The Walk Off: Giants sweep Rays to win eighth straight game
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.
Take notice, rest of the league, because the San Francisco Giants are making their move. No team is hotter than the Giants right now. After Sunday’s 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco has now won eight straight games.
Sunday’s contest almost saw that streak come to an end, but a late rally by the Giants pushed it to another game. Both teams entered the eighth inning trapped in a 1-1 tie, but that’s when the Giants offense came alive.
Gregor Blanco singled to open the frame, and was bunted over to second by Denard Span. Joe Panik would then break the tie with an RBI single to right.
At that point, the floodgates opened. Brandon Belt walked, Buster Posey singled in another run and Conor Gillaspie doubled both of them home with a two-out hit. The Giants scored four runs in the inning.
The Rays threatened in the bottom of ninth with two straight singles to leadoff the inning, but failed to bring any runs across in the frame. San Francisco held on to win 5-1.
TOP PERFORMERS
Matt Wieters: Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters was an absolute monster during the club’s 11-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Wieters started early, smashing a two-run homer in the first inning. He added to that the second time up, knocking a double. Wieters picked up two singles in his next two at-bats. The Blue Jays were finally able to get him out his fifth time up, but the game was already out of reach. Wieters finished 4-for-5, with three runs scored and four RBI.
Julio Teheran: The Julio Teheran of old appears to be back. Teheran tossed his finest game of the season Sunday against the New York Mets during the Atlanta Braves’ 6-0 victory. Teheran was nearly flawless, giving up just one hit over nine innings. He did not issue any walks and struck out seven during the contest. With the win, Teheran now has a 2.66 ERA.
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Javier Baez: Javier Baez was the standout for the Chicago Cubs during Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Baez put on a show, extended the team’s early lead with a second inning blast. He would also add two more singles during the contest. Baez finished 3-for-4, with two runs scored and one RBI in the 10-5 win.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
It’s not often a walk is the must-see highlight of the day, but this one an important walk. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal drew a walk to give the Dodgers the 2-1 win. It was a walk-off walk.
The Milwaukee Brewers entered the inning tied, but reliever Tyler Thornburg couldn’t get the job done. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for A.J. Ellis. With two outs, manager Dave Roberts opted to pinch-hit Grandal. Obviously, the move worked out. Grandal battled for six pitches, eventually walking in the winning run and giving Los Angeles the 2-1 victory.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Royals 2, Tigers 1: After seven innings where no team scored, Cheslor Cuthbert picked up a walk-off single to give the Royals the win.
Indians 3 White Sox 2: José Ramirez broke the tie in the 10th inning, singling home Rajai Davis for the walk-off victory.
Marlins 3, Rockies 0: Tom Koehler blanked the Rockies for six innings and Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer to give the Marlins the win.
Red Sox 2, Mariners 1: David Price gave up just one run over eight innings while Mookie Betts’ solo home run in the seventh inning broke the tie.
Diamondbacks 5, Phillies 1: Archie Bradley gave up just one run over six innings as Jake Lamb doubled and tripled during the contest.
Twins 7, Yankees 4: Max Kepler went 3-for-4, including a double and a home run during the victory.
Astros 6, Reds 0: Mike Fiers blanked the Reds over 5 2/3 innings while Evan Gattis and Luis Valbuena each drove in two runs.
Rangers 5, Cardinals 4: Jurickson Profar’s pinch-hit, two-run single with the bases loaded in the eighth inning gave the Rangers the late lead.
Angels 2, Athletics 0: Jered Weaver threw only 95 pitches during a complete-game shutout against Oakland. He gave up just three hits.
Padres 6, Nationals 3: The Padres jumped all over Gio Gonzalez, tagging him for five runs, six earned, over 5 1/3 innings.
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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
