Matt Carpenter’s late home run leads Cardinals to victory
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter refuses to cool down at the plate. The 29-year-old struck again Thursday against the Indians, hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning.
Up to that point, both sides had been engaged in quite the pitcher’s duel. Michael Wacha gave St. Louis five solid innings, giving up one run on five hits. He struck out seven and walked two during the outing.
He was matched by Trevor Bauer, who allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings. Bauer struck out 10 and walked three.
Trouble began right after Bauer was removed from the contest. With one out in the eighth, Bauer walked Peter Bourjos. Since he had already thrown 110 pitches, Bauer was taken out at that point.
Marc Rzepczynski then came on to face Carpenter. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Carpenter belted a two-run shot to center, giving the Cardinals the lead.
Seth Maness and Trevor Rosenthal would keep the Cleveland Indians off the board in the eighth and ninth innings, giving St. Louis the victory. With the win, the club improved to 24-10 on the year.
Through 30 games, Carpenter is hitting .322/.387/.612. He’s hit 15 doubles and six home runs this season.
HOUSTON BLASTS BLUE JAYS BULLPEN
The Houston Astros pulled off a late come back Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
With the club trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Houston started to claw their way back into the contest.
The fun started once Blue Jays starter Drew Hutchison had been lifted from the game. Hutchison had been off to a rough start this season, but got back on track against the Astros. He allowed two runs on five hits over six innings. Hutchison struck out nine during the contest.
After throwing 98 pitches, Hutchison did not come out to start the seventh inning. He was replaced by Aaron Loup.
Loup’s issues began immediately. He allowed a single and a walk against the first two hitters he faced. The next hitter, Preston Tucker, brought in one of those runs with a double. Loup then allowed the tying run to cross the plate, giving up another double to Jonathan Villar. He was removed from the game at that point.
Roberto Osuna attempted to clean up the situation, but his teammates managed to let him down. After getting a quick out, the Astros ordered an intentional walk of Jose Altuve. Altuve attempted to steal second, which led to a throwing error from catcher Josh Thole. One run scored on the play, giving the Astros the lead. Osuna would strike out the next two hitters, but the damage had already been done.
With the 6-4 win, the Astros improved to 22-13. They lead the American League West by 4.5 games.
CARGO’S LATE BLAST ENDS ROCKIES LOSING STREAK
The Colorado Rockies’ losing streak has come to an end. After dropping 11 straight games, Colorado managed a win Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was not without some drama, however.
The Rockies entered the ninth inning trailing 4-2. Yimi Garcia took the mound for Los Angeles looking for the save, but couldn’t get the job done. Garcia alternated between singles and strikeouts against the first four batters he faced during the inning.
With two on and two outs, Carlos Gonzalez stepped the plate with a chance to put the team ahead. Coming into the contest, Gonzalez was hitting just .188, so he was definitely due for a big hit.
He would deliver. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Gonzalez smashed a 94 mph fastball out to right for the go-ahead three-run shot. John Axford would keep the Dodgers off the board in the bottom half of the inning, giving the Rockies the 5-4 victory.
Gonzalez finished 1 for 3, with two runs and three RBI. He walked in his other two plate appearances. Following Thursday’s game, he’s now hitting .192 on the season.
RAYS CONTINUE WINNING WAYS
The Tampa Bay Rays won their third straight contest Thursday against the New York Yankees.
Catcher Rene Rivera played a big role, driving in four runs during the contest. The team also received a strong pitching performance by Erasmo Ramirez. Ramirez tossed five scoreless innings, giving up just one hit.
With the win, Tampa Bay improved to four games over .500. It’s been a while since the Rays have been in this position.
After Ramirez left the contest, the team relied on rookie Matt Andriese to pick up the rare four-inning save. Andriese was being stretched out in case he needs to start down the road.
Tampa Bay is attempting to get by after losing both Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly to season-ending surgeries in the past week. If the club is worried about those injuries, it hasn’t shown up in their play just yet.
With the victory, the club improved to 20-16 on the year.
Want to see more from Thursday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
