Walk-off winners…. Again! The Cardinals hit a walk-off two-run home run against the Cubs for the second day in a row. The game was tied 2-2 from the sixth inning all the way up until the 14th inning. The Cubs took a 3-2 lead behind a Javier Baez solo shot, his ninth of the year. Luke Farrell (the same Farrell that gave up the Kolten Wong walk-off the day before) was then called upon to try and finish of the Cards. He struck out Francisco Peña and Miles Mikolas to put the Cubs one out away from the win. Harrison Bader kept the Cardinals alive with a single before Dexter Fowler launched a two-run homer to end it.
Some notes from the game: Jon Lester ’s line was 5.1 innings, six hits, four walks, two runs, and four strike outs. Kris Bryant hit his fourth home run in his lone hit of the night. C.J. Edwards continued to be a dominant force out of the Cubbies bullpen; he pitched 1.1 innings and struck out two. For the Cardinals side of things: Michael Wacha ’s final line was 5.1 innings, six hits, three walks, one earned run, and five strike outs. Jedd Gyorko smacked his third home run and finished 2-for-5 with two runs. Kolten Wong racked up three hits with one being a triple. Lastly, Tommy Pham was able to pinch-hit, a good sign his groin injury is very minor.
Today’s Action
There are only 14 teams playing tonight, but as always there will still be plenty of action to get your eyes on. Yesterday gave us a lot of great pitching performances, today has the look of a much more hitting day with a lot of weaker pitchers on the mound. Let’s take a look at each game!
Jeff Samardzija will make his fourth start of the year as he takes on the Phillies. His ERA is sitting at 5.27 and he has yet to pitch more than five innings in any of his three starts thus far. Can he quiet the Phillies bats in Philadelphia or will Rhys Hoskins and co. get the best of him?
The Mets travel to Cincinnati for the start of a three game series with the Reds. P.J. Conlon will be making his Major League debut on the mound for the Metropolitans. Can he end the Mets current six game losing streak? Homer Bailey will be on the Hill for the Reds. Bailey has fared much better on the road than he has at home. He has a 5.09 home ERA compared to a 4.41 road ERA. Three of his four losses have come at home and he only has nine strikeouts in 23 home innings pitched, compared to 13 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched on the road.
Matt Moore got absolutely torched in his last start, can he bounce back tonight? In his last start he pitched four innings and gave up 11 hits, 10 runs, two walks, and three round-trippers. The good news for him is he is facing a different team tonight in the Tigers. Michael Fulmer will go for the Tigers and look to continue his successful start to the year as his ERA currently sits at 2.80.
The Cubs will look to bounce back from last night’s heartbreaking loss, as they take on the Marlins at home in Chicago. They will send Kyle Hendricks to the mound and he will have to try to outpitch Jarlin Garcia . That might be tough though, as Garcia has been incredible so far this year. He has made six starts and has not given up more than two runs in any of them. His ERA is a sparkling 1.09. Javier Baez will look to continue to be a big force in the Cubs lineup; he currently leads the team in home runs (9), batting average (.286), RBI (29), runs (23), stolen bases (3), triples (3), and doubles (9).
Two youngsters will take the ball in the Cardinals and Twins game today. John Gant and Fernando Romero have a combined 10 career starts between them and just one so far this year. Romero threw 5.2 shutout innings in his MLB debut five days ago and fantasy GM’s will be hoping for a repeat performance. Will Tommy Pham be back in the lineup today after giving way to Harrison Bader last night?
Two veteran lefties will go to battle in Oakland tonight as it will be Dallas Keuchel going against Brett Anderson . For Keuchel he will certainly be hoping to land a win as his record currently sits at 1-5. Anderson will be making just his second start of the season. Anyone else feeling a Springer Dinger tonight? He has crushed lefties this year; he has four home runs against them in just 37 ABs, compared to three home runs in 111 ABs against righties.
Last but not least, the Nationals travel to San Diego to take on the Padres. Stephen Strasburg will take on Tyson Ross in what has the looks of a pitching matchup with how well Ross has pitched this year. Bryce Harper , Trea Turner , and the hot swinging Matt Adams will certainly make things tough on Ross.
Baseball, baseball, and more baseball! What’s not to love?