NY YANKEES (70-63) VS. TORONTO (60-74) (7-2 TOR) - This was ugly. Hiroki Kuroda, who had an ERA of 2.33 before facing the Red Sox three starts back, instead has now gotten rocked in three straight outings, this time receiving zero help from his catcher, Chris Stewart, who made a mind-boggling double screw-up in the first inning, dropping a 3rd out strikeout and then throwing the ball away to first, allowing the Blue Jays to double their early 2-0 lead to 4-0, a deficit that only grew over the next two innings and one the Yankees could not dig out of. After a very successful stretch where the Yankees posted a 11-3 record, they went 2-4 on a crucial road-trip and will come back to the Bronx potentially 6.5 back of Tampa Bay and 6 back of Oakland in the Wild Card race. A devastating road-trip, really. A ten-game homestand looms agains the Orioles (3), White Sox (3), and Red Sox (4). In all truth, the Yankees need to go 8-2 and possibly 9-1 at a minimum to keep their ever-fainting chances adrift in Mariano Rivera's final season. This won't be easy to accomplish given their combined 10-17 record against those three teams in 2013. Lowlights.
Now the rest of the league:
CHICAGO (56-77) VS. LOS ANGELES (78-55) (4-0 LA) - The big news to come out of this game, of course, was the fifth inning benching of phenom Yasiel Puig. After an incident last week in Miami with a late arrival to the ballpark for a game which saw him promptly removed from the starting lineup, Puig was pulled from the game today, and it would appear to be because of poor body language. Puig has finally begun to experience some of the troubles all young hot-shot Major Leaguers eventually go through, and he has not had much fun with it, and it now appears his struggles at the plate are beginning to negatively affect his demeanor when on the field, which is something that simply cannot happen, especially for a talent as raw as Puig who already has a bit of a problem of air-mailing the cutoff man in an attempt to always try to make the big play in the field. Hopefully for Puig and the Dodgers, this matter is nipped in the bud now, rather than continuing to become a propsering weed that can derail the beautiful garden Los Angeles has cultivated since June 22. In any case, Ricky Nolasco picked up where he left off from a stellar start against the Red Sox in his last appearance, and is proving himself to be an impeccable #4 starter that the Dodgers sorely needed. 11 strikeouts as Los Angeles took two of three from the Cubs and finished the season series 6-1 against the Northsiders. Highlights.
TEXAS (78-55) VS. SEATTLE (59-73) (12-4 TEX) - Last time out against Texas on August 17, Felix Hernandez gave up five runs in five innings, giving away an early 2-0 Mariners lead en route to a 15-3 Texas rout of Seattle. He picked up where he left off that day, giving up a career high eight earned runs in only three innings pitched as the Rangers swept the Mariners with a 12-4 decision at Safeco. Texas is now 19-6 in August and maintained their 2.5 game lead on the Oakland A's in the AL West. Highlights.
BALTIMORE (70-61) VS. BOSTON (79-55) (4-3 BOS) - The Orioles blew a 3-1 7th inning lead thanks to a Dustin Pedroia 2-run groundball single with two outs and then another two-out rally thanks to a fortuitous Green Monster by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a bloop shot hit by Mike Carp over Manny Machado's shoulder at 3rd in the 8th, lifting the Red Sox to a comeback 4-3 win to take the second game from Baltimore and set up for the sweep on Thursday, also evening the season series at 6-6. They are now 7.5 games ahead of the Orioles in the AL East, as the Orioles have struggled since playing the Arizona Diamondbacks (5-9) and are losing ground fast in the Wild Card race as well. After going 29-9 in one-run decisions in 2012, the Orioles are now 14-23 in in 2013, and lost the last seven such decisions they have been involved in. Highlights.
MILWAUKEE (58-74) VS. PITTSBURGH (77-55) (7-1 PIT) - Marlon Byrd made his debut, hit a three-run home run, and the Pirates rebounded from their 7-6 defeat on Tuesday. The beat goes on. They inch closer to a non-losing season with their 77th victory. Highlights.
MIAMI (49-82) VS. WASHINGTON (67-65) (4-3 WSH) - A 7th inning rally put the Nationals over the top, as they improve to being two games over .500 for the first time since they were 47-45 on the season, over 50 games ago. It has been a disappointing season overall, but they have finally started to play like they were expected to much earlier in the season. In all likelihood, far too little, far too late.
CLEVELAND (71-61) VS. ATLANTA (80-52) (3-2 ATL) - Chris Johnson had a two-out walk-off hit to continue his career season, the Braves improved to an MLB-best 46-18 at home, and the Braves took the second game of the series from the Indians. Cleveland has a 71-61 record and still sits well in the wild card race, #3 overall in that department, but their inability to beat contending teams continues to manifest itself.
OAKLAND (75-57) vs. DETROIT (77-56) (14-4 OAK) - Is there a team more prone to these weird bits of hot and cold play than the Oakland Athletics? After a 5-7 stretch of very underwhelming play, including dropping 2/3 at home to the poor Astros and Mariners, the A's have returned to the venue of the team that prematurely ended their dream 2012 season and proceeded to pound three of their stellar right-handed pitchers, winning for the third straight time at Comerica Park. In only 24 innings of play, the A's have plated 28 runs in games started by Anibal Sanchez, Justin Verlander, and Doug Fister. Brandon Moss continues to be an under-appreciated source of power, belting two more home runs and now sitting at 24 on the season. After dropping 2/3 in Oakland in April, the A's have now won the season series from the Tigers and can complete the rare four-game sweep on Thursday afternoon. The A's still sit 2.5 behind the Rangers in the AL West, but with the recent losses for the Indians and Orioles, their lead in the Wild Card race is beginning to get a bit loftier. Their other Wild Card foe right now are the Tampa Bay Rays, and they meet this weekend for three games in Oakland to further settle their differences.
ANAHEIM (59-72) VS. TAMPA BAY (75-56) (4-1 TB) - Chris Archer continued to make his case for Rookie of the Year, as he lowered his seasonal ERA to 2.81 behind seven innings of one-run ball, and the Rays won rather easily against Garrett Richards and the Angels to bounce back from blowing a 9th inning lead on Tuesday night. With David Price pitching on Thursday afternoon, it is hard to imagine the Rays dropping the rubber game before beginning that crucial series with Oakland.
PHILADELPHIA (61-72) VS. NY METS (59-72) (6-2 PHI) - Cole Hamels and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched. The Mets fell to 2-6 on their homestand. Otherwise, nothing of relevance here.
HOUSTON (44-88) vs. CHICAGO (56-76) (6-1 CHW) - Chris Sale pitched. White Sox won. Chicago actually has been on a good run of form of late, but at 56-76, it's not gonna help 2013 in any way shape or form. Just goes to show that, when Chris Sale gets a modicum of run support, he generally wins. He has had the worst run support in the AL in 2013 to date.
CINCINNATI (75-59) VS. ST. LOUIS (78-55) (10-0 CIN) - The Cardinals were 10-4 on the season against the Reds entering this game tonight, having successfully taken 2/3 in all four prior meetings and taking the first two games of this series. Behind a six-run 1st inning against ace Adam Wainwright, the Reds avoided the sweep, but questions still remain about the Reds. It's simply not excusable to lose 66% against a key division rival in a tight race. There are four games left in Cincinnati later this season, and no doubt it will be put up or shut up time for the Reds. They cannot win the season series at this point, but a strong showing in that final series could alter the picture of the NL Central and Wild Card races in a huge way. Salvage victory achieved.
KANSAS CITY (68-64) VS. MINNESOTA (57-74) (8-1 KC) - The Royals improved to 7-2 at Target Field in 2013 and have now won four straight after a seven game losing streak that basically ended their playoff chances. In any case, now at 68-64, there's a good chance the Royals can still get that first winning season in a decade. Was it worth trading away the promising Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi away for? Probably not.
SAN FRANCISCO (59-74) VS. COLORADO (63-72) (5-4 COL) - Rockies won the rubber game as Jhoulys Chacin threw 6.2 no-hit innings.
SAN DIEGO (60-73) VS. ARIZONA (68-64) (5-1 SD) - Padres avoided the sweep in the desert after jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first and never surrendering it.
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