Tuesday brings us a full 15-game slate, so let's jump right in ... 

Tuesday's scores

Rays 1, Nationals 0 (box score)
Mariners 3, Orioles 2 (box score)
Yankees 6, Phillies 0 (box score)
Mets 4, Pirates 3 in 10 (box score)
Athletics 9, Tigers 7 (box score)
Diamondbacks 5, Marlins 3 (box score)
Red Sox 9, Angels 1 (box score)
Reds 5, Braves 3 (box score)
Padres 3, Rangers 2 (box score)
Brewers 5, Royals 1 (box score)
Astros 7, Blue Jays 0 (box score)
White Sox 8, Twins 4 (box score)
Cardinals 11, Indians 2 (box score)
Cubs 9, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Giants 3, Rockies 2 (box score)

Cubs snap losing streak behind Baez,

The Cubs had entered Tuesday with five consecutive losses to their name. That changed against the Dodgers in the second of a four-game set, and it changed in large part because of Javier Baez.

Baez had a four-hit game, homering twice (one of the grand-slam variety) and adding a double to give him 16 home runs and 16 two-baggers on the year. He also made a snazzy defensive play, as he is wont to do.

The Cubs will look to start a winning streak on Wednesday. 

Severino dominant in Yankees win

On paper, Luis Severino vs. Jake Arrieta seemed like a good pitching matchup. In practice, Severino continued to show why he's the ace of the Yankees.

Severino tossed seven shutout innings in a win, striking out nine and allowing six hits and zero walks. It was the fourth time this season he'd exited a game without allowing a run, and the second time in his past three outings. He hasn't permitted more than three runs in a start since April 10 -- that outing, by the way, marks the only time he's allowed more than three runs all year.

Severino deserves the All-Star nomination that's surely coming his way. 

Kluber rocked by Cardinals

The start of the Indians-Cardinals game was delayed by more than an hour due to rain. Maybe that can help explain what happened to Corey Kluber, because he was far from his usual self.

Kluber authored the shortest start of his career, allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings. Three of those runs scored on a Jose Martinez homer that doubled as a parting gift. The poor start snapped a streak for Kluber that had seen him toss five innings 39 tries in a row:

Kluber's disaster always ruined what was supposed to be a compelling pitching duel with Carlos Martinez. It just goes to show, you can't predict baseball -- not comfortably, anyway. 

Harvey notches another quality start

Don't look now, but Matt Harvey has recorded consecutive quality starts. Last time out, he held the Cubs in check, limiting them to five hits and two runs over six innings. On Tuesday, Harvey shut down the Braves, yet another potential playoff team.

Harvey allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings, giving up a run and a walk. He struck out just two batters, but he did throw 61 of his 84 pitches for strikes. Eight of those 84 pitches were swung at and missed, and -- in an unusual development for Harvey -- each was a slider. Throughout his still-nascent Reds career, he'd primarily been getting whiffs on his fastball and nothing else. For at least one night, that changed.

The Reds will see if Harvey can make it three in a row next time out. Keep in mind, Harvey now has just three quality starts on the entire season. 

Nats shut out again in spicy loss to Rays

The Nationals have been shut out eight times this season. Seven of those shutouts have come in June. Stated another way, the Nats have been blanked in almost one-third of the games they've played in June. It happened again on Tuesday, as you see above. Nathan Eovaldi and four Rays relievers combined to shut out Washington on just three hits. 

Things got interesting in the bottom of the ninth when the Nats loaded the bases with one out. However, veteran reliever Sergio Romo came on and retired the final two batters, including Michael Taylor on a game-ending strikeout. That final pitch to Taylor occasioned some near-hostilities between the two teams, as you'll see here ... 

So Romo's jawing almost set things off. Here's how he characterized his actions ... 

This would seem to refer back to a June 6 contest between these two teams, when Taylor stole third base while the Nats were up 9-2 in the sixth inning and came home to score on the throw from Wilson Ramos. It seems pretty weird for a pitcher to cling so tightly to a sixth-inning stolen base from almost three weeks ago, but there you go. Sadly, these two teams won't meet again in 2018. 

The Mets win, but remain abysmal at home

The Mets are bad, you know. They started the season 11-1, but entering Tuesday's game Mickey Callaway's squadron had been a miserable 20-44. Overall, that 31-45 record put them on pace for a 66-96 record, which means they'd wind up four games worse than they were under Terry Collins last year. Here's how their record broke down:

  • 18-20 on the road
  • 13-25 at home

Add in how the Mets had lost seven in a row and 14 of their last 15 at home, and it seemed like a given that the Pirates would win on Tuesday night. Yet that did not happen. Instead, the Mets snapped their losing streak with an extra-innings victory. 

Can a team that started the season 11-1 wind up contending for the top overall draft pick? That's the plausible question that can be asked in Queens these days -- just not on Tuesday.

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