Marlins vs. Pirates

The Marlins beat the Pirates 6-o Tuesday. Florida got to Pittsburgh’s Zach Duke in the 5th, scoring four runs in the inning. Ricky Nolasco helped himself out at the plate by driving in the Marlins first run on an RBI single. A few batters later, Gaby Sanchez singled to drive in two more runs. Dan Uggla followed Sanchez with a sacrifice fly to score Logan Morrison. Florida tagged on another run in the 6th on an RBI double by Nolasco. Nolasco had two RBI’s in the game. A double by Morrison in the 9th drove in the Marlins final run.

Nolasco got the win for Florida, going 6 innings and giving up no runs on five hits while striking out nine. Pirates starter Zach Duke took the loss, going 5.2 innings and allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out four.

Phillies vs. Giants

The Phillies beat the Giants 9-3, to take the NL Wild Card lead. San Francisco scored two runs in the 1st — one on a double play by Aubrey Huff which drove in Andres Torres, and the second on a homer by former Phillie Pat Burrell. Philadelphia tied it up in the 5th inning on a two-RBI single by Jimmy Rollins. Shane Victorino would give Philadelphia the lead in the 6th on a two-run double to center field. Jose Guillen homered for the Giants in the top of the 7th to cut the Phillies lead to 4-3. Philadelphia responded with a five-run 8th inning.

Roy Oswalt went 7 strong innings to get the win for Philadelphia. He gave up three runs on six hits while striking out seven. Barry Zito took the loss, going just 5 innings and allowing four runs on eight hits.

Braves vs. Nationals

The Braves beat the Nationals 10-2 in the series opener. There was no score until the 6th inning when Wil Nieves and Michael Morse had back-to-back doubles to give Washington a 2-0 lead. Atlanta responded in the bottom of the 6th with four runs. Diory Hernandez hit his first home run, a solo shot, for Atlanta. Later in the inning, back-to-back doubles by Martin Prado and Matt Diaz would give the Braves the lead. Atlanta tagged on four more runs in the 7th. A throwing error by Adam Dunn allowed Rick Ankiel to score. A single by Prado and a double by Melky Cabrera drove in three runs to make it 8-2 Atlanta. The Braves added two more runs in the 8th to make it 10-2.

Rookie, Mike Minor, pitched 6 solid innings to get his first win. He gave up two runs on five hits while striking out five. Scott Olsen took the loss for Washington. He went 5 innings, giving up three runs on three hits while striking out four.

Mets vs. Astros

The Mets dropped the second game in their series with the Astros, losing 4-3. Jose Reyes got the Mets on the board in the 1st inning, scoring on a single by Fernando Martinez. Their lead didn’t last long, however, as the Astros took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 1st on a three-run shot off the bat of Hunter Pence. Reyes would ground out  in the 2nd for the Mets to drive home Josh Thole. Trailing 3-2 in the 8th, David Wright tied it up with a solo shot to left field. Pence got to Mets starter Johan Santana again in the bottom of the 8th, hitting his second home run of the game and giving Houston the go-ahead run.

Santana took the loss for the Mets, going 8 innings and giving up four runs on nine hits while striking out seven. Houston starter, Nelson Figueroa, went 5 innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out four to take a no decision. Mark Melancon got the win for Houston after pitching an inning of relief in the 8th. Wilton Lopez recorded his first save for the Astros.

Mets vs. Phillies

The Phillies beat the Mets in a score of 7-5. In the first Placido Polanco doubled to score Raul Ibanez to put the Phillies on the board.  In the 3rd Jose Reyes singled scoring Jeff Francoeur to tie the game.  In the 4th Josh Thole singled scoring David Wright giving the Mets the lead.  The Phillies scored 6 runs in the 8th with hits from Ben Francisco, Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins, and Mike Sweeney.  The Mets fought back scoring 3 runs in the 9th when Mike Hessman hit a 3 run homer but it wasn’t enough.

Jon Niese pitched 7 innings giving up 4 hits, 1 run, and 7 strikeouts.  Joe Blanton pitched 7 innings giving up 7 hits, 2 runs, and 4 strikeouts.  Chad Durbin got the win pitching 1 inning giving up no hits with 1 strikeout.  Bobby Parnell got the loss while not retiring a batter and giving up 4 hits and 4 runs.

Marlins vs. Cardinals

The Cardinals beat the Marlins in a score of 7-0.  In the first inning Albert Pujols hit a 3 run home run scoring Felipe López and Jon Jay.  In the 3rd inning Matt Holiday doubled scoring Jon Jay.  In the 4th The Cardinals added 3 more runs when Brendan Ryan doubled scoring Aaron Miles, Jon Jay doubled scoring Brendan Ryan, and  Albert Pujols doubled scoring Jon Jay.

Adam Wainwright got the win after pitching a complete game shutout giving up just 2 hits with 7 strikeouts.  The loss went to Ricky Nolasco who pitched 5 innings giving up 10 hits, 7 runs, and 6 strikeouts.

Braves vs. Giants

The Giants beat the Braves in a score of 3-2. The Giants scored in the 1st when Aubrey Huff grounded out scoring Andres Torres.  The Braves tied it up in the 5th when Alex Gonzalez hit a solo shot.  The Braves took the lead in the 6th when Chipper Jones hit a solo home run.  The Giants tied it up in the 9th when Aubrey Huff scored due to an error by Chipper Jones.  In the 11th Pat Burell hit a sac fly to score Aubrey Huff.

Barry Zito pitched 7 innings giving up 4 hits, 2 runs, and 10 strikeouts.  Tommy Hanson pitched 7 innings giving up 3 hits, 1 run, and 3 strikeouts.  Javier Lopez got the win after pitching 1 inning giving up 1 hit, no runs, and 1 strikeout.  The loss went to Peter Moylan who pitched 1.2 innings giving up 1 hit, 1 run, and no strikeouts.  The save went to Brian Wilson who pitched a perfect 9th with 1 strikeout.

Nationals vs. Dodgers

The Nationals beat the Dodgers in a score of 6-3. The Nationals scored 3 runs in the 1st when Adam Dunn hit a 3 run homer scoring Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman.  In the 3rd Adam Dunn hit another 3 run bomb scoring Desmond and Zimmerman making the score 6-0.   The Dodgers scored 3 runs in the 4th when Andre Either homered scoring Ryan Theriot and Casey Blake singled scoring James Loney.

John Lannan got the win and pitched 6 innings giving up 5 hits, 3 runs, and 2 strikeouts.  Clayton Kershaw got the loss and pitched 6 innings giving up 7 hits, 6 runs, and 9 strikeouts.  Drew Storen got his 1st save of the season giving up no hits with 1 walk.

Braves vs. Giants

The Braves took the opening game of their four-game series with the Giants by a score of 3-2. San Francisco jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st as Andres Torres scored on Aubrey Huff’s ground out. The Giants tagged on another run in the 2nd when Torres hit a double to center, driving home Aaron Rowand. Atlanta tied up the game in the bottom of the 2nd with a two-run shot to left field off the bat of Alex Gonzalez. Eric  Hinske would homer for the Braves in the bottom of the 6th to make it 3-2 Atlanta.

Jair Jurrjens got the win, going 6 innings and giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out three. Tim Lincecum took the loss, going 6.1 innings and allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven. Billy Wagner recorded his 26th save of the season for Atlanta.

Marlins vs. Phillies

The Phillies beat the Marlins 5-4 in 10 innings. The game was scoreless until the top of the 6th when Carlos Ruiz doubled, hitting  a line drive to center to drive in Raul Ibanez and Domonic Brown, giving Philadelphia a 2-0 lead. The Marlins came back in the bottom of the 7th to score four runs. Donnie Murphy hit a ground-rule double to drive in a run. Two batters later, Logan Morrison walked with the bases loaded tying the game at 2-2. Gaby Sanchez followed with a single to drive in two more runs for Florida. Going into the 9th with a 4-2 lead, a Hanley Ramirez error along with poor pitching from the Florida bullpen allowed for the Phillies to tie up the game. The game winning run for the Phillies came in the top of the 10th on a homer to left field off the bat of Ruiz.

Phillies starter Roy Oswalt went 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out five. Ryan Madson got the win for Philadelphia. Chris Volstad went 5.2 innings for Florida, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out two batters. Will Ohman took the loss for Florida. Brad Lidge recorded his 12th save for the Phillies.

Nationals vs. Diamondbacks

The Nationals lost to the Diamondbacks by a score of 8-4. A fielding error by Adam Dunn in the 2nd allowed for Rusty Ryal to reach base and Adam LaRoche to score for Arizona. Ryal would score later in the inning on a double by Bobby Crosby. Adam Kennedy got Washington on the board in the 3rd with a solo shot to right field, cutting Arizona’s lead to 2-1. The next inning, Stephen Drew hit an RBI single for Arizona. Arizona starter Barry Enright helped himself out at the plate, driving in Drew with a single to center field. Ryan Zimmerman homered in the top of the 5th, cutting the lead to 4-2. Zimmerman had two home runs on the night. Arizona would respond, however, with three more runs in the bottom of the 5th. Roger Bernadina homered in the 7th for Washington. Arizona tagged on their 8th run in the 8th on a sacrifice fly by Justin Upton.

Ross Detwiler took the loss for Washington. He lasted only 4 innings, giving up seven runs on  nine hits while striking out five. Barry Enright got the win for Arizona. He went 6 innings allowing two runs on six hits while striking out three.

Phillies vs. Diamondbacks

Justin Upton scored in a bases loaded walk in the first inning for the Diamondbacks.  The Phillies scored 2 runs in the third when Ryan Howard singled home Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz walked with the bases loaded scoring Raul Ibanez.  Mark Reynolds hit a solo shot in the fourth to time the game and added another in the fifth when Stephen Drew singled home Adam LaRoche.  In the bottom of the inning Jason Werth homered scoring Ryan Howard to take the lead.  The diamondbacks took the lead in the 6th when they scored 2 runs Adam LaRoche hit a sac fly to score Chris Young and a Miguel Montero ground out scored Kelly Johnson.  The Phillies then took the lead in the bottom of the inning when they scored 3 runs when Raul Ibanez singled home Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard homered scoring Raul Ibanez.  In the seventh Cody Ransom homered scoring Carlos Ruiz adding 2 more runs for the Phils.

Cole Hamels pitched 5 innings giving up 6 hits, 3 runs, and 8 strikeouts.  Rodrigo Lopez pitched 5 innings giving up 7 hits, 4 runs, and 4 strikeouts.  David Herndon got the win pitching 1 inning giving up  1 hit, 2 runs and no strikeouts.  The loss went to Jordan Norberto who did not record an out and pitched 2 hits and 2 runs.

Braves vs. Nationals

The Nationals beat the Braves in a score of 3-0. Nyjer Morgan scored in the first for the Nationals on a throwing error by Brian McCann.  In the third the Nationals added 2 more runs when Ian Desmond singled home Ivan Rodriguez and Roger Bernadina.

Miguel Batista won and pitched 5 innings giving up 3 hits, no runs with 6 strikeouts.  Tommy Hanson got the lose and pitched 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, 3 runs, and 8 strikeouts.  Matt Capps got his 25th save of the season giving up no hits with 1 strikeout.

Mets vs. Cardinals

The Mets beat the Cardinals in a score of 8-2. Ryan Ludwick singled home Matt Holliday in the first.  The Mets struck back in the second when Ike Davis grounded out scoring David Wright.  In the third Jeff Francoeur homered scoring Carlos Beltran and Ike Davis.  In the fifth they added on 2 more runs when David Wright hit a sac fly to score Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran singled home Angel Pagan.  In the sixth Jose Reyes homered scoring Jon Niese for 2 more runs in the inning.  In the eight the Cardinals added a run when Randy Winn grounded into a double play scoring Ryan Ludwick.

Jon Niese got the win and pitched 6 innings giving up 7 hits, 1 run, and 1 strikeout.  The loss went to Adam Wainwright who pitched 5 innings giving up 6 hits, 6 runs, and 6 strikeouts.

Marlins vs. Giants

The Giants beat the Marlins in a score of 6-4. The Giants scored 2 runs in the third when Aubrey Huff doubled home Andrés Torres and Buster Posey singled home Aubrey Huff.  In the fifth the Marlins tied it up when Cody Ross homered scoring Wes Helms.  In the bottom of the inning the Giants reclaimed the lead when Freddy Sanchez singled home Andres Torres.  The Marlins again tied it up when Dan Uggla hit a solo shot in the seventh inning.  In the eighth Juan Uribe and Édgar Rentería both went deep adding 3 more runs for the Giants.  The Marlins added 1 more run in the ninth when Dan Uggla hit another solo shot.

Matt Cain pitched 7 innings giving up 4 hits, 3 runs, and 6 strikeouts.  Josh Johnson pitched 7 innings giving up 8 hits, 3 runs, and 5 strikeouts.  The win went to Sergio Romo who pitched 1 inning giving up no hits and the loss went to Brian Sanches who pitched 0.1 of an inning giving up 3 hits and 3 runs. Brian Wilson got the save but gave up a run and a hit with 2 strikeouts.

Braves vs. Mets

The first place Atlanta Braves opened up a three game series in New York against the second place Mets on Friday night.  Behind strong pitching and timely hitting, the Braves defeated the Mets by a score of 4-2 to extend their lead to four games in the NL East.

Braves starter Tommy Hanson and Mets starter R.A. Dickey pitched well, with each allowing only two runs over the first six innings.  The Mets threatened to break open a 2-2 tie in the sixth and put runners on second and third, but Bobby Cox called on reliever Eric O’Flaherty, who retired pinch hitter Jesus Feliciano on a ground ball to keep the Mets off of the scoreboard.  Despite throwing over 100 pitches, Jerry Manuel left Dickey in to pitch the seventh inning.  The knuckleballer retired the first two batters in the inning, but then allowed back-to-back home runs to Melky Cabrera and Omar Infante which gave the Braves a 4-2 lead. 

The Braves bullpen did the rest, shutting down the Mets for the final three innings.  Billy Wagner pitched a 1-2-3 ninth against his former club to pick up his 20th save on the season.  O’Flaherty (3-1) earned the win in relief, while Dickey (6-2) suffered the loss for the Mets.

 

Phillies vs. Reds

The Phillies and Reds played the wildest game of the night on Friday in Philadelphia.  The Reds appeared to be cruising to a victory, but the Phillies exploded for six runs in the ninth and used a walk-off home run in the tenth to defeat the Reds 9-7.

The Reds jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning off of Phils starter Joe Blanton, thanks to a three run homer from Jonny Gomes.  The Reds scored three more runs off of Blanton over his 5 1/3 innings, and added another run in the top of the ninth to take a commanding 7-1 lead.  Meanwhile, Reds starter Mike Leake was cruising, holding the Phillies at bay while helping out his own cause with three hits and an RBI.  However, it all came apart in the bottom of the ninth.

After a Ryan Howard RBI single with one out, Leake allowed a three run homer to Greg Dobbs which cut the lead to 7-5.  Leake departed and the Reds brought in their closer, Francisco Cordero.  Cordero retired his first batter, but after walking Ben Francisco, Cordero allowed a game tying home run to pinch hitter Cody Ransom to send the Phillies crowd into a frenzy.   Reliever Ryan Madson pitched a perfect tenth inning for the Phillies. Arthur Rhodes came on to pitch the bottom of the tenth for Cincinnati, and Raul Ibanez greeted him with a leadoff double.  Ryan Howard followed with an opposite field home run to give the Phillies the improbable victory.  Madson (2-0) picked up the win, while Rhodes (3-3) suffered the loss.

 

Nationals vs. Giants

It was the Strasburg and Dunn show Friday night in Washington as the Nationals defeated the Giants by a score of 8-1.

Rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg allowed a leadoff home run to San Francisco’s Andres Torres in the first inning, but settled down after that.  The Nationals tied the game in the bottom of the first off of Giants starter Matt Cain, and took the lead in the fourth inning on an Adam Dunn solo homer.  The Nats added two runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh, highlighted by a three run homer from Dunn.  Dunn’s second blast put the nail in the coffin for Cain (6-8) and the Giants.

Strasburg (3-2) allowed only three hits over his six innings of work, walking just one while striking out 8.  Three Nats relievers combined to shut out the Giants over the final three frames to close out the victory for Washington.

 

Marlins vs. Diamondbacks

After falling in the series opener in Arizona, the Florida Marlins bounced back to even the four game set by defeating the Diamondbacks 3-2 on Friday night.

Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco and D-Backs starter Dan Haren each pitched into the seventh inning and did their best to keep their opponents off of the scoreboard.  The Marlins broke through with two runs in the third on RBI singles from Dan Uggla and Cody Ross.  After Arizona scored a run in the fourth, the Marlins got that run back in the seventh.  Uggla’s RBI infield hit brought home Florida’s third run and ended the night for Haren (7-7).  Arizona answered with a run off of Nolasco (9-6) in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn’t bring home the tying run.  

The Marlins bullpen took control from there.  Clay Hensley struck out the side in the eighth inning, and Leo Nunez pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn save number 19 on the season.

Hamels with a classic gem

Cole Hamels pitched his second straight great game, the only difference was this time, he didn’t let the bullpen ruin it for him.  Hamels(8-8) went the distance in a 1-0 win versus the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night while only allowing three baserunners on two hits and one walk and using 118 pitches.  The Phillies have been waiting and hoping for Hamels to find his good stuff, and if he has now, it could not have come at a better time with the playoffs around the corner.  Ryan Howard was the only Philly player with two hits as he went 2-4 and contributed the only RBI on a double in the fourth inning, scoring Shane Victorino for the only run of the game.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more on Cole and this game.

The San Francisco Giants did what they did best, but also did exactly what they do worst.  Jonathan Sanchez(6-11) was a tough luck loser going six innings and allowing only three hits and three walks while striking out eight and only allowing Howard’s RBI double.  The Giants bats though only managed three baserunners with Ryan Garko and pinch hitter Rich Aurilia with a single in the ninth before pinch runner Andres Torres was thrown out trying to steal second.  The loss put the Giants down one game in the wildcard to the Rockies who won last night.

He's back!

Tim Hudson came back last night to the Braves after missing over a year with Tommy John surgery and I don’t think any Braves fans are complaining with his performance.  Hudson(1-0) worked into the sixth, getting one out in the inning and allowed six hits and three walks while allowing two runs and striking out five and only using 82 pitches.  The Braves bats got on the board early as Chipper Jones scored Matt Diaz on a double play ground out in the first.  In the third, when the Braves were now down 2-1, Tim Hudson himself scored on a balk after he walked earlier in the inning and Brian McCann later doubled in Martin Prado to give the Braves the lead for good.  The final insurance run that was necessary was scored by Chipper Jones on a Garrett Anderson RBI infield single in the eighth.  The Braves bullpen was solid until the ninth when Rafael Soriano got his 21st save but not without allowing a solo homer to Dan Uggla to pull the Marlins within one and allowing the tying run on base but held on for the 4-3 win.  The Braves Baseball Blog will have more on the Braves win and Hudson’s return.

The Marlins are basically in free fall at this point and they have now lost two in a row to the Braves after a tough weekend against the Padres.  Last night Chris Coghlan continued his hot hitting, going 3-4 with a run scored and Jorge Cantu also contributed three hits and a couple RBI.  Anibal Sanchez(2-6) didn’t pitch terribly, but still took the loss in going five innings allowing five hits and three runs along with two walks and four k’s and a balk to score a run.  FishGuts discusses the Marlins latest struggles.

Rockies break their slide

The Rockies came into this series at home against the Mets having lost their wild card lead and were tied with the Giants for that spot.  Luckily for them, the Mets are the Mets.   Jorge De La Rosa(13-9) survived a tough first inning in which he gave up two runs and threw 28 pitches and rebounded to go six innings allowing only four hits, two runs (1 earned) and three walks while striking out six.  The Rockies offense feasted on bad Met pitching as they scored their first on a bases loaded walk and then had a two run homer by Carlos Gonzalez in the second, a three run homer in the fourth by Todd Helton.  Another interesting note is that Jason Giambi, the former Yankee walked in the seventh as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded to get an RBI in his first at bat for the Rockies who now have a one game lead in the wildcard race.

The New York Mets really wish it was October 4th right now, its just terrible.  Mike Pelfrey(9-10) fell below .500 on the year as he only lasted four innings and allowed six hits, seven runs (only six earned), walked five and gave up two huge home runs and his ERA is now above 5 for the season.  Jeff Francouer did get the Mets on the board with a sac fly in the first inning and Fernando Tatis added an RBI single later in the inning.  The Mets got nothing else until the seventh against the Rockies relief pitching when Angel Pagan hit a triple scoring Corey Sullivan.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog will cover this Mets loss and all the Mets losses for you.

Bell with another save

The San Diego Padres are actually a “hot” team right now, just at the wrong time of the year.  The Padres got single runs in the second, fifth, seventh and eighth on their way to a 4-1 victory against the Nationals.  Will Venable had an RBI single to start the game, Kouzmanoff added a sac fly, Oscar Salazar had a solo home run and finally Drew Macias had the final nail with a single in the eigth scoring a run.  Clayton Richard(4-1) went 6.2 innings and allowedonly a single run and four hits and walking two to get the victory for the Nats and Heath Bell worked a perfect ninth with two k’s for his 33rd save of the season.

The Nationals bats have absolutely gone silent, which is a far cry from a few weeks ago.  The Nats only got four hits as a team last night, luckily one of them a home run.  Josh Bard hit his fourth homer of the year in the seventh inning chasing Clayton Richard and making the only blemish for Pads pitching.  J.D. Martin(3-4) pitched a good game going six innings with five hits, three runs but only two earned and three walks while striking out five and allowing a home run in the game.  Centerfield Gate covers more of the Nats struggles lately.