Major League Baseball: 2016 Season

[AnthonyD1993]

It's good to know that Angels P Matt Shoemaker seems to be doing okay after having surgery to stop internal bleeding that was caused from being hit in the head by a line drive a couple days ago. I hope his recovery goes smoothly.

 

[JohnBM01]

While you're here, AnthonyD1993, congratulations to your Tigers on defeating the Chicago White Sox 5-3 in 11 innings on the South Side of Chicago. Alex Wilson was Detroit's winner as Francisco Rodriguez got the Save. Chris Beck was the loser for the White Sox.

So that's Detroit. How did the Houston Astros Baseball Club do tonight? Well... they won 6-2 at the very nice Progressive Field in Cleveland. We led 3-0 for a good amount of the game until the Indians answered with a run in the 3rd. Three more runs by Houston helped seal the deal. The winning and losing pitchers in this one are both named Mike- Mike Fiers winning for HOU, and Mike Clevinger losing for CLE.


Once again... congratulations to all winners on this Labor Day Monday, including the Seattle Mariners whacking the Texas Rangers up in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[Blitz24]

Astros held on for a 4-3 victory over Cleveland tonight. James Hoyt (1-0) picked up his first win while Corey Kluber (15-9) was on the losing end for the Tribe.

Meanwhile, make it a baker's dozen's worth of consecutive victories for the Mets over the Reds as they come from behind by the power of 2 Run (Cespedes, 7th) and solo (De Aza, 9th) HRs to win 5-3. Josh Smoker moves to 2-0 while Michael Lorenzen falls to 2-1. The Mets go for the sweep tomorrow, possibly in the 2nd wild card spot but possibly not, as the Pirates have given up a ninth inning lead.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Astros at Indians series continued tonight. The Houston Astros won 4-3 at the Cleveland Indians tonight. James Hoyt got the win for HOU along with a Save from Ken Giles. It was Corey Kluber who took the loss for CLE.


Congratulations to Tuesday's other winners.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Astros held on for a 4-3 victory over Cleveland tonight. James Hoyt (1-0) picked up his first win while Corey Kluber (15-9) was on the losing end for the Tribe.

Meanwhile, make it a baker's dozen's worth of consecutive victories for the Mets over the Reds as they come from behind by the power of 2 Run (Cespedes, 7th) and solo (De Aza, 9th) HRs to win 5-3. Josh Smoker moves to 2-0 while Michael Lorenzen falls to 2-1. The Mets go for the sweep tomorrow, possibly in the 2nd wild card spot but possibly not, as the Pirates have given up a ninth inning lead.

At this point, I kinda hope that New York just sweeps the Reds. I really want them to get that last wildcard spot over the no good, stinkin' Cards.

 

[Blitz24]

At this point, I kinda hope that New York just sweeps the Reds. I really want them to get that last wildcard spot over the no good, stinkin' Cards.

Wish granted. Mets take 14th in a row vs. Cincinnati and win 6-3 today.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Houston Astros won the first two games of this four-game set at the Cleveland Indians, but no such winning magic tonight. We lost 6-5 at the Cleveland Indians. I saw a little live look-in on MLB Network. One pitch was COMPLETELY out of the strike zone, and it was called a Strike when my man Jose Altuve was trying to contribute to the Astros' comeback. In the end, the Indians are playing for a series split tomorrow. So meet the winners and losers of this contest: Carlos Carrasco picked up the win and got a Save from Cody Allen, and losing for the Astros was Doug Fister.

From yesterday, I want to pay respect to the New York Yankees suppressing the comeback of the Toronto Blue Jays epically. They won last night's game 7-6 and won 2-0 tonight. So all congrats to the Yanks.


Congratulations to the other winners from Wednesday.

 

[The Bman]

I can't believe we actually won last night. Thought it would be an L-9 after the disastrous past two weeks we've been having.

We sweep one team, then we get swept, then swept again, then lose 2 out of 3 to a team we needed to beat. Now the Bucs are 4.5 games out of a wild card spot and things are looking bleak. McCutchen has been atrocious this year which makes me question Clint Hurdle's decision to keep him in the 3-hole despite endless strikeouts and double-plays thanks to him. He should be batting 6th after Starling Marte or David Freese/Jung-ho Kang.

 

[JohnBM01]

Up early in the morning- 11:00 AM CDT(?) to conclude this four-game set. The Houston Astros had back-to-back wins at the Cleveland Indians. Now the Indians went back-to-back in the win column. We lost 10-7 at the Indians. Trevor Bauer got the win for CLE, and the Save went to Cody Allen. David Paulino was the HOU losing pitcher as Cleveland splits the series.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... we're back home to host the Chicago Cubs for a three-game set followed by three more games against the Texas Rangers. This is serious business for the Astros. Any failing by the Astros is going to have to be extremely minimal for the Astros to maintain any postseason hope. Good news is that we're home. Bad news is, we got the Cubs and the Rangers in this home stand.


Congratulations to all other winners from Thursday up to and beyond the time of this post.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Leave it to the Tigers to lose the series to the White Sox and make what is already a very important upcoming series against Baltimore an even more important one.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Up early in the morning- 11:00 AM CDT(?) to conclude this four-game set. The Houston Astros had back-to-back wins at the Cleveland Indians. Now the Indians went back-to-back in the win column. We lost 10-7 at the Indians. Trevor Bauer got the win for CLE, and the Save went to Cody Allen. David Paulino was the HOU losing pitcher as Cleveland splits the series.

I pity any team that has Jim Joyce as part of the umpiring crew. Blind and Deft. He gift wrapped the Indians two runs, and ejected the Astros manager.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...ger-aj-hinch-ejected-blown-call-ump-foul-ball

 

[JohnBM01]

Jim Joyce committed a bigger crime long ago- robbing Galarraga of a Perfect Game back in 2010. J. Joyce isn't Tim Donaghy as far as referees or officials are concerned, but he's just as bad. I even saw on... I want to say SportsCenter of the weird call that ended up with the Indians getting in a few runs on a "non-reviewable play." Pathetic.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

I'd still rather have Joyce as the ump than Joe West. West has had a longstanding history of terrible calls and has a reputation for being one of the worst umpires in baseball polls. Jim at least sometimes that he screwed up, but Joe acts like he never makes a bad call after he does.

Though I do remember that after the perfect game robbery, the Tigers went on a losing streak that was highlighted with terrible calls costing them several times earlier.

 

[JohnBM01]

When the Houston Astros played their last game as a National League team back in 2012(?), their opponent was the Chicago Cubs. Also, it was at the Chicago Cubs. So this game is kind of like an NL Central reunion for the Astros. Tonight's game ended up a 2-0 victory for the Chicago Cubs. Yep- we failed again. Jon Lester picked up the win for the Cubbies and got a Save from former Cincinnati Red Aroldis Chapman. Joe Musgrove took the loss for Houston. The Astros are going backwards again. Moonwalk too far back, and we'll have to settle for next season to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, it's win #90 for the absolutely ballin' Chicago Cubs. This is an Interleague series, so I'd have to imagine the Astros would have to step up for real if CHC-HOU becomes the 2016 World Series (not saying it will).


Congratulations to all other winners from Friday, including Rick Porcello picking up his 20th win of the season with his Boston Red Sox thrashing the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Tigers won 4-3 over the O's. Was 3-3 until V-Mart came along and went yard with what would be the game winning run. Also, my earlier post said I'd rather have Jim Joyce than Joe West. Lo and behold, who was the ump in this game? Joe West.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Chicago Cubs defeated my Astros 2-0 last night. We returned the favor today with a 2-1 victory this afternoon. Mr. Collin McHugh was HOU's winner along with a Save from Ken Giles. John Lackey lacked the winning touch, losing for the Cubbies. Rubber Game tomorrow. We are now 75-67 on the season- our diamond win of the season.


Congratulations to Saturday's other winners up to and beyond the time of this post.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Reds broke their 5 game losing streak last night against the Pirates. It seemed like every time we would score a run, Pittsburgh would score one of their own later that inning or the next. A knock in the 9th to put us ahead and good defense in the bottom of the inning (4th double play of the night) topped off our victory.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Tigers played like ass and got killed by Baltimore 11-3. I had the unfortunate experience of being there at the park for that game. But I did get the hat for Star Wars night and saw free fireworks, so that's a plus, I guess....

Zimmermann was god awful tonight and didn't even make it out of the second, and the bullpen thought that their job was to give runs to the other team instead of not allowing runs in the first place. This is a game I'm certainly going to try to forget.

 

[JohnBM01]

The series ended... tonight? At least for tonight, the Houston Astros proven they were NOT ready for prime time, succumbing to the awesomeness of Jake Arietta and badly failing- 9-5. So the Cubs won this series. Jake Arietta was the Chicago Cubs' winner, and Mike Fiers was Houston's loser.

Up next for the Houston Astros... every remaining opponent is an AL West game. One last time this season with the Texas Rangers for a three game set starting tomorrow night. Astros better get it together or their postseason chances will seriously be in doubt.


Congratulations to all other winners from Sunday.

 

[Dolph Drago]

After losing game 1, the Reds won the next 3 games against Pittsburgh to win their series. It was an 8-0 affair today.

 

[The Bman]

Starling Marte is out and so is Josh Harrison. After what this team has been doing the past two weeks, I find it safe to say that our season is toast. Even if the Mets, Marlins, and Cardinals implode we still won't have the consistency to move into that second wild card spot.

I don't even know what happened over the past month. We just got out of a slump and we got on a hot streak, now we're only mathematically in contention to make the playoffs. After sweeping the opening series against the Cards I had very high hopes, but it looks like those hopes died long ago.

 

[Blitz24]

Starling Marte is out and so is Josh Harrison. After what this team has been doing the past two weeks, I find it safe to say that our season is toast. Even if the Mets, Marlins, and Cardinals implode we still won't have the consistency to move into that second wild card spot.

I don't even know what happened over the past month. We just got out of a slump and we got on a hot streak, now we're only mathematically in contention to make the playoffs. After sweeping the opening series against the Cards I had very high hopes, but it looks like those hopes died long ago.

The Marlins already imploded. The Mets, aside from these 3 games, play nobody above 500 the rest of the year.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

I'll be damned. The Tigers finally managed to win a game.

 

[Dolph Drago]

After losing 5 straight, the Reds have now won 5 straight. Back to only 20 games under .500! Woohoo!

 

[JohnBM01]

I didn't report the Monday game last night because I simply didn't follow the score late. We lost the Monday night game against the Rangers 4-3 in 12 innings. How did tonight go, though? The Astros led 2-1 heading into the 9th. They end up losing 3-2. The conceding to the Texas Rangers bulls:censored: by the Astros continues as we remain stuck on 75 wins. Winning this time was Alex Claudio for TEX and a Save for Tanner Scheppers. The loser for Houston was Ken Giles. We may damn well get swept tomorrow unless the Astros wake up and actually figure out how to beat the Rangers.


Elsewhere...

* The game televised on MLB Network was a "West Meets East" showdown between two hated ball clubs. It was the Los Angeles Dodgers at the New York Yankees. It was the Yanks who were on the winning end of the 3-0 final. You hang 'em, and NYY's Gary Sanchez will bang 'em. He asserted himself to help the Yankees win this one. Adam Warren picked up the win and got a Save from Dellin Betances. The losing pitcher for the Dodgers was Ross Stripling. They'll go one more time tomorrow afternoon in the Bronx.

* MoTown was singing the blues tonight as the lowly Minnesota Twins came into Comerica Park and whacked the Detroit Tigers 8-1. Ouch. Kyle Gibson won for Minnesota. Matt Boyd was Detroit's loser on this night.

* Keystone State pride was on the line in Philadelphia as they hosted their rivals from Pittsburgh. Tonight went the Pittsburgh Pirates' way with a 5-3 victory. The win for the Buccos went to Felipe Rivero along with a Save from Tony Watson. Losing for Philadelphia was Jeanmar Gomez.

* It was 6-4 in Cincinnati as the Reds sobered up the Brew Crew. The Milwaukee Brewers couldn't top the Reds in their backyard. Cincinnati's winner was Dan Straily, and Milwaukee's loser was Matt Garza.

* Let's stay in the Midwest but change leagues. The Kansas City Royals lost at home to the visiting Oakland Athletics. The A's saw John Axford pick up the win along with a Save from Ryan Madson. For KC, Matt Strahm was the loser.

* In our nation's capital, the New York Mets held on to win on the road 4-3. This one couldn't be settled in nine innings, though. So they needed 10 innings for Jeurys Familiar to get the win and for Jerry Blevins to get the Save. Former Astro Mark Melancon was the losing pitcher for the Nationals.


Congratulations to all other winners from Tuesday.

 

[Ken]

Not everybody hates the Yankees. *pout*

 

[JohnBM01]

Sweep denied! We finally one a doggone game against the Texas Rangers! 8-4 was the final score as we doubled up the Rangers. A big eighth inning helped provide insurance to preserve the win. It was Joe Musgrove who got the win for HOU. Derek Holland was Texas' loser.

Up next for the Houston Astros Baseball Club... after a day off tomorrow, all of our remaining opponents are AL West opponents (at least I think). We hit the road to go play at the Seattle Mariners for a weekend series followed by a series at the Oakland Athletics. But first- at Seattle.


Elsewhere...

There was some beef between the Miami Marlins at the Atlanta Braves. Benches cleared as the NL's worst record team (ATL) tried to send a message to the NL Wild Card-battling Miami Marlins. Miami ended up winning this game 7-5. Jose Fernandez got the win for MIA, and A.J. Ramos got the Save. For ATL, Julio Teheran was the losing pitcher.


Congratulations to Wednesday's other winners, including 1-0 wins by the Washington Nationals at home and the Baltimore Orioles on the road.

 

[JohnBM01]

No Astros action today or tonight. So I feel this is a time to assess things.

It will be tough for the Astros to make the postseason at this point. However, I am not buying the "2017 World Series Champions" prediction made by Sports Illustrated. The Astros are making the same mistake that dragged them down last season- failing late in the season. The AL West ship has sailed even if Houston creamates every other team in their remaining series. They are done with the Texas Rangers and have to deal with the other AL West teams (LAA, OAK, and SEA). The Houston Astros are still a competitive team. If they want to be a GREAT team, though, they'll need to find more ways to win and win consistently. The teams ahead of Houston will have to screw up a lot while Houston gets hot. Even I'm skeptical that will happen for the Houston Astros Baseball Club. Maybe they'll sneak in and play that million-to-one shot in the AL Wild Card game. They still need a lot to keep the winning going.


Maybe I'll check in to talk about who won Thursday's games, but that's the assessment of my Astros. If you want to assess your team(s), some other team, or even playoff races at present, feel free to chat here.


THIS JUST IN...

One game recently went final as of this post. If you believe that those with nothing to lose are the most dangerous, then the 2016 Minnesota Twins are the most dangerous team in Major League Baseball. Just ask Detroit- who lost 5-1 in MoTown today. The winner for Minnesota was Hector Santiago. Mike Pelfrey was the Detroit Tigers' losing pitcher. The Twins' next series is at the New York Mets, followed by hosting the Detroit Tigers after this weekend series. The Tigers will be at the Cleveland Indians this weekend.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Last night the Reds tied a Major League record in home runs given up by a bullpen in a single season, 92, equaling the '64 Athletics. And that's with 17 games left in our season... The team as a whole has given up 234 dingers, only 7 shy of the all time record set by the '96 Tigers.

Hey, at least the team is setting records this season to make it interesting, even if they aren't the kind you want.

 

[JohnBM01]

Who's up for late games? We gots 'em! So the schedule for the Houston Astros Baseball Club has them in the Pacific Northwest with the Pacific Northwest's only Major League Baseball team- the Seattle Mariners. The Astros blanked the Mariners by a touchdown (to use gridiron football speak)- 6-0. That would be the Houston Texans leading the Seattle Seahawks. Anyhow, HOU's winner was Collin McHugh. "King" Felix Hernandez was the losing pitcher for Seattle.


Congratulations to all other winners from Friday.