BOSTON RED SOX (77-59) 1
NEW YORK YANKEES (72-63) 5
NEW YORK, NY- The Yankees got help from a much needed reinforcement with the return of Matt Holliday, who last played on August 2nd. The seven-time all-star launched a go-ahead three run homer off of Drew Pomeranz in the sixth inning, a lead the Yankees would not relinquish. Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven innings of one-run ball, striking out three and picking up the win. With the victory, the Yankees move to within 4.5 games back of the Red Sox for the AL East Division lead.
NEW YORK METS (58-76) 8
HOUSTON ASTROS (81-53) 12
(Game One)
HOUSTON, TX- In the Astros first game in Houston since Hurricane Harvey, they ironically were matched up against Matt Harvey in his first game back in over two months. George Springer, Josh Reddick and Marwin each knocked in two runs, while Jose Altuve increased his AL leading batting average to .358 with three hits. A Wilmer Flores seventh inning grand slam cut the Astros lead to three, but Luke Gregerson and Tyler Clippard protected the lead in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
NEW YORK METS (59-76) 1
HOUSTON ASTROS (82-53) 4
(Game Two)
HOUSTON, TX- Having lost Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto to injury and traded Neil Walker, Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce, the Mets lineup at this point in the season looks more like the opening day lineup of their AAA affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s. Their youth showed, scoring only one run while striking out seven times as a team. Josh Reddick went 2-3 with a double and an RBI, while George Springer also added three hits for the Astros. Brad Peacock picked up the win, going five and a third with one run allowed and four strikeouts. Ken Giles picked up his 28th save of the season. With the sweep of the doubleheader, the Astros increased their lead in the hunt for home field advantage to three games over the Indians.
ATLANTA BRAVES (59-75) 12
CHICAGO CUBS (75-60) 14
CHICAGO, IL- Looking just at the score, you might think this was a college football game that ended with a failed two point conversion. Rest assured though, this was a baseball game. Jon Lester put in another po0r outing, lasting only five innings while giving up four runs and allowing nine baserunners. The Cubs bullpen didn’t fare much better, but their red hot offense was too much for the Braves. Rookie Lucas Sims was pulled after giving up seven runs in three innings. Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Jason Heyward and Rene Rivera shouldered the offensive load, driving in three, two, two and four runs, respectively.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (92-42) 5
SAN DIEGO PADRES (60-75) 6
(Game One)
SAN DIEGO, CA- The Padres took a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning, but that lead was erased when Justin Turner took Brad Hand deep for a game-tying two-run homer. Pedro Baez came in for the Dodgers to try and take the game to extras, but Yangervis Solarte had other plans, launching a 97 MPH fastball over the right field fence for a walk-off home run.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (92-43) 2
SAN DIEGO PADRES (61-75) 7
(Game Two)
SAN DIEGO, CA- Yu Darvish got chased early, leaving after only three innings, having given up five runs. Matt Szczur delivered the final blow, a two run double plating scoring Cory Spangenberg and Hector Sanchez. Jordan Lyles, a usual bullpen arm, made the start and lasted four and a third, giving up two runs. The Padres bullpen threw a scoreless remaining four and two-thirds. Carlos Asuaje also homered for the Padres.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (68-67) 1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (54-84) 2
SAN FRANCISCO, CA- An old-fashioned pitching duel broke out in the Bay Area between Lance Lynn and Jeff Samardzjia. Going into the ninth inning, the Cardinals nursed a 1-0 lead, relying only on a fourth inning Dexter Fowler RBI single. Buster Posey tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, singling in Hunter Pence. In the 10th, Nick Hundley took Ryan Sherriff opposite field and over the wall for a walk-off solo home run. Lance Lynn threw eight shutout innings with four punch outs while Samardzjia threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out nine.
CLEVELAND INDIANS (79-56) 5
DETROIT TIGERS (58-77) 2
DETROIT, MI- Corey Kluber made another case for the AL Cy Young Award, allowing only one run over seven innings, striking out seven. Abraham Almonte went 2-3 with three RBI while Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion each had two hits and an RBI. The Indians maintained a comfortable eight game lead in the AL Central. Alex Presley went 4-4 for the Tigers and Mikie Mahtook scored both of the Tigers’ runs.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (63-73) 7
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (69-67) 2
BALTIMORE, MD- The Blue Jays lost Marcus Stroman to injury after only an inning and two-thirds, but the bullpen carried them the rest of the way, allowing only two runs over the remaining seven and a third. Josh Donaldson went 3-5, with his 24th home run of the season, a three run shot in the seventh inning off Richard Rodriguez. With the Twins winning, the Jays dropped to two games back of the second Wild Card spot.
CINCINNATI REDS (58-78) 0
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (64-72) 5
PITTSBURGH, PA- Behind six innings of shutout ball from Jameson Taillon, the Pirates shut out the Reds on Saturday night before a crowd of 23,529. Jordan Luplow, the team’s third round pick in 2014, hit his first career home run, a three run shot to left-center that plated David Freese and Elias Diaz. Billy Hamilton stole two bases for the Reds, increasing his Major League lead to 58.
TAMPA BAY RAYS (68-69) 4
CHICAGO WHITE SOX (53-81) 5
CHICAGO, IL- Chris Archer gave up solo shots to the first two batters he faced and was subsequently pulled without recording an out due to forearm tightness. A mid-inning rain delay forced the White Sox to remove Carlos Rodon, but the White Sox bullpen never gave back the lead. The White Sox homered four times, from Alen Hanson and Yolmer Sanchez off of Archer and later from Avisail Garcia and Omar Narvaez. Logan Morrison homered for the Rays to increase his season total to 35.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (82-53) 3
MILWAUKEE BREWERS (71-65) 2
MILWAUKEE, WI- Max Scherzer took a Travis Shaw liner to the leg in the first inning and was ultimately pulled in the sixth inning after having to limp to first base in his second at bat. Down 2-1 heading into the 8th, Michael Taylor tied the game with a solo shot and Trea Turner then doubled in Wilmer Difo to take a 3-2 lead. The Nationals deadline bullpen acquisitions of Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler and Sean Doolittle each threw a shutout inning in relief in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS (66-68) 0
MINNESOTA TWINS (71-64) 17
MINNEAPOLIS, MN- The University of Minnesota put up 17 points in their opening college football game this week, but the Twins were confident not to let the Gophers outshine them. They matched those 17 points with 17 runs of their own, led by Eduardo Escobar, who homered twice and tripled, while knocking in six runs. Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco had two RBI’s a piece and Brian Dozier added another three. Kyle Gibson threw six shutout innings with five strikeouts, helping the Twins maintain their game and a half lead over the Angels for the second AL Wild Card spot.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (51-84) 9
MIAMI MARLINS (67-68) 10
MIAMI, FL- The Marlins outfield led the way on Saturday, jumping on Aaron Nola in the first inning when both Giancarlo Stanton (league leading #52) and Marcell Ozuna homered to give the fish an early 3-0 lead. Red hot Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins cut that lead to one with a 4th inning two run shot, but the Marlins matched that in the bottom half to get the lead back to three. The Marlins ultimately took a 10-4 lead into the 8th inning when the Phillies put together a five run rally led by Nick Williams bases loaded, three run double, to cut the lead to one. Drew Steckenrider came in to shut down the rally and threw a scoreless 9th to earn the first save of his career.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS (70-66) 7
TEXAS RANGERS (67-68) 4
ARLINGTON, TX- Albert Pujols stayed hot, adding two RBI singles to increase his season total to 89 and make him 8-13 in his last three games. CJ Cron extended the game to extra with a game tying two-run homer off of Ricky Rodriguez, and then added another run on a sacrifice fly in the 10th after Kole Calhoun had already singled in two. Blake Parker closed out the game for the Angels, picking up his fifth save of the season. Carlos Gomez went 2-4 for the Rangers with a double and a home run. The Angels remained a game and half behind the Twins for the second wild card spot, but help has arrived with last minute acquisitions of Justin Upton and Brandon Phillips.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (78-58) 6
COLORADO ROCKIES (72-63) 2
DENVER, CO- Patrick Corbin stayed hot, tossing five and a third innings of two-run (one earned) ball in hitter friendly Coors Field with four strikeouts. JD Martinez knocked in four of Arizona’s six runs on a first inning three-run homer and ninth inning RBI single. The win increased the Diamondbacks lead for the first Wild Card spot to five and a half games while the Rockies remained a game and a half up on the Brewers for the second Wild Card spot.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS (58-77) 6
SEATTLE MARINERS (68-68) 7
SEATTLE, WA- The A’s took an early 2-0 lead on solo shots from Bruce Maxwell and Khris Davis, but Robinson Cano evened the score with a two-run homer in the third. Matt Joyce helped the A’s regained the lead with a three-run homer in the fourth, followed by another run on a Ryon Healy sacrifice fly. Down 6-2, the Mariners cut the lead to two with back-to-back homers from Jean Segura and Yonder Alonso in the fifth. A sixth inning double from Segura cut the lead to one, and Mike Zunino tied it in the eighth with a solo home run. Edwin Diaz threw a scoreless ninth for the Mariners, bringing up the heart of the Mariners’ order in the bottom half. Segura reached based on an error and then moved to third on an Alonso single. After intentionally walking Cano to load the bases, Blake Treinen struck out Nelson Cruz and got Kyle Seager to fly out to shallow left. With Mitch Haniger batting, Treinen threw a wild pitch past Maxwell, allowing Segura to score the winning run.
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