Thanks to a doubleheader on Chicago's south side, there was an extra-full 16-game slate of big league action Friday. Here is everything you need to know about Friday's MLB action.

Friday's scores

Red Sox survive Fenway slugfest

Just six days ago, the Red Sox and Mariners squared off in Seattle's Safeco Field with Wade LeBlanc and Steven Wright combining for 14 2/3 innings, seven hits allowed and just one earned run allowed. It was an outstanding pitchers' duel that ended 1-0. Friday night in Fenway, the two pitchers took the hill again and, holy combined meltdown. This time around, LeBlanc got crushed, giving up 6 earned runs on 11 hits in just 4 2/3 innings. He was, however, the better starter in this one. Wright was roughed up for 10 earned runs on 10 hits in just 3 1/3 innings. 

Nelson Cruz was particularly tough on the Red Sox, collecting four hits, including two home runs, and driving home seven. 

The Red Sox would trail at one point, 10-5. They would, however, come all the way back to score nine unanswered runs. 

J.D. Martinez continues to be ridiculous. He was 4-for-5 with two doubles, his 23rd home run, three runs and five RBI. 

What a wild and amazing game. 

The teams combined for 24 runs, 34 hits, six doubles, one triple and four home runs. 

On the down side, the Mariners have lost five in a row. I guess the consolation is that all five came against the Yankees and Red Sox. 

The Jesus Aguilar Game

The Cardinals-Brewers bout in Milwaukee looked special for a bit and turned out special, but for a different reason altogether. 

Through six innings, Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty had a no-hitter going with 11 strikeouts. His high pitch count meant he'd likely have no shot to finish the thing, but still, it was an incredible effort. 

And everything was turned on its head by one man: Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar. Aguilar broke up the no-no with a nearly one-handed home run in the seventh. 

Since the Cardinals struggling offense had only mustered one run to that point, the game was tied. The game would head to the ninth still tied and in Aguilar's next at-bat, yep, he hit a walk-off bomb. 

Aguilar is now hitting .305/.366/.609 with 16 homers and 49 RBI. The Brewers are an NL-best 45-30 and have regained a two-game lead in the NL Central. 

Over in the other dugout, things aren't quite as rosy. The Cardinals recently emerged from a stretch against the three last-place teams in the NL just 4-5. Then they lost two of three to both the Cubs and Phillies and have now dropped two straight to the Brewers. They have lost eight of 10 and sit just two games above .500. 

Phillies back on track, blow Nats away

The Phillies went through a funk to start June, starting just 1-7. Since then, though, they've gotten things going, taking series from the Rockies, Brewers and Cardinals. Friday night, they had a shot against a divisional rival in the two-time defending NL East champion Nationals. 

The Phillies left no doubt, putting forth a thorough beatdown from start to finish. It was relentless. Here are the Phillies' runs per inning: 

2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 2, 0, 3, 1

Everyone 1-7 in the lineup had at least one hit, with Cesar Hernandez, Carlos Santana, Nick Williams and Andrew Knapp collecting multiple hits each. Odubel Herrera was the star, going 4-for-5 with a home run, four runs and two RBI. 

Bellinger's monster slam leads Dodgers

The Dodgers were in a mini-funk heading into Friday, having lost three of their last four. The game Friday was all zeroes through five innings with Mets starter Zach Wheeler and Dodge southpaw Alex Wood throwing well. Cody Bellinger would break the tie with authority with this monster shot in the sixth inning: 

That's a grand slam, people. That's all the Dodgers would need, though Yasiel Puig did add a solo shot in the ninth before Kenley Jansen shut the door. 

Duel goes 13 in Pittsburgh

Fans of starting pitching would have been in heaven in PNC Park Friday evening. Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin and Pirates starter Ivan Nova put on an absolute show. Corbin went seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits while striking out 12 and walking none. Nova went eight scoreless, also only giving up three hits and no walks. He struck out eight. 

Both teams would put up zeroes until the D-Backs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 11th. The Pirates would tie it on an error, though, so things went to the 13th. Ketel Marte would come through with the clutch knock to help bring home a Snakes' victory: 

Don't forget about Corbin, though. This is one of the many ways a starter's W-L record doesn't actually tell the story. 

Indians dismantle Tigers, push AL Central lead to 6

For most of the season, many of us have been waiting for the Indians to just start running away with the hapless AL Central. It might be happening now. Let's sum up Friday night's humiliation of the Tigers with this Yonder Alonso shot: 

The win pushes the Indians to a season-best eight games over .500 and a season-best six-game lead in the AL Central. They've won five straight and it's headed where we all thought it was headed. 

Reds stay hot, beat Cubs again

The Cubs got to Cincinnati having just taken two of three from both the Cardinals and Dodgers. In judging by the standings, they should have been ready to crush the Reds -- only the Reds aren't pushovers right now. In fact, can I pick an arbitrary endpoint? Sure, why not? Since May 7, the Reds are 22-18. They came into Friday having won seven of their last nine. 

Make it eight of 10. The Reds were trailing 3-1 after a two-run, fourth-inning homer from Kyle Schwarber. In the bottom of the fifth, however, the Reds got three of their own to take the lead for good. The decisive blow was this two-run shot from Eugenio Suarez. 

Suarez was 3-for-4 in the game and is now hitting .304/.390/.585 with 16 homers and an NL-best 57 RBI. Think we might be seeing him in D.C. in July? 

Rosell saves Royals' day

The Royals were able to scratch across a run in the ninth and grab a 1-0 win against the defending champs. Astros' third baseman Alex Bregman had actually nearly put the Astros up by one an inning earlier, but Royals right fielder Rosell Herrera had other ideas. 

Beauty! 

Orioles, Braves put together some serious madness

Just looking at the score of the Orioles' win over the Braves doesn't do this thing justice. Consider: 

  • Through six innings, it was 1-0 Orioles thanks to a Chris Davis homer. Davis was returning from a "mental break" and had been one of the worst players in the bigs this year. 
  • The Braves looked like they were going to sneak by after getting a go-ahead, Charlie Culberson, two-RBI double in the eighth. 
  • The Orioles would score SIX runs in the top of the ninth. 
  • The Braves would counter with four to tie the game and left the winning run on third. 
  • The extra innings were mostly futile. 

So we had a game with 17 runs in 15 innings, but 12 of those 17 runs were consolidated to the 8th and 9th innings with 10 coming in the ninth. What an amazing coincidence to have the Braves score exactly the runs needed to send to extras in the ninth, too. 

The big blow was, unsurprisingly, Manny Machado: 

Quick hits

  • The 2018 Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, July 16, and here are the eight players we hope to see in the event. We went heavy on emerging young stars.
  • The Dodgers will activate LHP Clayton Kershaw from the disabled list in order to take the start Saturday against the Mets. He was set for one more minor-league rehab start, but the Dodgers have changed course. 
  • An MRI showed Cardinals RHP Michael Wacha has a "moderate" oblique strain, reports MLB.com. He could miss a month. Wacha exited Wednesday's game with the injury and was placed on the disabled list Thursday.
  • The White Sox have activated OF Avisail Garcia (hamstring) and UTIL Leury Garcia (knee) off the disabled list, the club announced. Avisail missed two months and Leury was out three weeks. IF Jose Rondon went sent to Triple-A and OF Trayce Thompson was designated for assignment in corresponding moves.
  • The Braves placed RHP Mike Soroka on the disabled list for the second time this season. He has right shoulder inflammation. 
  • Angels LHP Tyler Skaggs will start Monday, reports the Orange County Register. Skaggs was scratched from Thursday night's start as a precaution after he felt tightness in his hamstring warming up. 
  • The Mets released RHP Vance Worley, reports the Las Vegas Review Journal. The righty journeyman allowed 25 runs in four starts and 16 2/3 innings with New York's Triple-A affiliate.
  • The Mariners have activated RHP Nick Vincent off the disabled list, the team announced. He was out close to a month with a groin injury. RHP Ryan Cook was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
  • The A's activated OF Matt Joyce off the disabled list, the team announced. He missed a little more than two weeks with a back problem. OF Jake Smolinski was sent to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
  • The Rangers have activated RHP Chris Martin off the disabled list, the club announced. He missed the minimum 10 days with a calf injury. Martin, who played in Japan last year, has a 3.92 ERA in 20 2/3 innings this year.

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