Johnny Cueto goes the distance in final bid for the All-Star team
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.
In his final start before the final vote for the All-Star Game comes to an end, Cincinnati Reds ace Johnny Cueto may have converted some voters. He was dominant during a 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.
Cueto, who is one of the five finalists for the National League’s All-Star team, was sure to receive a lot of votes given that the game will by held in Cincy, but this performance likely snagged him a few votes from non-Reds fans.
Cueto tossed a complete game shutout against the Nationals on Tuesday. He allowed just two hits during the dominant outing. Cueto walked one and struck out 11 in the contest.
To make things even more dramatic, it may have been Cueto’s final start as a Red. The 29-year-old is expected to be dealt before the trade deadline, so every start he makes for Cincinnati now falls into this category.
With the performance, Cueto now has a 2.61 ERA on the season.
CANO WALKS IT OFF FOR MARINERS
Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano hasn’t put up his usual numbers this season. During the team’s 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers, Cano may have finally pulled out of his season-long slump.
He got things going in the fifth inning. With the game tied, Cano belted a 95 mph fastball from Alex Wilson out to center for the go-ahead run.
Yoenis Cespedes wouldn’t stand for that, and managed to tie the game in the top of the eighth with his own solo shot.
That set the stage for Cano again. In the bottom of the 11th, the Mariners were threatening with men on first and second. Cano stepped to the plate hoping to deliver a walk-off hit.
He came through. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Cano singled home the game-winning run on an 89 mph slider from Ian Krol.
With the victory, the Mariners improved to 39-45 on the season.
BRETT LAWRIE COMES THROUGH LATE
The Oakland Athletics have been criticized for trading Josh Donaldson during the offseason, but Brett Lawrie briefly made them forget about that Tuesday. Lawrie came through with the game-winning home run during a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees.
Even more impressive is the fact that Lawrie’s homer came against Dellin Betances. It came on a Betances curve, too, which is not an easy feat.
After a slow start, Lawrie has managed to raise his slash line to .291/.328/.432. All three of those figures represent his best performance in those categories since his debut in 2011.
With the win, the A’s improved to 39-47 on the year.
XANDER BOGAERTS CLEARS THE BASES
Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts is taking his candidacy for the American League final vote seriously. He picked up the game-winning hit during Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Miami Marlins.
With his team down by two, Bogaerts stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Bogaerts worked an eight-pitch at-bat against reliever Carter Capps.
On the final pitch, Bogaerts took a 99 mph fastball from Capps to center, clearing the bases and giving the Red Sox the lead. The team would hold on over the next two frames, picking up the 4-3 win.
The 22-year-old Bogaerts is now hitting .304/.341/.418 in 319 plate appearances. His hit helped the Red Sox improve to 40-45 on the year. Despite being in last place, the club is now just five games out of first place in the American League East.
Want to see more from Tuesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
