The Walk Off: Cubs offense explodes in lopsided win over Cardinals
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
Opposing pitchers should already know this, but don’t take the Chicago Cubs offense lightly this year. In case they needed the reminder, the Cubs were up to their usual antics again Tuesday, this time against Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals.
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Chicago wasted no time getting to work. Dexter Fowler led off the contest with a double. He moved over to third on a ground out by Jason Heyward.
Kris Bryant then struck, driving in Fowler on a single. Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist would each reach, loading the bases. That was followed up with a Jorge Soler walk, forcing in another run.
Addison Russell would ground into a force out for the second out of the frame, but the bases remained loaded. That didn’t last long. David Ross drove in two more runs with a double, and then pitcher Jason Hammel did the same. Before Hammel even took the mound, the Cubs had scored six runs.
That wasn’t enough for Chicago, though. Soler would hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and the club would manage four more runs in the top of the ninth inning. St. Louis attempted a rally late, scoring three runs in the final two innings, but it just wasn’t enough.
With the 12-3 victory, the Cubs improved to 30-14 on the year.
TOP PERFORMERS
Gregory Polanco: Polanco’s breakout season with the Pittsburgh Pirates continued Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Polanco wasted no time getting to work during the contest, smashing a three-run homer in his first at-bat. That wasn’t all. Polanco also knocked in two more runs with a double in the sixth. He also added a single, finishing 3-for-5, with two runs scored and five RBI in the 12-1 victory.
Justin Verlander: Verlander turned in a vintage performance for the Detroit Tigers during Tuesday’s contest against the Philadelphia Phillies. The 33-year-old threw eight scoreless innings, holding the Phillies to just three hits. He walked two and struck out 10 in the 3-1 win, earning his fourth win of the season.
[Elsewhere: Dodgers fans gave Joey Votto a new nickname after paper airplane incident]
Daniel Murphy: Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy stung his old team, the New York Mets, on Wednesday. In the bottom of the fifth, Murphy delivered a huge blow to Matt Harvey, taking the righty deep for a two-run shot. Harvey remained in the game for two more batters, but Murphy’s hit was the final nail in the coffin in another bad start by the Mets ace. Murphy also singled, finishing 2-for-4 in the 7-4 victory.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The Colorado Rockies didn’t have much to cheer about during Tuesday’s 8-3 loss against the Boston Red Sox, but Nolan Arenado managed to change that briefly. In the bottom of the eighth, Arenado made another spectacular defensive play. Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts hit a sharp grounder down the third base line, but Arenado was able to make a diving stop. He then got up and fired a bullet to first, easily nabbing Bogaerts. Though it was a superb play, it’s one we’ve come to expect from Arenado. He’s that good with the glove.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Rays 4, Marlins 3: Jake Odorizzi turned in a scoreless start over five innings, but the Rays bullpen almost allowed a comeback. Alex Colome was called on to pick up a two-inning save, and got the job done.
Yankees 6, Blue Jays 0: Nathan Eovaldi turned in another excellent start, allowing just two hits over six scoreless innings for the win.
Brewers 2, Braves 1: Jimmy Nelson turned in a quality start, while Ryan Braun hit his eighth home run in the victory.
Rangers 4, Angels 1: Nomar Mazara was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, including his seventh home run of the season.
Indians 6, White Sox 2: Cleveland jumped all over Chris Sale, scoring six runs off the ace and saddling him with his first loss of the year.
Royals 7, Twins 4: Lorenzo Cain went 4-for-5, with two RBI and Salvador Perez hit his seventh home run of the season during the victory.
Astros 3, Orioles 2: Carlos Correa only had one hit on the night, but it was a big one. With the bases loaded, Correa delivered a walk-off single in the 13th.
Mariners 6, Athletics 5: A back-and-forth game was decided in the bottom of the ninth as Leonys Martin clubbed a walk-off two-run shot against Ryan Madson.
Dodgers 8, Reds 2: Justin Turner drove in three runs on three hits, while the Reds lost their ninth-straight game.
Giants 8, Padres 2: Brandon Crawford went 2-for-4, driving in four runs during the victory.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
