Yankees trounce Tigers as A-Rod passes Roberto Clemente on all-time hit list
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.
One night after hitting a home run to join the 3,000 hit club, Alex Rodriguez was at it again.
A-Rod homered in the third inning of New York’s 14-3 pasting of Detroit on Saturday to passing Roberto Clemente on the all-time hit list with 3,001, then added a single in the fifth. He finished the game 2-for-3 with five RBIS and a walk and continues to prove he can still play at a very high level.
Rodriguez wasn’t the only player in pinstripes feasting at the plate either, as many of his teammates joined in on the fun. Seven Yankees had a multi-hit game and in total the team hit five home runs.
Tigers starter Alfredo Simon took the brunt of the damage, giving up seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. The big win should also help Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi’s confidence. Coming off a nightmare outing Tuesday in Miami where he got only two outs and was blasted for eight runs and nine hits, Eovaldi bounced back big time by allowing just two runs in six innings of work.
RED SOX LOSE TO ROYALS, ORTIZ TOSSED
Every time we think the situation with the Boston Red Sox can’t get any worse, we find out we’re wrong.
The latest black mark came in a 7-4 loss in Kansas City that saw Boston blow a three-run lead, lose two key players to injury, and have another ejected from the game. The Red Sox were up 4-1 after a three-run fifth but the good times did not last long.
The Royals scored five in the bottom of the inning and then added another run in the sixth. Catcher Blake Swihart and third baseman Pablo Sandoval were the Red Sox that left the game with injuries. Both are considered day-to-day and it’s unknown if Boston will have to make a roster move.
Frustration peaked in the seventh when David Ortiz was tossed. After arguing a couple strike calls with home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman Ortiz hit a single off Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera and dramatically flipped his bat over home plate. When Ortiz reached first base he gestured toward Dreckman and was promptly ejected.
“I wanted to find out what he threw me out for,” said Ortiz, who said the explanation he received was “because I did what I did at first base.”
After the game, Ortiz denied speculation that he was ejected because of the bat flip and spoke more about what he sees as a decaying relationship between players and umpires.
“All I’ve got to say is that … this situation between players and umpires is getting to a ridiculous point,” Ortiz said. “Because it seems to me it’s more of a feeling than a reality. I’m an 18-year veteran with this league, and when I was coming up, it seemed like they used to respect you because of that. But it seems like it doesn’t work that way anymore.”
The loss puts the Red Sox 10 games out of first place in the AL East and they’re giving off very little reason to believe they’ve got any chance to get back in the race.
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GIANTS EDGE CLOSER TO DODGERS WITH WIN
The gap between the San Francisco Giants and the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West is now just 1/2 games.
San Francisco rode two-run home runs by Brandon Belt and Justin Maxwell to a 6-2 win at Dodger Stadium. Tim Hudson threw a nice game too. He held the Los Angeles offense to solo shots by Joc Pederson and Justin Turner over 6 1/3rd.
The heated rivalry has been exceedingly one-sided this season with San Francisco having won nine of the 11 games.
Giants have a five-game winning streak against the Dodgers. They’re half a game out of first place.
— Alex Pavlovic (@AlexPavlovic) June 21, 2015
The Giants go for the series sweep Sunday night and the lead in the NL West with Tim Lincecum to the mound. Brett Anderson gets the start for the Dodgers.
NICOLINO NOT PHASED IN DEBUT FOR MARLINS
Miami called up left-hander Justin Nicolino on Saturday to make his major-league debut as a spot starter for banged-up right-hander Tom Koehler. Nicolino sure made the most of his opportunity.
Nicolino, the Marlins’ No. 3 prospect according to Baseball America, tossed seven innings of shutout ball to lead Miami to a 5-0 win over Cincinnati. Derek Dietrich powered the offense with two home runs and three RBIs.
For as well as he pitched, it will be tough for Nicolino to pick up more starts down the road as the Marlins are expecting Jose Fernandez and Jarred Cosart to rejoin the rotation soon.
Want to see more from Saturday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
