Thanks to a doubleheader in the nation's capital, there was an extra full 16-game slate of MLB action Saturday. Here is everything you need to know about the day in baseball.
Saturday's scores
- Reds 7, Nationals 1, Game 1 (box score)
- Cubs 5, Padres 4 (box score)
- Red Sox 4, Yankees 1 (box score)
- White Sox 2, Rays 1 (box score)
- Nationals 6, Reds 2, Game 2 (box score)
- Cardinals 8, Pirates 4 (box score)
- Phillies 8, Marlins 3 (box score)
- Indians 3, Angels 0 (box score)
- Brewers 8, Rockies 4 (box score)
- Twins 8, Royals 2 (box score)
- Mets 3, Braves 0 (box score)
- Rangers 3, Orioles 1 (box score)
- Diamondbacks 9, Giants 3 (box score)
- Athletics 2, Tigers 1 (box score)
- Astros 14, Dodgers 0 (box score)
- Blue Jays 5, Mariners 1 (box score)
Red Sox ride Eovaldi, beat Yankees again
What once looked like it would be a down-to-the-wire AL East race is starting to become a laugher.
On July 1, the Yankees beat the Red Sox, taking two of three in the series to tie things up in the AL East. Since then, the Yankees have gone 14-14 while the Red Sox have gone an MLB-best 22-5 to open up an 8 1/2-game lead. That all happened in just over a month. Amazing.
On Saturday, the Yankees barely even showed a pulse until the ninth inning. July acquisition Nate Eovaldi was the Red Sox starter, and he dazzled in eight scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits and a walk. In two starts for the Red Sox, Eovaldi has given up seven hits, zero runs and one walk in 15 innings.
Offensively, the Red Sox got a homer from J.D. Martinez, the MLB home run and RBI leader:
That's 33 homers and 91 RBI.
The Red Sox are now 78-34, which is .696 ball (a 112-win pace).
Kluber throws a 'Maddux'
For those unfamiliar, a "Maddux" (invention of Jason Lukehart) is a shutout so economical that it happens in fewer than 100 pitches. Indians stud Corey Kluber only needed 98 pitches to complete his three-hit gem on Saturday. He struck out seven and walked only one. He was threatened just once, when he stranded Angels on first and third in the third inning. No one even got past first base after the fourth, though, as Kluber was utterly dominant.
Davis homers again, A's win again
Khris Davis hit a home run and the A's won. If that sounds familiar, it just means you've been paying attention.
That was Davis' 30th homer of the season and ninth in his last 15 games.
The A's are 32-10 since June 15.
Mercy.
Astros steamroll Dodgers
The last three games between the Astros and Dodgers in Dodger Stadium:
- Astros win Game 7 of the World Series, 5-1, in a game that was never really in doubt.
- Justin Verlander strikes out 14 en route to Astros win on Friday night.
- And then we get to Saturday night, when the Astros won, 14-0.
The Dodgers are in a bit of a funk, having now lost five of their last seven and seven of their last 12. It's all been against good teams (Phillies, Braves, Brewers, Astros), though, so maybe it's just a good team playing out a tough stretch.
Rizzo stays hot for Cubs
Back on July 13, Cubs manager Joe Maddon decided to move struggling Anthony Rizzo into the leadoff spot. In the next 19 games through Friday, Rizzo hit .375/.471/.639. There was also a power funk that bled into his hot streak. From June 25 through July 25, Rizzo -- who has hit at least 30 homers in four straight seasons -- didn't hit a single home run. He was stuck on 12. Rizzo hit a walk-off homer on July 26, and now he's got his power stroke back.
He went yard on Saturday as part of a five-run second inning:
That was Rizzo's fifth home run in the past nine games. All of a sudden he's up to 17. Maybe another 30-homer season is in the cards after all.
Interestingly, this one ended up being a nail-biter. The Padres managed to score four runs by the end of the sixth inning while the Cubs didn't score again. Cubs relievers Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler and Pedro Strop, however, combined for 3 1/3 perfect innings, striking out five.
The Cubs' lead in the NL Central would remain at one, though, because ...
Brewers go nuts in first
The Rockies-Brewers matchup features two contenders and figures to be fun. Friday night had a walk-off homer, after all. The way it started, it looked like it wouldn't provide a ton of drama after the first. The Brewers would score six runs in the first inning before even making their second out. The big blow was a Travis Shaw grand slam.
The Rockies did make it interesting when cutting an 8-2 deficit to 8-4 in the ninth when Trevor Story hit his second two-run homer of the game. The rally would continue -- no, home runs aren't rally killers -- and the Rockies loaded the bases for Charlie Blackmon. Brewers manager Craig Counsell summoned lefty Josh Hader, who induced a pop out to the second baseman in shallow right field.
The Brewers have now won nine of their last 13 games after a midseason funk. They remain atop the NL wild-card standings and keep pushing the Cubs for the best record in the NL.
Wheeler, Mets ruin Gausman's Braves debut
The Braves added starting pitcher Kevin Gausman just in front of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline and he made his Braves debut Saturday evening against the Mets. It was spoiled.
Gausman wasn't bad, but wasn't great, either. He gave up three runs on six hits in five innings. Of course, he didn't get any support from his new teammates, as they were shut out.
Zack Wheeler -- who many thought might be traded but wasn't -- was brilliant, holding the Braves to just three hits over the course of seven scoreless innings.
Also, let's give a shout out to Mets rookie Jeff McNeil. He entered the game with just 28 career plate appearances and was hitting .190/.370/.333. He went 4-for-4 with a double, meaning his line is now .320/.452/.480. Love those small samples!
Phillies keep taking care of business
A first-place team with a really shallow lead in the division faces a bad team? Yeah, you gotta take care of business. The Phillies are doing so with the Marlins, as they've now won the first three games of a four-game series.
Saturday, the formula was power and efficiency. Starting pitcher Zach Eflin was able to go eight innings and only needed 85 pitches in order to do so. He gave up three runs on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Strong outing.
Offensively, it was a homer parade. The Phillies would club five, starting with a Nick Williams three-run blast getting things started in the first.
The Phillies have equaled their season high by moving to 14 games over .500. Their lead in the NL East moves to 1 1/2 games.
Nationals split doubleheader
The Nationals headed into Saturday looking at a doubleheader and having won six of their last eight games. A sweep would've been nice, but they ended up with a split. Still, they've won two of three from the Reds so far and will look to make that three of four on Sunday. Then they'll get the Braves head-to-head for a four-game series starting Monday. That's when they could really start chipping away at a possible playoff spot. Of course, things could go south, too, as they have several times this season.
Carpenter the doubles and homers machine
Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter has been unbelievable since the middle of May. Probably the best hitter in the NL, if not all of baseball, since then. Saturday, he had yet another game with a double and home run. He's now leading the NL in doubles (33) and tied for the lead with Nolan Arenado in homers (28). On the season, he's hitting .283/.396/.591, despite sitting at .140/.286/.272 on May 15.
Quick hits
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia is likely to step down at the end of the season, per a report. Full story here.
- Cubs RHP Yu Darvish threw a 55-pitch bullpen session Saturday and everything went well, reports 670 The Score. Darvish has been out since May 20 with a biceps/elbow issue and could return before the end of the month.
- The Rays activated LHP Blake Snell off the 10-day DL, the team announced. He missed a little more than three weeks with a shoulder issue. IF Daniel Robertson was placed on the 10-day DL with a thumb sprain.
- Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood has an adductor injury and has been placed on the disabled list. Reliever Zac Rosscup has been activated as a corresponding move.
- The Red Sox placed the recently acquired 2B Ian Kinsler on the 10-day DL with a hamstring issue, the club announced. He isn't expected to be sidelined long. OF Tony Renda was called up in a corresponding move.
- The Padres placed OF Wil Myers on the 10-day DL with a foot contusion, the team announced. He fouled a pitch into his foot earlier this week. OF Franmil Reyes was called up in a corresponding move.