Early Action

The Reds beat the Cubs 5-4 on a walk-off walk in the eleventh inning: Justin Wilson was called upon to keep the game tied at 4-4 in the eleventh inning but had a tough time throwing the ball over the plate; he walked the leadoff batter, then gave up a single, then walked another batter, before finally walking Billy Hamilton with the bases loaded to end the game. The Cubs got a monster day from Ian Happ who finished just a single shy of the cycle. The home run was his sixth of the year. Luis Castillo provided the Reds with a solid start as he tossed five innings of one-run baseball and struck out four.

Oakland takes down Toronto 5-4: Sam Gaviglio provided the Blue Jays with an outstanding 5.1 inning performance to help the Jays jump out to a 4-0 lead. He gave up no runs and struck out six. Unfortunately for Gaviglio and the Jays, the four run lead wouldn’t stick as the A’s got a clutch grand slam from Chad Pinder off of Tyler Clippard with two outs in the eighth inning that gave the A’s a 5-4 lead. Clippard was charged with two earned runs and a blown save. That would be enough for Oakland to take home the victory as Blake Treinen shut the Jays down in the ninth to pick up his tenth save of the year.

The Dodgers defeated the Nationals 4-1: The Dodgers got a great performance from Ross Stripling who tossed six innings and only gave up one run while striking out nine. The nine strikeouts were a new career high for Stripling. Joc Pederson had a good day out of the leadoff spot as he went 2-for-5 with a triple and a run scored. Tanner Roark kept the Nationals in the game as he provided a quality start with seven innings and eight strike outs while giving up three runs. Kenley Jansen picked up his seventh save and he has now made six straight appearances without giving up a run to lower his ERA from 5.40 to 3.38.

Phillies triumph over the Cardinals 7-6: Odubel Herrera blasted a two-run home run in the third inning to extend the Phillies lead to 3-0. The home run extended Herrera’s on-base streak to an outstanding 45 straight games. César Hernández also had a nice day as he finished 2-for-4 with his ninth stolen base of the year and he also scored two runs. On the Cardinals side of things, Tyler O’Neill blasted his first career home run. Tommy Pham finished 2-for-5 and scored a run as his strong start to the season continues.

 

Hot and Cold

Hot, Hot, Hot: Mookie Betts is 15-for-32 with a home run and three steals in his last seven games, Brandon Crawford is 15-for-26 with a home run and a steal in his last seven games, Whit Merrifield is 20-for-43 with a home run and eight steals in his last eleven games, Brandon Belt is 13-for-28 with four home runs in his last seven games. Niko Goodrum is 10-for-23 with three home runs in his last six games.

Ice Cold: Ryan Flaherty is 0-for-12 in his five games, Chris Owings is 1-for-20 in his last eight games, Didi Gregorius is 1-for-42 in his last ten games, Mike Trout is 1-for-18 in his last seven games, and Jordy Mercer is 1-for-17 in his last six games.

 

Burning Questions

How will Nick Kingham pitch in his third start of the season?

A pair of lefties will do battle in New York. Who comes out on top, Steven Matz or Patrick Corbin ?

Sean Newcomb has made three straight starts of six or more innings, two or fewer hits, and zero runs; can he keep it going tonight against the Marlins?

Freddy Peralta punched out 13 Rockies in his first career start six days ago, what will the follow up look like?

Andrew Heaney dominated the Astros in his last start; can he do it again tonight against the Rays?

James Paxton has four straight outings with a quality start; can he keep it going tonight in Seattle against the Tigers?

 

Stay tuned.