Live: Keep up with best games as MLB resumes
The four-day All-Star break is finally over. Don’t get me wrong, the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game are fun in their own way, but I’m ready for the beautiful monotony of day-in, day-out baseball to return. It’s time for the dog days of summer.
Right before the break, the Angels overtook the Astros for first place in the AL West. Their lead is only a half-game, but it’s better than being in second. The Yankees took two of three from the Red Sox to open a 3 1/2 game lead in the AL East, and the Royals went 8-2 in their last 10 first half games. They have a 4 1/2 game lead in the AL Central.
Of course, the biggest story to close out the first half was the Pirates taking three of four from the division rival Cardinals. They won the last two games of that series in dramatic walk-off fashion. A refresher:
Those might have been the two best games of the first half, and they happened back-to-back and in the same series. Crazy. The series win brought the Pirates to within 2 1/2 games of the Cardinals in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is 35-13 in their last 48 games and gaining ground fast.
The Pirates open their second half with three games against the Brewers while the Cardinals open with three games against the Mets. The NL Central race, which wasn’t much of a race a few weeks ago, looks like it’ll be the most thrilling down the stretch.
The Pirates are looking to catch the Cardinals in the second half. (USATSI)
Here is today’s edition of Eye on MLB, aka the Eye. This will be a one-stop shop for everything that happens in the world of baseball on Friday. Game recaps, milestone notices, important and quirky highlights, news, notes, rumors and more. Come back throughout the day for updates or check back Saturday morning for the finished product.
Today’s MLB action (all times ET) (Full scoreboard)
2:10pm: Royals (Chris Young – 7-5, 3.00) at White Sox (Jeff Samardzija – 6-4, 4.02)
7:05pm: Mariners (Mike Montgomery – 4-3, 2.29) at Yankees (Masahiro Tanaka – 5-3, 3.63)
7:05pm: Marlins (Jose Fernandez – 2-0, 2.08) at Phillies (Adam Morgan – 1-2, 4.32)
7:05pm: Dodgers (Mike Bolsinger – 4-3, 3.08) at Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann – 8-5, 3.22)
7:07pm: Rays (Jake Odorizzi – 5-5, 2.30) at Blue Jays (Drew Hutchison – 8-2, 5.33)
7:08pm: Orioles (Ubaldo Jimenez – 7-4, 2.81) at Tigers (Anibal Sanchez – 8-7, 4.63)
7:10pm: Indians (Trevor Bauer – 8-5, 3.76) at Reds (Mike Leake – 6-5, 4.08)
7:35pm: Cubs (Kyle Hendricks – 4-4, 3.55) at Braves (Julio Teheran – 6-4, 4.56)
8:10pm: Pirates (Charlie Morton – 6-2, 4.15) at Brewers (Mike Fiers – 4-7, 3.96)
8:10pm: Rangers (Martin Perez – 0-0, 0.00) at Astros (Collin McHugh – 9-5, 4.50)
8:10pm: Royals (Edinson Volquez – 8-4, 3.31) at White Sox (John Danks – 4-8, 5.30)
8:15pm: Mets (Noah Syndergaard – 4-4, 3.11) at Cardinals (Lance Lynn – 6-5, 2.90)
9:40pm: Giants (Matt Cain – 1-1, 4.09) at Diamondbacks (Robbie Ray – 3-4, 2.16)
10:05pm: Twins (Ervin Santana – 0-0, 6.00) at Athletics (Sonny Gray – 10-3, 2.04)
10:05pm: Red Sox (Wade Miley – 8-8, 4.80) at Rangers (C.J. Wilson – 7-7, 3.83)
10:05pm: Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa – 6-3, 4.34) at Padres (James Shields – 7-3, 4.01)
Milestone Watch
Longest active hit streak: The hit streak leader to start the second half is White Sox slugger Jose Abreu. He hit safely in his last 13 games before the All-Star break. Abreu and White Sox have a doubleheader Friday, so he could stretch it to 15 games before the end of the day.
Pujols watch: Angels first baseman Albert Pujols starts the second half with 546 career home runs. He’s two shy of tying Michael Jack Schmidt for 15th place on the all-time homer list. Pujols also has a pair of two-homer games this season.
A-Rod watch: Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez is sitting on 3,023 hits to start the second half. He is three hits shy of tying Lou Brock for 23rd place on the all-time hit list. A-Rod has a three-hit game and a four-hit game this season.
Hawkins watch: With his next appearance, Rockies righty LaTroy Hawkins will tie Jose Mesa and Lee Smith for 11th place on the all-time games pitched list with 1,022 career appearances.
Possibly more to come later.
Daily Awards
Struggle of the day: This poor umpire in Japan has had it up to here with this piece of paper.
[GIF] Who threw this garbage here? Fine I’ll get it….nope.. doh come here..I’ll get it.. http://t.co/yxmZPTueNv
— NPB on reddit (@NPB_Reddit) July 14, 2015
Jersey of the day: The Fresno Grizzlies, Triple-A affiliate of the Astros, have one heck of a retro jersey lined up for Saturday’s game.
Holy ! Our @Astros retro-inspired theme jerseys have arrived. We wear them Saturday night at Chukchansi Park. #MiLB pic.twitter.com/BQg70hxAYo
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) July 16, 2015
Photo of the day: Here are a bunch of brave men playing baseball on the frozen Bering Sea in the North Pacific back in 1953.
Men play baseball on the frozen Bering Sea in the summer of 1953. pic.twitter.com/cbvLvXvuie
— Baseball Photos (@Baseball_Photos) July 17, 2015
More to come throughout the day.
Injuries, News & Rumors
Jon Heyman’s Inside Baseball: Dodgers aim for Cueto, Hamels; Rangers in too
Marlins place Dee Gordon on DL | Marlins reinstate Martin Prado from DL
Nationals OF Jayson Werth hopes to return in a week or two
Phillies SP prospect Aaron Nola to make MLB debut Tuesday
Boras: Michael Conforto a better candidate for September callup
Royals’ Kris Medlen to pitch out of bullpen upon return
Rays’ Cash expecting lengthy rehab assignment for Drew Smyly
Rays’ Cash expecting Asdrubal Cabrera to come off DL in late July
Braves sign pitcher Jason Frasor
Click here for MLB player news.
Looking Ahead to Tomorrow’s MLB action (all times ET)
All the pomp and circumstance of the first day of the second half will be over. The dog days begin for real on Saturday.
1:05pm: Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma – 1-1, 5.22) at Yankees (Michael Pineda – 9-5, 3.64)
1:07pm: Rays (Erasmo Ramirez – 8-3, 3.63) at Blue Jays (R.A. Dickey – 3-10, 4.87)
2:10pm: Royals (Jeremy Guthrie – 7-5, 5.36) at White Sox (Jose Quintana – 3-9, 3.69)
4:05pm: Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw – 6-6, 2.85) at Nationals (Doug Fister – 3-4, 4.08)
7:05pm: Marlins (Tom Koehler – 7-5, 3.40) at Phillies (Chad Billingsley – 1-3, 6.75)
7:08pm: Orioles (Chris Tillman – 6-7, 5.40) at Tigers (David Price – 9-2, 2.38)
7:10pm: Cubs (Jon Lester – 4-8, 3.59) at Braves (Manny Banuelos – 1-0, 0.75)
7:10pm: Pirates (Francisco Liriano – 5-6, 2.98) at Brewers (Jimmy Nelson – 6-9, 4.21)
7:10pm: Indians (Corey Kluber – 4-10, 3.38) at Reds (Anthony DeSclafani – 5.6, 3.65)
7:10pm: Rangers (Colby Lewis – 8-4, 4.77) at Astros (Scott Feldman – 4-4, 4.80)
7:15pm: Mets (Bartolo Colon – 9-7, 4.46) at Cardinals (John Lackey – 7-5, 2.99)
8:10pm: Giants (Jake Peavy – 0-4, 4.71) at Diamondbacks (Chase Anderson – 4-3, 3.91)
8:40pm: Rockies (Chad Bettis – 5-4, 4.91) at Padres (Tyson Ross – 6-7, 3.34)
9:05pm: Red Sox (Rick Porcello – 5-9, 5.90) at Rangers (Garrett Richards – 9-6, 3.53)
9:07pm: Twins (Phil Hughes – 8-6, 4.32) at Athletics (Scott Kazmir – 5-5, 2.49)
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