As usual, the MLB schedule brings us a full slate of 15 games. Here is our daily recap of the world in baseball.

Wednesday's scores

Mancini saves Orioles with late home runs

When the Pirates traded Mark Melancon last season, they assumed ace setup man Tony Watson would be able to step in seamlessly as their new closer. That hasn't been the case. He went 15 for 18 in save chances last season with a 3.86 ERA in 23 1/3 innings after the Melancon trade last year.

This season Watson has struggled so much in the ninth inning that, prior to Wednesday's game, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was asked about removing Watson from the closer's role. 

Watson went into Wednesday's game with a 3.91 ERA and only 10 saves in 14 chances on the season. He allowed two runs in a blown save Tuesday night.

Sure enough, the Pirates faced a save situation Wednesday night, and Hurdle gave the ball to Watson. He promptly served up a game-tying two-run home to Trey Mancini:

That's now five blown saves in 15 chances for Watson this season, including four in his last five chances (!). Yikes. Something tells me Hurdle will face more questions about replacing Watson as closer after Wednesday's game.

But wait! This isn't about Watson. This is about Mancini. The power-hitting rookie went into Wednesday's game with seven home runs in only 152 plate appearances. The game-tying shot off Watson was his eighth homer of the season. His ninth? A walk-off three-run shot in the 11th. To the action footage:

Mancini didn't even enter the game until the ninth inning. He pinch-hit for the left-handed hitting Seth Smith against the lefty-slinging Watson with two outs. So that's a pinch-hit game-tying in the ninth and a walk-off three-run shot in the tenth. Not bad for half-a-night off.

Sabathia dominates in win over Red Sox

From 2013-15 things were not going well for former AL Cy Young winner CC Sabathia. The Yankees erstwhile ace dealt with numerous injuries and pitched to a 4.81 ERA in 69 starts and 424 1/3 innings in those seasons. It appeared all those innings earlier in his career had caught up to him.

Since last season though, Sabathia has carved out a second phase to his career as a finesse pitcher. He's picked up a cutter that allows him to bust righties inside, and he's also back-dooring his slider better than ever before. Sabathia went into Wednesday's start against the Red Sox with a 4.12 ERA in 11 starts and 63 1/3 innings. Then he did this:

Eight shutout innings against the Red Sox gives Sabathia a 3.66 ERA in 12 starts and 71 1/3 innings on the season. He's also won his last five starts immediately following a Yankees loss. (The Red Sox beat the Yankees on Tuesday.) Masahiro Tanaka has really struggled this season, but the Yankees have been able to climb to the top of the AL East thanks to Luis Severino's emergence and Sabathia's resurgence.

Also, it helps when your No. 9 hitter led the NL with 41 home runs in 2016. Chris Carter, who has really struggled overall this season, broke open Wednesday's game with a three-run home run. Anything the Yankees get from Carter is a bonus.

Eickhoff continues to struggle for Phillies

It seems the Phillies are hitting rock bottom this season. There's nowhere to go but up from here. Wednesday night, they were depantsed 14-1 by the Braves, and they had use utility player Andres Blanco on the mound.

Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, who is expected to be a big part of Philadelphia's rotation going forward, started the game and allowed four runs in five innings. He is now 0-7 with a 5.15 this season. Yikes.

Keep in mind Eickhoff went 14-17 with a 3.44 ERA in 41 starts and 248 1/3 innings for some very bad Phillies teams from 2015-16. This young man can pitch. He's struggled all season in 2017 though, and it seems his trademark curveball simply isn't effective as it was the last two years for whatever reason.

The Phillies have baseball's worst record at 21-36 following Wednesday's loss, so no, they're not contending this year. Their priority is getting Eickhoff right because they want him to be part of the future, part of the next contending Phillies team.

Machado leaves after getting spiked

Back in April, Manny Machado sparked an ongoing feud with the Red Sox after (seemingly accidentally) spiking Dustin Pedroia at second base. The O's and BoSox have spent the last few weeks throwing at each other.

Wednesday night, Machado was on the other end of a spiking, this one seemingly accidental as well. The runner: Andrew McCutchen. He spike Machado directly in the left wrist. Yikes. Here's the play:

Machado left the game, and X-rays on his wrist were negative. But the primary injury appears to have missed the wrist completely:

If he escapes with only a minor injury, then Machado and the O's will have been extremely fortunate. An awful lot of damage could have been done on a play like that.

McCutchen, is should be noted, is one of the all-time great good guys in baseball. There's no way he did that intentionally and chances are no one feels worse about it then him.

Smoak's long-awaited breakout continues

At long last, Justin Smoak is finally having a breakout season. The switch-hitting first baseman and former first-round pick spent parts of five seasons with the Mariners -- he went from Texas to Seattle in the Cliff Lee trade, remember -- and during that time he hit a weak .226/.308/.384 (97 OPS+) with 66 home runs in 496 games. Not good at all.

The Blue Jays claimed Smoak on waivers and he did more of the same last season, hitting .217/.314/.391 (88 OPS+) with 14 home runs in 126 games during his first year with Toronto. This year, the 30-year-old has finally (finally!) started to figure it out. Wednesday afternoon he smacked his 16th home run of the season:

That solo blast tied the game 1-1 in the second inning. Then, in the 10th inning, Smoak crushed another solo home run. This one stretched Toronto's lead to 7-4. It was his 17th of the season. 

Smoak is already only three home runs short of tying his previous career high with 102 games to play. He also had a single in Wednesday's game to raise his season batting line to a stout .291/.353/.597. The Mariners waited a long time for Smoak to do this. Now he's doing it with the Blue Jays.

Keep in mind Toronto has a history of getting hitters like Smoak, talented power bats who have struggled elsewhere, to reach their potential. They did it with Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Josh Donaldson also took his game to another level with the Blue Jays. Is Smoak next? It sure looks like it so far this season.

Zimmerman, Schleber continue home run race

Ryan Zimmerman's remarkable comeback season continues. On Wednesday afternoon, Zimmerman took over sole possession of the NL lead with his 17th home run of the season. He went deep against a brand name too: Clayton Kershaw. Here's the video:

Last season the 32-year-old Zimmerman hit only 15 home runs. It was 16 the year before that. Zimmerman's 17 home runs in 2017 are his most since hitting 26 back in 2013, and he still has roughly four months to add to his total this year.

Of course, Zimmerman's stint as the NL's sole home run king didn't last very long. A few hours later, Reds outfielder Scott Schebler smashed his 17th dinger of the campaign. He took Lance Lynn deep. To the action footage:

Here is the updated NL home run leaderboard:

  1. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals & Scott Schebler, Reds: 17
  2. Justin Bour, Marlins & Mark Reynolds, Rockies: 16
  3. Many tied with 15.

The four guys everyone expected coming into the season.

Only Yankees rookie Aaron Judge (18) has more home runs than Zimmerman and Schebler this season. It's no surprise then that Zimmerman took over as the NL's leading vote-getter at first base in the All-Star Game this week.

Strasburg ties a strikeout record

Even though he took the loss, Stephen Strasburg turned in a quality start for the Nationals, holding the Dodgers to two runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out eight.

In the second inning of Wednesday's game Strasburg reached 1,000 career innings pitched. And, at the time, he owned 1,166 career strikeouts, tied for the most in history.

With all due respect, Kerry Wood striking out 1,166 batters in 1,000 innings in the late-1990s/early-2000s is much more impressive than Strasburg doing it in the 2010s. In 2004, the year Wood threw his 1,000th inning, the league average strikeout rate was 6.6 K/9. This year it's 8.3 K/9. It's much easier to get those swings and misses nowadays.

Judge hits a ball into the concession stand

Granted, it was during batting practice, but Wednesday evening Aaron Judge managed to hit a home run into one of the center field concession stands at Yankee Stadium. Check it out:

I've seen Judge hit balls over that concession stand during batting practice, so that's not uncharted territory in terms of distance. But directly into the concession stand? That's impressive.

CarGo hammers 480-foot foul ball

Much like the Judge home run into the concession stand, this rocket is not going to count for any runs on the scoreboard. It's still mighty impressive.

Wednesday afternoon, Carlos Gonzalez ripped a massive foul ball into the upper deck at Coors Field. I mean the upper upper deck. Check it out:

Nice catch by the fan! You don't sit there -- or stand there, in that fan's case -- thinking you're going to catch a foul ball. CarGo made it happen. Here is the official distance:

There has been only one home run hit 480-plus feet this season. That was a 481-foot Jake Lamb blast back in April.

Quick hits

  • MLB announced former Marlins players Edgar Renteria and Charles Johnson will serve as managers during the Futures Game this year. The Futures Game feature baseball's top prospects and is played the Sunday before the All-Star Game.
  • Tigers ace RHP Justin Verlander will throw a bullpen session Thursday, reports the Detroit Free Press. Verlander exited Sunday's start with a groin issue. An MRI showed no structural damage and he could start this weekend.
  • Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre was out of the lineup Wednesday. He sprained his ankle running to first base Tuesday and was seen wearing a walking boot after the game. He has not yet been placed on the 10-day DL, however.
  • Pirates C Francisco Cervelli was placed on the 7-day DL for concussions, the team announced. He left Tuesday's game after taking a foul tip to the face mask. C Jacob Stallings was called up from Triple-A to fill the roster spot.
  • White Sox RHP James Shields (Thursday) and LHP Carlos Rodon (Sunday) will make Triple-A rehab starts in the coming days, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Rodon has been out all year with a biceps issue. Shields is down with a lat problem.
  • Red Sox RHP Carson Smith threw 20 pitches with hitters standing in the box Wednesday, according to the Boston Globe. Smith is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He could begin a minor league rehab assignment soon.
  • Angels RHP Cam Bedrosian has been shut down from his rehab, reports the Los Angeles Times. Bedrosian felt renewed soreness in his groin in his last rehab game. He won't pitch for at least a few days.
  • The Orioles have called up veteran RHP Edwin Jackson, the team announced. Jackson had a 3.10 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 10 walks in 20 1/3 Triple-A innings before being called up. He worked almost entirely in relief.
  • The Twins have claimed RHP Chris Heston off waivers from the Dodgers, the team announced. RHP Nick Tepesch was released to clear a roster spot. Heston started the season with the Mariners before landing in Los Angeles.
  • An MRI showed no structural damage in Phillies RHP Zach Eflin's elbow, reports MLB.com. Eflin left his last start with a sore elbow. He will be shut down a few days and could resume throwing next week.
  • RHP Braxton Garrett, the top Marlins prospect, has a torn elbow ligament and may need Tommy John surgery, according to the Miami Herald. Garrett was the seventh overall selection in the 2016 amateur draft.