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We had a full 15-game slate of MLB action Wednesday, with the usual mix of day and night games. Here is our recap of the day in baseball ... 

Wednesday's scores

Pirates walk off with another win over Brewers

Arguably the biggest week of the season could not be going better for the Pirates. The team welcomed Starling Marte back from his 80-game PED suspension on Tuesday, and on Wednesday night they won their third consecutive game against the first-place Brewers to pull to within four games of the NL Central lead.

Wednesday's thriller featured two clutch rallies. First, Francisco Cervelli came through with a tying bloop single in the ninth inning against All-Star closer Corey Knebel. Then, in the 10th, Max Moroff provided a walk-off single to center field. Here is the winning hit:

This week was a huge opportunity for the Pirates to climb back in the division race, and they've taken advantage.They'll look to complete the four-game sweep Thursday and inch even closer. This week could not be going any better for Pittsburgh.

As for the Brewers, they've lost four straight while the Pirates and Cubs have been unbeatable. Their once-comfortable NL Central lead is down to 1½ games over Chicago.

Dodgers win 11th straight

Ho hum, the Dodgers won again Wednesday night. They blew out the rebuilding White Sox in a rain-shortened affair for their 11th consecutive victory. They've also won 31 of their past 35 games. Yes, 31 of 35. The last team to go 31-4 in during a 35-game span is the 1977 Royals, who went 102-60 before losing to the Yankees in the ALCS.

Corey Seager slugged a two-run home run in the fourth inning to help break the game open, and that home run set a new franchise record for the position since they moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

The Dodgers are unfair right now. They're going to have the NL West wrapped up before rosters expand on Sept. 1.

Moncada makes MLB debut with White Sox

The White Sox called up infielder Yoan Moncada, the top prospect in all of baseball, Tuesday night after trading Todd Frazier to the Yankees. Moncada went from the Red Sox to the White Sox over the winter in the Chris Sale trade.

The 22-year-old Moncada went 0 for 2 with a walk in his White Sox debut Wednesday, though his electric tools were very much on display.

Prior to being called up Moncada hit .282/.377/.447 with 12 home runs and 17 steals in 80 Triple-A games.

Arenado cranks three homers in blowout

Following a bit of a tough finish to the first half, the upstart Rockies have seen their offense come to life in the second half. They had won three straight entire their series finale against the Padres. They won those three games by the combined score of 31-17.

On Wednesday, the Rockies stretched the winning streak to four with an 18-4 romp. The leader on offense was -- who else? -- Nolan Arenado. Here is how Arenado's afternoon went:

  • First Inning: RBI single
  • Second Inning: RBI single
  • Fourth Inning: Solo home run
  • Fifth Inning: Solo home run
  • Sixth Inning: Three-run home run
  • Eighth Inning: Fly out to left

That's a 5-for-6 day with three home runs and 7 RBI. Not too shabby. Here is home run No. 3:

The big day gives Arenado a .309/.356/.584 batting line with 21 home runs and 80 RBI. The Rockies (56-41) kept pace with the red-hot Cubs, who trail Colorado by 5½ games for the NL's second wild-card spot.

Gray pitches well in possible final start for A's

Trade candidate Sonny Gray -- I guesstimate his chances of being traded at 90/10 -- made what might have been his final start for the Athletics on Wednesday afternoon. His name has circulated in trade rumors for weeks, and with Jose Quintana now off the board, the attention figures to focus on Gray.

If Wednesday was his final start with the A's, Gray went out on a high note. He pitched well and picked up a victory against the scorching hot Rays.

player headshot
Sonny Gray
BOS • SP • #54
IP6 1/3
H7
R2
ER2
BB2
K6
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With the victory, Gray improved to 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 16 starts and 91 innings this season. The A's are poised to cash in pretty big should they decide to go ahead and trade their ace before the July 31 deadline.

Montgomery paces surging Cubs

The Cubs won again Wednesday, and they're now 6-0 in the second half. They came out of the break 5½ games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, and at the moment they're only two games out of first. We've been waiting for the defending champs to go on a run this season, and this indeed might be the makings of one, especially now that Jose Quintana is in the fold. 

In a victory against Atlanta, Addison Russell had four hits, and Javier Baez hit his 12th home run of the season. The story, though, was starter Mike Montgomery. On the mound, he did this ... 

player headshot
Mike Montgomery
NYM • RP
vs. ATL, 7/19
IP6
H2
R1
SO5
BB1
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And at the plate, he did this ...

Yep, that's Montgomery's first career home run, and it wasn't a cheap one. Actually, coming into Wednesday Montgomery in his career was 1 for 27 at the plate with three sacrifice bunts, which comes to a slash line of .037/.037/.037. So, yeah, it's all coming up Cubs these days.

Martinez leaves first game with D-Backs with injury

On Tuesday evening, the Diamondbacks bolstered their lineup by acquiring J.D. Martinez from the Tigers for three prospects. Martinez hit .305/.388/.630 with 16 home runs in 57 games before the trade. He's a monster.

On Wednesday, Martinez played his first game with Arizona, and he had to leave after being hit in the hand by a pitch. Video of the (obviously unintentional) plunking can be seen right here.

Fortunately, Martinez escaped without major injury.

Man, that would have been awful. Imagine swinging a big trade to add a great hitter like Martinez, then losing him to an injury in the first game. That is every team's worst nightmare. Fortunately, there are no broken bones and Martinez should be back in the lineup fairly soon.

By the way, Todd Frazier was also hit in the hand by a pitch in his first game with the Yankees on Wednesday. He remained in the game. Both the Yankees and D-Backs were given scares on Day 1 with their new additions.

Giancarlo now tied for MLB lead in homers

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has been on a tear lately, and on Wednesday against the Phillies, he did this in the early innings ... 

Yep, that's Stanton's 30th home run of the season, and until further notice on either side, he's now tied with Aaron Judge of the Yankees for the major-league lead. That's Stanton's ninth home run in his past 12 games. As you would expect from the slugger I'll attempt to nickname Fort Miami, he's been ripping the ball along the way ... 

At this writing, Stanton's now hitting .276/.362/.593 on the year, and that's after a slow start. We were all amped for a potential Stanton-Judge battle at the Home Run Derby in Miami, but instead maybe we'll get it down the stretch.

In other Stanton news, the Marlins lost Wednesday and lost the series to the Phillies, and he was not happy about it.

Ouch. It's not the first time Stanton has voiced his frustration with the team's performance this season.

Pedroia's error-less streak ends

For the first time in 114 games, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia made an error Wednesday night. He whiffed on a ground ball. Let it go under his glove. Textbook error. It happens, even to the very best players.

The error-less streak is the longest by a second baseman in franchise history, and the longest by any second baseman since Darwin Barney went 141 games between errors back in 2012. Who hit the ball that led to Pedroia's error? Darwin Barney.

Baseball is a flat circle.

Not long after burying glove, Beltran uses it

Remember Carlos Beltran's glove? Coming into Wednesday, he had spent only 54 innings in the field this season, so the Astros recently held a funeral for his little-used glove. Well, it appears that glove has punched its way out of the glove and back on the hand it calls home. Witness these color-television highlights from Wednesday's action ... 

So that's one decent play and one routine one. The point, though, is that Carlos Beltran's glove is back from the dead. 

Trade rumors

Quick hits

  • Cubs 3B Kris Bryant was forced to leave Wednesday's game against the Braves with a sprained pinky. He's listed as day-to-day. 
  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie caught a foul ball at the Mets game on Tuesday and was booed for his troubles. 
  • The Athletics have signed 1B Chris carter to a minor league contract, reports FanRag Sports. The Yankees released him earlier this month.
  • After one game with the Twins, Bartolo Colon is considering retirement. 
  • The Yankees have designated OF/INF Rob Refsnyder and 1B Ji-Man Choi for assignment.
  • Days after designating 3B Pablo Sandoval for assignment, the Red Sox have now released him. 
  • Indians SP Danny Salazar (shoulder) is slated to return to the rotation on Saturday against the Blue Jays.
  • Yankees MGR Joe Girardi says Todd Frazier will primarily see time at third while Chase Headley will transition to first base.
  • Nationals SP Joe Ross underwent successful Tommy John surgery Wednesday. He'll miss the remainder of the 2017 season and a good chunk of 2018.