Chris Archer tosses complete game one-hitter as Rays edge Astros
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 Chris Archer is on his game he’s near impossible to beat, as the Houston Astros found out Thursday night.
The Tampa Bay Rays right-hander pitched one of the best games we’ve seen this season. Archer needed only 98 pitches to dispatch the Astros, giving up one hit, walking one and striking out 11 as he went the distance in Tampa Bay’s 1-0 win.
A fifth-inning single by Colby Rasmus was all the offense Houston could muster against Archer, while Desmond Jennings’ RBI single off Collin McHugh in the fourth was all the offense the Rays needed.
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Seamheads call a complete game that requires less than 100 pitches a “Maddux,” a nod to Hall of Famer Greg Maddux who did it 13 times. Archer’s gem also added up to a 95 Game Score.
The combination puts him in some pretty elite company:
Archer’s terrific pitching – after tonight he leads the American League in strikeouts with 211 – is a huge reason the Rays are quietly lurking in the AL wild-card race. They’re now 60-61 and just three games out of a spot in the play-in game.
SIMON DAZZLES TOO, DETROIT BEATS TEXAS
Not to be outdone, Tigers right-hander Alfredo Simon also threw a complete game one-hitter Thursday as Detroit blanked Texas 4-0.
The only blemishes on the night for Simon was a double he gave up to Rougned Odor in the fifth and a couple walks. He finished with five strikeouts and along with Archer, gave us this cool stat:
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It was good night for the middle of Detroit’s order. Miguel Cabrera was 2-for-2 with an RBI and two walks, Victor Martinez also had two hits and drove in a run while Nick Castellanos had 2 RBIs.
Even though the Tigers were sellers at the trade deadline and a run to the postseason seems unlikely, they’re still only 3 1/2 games back of the Los Angeles Angels in the AL wild-card standings.
YANKEES RALLY COMES UP SHORT IN NINTH
Didi Gregorius came up with two outs, the tying run at third and the winning run at second in the bottom of the ninth, but flied out to end the game as the Yankees lost to the Indians 3-2.
New York had pushed a second run through earlier in the inning after Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin held the Yankees to one run over seven innings, a solo home run by Alex Rodriguez in the fourth, but their rally would ultimately come up short.
Manager Joe Girardi was ejected in the ninth for arguing balls and strikes and got his money’s worth, kicking up dirt and theatrically gesturing at home plate umpire Dan Iassogna.
[On this week’s StewPod: Angels pitcher Hector Santiago talks about his huge autograph collection.]
“I just wanted the strike zone to be right,” Girardi said, mentioning other calls that also bothered him. “I want the strike zone to be the strike zone, and I know they’re not going to be perfect; I understand that. But it’s a real important time.”
The loss means New York’s lead over the idle Toronto Blue Jays for top spot in the AL East is down to 1 1/2 games.
CUBS CRUSH BRAVES, ARRIETA EARNS 15TH WIN
September is coming fast and you better believe it: the Chicago Cubs are currently in a playoff spot.
Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell homered in a 7-1 win over Atlanta and Jake Arrieta pitched six shutout innings to become the first pitcher in the big leagues to 15 wins this year:
With the Giants losing to Pittsburgh 4-0, the Cubs’ lead for the second wild-card spot in the NL is four games.
Want to see more from Thursday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
