It's a full 15-game slate of baseball for Wednesday, so let's dig right in ...
Final scores
Cardinals 2, Pirates 1 (box score)
Cubs 7, Brewers 4 (box score)
Athletics 9, Rangers 1 (box score)
Mariners 10, Marlins 5 (box score)
Yankees 9, White Sox 1 (box score)
Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 0 (box score)
Rays 8, Tigers 7 (box score)
Mets 5, Phillies 4 (box score)
Orioles 2, Reds 0 (box score)
Nationals 14, Braves 4 (box score)
Astros 5, Angels 1 (box score)
Royals 2, Giants 0 (box score)
Padres 1, Diamondbacks 0 (box score)
Dodgers 4, Rockies 2 (box score)
Indians at Twins postponed
Addison Russell sinks Brewers with walk-off homer
For the second straight day, the Cubs mounted a comeback against the visiting Brewers. On Tuesday, the Cubs came back from down 5-0 to win, and on Wednesday they found themselves down 4-1 at one point.
The Cubs, though, worked their way back, and it was 4-4 when Addison Russell stepped in with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth. Forthcoming: action-sports footage ...
"OK Addi, we just need one."@Addison_Russell: pic.twitter.com/N4ENndUyao
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 19, 2017
That's a walk-off, and that's two straight wins for the Cubs after losing four in a row. That also nudges their record back above the .500 mark.
Now for some digits on that homer ...
WOW... What a shot by Addison Russell! That was his 2nd hardest hit HR recorded by @statcast #NoDoubter pic.twitter.com/nmNw1Xqhzg
— Daren Willman (@darenw) April 19, 2017
Russell doesn't yet hit for high averages, and he doesn't draw enough walks to lift his OBP into plus territory. But that kind of power from standout defensive shortstop? That makes him a special player, and bear in mind he's still just 23 years old.
That was his first walk-off home run, but it surely won't be his last.
The Reds may have something in Amir Garrett
As you see above, the Reds fell to the Orioles by a count of 2-0. Yes, the Reds lost, but consider what they got from rookie lefty Amir Garrett on Wednesday night ...
And regarding what you see above, here's this note from Reds media relations:
With 12 strikeouts so far tonight (through the sixth inning), Amir Garrett has tied the modern club record for strikeouts in a game by a rookie lefthander (Dennys Reyes, 8/20/1998 at Pit). #Elias
The modern club record for strikeouts in a game by a rookie is 15 by Gary Nolan on 6/7/1967 vs SF.
After that gem, Garrett now boasts an ERA of 1.83 and a K/BB ratio of 7.00 after three starts. The soon-to-be 25-year-old has a fastball-slider-changeup mix, so he's got enough to attack both sides. He's also got an interesting back-story, as Garrett also played college basketball after the Reds drafted and signed him in 2011.
Cincy's got a number of interesting young arms in the system, and right now Garrett is foremost among them.
Bryce Harper hits grand slam
Harper homered twice against the Braves on Wednesday night, and the second of those happened to plate four runs ...
That's the third grand slam of Harper's career (each of the other two came last season), and that's his sixth homer of 2017. Speaking of 2017, Harper presently owns a slash line of .380/.492/.820. While that's not the best line belonging to a player in this game (Freddie Freeman, thou art on fire), it's obviously an ultra-high level of production.
After a down 2016, much is expected of Harper in this, his age-24 season. Thus far, he's delivering in a big way.
Dexter Fowler goes off
The Cardinals this offseason signed center fielder Dexter Fowler to an $82.5 million deal, but coming into Wednesday's series finale against the Pirates, Fowler was batting just .143/.226/.196 in 14 games. Those paltry numbers include his Tuesday night, when he notched a triple and a walk. Suffice it to say, Fowler entered the week struggling badly.
Because of Fowler's history, we knew this wasn't going to last. In case you doubted the obvious, Fowler on Wednesday showed you a thing or two. Two, actually. First, he ripped a 2-0 fastball from Gerrit Cole for a home run to right center in the third. Then he came up again in the fifth ...
You go deep twice, you tip your cap. pic.twitter.com/SeREYsYY94
— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2017
That made for the fourth two-homer game of Fowler's career. You'll also note based on the final score of 2-1 that Fowler accounted for the only St. Louis runs of the day. On that note ...
According to Baseball-Reference, this is the first time in Cardinals history they have scored 2 runs via HR by the same player in a win.
— Chris Tunno (@TunesSTL) April 19, 2017
So there's a little history to go along with it. Those two homers in tandem with a single raised Fowler's batting line to .183/.258/.333. That's still not good, but it's a lot better than it was two days ago. Yes, Dexter Fowler will be fine.
Ichiro leaves Safeco Field in style
Wednesday afternoon, future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki played what may be his final game at Safeco Field. And in his final at-bat, he hit a home run.
What an awesome moment, with the Mariners' fans giving him a huge ovation. You can read more about Ichiro's blast here.
Judge crushed a monster home run
At 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is literally the largest position player in MLB history. He uses that frame to generate tremendous leverage, so when he gets a hold of a pitch, he can hit it a mile.
Judge hit a ball nearly to the Yankee Stadium concourse beyond the left field bleachers Wednesday night:
Judge now has five home runs in 15 games this season. Here's more on Wedneday's monster homer.
Iglesias hurt during walk-off error
The end of Wednesday's game added insult to injury for the Tigers. Starting shortstop Jose Iglesias stumbled at second base turning what should have been an inning-ending double play, but he instead threw the ball away. Two runs scored and the Rays walked off with the win.
Iglesias stumbled right into Brad Miller, the baserunner, who inadvertently kneed him in the chin. The Tigers will know more about Iglesias' status on Thursday.
Quick hits
- Red Sox LHP David Price (elbow) may not be progressing as hoped during his rehab. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe has the details.
- Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo wants stronger PED testing in light of the Starling Marte suspension.
- The Cubs are taking steps to prevent employees from selling their World Series rings.
- Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush are reportedly teaming up to make a run at buying the Marlins.
- Marlins CF Christian Yelich made a heck of a catch against the Mariners on Wednesday.
- Roger Clemens has some strong accusations regarding the Mitchell Report.
- The Mets' pitching coach says Steven Matz and Seth Lugo threw without any problems on Wednesday (Kristie Ackert via Twitter).
- The Rangers have signed INF Josh Wilson to a minor-league contract.
- Free agent OF Angel Pagan says he'll sit out the 2017 season in order to spend time with his family.
- Nationals manager Dusty Baker says Blake Treinen will return to a setup role and that Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley will share closer duties (Jorge Castillo via Twitter).
- The Nationals have placed LHP Sammy Solis on the 10-day DL with elbow inflammation. To take his place on the roster, the Nats have recalled RHP Joe Ross, who'll start Wednesday.
- The Padres have placed RHP Jarred Cosart on the 10-day DL with a strained right hamstring.
- Tigers OF Justin Upton is not likely to play during his team's series against the Rays because of a forearm injury.
- The Dodgers have placed 2B Logan Forsythe on the 10-day DL with a fractured right big toe.
