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It's from the Baltimore series, but there was no way I could make it to Puerto Rico for this one.
Leo Nuñez likes giving everyone near heart attacks. He blew the save last night, but Florida still managed a win thanks to Dan Uggla.
29 June (David’s Birthday!)
NPB Yomiuri Giants (12) at Hiroshima Carp (9). Six Giants homered (Ramirez homered three times) to put the Giants way ahead of Hiroshima who managed quite an offense themselves. An ugly game that puts them at 27-40-2. At this rate Yakult might pass them.
Rakuten Eagles (0) at Orix Buffaloes (3). Few teams play more erratically than the Orix Buffaloes, but they’re doing consistently well against the Eagles this year. Tanaka’s Tuesday role is not doing the Eagles any favors as he gives up three over eight and the team moves to 32-38-2, good for last in the PL.
MLB Oakland Athletics (4) at Baltimore Orioles (2). A pretty solid start for Brian Matusz, but it just wasn’t enough to keep the Athletics at bay. I’m a little bitter that I’ll be missing Matt Wieters bobblehead night today, so that’s all I’ve got for Baltimore. They are 23-53.
New York Mets (6) at Florida Marlins (7). The Marlins were lucky to win this one in the ninth thanks to a walk-off single by Dan Uggla. The game also featured a Hanley Ramirez grand slam, but far fewer homers than the night before. Florida remains in fourth, but now holds a 37-40 record.
Tampa Bay Rays (5) at Boston Red Sox (8). The pitching just wasn’t there for Jamie Shields who gave up a few too many to an ailing Boston team. Tampa needs to take two out of three in this series to regain second and the wild card. The Rays now sit at 44-32 in third.
Washington Nationals (7) at Atlanta Braves (2). The Nats do everyone in the East a favor by knocking down the Braves and winning their first in ages. It’s a good thing, because Washington starters whose names don’t contain Strasburg have been seriously struggling of late. Their last place record improves to 34-44.
Three of my teams managed to notch wins in the final innings of their respective games. It takes a lot of luck and skill to take a game in the 9th. Bravo, teams.
1 June
NPB Hiroshima Carp (5) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (4). Eishin Soyogi gets the walk-off RBI single in the 9th to push the Carp ahead while Ryuji Yokoyama holds on for the save. Hiroshima’s record rises to 21-31-0 after the tilt.
Hanshin Tigers (2) at Rakuten Eagles (3). TEPPEI! Ok, so his cheer isn’t really conveyed with that text, but Teppei Tsuchiya made himself known with a single up the middle to win the game in the bottom of the 9th. Rakuten’s record improves to 25-28-1, tying them for fourth.
MLB Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (3). Last night was Baltimore’s big chance. The starters get harder from here. Tough break for Brian Matusz whose rookie season is not going how he anticipated it would. Baltimore drops to 15-37.
Tampa Bay Rays (7) at Toronto Blue Jays (6). Former Marlins closer Kevin Gregg blows the save in the 9th, allowing the Rays to pull ahead in a dramatic fashion thanks to a Sean Rodriguez bases-loaded double. This wild game also got Joe Maddon and Kevin Gregg ejected in the 9th. It was a fun one to watch. Tampa’s record improves to 25-18, putting them only 2.5 ahead of those accursed Yankees.
Milwaukee Brewers (4) at Florida Marlins (6). Nolasco has another night where he’s not super sharp, but the bats that awoke last night remain clubbing. Cogz (Chris Coghlan) managed three hits last night, including a home run, which is so reassuring to those of us who were worried about his huge slump. Sure, .237 isn’t .321, but there’s a lot of season left. Florida’s record improves to 27-26, good for third. When did the Phillies drop to second?
Washington Nationals (7) at Houston Astros (8). You can’t lose to Houston if you want to compete, Nats. Storen is still a little wild, Capps blows another save, and the Nats just can’t hold on in this wild one. Their record falls to 26-27 in last.
With that out of the way, the Nationals have finally announced the official first start of rookie Stephen Strasburg. He will get his first chance to strut his stuff on 8 June against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a home game that shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge. I’m gonna try to get tickets myself, but we’ll see if I can afford them.
In other prospect news, the Marlins are very close to calling up Mike Stanton, who has already hit 20 homers in the minors this year. Where he will go is anyone’s guess, but it’ll have to be Coghlan, Maybin, or Ross who is replaced.
San Francisco also finally called up Buster Posey whose bat presence will help the offensively struggling team. Will it help to propel them past the Friars? We shall see.
Q: When is it ok to get swept by the Red Sox? A: NEVER!
27 May
NPB Chiba Lotte Marines (9) at Hiroshima Carp (1). When you give up four home runs in one game, it takes some mighty fine offense to catch up. Hiroshima’s offense is so streaky, this will never happen when they need it. The Carp record declines to 19-29-0 in fifth. I want to see them be < 10 games back for the rest of the season. Come on, guys! Rakuten Eagles (3) at Yakult Swallows (2). Rakuten just gets it done against the heavily struggling Yakult squad. Their manager has stepped down due to the ridiculous skip the team has faced so far. Rakuten's record improves to 22-28. They're getting there. MLB Oakland Athletics (6) at Baltimore Orioles (1). After a stellar start to the season, Brian Matusz has been having some serious struggles, giving up all six of Oakland’s runs. Their record rests at 15-32 after the bloodbath.
Atlanta Braves (7) at Florida Marlins (3). When I left this game it was 1-0 Marlins. Then I check the scores after my softball game and they’ve somehow managed to blow it! The Hopper, Burke Badenhop, just isn’t getting it done for the Fish these days. This loss costs them second place with their 24-23 record.
Boston Red Sox (11) at Tampa Bay Rays (3). What is going on with the Rays these past three days? I would never have thought Matt Garza would give up six to the Sox. Baseball’s a game of ebbs and flows, but the Rays need to start flowing again and soon! Their 32-15 record is still good enough for first, but they can’t keep losing like this if they want to hold on to it.
Washington Nationals (7) at San Francisco Giants (3). The only team that I follow here to win last night, the Nats put forth a great effort against Tim Lincecum, of all people, notching six of the seven on his watch. They are now in a three-way tie with Florida and New York for third with their 24-23 record.
There was much rejoicing in Citi last night.
Luis Atilano has his worst start yet, giving up the game.
20 May
NPB Off day.
MLB Florida Marlins (2) at St. Louis Cardinals (4). Nate Robertson just wasn’t good enough to hold the Cards down while Wainwright had all the right stuff to keep the Fish from putting too many on the board. Florida remains in second place with their 22-20 record.
Tampa Bay Rays (8) at New York Yankees (6). The Yankees are always a tough, potent team to face, but Tampa manages to sweep New York in this two-game series thanks to some serious offense from the Rays. Carlos Peña mashes two and the Rays record jumps to 30-11, becoming the first team to reach 30 wins this year.
New York Mets (10) at Washington Nationals (7). Luis Atilano’s six earned runs are what doomed the Nats. They return to playing 0.500 baseball in fourth place with their 21-21 record.
Baltimore Orioles (7) at Texas Rangers (13). Ouch. The Birds get stomped by Texas in a surprising loss. Why so surprising? Brian Matusz should be way better than this. 13-29 for the Orange Birds.
I figured that my Rays gear might put me on the tube.
When you go to a sparsely attended game where you’re rooting against the home team, chances are you might appear on TV.
13 April
NPB Yakult Swallows (2) at Hiroshima Carp (3). A close, 10th inning, walk-off win. The Carp are proving to be quite the thorn in Yakult’s side. Their record rises to 5-10-0, but they remain in last.
Rakuten Eagles (3) at Seibu Lions (5). Not so lucky for the Eagles who fall to Seibu and fall to 7-11-0 two games out of fourth.
MLB Tampa Bay Rays (8) at Baltimore Orioles (6). Brian Matusz and Jeff Niemann both pitch strong games into the eighth where their bullpens start giving runs up. Another extra innings affair that put me on TV and notched yet another ‘W’ in the Rays hat. Tampa Bay rises to 5-3 in third while Baltimore falls to 1-7 in last.
Cincinnati Reds (10) at Florida Marlins (8). Florida’s gonna give me a heart attack soon. Their teams continues to have these dramatic come-from-behind attacks that just don’t seem to be holding up. Their game goes 11, but the Fish can’t quite hold on. Florida is 4-4 in second place.
