The Dodgers and Padres share a state and a division and on Thursday, they shared ejections too. Leading off the top of the sixth inning, Carlos Quentin, who was hit by a pitch on Tuesday and sat out on Wednesday, was hit again, this time on a 3-2 pitch by Zack Greinke. Quentin charged the mound and was ejected, Greinke left the game with an injury from the fight and Matt Kemp and Jerry Hairston Jr. were also tossed from the game.
Quentin, 0 for 2 in the game, was hit in his right arm during a 2-2 tie, prompting the meltdown. The benches emptied for 13 minutes and Greinke injured with what was diagnosed as a broken left collar bone and was replaced by Chris Capuano. After he was plunked on the left shoulder in the sixth inning, Quentin started walking toward the mound. Greinke appeared to say something and Quentin then charged the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner.
Adrian Gonzalez went deep for the first time this year to give Los Angeles a 2-0 lead, but singles by Jedd Gyorko and Yonder Alonso tied the game. The Dodgers won, 3-2 thanks to a Juan Uribe home run in the eighth inning.
National League:
San Francisco 7 – Chicago 6: Ryan Vogelsong pitched six innings and surrendered four runs but two errors cost the Cubs four unearned runs in the loss. Chicago’s 5-0 lead in part thanks to a two run home run from Anthony Rizzo was short-lived. The Giants’ seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings came from an error, an infield single, a walk, a sacrifice fly and a single to the outfield. The Cubs cut the lead to one when they scored off of Jeremy Affeldt on a double play ball, but were unable to score on Santiago Casilla or Sergio Romo in the tough luck loss for the 3-6 Cubs against the (now) 7-3 Giants.
American League:
Detroit 11- Toronto 1: Josh Johnson hasn’t quite enjoyed his time in Toronto yet. The acquisition from the Marlins was destroyed again, throwing just 1.1 innings and giving up six runs on seven hits, seeing his ERA rise above 8.00 in the process. Doug Fister was sharp on the other side, tossing eight innings of one run ball and striking out five. The Blue Jays continue a horrific start to the season, dropping to 3-6 while all four pitchers gave up runs in this game. Austin Jackson had three hits and scored three times and Prince Fielder drove in four with a pair of hits. The Tigers lead 6-1 after two innings and never looked back, taking two out of three to win the series.
Baltimore 3 – Boston 2: After winning the home opener and starting the season 5-2, the Red Sox lost the last two against the Orioles. Chris Davis was the star yet again, homering for the sixth time and driving in a mind boggling 19th run in just eight games. Stephen Drew was one for two with two walks in his return to the lineup after a spring injury, but the Red Sox couldn’t hold onto a 2-1 lead. Alfredo Aceves, spot-starting with John Lackey now on the DL, threw five innings of two run ball, but Adam Jones singled in the fifth to tie it and doubled in the seventh to win it, driving home Manny Machado each time.
Oakland 8 -Angels 1: AJ Griffin didn’t show much struggle against the vaunted Los Angeles Angels lineup, stealing the game with eight innings of one run ball on just five hits and a walk. Jason Vargas didn’t get as nice of treatment, yielding 10 hits and five runs in 5.2 innings.Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson each went deep for the A’s, who improved to 8-2. The Angels, who are now 2-7, never lead in this game.
Texas 4 – Seattle 3: Justin Grimm lasted just four innings in one of his first major league appearances and faced off against Seattle ace, Felix Hernandez. The script was not predictable as it was Felix who gave up 10 hits and four runs in 6.2 innings, exiting to a 4-2 deficit at home. A.J Pierzynski went yard to tie the game at 1-1 in the second inning, but it was a David Murphy single and Nelson Cruz double in the fifth which put Texas ahead for good.
Interleague:
Washington 7 -Chicago 4: The Nationals’ hot start continued with the seventh win of the season despite a mediocre start from Dan Haren, who finished the game with a 9.00 ERA but pitched five innings of three run ball to qualify for the win. Despite giving up 10 hits, Haren exited the game with his team up 6-3 thanks in part to a 6/11 game from the top of Washington’s lineup. Denard Span, Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper added six runs and two RBI at the top, and the White Sox failed to score on the vaunted 1-2 late inning punch from Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano. Dylan Axelrod would like his start back, the White Sox starter lasted just 3.2 innings and gave up six runs on seven hits.
Postponed: New York and Cleveland.
