Martinez, Red Sox Get Best of Mariners in Slugfest
The Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners put on an offensive showcase on Friday night, but it was the Red Sox who finished on top of the struggling Mariners. J.D. Martinez went deep and drove in five runs as the Red Sox rallied past the M's for a 14-10 victory. Boston scored eight runs between the sixth and seventh innings, including a five-run seventh, to take the lead for good at Fenway Park. Martinez had the official go-ahead hit with a two-run single in the seventh, helping Boston rally from a five-run deficit. Martinez had two doubles on the day and now has 23 home runs on the year, as the Red Sox lit up Wade LeBlanc to avenge a 1-0 loss against the starter just six days earlier. Mitch Moreland added three hits for the Red Sox, who set a season high with 20 hits in the win. Matt Barnes threw one scoreless inning to earn his first win out of the bullpen, while Craig Kimbrel came on for the ninth in a non-save opportunity. Despite LeBlanc allowing six runs on 11 hits, it was Juan Nicasio who took the loss for the Mariners after giving up five runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. Nelson Cruz went deep for two three-run home runs and drove in seven, but the Mariners suffered their season-worst fifth straight loss. This after leading by scores of 4-0 and 10-5, but they could not keep the Red Sox's offense silent. Boston got an RBI from eight different players, as they will host Game 2 of the series on Baseball Night in America on Saturday night.
Bellinger's Slam Leads Dodgers in New York
The Los Angeles Dodgers have found their groove after starting the season 10 games under .500 to make people believe that last year's World Series appearance was a fluke. They earned another road win on Friday night, as Cody Bellinger's grand slam led the way in a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets. Bellinger's slam broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning off of Zach Wheeler, who suffered his sixth loss of the season. Wheeler lasted seven innings and struck out seven, as the Mets fell to 13-22 at Citi Field this year. Alex Wood also struck out seven over six innings to earn his third win, helping the Dodgers improve to 19-16 on the road. Yasiel Puig added a solo blast for Los Angeles, who has now won 10 in a row against the Mets, dating back to May of 2016. They have outscored the Mets, 75-20, in those games, and have won each of the past eight games by at least three runs. This is the first time that the Dodgers have had this type of success against an opponent in franchise history. Wood's outing, along with the run support, helped him earn consecutive wins for the first time since last August. The Dodgers are now 23-9 since May 17th and sit four games over .500, and 2.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West. The lone bright spot for the Mets was Jose Bautista hitting his first home run with the team, which was a two-run shot in the sixth inning. These two teams will continue their series on Saturday night, as Clayton Kershaw will make his return from the disabled list.
Orioles Outlast Braves in 15 Innings
The Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves could have probably played all night on Friday, but Manny Machado was not having it at SunTrust Park. Machado hit the game-winning, two-run home run as part of a three-run 15th inning to give the O's a 10-7 win over the Braves. Both of these teams struggled to shut things down in the ninth inning, forcing extra innings in this interleague mathcup. First, the Orioles scored six times in the ninth inning to rally from a 3-1 deficit and lead by four heading in to the bottom half of the inning. The Braves would then respond by scoring three times to force extras, headlined by Nick Markakis haunting his former team with a game-tying RBI double. From there, these two teams would go on to play six more innings, as the game lasted five hours, 21 minutes. Machado's game-winner was his 19th blast of the season, as Peter Moylan could not recover from a leadoff hit batter to begin the rally. It was the first loss of the year for the Braves' reliever, who gave up another run on singles by Colby Rasmus and Jonathan Schoop. The Orioles' seventh pitcher, Mike Wright Jr., earned his first win by throwing two scoreless innings in extras. Chris Davis had a big game in his first start since June 11th, including his first home run since May 9th in the seventh inning. He also had the go-ahead RBI in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly. What added to the long night was the start of the game being delayed by 11 minutes due to rain. Although, the starting pitchers were not affected by that, as Sean Newcomb went seven shutout innings and allowed just five hits for the Braves. Alex Cobb got the start for the Orioles and did not give up a run over seven innings. This interleague series will continue on Saturday night.
The Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners put on an offensive showcase on Friday night, but it was the Red Sox who finished on top of the struggling Mariners. J.D. Martinez went deep and drove in five runs as the Red Sox rallied past the M's for a 14-10 victory. Boston scored eight runs between the sixth and seventh innings, including a five-run seventh, to take the lead for good at Fenway Park. Martinez had the official go-ahead hit with a two-run single in the seventh, helping Boston rally from a five-run deficit. Martinez had two doubles on the day and now has 23 home runs on the year, as the Red Sox lit up Wade LeBlanc to avenge a 1-0 loss against the starter just six days earlier. Mitch Moreland added three hits for the Red Sox, who set a season high with 20 hits in the win. Matt Barnes threw one scoreless inning to earn his first win out of the bullpen, while Craig Kimbrel came on for the ninth in a non-save opportunity. Despite LeBlanc allowing six runs on 11 hits, it was Juan Nicasio who took the loss for the Mariners after giving up five runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. Nelson Cruz went deep for two three-run home runs and drove in seven, but the Mariners suffered their season-worst fifth straight loss. This after leading by scores of 4-0 and 10-5, but they could not keep the Red Sox's offense silent. Boston got an RBI from eight different players, as they will host Game 2 of the series on Baseball Night in America on Saturday night.
Bellinger's Slam Leads Dodgers in New York
The Los Angeles Dodgers have found their groove after starting the season 10 games under .500 to make people believe that last year's World Series appearance was a fluke. They earned another road win on Friday night, as Cody Bellinger's grand slam led the way in a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets. Bellinger's slam broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning off of Zach Wheeler, who suffered his sixth loss of the season. Wheeler lasted seven innings and struck out seven, as the Mets fell to 13-22 at Citi Field this year. Alex Wood also struck out seven over six innings to earn his third win, helping the Dodgers improve to 19-16 on the road. Yasiel Puig added a solo blast for Los Angeles, who has now won 10 in a row against the Mets, dating back to May of 2016. They have outscored the Mets, 75-20, in those games, and have won each of the past eight games by at least three runs. This is the first time that the Dodgers have had this type of success against an opponent in franchise history. Wood's outing, along with the run support, helped him earn consecutive wins for the first time since last August. The Dodgers are now 23-9 since May 17th and sit four games over .500, and 2.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West. The lone bright spot for the Mets was Jose Bautista hitting his first home run with the team, which was a two-run shot in the sixth inning. These two teams will continue their series on Saturday night, as Clayton Kershaw will make his return from the disabled list.
Orioles Outlast Braves in 15 Innings
The Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves could have probably played all night on Friday, but Manny Machado was not having it at SunTrust Park. Machado hit the game-winning, two-run home run as part of a three-run 15th inning to give the O's a 10-7 win over the Braves. Both of these teams struggled to shut things down in the ninth inning, forcing extra innings in this interleague mathcup. First, the Orioles scored six times in the ninth inning to rally from a 3-1 deficit and lead by four heading in to the bottom half of the inning. The Braves would then respond by scoring three times to force extras, headlined by Nick Markakis haunting his former team with a game-tying RBI double. From there, these two teams would go on to play six more innings, as the game lasted five hours, 21 minutes. Machado's game-winner was his 19th blast of the season, as Peter Moylan could not recover from a leadoff hit batter to begin the rally. It was the first loss of the year for the Braves' reliever, who gave up another run on singles by Colby Rasmus and Jonathan Schoop. The Orioles' seventh pitcher, Mike Wright Jr., earned his first win by throwing two scoreless innings in extras. Chris Davis had a big game in his first start since June 11th, including his first home run since May 9th in the seventh inning. He also had the go-ahead RBI in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly. What added to the long night was the start of the game being delayed by 11 minutes due to rain. Although, the starting pitchers were not affected by that, as Sean Newcomb went seven shutout innings and allowed just five hits for the Braves. Alex Cobb got the start for the Orioles and did not give up a run over seven innings. This interleague series will continue on Saturday night.
