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| Carlos Gomez lost this ball in the sun in Washington on Monday. (AP) |
There were no shakeups in the standings on Monday, as the Orioles split their doubleheader, the Yankees, the White Sox and Tigers all won. Meanwhile, Washington and Texas also won, inching them closer to division titles.
Full Monday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for all games
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Adrian Beltre, Rangers: Beltre tied Monday's game against the A's with a two-run homer in the seventh inning and then after Oakland intentionally walked Josh Hamilton to load the bases in the ninth, he came through with the game-winning RBI single.
Adam Dunn, White Sox: With Detroit having already beaten the Royals, the White Sox were four outs from seeing their slim lead in the AL Central disappear. But then Dunn hit an 0-2 pitch off of Vinnie Pestano for a three-run homer, his 41st of the season. He recorded his 40th homer in the sixth inning to cut the Indians' lead to one. Dunn hadn't homered in his last seven games and only had one in his previous 19. As we noted recently, he became the first player to hit 40 home runs, walk 100 times and strike out 200 times in a season.
Ike Davis, Mets: Davis hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a three-run bomb in the fifth, giving the Mets first baseman 30 home runs on the season, a career high. His five RBI on the day were also the best of his career.
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Sun Monster, Nationals Park: So dubbed by Bryce Harper, the afternoon sun at Nationals Park reared its ugly head again on Monday. Sunday it benefitted the Brewers, as Harper and Jayson Werth lost balls in the sun, but Monday it was the Nationals who benefitted. Carlos Gomez lost a Werth fly ball in the fourth inning that scored two runs. With afternoon games in the division playoffs and the NLCS, this could cost some team a chance at the World Series.
Liam Hendricks, Twins: In his last start, the Australian right-hander picked up his first win of his career. But Tuesday he was back to his losing ways, allowing four homers in a loss to the Yankees. Hendricks gave up six runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings, getting tagged by Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez.
Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles: After dropping Monday night's game against the Blue Jays, Chen hasn't won in his last six starts and has made it through seven innings just once in his last nine. Monday he was pulled in the sixth inning after allowing five runs on nine hits and allowing two homers. He gave up a two-run homer to Edwin Encarnacion in the first and was chased by a solo shot by Moises Sierra in the sixth.
Krismas: Remember Strasmas? Why not Krismas for Braves right-hander Kris Medlen? He's reached must-watch status. The Braves also moved him up in the rotation so that he'd be in line to start the one-game wild card playoff. He's 8-0 with a 0.76 ERA in 10 starts since joining the team's rotation. He allowed just four hits in eight shutout innings in his last start, also against the Marlins. 7:10 p.m.
Walking the plank: Pittsburgh could officially be eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday with a loss and a Cardinals win. The Pirates have the right man on the hill, as lefty Wandy Rodriguez is responsible for half of the team's wins in the last month. He's 4-4 with a 3.71 ERA since coming over from the Astros. 7:10 p.m. ET
Garcia's weakness: Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia is 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA in eight home starts this season and 2-5 with a 5.67 ERA away from Busch Stadium (in his career he's 19-11 with a 2.47 ERA at home and 13-12 with a 4.60 ERA away). Of all places he's struggled on the road, Houston's been one of the worst. This season he's allowed 12 earned runs in two starts (good for a 13.50 ERA) and in five career starts at Minute Maid Park, he's 0-3 with an 8.87 ERA. 8:05 p.m. ET
• The Yankees win, the Yankees win! Instead of the lame Hooters girls or some other cliched collection of women's clothes, the Yankees had their rookies dress up as Star Wars characters. Well done, Yanks, well done. [ESPNNewYork.com]
• Compact rotations: The Reds and Giants have both used only six starters this season. While the old timers will tell you players aren't as tough as they used to be, compact rotations are more the norm now than they were in the past, according to the research by BeyondTheBoxscore.com.
• What could have been: This year's free agent class is kind of… well, shallow. But MLBTradeRumors.com looks back on what could have been had players not signed extensions.
• Melky decision: We know Melky Cabrera won't officially win the batting title this year, but how will Baseball-Reference.com handle it?
• Minor leagues, major money: How do minor league teams make money, and what can other businesses learn from it? [Crain's Cleveland Business]
• Living on the air in Cincinnati: Reds fans have to be happy that Craig Lindvahl is one of them. The filmmaker has already made two movies about the Reds, "Cobb Field: A Day at the Ballpark," which featured the Reds Pioneer League affiliate, the Billings Mustangs (and rookie Todd Frazier making his minor-league debut), as well as "Let's Get Ready to Win," which focused on the Reds' 2010 division-clinching game. In the works are "From the End to the Beginning" and "The Perfect Place." The former is about what happens at the ballpark from the end of one game until the first pitch of the next, while the latter is about how people connect through baseball. [MLB.com]
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