Maybe you weren’t paying attention to baseball this weekend. Maybe you had friends over. Maybe you went out in the woods! Who could blame you, the weather was great where you are. But nobody likes to feel behind, so we provide for your convenience the five biggest stories that you totally missed. And also a few other stories too.
MLB Weekend Update: Five Stories You Might Have Missed
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Cubs play in Fenway Park for first time since the Wilhelmshaven Mutiny
Prior to this weekend's interleague series, the Chicago Cubs hadn't played the Boston Red Sox in Boston since the 1918 World Series. And just like what happened in the 1918 World Series, this weekend the Red Sox won two-thirds of the games, sandwiching a Saturday clunker with a 15-5 blowout and a 5-1 shutdown. The Cubs were helped by an eight-run eighth inning in the second game, but outside of that frame, they were outscored 23-7.
Adrian Gonzalez finished the series with ten hits in 15 at-bats. Tim Wakefield picked up his first win of the year. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went yard twice. And Alfredo Aceves hit Marlon Byrd with a pitch in the face. There were a lot of unusual and interesting events that took place in Fenway over the weekend, but unfortunately Byrd's beanball is the one people will remember; thankfully, Byrd will live.
Indians sweep Reds, hold grip on best record in baseball at 29-15
The Ohio Showdown series drew some big crowds to Progressive Field, and the Cleveland faithful were rewarded with a narrow comeback victory on Friday, a narrow comeback victory on Saturday, and a big blowout victory on Sunday to finish off the first Indians sweep of the Reds in seven years.
So what if Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore are on the DL? On Friday, rookie Ezequiel Carrera bunted home the winning run. On Saturday - DHing in place of Hafner - Travis Buck slammed the pivotal two-run homer. And on Sunday, Asdrubal Cabrera went 5-for-5 with a pair of dingers.
The Indians will slow down eventually, if only because they're not going to win 107 games. But they've already opened up a seven-game lead on second place, meaning the Tigers don't just need to be better than the Indians the rest of the way - they need to be at least seven games better than the Indians the rest of the way. For Kansas City, it's eight games. For Chicago, it's nine games. For Minnesota, it's 37 games.
Brewers toy with Rockies before Prince Fielder delivers knockout blow
Friday night, the Rockies led the Brewers 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, when Casey McGehee evened things up with a solo homer. Little did anyone know at that point what they were in for. The ninth inning passed without a run. The tenth inning passed without a run. The 11th inning passed without a run. The 12th inning passed without a run. Finally, in the top of the 13th, the Rockies broke through on an RBI triple by Seth Smith, but in the bottom of the 13th, the Brewers tied it back up on a solo homer by Yuniesky Betancourt.
So to the 14th they went. In the upper half, the Rockies again got on the board on an RBI single by Dexter Fowler. They handed the ball and a 6-5 lead to Felipe Paulino, but after Paulino retired Corey Hart to lead off, he walked Ryan Braun, and then this happened.
James Shields strikes out 13 Fish
If you think about it, striking out 13 fish isn't too terribly impressive, since fish don't seem well-equipped for batting. In a Sunday matinee in Miami, Shields kept rolling in what's proving to be a big bounce-back season as he spun a complete-game shutout against the Marlins, with one walk and 13 strikeouts. He lowered his season ERA to 2.00 and improved his K/BB to 4.9, which is almost as good as teammate David Price's. There isn't a ton of confidence to be had in the Rays' lineup, bullpen, or back end of the rotation, but with a front two like Shields and Price, the Rays have a hell of a strength.
Chase Utley's all better
Maybe he's not all better, but he was activated from the disabled list Sunday and will be in the Phillies' lineup on Monday. The Philadelphia Phillies own the second-best record in baseball, at 28-18. And now that team will have Chase Utley at second base instead of Wilson Valdez and Pete Orr. "Foreman! Our lucrative and bountiful gold mine also has diamonds in it!"
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Honorable Mention
- Yankees take two of three from Mets in Subway Series.
- Giants sweep A's while scoring ten total runs.
- Mariners sweep Padres as Seattle pitchers allow two runs, with 35 strikeouts
- Suspect arrested in Bryan Stow beating case.
- Javier Vazquez spins seven shutout innings against Rays with seven strikeouts in first good start of season.
- Jose Bautista hits two more home runs on Saturday.
- Miguel Olivo is a little bit smarter than Carlos Ruiz
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