Jean Segura had no problem with three water coolers being dumped on his head after a big hit off his former teammate.
Segura ripped a three-run, walk-off homer against Edwin Diaz moments after Maikel Franco hit a tying, two-run shot against the closer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Philadelphia Phillies (custom Philadelphia Phillies championship rings) beat the New York Mets 6-3 Thursday to complete a four-game sweep.
New York's Todd Frazier hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Hector Neris with one out in the ninth, but the Phillies rallied in the bottom of the inning -- their fourth straight win since utility man Brad Miller brought a bamboo plant into the clubhouse as a good-luck charm.
Diaz (1-5) walked Cesar Hernandez to start, and Franco followed with his third homer of the series. He hit go-ahead, two-run homers in each of the first two games. Pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez walked with one out and advanced to second on Scott Kingery's hard-hit, bad-hop single off Frazier's glove at third.
Segura then slammed his 10th homer into the seats in left. He leaped on his way down the first base line, got mobbed by teammates after circling the bases and was showered by sports drinks and water.
"I'll take 10," he said. "The guys are having fun so I'll take that."
Segura played for Seattle last season when Diaz had 57 saves for the Mariners.
"That guy last year was incredible," Segura said. "The fastball is his best pitch, so when you come to the plate, you look for his fastball."
It was Philadelphia's (world series rings) first four-game sweep against the Mets since Aug. 27-30, 2007. That season, they overcame a seven-game deficit with 17 remaining to edge the Mets on the final day of the regular season for their first of five straight NL East titles.
"This one stings the worst because it just happened," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said after his team dropped a season-worst eight games under .500 at 37-45.
Diaz has allowed at least a run in three of his past five appearances, and his ERA ballooned to 4.94. The All-Star closer is in his first season since being acquired from Seattle for a package of prospects. He's blown four saves this season, one shy of his career high.
"I was trying the best I could," Diaz said through an interpreter. "It seems like they were prepared for every pitch. Bad day for me."
Aaron Nola allowed one hit and struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings but didn't get a decision. J.D. Hammer (1-0) got two outs for his first career win.
Pitcher Zack Wheeler's single off Nola leading off the sixth was New York's (custom championship rings) only hit until Michael Conforto got a single off Neris with one out in the ninth. Frazier then blasted a 3-2 pitch out to left. Amed Rosario's RBI groundout extended the lead to 3-1.
Bryce Harper crushed a 438-foot homer in the sixth for Philadelphia's first hit since Kingery lined a single on Wheeler's first pitch.
Wheeler gave up one run and two hits, striking out seven in six innings.
Nola, a 2018 All-Star, has allowed one earned run in his last 15 innings and is pitching more like an ace again.
"I'm feeling good, my body is healthy," Nola said.
The Phillies had lost seven in a row and 16 of 22 to fall out of first place before the Mets (New York Mets championship rings for sale) came to town.
"The group is confident, they're playing easy and there's some swagger in that room right now," manager Gabe Kapler said.
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06/28/2019
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Arizona made sure there wouldn't be any late heroics in a fourth straight game by the rival Los Angeles Dodgers (custom Los Angeles Dodgers championship rings).
Instead, it was the Diamondbacks who came up big.
David Peralta hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning and the Diamondbacks rallied for an 8-5 win over the NL West-leading Dodgers on Monday night.
The Dodgers had won their last three on game-ending home runs.
Former Dodger Tim Locastro put the game out of reach with a two-run single off losing pitcher Dylan Floro (2-2), part of a four-run outburst in the eighth for the Diamondbacks. Christian Walker and starting pitcher Zack Greinke homered, Ketel Marte had two hits for his seventh consecutive multi-hit game and Arizona ended the Dodgers' winning streak at six games.
"I tell these guys, once we're in a tie game, let's play all night until somebody comes out and does their job. And I'll bet on us to do it right," Diamondbacks (championship sports rings) manager Torey Lovullo said.
The highly anticipated battle of Cy Young Award winners didn't produce much of a pitchers' duel, though both the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Greinke lasted six innings.
Yoan Lopez (1-1) worked a scoreless inning and earned the win.
Max Muncy drove in three runs for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers jumped on Greinke for three runs in the first inning. Joc Peterson and Justin Turner singled, and with one out, Cody Bellinger doubled to right-center, plating the first run. Muncy grounded out to first, allowing Turner to score.
Then, Chris Taylor doubled to right field, bringing home Bellinger. Both Bellinger and Taylor hit first pitches from Greinke.
"I just came out throwing strikes, they came out swinging," Greinke said.
Kershaw was burned twice with two-out mistakes. Walker took him deep to left-center field in the bottom of the first, tying the game. That gave Walker three home runs in his first six career at-bats against the Dodgers' ace, tying him for the most homers against Kershaw among active players.
"Baseball's funny. Things come in bunches," Walker said. "For whatever reason, I see that slider well. Two of them for sure, maybe all three (home runs) on that pitch."
Greinke's second-inning home run was a line drive into the left-field seats, his career-high third of the season.
"It was a bad game. It was just unfortunate they scored three runs early for me and I give it right back," Kershaw said. "It was a tough one for sure. It just lands on my shoulders to do better the next time."
Both pitchers settled down after early struggles, but the Dodgers (world series rings for sale) squandered an opportunity to at least draw even in the sixth. Bellinger singled and Muncy reached on a throwing error, before Greinke struck out the side.
The Dodgers threatened again in the seventh, and after Greinke departed one batter in. Bellinger was intentionally walked a second time, loading the bases. Muncy drew a two-out walk from Yoshihisa Hirano, tying the game at 4-all.
Hirano battled back from a 3-1 count on Taylor, striking him out looking and ending the inning.
Greinke and Kershaw had identical lines of six innings and four runs on seven hits allowed. Greinke struck out six; Kershaw struck out two.
Greg Holland got one out in the ninth for his 200th career save.
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06/25/2019
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McNeil homered and drove in three runs while making his first career start in right field, helping the New York Mets (cheap New York Mets championship rings) beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Friday.
"I think that this guy is playing the type of baseball that you want everybody to play," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said.
Michael Conforto also connected as the slumping Mets won for just the fourth time in their last 11 games. Brooks Pounders (1-0) got his first victory since he was acquired in a deal with Cleveland last week, and Edwin Diaz worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 16th save.
McNeil's two-run shot off Yu Darvish gave New York a 3-2 lead in the third. With two outs and Adeiny Hechavarria on second in the seventh, Cubs manager Joe Maddon brought in left-hander Mike Montgomery to face McNeil, and he pulled an RBI single into right field to break a 4-all tie.
"Kind of swung at a borderline pitch, but got enough barrel on it and found a hole," McNeil said.
McNeil also played right as part of an unusual defensive lineup by Callaway, who was looking for more offense after New York lost 7-4 on Thursday night in the opener of the four-game series. He got his first major league action in right when he played two innings at the position May 21 against Washington.
McNeil moved to left before the Cubs (custom Chicago Cubs championship rings) batted in the eighth and made a key defensive play on Willson Contreras' bloop hit. McNeil picked up the ball, noticed Anthony Rizzo had taken a wide turn around second and ran at the big first baseman to begin an inning-ending rundown.
"I think that's just my baseball instincts kind of taking over," he said.
The Cubs also had Albert Almora Jr. picked off first for the final out of the sixth.
"We made too many mistakes," Maddon said, "on the bases we made mistakes."
Addison Russell hit a two-run homer for Chicago (championship rings for sale), which dropped to 2-2 on a 10-game homestand. Brad Brach (3-2) got the loss after surrendering Hechavarria's leadoff single in the seventh.
Darvish allowed four runs and four hits in six innings in his 10th consecutive no-decision, extending a franchise record. He became the first traditional starting pitcher with 10 straight no-decisions since Philadelphia's Randy Lerch in 1977.
"I want to compete," Darvish said. "Not only frustrating, like weird. I'm not losing. I'm not winning. It's just weird. I want to win."
While Darvish was just OK on the mound, he had quite a day at the plate.
He slapped a two-out RBI single through the right side to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead in the second. He led off the fifth with another single against Jason Vargas, and Russell followed with a drive into the bleachers in left for his fifth homer .
The 32-year-old Darvish entered with one hit this season and six for his career.
Russell's first homer since May 28 made it 4-3, but the Mets (mlb world series championship rings) tied it in the sixth. Darvish struck out Pete Alonso and Robinson Cano before Conforto went deep for his 15th of the season .
"I know I give up a lot of runs after we score," Darvish said. "I really focused on Conforto on that pitch, but just, he hit it."
WORTH WATCHING
If Craig Kimbrel sails through his second appearance with Triple-A Iowa on Friday night, he could pitch for the minor league club again on Saturday. The 31-year-old Kimbrel is ramping up after finalizing a three-year contract with Chicago on June 7 that guarantees the closer $43 million.
MULLING IT OVER
The Cubs are contemplating various options for their rotation after Adbert Alzolay's successful major league debut Thursday night. Alzolay pitched in relief of Tyler Chatwood, but the right-handers could switch places next time the spot comes up. The team also could go with a six-man rotation to provide some rest for its starters before the All-Star break.
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06/22/2019
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Jimenez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning in his first game against his first major league organization, helping the Chicago White Sox (cheap Chicago White Sox championship rings) beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Tuesday night.
The 22-year-old Jimenez was a top prospect for the Cubs before he headlined a rare trade with the White Sox for veteran left-hander Jose Quintana in July 2017. The Jimenez deal will live on in sports bars all over Chicago for many years to come, and the rookie added another wrinkle with one big swing in his first game at Wrigley Field.
"It was a dream come true," he said. "I wanted to hit one at Wrigley, but now with the White Sox it feels really good."
James McCann hit a leadoff single before Jimenez drove a 1-0 pitch from Pedro Strop (1-3) over the wall in left for his 12th homer . Considered one of baseball's top young sluggers, Jimenez has gone deep six times in his last nine games.
"We were hoping he could get a pitch he could handle and obviously he did," White Sox (custom championship rings) manager Rick Renteria said. "It was a big blow."
Adding another layer to the accomplishment, Jimenez cracked his bat on the swing. He smiled as he proudly displayed the broken lumber after the victory.
"It was an amazing moment," he said.
Evan Marshall (3-0) got two outs for the win and Alex Colome worked the ninth for his 15th save. Four White Sox relievers combined for four scoreless innings after Ivan Nova turned in one of his best starts of the season.
The slumping Cubs (custom Chicago Cubs championship rings) kicked off a 10-game homestand with their fourth loss in five games. Kyle Schwarber connected for his 16th homer and Cole Hamels pitched seven effective innings, but that was it for the North Siders.
"We just have to do a better job offensively," manager Joe Maddon said.
Hamels became the 10th left-hander with 2,500 career strikeouts when he threw a called third strike past Nova for the first out of the third . The crowd of 41,192 responded with a big cheer when his accomplishment was displayed on the videoboard, and Hamels tipped his cap in appreciation.
"To do it in front of fans that really understand and get it, that's a very special moment," Hamels said.
Jimenez had a chance to get the White Sox off to a fast start when he batted with the bases loaded in the first. But Hamels got him to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Schwarber then lined Nova's first pitch of the game into the bleachers in left for his fourth career leadoff homer . He also started Thursday's 7-3 loss to the Dodgers with a home run on Clayton Kershaw's first pitch.
The White Sox tied it in the sixth. Leury Garcia led off with a double and Tim Anderson followed with a hard grounder into the hole at shortstop. Javier Baez made a sliding stop, but he threw wild to first and Garcia hustled home on the error.
IN ACTION
Craig Kimbrel took another step toward joining the Cubs (mlb championship rings) when he worked a perfect inning in his first appearance with Triple-A Iowa. The 31-year-old Kimbrel is ramping up after finalizing a three-year contract with Chicago on June 7. The closer could pitch in another minor league game Thursday or Friday.
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06/19/2019
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Albers allowed just one inherited runner to score in a key spot, and Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar homered to help the Milwaukee Brewers avoid a three-game sweep with a 5-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants (cheap San Francisco Giants championship rings). Christian Yelich had two doubles, extending his season-high hitting streak to 13 games. The reigning NL MVP is batting .472 (25 for 53) with five homers over that stretch. Albers (3-2) pitched the fifth for the win, working in relief of starter Chase Anderson, who gave up three runs in four-plus innings.
"Matt came in in a big spot, was able to limit the damage to just one run," Yelich said. "With the bases loaded no outs you take that any time, consider that a victory. "That was really the game right there. It was a big spot." Albers struck out Posey before giving up Brandon Belt's sacrifice fly, which closed the Giants to within 4-3. He got Brandon Crawford to hit a pop up for the last out after walking Evan Longoria. Albers, Junior Guerra, Jeremy Jeffress and Josh Hader combined for five shutout innings of two-hit ball in relief for the Brewers. Hader pitched a perfect two final innings, striking out three to get his 17th save in 18 chances. "Our bullpen had a great game today," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "Really good stuff. That was the game, the bullpen today was the game for sure, and they did a nice job."
Thames' homer, his 10th of the season, off Giants (custom championship rings) starter Jeff Samardzija (3-6) in the fifth gave the Brewers a 4-2 lead. Samardzija gave up four runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings. The 34-year-old threw 114 pitches. Aguilar hit a pinch-hit homer off Giants reliever Derek Holland leading off the sixth to make it 5-3. The Brewers took an early lead on RBI singles from Yasmani Grandal in the first and Ben Gamel in the second. The Giants tied it in the second, when Evan Longoria's leadoff triple started a two-run inning. Yelich's double made it 3-2 in the fourth. The Brewers had lost four of their previous five after winning straight.
The Giants (mlb world series championship rings) had their season-high four-game winning streak snapped as they concluded their homestand at 5-3. "We didn't cash in enough," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "There was a lot of traffic out there and we couldn't get the big hit." With two outs and Ben Gamel aboard in the top of the second, Yelich hit a drive to right that slipped through a small gap between the fencing doors in right field. The fluky play cost the Brewers a run with Gamel, who would have easily scored if the ball remained in play, held at third on the ground-rule double. "It went through the wall, we obviously wish it didn't go through the wall," Yelich said. "Just one of those freak baseball plays."
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06/17/2019
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One year after he was left off Atlanta's (cheap Atlanta Braves championship rings) postseason rotation, Julio Teheran has re-emerged as a reliable leader on a young staff. Teheran's roll of superb starts is a big reason the Braves are back in first place in the NL East. Josh Donaldson drove in the tie-breaking run in Atlanta's five-run fifth inning to win his rematch with Joe Musgrove, Teheran allowed only one earned run and the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 on Thursday to complete a four-game sweep.
The Braves (championship rings for sale) have won seven straight to move into the division lead, 1 1/2 games ahead of idle Philadelphia. The Phillies and Braves open a three-game series on Friday night. Teheran (5-4) opened the game with two walks and needed 27 pitches to survive the first inning. He recovered, lasting six innings while giving up only three hits. He has allowed no more than one earned run in his last eight starts. Manager Brian Snitker said he saw Teheran's renewed resolve in spring training. "It was very evident to me that he was on a mission," Snitker said.
Teheran lowered his ERA to 2.92, a full run lower than last season's 3.94 mark, when he finished 9-9 and was in the bullpen for the NL division series loss to the Dodgers. He is on pace to challenge his career-best ERA of 2.89 in 2014, when he won 14 games. "That's the way I want to pitch," Teheran said. "Last year, it doesn't mean I was bad, but it was up and down." Luke Jackson gave up Starling Marte's run-scoring single in the ninth before recovering for his 10th save in 15 chances.
The Pirates (Pittsburgh Pirates championship rings) have lost seven straight after failing to hold an early 2-1 lead in this one. Musgrove (4-7) struck out Donaldson in the first inning. It was their first meeting since Musgrove hit Donaldson with a pitch on Monday night, igniting a confrontation that led to both players' ejections. The short outing gave Musgrove the rare opportunity of making two starts in the same series. "I was ready to go out and attack him like I normally would," Musgrove said. "I put that behind me. I can't go out there with that stuff lingering in the back of my mind or try to prove a point with him."
Musgrove hit Dansby Swanson with a first-inning pitch, but there was no sign of leftover bad feelings from the skirmish three days earlier. Freddie Freeman's triple to the right-field corner in the fifth drove in Swanson to tie the game. Donaldson, who is appealing his one-game suspension for his role in the confrontation, hit a single to right to drive in Freeman. Ozzie Albies added a two-run double to center field in the big inning.
The Braves' poor outfield defense helped Pittsburgh (mlb championship rings for sale) take the lead in the fourth. Left fielder Matt Joyce lost Colin Moran's fly ball in the sun, missing his late lunge for the ball as Moran moved to second on the error. Moran scored when Elias Diaz doubled past a diving Ronald Acuna Jr. in center field. Musgrove faced five batters in the fifth without recording an out. He allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks.
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06/14/2019
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Fiers pitched six effective innings, Matt Olson and Khris Davis hit consecutive homers, and the Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays (Tampa Bay Buccaneers championship rings for sale) 4-3 on Tuesday night. Oakland, at 34-34, is three games behind Texas for the second AL wild card. "Obviously the record right now doesn't show how good we really are," Fiers said. "It's a long season. You can't look too far ahead or how far ahead some of the teams are ahead of us. We've got to come play every day and just battle every day." Fiers (6-3) allowed two runs and three hits, and is 4-0 in seven starts beginning with his no-hitter against Cincinnati on May 7. Liam Hendriks, Lou Trivino and Blake Treinen, who gave up Willy Adames' RBI single in the ninth en route to his 15th save, combined to strike out six and complete the four-hitter.
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"We really haven't hit our stride yet," Oakland (custom Oakland Athletics championship rings) manager Bob Melvin said. "It's been a little of a fight and battle for us to this point but I think at some point we'll get past it." Tommy Pham homered for the Rays, who are 16 games over .500 despite an 18-15 record at home. "Kind of quiet at the plate," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "We didn't do many things wrong, we were just pitched really, really tough." The Rays are tied for first in the AL East with the New York Yankees, who split a day-night doubleheader with the Mets. After Matt Chapman reached on shortstop Adames' throwing error in the sixth, Olson hit a two-run homer and Davis then went deep two pitches later off Emilio Pagan (1-1) as Oakland took a 4-2 lead.
Pagan, acquired by Tampa Bay (championship sports rings) from the Athletics in a three-team trade in December, had allowed just one run over 19 innings in his previous 18 appearances. "No one likes doing bad," Pagan said. "Doesn't make me any more upset than it would anybody else." Pham put the Rays up 1-0 on a first-inning homer. He had been 1 for 17 in five games since returning June 6 from lower right leg injury. Adames walked with two outs in the fourth, went to third on Kevin Kiermaier's single and scored to make it 2-0 on a double steal.
Oakland (mlb championship rings for sale) got to 2-1 on Chad Pinder's RBI single in the fifth.
Athletics: SS Marcus Semien played in his 150th consecutive game, dating to last June 28. "He's as durable a player as I've ever had, so at this point in time I don't see a day off for him," Melvin said. Semien extended his hitting streak to nine games (16 for 39) after leading off the game with a double.
Rays: DH Austin Meadows finished his at-bat in the eighth after fouling a ball off his lower right leg. Soreness in the leg will likely keep him out of Wednesday's lineup. ... INF Joey Wendle (fractured right wrist) could be back Thursday.
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06/12/2019
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On the eve of Game 3 of the NBA (nba championship rings for sale) Finals, Kyle Lowry declared he was going to do two things: be more aggressive, and stay out of foul trouble. He followed through on his promise Wednesday night, and, as a result, the Toronto Raptors have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. "Because I know how I am," Lowry told ESPN after finishing with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, a steal and a block in 43 minutes in Toronto's 123-109 win over the Golden State Warriors. "I know what type of basketball player I am. I understand that these situations are never going to be easy. I understand that we know it's a hostile environment that we're going to be in, and I've got to be that guy, that confidence builder, that confident type of basketball player." Lowry was all of those things, and then some, for the Raptors. He shot 8-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range, while committing only three turnovers. Perhaps more important, he committed only three fouls.
Lowry fouled out of Game 2 with 3:52 remaining in the fourth quarter after committing a careless reach-in foul on Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins 92 feet from Golden State's basket. Lowry, who was 6-for-20 entering Game 3, admitted Tuesday that it was a "frustration foul," as he allowed himself to let the struggles he had shooting the ball through the first two games of this series cloud his mind. During Tuesday's practice, though, Raptors coach Nick Nurse had his video coordinators cue up footage of a team-wide epidemic of bad fouls that Toronto had been committing through the first two games. "We showed our team all the dumb fouls we took yesterday," Nurse told ESPN. "All of them. And we said we have to stop f---ing doing them. And he was one of many, but he was a very important one of many. "He took that like he should've, like a leader, and did a much better job."
In a game that was full of fouls on both sides -- Toronto committed 22, and Golden State (cheap Golden State Warriors championship rings) 21 -- the Raptors didn't completely get away from the problem. But Lowry, after picking up two fouls late in the first half to go into halftime with three, didn't get another the rest of the game, allowing him to remain on the court and in charge of the team. "I was a dumb fouler," he told ESPN. "We were putting our hands up, man. We still gave up, what, 30 free throws? Steph [Curry] had 14 again, but we put ourselves in better positions and put myself in a better position to stay on the floor."
It was good he did, too, because he had things going offensively in a way he didn't the first two games. He was far from alone, though, as Toronto finished the game shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 17-for-38 (44.7 percent) from 3-point range, with 11 of those makes coming from Lowry and Danny Green (6-for-9) alone. Someone on the Raptors wrote "Let it rip" on the whiteboard in the locker room pregame -- a mantra the team took to heart throughout Game 3, and to great effect. "We haven't really had a good team shooting night, and I knew eventually, at some point, we were due for one," Green said. "So, luckily, we got one tonight, but we still have to do a better job defensively on that end of the floor to limit those guys better so we don't have to rely on our offense, or our shooting, to win games for us."
Green has a point, especially with the looming possibility of Golden State's (cheap championship rings) two injured sharpshooters, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, potentially coming back in Game 4 after sitting out Wednesday night with injuries. The Warriors besides Curry -- who finished with 47 points, eight rebounds and seven assists -- shot just 6-for-22 from 3-point range. It stands to reason those numbers will improve if Thompson and/or Durant are on the floor. For the Raptors, though, the focus has to be on themselves. Toronto is two wins away from its first NBA title, a journey it has made, largely, because of the brilliance of Kawhi Leonard.
But while Leonard was brilliant again in Game 3 -- finishing with 30 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks in 38 minutes -- the Raptors are a far different team when his supporting cast plays like it did in Games 1 and 3 of this series. Not coincidentally, those are the two games Toronto has won. And if Lowry is able to keep playing like he did in Game 3, the Raptors will feel good about their chances of getting those two more wins they need to win this series -- and the title. "I expected him to get going here," Nurse told ESPN. "I just thought the opportunities were there for him to get going. Sometimes we can't get him a shot. But there were opportunities for him to drive it, shoot it, and he stepped up and took them today."
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06/06/2019
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An early offensive punch from Robinson Chirinos, a solid effort by Houston's (cheap Houston Astros championship rings) bullpen and another baffling play by Seattle's defense helped the Astros keep rolling. Chirinos homered to cap a three-run first inning, Houston's bullpen pitched six shutout innings and the Astros beat the Mariners 4-2 on Monday night for their sixth win in seven games.
Chirinos' eighth home run capped a first inning in which Seattle's decision to use Cory Gearrin as an opener backfired. Gearrin (0-2) gave up an RBI triple to Josh Reddick, a run scoring groundout to Yuli Gurriel and Chirinos' long homer to cap his one inning of work before handing off to Wade LeBlanc. Chirinos was guessing he'd get a first-pitch fastball and was correct. "My plan was to swing early. He's a guy that likes to throw his fastball first pitch and after that he starts to use his slider," Chirinos said.
Houston (championship rings for sale) tacked on another run in the sixth when Seattle's defensive problems resurfaced. With runners at the corners and one out, Gurriel hit a grounder to shortstop Dylan Moore. Alex Bregman broke from third to try and score and Moore threw to the plate, but catcher Omar Narvaez had taken several steps up the first base line believing Moore was going to try and turn a double play. The throw was on target and beat Bregman easily, but instead bounced to the backstop as a fielders' choice and the fourth run for Houston. Seattle manager Scott Servais said Narvaez was at fault.
"When the ball is hit the first thing you are thinking is it's a double play, and Dylan actually made the right read. He wasn't going to be able to turn a double play on that," Servais said. "He made a very athletic throw to the plate, and Omar just vacated too early. You got to make sure he is committed to going to second before you trail the play to go back it up."
Houston (mlb championship rings) starter Corbin Martin was pulled after just three innings, but relievers Framber Valez (2-2) and Chris Devenski worked five scoreless innings. Ryan Pressly pitched the ninth for his third save. Martin has not been able to finish four innings in his last three starts. "I was falling behind in the count. I wasn't as aggressive as I needed to be and throwing 30 pitches in the first inning that kind of slows down the rest of my outing," Martin said. Seattle got solo home runs from Mallex Smith and Edwin Encarnacion in the third inning, but the Mariners were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, leaving runners at either second or third base in each of the first five innings. Jake Marisnick saved a run in the eighth with a diving catch of Moore's liner to end the inning.
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06/04/2019
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Eddie Rosario hit a tiebreaking two-run single off Adam Kolarek in the ninth inning after a pair of batters were hit by pitches, and the Twins (Minnesota Twins championship rings for sale) beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 Friday night in a matchup of two of the major leagues' hottest teams. Minnesota, a big league-best 38-18, overcame a 3-1 fifth-inning deficit and won for the 13th time in 16 games. The Twins opened a season-high 10 1/2-game lead in the AL Central.
"We don't want our guys getting nicked up or anything, but sometimes you take the baserunners any way you can," Twins (world series rings) manager Rocco Baldelli said. "And sometimes it takes a base hit with men on base to kind of wake everyone up and get things going." Jose Berrios and Taylor Rogers (2-1) combined on a four-hitter and stopped a six-game winning streak by the Rays (35-20), their longest since last August. Tampa Bay won the series opener 14-3 and had allowed three runs or fewer in its previous nine games. "It's something we've seen this year. In the games that we have not played our best or lost, we've come back the day after and really pulled together and played good baseball," Baldelli said. "It's what we've come to expect. I think we have the type of guys that regardless of what happens today, they'll be ready to play tomorrow." Helped by $7.11 tickets, the Rays drew 14,375 to Tropicana Field after three straight days of crowds ranging from 5,786 to 8,076.
The Twins (championship rings for sale) have scored three or more runs in 24 straight games, matching the Minnesota record for a single season, set in 2006. They trailed 3-1 in the fifth before Polanco drove in a run with his second double and scored on a single by Willians Astudillo. Diego Castillo (1-4) hit Jonathan Schoop on the left shoulder with a slider leading off the ninth. Schoop was sacrificed to second and took third on a groundout. Polanco was intentionally walked, and Castillo plunked Astudillo on the left arm with a slider on a 1-2 count. Kolarek, a left-hander, relieved to face the left-handed hitting Rosario, and Rosario grounded an opposite-field single to left, past the spot vacated when third baseman Christian Arroyo shifted toward shortstop.
Rogers (2-1) retired his first six batters, allowed Daniel Robertson's two-out single in the ninth, then retired Mike Zunino on a groundout. Berrios struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and three hits. Rays opener Ryne Stanek gave up one run in two innings. Astudillo had an RBI single in the first, but Kevin Kiermaier's two-run homer in the second put the Rays ahead. Austin Meadows stole home in the third when with runners at the corners and two outs, Willy Adames got caught in a rundown while Meadows dashed home. The throw from Schoop at second was in the dirt and got away from Astudillo at the plate. Astudillo was thrown out at the plate by Kiermaier while trying to score on C.J. Cron's two-out double to center.
Posted to Generalna
06/01/2019
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