Tuesday night got a bit ridiculous on us early, notably in Cincinnati. We'll eventually have everything you need to know right here.
Tuesday's games
Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 (box score)
Orioles 6, Pirates 5 (box score)
Reds 13, Cardinals 1 (box score)
Angels 5, Tigers 3 (box score)
White Sox 4, Rays 2 (box score)
Phillies 3, Braves 1(box score)
Brewers 5, Giants 2 (box score)
Cubs 10, Marlins 2 (box score)
Rangers 10, Mets 8 (box score)
Royals 9, Astros 7 (box score)
Rockies 11, Indians 3 (box score)
Diamondbacks 10, Padres 2 (box score)
Athletics 4, Blue Jays 1 (box score)
Nationals 2, Dodgers 1 (box score)
Mariners 12, Twins 3 (box score)
Gennett joins exclusive club
Reds infielder Scooter Gennett went 5 for 5 with a double, four home runs and 12 RBI in one of the greatest single-game performances in MLB history. Read more here.
Wainwright loses momentum
After a rocky first five or so weeks, Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright had started to get things going. In his last four starts before Monday, Wainwright was 4-0 with a 0.34 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings.
It all came crashing down Tuesday night in a rather huge way. Wainwright would last only 3 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs on seven hits, thanks in part to three walks and a home run (which was a Gennett grand slam). Only one other time in his entire career has Wainwright allowed at least nine runs in fewer than four innings pitched. Coincidentally, the other time was also against the Reds (Aug. 28, 2013).
The outing sends Wainwright's ERA back to 4.82, and the Cardinals are now 26-30 after having lost five straight, all to division rivals on the road. In fact, they are in an extended slump. They were in first place at 21-15 after winning on May 14. Since then, the Cardinals are 5-15.
Royals stun Astros, snap 11-game winning streak
At one point on Tuesday night, the Royals trailed the mighty Astros by a score of 7-1. At one point in the eighth inning, the Royals had a 2.8 percent chance of winning the game. As you see above, though, they did win the game and did snuff out what had been an 11-game Houston winning streak. The first big blow came off the bat of Whit Merrifield, who notched a clutch, two-out, bases-clearing, tying double in eighth. Look, some hits are worth that many modifiers ...
Then with two outs in the ninth, Mike Moustakas landed the knockout blow ...
Yep, don't throw a breaking ball there to a hitter with power ...
Royals win, and they now have a winning record ... at home. Yeah, they're still in last place, but they won a thriller against the best team in baseball, and Alex Gordon hit his first home run since September 2016. Not a bad night in K.C.
Kimbrel's still rolling
The return of Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel to complete and utter dominance has been one of the notable developments of the season to date. He was at it again on Tuesday in a tight game against the Yankees ...
Didi Gregorius reached on a whiff, so that's four outs and five strikeouts for Kimbrel. That's also the third time this season that he has struck out five batters in an appearance.
Speaking of strikeouts, Kimbrel now has 53 of them in 26 2/3 innings of work in 2017. Stated another way, he has struck out 55.2 percent of the batters he has faced. That's an absurd figure. In related matters, Kimbrel this season has allowed only three runs on eight hits.
There's also this ...
Kimbrel's had an incredible career as closers go, and he might be at his very best right now. The good news for Boston is that manager John Farrell is increasingly taking advantage of Kimbrel's ability and willingness to work outside the usual closer boundaries ...
Farrell will probably need to pump the brakes on Kimbrel at some point in terms of workload, but for now Kimbrel has been just about perfect.
Quick hits
- The Mariners are reportedly close to signing SS Jean Segura to a $70 million contract extension.
- The Dodgers will reportedly target pitching leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
- Diamondbacks SP Robbie Ray saw his scoreless innings streak end at 27 2/3, but he struck out 11 Padres and lowered his ERA to 2.85.
- The Braves have placed SP Bartolo Colon on the 10-day DL with an oblique strain.
- The Blue Jays have placed 2B Devon Travis on the 10-day DL with a right bone bruise and cartilage injury.
- The Marlins have placed 1B Justin Bour on the 10-day DL with a left ankle contusion.
- Yankees OF Aaron Judge has overtaken Angels OF Mike Trout as the AL's leading All-Star vote-getter. Here's a full rundown of the latest AL balloting update.
- The Indians have placed SP Danny Salazar on the 10-day DL with a sore shoulder. To take his spot on the active roster, the club activated OF Lonnie Chisenhall from the DL.
- The Rangers have signed RP Ernesto Frieri to a minor-league contract.
- One GM thinks Nationals OF Bryce Harper will become baseball's first $400 million man. He's eligible for free agency after the 2018 season.
- Red Sox RP Joe Kelly hit 104 mph on the gun on Tuesday night, and Yankees OF Aaron Judge fouled it off.
- In the 2017 NCAA Baseball Tournament, the super regional matchups are set.