Don’t miss my fearless predictions for the NFL season and stone-cold lock picks for this week in tomorrow’s blog.
It was too good to last. The Marlins wasted a grand slam homer by Adeiny Hechavarria and a two-run blast by Logan Morrison and fell to the Cubs 9-7. Former Marlin Donnie Murphy hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning that erased what was a 7-4 deficit. Dioner Navarro, Starlin Castro, and Ryan Sweeney also connected long distance for the Cubs. The Marlins’ three game wining streak is history, and they have yet to win four in a row in this miserable 2013 season. The Fish will enjoy a day off today and will welcome the Washington Nationals for a three-game weekend series. Here are the expected pitching matchups for the series with the Nats:
FRIDAY Dan Haren vs Jose Fernandez 7:10 pm
SATURDAY Tanner Roark vs Jacob Turner 7:10 pm
SUNDAY Stephen Strasburg vs Nathan Eovaldi 1:10 pm
The Marlins are still the worst offensive team in the majors. This is the sorry reality: The Marlins have now been held to three runs or less 87 times this season, and their record in those 87 games is 17-70. Taking it one step further,
When scoring three runs in a game - 6-16
When scoring two runs in a game - 9-17
When scoring one run in a game - 2-21
Of course, they lead the majors in getting shutout, having been blanked 16 times so far this season. Ouch.
The Fish are still at the bottom of the list in runs scored in MLB, with 448 runs in their 138 games, an underwhelming 3.24 runs per game. Here are the rest of the bottom-dwellers:
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 52-86 448
White Sox 56-82 523
Phillies 63-77 528
Giants 62-77 532
Giants 62-77 532
Padres 62-77 532
In contrast, the Boston Red Sox (84-57) lead MLB with 720 scored and the Detroit Tigers (81-59) have plated 707 runs. The Sox have played 1 more game than the Tigers.
In the Major Leagues yesterday, first in the National League,
Mets 5 Braves 2
Andrew Brown and Lucas Duda both homered in support of Dillon Gee as the Mets avoided the three-game sweep.
D-Backs 4 Blue Jays 3 (10 innings)
Wilie Bloomquist ended the game with an RBI single.
Giants 13 Padres 5
Pablo Sandoval went nuts, blasting three home runs. Hunter Pence, Hector Sanchez, and Brandon Crawford all connected long distance.
Nationals 3 Phillies 2
Steve Lombardozzi drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.
Cardinals 5 Reds 4 (16 innings)
Matt Adams’ second homer of the game proved to be the difference.
Brewers 9 Pirates 3
Khris Davis hit a two-run homer and Aramis Ramirez and Jeff Bianchi each plated a pair of runs. The Pirates are now just one game ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central, and the teams meet in St. Louis this weekend for a three-game series.
Rockies 7 Dodgers 5
Jorge de la Rosa tied the NL lead in wins, improving his record to 16-6 Michael Cuddyer and Troy Tolowitzki drove in two runs each and Todd Helton connected long distance.
Over in the American League,
Astros 6 Twins 5
Trevor Crowe doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
A’s 11 Rangers 4
Once again, we have a tie for first place in the AL West between the A’s and the Rangers. Josh Donaldson, Daric Barton, Brandon Moss, and Coco Crisp all connected long distance.
Yankees 6 White Sox 5
A four-out save for Mariano Rivera, who had to come into the game with two outs in the eighth inning after the White Sox had scored four runs to pull to within a run. Robinson Cano hqd three hits, including a homer, and drove in two runs. Brett Gardner also drove in a pair.
Indians 6 Orioles 4
Yan Gomes doubled in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Gomes and Ryan Raburn both finished with two RBI.
Red Sox 20 Tigers 4
The Red Sox slugged eight home runs in the blowout win. Will Middlebrooks hit a grand slam and David Ortiz blasted two home runs and drove in four runs. Stephen Drew, Daniel Nava, Ryan Lavarnway, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Mike Napoli all connected long distance as well.
Mariners 6 Royals 4
Kendrys Morales broke a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning with a two-run homer.
Rays 3 Angels 1
Wil Myers had three hits, including two home runs, and drove in all three Tampa Bay runs.
Today in MLB, in the National League,
Cardinals @ Reds 7:10 pm
Lance Lynn vs Tony Cingrani
D-backs @ Giants 10:15 pm
Trevor Cahill vs Ryan Vogelsong
Over in the American League,
Mariners @ Royals 2:10 pm
Joe Saunders vs Jeremy Guthrie
Red Sox @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Erik Johnson vs CC Sabathia
White Sox @ Orioles 7:05 pm
Jose Quintana vs Miguel Gonzalez
Astros @ A’s 3:35 pm
Brad Peacock vs Sonny Gray
Rays @ Angels 10:05 pm
David Price vs Jerome Williams
Remember the “rally monkey”? The Cleveland Indians now have a chicken. Except, this one is real.
David Schoenfield of ESPN discusses some of last night’s games and tonight’s matchup between the Yankees and the Red Sox, as they open a four game series in the Bronx:
Adrian Beltre is underrated and underappreciated. Is he a future hall of famer?
Totally off-base column by Jim Caple of ESPN. Here are his “pennant race” odds:
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: The Boston Red Sox beat up on the Tigers yesterday, 20-4, and in the process, blasted eight home runs. What is the MLB record for most home runs in a game by one team? The answer comes later, alligator.
Here are this week’s top-25 in college football:
Here is this week’s complete schedule:
The Canes will meet the Florida Gators this Saturday at noon at the Seven Names Stadium. The Gators will be more of a test than the FAU Owls were last week. ESPN will carry the game, starting at 12 noon. Tailgate parties will begin at around 4:00 am.
UM is looking to stop the Florida Gators’ running game.
Linda Robertson of the Herald talks about the rivalry that isn’t, as the Canes and Gators meet for the last time in the foreseeable future:
The Herald’s Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have the latest scoop from the University of Miami:
The FIU Panthers will take on Central Florida and their high-powered offense here at FIU Stadium on Friday. Game time is at 8:00 pm, and it will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network on your cable or satellite system. Looks like it is going to be a LOOONG season at FIU.
Here’s the latest news from Westchester:
Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and FSU:
From Gainesville and the University of Florida:
The Dolphins kick off their regular season this Sunday in Cleveland against the Browns. Game time is 1:00 pm, and you can watch the game on CBS.
Former Dolphin Devon Bess opens up about leaving Miami for Cleveland:
Here is the complete schedule of this week’s games:
Tonight
Baltimore @ Denver - 7 1/2 NBC
The NFL Season gets under way tonight in Denver, as the Broncos welcome the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens. After blowing a late lead until the Denver defensive backs blew a coverage and allowed a 70-yard TD pass from Joe Flacco to Jacoby Jones with only 31 seconds remaining in the game, Payton Manning and the Broncos are looking for a little revenge. The Ravens are missing two key players on offense - WR Anquan Boldin is now in San Francisco with the 49ers, and TE Dennis Pitta is out with a fractured hip. On defense, the heart of their team, Ray Lewis, retired, Ed Reed signed with the Houston Texans, Daniel Ellerbe is now a Dolphin. Bernard Pollard, Paul Kruger, and Cary Williams are also gone. The Ravens did add Elvis Dumervil, who signed with them after a paperwork snafu forced the Broncos to release him. Denver will miss him, and they will also be missing two key starters: Von Miller, who is suspended for the first six games on the season, and Champ Bailey, who is out due to a sprained ankle. Payton Manning has a great group of receivers, including Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, who combined to catch 23 TD passes from Manning last season. The Broncos added Wes Welker, who has 672 receptions since the start of the 2007 season to lead the world. Denver is favored by 7 1/2 points, but I really cannot remember the last time a defending Super Bowl champion opened the next season as that big an underdog. Regardless of that humongous number, I’ll take Manning and the Broncos at home.
Here is the complete schedule for week 1 in the NFL. Some of the betting lines are moving around like crazy, the usual for the first week of the season. I will be picking five games each week, on Fridays, including the Sunday night game and the weekly edition of Monday Night Football. When there are Thursday games, I will have those picks on Thursday.
Sunday
1:00 pm
MIAMI @ Cleveland - 1 CBS
New England @ Buffalo + 10 CBS
Cincinnati @ Chicago - 3 CBS
Oakland @ Indianapolis - 10 CBS
Kansas City @ Jacksonville + 3 1/2 CBS
Tennessee @ Pittsburgh - 7 CBS
Seattle @ Carolina + 3 FOX
Minnesota @ Detroit - 5 FOX
Atlanta @ New Orleans - 3 FOX
Tampa Bay @ NY Jets + 3 FOX
4:25 pm
Green Bay @ San Francisco - 4 1/2 FOX
Arizona @ St. Louis - 4 1/2 FOX
8:30 pm
NY Giants @ Dallas - 3 1/2 NBC
Monday Night
7:00 pm
Philadelphia @ Washington - 3 1/2 ESPN
10:20 pm
Houston @ San Diego + 3 1/2 ESPN
Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with news from all around the league:
We can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: The Boston Red Sox beat up on the Tigers yesterday, 20-4, and in the process, blasted eight home runs. What is the MLB record for most home runs in a game by one team?
The Toronto Blue Jays blasted 10 homers on September 14th, 1987 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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