Adam Eaton can blow bubbles and hit grand slams at the same time
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.
Chicago White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton picked an opportune time to hit his first career grand slam. With his team trailing by one run in the ninth inning on Wednesday night, Eaton smacked one over the wall to give Chicago a lead and ultimately a 10-7 victory.
What a moment it was, but it wasn’t just the grand slam or the fact it gave Chicago a stunning win against the division-leading Indians that made it special. It’s what Eaton was doing when he triggered his game-changing swing.
Adam Eaton was blowing a bubble at the moment he hit the grand slam off Cody Allen. pic.twitter.com/LRPln76nGo
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 18, 2016
Some of us can’t even chew bubble gum and walk at the same time. Adam Eaton can blow bubbles and hit game-winning grand slams in the same instant. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the peak of awe-inspiring magnificence.
Of course, it’s well known that Eaton isn’t much of a home run hitter. In 482 career games, this is only the 31st he’s hit. As a leadoff hitter, it’s also not surprising that very few of those have come with runners on base.
First grand slam of Adam Eaton's career. Previously hit two 3-run shots, six with two aboard and 22 solos.
— Dan Hayes (@CSNHayes) August 18, 2016
The stars aligned on Wednesday. Or perhaps just the mechanics of blowing a bubble and swinging aligned, giving him the needed boost. Whatever the case, the White Sox will take the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS
J.A. Happ: For the first time since since June 28 — a span of eight starts — Happ allowed more than three runs. He still picked up his MLB-leading 17th win though, as the Blue Jays topped the Yankees 7-4. Happ would allow four runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings. He struck out nine while only walking one. It wasn’t a dominant performance, but that’s not Happ’s game anyway. He limited damage again while allowing Toronto’s offense to make the difference.
Adrian Gonzalez: The Dodgers kept on rolling Wednesday night, defeating the Phillies 7-2 behind a power surge from Adrian Gonzalez. For the first time since last July in Washington, Gonzalez posted a multi-homer game. In the fourth inning, Gonzalez launched a three-run homer against Philadelphia starter Jake Thompson. In the seventh, he added a two-run shot, giving him five RBIs for the game. Gonzalez also has a 10-game hitting streak going, while the Dodgers moved to 1 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the NL West.
Yasmany Tomas: Speaking of multi-homer games, Tomas delivered his seventh of the season for Arizona in a 13-5 win against the Mets. That’s two more than any other player in MLB this season. The homers were a solo shot against Jon Niese in the fourth inning and a three-run homer against Josh Edgin in the eighth. Tomas also added a two-run triple in the seventh, giving him six RBIs. Teammate Rickie Weeks homered twice and drove in five.
Eric Hosmer: Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez was seven outs away from recording his second career no-hitter. That bid was lost and Sanchez ended up taking a no-decision instead thanks largely to Hosmer. Kansas City’s first baseman first broke through with a double in the seventh inning. Then in the ninth, he delivered a go-ahead two-run homer that propelled Kansas City to a 4-1 win. Credit also to Alex Gordon, who evened the score with a solo homer in the eighth.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
In a game fueled by offense, Washington’s Bryce Harper managed to stand out with that epic blast at Coors Field. Not only was the home run Harper’s first since July 20, it was also one of the longest in MLB this season according to Statcast at 461 feet. Unfortunately for Washington, the two-run shot was not enough as they would fall 12-10 to the Rockies.
The combination of Colorado’s offense and Coors Field were not kind to Stephen Strasburg, as they torched him for seven runs in the first inning alone. That already tied the most runs he’d allowed in a single start. They got him for two more in the second, resulting in the worst outing of Strasburg career. and a losing series for Washington.
REST OF SCOREBOARD
Red Sox 8, Orioles 1: The game was shortened to six innings due to weather, giving David Price his second game of the season. Price allowed four hits and one run while striking out four.
Rays 2, Padres 0: Break up the Rays. They completed a dominating three-game sweep of the Padres, outscoring them 25-3. Chris Archer pitched 6 2/3 scoreless in the finale.
Cardinals 8, Astros 2: St. Louis continues excelling on the road, winning its MLB-best 36th game on the road. They also swept this quick two-game set in Houston.
Pirates 6, Giants 4: Pittsburgh scored all six of its runs in the fifth inning. The rally was capped by an Andrew McCutchen two-run homer.
Reds 3, Marlins 2: Miami suffers another damaging loss against a non-contender thanks to Brandon Phillip’s go-ahead homer in the seventh. They’ll look to avoid the sweep in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon.
Twins 10, Braves 3: Minnesota spoiled the debut of Dansby Swanson, who finished with two singles in four at-bats.
Cubs 6, Brewers 1: Chicago scored five in the first inning, capped by Jorge Soler’s three-run homer off the left field scoreboard.
Rangers 6, A’s 2: Texas completes a three-game sweep behind seven innings of two-run ball from Yu Darvish. The Rangers also got a home run from Jonathan Lucroy, who has seven of his 20 this season since joining Texas on Aug. 1.
Mariners 4, Angels 3: Seattle used six pitchers to get the win, with closer Edwin Diaz escaping a bases load jam in the ninth inning thanks to a defensive gem from Kyle Seager.
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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!
