Brandon Crawford ties NL record with seven hits in Giants 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.
San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford turned in a historic performance during Monday’s game against the Miami Marlins. The Giants needed it too, as the game stretched all the way into the 14th inning.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
In the end, the Giants pulled off the 8-7 victory. Crawford played the hero, driving in the game-winning run on his seventh (!) hit of the night.
Yes, you read that right. Crawford became the first player since Rennie Stennett in 1975 to notch seven hits during a single game. With the performance, Crawford became only the fifth player in baseball history to pick up at least seven hits in a contest. Stennett accomplished the feat in just nine innings.
Johnny Burnett of the Cleveland Indians holds the major-league record, with nine hits in a single game. That occurred during an 18-inning contest against the Philadelphia Athletics back in 1932.
It wasn’t all just singles for Crawford either. The 29-year-old shortstop managed both a double and a triple during the contest.
In the end, though, his fifth single decided the game. With men on first and second in the top of the 14th inning, Crawford singled to center, driving in Brandon Belt and giving the Giants the 8-7 lead.
George Kontos kept the Marlins off the board in the bottom of the frame, giving the Giants the victory and ensuring Crawford could enjoy his historic accomplishment.
TOP PERFORMERS
Edwin Encarnacion: Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion took his parrot for a walk during Monday’s 7-5 win against the Tampa Bay Rays. Encarnacion smashed his 31st home run of the season during the first inning of Monday’s contest. He didn’t stop there, though. In the bottom of the fourth, EE drove in two more runs on a two-RBI single. He would add one more hit during the game, finishing 3-for-5, with one run scored and three RBI in the victory.
Hisashi Iwakuma: The Seattle Mariners continued their surge Monday, winning a 3-0 game against the Detroit Tigers. Iwakuma was the clear star, keeping the strong Tigers lineup off the board for seven scoreless innings. Iwakuma gave up just four hits and one walk during the contest, striking out four. With the victory, the Mariners have now won four straight games.
Corey Seager: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager may not have made the All-Star team, but he may have thrust himself into MVP contention. The 22-year-old came through again during Monday’s 9-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. In the first inning, Seager blasted a solo shot, picking up his 20th home run of the season. Just a few innings later, he did it again. Seager blasted another solo home run, moving his season total to 21. Oh, he’s also hitting .302 and playing strong defense. Yeah, that’s MVP-caliber production.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
It’s not often a team scores five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull off a walk-off win. It’s even more rare when the game-winning run scores on a hit by pitch.
That’s what happens when teams play against the Cincinnati Reds this season. The club’s bullpen struggles have been well documented this year, but may have reached a new low point during a 5-4 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The club had already allowed St. Louis to score four runs to tie the contest. With the bases loaded and two outs, all they needed to do was keep Yadier Molina off the bases to send the game to extras.
That didn’t happen. On the 1-0 pitch, Ross Ohlendorf hit Molina in the shoulder. Since the bases were loaded, the Cardinals won the game on a hit by pitch. In a season that has featured a number of embarrassing moments for the Reds’ bullpen, this may have been the worst.
REST OF SCOREBOARD
Braves 4, Brewers 3: With the game in extras, Matt Kemp managed to score on a fielding error by Keon Broxton to give the Braves the lead, and eventually win.
Twins 3, Astros 1: Tyler Duffey allowed one run on four hits over six strong innings. He walked one and struck out eight during the victory.
Rangers 4, Rockies 3: Adrian Beltre hit a solo home run in the seventh, and the Rangers rallied for a three-run ninth, giving them the narrow win.
Athletics 3, Orioles 2: Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly and a home run, but that wasn’t enough to lead the Orioles to the comeback win.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
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
