He knows he has to pitch better and he did today, which was good to see. The first came in the first after Freddy Galvis hit a two-out double and Maikel Franco got him home with a single to right field. Bryant’s hit was called a home run but overturned after a 4-minute, 48-second replay review determined that a fan interfered with the ball prior to it going over the fence. “It’s the best I could come up with”, manager Pete Mackanin said….
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Between top and bottom of the 4th inning, I took a break to head to the rest room and made a concession stop for a couple of waters. “But you know, you have to make good pitches every inning”.
In Seattle, Trevor Bauer pitched 7⅓ strong innings and Rajai Davis homered to lead Cleveland over the Mariners for its sixth straight victory.
Lester, who earned a 6-2 victory over Philadelphia on May 27, improved to 6-0 with a 1.46 ERA in eight career starts against the Phillies, and 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in five outings at Citizens Bank Park.
In his last start, Lester twirled a four-hit complete game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
When a team has lost for the 11th time in 14 games, it takes whatever positives it can manufacture. He was replaced by Matt Szczur. When asked about what adjustments his players need to make before Tuesday night’s game against the Cubs, Mackanin read a laundry list.
Philadelphia scored all its runs in the ninth against Chicago’s bullpen.
Lester threw 95 pitches in his eight innings, but said he didn’t lobby Maddon to stay in the game. “It was really an easy decision there”. “It just didn’t play out right. We had to fasten our seatbelts in the ninth”.
Chicago Cubs’ Kris Bryant hits a ground rule double to score Dexter Fowler during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, June 6, 2016, in Philadelphia. Odubel Herrera singles to shallow left field. The Nick Williamses and J.P. Crawfords remain in the minor leagues, likely to get a look at some point later this season; the Ryan Howards and Carlos Ruizes are still around, playing out the final years of their respective contracts but also not blocking anyone from playing time if they’re used as back-up players (as they have been, for a year in Ruiz’s case and a week now in Howard’s).
“That ninth inning was a lot of fun”, Mackanin said. The select group of starters who have stifled Chicago’s offense this season ranges from the elite (Madison Bumgarner and Gerrit Cole) to the crafty (Scott Kazmir) to the under-the-radar good (Drew Pomeranz, Chad Bettis and Tyler Chatwood). Philadelphia has dropped nine of 11 overall.
The Rangers are 7-0 against the Astros this season and has won 11 in row at home against its AL West rival.
For the fifth time in nine games, the Cubs were held to two runs or fewer, losing 3-2 on Tuesday night to the Phillies and second-year starter Jerad Eickhoff.
Maddon gave Ben Zobrist the day off. Zobrist leads the majors in on-base percentage (.438) but has gone 0 for 13 in his last five games. He also contributed his second hit of the season Monday, a fourth-inning double.
Tanaka, who allowed a run in the first and third innings before Brian McCann and Starlin Castro delivered back-to-back round-trippers in the seventh to tie the game, was not happy with his stuff on the day. He was injured running to first base in Monday night’s game.
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“The wind was kind of funky”, Maddon said. I was off a little bit on my timing, and hit it hard but right at the guy. Lester (7-3) won his third straight start and Jason Heyward hit his 100th career homer for Chicago, which won for the fifth time in six games to improve to 40-16.
