Troy Tulowitzki homers, drives in three in big debut for Blue Jays
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.
The Toronto Blue Jays stunned the baseball world when they acquired All-Star Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
On Wednesday, shock turned to awe, as Tulowitzki put on an offensive display that reinforced his position as baseball’s top all around shortstop.
With cheers raining down at every mention of his name, Tulowitzki whipped the 27,060 in attendance at Rogers Centre into a frenzy in the third inning with a blistering two-run homer off Philadelphia’s Jerome Williams. The home run actually snapped an 0-for-21 streak for Tulowitzki at the plate, which was the longest hitless stretch of his career.
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That was just the beginning though, as Tulowitzki followed with a pair of doubles and scored two more runs to pace Toronto’s 8-2 victory.
It’s also interesting to note that Tulowitzki started a game in the leadoff spot for the first time in his 10-year career. He didn’t seem to mind at all, and now the Blue Jays already ultra-dangerous offense has an entirely new dimension of destruction.
Speaking of which, Tulowitzki was one of seven Blue Jays to record a multi-hit game. Overall, they collected 16.
The happiest man in the ballpark was Blue Jays RA Dickey, who along with Mark Buehrle, Drew Hutchinson and others will benefit nicely from Tulowitzki’s addition on both sides of the field.
ASTROS BEAT ANGELS, TAKE OVER FIRST PLACE
The western division races are shaping up to be the most interesting down the stretch. Entering play on Wednesday, there was a chance for both divisions to have a new sole leader by the end of the night.
How did it play out?
Very well if you’re a Houston Astros fan. The Astros separated themseleves from the Los Angeles Angels to reclaim sole possession of first place for the first time since the All-Star break.
On this night, the Astros rode the right arm of rookie right-hander Lance McCullers. The 21-year-old pitched seven innings of one-run ball to notch his fifth victory and lower his season ERA to 2.48. McCuller is quickly moving himself into the AL Rookie of the Year conversation along with teammate Carlos Correa, who was 1-for-4 in the game.
Preston Tucker and Jon Singleton each connected for solo homers, with Singleton later adding an RBI single. All of those runs would be important as Los Angeles threatened in the ninth. Albert Pujols connected for his 30th homer during the mini-rally, but Luke Gregorson was able to close the door after allowing a pair of runs.
The Astros have won each of the first two games in the series and will go for the sweep on Thursday with newly-acquired Scott Kazmir on the hill. The Angels will counter with Matt Shoemaker.
Meanwhile, in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants were both victorious, meaning the Dodgers will maintain their half-game lead.
JON LESTER CARVES UP ROCKIES FOR 14 STRIKEOUTS
Chicago Cubs ace Jon Lester provided a silver lining to an otherwise gloomy home stand against the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies.
In Wednesday’s 3-2 victory, Lester pitched eight dominant innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out a season-high 14. In doing so, Lester became the first Cubs pitcher to strike out 14 in a game since Mark Prior had 16 on Sept. 30, 2004. But it’s not a first for Lester.
Of course, Kerry Wood struck out 20 against the Houston Astros back on May 6, 1998. That’s the team record.
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Lester was striking them out early and often, racking up seven in the first three innings. Closer Hector Rondon added two strikeouts during his scoreless ninth inning, bringing the total to 16.
Offensively, Chicago did its damage early. Dexter Fowler led off the first inning with his 10th home run of the season. Anthony Rizzo then ended his 17-game homerless streak with a two-run shot in the third. It was his 17th long ball of the season, and it proved to be the difference as Chicago wrapped up the 2-4 home stand.
INDIANS OUTBURST SNAPS SIX-GAME LOSING SKID
The Cleveland Indians don’t have much to sell, but they also don’t have much to look forward to after their six-game losing streak dropped them to 16 games behind Kansas City in the AL Central. On Wednesday, the Indians finally put that streak behind them while at least making a marginal gain on the Royals, winning 12-1 at Progressive Field.
Cleveland did some serious damage against Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie, breaking through for single runs in the first and second, before launching three home runs in their six-run sixth. Giovanny Urshela and Michael Brantley book ended the inning with solo homers. In between, rookie Francisco Lindor provided the knockout punch with a three-run shot.
Cleveland scored four more in the eighth, capped by Yan Gomes two-run homer.
Meanwhile, the reigning American League Cy Young winner Corey Kluber was on cruise control for Cleveland. He ended up going the distance, allowing just a single run in the ninth. Kluber allowed five hits while striking out six. He lowered his season ERA to 3.44, but picked up only his sixth victory.
Want to see more from Wednesday’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
