Dodgers pitching faces the minimum in shutout against Padres
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.
How’s this for a pitching performance? Los Angeles Dodgers starter Mike Bolsinger allowed a leadoff single to San Diego’s Yangervis Solarte in the first inning, and that was it for the evening.
Bolsinger, who’s been thrust into action following injuries to Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy, recovered to induce a ground ball double play from Cory Spangenberg and strike out Matt Kemp to end the first inning. From there, he retired the next 21 batters in succession until being lifted following the eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth and continued the roll, setting down all three batters he faced to wrap up the 2-0 victory.
Though not a perfect game, it’s pretty much the most efficient game a pitching staff can throw. The Dodgers faced the minimum 27 batters and needed exactly 100 pitches to go the distance. Bolsinger ended up with eight strikeouts over his eight innings while lowering his ERA to 0.71 over four starts. He’s currently on an 18 2/3 scoreless innings streak.
Offensively, the Dodgers had all they needed one batter into the game. Joc Pederson, who hit the game-winning homer in Friday’s win, launched a leadoff blast on Saturday. Howie Kendrick also homered off Dan Haren.
As for the Padres, it’s the eighth time their revamped offense has been shutout this season and the sixth time in their past 18 games.
[Woah, The Stew has a podcast now?! Yep, you should listen.]
ANTHONY RIZZO PLAYS HERO WITH HOME RUN, SIX RBIS
After a difficult loss in 13 innings on Friday, the Chicago Cubs turned to the rock in the middle of their batting order for guidance on Saturday. Anthony Rizzo answered the call, driving in a career-high six runs in Chicago’s 9-6 win.
Rizzo did all of his damage with two big swings. In the fifth, he cleared the bases with a ringing double off Rubby De La Rosa. He then provided the difference for the Cubs with a go-ahead three-run homer off Enrique Burgos in the ninth.
The Cubs bailed out Jake Arrieta, who experienced a rare difficult start on Saturday. Arrieta allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings. They pulled even following his exit on Jorge Soler’s two-run double. Ediwn Jackson, James Russell, Jason Motte and Pedro Strop combined for three innings of hitless relief to secure the win.
With the victory, Chicago gained another game on the St. Louis Cardinals, who lost 3-2 in a rain-shortened game in Kansas City. The Cubs sit 2 1/2 back headed into Sunday.
MATT HARVEY ROUGHED UP IN PITTSBURGH
Even baseball’s “Dark Knight” is due for a dark day every now and then. On Saturday, Matt Harvey experienced his against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing a season-high seven runs in a season-low four innings as the Mets fell 8-2.
Harvey was done in by the long ball early, allowing a two-run homer to Andrew McCutchen in the first and a solo blast to Pedro Alvarez in the second. The Pirates continued pecking away in the fourth, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring four times. Opposing starter A.J. Burnett even contributed a sacrifice fly, which further cements this as an off day for Harvey.
Speaking of Burnett, he was outstanding, allowing just one run on five hits through seven frames. He struck out a season-high 10 while lowering his ERA to an astonishing 1.37.
Pittsburgh will go for the three-game series sweep on Sunday as they inch closer to .500 at 20-22. The Mets fell to 24-20, but remained a game and a half behind Washington.
[Check out Big League Stew on Tumblr for even more baseball awesomeness.]
COLE HAMELS CRUISES AS STEPHEN STRASBURG STRUGGLES AGAIN
It was a tale of two pitchers in Washington. Phillies ace Cole Hamels, who still figures to be traded prior to the July 31 trade deadline, was outstanding again. Meanwhile, Stephen Strasburg, who may need a change of scenary to get on track, continued to scuffle as the Phillies knocked him around in their 8-1 victory.
For Hamels, it was his fourth consecutive win in as many starts and his fifth in six outings. He pitched eight innings, allowing one run on five hits. The 31-year-old left-hander’s stock continues to rise as his ERA lowered under 3.00 for the first time all season. He’s at 2.98 with a home matchup against Colorado awaiting next weekend.
For Strasburg, well, there’s not much good to say. He was tagged for six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings. His defense didn’t help, committing four errors during his abbreviated outing, but he wasn’t fooling many batters on this afternoon. Strasburg has now failed to complete four innings in three of his last four outings. He hasn’t completed six since April 25 in Miami.
Something’s definitely off, and it’s up to Strasburg and the Nationals to figure it out quickly.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
