With the rainout on Tuesday night, the NY Yankees and Detroit Tigers were set for a day-night doubleheader. In the day game, the Tigers Rick Porcello regained his rookie season form. Porcello pitched seven scoreless innings while allowing just four hits. The Yankees Javier Vazquez, who has struggled and had his last start skipped, pitched well in the loss.
He allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings while striking out seven. In the night cap, the Yankees offense woke up against Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman and the bullpen (which consisted of former Yankee Phil Coke). Bonderman allowed two runs on five hits while striking out seven. The Yankees scored six runs in the top of the ninth to blow the game open.
Phil Hughes improves to 5-0
The pitching performance again went to the Yankees Phil Hughes, who lowered his ERA to 1.38 (best in the American League) and improved to 5-0. Hughes pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed five hits while striking out eight.
The Cincinnati Reds Homer Bailey allowed just four hits in his complete game shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates to complete the three-game sweep. Bailey also struck out six while not walking a batter. The red-hot Reds have won five in a row. Joey Votto hit his eighth homerun of the season (a two-run shot in the first inning) and Drew Stubbs hit s solo shot in the fourth inning.
Tim Wakefield returned to the Boston Red Sox starting rotation to give Josh Beckett a little extra rest. Wakefield pitched well enough to win, though Toronto Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum pitched better. Wakefield struck out five in seven innings while allowing three runs (two of which came on Travis Snider’s homerun) on five hits. Marcum pitched seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out six.
The Red Sox offense came alive against Blue Jays closer Kevin Gregg (scoring two runs on three hits) but Gregg struck out two in the inning and held off the Red Sox for the 3-2 win.
With the Washington Nationals and NY Mets game tied at 4-4 in the ninth inning, Mets manager Jerry Manuel went to closer Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod could not close out the game as Nationals outfielder Roger Bernadina hit a two-run homerun (his second homerun of the game) to take a 6-4 lead.
Nationals closer Matt Capps threw just 11 pitches for his 14th save. The win again went to reliever Tyler Clippard (his 7th) as he now leads Major League baseball in wins.
Roy Halladay was on the mound at Coors Field for the first game of the Philadelphia Phillies-Colorado Rockies day-night doubleheader. Halladay, who was born and raised in Colorado, was making his first appearance there and looking for his seventh victory of the season. Halladay did not have his best stuff as he allowed ten hits and two walks into the seventh inning.
Miguel Olivo walk-off homer
Despite not having his best stuff, Halladay held a 3-1 lead into the seventh before giving up a two-run triple to Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe. The game would stay tied into the tenth when Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo hit a solo homerun to lead off the inning off Phillies reliever Chad Durbin for a Rockies 4-3 walk-off. Olivo went 5-for-5 in the game and was a triple short of the cycle. The night game was rained out.
Derek Holland
There was a one-sided slugfest in Arlington last night as the Texas Rangers battered the Oakland A’s. The Rangers crushed five homeruns (Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, Max Ramirez, Michael Young, and Justin Smoak) along with their 17 hits as they won 10-1. The Rangers called up Derek Holland to start for the injured Matt Harrison and he was stellar.
He pitched six scoreless innings and allowed five hits while striking out seven. The Baltimore Orioles are beginning to receive consistently good pitching performances. Brad Bergesen, who has been great since his return from Triple-A Norfolk, has now won three straight starts. Bergesen pitched into the eighth inning before allowing any runs (on five hits). Luke Scott of the Orioles hit a solo homerun in the fourth inning against the Seattle Mariners Ryan Rowland-Smith in the Orioles 5-2 win.