Eye on MLB, July 5: NL Central dominance plus best of Sunday action
Stick right here for a look at all of Sunday's in-game action, scores, news, rumors and injury updates.
Welcome to the Eye. It is here that we'll be building out a monster of a daily roundup throughout the day and night. We'll have recaps, injury news, rumors, fun stuff and a look ahead to Monday. Park it here or just come back in the morning to catch up on everything, your call.
As for Sunday, first and foremost, you'll want to check out the 2015 All-Star Game starting lineups. As for the vote totals, here's the AL ...
Here are the AL final voting totals for the #ASG: pic.twitter.com/wpSgfrM7zT
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) July 5, 2015
And the NL ...
The final NL voting results are in for the #ASG: pic.twitter.com/hcobcPsQFk
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) July 5, 2015
On the field, the Rays snapped their seven-game losing streak by thumping the Yankees. The Brewers, meantime, extended their MLB-best win streak to eight games with a win over the Reds. The bad news is that they're still 18 1/2 games off the pace in the tough NL Central.
Let's talk about that tough NL Central for a second, shall we? Add it all up, and here's how baseball's six divisions coming into Sunday stacked up in terms of cumulative games above or below .500 in 2015 (i.e., how many games above or below .500 they are against teams from outside the division) ...
NL Central: +23
AL Central: +9
AL East: +5
AL West: +3
NL West: -7
NL East: -33
As you can see, the NL Central is tops by a pretty wide margin. (Of course, the NL Central is just 34-37 in interleague play this year, so bear that in mind before leaping to any cross-league conclusions.) As well, the NL Central went 4-1 on Sunday, with the division's lone loss coming as a result of the Brewers-Reds bit of "cannibalism."
Now let's dig a little deeper with the help of the BaseRuns system available at Fangraphs. BaseRuns attempts to model a team’s run-scoring and run-prevention capabilities at the granular level -- i.e., on a plate-appearance-by-plate-appearance basis and with the effects of hit “sequencing” removed. Basically, it’s a measure of how good a team is at controlling the fundamental outcomes of the batter-pitcher encounter. It yields what a team’s record should be based on core skills.
By this system, the NL Central should be a combined 22 games over .500, which, as you can see, is right in line with their actual mark coming into Sunday. So generally speaking, the excellence of the NL Central isn't a byproduct of good fortune. It's been earned. In a related matter, the NL Central, if the season ended today, would place three teams in the playoffs.

And now let's open the Eye for Sunday ...
Today's MLB action (all times ET) (Full scoreboard)
Brewers 6, Reds 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Rays 8, Yankees 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Pirates 5, Indians 3 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Blue Jays 10, Tigers 5 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Phillies 4, Braves 0 - 10 innings (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Royals 3, Twins 2 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Here's some consolation for the Twins, as Ervin Santana looked strong in his 2015 debut ...
Welcome to the #MNTwins, @ErvinSantana_54! Thanks for 8 strong innings this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/iIMHanVIJJ
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 5, 2015
Cardinals 3, Padres 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Of note in this one ...
Today it's Tommy Pham's 1st career homer, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 3rd inning @Cardinals #milestone pic.twitter.com/lfNoOECCkG
— MLB Authenticator (@MLB_Authentic) July 5, 2015
Cubs 2, Marlins 0 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Red Sox 5, Astros 4 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Orioles 9, White Sox 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
The O's also got this guy back from the DL ...
BACK IN ACTION: Schoop returns to the lineup with a homer and two RBIs in the O's 9-1 victory over the White Sox! pic.twitter.com/Mqm9xm87au
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) July 5, 2015
Mariners 2, Athletics 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Mets 8, Dodgers 0 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 4 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Angels 12, Rangers 5 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Nationals 3, Giants 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)
Milestone Watch
Longest current hit streak: As of Sunday, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has now hit safely in 18 straight games. He extended the streak early and with some measure of authority ...
Prince Fielder: Needed three hits for 1,500 for his career and he got two.
Albert Pujols: He's presently sitting on 573 career doubles. He needs one more to tie Bobby Abreu and Charlie Gehringer for 20th place on the all-time list. He didn't get that double, though he did hit his 25th homer of the season.
Daily Awards
Lineup of the day: Let's hear it, Red Sox ...
7/5 vs. HOU: Betts CF, Holt 2B, Bogaerts SS, Ortiz 1B, Ramirez DH, Sandoval 3B, Victorino RF, De Aza LF, Hanigan C, Rodriguez LHP.
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) July 5, 2015
Notice anything interesting? Now for the big reveal ...
The last time David Ortiz started a non-Interleague game at first base was August 5, 2006 at TB.
— Jon Shestakofsky (@Shesta_Sox) July 5, 2015
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
How did it go? Well ...
Stat of the day
From @EliasSports: Today marked the first time in the franchise's 17,867-game history that the Red Sox did not have a 1B record a putout.
— Jon Shestakofsky (@Shesta_Sox) July 6, 2015
Well wishes of the day: Baseball's not the only game in town on Sunday ...
Good luck to our friends @ussoccer_wnt tonight! #USA #OneMore pic.twitter.com/HDJcREZXP9
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 5, 2015
Adorbs of the day: George Springer may be on the DL, but he's not too hurt to entertain this little guy ...
George Springer and his nephew, Bryce. @astros pic.twitter.com/W6vFDurXDZ
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMoralesRS) July 5, 2015
Tag avoidance of the day: Cameron Maybin, this one's for you ...
Safe. pic.twitter.com/7nfK5PV67q
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 5, 2015
Hasty homer of the day: Jose Bautista sent this ball out of Comerica Park in a hurry ...
Catch of the day: Kolten Wong is good at baseball-related tasks and duties ...
Opposite-field homer of the day: Man, dig how hard J.D. Martinez hits this ball the other way. It's not a towering blast, but it's on a line ...
With that reworked swing, Martinez has been one heck of a find for the Tigers.
Injuries, News & Rumors
All-Star starting position players were announced
Indians' Nick Swisher nearing rehab assignment
Angels pitcher Jered Weaver feels good after bullpen session
Red Sox's Justin Masterson to pitch out of bullpen
Cubs SP Tsuyoshi Wada to begin rehab assignment Monday
Cubs activate Jorge Soler; option Matt Szczur
Pirates claim Travis Ishikawa off waivers
Nationals place SP Stephen Strasburg (oblique) on disabled list
Braves RP Jason Grilli on the trading block?
Cardinals' Adam Wainwright ditches walking boot
Diamondbacks acquire two minor-league pitchers from Phillies
Cardinals send Jaime Garcia to DL with groin strain
Report: Angels trying to trade for Adam Lind, Gerardo Parra
Yordano Ventura may be ready to return to Royals
Click here for more MLB player news.
Looking Ahead to Monday's MLB action (all times ET)
| AWAY | HOME | TIME | AWAY STARTER | HOME STARTER | NATL TV |
| San Diego | Pittsburgh | 7:05 pm | Shields (7-3) - 4.14 ERA | Burnett (7-3) - 2.05 ERA | |
| Cincinnati | Washington | 7:05 pm | DeSclafani (5-6) - 3.68 ERA | Fister (3-4) - 4.34 ERA | |
| Houston | Cleveland | 7:10 pm | Keuchel (10-3) - 2.03 ERA | Carrasco (10-6) - 3.88 ERA | |
| St. Louis | Chi. Cubs | 8:05 pm | Lackey (6-5) - 3.30 ERA | Lester (4-6) - 3.74 ERA | ESPN |
| Toronto | Chi. White Sox | 8:10 pm | Buehrle (9-4) - 3.64 ERA | Rodon (3-1) - 4.07 ERA | |
| Tampa Bay | Kansas City | 8:10 pm | Colome (3-4) - 4.70 ERA | Volquez (8-4) - 3.48 ERA | |
| Baltimore | Minnesota | 8:10 pm | Chen (4-4) - 2.84 ERA | Hughes (7-6) - 4.27 ERA | |
| Atlanta | Milwaukee | 8:10 pm | Wisler (2-1) - 2.60 ERA | Lohse (5-9) - 6.24 ERA | |
| Detroit | Seattle | 10:10 pm | Simon (7-5) - 3.94 ERA | Walker (7-6) - 4.34 ERA | |
| Philadelphia | L.A. Dodgers | 10:10 pm | O'Sullivan (1-6) - 5.76 ERA | Frias (5-5) - 4.39 ERA | |
| N.Y. Mets | San Francisco | 10:15 pm | Niese (3-8) - 3.90 ERA | Heston (8-5) - 3.78 ERA |














