Mother Nature played havoc on several games Saturday. 
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not a very good start for Roach 3 1/3 innings pitched 8 hits and 4 ER allowed
Roach, 25, is 7-1 with a 2.29 ERA in 14 starts for Triple-A Iowa after being claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres over the winter.Comment -
14 years ago yesterday this happened!
I was there!
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Cardinals cruising through first half
With Saturday's win vs. the Cubs, the Cards became just the 7th team since 1995 to win 50 games before their 75th game of the season. The other 6 all reached at least the LCS.Comment -
The Mets need to play him in the outfield when he isn't pitching, since he is the best hitter on the team (the highest starting BA is .262).
Eye on MLB, June 28: Steven Matz impressive in debut for Mets
By Eye on Baseball staff
June 28, 2015 7:25 pm ET
Another day in Major League Baseball, another top pitching prospect makes his major league debut for the New York Mets. This one's different, and not just because his name is almost "Mets," but Steven Matz makes for a left-handed complement to Noah Syndergaard and the other high falutin' prospects they have brought forth the past few years. Like Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler and Thor, he has a chance to be top-of-the-rotation good.
Matz throws about 95 mph with a curve that has emerged as his best breaking pitch. Overall, he has posted a 2.29 ERA with 380 strikeouts in 365 2/3 innings three-plus minor league seasons since having Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. His numbers at Triple-A Las Vegas this are most encouraging: A 2.19 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings is rarefied air, as CBS's own Chris Towers reported.
As for Matz against major-leaguers, he definitely looked the part on the hill (we'll get to his bat in a second). He'd last 7 2/3 innings -- which was huge for the Mets, considering they were just coming off a 13-inning affair earlier in the day -- giving up just two runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Credit Matz for quickly bouncing back, too, as the first batter he ever faced in the majors was Brandon Phillips, who hit a home run.
"I just thought, you know what, I just got my first batter out of the way and now it's time to go to work," Matz said after the game.
And that's exactly what he did.
Matz settled in and went to work. He was easily the best all-around player in the game. He was the winning pitcher as the Mets took the game, 7-2, and swept the series against the Reds. After a seven-game losing streak, the Mets have won four in a row.
Now, about Matz at the plate ...
Steven Matz had a historic debut at the plate. (USATSI)For as good as he was on the mound, Matz was actually better with the stick. His first career at-bat was a two-RBI double. Next time up, he singled. In the bottom of the sixth, Matz stepped in with the bases loaded and a 3-2 lead. He'd single home two.
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When the dust settled, Matz was 3-for-3 with a double and four RBI. He was hitting .304 (7-for-23) in Triple-A, so he can handle a bat pretty well.
This was the first time in recorded history (which goes back to 1914) that a pitcher had at least three hits and three RBI in his MLB debut. In fact, including all players, this just the 11th time that a player debuted with at least three hits and four RBI. Until this season, it hadn't happened since 1999, but Matz joins Mark Canha and Joey Gallo to make it three in 2015 who pulled it off (baseball-reference.com's play index has the full list).
There are no Mets on that list, by the way, so the only player in history to debut with the Mets with at least three hits and four RBI is Steven Matz.
That's one heck of a double-threat debut and it's certainly an act that will be tough to follow.Comment -
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Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez are the first teammates 23 or under with at least 9 wins by their team's 75th game since Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez in 1986.Comment -
Royals losing ground in All-Star voting
The latest All-Star voting update was released by MLB today, and the Royals are down to five players in position to start. Mike Moustakas has slipped behind Toronto's Josh Donaldson at third base, and Kendrys Morales trails Seattle's Nelson Cruz at DH.Comment -
I agree. Omar Infante shouldn't even be starting for the Royals let alone in the ASG.Comment -
Indians' Anderson takes perfect game into 7th
Rookie Cody Anderson took a bid for a perfect game into the seventh inning in his second major league start, and the struggling Cleveland Indians snapped a three-game losing streak with a 7-1 victory.Comment -
Another great outing by a rookie....
M's Montgomery 1-hits Pads for another shutout
Rookie left-hander Mike Montgomery took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and finished with a one-hitter for his second straight shutout as the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 5-0Comment -
ST. LOUIS (AP) Chris Sale forced another avalanche of swings and misses. Helping at the bat, was an unexpected bonus.
The Chicago White Sox lefty matched a major league record by striking out at least 10 in eight straight starts. In his 100th start he also got his first career hit and scored his first career run.
''I got to do a few things I normally don't do,'' Sale said after the White Sox outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in 11 innings on a home run by Tyler Flowers. ''It was fun, it was cool.''
Sale struck out 12 in eight innings. The lefty tied the mark set by Pedro Martinez in 1999 with Boston and gets a chance to break it this weekend at home against the Blue Jays - not that he's paying much attention.
''Those kinds of things don't really matter to me,'' Sale said. ''You start worrying about that stuff right now and we won't be talking about it anymore, that's for sure.''
Flowers, the White Sox catcher, said it'll be a surprise the next time Sale doesn't reach double digits in strikeouts.
''If he executes pitches he's hard to catch, much less trying to hit,'' Flowers said. ''I don't see any reason why he can't continue to put up these kind of strikeouts and these numbers.''
The White Sox ace had fanned every hitter in the St. Louis lineup by the end of the sixth. He is 0-2 with two no-decisions during the last four games of his streak, getting only four runs of support.Comment -
MLB Standings as of Wednesday, July 1st:
Baltimore Orioles 42 36 .538 - 26-15 16-21 359 312 +47 W1 7-3 Tampa Bay Rays 42 37 .532 0.5 21-25 21-12 286 280 +6 L3 3-7 New York Yankees 41 37 .526 1 21-14 20-23 365 345 +20 L3 3-7 Toronto Blue Jays 42 38 .525 1 26-17 16-21 435 341 +94 W1 5-5 Boston Red Sox 36 44 .450 7 17-20 19-24 323 374 -51 L1 6-4 Kansas City Royals 44 30 .595 - 22-13 22-17 317 268 +49 L2 6-4 Minnesota Twins 41 37 .526 5 25-15 16-22 329 327 +2 L1 4-6 Detroit Tigers 39 37 .513 6 20-20 19-17 331 335 -4 L1 5-5 Cleveland Indians 35 41 .461 10 15-23 20-18 304 333 -29 W2 4-6 Chicago White Sox 33 42 .440 11.5 18-15 15-27 259 339 -80 W1 5-5 Houston Astros 46 34 .575 - 27-16 19-18 356 298 +58 W3 6-4 Los Angeles Angels 41 37 .526 4 25-17 16-20 302 302 0 W4 6-4 Texas Rangers 40 39 .506 5.5 15-19 25-20 344 340 +4 L1 3-7 Seattle Mariners 36 42 .462 9 17-23 19-19 267 306 -39 W2 5-5 Oakland Athletics 36 45 .444 10.5 16-24 20-21 360 312 +48 W1 6-4 In my opinion, the Houston Astros are the biggest surprise so far...Washington Nationals 43 34 .558 - 22-14 21-20 342 308 +34 W1 9-1 New York Mets 40 38 .513 3.5 29-12 11-26 276 288 -12 L1 4-6 Atlanta Braves 36 41 .468 7 19-16 17-25 305 337 -32 L1 4-6 Miami Marlins 32 46 .410 11.5 19-22 13-24 285 320 -35 W1 3-7 Philadelphia Phillies 27 52 .342 17 18-23 9-29 263 390 -127 L2 4-6 St. Louis Cardinals 51 25 .671 - 29-8 22-17 310 213 +97 L1 8-2 Pittsburgh Pirates 43 33 .566 8 24-14 19-19 303 256 +47 W1 4-6 Chicago Cubs 40 35 .533 10.5 20-15 20-20 296 288 +8 W1 5-5 Cincinnati Reds 36 41 .468 15.5 22-15 14-26 313 328 -15 W1 5-5 Milwaukee Brewers 31 48 .392 21.5 15-26 16-22 294 370 -76 W3 6-4 Los Angeles Dodgers 44 35 .557 - 27-13 17-22 336 272 +64 W1 6-4 San Francisco Giants 42 36 .538 1.5 21-20 21-16 332 310 +22 L1 6-4 Arizona Diamondbacks 37 40 .481 6 19-19 18-21 348 356 -8 L1 4-6 San Diego Padres 37 43 .463 7.5 18-22 19-21 327 371 -44 L3 4-6 Colorado Rockies 34 44 .436 9.5 17-22 17-22 348 396 -48 L1 5-5
This is shaping up to be an awesome second half of the season!
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Cain and Fernandez both return and face off tomorrowComment -
"The Lumber Company v.2015"
Also, AJ with an absolute gem tonight in Detroit...
Harrison 3B 6 1 2 0 0 1 17 .281 .315 .389 Walker 2B 6 3 4 3 0 1 20 .268 .338 .410 McCutchen CF 5 1 1 0 0 1 20 .295 .386 .480 Marte LF 5 1 4 1 0 1 19 .285 .333 .471 Álvarez DH 5 2 2 1 0 1 25 .248 .323 .456 Cervelli C 5 0 2 1 0 1 22 .300 .372 .395 Polanco RF 4 1 3 1 1 0 17 .241 .308 .345 Mercer SS 5 0 2 0 0 0 14 .242 .290 .322 Rodriguez 1B 5 0 1 0 0 3 22 .250 .264 .385 BATTING
2B: Harrison (19, Simon); Álvarez (14, Simon); Marte (15, Simon); Polanco (14, Simon)
HR: Walker 2 (6, 3rd inning off Simon 1 on, 0 Out; 8th inning off Chamberlain 0 on, 1 Out); Marte (13, 8th inning off Chamberlain 0 on, 2 Out); Álvarez (11, 8th inning off Chamberlain 0 on, 2 Out)
RBI: Walker 3 (27), Cervelli (27), Polanco (19), Marte (47), Álvarez (35)
2-out RBI: Polanco, Marte, Álvarez
Pirates RISP: 4-14 (Cervelli 0-1, Walker 1-2, Rodriguez 0-2, Mercer 1-3, Harrison 0-1, Marte 1-1, Álvarez 0-3, Polanco 1-1)
Team LOB: 11BASERUNNING
SB: Walker (3, 2nd base off Simon/McCann)FIELDING
E: Harrison (12, ground ball)Burnett
(W, 7-3)7.0 7 2 2 0 4 0 100-71 2.05 Hughes 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 20-13 2.57 Caminero 1.0 3 1 1 0 0 1 11-10 3.50 PITCHING
WP: Burnett
HBP: V. Martínez (By Hughes)
First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: Burnett 24/29; Hughes 4/5; Caminero 5/6
Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: Burnett 23-7-17-24; Hughes 1-6-3-3; Caminero 3-0-1-6
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: Burnett 13-4; Hughes 2-0; Caminero 2-1
Game Scores: A Burnett 59Comment -
Possible blow to the Astros
Astros manager A.J. Hinch said he's not optimistic George Springer (wrist) will be able to avoid the disabled list.
Hinch told reporters Springer's wrist is "causing great concern" with the club. Springer was hit on the right wrist by an Edinson Volquez pitch in Wednesday's win. He'll surely undergo X-rays before the team's next game on Friday, so the team should have a clearer picture of his prognosis prior to that contest.Comment -
Jose Fernandez appeared to be a little too excited in the first inning Thursday, his first outing for the Miami Marlins since May 9, 2014 and subsequent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. Hitting 99 mph on the radar gun, Fernandez allowed two runs to the San Francisco Giants in the first inning, falling behind in his long-anticipated comeback bid. Fernandez settled down from there on the mound, allowing only one run the rest of the way, and striking out six over six innings for the win. No walks, either. An unexpected highlight came in the fifth inning:
He stopped to watch it a little, though not as much as the last time he went deep. Fernandez came in a career .197 hitter, including a memorable home run against the Atlanta Braves during his NL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2013. He really stopped to watch that one, however with the Marlins and Braves in the middle of a "Play the Game The Right Way" snit, Fernandez's dinger in '13 preceded the benches clearing.Comment -
I would have to imagine this has been a surprise to many with Gallardo. I was expecting a 4.25 era and .500 type pitcher. He has returned to form it seems.
Yovani Gallardo extended his scoreless innings streak to 29 1/3 with another six shutout frames against the Orioles in a no-decision on Thursday.
The right-hander was once again superb, scattering just two hits and three walks on the evening while striking out two. He now boasts a tremendous 2.56 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 72/31 K/BB ratio over 102 innings on the season. He'll look to extend his dominance further when he does battle against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.Comment -
While watching the Pirates beat up on the Tigers the other night I had to do a major double take.
I saw Tom Gorzelanny on the bump for Detroit, yes, Tom Gorzelanny!
I know things are bad in Detroit, but how this guy still dons a MLB jersey is completely beyond me!
2015 Stats 1 1 6.37 30 0 0 24.0 19 1.96 MLB Career Stats 48 51 4.33 289 121 2 865.1 693 1.44 Comment
