Joe Kelly wins eighth straight start as Red Sox take series from 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.
About Joe Kelly’s bold Cy Young predicition back in spring training. It’s still too late for that to come true, but the Boston Red Sox right-hander has done a remarkable job turning his season around since being demoted to the minors in June.
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Since Aug. 1, Kelly has won eight consecutive outings. That includes his outing in the Red Sox 10-4 win against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. Kelly allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings, improving his record to 10-6 overall and lowering his season ERA to 4.70.
That’s Hall of Fame company Kelly will look to join in his next outing.
Kelly received plenty of support from his offense as well. The Red Sox knocked around Blue Jays starter Drew Hutchinson for six runs in 3 1/3 innings. In fact, they scored all 10 of their runs between the third and fifth innings. David Ortiz delivered the biggest blow with a three-run home run in the fourth. That’s 498 homers for Big Papi’s career.
With the victory, Boston handed Toronto its first series defeat since they lost two of three to the Yankees on Aug. 14-16.
YANKEES FAIL TO GAIN GROUND IN AL EAST
A Blue Jays loss, you say? That meant the door was open for the Yankees to gain a game in the AL East standings.
Alas, that was not meant to be. They too ran into a pitching enigma in Ubaldo Jimenez and were mostly held in check, dropping the game 5-3.
Jimenez limited the Yankees to three runs over seven innings, but appeared to be vulnerable early. The Yankees actually got all three of their runs in the first three innings. Carlos Beltran knocked in all three, first with a solo homer and then with a two-run double. But that would be all they could muster as Jimenez settled in to retire 13 of the last 14 batters he faced.
New York countered with CC Sabathia, who was making his return from the disabled list. Sabathia, who wasn’t exactly effective prior to his injury, wasn’t sharp here either. He allowed three runs (one earned) over 4 2/3 innings. He allowed four hits and didn’t help his cause by walking three. That makes five straight multiple walk outings for the veteran lefty.
Chris Davis didn’t homer for Baltimore, but he did reach base four times. That included an RBI single in the first and an RBI double in the ninth to bookend the scoring.
The Yankees will now host the Blue Jays for four games over the weekend. They’ll enter the series two games behind Toronto for the AL East lead.
CARDINALS RALLY LATE, AVOID SWEEP AGAINST CUBS
The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t gone through many rough stretches this season, particularly at home. However, entering Wednesday’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs they were facing the possibility of being swept and finishing their home stand 1-5 against Chicago and Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals weren’t exactly competitive in their last four losses either, getting outscored 33-9, but were able to keep it close and rally on Wednesday, winning 4-3 behind a three-run eighth-inning rally.
In victory, the Cardinals have now gone 105 straight three-game series without being swept. That’s the sixth longest such streak in MLB history.
As is frequently the case, the Cardinals role players set the stage. With one out, Mark Reynolds drew a walk, followed by a pinch-hit single from Greg Garcia. Regular hero Matt Carpenter smoked a single to knock home one, and then rookie sensation Stephen Piscotty dropped the hammer, lacing a two-run double off the wall against Fernando Rodney.
The late rally wiped out an outstanding outing from Jon Lester. The Cubs lefty allowed one run on two hits over seven innings. He left with 105 pitches. The meltdown highlights concerns about the Cubs bullpen, which has shown several large cracks recently. They have three weeks to get that back on track.
MIGUEL SANO STRIKES IN EXTRA INNINGS
Limited to bench duties by his ailing hamstring, rookie sensation Miguel Sano made life easier for himself and better for his Minnesota Twins teammates by launching a pinch-hit, game-winning home run in the 12th inning on Wednesday.
Sano was called upon to face Royals reliever Franklin Morales. He responded by drilling a no-doubter to left. That blast held up in Minnesota’s 3-2 victory.
Credit manager Paul Molitor for pushing the right button at the right time. Then again, it sure must be nice having a weapon like Sano at the ready. Pinch-hitting hasn’t exactly been the Twins strong suit in recent years. Sano’s home run was the first by a Twins pinch-hitter this season. In fact, it was the first for Minnesota since Oswaldo Arcia all the way in 2013.
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For Sano, the home run was his first in five games, which equaled his career long drought. Of course, he’s only been in the majors since July 2, but extended slumps are expected from rookies. Sano has yet to hit that wall. He just hit rockets.
Overall, it was a productive night for Minnesota. They gained a full gaame on the Texas Rangers, who fell 6-0 in Seattle. The Twins are 1 1/2 behind Texas for the second wild card spot.
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
