The Walk Off: Josh Donaldson forgoes cycle for game-winning homer
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at 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.
Josh Donaldson has been so locked in since joining the Toronto Blue Jays last year it almost feels like he can get any result he wants at the plate. That’s not true, of course. The game is not that simple. But that’s how Donaldson makes it look.
That was the case again on Friday as Donaldson flirted with a cycle against the Boston Red Sox. Donaldson drilled a solo home run in the first. He followed with a run-scoring double in the third, and an RBI infield single in the fourth. That left him a triple shy of the cycle going into the final five innings.
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In an upset, Donaldson actually struck out against Red Sox right-hander Matt Barnes in the sixth. However, after Boston rallied to tie the game, he had one last shot to make history with a runner on base in the eighth.
All Donaldson needed was a ball in the gap or down the line to give Toronto the lead, while giving himself a shot at three bases. Instead, Donaldson elected to round them all, forgoing the cycle by hitting a two-run homer against Koji Uehara that proved to be the difference in Toronto’s 7-5 win.
There was actually a little more pressure on Donaldson than usual on Friday. Jose Bautista was out of the lineup while serving his one-game suspension (though he certainly found other ways to occupy his time). Elsewhere, a struggling Troy Tulowitzki returned from injury to go 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. It was essentially Donaldson or bust, and he came through with his seventh career multi-homer game. It also marked the third five-RBI game of his career.
When people throw around the term beast, they’re doing it wrong if it’s not applied to Josh Donaldson. He’s a force that can only be contained on rare occasions.
TOP PERFORMERS
Stephen Piscotty: One big swing made the difference in the Cardinals 6-2 win against Max Scherzer and the Nationals. It was provided by Piscotty, who capped a five-run third-inning rally with a grand slam off the former Cy Young winner. The slam was Piscotty’s first in 421 career at-bats, but he now has six hits and 12 RBIs in nine at-bats with the bases loaded. He fits in quite well with the typically clutch Cardinals.
Masahiro Tanaka: The Yankees ace continues to be quietly brilliant this season. On Friday, he limited the Rays to two hits over seven scoreless innings in a Yankees 4-1 win. Tanaka improved to 3-0, while lowering his ERA to 2.89 and his WHIP to 0.96. He only struck out four, but was never threatened. He also had a nice cushion thanks to an Alex Rodriguez two-run homer.
Jung-ho Kang: Pittsburgh got home runs from Kang, Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco as they torched Cole Hamels and the Rangers 9-1. Though certainly capable of hitting home runs in bunches, these barrages haven’t been the norm for Pittsburgh this season. However, it appears the dynamic is changing a bit with Kang back and playing every day. His three-run homer was his sixth in 17 games played. He also has 17 RBIs, which is just five less than McCutchen’s full season total. Kang is looking like a difference maker.
Yangervis Solarte: The Padres offense also erupted for four home runs on Friday in a 10-3 win in Arizona. Solarte hit two of those, delivering a solo homer in the fifth and then a three-run shot in the sixth. Matt Kemp and Derek Norris added the other homers for San Diego.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
When the Chicago Cubs added the giant videoboard in left field last season, we knew it would serve as target practice for their collection of right-handed sluggers. With that in mind, it had only been hit one time during a game. That happened last season when Kris Bryant squared one up and left a mark. He has some company now though Jorge Solor unloaded against Adam Morgan and made his own mark with this mammoth 461-foot blast.
The Cubs also got home runs from Bryant and David Ross, who connected for the 100th of his career, as they cruised to a 6-2 win against the Phillies.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Mets 6, Dodgers 5: One of the wildest games of the season ended on Curtis Granderson’s walk-off homer.
Orioles 6, Indians 4: Baltimore cranked out 13 hits, including four from Manny Machado and three from Adam Jones.
Braves 4, Marlins 2: Veteran Nick Markasis delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth as the Braves finally win their third home game this season.
Brewers 9, Reds 5: Aaron Hill homered twice, meaning five of his six home runs this season have come in two separate games against Cincinnati.
Royals 7, White Sox 5: After Chicago scored five in the sixth, Kansas City rallied for six unanswered to move within one game of the White Sox in the AL Central.
Rockies 5, Giants 2: Rookie Trevor Story knocked in two as the Rockies continue to hang around .500. They’re 23-24 heading into Saturday.
Tigers 4, A’s 1: Detroit’s Ian Kinsler finished a homer shy of the cycle. He had three of their 11 hits.
Angels 7, Astros 2: The Angels ran away thanks to a six-run third inning. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols highlighted the frame with a bases-clearing double and two-run home run respectively.
Twins 7, Mariners 2: Seattle continues to struggle at home, falling to 10-12. Meanwhile, Minnesota improved to 5-19 away from Target Field.
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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
