There was a full 15-game slate on this Tuesday, the final Tuesday before the All-Star break. Here is everything you need to know about Tuesday's MLB action ...
Tuesday's baseball scores
- Orioles 6, Yankees 5 (box score)
- Nationals 5, Pirates 1 (box score)
- Red Sox 8, Rangers 4 (box score)
- Phillies 7, Mets 3 (box score)
- Brewers 8, Marlins 4 (box score)
- Reds 7, Indians 4 (box score)
- Rays 5, Tigers 2 (box score)
- Blue Jays 6, Braves 2 (box score)
- Astros 6, Athletics 5 in 11 innings (box score)
- Royals 9, Twins 4 (box score)
- Cardinals 14, White Sox 2 (box score)
- Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3 (box score)
- Angels 9, Mariners 3 (box score)
- Padres 4, Dodgers 1 (box score)
- Cubs 2, Giants 0 (box score)
Orioles beat Yankees ... again
Without question, the Orioles are the worst team in baseball right now. They are 26-66 overall -- that's a 116-loss pace -- and chances are they'll play at an even worse clip the rest of the way because impending free agents like Manny Machado, Zach Britton, and Adam Jones will be traded away.
And yet, despite their generally awfulness, the Orioles seem to have the Yankees' number this season. They walked off with a win against New York on Tuesday to improve to 6-5 against the Bronx Bombers this season. The O's are 6-5 against the Yankees and 20-61 against everyone else. Jonathan Schoop had the walk-off single to end the game. Machado swatted two homers to knot things up earlier in the game.
Machado against the Yankees this season: 14 for 37 (.378) with six home runs in 11 games. No wonder they want to trade for him. Machado has been great against every team this season, but he's been especially punishing against the Yankees.
As for the Yankees, they could win literally every game against the Orioles the rest of the season, and this 5-6 start against them will still sting. The AL East race is far too competitive to let winnable games slip away against the worst team in baseball. The Yankees blew a 3-0 lead to the Orioles in a loss in the first game of Monday's doubleheader and they blew multiple leads Tuesday night.
Astros spoils A's comeback
Two games into a four-game set, the Astros and A's are playing one of the most entertaining series of the season down in Minute Maid Park this week. Frankie Montas and Gerrit Cole dueled in an A's win Monday. The win improved Oakland to 17-4 in their last 21 games.
Tuesday night, the A's mounted a ninth inning comeback against Ken Giles scoring four runs to send the game into extra innings. Stephen Piscotty smacked a go-ahead homer in the top of the 11th -- it was the fourth straight game with a dinger for Piscotty -- but Blake Treinen couldn't close out the win. The Astros walked off on a weird Jonathan Lucroy error. Just look:
Statcast had Alex Bregman's ground ball at literally two feet. It traveled two feet. Lucroy botched the tag then threw the ball down the right field line for the walk-off loss. Rough. After a great pitchers' duel Monday and a wild extra innings game Tuesday, I can't wait to see what the Astros and A's do for an encore on Wednesday. And Thursday.
Allen melts down against Reds
What a mess of a game for the Indians. And to think, both Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez hit first-inning home runs, and Trevor Bauer struck out 13 in eight shutout innings.
The Indians took a 4-0 lead into the ninth and gosh, closer Cody Allen melted down in a big way. He faced eight batters and retired two. Then, because of a bullpen miscommunication, Dan Otero came in to face Joey Votto rather than lefty Oliver Perez, and Votto cleared the bases.
Yikes. The good news is the Indians still have a comfortable eight-game lead in the AL Central. The bad news is the bullpen needs an overhaul before the postseason. Getting Andrew Miller back from the disabled list won't be enough.
The Reds, meanwhile, are 19-8 in their last 27 games. Their offense is legit. A bit more pitching and they'll be able to make some noise in the NL Central.
Royals finally break through for more than five runs
They scored nine runs, in fact. Kansas City's offense broke out against the Twins on Tuesday night. Adalberto Mondesi had a big hand in the win, going 2 for 4 with a home run and four runs driven in.
What's so special about scoring more than five runs? Well, Tuesday night was the first time the Royals scored more than five runs in a game since -- get this -- June 4. It was the first time they scored more than six runs in a game since May 30. The Royals scored 69 runs in their last 30 games prior to Tuesday night. That's an average of 2.3 runs per game. The 2015 World Series feels like it was 100 years ago.
Red Sox win eighth straight
The longest active winning streak in baseball belongs to the Red Sox. They hammered the Rangers on Tuesday night for their eighth consecutive win. Boston scored five runs in the third inning and cruised the rest of the way.
The win improved the Red Sox to an MLB-best 64-29 on the season. They won their 64th game on August 8 last season. True story.
Boston's win combined with the Yankees' inability to beat the lowly Orioles gives Boston a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL East. The Red Sox and Yankees had been separated by no more than 2 1/2 games in the standings since April 30. It's been a long time since MLB had two teams this good in one division.
Choo's on-base streak continues
Make it 48 consecutive games reaching base for Shin-Soo Choo. He went 0 for 3 with two walks in Tuesday's loss to the Red Sox to extend what is already the longest on-base streak in Rangers franchise history. Here are the last five 48-game on-base streaks:
- Shin-Soo Choo, 2018 Rangers: 48 games and counting
- Kevin Millar, 2007 Orioles: 52 games
- Orlando Cabrera, 2016 Angels: 63 games
- Alex Rodriguez, 2004 Yankees: 53 games
- Barry Bonds, 2003 Giants: 57 games
Been more than a decade since we last saw a 50-game on-base streak. Choo, who's now hitting .290/.399/.500 on the season, has a chance to get there before the All-Star break.
Muncy spoils Lauer's shutout
One out. That's how close Padres rookie lefty Eric Lauer came to shutting out the Dodgers on Tuesday night. One out. Home Run Derby contestant Max Muncy clocked a solo home run with two outs in the ninth to ruin the shutout bid and end Lauer's night. Even with the homer, Lauer was magnificent.
Lauer, who is 5-5 with a 4.40 ERA in his first 15 big-league starts, was trying to become the first Padre to toss a shutout since Clayton Richard blanked the Phillies last July. Before that, you have to go back to Andrew Cashner in 2014 for the last Padres shutout. Lauer would've been the first Padres rookie with a shutout since Clay Hensley in 2006.
Quick hits
- The Dodgers want to trade for an upgrade in the middle infield, and SS Manny Machado of the Orioles isn't their only target. Get the details here.
- The trade market for Marlins UTIL Derek Dietrich may be heating up. Read more here.
- The Rays on Tuesday unveiled detailed plans for a new ballpark.
- Brewers 1B Jesus Aguilar and Mariners SS Jean Segura lead the voting for the final All-Star roster spots.
- A's 2B Jed Lowrie has made the All-Star team for the first time. He'll be an injury replacement for Yankees 2B Gleyber Torres.
- Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia has returned home to Arizona to continue rehabbing his knee injury. There is no timetable for his return.
- Th Nationals have placed LHP Sean Doolittle on the DL with left toe inflammation.
- The Mariners have placed RHP Felix Hernandez on the DL with lower back stiffness.
- The Indians have placed RHP Josh Tomlin on the DL with a right hamstring strain.
- The White Sox have placed OF Avisail Garcia on the DL with a right hamstring strain.