It's Sunday during the MLB regular season, which means 14 13 day games and one nationally televised night game. Let's get right to it ...

Sunday's scores

The Phillies are surging

As you see above, the Phillies edged the Pirates in extras on Sunday and in doing so completed a four-game sweep of their in-state rivals (their first four-game sweep of the Pirates since 1994). The Buccos have now lost six of seven after their hot start to the season, and you get the feeling that they may have returned to earth for good. The Phils, though, have ripped off 11 wins in their last 13 games and are now seven games over .500 for the first time since May of 2016. For Philly, Aaron Altherr went 3 for 3 after entering the game in the sixth inning, and three relievers teamed up for 4 2/3 scoreless innings. It was Altherr who delivered the walk-off single: 

The Phillies have benefitted from an accommodating schedule early on (they've played a combined 13 games against the Marlins, Reds, Rays, and Pirates), but they'll be tested this week as they host the Diamondbacks and Braves for three apiece. For now, though, Gabe Kapler's club is playing .667 ball and has the second-best run differential in the NL. Remember when Kapler's data-driven approach made him an early season punchline? Maybe he'll wind up being NL Manager of the Year ... 

The Reds are (not) surging

The Reds lost again to the Cardinals on Sunday. Interim manager Jim Riggleman is now 0-3, and the Reds have lost five straight and 12 of their last 13. Oh, they're also 3-18 on the season. The Reds are one of MLB's oldest franchises with roots that go back 137 years. Never have been this bad overt the first 21 games of a season. At many points this season, the Reds have set a franchise record for worst start through x number of games. So here's another one. This one, though, puts them in especially rare company:

So ... 72 wins. There's the dream, Reds fans. On the upside, they're the team to beat for the top overall draft pick in 2019. 

Astros complete destruction of White Sox

The Astros own the belt and the title, while the White Sox are still in the latter stages of a rebuild. Given those facts, it's not surprising that the former would sweep the latter. What may be surprising is the intensity of the beating dished out by the champs. Witness:

  • Friday: Astros 10, White Sox 0
  • Saturday: Astros 10, White Sox 1
  • Sunday: Astros 7, White Sox 1

So that's a combined series score of 27-2. Thanks in large measure to said beating, the White Sox now have the AL's worst run differential at minus-56. They've also lost 12 of their last 13. The Astros, meantime, are 16-7 and in first place in the AL West. 

A's shut down Sox again

Sean Manaea of course no-hit Boston on Saturday, and on Sunday the Sox saw their scoreless innings streak run to 18 innings. Finally, they broke through with a run off Oakland starter Daniel Mengden in the seventh, but it proved to be not enough. For the A's, the big blow was a tie-breaking, three-run shot from Khris Davis off a theretofore strong David Price in the eighth: 

Davis is now slugging a healthy .539 on the season. As for the A's, they took two of three from the might Sox and overall have won six of seven. They've also pulled back to .500 on the year. 

Machado takes Kluber deep twice, Orioles still lose

Orioles third baseman shortstop Manny Machado is headed for free agency and he's off to a ridiculous start in his walk year. Before Sunday's game even started, he was hitting .337/.421/.639 (194 OPS+) with seven doubles, six homers, 15 RBI and 11 runs in 21 games. He was tasked with facing Indians ace and two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber Sunday. No matter. Here's his first at-bat: 

His second was another home run. That's eight homers on the year, tying Machado with some guys named Mike Trout and Bryce Harper for the major-league lead. This makes Sunday the third time this season Machado has hit two homers in a game and he's got five home runs in the past four games. And counting, as the Sunday matinee is still going. 

Of course, Machado's teammates haven't been much help this season and that remained the case on Sunday. The Orioles lost to the Indians and are now 6-16. Machado is hitting .360/.439/.721. 

Rays walk it off again (and the Twins get swept)

The cardiac Rays? Tampa Bay's just 8-13 on the season, but as of Sunday three of those wins have been of the walk-off variety. Sunday's game-ender came courtesy of Carlos Gomez:

That's four in a row for the Rays. As for the now-.500 Twins, Gomez's blast meant that they've been swept by the Rays. Getting swept by a team that could be one of baseball's worst isn't exactly optimal for a team that aspires to return to the postseason. 

Belt, Barria team up for record 21-pitch at-bat

The Giants and Angels got together on Sunday in Anaheim (SF-LAA GameTracker), and the early story without question was Brandon Belt's unthinkably prolonged at-bat against Halos starter Jaime Barria in the first inning. How unthinkably prolonged? Count 'em up for yourself:

player headshot
Brandon Belt
TOR • 1B • #13
First at-bat vs. Angels on Sunday, April 22
Foul, Ball, Strike swinging, Foul, Foul, Ball, Foul, Foul, Ball, Pickoff attempt, Foul, Pickoff attempt, Foul, Foul, Foul, Foul, Foul, Pickoff attempt, Foul, Foul, Foul, Pickoff attempt, Foul, Foul, Belt lined out to right.
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OK, we'll help you out: That's 21 pitches, and that, people, is an all-time MLB record for pitches in a single plate appearance: 

Bonus points for those three pickoff throws. Now here's a look at the zone grid plus the concluding line-out: 

For those counting, Belt fouled off 16 pitches (!) in the course of that at-bat, including 10 in a row before the line-out. Officially, the Battle of Barria Gulch lasted 12 minutes and 45 seconds. Yes, one plate appearance lasted almost 13 minutes. Read more (and see all 21 pitches) here. 

Andujar keeps raking for Yanks

The Yankees on Sunday nudged their record up to two games above .500 with their win over the Blue Jays. Shortstop Didi Gregorius cracked his sixth home run of the season, and Luis Severino pitches seven innings of one-run ball. The big story, though, was 23-year-old rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar, who registered the first four-hit game of his career: 

Two of those four hits were doubles, which brings us to this: 

After 55 plate appearances this season, Andujar's now batting a robust .308/.327/.596. He was a consensus top-100 prospect coming into the season, so the skills are real. Given Brandon Drury's ongoing issues with migraines, Andujar's obviously been a key piece for the Yanks thus far in 2018. 

Cueto keeps dominating

The Giants' Johnny Cueto spent time on the DL earlier this month with an ankle injury, but before and since he's looked like the vintage ace of old. He entered Sunday's start against the Angels with an ERA of 0.45 and a K/BB ratio of 8.00 after three starts. Then he went out and did this: 

player headshot
Johnny Cueto
LAA • SP • #36
vs. LAA (4/22)
IP6
H2
R0
SO7
BB2
Pitches96
Strikes64
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Thanks to those efforts, Cueto whittled his ERA down to a league-leading 0.36. Given his uncharacteristic struggles in 2017 (and given that Madison Bumgarner is still on the DL), this is very encouraging for the Giants. 

Cubs win via 'replay walk-off' in Coors

The Cubs and Rockies played a wild series finale in Denver on Sunday. Chicago built a big lead early, but the Rockies chipped away in the middle and later innings. That set up the bottom of the ninth. The Cubs led 9-7, but with two outs David Dahl worked a walk off Brandon Morrow to load the bases. Morrow got to 0-2 on Ian Desmond, but then bounced a third-pitch slider. That brought Nolan Arenado plate-ward, and he was initially ruled safe at home. However ... 

As you can see, the call was overturned, and Arenado was called out at home, thus ending the game. Had the call been upheld, then the Rockies would have been down by one run with runners on second and third and on the mound a pitcher who may be a little hesitant to go to his breaking ball again. Things as they are, though, the Cubs won the rubber match of the series and pushed their record back above .500. 

Co-starring on Sunday? Center fielder Albert Almora. He had a hit and an RBI on the day, but mostly it was his "at great personal hazard" work in the field that stood out ... 

Mercy. The Cubs don't win this game without Almora's daredevil glovework. 

Bryant hit by pitch in helmet

Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was hit in the head by a pitch in the first inning Sunday. He immediately left the game and appeared pretty well shaken up. Full story here. 

Wainwright to DL with elbow injury

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright was placed on the disabled list on Sunday due to elbow inflammation. There's got to be some pretty serious concern here. Wainwright missed all of 2011 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and he dealt with elbow issues last season, leading to offseason arthroscopic surgery. This is already the second DL stint of the season for Wainwright, and he's going to be 37 years old this coming August. 

Wainwright is 1-2 with a 3.45 ERA this season, though the 1.53 WHIP and 5.19 FIP illustrate that ERA through just 15 2/3 innings could well have been window dressing. 

It's likely the Cardinals summon youngster Jack Flaherty next time Wainwright's turn in the rotation comes up, and the smart money is on Flaherty being a better option than Wainwright the rest of the season. Father time is undefeated, particularly when it comes to injured elbows in pitchers. 

Dodgers prospect to make first MLB start

The Dodgers have announced that Walker Buehler will get the start Monday against the Marlins. The starting pitcher was ranked as the 13th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America and MLB.com (Baseball Prospectus had him 21st) heading into the season. 

Buehler, a power right-hander, is 23 years old and has a 2.08 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 13 innings thus far for Triple-A Oklahoma City. 

Buehler debuted in the majors last season. He was a September call up and worked 9 1/3 relief innings, pitching to a 7.71 ERA. Monday will be his first MLB start, though. 

One small item of concern is that Buehler doesn't appear to be fully stretched out. He's gone four, five and four innings, respectively, in his three starts in Triple-A. His pitch counts: 72, 73 and 80. He wasn't in trouble in any of the starts, either. 

Quick hits

  • The Rockies have placed Carlos Gonzalez (hamstring) on the 10-day DL. The move is retroactive to April 19.
  • Yankees rookie Gleyber Torres made his MLB debut on Sunday. He went 0 for 4 with a strikeout against Toronto.
  • The Rangers activated Delino DeShields from the disabled list and placed Carlos Tocci on the DL as a corresponding move. 
  • The Mariners have activated pitcher Erasmo Ramirez from the DL and optioned outfielder Guillermo Heredia to the minors despite a .310/.417/.552 line thus far. 
  • The Nationals have placed 3B Anthony Rendon on the 10-day DL with a toe contusion. 
  • The Mariners have acquired RHP Edwin Quezada from the Diamondbacks in exchange for an international signing slot.

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