Masahiro Tanaka dominates Blue Jays as Yankees win third straight
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.
After being swept at home by the Toronto Blue Jays last weekend, the New York Yankees are on the verge of returning the favor after winning 4-1 at Rogers Centre on Saturday.
Ace Masahiro Tanaka put in a full day’s work, tossing his first complete game since June 28, 2014 against Boston. He allowed one run on five hits, walked three and struck out eight. He was only threatened in the fifth inning, when Toronto loaded the bases with nobody out. Tanaka was able to escape allowing just one run, and then settled in retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.
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In going the distance, Tanaka became the first Yankee pitcher to throw a nine-inning complete game at Rogers Centre since Andy Pettitte on April 22, 1998.
Offensively, Friday’s hero Carlos Beltran got the offense started with a first-inning solo home run. Mark Teixeira did the heavy lifting from there, cracking a go-ahead home run in the sixth and an insurance RBI single in the eighth. Jacoby Ellsbury drove in New York’s final run.
With the win, the Yankees have now won three straight, while the Blue Jays dropped their second straight. The Yankees lead the AL East by a game and a half.
CUBS WIN NINTH STRAIGHT
Remember when the Cubs were no-hit by Cole Hamels and swept at home by the Philadelphia Phillies?
Neither do we.
The Cubs have put that dreadful pre-trade deadline series behind them and are now rolling right along. With Saturday’s 6-3 victory against the White Sox, the Cubs have won nine straight and 15 of 16 overall dating back to July 29. That’s officially hotter than the Toronto Blue Jays were three days ago, which seemed like the hottest a team would get all season.
The Cubs weren’t exactly sharp, committing a couple of careless errors that may have cost them on different days. Jake Arrieta was able to pitch around them for the most part, logging 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball. He allowed five hits and struck out five.
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Offensively, the Cubs were able to stack their hits to create some offense. The home run ball wasn’t there, but they made up for that with four hits with two outs and runners in scoring position. One of the biggest belonged to Kyle Schwarber, who singled home Addison Russell in the fifth. The White Sox actually walked Dexter Fowler to get to Schwarber and paid the price.
Of course, the Cardinals and Pirates were also victorious on Saturday, so the Cubs didn’t gain any ground in the division or wild card. With that said, they do have a chance to win the Crosstown Cup on Sunday. They hold a 3-2 edge in the season series with the White Sox.
TYLER DUFFEY EARNS FIRST CAREER WIN
The Cleveland Indians didn’t have much of a scouting report on Minnesota Twins rookie Tyler Duffey heading into Saturday’s game.
They do now though. It simply reads, “filthy.”
Making only his second career start, Duffey carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, losing it on Francisco Lindor’s double. That would be the only hit Duffey allowed in six innings. The 24-year-old right-hander also walked five, so he was far from perfect, but he wasn’t afraid to uncoil his curveball in big spots, using it to record six of his seven strikeouts.
Making Duffey’s outing even more impressive, he was pitching on short rest because Minnesota needed a spot starter. He last pitched for Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, again allowing just one hit in six innings of work. He struck out five that night.
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In his only previous MLB start, Duffey allowed six earned runs on five hits, including two home runs, and two walks in two innings. That came on Aug. 5 in Toronto, in the midst of the Blue Jays’ long winning streak, so you can almost throw that one out of consideration. He’s expected to make at least one more start for Minnesota, so we’ll see which way he teeters that time.
In the victory, Duffey was supported by Eddie Rosario, Chris Herrmann and Brian Dozier, who each homered.
NATIONALS FALL TO .500
From World Series contenders to .500 on Aug. 16. This is the story of the 2015 Washington Nationals.
The heavy NL East favorites lost again on Saturday, falling to the San Francisco Giants 12-6. That evens their season mark at 58-58 and puts them a long way from the 90+ win pace most expected them to be on. It also puts them on the very fringe of postseason contention. Granted, they’re only 4 1/2 behind the Mets in the NL East, but they’re a solid 9 1/2 behind the second wild-card spot.
It’s division or bust at this point.
If there’s a silver lining though, it might be that Saturday’s loss felt like a potential rock bottom moment. After jumping ahead 2-0 early, Gio Gonzalez truly bottomed out, allowing six runs in the third. San Francisco ended up scoring nine unanswered to cruise to victory.
The Nationals also lost Bryce Harper to an injury after he fouled the baseball off his leg. He remained in the game initially, so it’s hoped to be nothing serious.
Want to see more from Saturday’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
