And That Happened: Thursday’s scores and highlights

Craig Calcaterra

Aug 31, 2012, 5:40 AM EDT

48 Comments

Orioles 5, White Sox 3: Zach Britton strikes out ten, gets sent down to the minors. That’s fair. That aside, heady freakin’ times for the Orioles who, apart from the Yankees fans, I think everyone on the planet is wanting to sweep New York and make the AL East a dead heat by Sunday night. Viva chaos.

Cubs 12, Brewers 11: Jonathan Lucroy drove in seven runs for Milwaukee — his second seven-RBI game of the season — but the Cubs still won. Total bullpen meltdown, capped with a K-Rod blown save on a day when Axford was unavailable. I was shocked to see that driving in seven in a losing cause is not terribly uncommon. Indeed, he was the fourth player in the past five years to do it, joining immortals like Jose Guillen.

Mariners 5, Twins 4: Look at the Mariners go. They’re not gonna finish at .500. They’re certainly not gonna make the playoffs. But they’ve played respectable baseball all year and are finishing strong. If you’re not gonna win, at least be respectable and competitive every night out, and that’s what Seattle is doing.

Phillies 3, Mets 2: Hustlegate. I can’t think of a former MVP who has found himself at this place in his career like Rollins has, but that’s where he is. I don’t even know what to think about it. Except that I think there are 20 teams and maybe more who would love to have a non-hustling Jimmy Rollins as their shortstop.

Athletics 12, Indians 7: The AP gamer referred to the Indians as “free falling.” I think that’s an insult to parachutists, who at least have a plan about where they’re heading. The A’s continue to lead the AL wild card race.

Blue Jays 2, Rays 0: A two run double in the first was all Toronto needed as they had Carlos Villanueava pitch six shutout innings with three innings of blanks from the bullpen.

Nationals 8, Cardinals 1: For a team whose calling card has been offense all season, the Cardinals’ recent offensive drought has to be somewhat concerning, no? They went 28 innings without scoring a run before the eighth inning of this one, and that came after everything was more or less decided. Another homer for Bryce Harper and ten strikeouts over eight shutout innings from Edwin Jackson.

Royals 2, Tigers 1: Now it’s three things that would-be playoff teams don’t do: Lose Justin Verlander starts, lost to Bruce Chen and lose to Jeremy Guthrie. Basically, you can’t get the tar knocked out of you by the Kansas City Royals is what I’m saying. I don’t think I’m declaring the Tigers dead yet, but the patient is in dire shape.

Giants 8, Astros 4: Bad luck and worse luck, all on one play – and a late collapse blowing a 4-0 lead — pretty much sums up the 2012 Astros.

Angels 5, Red Sox 2: Boston goes 0 for 2012 against the Angels. The AP gamer described Zack Greinke as “unintimidating but effective” in this one. I plan on filing a lawsuit later today because that was the working title of my autobiography.

Diamondbacks 2, Dodgers 0: Kennedy pitched shutout, two-hit ball for six and a third. Chris Young hit a two-run homer. The Dbacks take their seventh straight from the Dodgers. If L.A. falls short this year, not beating the Dbacks as much as they should will be a good reason.

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kiwicricket - Aug 31, 2012 at 6:22 AM

I am not sure how the Astros can get any worse…

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=24357017&topic_id=11493214&c_id=mlb

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proudlycanadian - Aug 31, 2012 at 6:50 AM

Nice game by Villanueva. Memo to the Rays. If you want to stay in the playoff race, you have to score some runs. They have been shut out 6 times this month.

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- cur68 - Aug 31, 2012 at 7:43 AM
  
  Follow Up Memo To The Rays: Please ignore the preceding memo form PC. Score no runs for the next 2 days, please. After that, bombs away.
  
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  - proudlycanadian - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:06 AM
    
    Correction to cur68. He meant to say “next 3 days please.”
- indaburg - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:09 AM
  
  Ugh. Watching the Rays bat is like watching paint dry. How long can Derek Shelton, their hitting coach, keep his job? I hesitate to blame the coaches because they’re not the ones up at the plate swinging, but this isn’t a fluke. He may be a good coach, but whatever he’s selling, the Rays hitters ain’t buying. It is hard fir me to believe that the Rays are really that bad offensively and they’re not underperforming just a liitle bit.
  
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  - indaburg - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:14 AM
    
    I meant it is hard FOR me to believe. Not fir. Edit function. Please.
gnrfan8804 - Aug 31, 2012 at 6:55 AM

the mariners are only 4 games under .500, i think its very realistic that they finish there, especially with the way they’ve been playing since the break. it would take a miracle, but 9 games back of the games back of the wild card is not impossible. this is all on the strength of there post all star break run, which is 2nd best in the AL. anything is possible. these guys are really fun to watch, and now Guti is back and looks pretty good.

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number42is1 - Aug 31, 2012 at 7:06 AM

so who replaces Girardi next season after he gets fired for blowing a ten game lead?

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- Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:20 AM
  
  Slobbering Ozzie?
  
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- kiwicricket - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:50 AM
  
  Bobby V hopefully. Just for our amusement.
  
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  - Jeremy T - Aug 31, 2012 at 12:34 PM
    
    Oh please dear God no. I would have to seriously consider giving up the sport, or at least changing allegiances. Not sure who I’d change to, though, since the Mets clearly aren’t an option…
- natstowngreg - Aug 31, 2012 at 12:53 PM
  
  The Return of Joe Torre.
  
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biffnasty - Aug 31, 2012 at 7:41 AM

Craig,
Not sure of the truth behind this but I took a second job at a library recently, I know pretty cool, anywho, in speaking with the library director, she informed me that Book Titles are usually not patented meaning that you can technically use one that has already been used. Her example was that If I desired, I could write an autobiography and call it gone with the wind. Again I’m not too sure of the truth behind her statement but she is the director of a county library so I believe every word she says

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- Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:00 AM
  
  Biff, you really need to explain the difference between “patent” and “copyright” to your supervisor. Soon.
  
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- Charles Gates - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:07 AM
  
  Mr. Nasty, here’s a modest proposal. If the library’s budget gets to tight, you can eat the director to save on food and salary costs.
  
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- Craig Calcaterra - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:12 AM
  
  Yes, that is true. I can make a movie and call is “Casablanca” or I can write a book and call it “The Great Gatsby.”
  
  AND DON’T THINK I WONT
  
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  - Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:18 AM
    
    And I can review it for one of the regional Modern Language Association journals, and when it’s finally published in the spring of 2016 your literary career will be dog meat.
  - snowbirdgothic - Aug 31, 2012 at 9:25 AM
    
    Silly Gator. Nobody reads reviews that don’t come with an amazon star rating any more.
  - Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 11:19 AM
    
    Yeah, but people who read reviews with Amazon star ratings are only reading them because they can count the stars. These people really can’t read at all.
rockthered1286 - Aug 31, 2012 at 7:47 AM

Aaand the yayrd birds strike again! Unfortunate Britton gets sent down to Norfolk but it won’t be long. Let Saunders take one more horrific start and they’ll severe ties, knowing that we have better pitching with ZB, Tilly, Miggy Gonzo, Chen and Hammel will be back shortly.

Britton’s 10 impressive K’s were great, but Teagarden stole the show with 2 more extra-base hits, driving in 3 of the 5 runs. JJ looked a little shaky and up in the zone, but managed to slam the door shut once again. 42 saves and counting…

And here go, off to the Bronx. Ready anything short of a series win here is a failure. We need at least 2 W’s here to continue to move forward and I think it’s very very likely that we can manage that, especially after watching the Jays manhandle the Yanks last series.

In the words of Adam Jones…. LEEGGGOOOOOO!!!

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- Charles Gates - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:09 AM
  
  Britton only got sent down to clear room for Wolf because he can’t pitch again until rosters expand anyway.
  
  Randy Wolf is how you know when the Ford/McLouth et al scrap heap strategy has reached it’s practical limits.
  
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  - Charles Gates - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:28 AM
    
    Straggler apostrophe. But leave it here. Screw the edit function. (If I made each of those three ‘sentences’ into paragraphs, I’d be a journalist for a large paper)
- Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:22 AM
  
  Peter Angelos is a genius.
  
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jarathen - Aug 31, 2012 at 7:53 AM

The Angels better send the Red Sox and nice Christmas ham this year. Boston is the only reason September is any kind of interesting in Anaheim.

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- Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 7:58 AM
  
  And the Beanbags could return the favor by sending the Angels a nice Christmas clam. Me, I would prefer a spit-roasted aardvark for Kwanzaa.
  
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Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 7:56 AM

Man, you have to hate yourself for laughing at a guy getting hurt, but that flipflop over first base for the Astros’ Gonzalez looked like an Olympic gymnastics floor routine. If it had been a nun, we could have laughed with a clear conscience.

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- natslady - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:20 AM
  
  See, if they’d spotted the Astros 5 runs, it would have been enough.
  
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- stex52 - Aug 31, 2012 at 1:37 PM
  
  What it needed was a strategically placed cream pie for the landing. What with the Clemens sideshow coming to town, we need a clown act. An official one, not the one we get every night.
  
  And the Astros set another low attendance mark. Every night this week they’ve set a new one. The Texans playing last night didn’t help, but I have the feeling they would have broken the record anyway.
  
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Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:14 AM

I was watching Jim Cantore interfering with Red Cross and police officials trying to do their jobs in Louisiana this morning – how does he avoid getting electrocuted dragging that microphone line around in the water like that, anyway? – when it occurred to me that even though the Feesh didn’t play last night, there must be legions of Rainbow Warriors fans out there aching for a smidgen of news about the stars of this season’s The Franchise. So, in the finest tradition of Circling the Bases’ recycled twice-removed-from-eyewitness sports journalism, I checked the team’s official website to see what happened yesterday.

Nothing.

It was exactly the same as it was yesterday afternoon, except for the usual rotation of advertising (this seems to be the season of the War on Skin Tags – and I didn’t even know it was legal to remove a skin tag, much less the one on the pillow seam). Tweeter is finally going in to get his knee operated on, but that was two days ago. Slobbering Ozzie says that the Iron Giant is becoming a more complete player. Well, that was yesterday. Looking ahead, the Feesh are still planning to send Nate Eovaldi up against the sublime R. A. Dickey tonight, and I’m still planning to go – at least as much to see if there are any leftover Giancarlo Stanton bobbleheads to be had cheaply to keep my ancient Iron Giant bobblehead with “Mike” on the base company as to watch Biggeth Dicketh’s flutterball. But otherwise, nothing much – I suppose there must be a few technicians downstairs oiling the hinges of the team cattle gate to make sure it swings freely to admit the stampede of callups, young studs, wannabees and washouts from Nawlins…er…maybe “washouts” wasn’t quite the word I was looking for…when the rosters dilate tomorrow.

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- birdman6824 - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:55 AM
  
  Have an Arepa for me
  
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  - Old Gator - Aug 31, 2012 at 11:21 AM
    
    I heard about somebody choking on one not too long ago. I guess you could say she was carried off by the….Grim Arepa.
timb12 - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:30 AM

I’ve had enough of this. I’m trying out for the Astros. I’ve never played baseball in my life, but I think I can lead the team in every statistic there is. That is my goal.

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- heyblueyoustink - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:54 AM
  
  You know, you might have something there. Let me go dust of the Mizuno’s in the trunk of the car, I think I have a glove in the garage somewhere…
  
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- mattyflex - Aug 31, 2012 at 9:21 AM
  
  I’m currently leading the men’s hardball league in our area in BA and SB; that joke was thrown out to me the other day. If nothing else, I have nearly an entire foot on Jose Altuve, so there’s that.
  
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  - heyblueyoustink - Aug 31, 2012 at 9:44 AM
    
    We could be the team of the people: all making the same money, with the same expectations. We could change the name of the team to the Houston Socialists.
  - stex52 - Aug 31, 2012 at 1:25 PM
    
    Here’s a thought. Houston is fairly liberal for Texas, but you may still struggle with that name down here. Houston Blue Dogs might work. Or Houston Socially Aware Moderates.
    
    Otherwise, I’m behind you 100%. You couldn’t be worse than what passes for a team now.
natslady - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:39 AM

Edwin Jackson, who is one of the most puzzling pitchers I’ve ever seen, pitched a great game–again! He seems to get stronger as the season goes on. Down (up?) in Syracuse, John Lannan pitched his 2nd complete game shutout–in a row! Seriously motivated pitchers there, people, seriously motivated.

No helmets tossed, but another home run for Brycie-boy, and one for the 6’6″ donkey who’s leading off and keeping Bryce calm (Bryce’s words). Ryan Zimmerman tossed another one into the dugout, which is mildly concerning, but all-in-all, a pleasant evening. Only 23K there to see it, though. Maybe some of the absentees watched the O’s win their afternoon game and didn’t for the Beltway doubleheader–seems like a little scheduling glitch. Or maybe everyone in Virginia is off to the beach for the last weekend before school starts in the Commonwealth. Come back, this is better!!!!!

Garcia looked overmatched but now we have Gio vs. Wainwright. Oddsmakers have it as a dead heat. So excited to be going to this game, and not just for the tee shirt.

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- natslady - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:46 AM
  
  Or maybe some of them felt obliged to watch (or be at) the RNC. Sometimes I forget it’s an election year…Actually, most of the time I forget it’s an election year.
  
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  - natstowngreg - Aug 31, 2012 at 1:01 PM
    
    That was my theory. Obviously, a case of misplaced priorities on the parts of local Republicans and journalists. Next week, it will be the local Democrats and journalists.
- voteforno6 - Aug 31, 2012 at 8:53 AM
  
  I think that my ears are still ringing from Harper’s home run. That was a very loud hit.
  
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- natstowngreg - Aug 31, 2012 at 1:15 PM
  
  Bryce Harper got an ovation for making an out at first and not throwing his helmet. Bryce Harper got an ovation for flying out to the wall in CF–and not throwing his helmet. Another time, Bryce Harper made an out and touched the bill of his batting helmet, as though said helmet was about to hit the dirt. It did not.
  
  Young Mr. Harper could learn from Ryan Zimmerman (who I’ve seen throw bats and helmets a handful of times). Upon striking out to end an inning, he dropped his bat on the plate, placed his helmet next to the bat, took off his batting gloves and placed them into the helmet. Leaving the equipment for collection by the batboy.
  
  Winning big certainly helped the mood of the 23K (minus unused season tickets). This was not a normal win. A normal Washington Nationals win involves (a) taking a 4-5-run lead and holding on for dear life; or (b) coming from behind in the 8th (or 9th or 10th or 11th or…).
  
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sportsdrenched - Aug 31, 2012 at 9:31 AM

Not only did the Royals sweep the the Tigers, they held them scoreless for 17 straight innings at one point. I’m just as shocked as you are.

What’s up with the Dodgers? They make a bunch of high power moves, and have been struggling ever since. What are they 4 back of the Giants now? (I know, I could look that up before posting, but I’m too lazy)

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historiophiliac - Aug 31, 2012 at 10:25 AM

It’s a baseball shitpocalypse where we get swept by the Royals….the ROYALS! Last week we beat the Angels, holding Wonderboy Trout to 1 hit in 3 games. Now, we can’t beat a guy whose record was 5-12???? We have a small consistency problem, guys.

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- APBA Guy - Aug 31, 2012 at 12:06 PM
  
  Maybe your team was looking ahead to this weekends series?
  
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  - historiophiliac - Aug 31, 2012 at 12:26 PM
    
    I hope so. We are 7 of 11 against the ChiSox so far this year. I look forward to seeing what little Max Scherzer does and hopefully our bats will get hot again.
APBA Guy - Aug 31, 2012 at 12:17 PM

The A’s did what they needed to do, and have the BBTN crew all excited now. Even Mark Mulder, who played with Giambi and Tejada and knows from offensive talent, showed a crack in his “no way, no how” stance on the A’s making the wild card, allowing that “if they keep playing like this, and the Angels and Rays stay inconsistent…”.

That’s a lot of “if’s” especially as the schedule gets more challenging starting today. The A’s take on the Red Sox, and while this is not the Red Sox of 2007, or even 2010, they are still materially better than the Indians and Minnesota, who the A’s were privileged to have played 10 times in the last two weeks.

Good news is that AJ “Mix-a-Lot” Griffin is coming off the DL soon, giving the A’s their 3 RHP and 3 LHP starter balance to mix and match against teams as needed. Other good news is that the team scored 33 runs against Cleveland in 4 games. They should be able to score against Boston, whose pitching has been problematic all year.

After this series the Angels come to town. That’s when things get really serious.

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chicagosworth - Aug 31, 2012 at 9:37 PM

Sox need this weekends series vs the Tigers

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jon623 - Sep 1, 2012 at 10:55 AM

Thanks for throwing us Mariner fans a little bone there, Calcaterra. It’s true, and something that I can be proud of, that the Mariners don’t ever seem to mail it in. No, they aren’t a playoff team, but they play to win the game (Herm Edwards?) every night out. It’s going to be a long road ahead for us M’s fans, but here’s to hoping.

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