The Astros had a big night on Wednesday, picking up their 100th win of the season and clinching a playoff berth. They can thank Gerrit Cole for doing yeoman’s work in the game, as he struck out 10 batters over eight innings, becoming the first pitcher this season to pass the 300-strikeout milestone. Cole also joins Justin Verlander, Trevor Bauer and Shane Bieber as the only pitchers with more than 200 innings pitched on the season. Houston’s runs came on a Jose Altuve solo home run and a two-run home run from Yuli Gurriel. The Astros continue to hold the best record in baseball and look to secure home-field advantage through the playoffs. Here is a breakdown of the rest of yesterday’s games with playoff implications.
Cardinals Make Plays, Nationals Misplays
A quick look at the box score would give the impression Max Scherzer had a bad game yesterday. Even though he allowed two runs through six innings, he came out for the seventh on the strength of his 10th double-digit strikeout game of the season (92nd of his career). He struck out his 11th of the day to start the inning and induced a Yadier Molina pop-up before things fell apart. Paul DeJong hit a fly ball to left field that should have ended the inning, but the sun got into Juan Soto’s eyes and caused him to lose sight of the ball. Though not scored an error, the double sparked a three-run rally to end Scherzer’s outing with 6.2 innings pitched and five earned runs.
The Nationals didn’t roll over in their half of the eighth inning, and they had two baserunners on when Asdrubal Cabrera hit a deep drive to right field. Dexter Fowler ranged back to the track and leapt up over the wall to take away a home run. The Cards would get out of the inning and retain their 5-1 lead. Carlos Martinez picked up his 21st save, giving Adam Wainwright (7 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 3 K) the win and stretching St. Louis’ lead in the NL Central to three games.
Phillies and Mets Cling to Life
Zack Eflin went seven strong innings against Atlanta with one run (zero earned) on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Bryce Harper (1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB) and Cesar Hernandez (1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI) homered for Philadelphia in the 4-1 victory.
The Mets’ matchup in Colorado wasn’t quite as clean. After allowing a run in the top of the eighth inning, Rockies reliever Jairo Diaz came back in for the ninth to continue his bid for a save but went walk, single, single to blow the slim 4-3 lead. Diaz loaded the bases before being removed, but with none out, the bases full, and the game tied, Joe Harvey had a tough task to salvage the game, especially with Pete Alonso at the plate. Earlier in the game, Alonso hit his 49th home run of the season, breaking the Mets’ all-time team record for home runs in a season, making the Mets the 10th team this season to do so. Alonso didn’t homer but did pick up the RBI on a walk. New York would add two more runs and take the game 7-4.
The wins by the Phillies and the Mets keep them alive in the Wild Card race, pulling them both to just three games back of the second Wild Card spot.
Lamet Plays Spoiler in Milwaukee
The Padres got a surprising two-run home run from 28-year-old rookie callup Seth Mejias-Brean to put up all the scoring that they would need in their tilt against the Brewers. Dinelson Lamet was dominant in his six innings, racking up 14 strikeouts. He surrendered three walks and three hits, including a solo home run to Keston Hiura. The loss twinned with a St. Louis win drops Milwaukee three back in the race for the NL Central. The St. Louis win did help Milwaukee because it came against the Nationals, and the Brewers remain 1.5 back of Washington in their race for the top Wild Card spot. Milwaukee remains tied for the second spot with the Cubs, three games up on Philadelphia and New York.
Reds Take Series in Chicago
The Cubs were in the same boat as the Brewers dealing with a St. Louis win and a Washington loss, and they took the same result. Eugenio Suarez swatted his 48th home run of the season, becoming the Venezuelan home run leader (passing Andres Galarraga) and tied the record for the most home runs by a third baseman in a season (with Mike Schmidt and Adrian Beltre). Most importantly, Jose Iglesias doubled in Aristides Aquino to give the Reds a 3-2 lead in the 10th, and Raisel Iglesias picked up the save. The Cubs’ loss, like the Brewers, dropped them three back of the Cardinals for the NL Central but allowed the Phillies and the Nets to move to inch closer to the final Wild Card spot.
Bailey and Duffy Deal in Duel
As the home starter, Homer Bailey retired the first three Royals of the game. Danny Duffy came in to pitch in the home half of the inning and faced the minimum. The two pitchers would trade stellar innings, each going seven strong. Bailey allowed three hits and a walk while striking out 11, and Duffy allowed just two hits and one walk and struck out six. Neither starter allowed a run or factored into the decision.
The relievers didn’t allow a run until the 11th inning. Kansas City’s Jesse Hahn gave up a leadoff walk to Jurickson Profar, who stole second base to get into scoring position. With two out, Matt Olson was intentionally walked to get to Mark Canha, and he made them pay. Canha tucked a 1-2 pitch just inside the right field foul line to drive in Profar to grab the Athletics’ 92nd win of the season. Oakland held its two-game lead over Tampa Bay for home-field advantage in the AL Wild Card game.
Tampa Bay Rallies in Los Angeles
The Yankees had a chance to clinch the AL East earlier in the evening, but they couldn’t beat the Angels, losing 3-2. New York became spectators, as they watched the Dodgers and Rays face off in Los Angeles.
The score flip-flopped throughout the game, but the Dodgers held a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth for Kenley Jansen. Tommy Pham singled and stole second, then Matt Duffy walked and was lifted for pinch-runner Johnny Davis. Ji-Man Choi’s single into left field scored Pham and sent Davis to third. Travis d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly tied the game and handed Jansen his eighth blown save of the year.
Austin Meadows broke the tie with on a solo home run to lead off the top of the 11th. After Tommy Pham doubled and moved over to third on a groundout, Ji-Man Choi would give the Rays an insurance run on a sacrifice fly. It was an insurance run they would need, as Peter Fairbanks gave up a run in his save opportunity, but he struck out Russell Martin to secure the 8-7 win. The Rays held their elimination number at one, but more critically held their half-game lead for the second Wild Card spot over Cleveland. They remain two games back of Oakland for the top Wild Card position.
Cleveland Runs Season-Series Against Detroit to 17-1
Last night’s game needed extra innings, but based on the results from the rest of the season series, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Cleveland won. On April 10th, the Tigers evened their first series against Cleveland at one, picking up a 4-1 win. Detroit would go on to lose the next 16 games against Cleveland, including last night’s ballgame. Mercifully for Detroit, the series ends today.
Victor Reyes picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the third inning to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Cleveland tied it quickly in the bottom of the third on a Carlos Santana single. Aaron Civale pitched efficiently to contact, going 7.2 innings on 94 pitches but only striking out four. Detroit got excellent pitching from starter Spencer Turnbull (5 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 8 K), David McKay, Bryan Garcia and Buck Farmer, but Jose Cisnero gave up a walk-off single to Yasiel Puig, scoring Bradley Zimmer in the 10th.
It was a win that Cleveland needed for their Wild Card chase. They sit 2.5 back of Oakland for first position and a half-game behind Tampa Bay for the second position.
White Sox Bullpen Stops Twins
Chicago’s Dylan Covey was scratched with a shoulder issue and the White Sox called upon their bullpen. Eight pitchers combined to limit the powerful Twins to just one run on three hits. Jake Odorizzi got the start for Minnesota, giving up two earned runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out nine. The loss, combined with Cleveland’s win, drops the Twins’ lead in the NL Central to four games. The Twins look to whittle down Cleveland’s elimination number (7) when they take on Kansas City for a four-game series beginning today.
Transactions
Giancarlo Stanton returned at long last to the Yankees’ lineup. He started the game in left field and batted fifth, going 1-for-3 with a double. Tyler Wade replaced him defensively in the seventh inning.
The Seattle Mariners activated Domingo Santana from the IL. Although active, Santana did not play in last night’s contest against the Pirates. He is slashing .256/.331/.448 in 116 games this season.
Miguel Rojas signed a two-year extension with the Miami Marlins. The 30-year-old infielder is hitting .288 this season and is slugging just .388, but he’s a defensive strength up the middle for the Marlins. He does have eight stolen bases in 2019.
Injuries
Ketel Marte left Tuesday’s game with back tightness and is experiencing some inflammation. A precautionary CT scan will be performed today. The Diamondbacks elimination number is 6, so their chances at the playoffs are on life-support. Expect Marte to miss a few games, and with time running out, he may not return in 2019. Don’t drop him yet, but start looking for alternatives if Marte is sidelined long-term.
Luis Rengifo has a broken hamate bone and will be out for the rest of the season.
Dellin Betances has a partially torn Achilles tendon and will be out for the rest of 2019.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was removed from last night’s game in what looks to be a left rib injury. Guerrero was bumped by Trey Mancini as he rounded first on a poor throw that got by the first baseman. He also slid awkwardly into second. Consider Guerrero day-to-day for now.
