Happy Sunday, which is technically the start of a calendar week, but for baseball purposes concludes the week. The biggest matchup was the mighty Astros trying to snap their losing streak against the mighty Yankees, who carried in an eight-game winning streak. Also of note: Could the Cubs and Brewers salvage splits at home against what should have been inferior competition? Would the Phillies really be swept by home by the Marlins, running their losing streak to seven? If so, could the Braves take advantage and increase their ever-growing lead in the NL East?
We'll hit on those things and more in the daily roundup.
Let's dig in.
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Baseball scores for Sunday, June 23
- Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 1 (box score)
- Marlins 6, Phillies 4 (box score)
- Indians 8, Tigers 3 (box score)
- Braves 4, Nationals 3 in 10 (box score)
- Pirates 11, Padres 10 in 11 (box score)
- Astros 9, Yankees 4 (box score)
- Brewers 7, Reds 5 (box score)
- Royals 6, Twins 1 (box score)
- Cubs 5, Mets 3 (box score)
- Rangers 7, White Sox 4 (box score)
- Rays 8, Athletics 2 (box score)
- Dodgers 6, Rockies 3 (box score)
- Mariners 13, Orioles 3 (box score)
- Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2 in 10 (box score)
- Angels 6, Cardinals 4 (box score)
Phillies continue plummet
What a brutal week for the Phillies. After losing three games against the Nationals, it appeared Philadelphia would have an easy rebound at home against the Marlins. So much for that.
The Marlins topped the Phillies on both Friday and Saturday heading into Sunday's series finale. They completed the sweep behind rookie starter Jordan Yamamoto, who held the Phils to two runs over five innings of work. The Marlins even hit back-to-back home runs as part of the victory:
The Phillies' loss is their seventh in a row, dating back to last Sunday in Atlanta. They're now just a game above .500, with more divisional games coming. The Phillies will not play a team outside of their own division again until July 15. For their sake -- and for Gabe Kapler's -- they better start performing better against the rest of the East.
Dodgers complete rookie walk-off trifecta
For the third straight game, the Dodgers got a walk-off home run from a rookie to beat the Rockies. Full story here.
Tomlin comes up big for Braves in win
Give the Nationals credit: they played six games against the top teams in the NL East this week and won four of them, avoiding what likely would've been the coup de grace to their disappointing year.
Give the Braves credit, too. They found a way to win on Saturday and Sunday, with the latter entailing a 10-inning game that saw starter Mike Soroka leave after two innings following a hit-by-pitch. Josh Tomlin then checked in and saved Atlanta's bacon, tossing four shutout innings and permitting just one hit.
The Braves bullpen as a whole combined for eight innings, nine hits, three runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. That'll play.
Atlanta's lineup, by the way, did all its scoring via home run. Josh Donaldson and Ronald Acuna provided solo shots, while Johan Camargo hit a two-run dinger in the 10th to put the Braves up for good.
Combined with the Phillies loss, the Braves now have a 6 1/2 game lead in the division.
Astros avoid sweep against Yankees
If you believe the predictive power of momentum, then you had to believe the Yankees were going to crush the Astros on Sunday. The Yankees entered with the majors' longest winning streak; the Astros with the longest losing streak. But that's not what happened.
Rather, the Astros won on Old Timers Day to avoid a sweep, launching four home runs as part of an offensive barrage. Jose Altuve, Tyler White, Yuli Gurriel, and Yordan Alvarez -- of course, because nary a day goes by without him homering -- supplied the fireworks. The Astros were particularly cruel to J.A. Happ, torching him for eight runs on 11 hits.
Meanwhile, Justin Verlander fanned nine in seven innings, limiting the Yankees to three runs on four hits.
Stat of the day: Alonso shatters Mets rookie record
It's only June 23, yet Pete Alonso broke the Mets rookie home-run record on Sunday, launching his 27 dinger of the season in New York's 78th game. Here's the blast, which came off of Cubs lefty Cole Hamels:
We wrote about this in greater detail elsewhere, but the record had previously belonged to Darryl Strawberry. It appears that Alonso has a real chance at setting the new single-season franchise record for a rookie or a veteran, which is 41. That mark is shared by Carlos Beltran (2006) and Todd Hundley (1996).
Baez bails out Cubs
The Cubs came home this past week after a rough (2-5) trip out West. With six games against the White Sox and Mets -- especially given how good the Cubs have been at home this season -- it looked like a good opportunity to get fat. Instead, the Cubs were humiliated by the Mets on Saturday and were facing the possibility of a 2-4 week Sunday, trailing 3-2 entering the eighth inning. You know what is a good plan? Get two guys on for Javier Baez:
That's 19 homers and 51 RBI on the year for Baez, who figures to start the All-Star Game for the second straight year. The blast was the 100th of his career and here's an interesting nugget on Baez along with teammates Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant:
On the Mets' end, closer Edwin Diaz hasn't seen much action, so watching Baez launch one with Diaz still in the bullpen was puzzling for some. Manager Mickey Callaway says he won't use Diaz for five outs, though.
On the whole, getting a split in Wrigley is a success for the Mets, but they were so close to taking three of four and this one has to sting.
Highlight of the day: Tatis scores on infield fly
How good is Fernando Tatis Jr.? The Padres rookie shortstop entered Sunday with an OPS+ over 150. He then went and scored on a "sacrifice fly" that barely left the infield:
If you aren't watching Tatis Jr. closely, you better change that. Otherwise, you're missing out on one of the game's most exciting young players.
Pirates crush Padres' spirits twice
In that same game, the Padres had a three-run lead in both the ninth and 11th innings and still lost. In the ninth, it was unlikely suspects that buried the Padres. Manny Machado made an error to start the inning and then stud closer Kirby Yates got knocked around. The Padres then struck for three in the 11th, but a Jake Stallings two-RBI single tied the game before a Jose Osuna single and Elias Diaz walk loaded the bases. Adam Frazier popped out to give the Padres hope of extending the game, but then Kevin Newman drew the walk-off walk.
The Pirates had started June 2-10, but this sweep means they've now won six of their last eight games. They are tied for last with the Reds, but are only 5 1/2 games out in the NL Central.
Quick hits
- The Athletics placed closer Blake Treinen on the injured list, opening the ninth inning for their best reliever.
- The Nationals released reliever Trevor Rosenthal after another meltdown.
- The Braves optioned starter Mike Foltynewicz, less than a year after he made the All-Star Game.
- Mariano Rivera hit an inside-the-park home-run as part of the Yankees' Old Timers Day.
- Cleveland promoted Bobby Bradley, who led the minors in home runs.
- The Twins signed reliever Cody Allen to a minor-league deal.
- Commissioner Rob Manfred conceded that the baseball is different this year.
- The Mets raised eyebrows with their explanations for Amed Rosario prepping to play the outfield.
- The 2019 College World Series finals will begin on Monday. Here's all the information you could want about that.