Early Game Recaps
The Brewers defeated the White Sox 5-0 behind four home runs and strong pitching: Jhoulys Chacin started on the bump for the Brew Crew and he fired 5.2 innings of shutout baseball before handing it over to the incredible Josh Hader . Hader then tossed 1.1 innings and racked up another three strikeouts, this guy is just dominating opposing hitters. Erik Kratz , Jonathan Villar , Lorenzo Cain , and Jesus Aguilar each smacked a home run, with Aguilar having the biggest day as he finished 3-for-3 with the home run, a walk, two RBI, and a run scored; he also hit a double to cap off a 34.2 FanDuel point day.
The Royals were able to take down the Athletics in a back-and-forth game: The Royals jumped out to a four-nothing lead through two innings by scoring two runs in both the first and second inning. The A’s slowly climbed back into the game by scoring one run in the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth innings to tie the game up at four apiece. Jorge Soler , however, had the quick response for the Royals in the bottom of the eighth inning as he blasted a solo home run, his ninth of the year, to give the lead back to the Royals 5-4. Kelvin Herrera then shutdown the A’s in the ninth inning to finish off the win.
The Pirates fell to the Cardinals 3-2 despite tying it up in the ninth: Luke Weaver pitched well for the Cardinals as he went five innings of one-run ball and struck out four. Marcell Ozuna got things started with a bang in the second inning by smacking a home run, number 100 of his career. Colin Moran delivered a solo shot of his own in the fifth inning to tie things up at one. The Cards responded with a run of their own in the fifth inning and the score would remain 2-1 up until the ninth inning. Austin Meadows slugged a homer in the ninth off Bud Norris to get the Pirates in a position to hopefully push the game into extras; but it wouldn’t be enough as Kolten Wong delivered a walk-off dinger in the bottom of the ninth for the Cardinals to end the game. It was Wong’s second walk-off home run of the season.
That Just Happened
Gio González gave the Nationals seven strong innings of three-run baseball and struck out nine. His 43.0 points on FanDuel had to be pleasing to those who rostered him today. Juan Soto finished the day 3-for-5 with a home run, one RBI, and two runs scored. This game is currently heading to the twelfth inning.
TeOscar Hernandez left the game with a foot contusion after taking a foul ball off his foot. To make matters worse for the Blue Jays, they also fell the Tigers 7-4 in the game today. Jeimer Candelario hit out of the leadoff spot for Detroit and in the bottom of the first inning delivered his ninth home run of the year.
Lance Lynn went six innings and gave up just one run for the Twins and was backed by big days from Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosario to pick up his fourth win of the season.
Miguel Andujar and Giancarlo Stanton have blasted home runs for the Yankees, while Adam Jones and Joey Rickard have launched home runs for the Orioles. The Yankees are currently leading this game four-to-two at the end of five innings.
Burning Questions
Justin Verlander is currently sitting on a 1.11 ERA for the year; can he keep it going in a tough matchup with the Red Sox?
Jacob deGrom has just four wins despite a fantastic 1.52 ERA on the year; can he move to a 5-0 record tonight against the Cubbies?
Matt Harvey has pitched to a 3.72 ERA since joining the Reds; can he continue to be an effective pitcher for his new team?
Vince Velásquez finished the month of May 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 27.1 innings pitched; can he keep the success rolling here in June?
The Marlins take on the Diamondbacks in what appears to be a pitcher’s duel with Caleb Smith and Zack Greinke on the hill; will it turn out that way?
Stay tuned.