The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.
Wild walkoff: One night after allowing the Royals to walk away with a walkoff walk win on Wednesday — say that 10 times fast — the Milwaukee Brewers got charitable again Thursday at Kauffman Stadium. Despite being one out away from a victory, closer John Axford blew his second save in as many days — but he had some big help from his defense.
A Branyan Pena single that brought home Mitch Maier with the tying run should beplaced on Axford's tab. But the winning run that Jarrod Dyson scored immediately after is on shortstop Edwin Maysonet's head as his ill-advised throw to second opened the door for Dyson to burn his way home for a wild finish.
'We played a good game until that last inning,'' Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. ''Same thing. We let it get away again.''
Dyson's dash allowed the Royals to secure a three-game sweep in which all three games were decided by one run. The Brewers are 1-5 in interleague play this season.
Steve Pearce facts?: Steve Pearce and Matt Wieters both tallied five RBI in Baltimore's 12-6 sweep-sealing win over the Pirates at Camden Yards. It marked the first time in 13 years that the O's had two players drive in five runs with the last instance coming when Cal Ripken and Will Clark did it in a 22-1 beating of the Braves on June 13, 1999. Pearce actually played a total of 65 games for the Pirates between 2010 and 2011 and joined the Orioles this season after being acquired from the Yankees farm system for cash.
Father knows best?: Kirk Gibson stayed with his Diamondbacks team in Texas instead of heading to his son's graduation in Michigan on Thursday night and his gruff reasoning for missing his son's milestone was about the most Kirk Gibson thing ever:
'You're supposed to graduate,'' Gibson said. ''His mom and the rest of the family will be there. He's coming to see me next week.''
Well, then. Despite the D-backs scoring only one run over the first two games of the series, Gibson's decision to stay was rewarded with an 11-3 rout of the Rangers.
'Stros bounce back: Houston regained some respect less than 24 hours after being perfect game'd by Matt Cain, taking home a 6-3 victory over the Giants on Thursday afternoon. Barry Zito's third inning actually might have been the definition of "imperfect" as he walked three straight batters to open the frame before serving up a grand slam to J.D. Martinez.
* * *
Quote of the Day:
"Let me tell you: You Tigers fans suck!"
— Comedian Jeff Garlin after singing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the Cubs-Tigers game at Wrigley Field. (He later apologized.) A large portion of the 42,292 fans in attendance cheered Detroit as a 5-3 win allowed them to win the three-game interleague series.
* * *
Photo of the Day: Does this guy know how to party or what?
Alice Cooper may not be as frequent a visitor to Kansas City as he is to Milwaukee, but the Royals took advantage of his presence on Thursday by having him throw out the first pitch.
* * *
Three facts for the water cooler
• Oakland hadn't swept a series on the road since late 2010 but that drought ended with an 8-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field. (Colorado, meanwhile, has been simply horrid against American League teams this season. The Rockies are 0-9 during interleague play with a road swing that includes visits to Detroit and Texas coming up.)
• White Sox righty Gavin Floyd is 1-4 with a 10.38 ERA over his last six starts. He gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings of work during a 5-3 loss to St. Louis at Busch Stadium.
• Lucas Duda recorded three RBI as the Mets recorded a sweep of the Rays with a 9-6 win at Tropicana Field. He has 17 RBI in his last 14 games.
Want more baseball fun all season long?
Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!
No comments:
Post a Comment