A wild Tuesday night included pitching gems, nail-biting finishes -- including a few walk-offs -- an amazing comeback and the utter dismantling of that team from Boston. Let's dive right in.
Full Tuesday night scoreboard with recaps and box scores for all 15 games
3 UP
George Kottaras, Brewers. The Brewers returned home on a four-game losing streak and had been called out by their manager. Their task Tuesday was to take on the 9-1 Dodgers. An Andre Ethier two-run home run in the eighth meant the Brewers would have to come from behind against the Dodgers' strong back-end of the bullpen. And that's exactly what they did when Kottaras delivered a pinch-hit, two-RBI walk-off double, resulting in a 5-4 victory.
Middle of Pirates' order. Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and Garrett Jones combined to go 10-for-14 with five RBI, four runs, a double and a homer in a 5-4 win against the Diamondbacks. Talk about carrying an offense. Jones had the two extra-base hits and three of the RBI while McCutchen came through with the go-ahead RBI in the ninth.
Indians' comeback. Indians fans who have to wake up early Wednesday morning may have given up on this game after four innings. If they did, they'll be in for a pleasant surprise whenever they check to see the final score. Ace Justin Masterson was crushed by the Mariners early and it was 8-1 M's after four innings. A seven-spot in the fifth, a Jason Donald RBI single in the seventh and a great bullpen performance paved the way for a 9-8 Indians win.
3 DOWN
Mark Melancon, Red Sox. Lines don't get much uglier than this: 0 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 2 BB. That's right, Melancon faced six hitters and gave up four hits and two walks, with all six guys scoring. It gets worse, if you can believe it, when put into context of the order this happened and what kind of hits he gave up: Double, walk, home run, home run, walk, home run. His ERA is now 49.50 this season. Also, we'd be remiss to neglect Jon Lester's horrific outing in an 18-3 loss, but Melancon's line was just too colorful to pass up.
Johan Santana, Mets. After completing his long road back from a serious arm injury, Santana was one of the feel-good stories of the first week and a half of the 2012 season. He had a 0.90 ERA through two starts. Tuesday, though, he only lasted 1 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and five earned runs in a 9-3 Mets loss.
Evan Longoria, Rays. Maybe he just felt like his former college teammate needed some company? The Rays Gold Glover made three errors for the first time in his career Tuesday night. All three led to a run for the Blue Jays, in a 7-3 Rays loss.
Time for a duel. C'mon east-coasters, you can wait up for this. It's Cliff Lee of the Phillies taking on Matt Cain of the Giants. It's the rubber game of the series, too. Nothing further needs to be said. 10:15 p.m. ET/7:15 p.m. PT
Stopping the trend? The Angels came into the season with sky-high expectations. And here they sit 4-7. In fact, the Angels haven't won a series yet, having dropped two of three in each of their first three series. They have split the first two of a four-game series against the A's, but a loss Wednesday night would mean they'll be through four series without having won any of them. That's a rough start for a club with World Series aspirations. Ervin Santana has been awful so far, and he'll get the start for the Angels. The A's send Bartolo Colon to the mound. 10:05 p.m. ET/7:05 p.m. PT
Streak-breaker Sanchez? The longest streak in the majors right now is the Royals' six-game losing streak. It'll be a tall order to prevent this thing from hitting seven games. Not only do the Royals face the Tigers, but they're bringing back Jonathan Sanchez on short rest, due to Luke Hochevar's bruised ankle. Max Scherzer gets the ball for Detroit. 8:10 p.m. ET/7:10 p.m. CT
Complete Wednesday schedule with pitching matchups for all 15 games
• Let's name this thing. You know the Marlins' new "home run feature," right? If not, click here and check it out in motion. Anyway, Dave George of the Palm Beach Post wants a nickname for it, and I think that's a fine idea. No one really seems to know what to call it and all the Marlins have ever said is "home run feature." George presents "Fish-O-Matic," "Batter Upchuck," "Scary-Go-Round," "Marlinsanity," "Ozzfest," and "Mount St. Hanley's" before saying he favors "Creature Feature." Out of those choices I think I'd go with Marlinsanity, but someone out there can surely do better, right? Let's hear 'em.
• The Splendid, Unfrozen Splinter. What if Ted Williams is thawed from being cryogenically frozen and returned in prime condition to play baseball in 2092? Well, there's a 400-page novel called "Extra Innings" where that is the plot (BostonHerald.com). I have to say, I'm slightly intrigued, even though I rarely, if ever, read fiction.
• The Hopper and SABR. Rays reliever Burke Badenhop seems to be a perfect fit for that organization, because he has an economics degree and uses PitchFX data. That's not all. In fact, check out this quote: "I look at my numbers on FanGraphs. I know my ground-ball rate and all the other stuff. You guys have things like average fastball velos, which to some people might not matter, but to me it’s the world. I absolutely look at PitchFX. I go back and look through every pitch I threw. I look at my break. Usually, my best pitch would be an 89 or 90 mph sinker with about a 9, 10 or 11 [horizontal drop]. When I’m sitting more like 6 or 7, I know I just wasn’t on top of my game. There was something I wasn’t doing to get through my pitches that day." (Fangraphs.com)
• 3 = $$$. Want a legitimate three-hole hitter? In most cases, you better develop him. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch writes, "There are eight NL No. 3 hitters signed through 2015 to deals worth at least $50 million." And everything in baseball at any position or spot in the batting order seems to be trending toward long-term deals to keep players.
• Must read. I'm not even going to attempt to summarize this, because I wouldn't do it justice in this space: The story of MLB Network analyst Dave Cameron, whose leukemia is currently in remission.
• Century-old blueprints. If you're in the Brooklyn area and you'd love to see the original 1912 blueprints of historic Ebbets Field, you're in luck. Three of the original 18 plans will be on display in Brooklyn College starting Thursday, as part of a Dodgers exhibit (WSJ.com).
• O'Malley won't give up. Peter O'Malley was a long-time Dodgers owner until he sold the team in 1998. He tried to get back into baseball ownership by buying the Dodgers back this year, but lost out to Guggenheim Baseball Group and its $2.15 billion bid. But O'Malley must really want back into baseball ownership, because the LA Times is reporting he is "considering" pursuit of owning the now-up-for-sale Padres.
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