Only four teams in baseball have yet to play a home game this season, and by the end of the day Tuesday, that list will be down to one. The Blue Jays, Marlins, and defending AL champion Indians are all playing their home opener Tuesday. The Braves have to wait until Friday for their home opener. They’re moving into brand new SunTrust Park this season.
Below is our one stop shop recap of the day around baseball for Tuesday. Make sure you check back often for updates throughout the day.
Tuesday’s scores
Tigers 2, Twins 1 (box score)
Indians 2, White Sox 1 in 10 innings (box score)
Nationals 8, Cardinals 3 (box score)
Reds 6, Pirates 2 (box score)
Mets 14, Phillies 4 (box score)
Brewers 4, Blue Jays 3 (box score)
Marlins 8, Braves 4 (box score)
Red Sox 8, Orioles 1 (box score)
Rockies 3, Padres 2 (box score)
Angels 6, Rangers 5 (box score)
Astros 7, Mariners 5 (Box score)
Diamondbacks 4, Giants 3 (Box score)
The Comeback Kids
The Angels’ first win of the season was thanks in part to a go-ahead three-run home run in the ninth from Danny Espinosa. Then on Sunday, they came back from a six-run, ninth-inning deficit to win the game.
Tuesday, they did it again. This time, they trailed the Rangers by three. Espinosa homered, Yunel Escobar and Mike Trout doubled and then Albert Pujols singled home Trout to send the game to extras.
In the top of the 10th, Mike Trout robbed Mike Napoli:
And then in the bottom of the 10th, Carlos Perez came through with a beautiful bunt to bring home Cameron Maybin and win in a walkoff. It just hugged the first base line while Napoli hoped to let it roll foul. No such luck and the Angels are 6-2 while the Rangers are 2-5.
Print out the standings, Reds fans
As you see above, the Reds on Tuesday night topped the Pirates and in doing so won their third game in a row. The Cubs, meantime, were off, and that brings us to the current NL Central standings ...
| National League Central | ||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | RS | RA | Diff | Home | Road | East | Cent | West | L10 | Strk |
| Cincinnati | 6 | 2 | .750 | - | 39 | 21 | 18 | 2-1 | 4-1 | 2-1 | 4-1 | 0-0 | 6-2 | W 3 |
| Chi. Cubs | 5 | 2 | .714 | ½ | 33 | 23 | 10 | 1-0 | 4-2 | 0-0 | 4-2 | 1-0 | 5-2 | W 3 |
| Pittsburgh | 3 | 4 | .429 | 2½ | 23 | 34 | -11 | 3-2 | 0-2 | 3-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3-4 | L 2 |
| Milwaukee | 3 | 5 | .375 | 3 | 33 | 38 | -5 | 2-5 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 3-5 | W 1 |
| St. Louis | 2 | 6 | .250 | 4 | 28 | 47 | -19 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-6 | L 3 |
At least for one night, Reds, you were master of all you surveyed.
Cespedes goes off
As noted above, the Mets on Tuesday night throttled the Phillies. A big part of said throttling was Yoenis Cespedes, who notched the second three-homer game of his career ...
And let it be said that none of those three clouts was a cheap one ...
For good measure, Cespedes added a seventh-inning double and finished 4 for 6 with 14 total bases and five RBI. In not-unrelated matters ...
The Cardinals lose again
The Cardinals dropped the second game of their road series in Washington, and on Wednesday the Nats will go for the sweep. The loss drops the Cards to 2-6 on the season, and at this writing only the Braves have a worse mark in 2017 among NL teams. As well, the Cards’ run differential of minus-19 is presently the worst in baseball. Given the substantial investments made this offseason, that’s a very disappointing start to the season.
On the other side, Daniel Murphy came up big for D.C. with a homer, two doubles, and five RBI. Bryce Harper’s now reached base in nine straight plate appearances. He doubled and walked three times on Tuesday.
Michael Brantley comes up big
Indians outfielder Michael Brantley was limited to just 11 games last season because of a major shoulder injury. Even this spring, his recovery from surgery has been halting and uncertain, so he’s a bit of an unknown quantity going forward. Yes, the Tribe won the pennant last season while getting almost nothing from Brantley. When healthy, though, he’s a frontline player. From 2014-15, he put up an OPS+ of 139, stole 38 bases in 40 attempts, and averaged 50 doubles and 20 homers per 162 games played. Any team can use more of that.
Going into Tuesday’s home opener against the White Sox, however, Brantley had a basement-level .513 OPS with no extra-base hits in five games. Against the Sox, he started off 0 for 2 with a pair of walks, but then he came up in the 10th inning with two outs and Francisco Lindor on first. Brantley worked the count full against Tommy Kahnle and then put the bat on a 98-mph fastball ...
Yes, Lindor’s wheels definitely came into play, as did Melky Cabrera’s somewhat clumsly glove-work, but that’s a big, big hit for Brantley in any context.
Need more uplift, Tribe fans? Rings and banners were also in attendance ...
The Tigers continue to get strong starting pitching
Tigers left-hander Matt Boyd, in his second start of the season, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Twins on Tuesday. It wasn’t until Robbie Grossman looped a single to shallow left field with two outs in the sixth that Minnesota got into the hit column. Tuesday’s performance was much better than Boyd’s first start -- he allowed five runs on five hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings against the White Sox last week.
Boyd’s start against the ChiSox last week is an outlier for the Tigers so far this season. They’re 5-2 on the season and have received a quality starting pitching performance in 6 of 7 games. Here are their starting pitcher performances to date:
Result | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | |
April 4: Justin Verlander @ White Sox | W, 6-3 | 6 1/3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
April 6: Matt Boyd @ White Sox | L, 11-2 | 2 1/3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
April 7: Michael Fulmer vs. Red Sox | W, 6-5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
April 8: Jordan Zimmermann vs. Red Sox | W, 4-1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
April 9: Daniel Norris vs. Red Sox | L, 7-5 | 6 1/3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
April 10: Justin Verlander vs. Red Sox | W, 2-1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
April 11: Matt Boyd vs. Twins | W, 2-1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Total | 40 | 30 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 31 | 1 | |
Seven games into the seaon, Detroit’s starters have a 2.48 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP while averaging 5.71 innings per start. Take away Boyd’s dud against the White Sox and the starters are averaging 6.28 innings in the other six games. The Tigers have had some bullpen issues already this season -- don’t they always? -- but manager Bad Ausmus has to be pretty pleased with his starting five overall.
Jharel Cotton has a big fan in Pedro
Athletics right-hander Jharel Cotton, who came over from the Dodgers in last year’s Josh Reddick/Rich Hill trade, held the Royals to two hits in seven scoreless innings Monday night. He struck out six, including several on his nasty changeup:
Cotton was never a top prospect -- he never made Baseball America’s annual top 100 prospects list, for example -- but through seven MLB starts, all with the A’s since the trade, he has a 2.66 ERA (151 ERA+) and a 0.96 WHIP in 40 2/3 innings. There’s a reason I consider him an AL Rookie of the Year candidate.
Following Monday’s start, Cotton received some serious praise from someone who knows a thing or two about nasty changeups: Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. Pedro complimented Cotton on Twitter:
Now the Dodgers will hope Pedro and Cotton won’t have something else in common besides a great changeup: getting traded away too soon by the Dodgers.
A small tribute to Jose
The Marlins on Tuesday night hosted the Braves for their 2017 home opener. Before first pitch, the Marlins held a moment of silence for their fallen ace, Jose Fernandez, who died in a boat crash last September. As well, in the home clubhouse, Fernandez’s locker has been encased in glass as a memorial to the beloved right-hander ...
That’s a nice touch and a permanent reminder of his short-lived brilliance on the mound.
Quick hits
- A cat showed up to the Marlins’ home opener and sought sanctuary in the giant home run sculpture.
- In the Mets-Phillies game, each starting pitcher left the game with injury. Clay Buchholz had a forearm strain, and Matt Harvey tweaked his hamstring while covering first base.
- MLB unveiled their All-Star Game and special event uniforms for this season. Clubs will wear their Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July uniforms all holiday weekend for the first time this year.
- Once again, Forbes says the Yankees are the most valuable franchise in baseball by a huge margin. On average, MLB franchises increased their value 19 percent in 2016.
- The Braves have placed outfielder Matt Kemp on the 10-day disabled list with a hamstring strain, the team announced. Kemp is 8 for 16 (.500) with four doubles and two home runs so far this season.
- The Giants placed catcher Busey Posey on the seven-day concussion DL one day after he was struck on the head by a Taijuan Walker fastball.
- On that note, Giants starter Jeff Samardzija hit Diamondbacks star Paul Goldschmidt with a fastball on the butt Tuesday in a clear retaliation. Neither team even flinched and everyone moved on.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter threw some flu-related shade at the Red Sox.
- The Mariners placed SS Jean Segura on the 10-day DL with a strained right hamstring.
- Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre has reportedly suffered a setback with his injured calf (source: Jeff Wilson via Twitter). An MRI revealed that Beltre has a grade 1 strain, which the Rangers will treat conservatively. Fortunately for Texas, youngster Joey Gallo has shown impressive power while filling in for Beltre.
- Marlins president David Samson said he would not be surprised if the club is sold before the end of the season. Owner Jeffrey Loria has been looking to sell the franchise for weeks.
- Six-year veteran Brennan Boesch has reportedly decided to retire at the age of 31. After three solid seasons with the Tigers, he played a handful of at-bats with the Yankees in 2013, the Angels in 2014 and the Reds in 2015.
- George Springer keeps hitting leadoff home runs.
- The best record in baseball belongs to the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7-2.