The Walk Off: Victor Martinez puts on power show in Tigers win
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.
Victor Martinez and the Detroit Tigers flexed their muscle in a big way on Thursday night. Martinez smashed three of the Tigers’ six home runs as Detroit thumped the Kansas City Royals 10-4.
A sore right knee kept Martinez out of the starting lineup for the past the three games and he had a cortisone shot before coming back for the series opener against the Royals.
His return was certainly welcome. Kansas City jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after the first inning and Martinez cut it to 2-1 with a solo shot in the second. After the Royals made it 3-1 in the bottom of the inning, Martinez responded with another solo shot in the fourth.
Martinez’s third and final homer, also of the one-run variety, came in the ninth and confirmed the final score. Nick Castellanos, James McCann and Miguel Cabrera also went deep for Detroit and Justin Verlander went seven innings in the win.
But it was Martinez who was undoubtedly the star of the show. It’s the second time the 37-year-old Martinez has had a three-homer game in his career. Adding to his impressive feat is that he did it from both sides of the plate. His first two were as a right-handed batter against Kansas City left-hander Danny Duffy and No. 3 was off right-hander Chien-Ming Wang. Detroit is now 1 1/2 games back of the first-place Cleveland Indians in the American League Central and just 1/2 game behind the Royals.
It wasn’t all good news for the Tigers, though, as J.D. Martinez left the game in the second inning with a fractured elbow he suffered crashing into the outfield wall and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
TOP PERFORMERS
Colby Lewis: The Rangers’ right-hander came within four outs of a perfect game and three outs of a no-hitter, but instead settled for a complete game in Texas’ 5-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. Lewis’ final line: nine innings pitched, two hits, one run, one walk and four strikeouts as he improves to 6-0 on the season.
Tyler Wilson: Eight shutout innings against the best offense in baseball. That’s what left-hander Tyler Wilson did as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1. Wilson allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out six.
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Jonathan Villar: Villar’s ninth inning home run was the difference as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6. The game was tied 6-6 when Villar sent a Pedro Baez offering beyond the wall in centerfield to cash himself and Ramon Flores. The Brewers’ shortstop has been exceptional this season and is now hitting .302/.390/.442 out of the leadoff spot.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The annual Edwin Encarnacion hot-streak is here. This monster two-run home run off Aaron Nola in the first inning of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 13-2 dismantling of the Philadelphia Phillies made it three straight games he’s gone deep and gives him six homers in the last six games. Encarnacion added a two-RBI single in the fourth to raise his league-leading RBI total to 61. It happens every year, and it’s always a treat to watch when Encarnacion gets into these absurd grooves.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Braves 7, Reds 2: Freddie Freeman had three hits, including a two-run home run, while Nick Markakis and Jace Peterson also drove in two runs.
Mariners 6, Rays 4: Dae-Ho Lee led the way for Seattle with three RBIs, helping recently called-up left-hander James Paxton earn his first win of the season.
Mets 6, Pirates 4: Bartolo Colon gave up two runs in 7 2/3 innings and also smacked a double and Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker and Michael Conforto all homered.
Yankees 4, Twins 1: C.C. Sabathia pitched six innings of one-run ball to earn the win and Didi Gregorius had a home run and three RBIs to pace the offense.
Nationals 8, Padres 5: Bryce Harperhit a home run on a three-RBI night for Washington and Wilson Ramos and Anthony Rendon went deep, too.
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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
