 |
| Mat Latos earned his standing ovation on Friday both with his arm and with his bat. (US Presswire) |
With their 2-0 victory over the Orioles, the Rays overtook Baltimore for second in the American League East on Friday and are now just a half-game back in the Wild Card race behind the Angels. Meanwhile, in the National League, the Reds improved their lead in the NL Central to a season-high 4 1/2 games over the Pirates.
Full Friday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for every game
3 UP
Mat Latos, Reds: In baseball's premiere series of the weekend, Latos pitched like the ace the Reds thought they were getting in the big offseason trade that sent three of their top prospects to San Diego. Latos allowed just four hits in 7 1/3 shutout innings -- two of those in the seventh -- and struck out five Pirates before handing it over to Jonathan Broxton and Aroldis Chapman. He also gave the Reds all the offense they'd need, hitting a two run homer in the fifth inning, his first homer of the season.
Hanley Ramirez, Dodgers: The Dodgers may not believe all the bad things they'd heard about Ramirez before he joined them the way he's playing now. Starting at shortstop for the first time as a Dodger, Ramirez put his team ahead in the fifth when he led off the inning with a double. But this wasn't just any double, by all rights it should have been a single, but Ramirez was hustling the whole way and took advantage of slightly out-of-position Cubs for a double. He then scored on James Loney's double. The next inning he extended the team's lead with a two-run single to right, giving Los Angeles a 5-1 lead.
Alex Rios, White Sox: Rios drove in the first run of the game for the White Sox and the last two in the Angels' 8-6, 10-inning victory. He had an RBI single in the first, a solo home run in the sixth and then a two-run homer in the 10th. Rios now has 19 home runs on the season.
3 DOWN
Rockies bullpen: Not that Colorado starter Jonathan Sanchez was good (lasting just three innings), but his bullpen didn't help things in Friday's 16-4 loss to the Giants. Adam Ottavino allowed a run on two hits in three innings before the next three relievers -- Mike Ekstrom, Matt Reynolds and Carlos Torres -- combined to allow 13 runs, while pitching just one inning each. Ekstrom gave up four runs in the seventh, Reynolds allowed six runs (but only five earned) in the eighth and Torres surrendered three. None of the three struck out a batter and Reynolds saw his ERA jump from 3.57 to 4.47.
Martin Maldonado, Brewers: Milwaukee's catcher committed three throwing errors in the team's 9-3 loss to the Cardinals. In the sixth inning, Maldonado's throw on a Yadier Molina attempt to steal third base went into left field, allowing Molina to score easily. In the eighth, Molina stole second and went to third on Maldonado's throwing error. Later in the inning, he was unable to turn a 1-2-3 double play when his throw went into right field, allowing another run to score.
Mark Reynolds, Orioles: On his 29th birthday, Reynolds struck out three times and stranded six runners, lowering his average to .207 on the season. The Orioles lost 2-0 to the Rays, going 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Return of the King: The Mariners are one of the hottest teams on the planet, and Felix Hernandez is one of the hottest pitchers on the planet. In fact, over his last nine stars King Felix boasts an ERA of 1.60. And in new Yankee Stadium, where he'll pitch Saturday, he has a career ERA of 1.47. Can Hiroki Kuroda and the hard-hitting Yanks overthrow the King? 1:05 pm ET
Wild-card rumble: Can the steadily fading Orioles remain in the wild-card race? Will the Rays, fresh off a successful nine-game road swing, pull closer to the A's and Angels? Two hot pitchers, Wei-Yin Chen and Jeremy Hellickson, will help determine the outcome. 7:10 pm ET
Mahalo, Maholm: Another deadline acquisition makes his debut for his new team. This time it's Paul Maholm, who'll make his first start since joining the Braves. As first opponents go, it's hard go get more accommodating than the lowly Astros. Maholm comes in having pitched very well thus far in the second half. 7:10 pm ET
Saturday probables for all games
• Where it began: Chris Erskine of the Los Angeles Times provides us with a quick walking tour of Pepper Street, the Pasadena neighborhood where the great Jackie Robinson spent his formative years. The piece also poses a question: should more be done to recognize the place where Robinson began his march toward history?
• Dempster bids adieu: Because of the controversy surrounding the near-trade to Atlanta, Ryan Dempster's exit from Chicago was a bit more acrimonious than it should've been. So to smooth things over, Dempster took the (not uncommon) step of purchasing ad space to thank fans of the team with whom he spent the last eight-plus years. MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has an image.
• 'Cutch speaks: David Brown of Yahoo! chats with Pirates star Andrew McCutchen in a wide-ranging interview. You will learn about dreadlocks, and you will experience McCutchen's finest celebrity impersonation. Most of all, it's easy to see why McCutchen is one of the most charismatic stars in baseball today.
• Good call: If you see Malachi Moore on a major-league diamond some day, it won't be as a player. It will because Moore survived the streets of Compton to become a major-league umpire. MLB.com's Doug Miller has the remarkable story of a remarkable man.
• Phail: Phillies fans probably aren't too high on their team's fortunes right about now. However, as High Heat Stats points out in graphical form, the Phillies, throughout history, are no strangers to epic failure.
• Nice kicks: I'm not a big sneakerhead, but I do like some shoes. I know a lot of people are really into custom shoes and limited editions and all that and I understand the appeal. But with that said, I don't think it takes a serious collector to find this custom pair of Cincinnati Reds Nike Dunks cool. I'm not a Reds fan, but would gladly sport these badboys. [OMGReds.com]
For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook.
