The Minnesota Twins are already playing out the string, sporting one of the worst records in the league this year, but the Boston Red Sox feel lucky to have come away with just a split of their four-game series against the Twinkies after an 8-7 win at Fenway Park yesterday.
The Sox looked like they'd cruise in this one after long balls by Hanley Ramirez, a three-run shot, a Dustin Pedroia solo homer, and a three-run round-tripper by Travis Shaw that made it 8-3 in the fifth. But after starter Rick Porcello left the game the Twins battled back, scoring four to make it a one-run game going into the ninth. Fortunately, newly acquired sidearm veteran Brad Zielgler continued his calm, cool effectiveness, setting down the Twins 1-2-3 in the ninth to pick up his first save since joining the Sox. Ziegler has been sensational since being acquired from Arizona, and has yet to give up a run in any of his six innings out of the Boston bullpen.
Rick Porcello gets the win, now 13-2 on the year, and his perfection at Fenway Park remains intact. Porcello is now 10-0 at the Fens and is the first Red Sox pitcher to open the season with that record at home since Don Schwall did it in 1961. He went six and two thirds yesterday, striking out eight. The Red Sox welcome Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers to Fenway tonight and lefty Drew Pomeranz makes his second start for Boston since being acquired after the all-star break, and he hopes for a better outing than his first one when he gave up five runs in just three innings against San Francisco.
Speaking of those Giants, they fell to the NY Yankees 5-2 in the Bronx yesterday. Nathan Eovaldi put up zeroes for seven innings for the Yankees and got the win, while Carlos Beltran and Mark Texiera each hit solo homers for the Yankees. Despite taking two out of three against the Giants, the Yanks are still seven and a half games behind division leading Baltimore, and all the scuttlebutt points to some big trades coming that would make the Yanks sellers at the trade deadline, an indication they're ready to throw in the towel for this season. Multiple sources are reporting that the Yankees are in talks with the Chicago Cubs to trade flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs for highly touted short stop prospect Glyber Torres. The Yanks, meanwhile, start a road trip tonight in Houston against the Astros.
Steven Matz hadn't won a start since May but went six innings yesterday, part of a 3-0 shut out win for the NY Mets over the Marlins in Miami. Jose Reyes, Yoenis Cespedes, and James Loney all had RBI hits for the Mets, who took two out of three from Miami and are a half game behind the Marlins now for second place in the National League east.
In New York Penn League action the Vermont Lake Monsters had three different leads against the Tri-City Valley Cats but couldn't close the deal, and lost a nail-biter 6-5 when the Valley Cats rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth in Troy, New York. Carmen Benedetti played hero for Tri-City in the bottom of the frame, lacing a two-run, walk-off single for the win.
In the NECBL the Vermont Mountaineers got a good start from Michael Fairchild, who went seven and two thirds, giving up three runs on seven hits, and the game was tied at one until the eighth when New Bedford's Jakob Goldfarb hit a two-run double to give the Bay Sox a 3-1 win.
The Mountaineers maintain their hold on fourth place in the northern division, which represents the last available playoff spot, but some teams breathing down their necks to take that spot include the Upper Valley Nighthawks, trying to make the post-season in the team's debut year. They got a step closer yesterday, beating the Winnipesaukee Muskrats 11-6 in White River Junction. The win puts the Nighthawks just one game behind the Muskrats for fifth place as both teams try to leapfrog each other and catch the Mountaineers. The Nighthawks scored all eleven runs in the first four innings, building a seven run lead the Muskrats would chip away at but not overcome. The Nighthawks also won despite committing six errors in the game.
Ken Griffey, Jr., owner of the sweetest left handed swing in baseball since Ted Williams, was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown yesterday, getting in with the highest percentage of votes ever, listed on all but three of 440 ballots. Griffey put his cap on backwards during his induction speech to reflect his signature look when he was wearing out baseballs in his heyday with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds. Griffey also had a brief minor league stint with the old Double A Vermont Mariners when they were Seattle's farm team. Griffey gets into the hall along with the greatest hitting catcher of all time. Mike Piazza.
As expected, the yellow jersey of victory was donned by Britian's Chris Froome, who won the Tour de France for the third time in his career yesterday.
