The first Sunday of June is upon us, and with it came 15 games. Let's run down everything you need to know from the day that was.
Sunday's scores
Blue Jays 3, Yankees 2 (box score)
Pirates 11, Mets 1 (box score)
Braves 13, Reds 8 (box score)
Tigers 7, White Sox 4 (box score)
Marlins 6, Diamondbacks 5 (box score)
Red Sox 7, Orioles 3 (box score)
Phillies 9, Giants 7 (box score)
Brewers 3, Dodgers 0 (box score)
Astros 7, Rangers 2 (box score)
Twins 3, Angels 2 (box score)
Indians 8, Royals 0 (box score)
Nationals 11, Athletics 10 (box score)
Mariners 7, Rays 1 (box score)
Rockies 3, Padres 1 (box score)
Cubs 7, Cardinals 6 (box score)
Astros win again
The Houston Astros won another game on Sunday. Shocking, we know. They've now won 10 in a row and tied a franchise record with their 10th straight win on the road.
Sunday was a familiar formula, as they clubbed four homers (two from George Springer, one each from Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel) and got a great start on the hill. This time it was Brad Peacock going six strong innings, striking out nine and allowing two earned runs on four hits and a walk. The bullpen followed with three shutdown innings because, well, that's what they do.
Springer's first homer was to lead off the game:
Pretty good way to start a ballgame!#VoteSpringer#BeatTheRangerspic.twitter.com/zuzikiI3yP
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 4, 2017
That's his sixth leadoff homer of the season already. The single-season record for leadoff shots is 13 (Alfonso Soriano, 2003). Only four players in MLB history have had at least 10 leadoff homers (Soriano twice, Brady Anderson, Bobby Bonds, Jacque Jones).
The Astros are a ridiculous 21-6 on the road this year. They were 22-7 in May and are now 3-0 in June. They lead the AL in many offensive categories while also leading in ERA and strikeouts on the hill. We're running out of superlatives with this team.
How about this one? Remember when the Cubs were just on another level from everyone else through mid-June last year? At this point, they were 40-17. These Astros are 41-16.
Rockies out to best start in franchise history
Greg Holland closed things down in San Diego for his MLB-best 21st save and the Rockies are 36-23, good for the best start in the history of the franchise. The Rockies have made the playoffs three times, but they have never won their division and 92 is the franchise record in wins. They sit in first place and are on pace to win 99 games right now.
Cubs come home to sweep Cardinals
The low point of the 2017 season for the Cubs -- at least so far -- was getting swept by the Padres in San Diego. It came after they were swept by the Dodgers as well, so the champs came home with a six-game losing streak.
Perhaps the worm is starting to turn?
The Cubs got a comeback victory on Friday, a comeback victory on Saturday and, yes, a comeback victory on Sunday.
In this one, rookie Ian Happ played the role of hero. He got things started with a home run to put the Cubs up 1-0 in the third, but the Cardinals would score four in the top of the fourth with a Stephen Piscotty three-run homer being the big blow. No matter. The Cubs had a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth with Albert Almora's single to right scoring one and then Piscotty's error on that play getting another home and Almora all the way to third. After a Kyle Schwarber walk, Happ clubbed a three-run homer to put the Cubs back up, 6-4.
The Cardinals would end up tying the game in the sixth, but an RBI single from former Cardinal Jon Jay put the Cubs up for good in the seventh.
So the Cubs sweep the Cardinals and are back above .500 at 28-27 while the Cardinals drop to 26-28. Both are chasing the surprising Brewers, who beat the Dodgers Sunday and moved to 30-27.
Blue Jays almost back to even
The Blue Jays started the season 2-11. They haven't been at .500 at all since they started the season 0-0. They have come within a game of .500 twice recently and lost both times. Might that change on Monday? The Blue Jays' comeback win on Sunday runs their record to 28-29. After a miserable 6-17 start, they are back in the thick of things in the AL.
Nationals explode late, need every bit of it
Through five innings on Sunday, the Nationals were being shut out by Sonny Gray. They only had one hit off the A's righty. Gray did cough up three in the sixth, but still departed with a quality start (7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K).
The Nationals would then crush the A's souls, getting a three-run Ryan Zimmerman homer in the eighth and blowing up for five runs in the ninth, thanks in part to Matt Wieters and Michael Taylor homers. Here's the big Zimmerman shot:
"There is a beast in every man and it stirs when you put a bat in his hand." #GIFofThronespic.twitter.com/S4RbULeVAU
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 4, 2017
The A's had tied it, 3-3, on a two-run Khris Davis homer in the bottom of the seventh, but would trail 11-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Of course, they almost came back. They would load the bases with three straight singles before replay showed Stephen Vogt beat out an infield single and cut the lead to 11-5. Matt Olson then drew a bases-loaded walk and it was 11-6. Shawn Kelley took over for Koda Glover on the hill and, after getting one out, gave up a Matt Joyce grand slam. All of a sudden, it was 11-10. That's how it would end, though, and the Nationals win by the skin of their teeth in a slugfest that started out a pitcher's duel.
Verlander departs due to injury
Here's some bad news for Tigers fans: Justin Verlander left Sunday's start in the third inning with what's being called a tight groin:
Justin Verlander was removed from today's game for precautionary reasons with a tight right groin.
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 4, 2017
Verlander had not performed well prior to his exit. He'd permitted six hits, two runs, and three walks while recording just six outs on 72 pitches. If Verlander's dipping velocity was any indication, the injury had an obvious impact on his effectiveness:
Justin Verlander's velocity today... His last 4 fastballs were way down pic.twitter.com/g6Rm5rpo8a
— Daren Willman (@darenw) June 4, 2017
Warwick Saupold replaced Verlander and kept the Tigers in the game with some quality relief work.
It's too early to know if Verlander will require a disabled list stint. To date, he's been far less effective than last season, in part because of what would be a career-worst walk rate and tie for a career-worst home-run rate.
The Tigers recently optioned Matt Boyd to Triple-A. He would seem to be the obvious choice if a stand-in is needed. The Tigers also have Buck Farmer, Chad Bell, and Drew VerHagen at the Triple-A level. Anibal Sanchez, meanwhile, suffered a hamstring injury last time out and would seemingly be unavailable.
Still, Tigers walk it off to sweep
The game was tied in the ninth, but Justin Upton delivered a three-run walk-off bomb to push the Tigers to a sweep over the White Sox:
That sounded sweep. #Walkoffpic.twitter.com/qimvbMit1P
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 4, 2017
That would be the first winning sweep of the season for the Tigers, who have now won four in a row and clawed back to .500 for the first time since May 21, when they were 21-21.
Cozart keeps hitting
If, for whatever reason, you haven't been paying attention, then know this: Reds shortstop Zack Cozart is having a phenomenal season. He entered Sunday hitting .335/.423/.574 with 24 extra-base hits -- numbers that almost across the board led NL shortstops:
Cozart leads leads all National League shortstops in hitting, hits, triples, extra-base hits, RBI, slugging and on-base percentage.
— Reds Media Relations (@RedsPR) June 4, 2017
Cozart didn't stop there, however. He went and homered twice on Sunday, while also adding a triple and a walk. That performance bumped his seasonal line to .344/.432/.622. Ridiculous.
Cozart's ascent is well-timed by the way. He's almost certain to be dealt by the deadline -- more on that here -- and will qualify for free agency this winter. Given how he's playing, he should be in for a nice payday.
Severino turns in another good effort
The Yankees may have lost Sunday in disappointing fashion -- a 2-0 lead with 10 outs to get turned into a 3-2 loss -- but that doesn't mean Luis Severino's start should go unnoticed.
Severino threw seven innings of two-run ball, striking out seven batters and issuing a single walk. That outing continued a few impressive streaks, too. He's now pitched into at least the seventh inning in three consecutive outings, and hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his past four starts.
On the season, Severino now has a 2.90 ERA and a 4.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Valencia makes Mariners history in another M's win
Mariners third baseman Danny Valencia entered Sunday rather hot. He was 3 for 3 with a double, home run and five RBI on Friday and he followed it up by going 4 for 4 on Saturday. He raised his average from .247 to .276 in two days. He would keep it going on Sunday, singling in his first at-bat and then collecting an infield single. That ran his streak to having a hit in nine straight at-bats, which tied him with Raul Ibanez for the Mariners record. In the bottom of the sixth, the streak would come to an end, with Valencia popping out to first base.
The Mariners cruised to victory, too, grabbing a sweep over the Rays. The Mariners have won seven of their last eight while they still wait on Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma to rejoin the rotation.
Speaking of the starting pitching, Ariel Miranda was brilliant on Sunday, going the distance and only allowing one run on four hits. He struck out nine while walking one.
Galvis powers up, Phillies finally win a series
Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis homered from both sides of the plate on Sunday, driving home three runs in a win over the Giants. It was the first time a Phillies player homered from each side of the plate since Jimmy Rollins (who else?) did so on July 20, 2011.
Also, the Phillies actually won a series. That didn't happen in all of May. Their last series win was a two-game sweep of the Marlins on April 26-27. At the time, it was their sixth straight win and moved them to 11-9. They'd probably rather go back to that feeling, no?
Quick hits
- The Giants activated Hunter Pence from the DL and sent Christian Arroyo to Triple-A.
- Pirates 2B Josh Harrison left Sunday's game due to calf discomfort.
- Blue Jays 2B Devon Travis also exited on Sunday, albeit after taking a pitch to the wrist.
- The Athletics will have Jesse Hahn back in time for Tuesday's start against the Blue Jays
- The Marlins could be having another sell-off if their fortunes don't change before the July 31 trade deadline.
- Tyson Ross could make his Rangers debut next week, reports MLB.com.
- The Yankees have traded infielder Ruben Tejada to the Orioles for cash considerations.