The AL defeats the NL in All Star Game

The American League defeated the National League in the MLB All Star Game on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Great American Ballpark in Cincinatti, Ohio and the final score was 6-3 AL.  Pete Rose was a story as he was an analyst for Fox for the game but also got to be on the field and mostly cheered as part of the Franchise Four promotion.  The guys that stood out pitching wise were Dellin Betances from the Yankees pitching for the AL and Aroldis Chapman from the hometown Reds and pitching for the NL.  Jacob deGrom also dominated from the Mets striking out the side and only throwing ten pitches.  Felix Hernandez and David Price each pitched perfect innings for the AL and Price had two strikeouts and Hernandez had a strikeout.  Chris Archer and Glen Perkins gave up the earned runs.  Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Francisco Rodriguez and Mark Melancon gave up the earned runs for the NL. 

Andrew McCutchen had a hit and an RBI for the NL.  Jhonny Peralta had a hit and an RBI, the NL only managed six hits.  Ryan Braun hit a triple, McCutchen hit a homerun and the NL was 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.   

Mike Trout led off the game with a homerun and he was named the MVP for the second straight year.  He is the first player in the history of MLB to ever win back-to-back All Star MVP.  Josh Donaldson had a couple of walks, Manny Machado had a hit and an RBI and Prince Fielder had a hit and two RBI.  Lorenzo Cain had two hits and an RBI, Brian Dozier had a hit and an RBI.  Cain and Machado each hit a double and Trout and Dozier each hit a homerun.  The AL was 3-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Cain and Holt each had a stolen base and Donaldson and Britton each committed an error. 

In the first Trout hit a solo homerun to lead off the game and give the AL a quick 1-0 lead.  In the second Peralta tied the game at one with an RBI single.  In the fifth Fielder hit an RBI single to give the AL a 2-1 lead.  Cain hit an RBI double and it was 3-1 AL.  In the sixth McCutchen hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 3-2 AL.  Machado hit an RBI double in the seventh and it was 4-2 AL.  Fielder hit a sac fly to make it 5-2 in the seventh and in the eighth Dozier hit a solo homerun to make it a 6-2 game.  In the ninth Crawford hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 6-3 but that would be the final score.  MLB will take two more days off before resuming play and the nominal second half on Friday.  The AL will have home field advantage in the World Series as a result of the All Star victory. 

The Mets earn the sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks

The New York Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 5-3.  Jon Niese started for the Mets and he  with no walks and three strikeouts.  Niese pitched pretty well.  The bullpen was very good and Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit three homeruns to lead the offense. 

Niese pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up five hits and three runs with no walks and three strikeouts.  Niese won his fifth game of the season.  Jennry Mejia pitched to one batter and retired him, Bobby Parnell pitched an inning walking one and Jeurys Familia pitched an inning with a walk and he saved his 27th game of the season. 

Rubby De La Rosa pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs with two walks and two strikeouts.  Oliver Perez struck out the only batter that he faced, Randall Delgado pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout and Andrew Chafin pitched two innings striking out one.  Daniel Hudson pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI and drew two walks and Wilmer Flores had a hit.  Lucas Duda drew a walk, Nieuwenhuis had three hits and four RBI and Johnny Monell had a hit.  Ruben Tejada had a hit, Niese had a hit and drew a walk and Danny Muno had a hit.  Juan Lagares had a hit, Granderson and Muno each hit a double and Murphy hit a homerun.  Nieuwenhuis hit three homeruns and the Mets were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. 

Nick Ahmed had an RBI, A.J. Pollock drew a walk and Paul Goldschmidt had a hit and an RBI.  Yasmani Tomas had a hit, Welington Castillo had a hit and drew a walk and David Peralta had a hit and an RBI.  Chris Owings had a hit which was a double and Tomas hit a double.  Goldschmidt hit a homerun and the Diamondbacks were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. 

In the second Nieuwenhuis hit a solo homerun that was replay reviewed but the call stood.  The Mets had a 1-0 lead.  In the third Ahmed hit an RBI groundout to tie the game at one.  Murphy hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the third to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.  Nieuwenhuis hit a two run homerun to push the lead to 4-1 in the third.  In teh fourth Goldschmidt hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 4-2.  Nieuwenhuis hit a solo homerun in the fifth to make it 5-2 Mets.  In the seventh Peralta hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-3 but that would be the final score. 

The Mets swept the three game series and will now head into the All Star Break with some momentum right in the mix for a playoff spot and even the division is in sights. 

The New York Mets defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks

The New York Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 4-2 Mets.  Matt Harvey started for the Mets and pitched pretty well, the Mets offense only managed four hits. 

Harvey pitched seven innings giving up five hits and two runs with four walks and nine strikeouts.  He won his eighth game of the season.  Bobby Parnell pitched an inning with a walk and Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and picked up his 26th save of the season. 

Patrick Corbin pitched five innings giving up four hits and four runs with a walk and five strikeouts.  Corbin lost his first game of the season.  Randall Delgado pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a walk and he struck out two, Oliver Perez pitched to one batter and struck him out and Enrique Burgos pitched an inning with a strikeout. 

Ruben Tejada had a hit and an RBI, Michael Cuddyer had a hit and Lucas Duda had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Eric Campbell drew a walk, Harvey had a hit and two RBI and Duda and Harvey each hit a homerun.  Harvey hit his first major league homerun.  Tejada also hit a homerun and the Mets left two men on base. 

A.J. Pollock drew two walks, David Peralta had a hit, two RBI and drew two walks and Yasmani Thomas had a hit.  Welington Castillo had a hit, Cliff Pennington had two hits and Corbin drew a walk.  Peralta hit a homerun and the Diamondbacks were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Owings had a stolen base and Pollock was caught stealing. 

In the first Peralta hit a two run homerun to give them a 2-0 lead.  In the fifth Duda hit a solo homerun to make it 2-1 Diamondbacks.  Harvey hit a two run homerun which was reviewed but the call stood and Harvey got his first major league homerun.  The Mets had a 3-2 lead and would add one more on a Tejada solo homerun in the sixth to make it 4-2 which was the final score.  The two teams will play the third and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon with the Mets looking for the sweep.   

New York Yankees win in Boston as Rob Refsnyder has a big day

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and the final score was 8-6 Yankees.  Nathan Eovaldi started and after a rough third inning settled down and pitched ok.  Rob Refsnyder the rookie who just came up on Saturday had a big day with his first major league hit and also his first major league homerun. 

Eovaldi pitched five innings giving up seven hits and three runs with four strikeouts.  Eovaldi won his ninth game of the season.  Adam Warren pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run, Justin Wilson pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and he struck out two and Dellin Betances pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts.  Andrew Miller pitched an inning giving up two unearned runs and a walk with a strikeout. 

Wade Miley pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and six runs with no walks and two strikeouts.  Miley lost his eighth game of the season.  Tommy Layne pitched an inning giving up three hits, Alexi Ogando pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts and Craig Breslow pitched to one batter and retired him. 

Brett Gardner had two hits, Alex Rodriguez had a hit and an RBI and Mark Teixeira had a hit.  Chris Young had a hit and an RBI, Brian McCann had two hits and two RBI and Chase Headley had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk.  Refsnyder had two hits and two RBI, McCann, Rodriguez, Young and Headley each hit a double and McCann and Refsnyder each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.  McCann and Refsnyder each committed an error.  Refsnyder error was more of a miscommunication and part of the learning curve. 

Mookie Betts had a hit, Brock Holt had a hit and drew a walk and Xander Bogaerts had two hits and an RBI.  Pablo Sandoval had a hit and an RBI and Hanley Ramirez had two hits and an RBI.  Alejandro De Aza had two hits and an RBI, Shane Victorino had a hit and an RBI and Mike Napoli had a hit.  Ryan Hanigan had a hit and drew a walk.  Ramirez hit a double and the Red Sox were 4-15 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base.  Victorino had two stolen bases and Napoli had a stolen base.  Hanigan had a passed ball. 

In the second McCann hit a two run homerun to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.  In the third Bogaerts hit an RBI single, Sandoval hit an RBI single and Ramirez hit an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead.  In the fifth a balk allowed the Yankees to score a run and tie the game at three.  In the sixth Rodriguez hit an RBI double to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.  In the sixth Young hit an RBI double to make it 5-3 Yankees and Headley doubled to push the score to 6-3 Yankees.  In the bottom of the sixth Victorino hit an RBI single to cut the score to 6-4.  In the ninth Refsnyder hit a two run homerun to push the lead to 8-4.  In the bottom of the ninth the Red Sox scored twice to make it 8-6 but that would be the final score.  Ramirez reached on a force attempt error and De Aza hit a sac fly.  The Yankees won two out of three in the series and will now head to the All Star Break in first place and have a four game lead on the Baltimore Orioles and 3 1/2 on the Tampa Bay Rays but five in the loss column.  They will restart their season on Friday night at home against the Seattle Mariners.   

Rob Refsnyder makes his major league debut in New York Yankees loss to Boston

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night.  The game took place at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and the final score was 5-3 Boston.  Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and he pitched pretty good.  Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and Chris Young had two hits to lead the offense. 

Nova pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs.  He walked none and struck out three and took his third loss of the season.  Adam Warren didn't record an out and he gave up two hits and a run with a walk, Chasen Shreve pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and Bryan Mitchell pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Eduardo Rodriguez pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts.  He won his fifth game of the season, Junichi Tazawa pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits and a run with a strikeout and Koji Uehara pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two  and picked up his 22nd save of the season. 

Ellsbury had three hits and an RBI, Brett Gardner had a hit and an RBI and Alex Rodriguez had a hit and an RBI.  Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Young had two hits and Chase Headley had a hit.  Didi Gregorius had a hit, Gardner and Young each hit a double and Rodriguez and Ellsbury each hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Young and Ellsbury were each caught stealing.  John Ryan Murphy committed an error. 

Mookie Betts had two hits and an RBI, Brock Holt had a hit and drew a walk and Xander Bogaerts had a  hit and an RBI.  David Ortiz had two hits and drew a walk, Hanley Ramirez had two hits and two RBI and Pablo Sandoval had a hit and Alejandro De Aza had two hits.  Ryan Hanigan had an RBI, Ortiz and Betts each hit a double and Betts hit a triple.  Ramirez hit a homerun and the Red Sox were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  De Aza had a stolen base and Rodriguez had a pick off. 

In the first Rodriguez hit a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the third Hanigan had an RBI groundout to tie the game at one.  In the fourth Ramirez hit a two run homerun to give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead.  Ellsbury hit a solo homerun in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2.  In the seventh Betts hit an RBI triple and Bogaerts hit an RBI single to make it 5-2.  Gardner hit an RBI double in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-3 and that would be the final score.  The two teams will play the third and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon, it will also be the rubber game as each team has won one game so far.