Scott Kazmir tosses seven scoreless innings, wins Astros debut
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.
When the Astros acquired Houston native Scott Kazmir on Thursday, they did so with postseason aspirations and potential future matchups against the defending AL champion Kansas City Royals in mind.
They wouldn’t have to wait long to see the latter. A little more than 24 hours after the deal was completed, the veteran left-hander took the hill at Kauffman Stadium and the results were glorious for Houston.
Kazmir was in dominant form, blanking Kansas City for seven innings on just three singles. He also walked one and struck out three in the efficient outing, leaving the game after just 91 pitches. Under normal circumstances, he likely would have worked deeper in the game. However, with all of the last minute travel, the Astros settled for seven frames and ultimately a 4-0 victory.
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Obviously, Kazmir didn’t need much support in the game. He got plenty in the third inning when Preston Tucker homered and Colby Rasmus added an RBI single. Tucker was the offensive star of the game, finished a triple shy of the cycle.
Overall, the win continued a hot start for Houston out of the All-Star break. They’ve now won five straight and six of their last seven. They’ve also won four straight against the Royals after completing a three-game series sweep in Houston June 29-July 1.
So just in case you thought the Astros were fading into the background. Think again. They’re surging again and may not be done adding trade pieces.
NO NO-NO THIS TIME FOR MAX SCHERZER
Max Scherzer was one pitch from perfection when he last faced the Pittsburgh Pirates back on June 20. He ended up settling for a no-hitter that afternoon, which helped him cap one of the most dominant stretches ever by a starting pitcher.
Facing those same Pirates on Friday though, Scherzer ended up with entirely different results. In five innings of work, Scherzer was knocked around a bit, allowing five runs on seven hits. That included home runs by Pedro Alvarez, Gregory Polanco and Neil Walker, which marked a first for Scherzer over the past four seasons.
Despite the rough outing, Scherzer still ended up with a no-decision in Washington’s 7-5 loss. Ian Desmond got him off the hook with a solo homer in the sixth. Pittsburgh went on to score twice in the bottom half off Sammy Solis to take the lead for good. Brent Morel played the role of unexpected hero, knocking home the difference maker with a double.
The Pirates have won the first two in this four-game weekend series. But they still aren’t gaining ground on St. Louis, which won 4-2 against Atlanta.
TWINS DESTROY YANKEES WITH FOUR HOMERS
The most lopsided game on Friday night took place in Minnesota, where the Twins blasted four home runs and pummeled the New York Yankees 10-1.
Minnesota jumped out quickly against New York starter Michael Pineda, scoring five times in the first four innings. Miguel Sano opened the scoring with a long two-run homer in the first, but that would be Minnesota’s only big fly against Pineda. They saved the rest for the bullpen, with Torii Hunter homering off Brandon Pinder in the seventh and Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe each homering against Chris Capuano in the eighth.
Former Yankee Phil Hughes was the beneficiary of the offense, though he was never in much trouble himself. He posted seven scoreless frames on seven hits to pick up his ninth victory. He also didn’t walk a batter for the ninth time in 20 starts. He’s only walked more than one once this season, so his sparkling control continues.
REINFORCEMENTS CAN’T COME SOON ENOUGH
The New York Mets made some big roster moves on Friday, acquiring Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson in a trade with the Atlanta Braves while also calling up top hitting prospect Michael Conforto.
Unfortunately, not all of the reinforcements arrived in time for Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which they dropped 7-2.
Even with Zack Greinke on paternity leave — now they’ll see him Sunday — the Mets couldn’t get much going against fill-in starter Ian Thomas. In fact, they managed just one run on three hits against Thomas, who was making only his eighth MLB appearance and first as a starter.
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Mets starter Jonathan Niese didn’t help matters, allowing six runs in his three innings of work. The Mets offense as currently structured isn’t equipped to come from behind, especially from that distance, so the game was essentially over quickly.
Whether or not the new guys can help enough will be seen, but the Mets certainly can’t afford many more days like Friday.
Want to see more from Friday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
