Phillies vs. Indians

The Phillies scored 5 runs in the 2nd thanks to some hits by Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco, and Chase Utley.  The Indians scored 2 runs in the 5th thanks to a 2 run homer by Jason Donald.  The Phillies scored 2 more in the bottom now leading 7-2.   In the 6th the Phillies tacked on 5 more runds thanks to a Dane Sardinha homer,  Placido Polanco double, Jason Werth sac fly, and a Wilson Valdez single.  The Indians scored again in the 8th when Trevor Crown doubled home Jason Donald.  With 2 outs the game went into a rain delay with Carlos Santana at the plate.

Joe Blanton got the win after he  pitched 7.2 innings giving up 6 hits, 3 runs, with 8 strikeouts.  Fausto Carmona got the lose and pitched just 4 innings give up 9 hits and 7 runs and no strikeouts.

Marlins vs. Orioles

The Orioles beat the Marlins in a score of 11-5. The Marlins struck fist scoring 2 runs in the 1st with singles from both Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla.  They added another run in the 2nd when Gaby Sanchez doubled home Ronnie Paulino.  The Orioles scored 5 runs in the 3rd thanks to to hits from Julio Lugo, Miguel Tejada, Ty Wigginton, Luke Scott, and Adam Jones.  The Marlins scored in the 5th when Dan Uggla singled home Gaby Sanchez.  Adam Jones added another run for the Orioles when he hit a solo shot in the bottom of the inning.  The Orioles added another run in the 6th when Luke Scott doubled home Miguel Tejada, the scored 3 more runs in the 7th when Miguel Tejada hit a 3 run bomb, and another in the 8th when Craig Tatum doubled home Adam Jones.  The Marlins added another run in the 9th when Dan Uggla singled home Gaby Sanchez.

Kevin Millwood got the win and pitched 5 innings giving up 8 hits, 4 runs, with 3 strikeouts.  Nate Robertson took the lose after only lasting 2.1 innings giving up 7 hits, 5 runs, with 2 strikeouts.

Braves vs. White Sox

The Braves lost to the White Sox in a score of 2-0.  The only runs of the game came in the 8th when Paul Konerko homered scoring Juan Pierre.

Derek Lowe started for the Braves pitching 7 innings giving up 5 hits, no runs, with 4 strikeouts.  Takashi Saito got the lose pitching 1 inning giving up 2 hits and 2 runs.  Gavin Floyd started for the White sox pitching 7 innings  giving up 2 hits, no runs, with 9 strike outs.  JJ Putz got the win pitching just 1 inning.  Bobby Jenks got his 17th save of the season and 1 strike out.

Mets vs. Tigers

The Mets lose to the Tigers in a score of 5-6. The Tigers scored in the 1st when Miguel Cabrera hit a sac fly to score Austin Jackson.  The Tigers added 2 more runs in the 3rd when Magglio Ordonez hit a 2 run shot.  The Jesus Feliciano scored for the Mets in the 4th on an Ike Davis ground out.  In the 5th Ryan Raburn hit a solo shot, with the bases loaded Brandon Inge walked scoring Magglio Ordonez, and  Danny Worth grounded out to score Miguel Cabrera.  The Mets added 3 runs in the 6th from hits by David Wright, Ike Davis, and Jason Bay.  Chris Carter singled home Ruben Tejada to get the Mets another run in the 7th.

Armando Galarraga got the win pitching 6 innings giving up 5 hits, 4 runs, with 1 strikeout.  Hisanori Takahashi took the lose after he pitched 4 innings giving up 8 hits, 6 runs, with 4 strikeouts.  Jose Valverde got his 17th save of the season including 1 strikeout.

The Nationals were off today

Thursday’s games:

Phillies vs. Indians

Joe Blanton (2-5) and the Phillies finish up their series with the Indians this afternoon. Fausto Carmona (6-5) gets the start for Cleveland. Game time is 1:05 p.m. in Philadelphia.

Braves vs. White Sox

Derek Lowe (9-5) goes for win number 10 as he and the Braves take on Gavin Floyd (2-7) and the White Sox. First pitch is 2:05 p.m. in Chicago.

Marlins vs. Orioles

The Marlins send Nate Robertson (5-5) to the mound as they go for the sweep of the Orioles. Kevin Millwood (1-8) starts for Baltimore. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Baltimore.

Mets vs. Tigers

The Mets look to continue their winning ways at home as they go for the sweep of the Tigers. Hisanori Takahashi (6-2) starts for the Mets, while Armando Galarraga (2-1) gets the start for Detroit. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. in N.Y.

The Nationals have the night off.

Phillies vs. Red Sox

The Phillies hoped for a better outcome as they took on the Red Sox in game two of their series at Fenway.  Instead, Philadelphia’s starter gave up nine runs for the second game in a row, and the Red Sox cruised to a 10-2 victory.

Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka was scratched just before game time due to a strained forearm, and the Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second off of emergency starter Scott Atchinson thanks to a Brian Schneider two-run double.   However, the Red Sox jumped on pitcher Joe Blanton in the bottom of the inning.  JD Drew started off the scoring with a solo home run, and Daniel Nava hit a grand slam in his first major league at bat to give Boston a 5-2 lead. 

The Sox added three runs in the third and one more in the fourth off of Blanton (1-5), who gave up 13 hits in addition to nine runs in his four innings of work.  Boston reliever Manny Delcarmen (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings in relief and earned the victory.

 

Mets vs. Orioles

The Mets won back-to-back games on the road for the first time since last July as they defeated the last place Orioles 3-1 Saturday night in Baltimore.

Jose Reyes led off the game with a home run off of Baltimore starter Brian Matusz.  The Orioles tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the first off of Hisanori Takahashi on a Nick Markakis RBI double.   The game remained 1-1 until the top of the sixth, when the Mets took the lead.  The Orioles failed to turn a double play on a David Wright comebacker, allowing the Mets to score the go-ahead run.  Jeff Francoeur added a solo home run in the eighth inning to cap the scoring. 

Takahashi (5-2) gave up just one run and six hits over seven innings to earn the victory, while Matusz (2-7) took the loss.  Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 13th save.

 

Nationals vs. Indians

Cleveland rookie catcher Carlos Santana hit his first career home run, and the Indians jumped on Washington starter JD Martin for four runs in the second inning as they defeated the Nationals 7-1 in Cleveland.

Playing in his second major league game, the highly touted Santana drove in three runs to lead the Indians offense.  Indians starter Fausto Carmona (5-5) went nine strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out seven.  Ryan Zimmerman‘s eighth inning home run spoiled Carmona’s shutout bid.  Martin (0-2) pitched into the eighth inning, but allowed seven runs and took the loss.

The Nationals hope to avoid a sweep when they send phenom Stephen Strasburg to the mound on Sunday.

 

Braves vs. Twins

For the second straight night, two first place teams played a one run game.  After falling in the series opener, the Braves rebounded to defeat the Twins by a score of 3-2 at Target Field in Minnesota.

Braves starter Derek Lowe and Twins starter Nick Blackburn each allowed only two runs, but neither factored in the decision.  After the Twins took a 1-0 lead in the second, the Braves answered with two in the fifth thanks to a Melky Cabrera solo homer and an RBI double from Brooks Conrad.  A Joe Mauer double tied the game in the sixth, and the score remained even at 2 until the top of the ninth.  With runners on the corners, Conrad successfully executed a squeeze bunt, scoring Gregor Blanco with the go-ahead run. 

Atlanta’s Jonny Venters (2-0) struck out Jason Kubel with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth to earn the victory, while Minnesota’s Matt Guerrier (1-2) took the loss.  Billy Wagner worked around a one out single to nail down his 11th save for the Braves.

 

Marlins vs. Devil Rays

After winning on Friday in Tampa, the Marlins fell 6-5 on Saturday night as the Rays evened the Battle of Florida at one game apiece.

The Rays jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, thanks to home runs by Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Sean Rodrgiuez off of Florida starer Ricky Nolasco (5-5).   However, the Marlins battled back against Tampa starter Matt Garza.  Wes Helms hit a two run homer in the fourth and the Fish scored another in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-4.  After the Rays added a run in the seventh, the Marlins answered back in the eighth with one of their own, but couldn’t bring home the tying run. 

Closer Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect ninth for Tampa to earn save number 16 and preserve the victory for Garza (7-4) and the Rays.

Saturday’s games:

Phillies vs. Red Sox

Joe Blanton (1-4) and the Phillies look to rebound from their loss yesterday as they take on Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-2) and the Red Sox. First pitch is set for 4:10 p.m. in Boston.

Nationals vs. Indians

J.D. Martin (0-1) goes for win number one as he and the Nats take on Fausto Carmona (4-5) and the Indians. Start time is 7:05 in Cleveland.

Mets vs. Orioles

Hisanori Takahashi (4-2) and the Mets go up against Brian Matusz (2-6) and the Orioles. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. in Baltimore.

Braves vs. Twins

Derek Lowe (8-5) goes for his 9th win of the season, as he and the Braves take on Nick Blackburn (6-3) and the Twins. Game time is 7:10 p.m. in Minnesota.

Marlins vs. Rays

The Marlins look to take game two against the Rays. Ricky Nolasco (5-4) will take the mound for the Marlins, while Matt Garza (6-4) gets the start for the Rays. Game time is 7:10 p.m. in Tampa.