Anibal Sanchez dominates Blue Jays, but Tigers lose Miguel Cabrera to injury

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.

Detroit Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez nearly carved out a rare place in the history books on Friday night. The 31-year-old from Maracay, Venezuela came up five outs short of pitching his second career no-hitter in Detroit’s 8-6 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Yes, that score is deceiving. We’ll get to that in a moment.

As for Sanchez, he was looking to become the 28th pitcher in MLB history to throw multiple no-hitters. He also pitched a no-hitter for the then Florida Marlins on Sept. 6, 2006 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The near nine-year stretch between no-hitters would have been the second longest between a pitcher’s first and second.

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It takes a special performance just to notch one no-hitter. That’s why there have only been 289 of them in the league’s history. Sanchez was close to that level on Friday, allowing just two baserunners on a pair of walks through the first seven innings. He just didn’t have enough to cross the finish line.

Sanchez ended up allowing four runs on three hits in the inning. That’s because manager Brad Ausmus elected to stick with Sanchez despite his 110 pitches and the clear fact he was wearing out. The decision near’y proved disastrous as the Blue Jays offense caught fire and plated six runs before the eighth ended. Joakim Soria silenced them in the ninth for his 21st save.

The results were good, but the news isn’t all good for Detroit. First baseman Miguel Cabrera was forced to leave the game in the fourth inning with a strained left calf. He’s set to undergo an MRI and there’s concern his absence could be lengthy.

YANKEES PICK UP FIRST WALKOFF WIN IN 2015

The New York Yankees took their fans on a roller coaster ride Friday night, but made sure everyone went home happy with their first walk-off win since Derek Jeter’s final home game last September.

Brian McCann played the role of hero, launching a three-run home run off Tampa Bay reliever Steve Geltz in the 12th to set off fireworks and wrap up the 7-5 victory.

The Yankees needed another big swing just to get to that spot though. Trailing by three runs in the eighth, Mark Teixeira launched a game-tying three-run homer off Kevin Jepsen. That wiped out an excellent start from Tampa’s Chris Archer, who tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.

The resilient Rays pulled back ahead in the 12th on RBI singles from Kevin Kiermaier and Rene Rivera, but New York would not be denied. Brett Gardner, Alex Rodriguez and Teixeira all reached base to help set up McCann’s big swing.

ROYALS ALSO NOTCH FIRST WALKOFF WIN

The Yankees and Kansas City were the only two teams without a walkoff win entering play on Friday. That all changed in a matter of minutes.

Thanks to the speed of Lorenzo Cain and a well-placed ground ball by Jarrod Dyson, the Royals celebrated a 3-2, 10-inning victory against the visiting Minnesota Twins.

Cain led off the 10th with a double and went to third with one out on a wild pitch. Dyson then hit a chopper to first baseman Joe Mauer. Mauer fired home, but the tag was a split-second late as a headfirst sliding Cain got the plate with his left hand.

With the win, Kansas City snapped a season-high four-game losing streak and moved to 4 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central. Wade Davis earned the win on the hill with a scoreless 10th inning. His season ERA was lowered to 0.26.

CARDINALS LOSE FOURTH STRAIGHT AT HOME

It turns out the St. Louis Cardinals aren’t unbeatable after all. After being swept in a quick two-game series by the Chicago White Sox, the Cardinals have now lost two straight to the San Diego Padres, running their losing streak to four.

On Friday, they fell 2-1 despite a strong effort from right-hander Michael Wacha. Wacha allowed just one run over seven outstanding innings. Closer Trevor Rosenthal, who had allowed just two earned runs all season, cracked in the ninth however, allowing a run on a Yangervis Solarte triple and Jedd Gyorko single. That run would be the difference.

For San Diego, Andrew Cashner was on point, holding St. Louis to one run over six innings. Three Padres relievers combined to allow just one hit over three innings, with Craig Kimbrel picking up his 21st save. Gyorko was the offensive hero, knocking in both of San Diego’s runs.

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