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Once again, Yasiel Puig stole the show for the Dodgers.
The rookie outfielder gave his team a two-run, go-ahead single in their 6-4 win Thursday, but he also gave the Dodgers a scare when he crashed into the right-field wall chasing a homer. The same wall, by the way, that already claimed another young star, Bryce Harper, as a victim.
The Dodgers were tied 3-3 with the Philadelphia Phillies going into the seventh inning. Chase Utley drove a line drive into right field. Puig gave chase, crashing into the wall as the ball flew over it. Utley, as you see above, didn't even know it was a homer until he was around third. Puig was visibly shaken up, but wasn't helped off the field like Harper.
Not only did Puig stay in the game, but in the bottom of the seventh, he delivered his two-run single into left field. That put the Dodgers back up 5-4. They'd add an insurance run in the eighth.
Quote of the night: Yes, we have a category for that later in The Juice (it's also a good one), but everybody else was fighting for second place behind Dodgers manager Don Mattingly on this night:
Don Mattingly on Yasiel Puig running hard into right-field wall: "They checked the wall. It's fine."
— Steve Dilbeck (@stevedilbeck) June 28, 2013
Burning question: Does this mean that Puig is tougher than Bryce Harper?
Hey, a winning streak: If you're counting, and many Dodgers fans are, that's six in a row for the boys in blue. They're now 36-42, six games out of first place and four behind the Giants and Rockies, who are tied for third. The Dodgers continue a four-game series with the Phillies (38-42) on Friday.
Elsewhere in NL East-NL West match-ups: The first-place Arizona Diamondbacks squeezed out a victory over the Washington Nationals. Literally. The winning run came on a 11th inning squeeze bunt by Didi Gregorius that plated A.J. Pollock. It gave the D-backs a 3-2 win.
Of course, this is how a game featuring two young pitching stars would end. Stephen Strasburg was on the mound for the Nats, going against Patrick Corbin for the D-backs. Their efforts were pretty similar — both pitching seven innings and giving up two runs. Strasburg struck out four and threw 113 pitches, while Corbin struck out six and threw 111 pitches.
Corbin remains at 9-0 for the D-backs, but they're 14-1 in games he's started this year.
MORE SCORES
Angels 3, Tigers 1: The Angels score two in the 10th to beat the Tigers — Albert Pujols hits the go-ahead double, which looks like it might be a homer, then looks like it might be caught. Josh Hamilton follows with a sac fly.
Rangers 2, Yankees 0: Derek Holland efficiently shuts out the Yankees on 92 pitches.
Cubs 7, Brewers 2: Matt Garza looks impressive for the Cubs, striking out 10 in seven innings and likely upping his trade value.
Mets 3, Rockies 2: It's a Byrd, it's a ... no, we'll just stop there. Marlon Byrd hits a two-run, go-ahead homer for the Mets in the eighth inning.
Orioles 7, Indians 3: Baltimore scores five runs in a wild fifth inning that included six hits and two errors.
Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 4: The Red Sox score seven runs in the second, and hold on from there. Jon Lester gets his eighth win, though he left the game with a hip injury. He doesn't expect to miss his next start, though.
Twins 3, Royals 1: Samuel Deduno keeps the Royals under wraps, pitching seven innings, giving up one run on five hits.
''I swung at a bad pitch (and) I thought I fouled it off. Obviously, I looked back on the replay, and I didn't. Something that I said wrong to the umpire, and I have to pay the consequences for it. Let my team down — obviously, something that won't happen again.''
— Manny Machado, on his first career ejection.
A caveman can't do that, but Denard Span can.
• The Red Sox (48-33) have had a winning record after 81 games for 16 straight seasons.
• Mike Trout was 4-for-5 for the Angels, his third four-hit game of the season and eighth of his career.
• Via ESPN Stats & Info: Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland is the first visiting pitcher at Yankee Stadium since Greg Maddux in 1997 to throw a nine-inning shutout on fewer than 100 pitches (aka "The Maddux.").
Baseball is back. Don't miss anything.
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