Dodgers steal win over Rangers on bizarre walk-off balk
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The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled out a win in bizarre fashion Thursday against the Texas Rangers. The contest was decided on a walk-off balk in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the club a 1-0 victory.
As evidenced by the final score, offense did not reign supreme during the game. Both Anthony Ranaudo and Zack Greinke gave their clubs strong starts, leaving the bullpens to decide things. For a few innings, both pens performed well. That changed in the bottom of the ninth.
Yasmani Grandal opened the frame with a walk against reliever Keone Kela. He was replaced by Enrique Hernandez on the bases. Andre Ethier followed that up with a walk of his own, putting men on first and second.
For a second, it looked like Texas might escape the jam. Kela induced a double play against Alberto Callaspo. Hernandez advanced to third on the play, but Kela needed one more out in order to send the game into extras.
He didn’t get it. Kela managed a 1-2 count against Jimmy Rollins, and was just one strike away from ending the inning. On the next pitch, Kela appeared to start his windup, but stopped abruptly. A balk was called, scoring Hernandez from third and giving the Dodgers the walk-off win.
With the victory, the club improved to 28-29 on the season.
A-ROD INCHES CLOSER TO LATEST MILESTONE DURING YANKEES WIN
New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez came close to reaching another milestone during Thursday’s 9-4 win against the Miami Marlins. Rodriguez picked up two hits during the contest, and is just one hit away from reaching 3,000 for his career.
Rodriguez wasted no time getting to work against the Marlins. He picked up his 2,998th hit in the first inning on an RBI single. He would strike again in the fifth, singling to left for hit No. 2,999.
Rodriguez had two more opportunities to pick up No. 3,000, but couldn’t do it. He flew out to right field in his fourth at-bat, and was walked on four pitches in his final plate appearance. Yankees’ fans were not too happy about the four-pitch walk. They began chanting some unsavory things at pitcher Sam Dyson.
Rodriguez will continue his pursuit of hit No. 3,000 on Friday against the Detroit Tigers. If his past performance is any indication, there’s a good chance he’ll come out on top.
A-Rod wasn’t the only player making noise during Thursday’s contest. Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton belted his 25th home run in the sixth inning. The 25-year-old leads the majors in dingers.
SCHWARBER SHINES IN CUBS’ LOSS
The Chicago Cubs couldn’t pull out a victory despite the performance of their newest addition. Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber turned in a fine game during the 4-3 loss against the Cleveland Indians.
Schwarber announced his presence early, singling in his first at-bat. He would come around to score, plating the Cubs first run of the game.
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He was even better the next time up. In the top of the fifth, Schwarber hit his first major-league home run. The two-run shot came on a 96 mph fastball from Danny Salazar, tying the game 3-3.
The Cubs couldn’t hold on. Justin Grimm gave up an RBI single in the seventh, giving Cleveland the 4-3 lead. Schwarber made outs in his final two at-bats, and couldn’t bring the Cubs back.
That’s not a knock on the rookie, though. Through three games, he’s hit .600, so he’s clearly done his part thus far.
With the loss, Chicago dropped to 35-29 on the year.
THE WHITE SOX’S OFFENSE CONTINUES TO BE ABYSMAL
The Chicago White Sox couldn’t get much going offensively against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. The team mustered just three hits during a 3-2 loss.
Those struggles are starting to become a trend.
That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise looking at the team’s lineup. During Thursday’s game, only two starters were hitting above .250 coming into the contest. One was Jose Abreu, the other was part-time outfielder J.B. Shuck. Not surprisingly, Abreu accounted for one of the team’s three hits and scored one of the two runs during the game.
The entire series with the Pirates has been awful for Chicago.
With the loss, the White Sox fell to 28-37. After being destroyed by Pittsburgh, the club will begin a new series with the Rangers on Friday. The Rangers have been surprisingly good this season, but the Sox are probably glad to face anyone other than the Pirates after this stretch.
Want to see more from Thursday’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
