Blake Swihart’s inside-the-park homer helps Red Sox stop streaking Mets
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.
Citi Field wasn’t home, sweet home, for the New York Mets on Friday night. After winning seven straight in Colorado and Philadelphia, the Mets returned home and fell 6-4 to the last-place Boston Red Sox.
After having his last start skipped, Matt Harvey returned to toss six scoreless innings but was long gone when Boston’s Blake Swihart raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run leading off the 10th inning.
Upon further review, Swihart’s blast actually cleared the wall and should have been ruled a conventional home run on the field. It wasn’t, but it didn’t much matter as the ball bounced far enough away from center fielder Juan Lagares for Swihart to round the bases. Any way you score it, it’s a home run, but we’ll always acknowledge a catcher showing off his wheels.
[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league today!]
Swihart’s homer started a three-run Red Sox rally, which would prove important once the Mets scored one in the bottom half. The Red Sox also plated three in the seventh immediately after Harvey departed. David Ortiz smacked a solo home run in the frame. Jackie Bradley later connected on a two-run shot to give Boston its first lead.
Ortiz’s homer was No. 493 for his marvelous career. He’s now tied with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 27th place on the all-time home run list.
As for the Mets offense, they were cooled off a bit. They entered having already hit a franchise-record 43 home runs this month, but mustered just a double among their eight hits on Friday. With that said, they missed out on several scoring chances, as they also drew 12 walks. In the end, they left 14 runners on base.
The good news for New York? No damage was done in the standings. The Washington Nationals also lost, 4-3 to the Marlins, keeping the Mets division lead at 6 1/2 games.
YANKEES BREAK OUT ON OFFENSE, CRUSH BRAVES
While one scorching New York offense cooled off on Friday, the Yankees fading offense finally broke out.
After scoring just four runs total in their three-game series against the Astros, the Yankees muscled up for 15 runs on 16 hits in a 15-4 victory against the Atlanta Braves.
Shortstop Didi Gregorius paced New York’s attack, connecting for a three-run home run in the first inning and a two-run single in the second. Gregorius finished with four hits and a career-high six RBIs.
Brian McCann, who spent his first nine seasons with the Braves, made his return to Atlanta with a bang. He cracked a three-run homer in the eighth, before wrapping the scoring in the ninth with a sacrifice fly. Carlos Beltran, Brett Gardner and Chase Headley each contributed multi-hit games as the Yankees cruised to the victory.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t back down in their return to Rogers Centre. After Detroit’s Ian Kinsler hit a first-inning homer, the Jays scored five unanswered on their way to a 5-3 victory. Toronto’s game and a half lead in the AL East remains intact.
TWINS KEEP PACE WITH WIN AGAINST ASTROS
The top of the AL wild-card picture remained unchanged Friday. The Yankees remained in firm control with their victory, while the Texas Rangers continued holding down the second spot with a 4-1 win over Baltimore. That put the pressure on the Minnesota Twins to keep pace, and they responded with a victory of their own, 3-0 against the AL West-leading Astros.
Right-hander Kyle Gibson did much of the heavy lifting, tossing 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. Minnesota’s bullpen worked hard too, with Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, Trevor May and Kevin Jepsen combining to strike out six batters while allowing just two hits.
To the credit of Astros’ left-hander Scott Kazmir, the Twins didn’t have much going against him either, collecting just three hits over seven innings. But they made those hits count, turning them into three runs. Eduardo Nunez drove in two of their three with a home run and RBI ground out.
Overall, the Twins have won seven of eight. They are one-half game behind Texas for that second wild-card position, but the Angels, Rays and Orioles aren’t far behind them. It’s time to buckle up.
CLAYTON KERSHAW OVERPOWERS CUBS, STRIKES OUT 14
Friday night was a good night at Dodger Stadium.
The evening started with the news that Vin Scully would be returning to the Dodgers television booth for his 67th season. Then everyone settled in to watch Clayton Kershaw do his thing. And do his thing Clayton Kershaw did, striking out 14 Chicago Cubs over eight innings in the Dodgers 4-1 victory.
The red-hot Kershaw continued a remarkable stretch of brilliance with this performance. Over his last 11 outings, he’s allowed more than one earned run only once. During that stretch, he’s also struck out 105 batters while issuing just eight walks. That is dominance in its purest form, and right now there’s no signs of Kershaw slowing down.
Overall, the Dodgers have won four straight immediately on the heels of a five-game losing streak. They’re attempting to reestablish command in the NL West with the San Francisco Giants nipping on their heels. The Giants remained right there, beating the Cardinals 5-4 in San Francisco.
Given the competition both teams are facing, this weekend could be telling in terms of how the NL West will shake out over the next month.
Want to see more from Friday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
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
