Friday brings us an extra full 16-game slate of big league action thanks to a suspended game in Oakland. I guess it's technically 15 1/2 games on the schedule. Anyway, games relevant to the postseason races will be played in Atlanta, Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Queens on Friday night.
Select games can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free). For more on what channel each game is on, click here.
Who wins every MLB game? And what underdogs can give you a huge victory tonight? Visit SportsLine now to see the exact score of every MLB game, plus get full player stat projections, all from the model that simulates every game 10,000 times.
Baseball schedule/scores for Friday, Sept. 6
- FINAL - Rangers 7, Orioles 6 (box score)
- FINAL - Pirates 9, Cardinals 4 (box score)
- FINAL - Royals 3, Marlins 0 (box score)
- FINAL - Mets 5, Phillies 4 (box score)
- FINAL - Red Sox 6, Yankees 1 (box score)
- FINAL - Rays 5, Blue Jays 0 (box score)
- FINAL - Diamondbacks 7, Reds 5 (box score)
- FINAL - Braves 4, Nationals 3 (box score)
- FINAL - Astros 7, Mariners 4 (box score)
- FINAL/11 - Indians 6, Twins 2 (box score)
- FINAL - Angels 5, White Sox 4 (box score)
- FINAL - Brewers 7, Cubs 1 (box score)
- FINAL - Athletics 7, Tigers 3, completion of suspended game (box score)
- FINAL/11 - Tigers 5, Athletics 4 (box score)
- FINAL - Rockies 3, Padres 2 (box score)
- FINAL - Giants 5, Dodgers 4 (box score)
A's get a road win at home
OK, let us explain. The Athletics and Tigers on Friday night resumed and completed a suspended game from back on May 19 -- i.e., 110 days ago. The game, which was in Detroit's Comerica Park, picked up in the seventh inning with Oakland up 5-3. Since the A's and Tigers were already getting together for a weekend series in Oakland, the jurisdictional authorities decided that the suspended game would be finished up as an A's road game in Oakland. This image sort of sums it up:
Welcome to Comerica Park. At the Coliseum? pic.twitter.com/KskpqJeh0B
— Subscribe to Cut4 on YouTube!!!! (@Cut4) September 6, 2019
As you see above, the A's prevailed by a score of 7-3. That technically extends their May win streak to 11 games. Also, Chad Pinder hit a home run on Friday night that goes in the books as a home run on May 19:
There were 1,135 HR hit in May, which set an MLB record for a single calendar month (it was broken in June, and then that record was broken in July).
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 7, 2019
But when we look back on that month now, it'll be 1,136 HR -- because of Chad Pinder's HR tonight...which will count for May 19.
Need more weirdness? Jake Diekman has now in the most technical of senses pitched for two different teams on the same day:
On May 19, Jake Diekman pitched the 8th inning for the Royals at the Angels.
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 7, 2019
Diekman now is on the A's, pitching for them in the resumption of a suspended game that began in DET on May 19 and is finishing in OAK.
This app will ALSO count for May 19 for Diekman.
Got all that? pic.twitter.com/FkYGLcCUsy
Most important is that the A's, in the thick of the AL wild-card chase with the Rays and Indians, held on to win.
Mets win a wild one
The Phillies and Mets are playing what could in essence be a knockout series, with the loser of this set essentially having very little chance at snagging a wild-card berth. The Mets went up early in this one thanks to a solid start from Steven Matz and Michael Conforto's 29th home run of the season.
Embattled reliever Edwin Diaz was tasked with protecting a two-run lead in the ninth, but with one out, one one, and an 0-2 count, J.T. Realmuto happened:
We got a tie game in Queens. 👀 #SeptemberBaseball pic.twitter.com/BXEnjDGxPO
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2019
And if this feels like some kind of grim refrain for the Mets and their rooters, that's because it is:
Edwin Diaz has now allowed 14 9th inning HR this season, tying Francisco Rodriguez (2014 with Brewers) for the most such HR allowed in a season in MLB history.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 7, 2019
The Mets have now allowed 31 9th inning HR this season, the most such HR allowed by a team in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/wGCXij0guy
Fortunately for the Mets, they got into a "bullpen soils the linens" battle with perhaps the only team poised to outdo them in such a contest. In the bottom of the ninth, Mike Morin retired the first two batters but then allowed singles to Juan Lagares and J.D. Davis. At that point, Nick Vincent was summoned, and he loaded the bases by plunking Jeff McNeil on an 0-2 pitch. That brought up rookie crusher Pete Alonso:
The definition of a 'walk-off.’ #MetsWin pic.twitter.com/UoUwQOhgL8
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 7, 2019
That's a walk-off walk, and that's Alonso's 107th RBI of the season. The ensuing celebration left Alonso in a state of partial undress that naturally evoked memories of Captain Redneck Dick Murdock:
— Dayn Perry (@daynperry) September 7, 2019
Most of all, the Mets have now pulled even with the Phillies in the NL East and NL wild-card standings.
Braves keep rolling
The Braves edged the Nationals on Friday, and in doing so, won their eighth in a row. In this one, midseason free agent addition Dallas Keuchel pitched quite well:
Keuchel, in Keuchel fashion, also induced 13 ground balls against four fly balls. Josh Donaldson hit his 35th home run of the season, and Ozzie Albies cracked his 20th home run and 39th double.
They now have a nine-game lead in the NL East, and given the late hour that's all but insurmountable. This win also means the Braves are now on a 100-win pace. If they pulled that off, it would be the Braves' first 100-win season since 2003. While it's unlikely, the Braves are now also within range of the Dodgers-Yankees-Astros trio of might and thus are at least in the discussion for best record in baseball and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
D-Backs pull closer to playoff position
Arizona's win over the Reds in tandem with the Cubs' loss to the Brewers means the Diamondbacks are now just 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs for the second NL wild-card spot. That's thanks largely to a 20-12 mark since they traded away Zack Greinke leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.
So can the D-Backs pull off the upset? They have a substantially easier schedule than the Cubs the rest of the way. Some additional specifics on that front:
Some notable trends of WC hunt:
— Matt Ehalt (@MattEhalt) September 7, 2019
--DBacks (-2.5) have just 7/21 games left vs. contenders, and 12 final 15 are at home, 9 vs. MIA/CIN/SD.
--Mets (-4) have 16 of final 22 at home
--Brewers (-4) have just 5 games left vs. teams above .500, and final 13 are against non-contenders.
Coming into Friday, the SportsLine Projection Model (@SportsLine on Twitter) gave Arizona just a 15.5 percent chance of making the postseason, but given the way the schedule breaks down I'll take the over on that.
Stat of the day: Story goes 30-20 again
It's been a season to forget for the Rockies, but Trevor Story has been a pleasing exception. He's once again been excellent with the glove and productive on offense. As for that latter merit, Story entered Friday night's game against the Padres needing one stolen bases to reach 20 for the season. Given that he already had 30 home runs, he was one swipe shy of a second straight 30-20 season. He got that missing steal early, and that put him in elite company among shortstops:
.@Tstory2 joins @AROD as the only shortstops in MLB history with multiple 30-HR/20-SB seasons.
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 7, 2019
(h/t: @RockiesPR) pic.twitter.com/F5MqhriAwA
While Story's a darn good player, he's obviously no A-Rod. Still, that's a point of honor to do what only one other has done throughout the spraw of baseball history.
As for Story, he came into this one with a career-high 5.7 WAR for the season. Like we said, pleasing exception in Colorado.
Quick hits
- It's Friday, which means Dayn Perry released his latest Star Power Index. This week he looked at the fading Hyun-Jin Ryu and the surging Jack Flaherty, among others.
- Can the Red Sox get back in the wild-card race? They'll need to win roughly 19 of their final 22 games to have a chance. Here's what Boston needs to do to make a miraculous run to a postseason spot.
- 1B Josh Bell gives the Pirates a glimmer of hope in otherwise miserable season. Bell made several mechanical adjustments last winter that helped him take his power to the next level.
- Former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has joined the NHL's San Jose Sharks as a scout. Colletti covered hockey as a journalist before getting into baseball decades ago.
- MLB and the MLBPA will reportedly discuss testing players for opioids following the death of Tyler Skaggs. Read more here.
- The Dodgers have pushed RHP Walker Buehler's next start back to give him extra rest, reports AM 570. Buehler has thrown a career high 159 1/3 regular season innings this year and the team wants him fresh for October.
- RHP Tyler Glasnow will return to the Rays on Sunday, reports the Tampa Bay Times. He's been out since May with a forearm injury. Glasnow will start and throw 2-3 innings, and he'll have his workload monitored down the stretch.
- Rangers OF Joey Gallo hopes to take live batting practice next week, reports MLB.com. Gallo has been sidelined since suffering a broken hamate bone in July. There's a chance he'll return before the end of the season.
- The Braves activated 3B/OF Austin Riley off the 10-day injured list, the club announced. He missed about a month after suffering a knee injury in a weight room accident. No other move was required because rosters are expanded.
- The Indians activated RHP Jefry Rodriguez off the 60-day injured list, the team announced. He missed three months with a shoulder issue. RHP Danny Salazar (groin) was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot.
- Cubs SS Javier Baez, who hasn't played since Sunday, will undergo an MRI on his injured left thumb.
- Struggling Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu will have his next scheduled turn in the rotation skipped.