Late rally leads Cardinals to victory over the Dodgers
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.
The St. Louis Cardinals cannot be stopped. The team proved as much during Sunday’s 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Things looked grim for the Cards throughout most of the contest, but that changed during the eighth inning. Down 2-1, St. Louis began its comeback.
Matt Carpenter got the rally started with a walk to leadoff the inning. He would come around to score on a Matt Holliday double. The next batter, Jhonny Peralta, gave the Cardinals the lead with an RBI single. Two hitters later, Mark Reynolds would deliver a run-scoring double.
By the time the inning was over, St. Louis had scored three runs, and led the contest 4-2. That score would hold over the next two innings.
Randy Choate, Matt Belisle and Trevor Rosenthal would combine to throw two perfect frames. In the process, Rosenthal picked up his 18th save of the season.
With the win, St. Louis improved to a major-league best 38-19. The team currently holds a 6.5 game lead in the National League Central.
BLUE JAYS RALLY AFTER STRANGE PLAY
The Toronto Blue Jays managed a comeback during Sunday’s 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros, but it didn’t come without some controversy.
With the club down by two in the bottom of the ninth, Toronto mounted a rally. Munenori Kawasaki started the inning with a double, and managed to score on a Jose Reyes single.
With one out, Reyes would steal second, setting the stage for one of the stranger plays we’ve seen this season.
Jose Bautista appeared to hit a weak popup near second base that should have resulted in an out. The ball began drifted toward second base, where Reyes was standing. Realizing the ball was going to hit him, Reyes, while standing on the base, braced for contact. Villar, not realizing Reyes was in the way, collided into him, missing the ball.
Since Reyes remained in the base path, the play was ruled a single. Even though the ball should have been caught, Bautista reached first and Reyes remained at second.
After a double-steal, Chris Colabello ended the game with a walk-off single. With the victory, Toronto has now won five straight games. The team remains 4.5 games back of the New York Yankees in the American League East.
CHRIS ARCHER HITS HIS MARK … AGAIN
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Archer might be the best pitcher in the game right now. Archer turned in another fantastic performance during the team’s 3-1 over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
Archer gave up one unearned run on six hits over seven strong innings. He struck out 11 and did not issue a walk during the contest.
Over his last three starts, Archer’s numbers have been bananas.
With the win, Archer improved to 7-4 on the season. He lowered his ERA to 1.84 with the performance. Archer is currently ranks second in ERA in the American League, behind only Sonny Gray.
GERRIT COLE CONTINUES TO BLOSSOM
If there’s a National League equivalent to what Chris Archer is doing, look no further than Gerrit Cole. The Pirates starter was phenomenal again during a 3-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
The 24-year-old ace gave up just six hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out seven and issued three walks during the outing. With the win, Cole improved to 9-2 on the season.
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Cole’s success not only highlights how great he’s been since arriving in the league, but also coincides with the franchise’s reversal of fortune.
With the performance, Cole lowered his ERA to 1.73. That figure currently leads the National League. The advanced metrics agree with the breakout as well. Cole owns a 2.50 FIP, and is sporting the best strikeout and walk rates of his career.
A.J. Burnett may be the leader of the staff, and Francisco Liriano may have the name recognition, but Cole has blossomed into the team’s ace.
Want to see more from Sunday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
