But Tuesday was different.
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Phillies 13, Giants 8: Aaron Altherr had a homer and five RBIs, Maikel Franco homered and went 4 for 4 and Philadelphia used a five-run eighth inning to beat San Francisco in a wild game.
Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel was supposed to get a “soft” outing in his return from left knee surgery, according to manager John Farrell.
Mariners: Ariel Miranda (0-0) makes his Seattle debut after being acquired last weekend in a trade that sent Wade Miley to Baltimore.
“It doesn’t happen very often where you feel like you’re throwing the ball well but you give up three home runs”.
Porcello allowed just three hits all night. Only one runner reached second base in the first seven innings against Iwakuma. Two days in a row and ninth inning home run winzip for the Red Sox beholden. But it was one mistake near the end of his night that stood out. Making his fourth career start, Bundy allowed one hit and a walk over seven sparkling innings against a potent lineup featuring newcomers Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy. The guy has got me out a lot of times. Price gave up a lead off home run to Mike Zunino to let the Mariners on the board.
And fans of baseball should be really excited. The Mariners offense fed off that sudden puncture in Price’s armor.
“You’re facing one of the best lefties in the game”, Cano said, “You have to take advantage of that”.
Three singles and two pitching changes later, Cano arrived at the plate down two runs with two on. But things looked bleak.
Browne added a good point: “Giving up a game-breaking homer on his fifth pitch with his new team is hardly the way Abad would have drawn up his day”. Xander Bogaerts took over third base in 2013 for a team in a pennant chase and hit.250 before hitting.412 in the playoffs, en route to a World Series title, after only playing 60 games in Triple A. All night Safeco Field had sounded like Fenway Park Pacific Northwest.
And if the unsafe (and left-handed hitting) David Ortiz stepped into the batter’s box – he was due up fourth – Servais planned to call on Diaz. But no cheer came quicker or louder than when the Cano connected.
Asked whether the experience, with the crowd roaring on every pitch, was that he expected, Diaz smiled and said: “Yeah, I expected to get those three outs”. “You know me, I’ll swing at anything”. But he quickly became a local celebrity as the star of the Madeira High School baseball team, batting 0.564 in his senior season with 12 home runs to go with an incredible 38 stolen bases – a season capped off when Benintendi was named National High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
After walking one batter, veteran Cano came in and tried to calm a youngster trying to convert his first Major League save.
“I felt good. It was just mechanics”, Diaz said.
Diaz slowed his mechanics, but not what he delivered.
Andrew Benintendi, ESPN’s third-best and Baseball America’s ninth-best midseason prospect, was the subject of many rumors leading up to yesterday’s deadline, but he stayed put as a key piece in the Red Sox system. The expectations are there for the highly touted prospect, but the plan is to ease him into his role on the roster, platooning left field with Bryce Brentz (Tuesday night’s starter).
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“We’ll talk about it”, Servais said.
