 17-23 6.5
6. Erie 16-26 8.5
Southern League (AA)
Today's Scores
Chattanooga 7, Mobile 6
Birmingham 6, Biloxi 4
Jackson 6, Pensacola 5
Tennessee 0, Montgomery 4
Mississippi 0, Jacksonville 2
Tomorrow's Headline
Three-Headed Monster of Buxton, Polanco, and Sano Too Much for Mobile
Top Hitting Performers
1. Brandon Macias BLX
---2-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, & 1 run scored
2. Daniel Paolini JKN
---3-4, 3B, 2 RBI, & run scored
3. Jorge Polanco CHAT
---2-5, RBI, & 2 runs scored
4. Marcus Lemon BIR
---3-3 & RBI
5. Seth Mejias-Brean PEN
---3-5, RBI, & SB
Top Pitching Performers
1. Jared Mortensen MTG
---(W, 3-3) 7.0 IP, 5 H, & 9 K
2. Trevor Williams JAX
---(W, 1-6) 6.1 IP, 5 H, & 3 K
3. Greg Ross MISS
---(L, 2-4) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, & 2 K
Standings
SL North GB
1. Chattanooga 28-16 --
2. Tennessee 23-21 5
3. Birmingham 21-23 7
4. Montgomery 20-24 8
5. Jackson 19-23 8
SL South GB
1. Biloxi 26-18 --
2. Mississippi 24-19 1.5
3. Mobile 22-22 4
4. Pensacola 19-25 7
5. Jacksonville 16-27 9.5
Texas League (AA)
Today's Scores:
Frisco 2, San Antonio 0
Midland 6, Corpus Christi 2
Tulsa at Northwest Arkansas (PPD)
Arkansas at Springfield (PPD)
Game of the Day
Midland Keeps Chances of Series Sweep Alive Against Division Leader Corpus Christi
Top Hitting Performers
1. Josh Whitaker MID
---2-4, HR (2), 2 RBI, & run scored
2. Joey Gallo FRI
---2-4, 2B, RBI, & run scored
3. Drew Robinson FRI
---2-4, 2B, & RBI
4. Chad Oberacker MID
---2-3, RBI, & run scored
5. Chad Pinder MID
---2-5 & RBI.
Top Pitching Performers
1. Frank Lopez FRI
---(W, 1-0) 6.1 IP, 2 H, & 5 K
2. Chris Smith SA
---(ND) 6.0 IP, H, & 7 K
3. Tim Atherton MID
---(W, 2-2) 5.2 IP, 4 H, ER, & 8 K
Standings
TL North GB
1. Northwest Arkansas 29-13 --
2. Arkansas 22-19 6.5
3. Tulsa 19-22 9.5
4. Springfield 14-28 15
TL South GB
1. Corpus Christi 28-14 --
2. Midland 22-21 6.5
3. San Antonio 17-24 10.5
4. Frisco 16-26 12
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