An abbreviated nine-game slate of games is here for this Thursday. Matinee action and one late game awaits. Let's get it on. 

Thursday's scores

Walker homers twice in Yankees win

Neil Walker entered Thursday hitting .222/.297/.314 -- disappointing marks for someone who had posted an OPS+ above 100 in each of his first eight full seasons.

One night won't turn the entire season around, but Walker did have a grand Thursday, homering twice as part of a Yankees victory. Walker, a switch hitter, collected a dinger from both sides of the plate:

Walker wasn't the only Yankee to homer -- Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, and Miguel Andujar also added blasts of their own in support of J.A. Happ. Stanton's homer even set a new Statcast era record:

Happ, by the way, struck out nine Rangers in six innings. He permitted four hits, three earned runs, and just one walk. 

Verlander-Paxton fails to deliver

On paper, Thursday's pitching match-up between Justin Verlander and James Paxton seemed like a must-see event.

Maybe it still was, but not for the reasons we expected.

Verlander, who was ejected after the second inning for arguing, yielded six runs on seven hits. He allowed the Mariners to hit for the cycle in the first inning, with Mitch Haniger leading off the game with a home run.

Paxton, meanwhile, fared a little better. He allowed seven hits and four runs across 5 2/3 innings before being lifted. 

Brewers blow lead against Pads

The Brewers entered the ninth inning of their game against the Padres up 4-2 on Thursday. With Corey Knebel in, it seemed like Milwaukee was minutes away from victory.

That, however, is not what happened. Instead, Knebel walked three consecutive batters and gave up an infield single before being lifted from the game. Joakim Soria then took over and promptly allowed a grand slam that gave the Padres a 7-4 lead. Franmil Reyes would later add a homer of his own, giving the Padres an 8-4 lead. The Brewers went quietly in their half of the inning, striking out twice and grounding out against Craig Stammen to end the game.

With the Cubs off on Thursday, the Brewers had a chance to move within a game of the division lead. Unfortunately for the Brew Crew, they'll enter play on Friday two back. 

Betts hits for cycle

Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts became the first player to hit for the cycle during the 2018 season. He did so as part of a losing effort against the Blue Jays. You can read more about that here.

Rodney traded

The Athletics had already acquired Mike Fiers and Shawn Kelley this week. On Thursday, they grabbed Fernando Rodney from the Twins, further bolstering their pitching staff. You can read the whole story here.

Nationals salvage split

Midway through Tuesday, it looked like the Nationals had finally gotten themselves on track. They'd won six of seven and had a realistic shot to end the day just four games out of the NL East. Instead, they lost Max Scherzer's start while the Phillies beat Zack Greinke, and their NL East deficit was back to six. The Nationals lost again Wednesday, too. They managed to salvage a split with the Braves by winning Thursday, but they are still only three games over .500. 

Thursday's game was one that makes you believe in the Nationals turning things around for the better. Starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez only allowed one run on six hits in seven strong innings. The offense scored six runs on 11 hits, spread out between eight different players. They beat a team while manufacturing some runs and also hit for power, as Michael Taylor will show us: 

The Phillies are off Thursday, so the Nats head to a weekend series in Wrigley Field back 5 1/2 games. They are 4 1/2 games out from the second NL wild card. 

Indians grab second straight walk-off win

The Indians' lead in the woeful AL Central is now 11 games, as they finished taking three of four from the second-place Twins on Thursday. They won in walk-off fashion on Wednesday, and Michael Brantley repeated the feat on Thursday. Brantley's single wasn't quite as dramatic as Wednesday's Francisco Lindor three-run bomb, but it worked nonetheless. 

Perhaps most importantly, Andrew Miller worked another scoreless outing. Since returning from the disabled list, Miller has worked four innings without giving up a run. He's allowed just one hit with three strikeouts. 

Quick hits

  • The Dodgers reinstated starting pitcher Ross Stripling from the disabled list, sending Pat Venditte to the minors as a corresponding move. 
  • Dodgers CL Kenley Jansen, meanwhile, was taken to the hospital due to an irregular heartbeat. He will miss the rest of the series.
  • The Indians are putting outfielder Leonys Martin on the DL due to a stomach ailment. 

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