MLB Nightly 9: Nationals, Braves headline day of offensive outbursts

Alec Brzezinski

•
MLB Nightly 9: Nationals, Braves headline day of offensive outbursts image

Each night we'll provide you with the nine top story lines from the day's action, beginning with the stars of the day, and look ahead to the next day's matchups.

Some people say baseball is too boring; teams just don't score enough runs. Tell that to the Astros, Braves, Nationals, Royals, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Red Sox and Diamondbacks. Those eight teams combined for 92 runs on 127 hits Tuesday. Yes, those numbers are ridiculous. The Braves-Nationals game had a combined 32 hits, and the Blue Jays-Red Sox game had 30 hits.

MORE: Fantasy rankings, sleepers for Wednesday | Scherzer backtracks on DH comments  | What's wrong with the Nationals?

The offensive outburst was surprising because multiple aces took the mound, but it just proves how entertaining the sport can be.

Here are Tuesday's highlights:

Impact players

C — Jose Lobaton, Nationals/A.J. Pierzynski, Braves: The two combined for seven hits and seven RBIs in Washington's epic 13-12 comeback victory. Lobaton went 3 for 4 with three runs, a home run and three RBIs; Pierzynski was a perfect 4 for 4 with a run and four RBIs.

1B — Freddie Freeman, Braves: Freeman went 4 for 6 with three runs scored in that 25-run slugfest. 

2B — Dan Uggla, Nationals: Uggla enjoyed a blast from the past in a 3-for-5 effort. He hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth to cap a five-RBI night. The former Brave entered the contest hitting .135.

SS — Starlin Castro, Cubs: Castro has been very solid this season. He went 3 for 5 with two runs, an RBI and a stolen base in a 6-2 win against the Pirates.

3B — Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays: Donaldson went 3 for 5 with three runs, a home run and two RBIs in an 11-8 win against the Red Sox. He has 15 hits in his past 10 games.

OF — Denard Span, Nationals: Welcome back, Denard Span. After missing the first 12 games of the season following core surgery, Span put his mark on the season, going 5 for 6 with a solo home run and four runs scored.

DH — Kendrys Morales, Royals: Morales continued his bounce-back campaign with a 3-for-5 night that included a home run, three RBIs and four runs. The first-year Royal is proving his worth with a .321 average.

SP — Madison Bumgarner, Giants: Bumgarner outdueled Clayton Kershaw en route to a 2-1 win over the Dodgers. He threw eight innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts.

Key injuries

The  Dodgers placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day disabled list with a torn oblique. Crawford described it as a "bad tear" and could be on the shelf for a while.

The  Astros placed shortstop Jed Lowrie on the 15-day DL with a right thumb injury. Lowrie needs surgery and is expected to be out until after the All-Star break. He exits with a .300/.432/.567 stat line.

Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka  has been placed on the 15-day DL with a forearm strain.

Rangers DH/outfielder  Mitch Moreland will have surgery Wednesday to remove bone spurs from his left elbow. Moreland began experiencing elbow issues 10 days ago and tried unsuccessfully to play through the ailment. He'll be out two to three weeks. 

Surprise performers

Good: Astros second baseman Jose Altuve now has multiple hits in six consecutive games after going 4 for 6 in a 14-3 win against the Padres. After a slow start, first-place Houston has won nine out of its past 10 games.

Bad:  Starting pitching has been an issue for the Red Sox. Clay Buchholz became the third Boston starter to allow five or more runs in fewer than three innings this season, matching last season's total.

Web gems

Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion sacrifices his body as he enters the opposing team's dugout:

Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria makes this tough throw look easy:

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado shows a great sense of awareness on this double play:

Facts of the day

The Braves' bats busted loose in the second inning:

The Royals had seven players with multiple hits in an 18-hit, 11-run outburst against the Indians.

Red Sox shortstop  Hanley Ramirez clubbed his 200th career home run  and is now tied with Nelson Cruz for the MLB home run lead with nine.

The Nationals overcame an eight-run deficit to beat the Braves. It was their first comeback of eight or more runs since August 2003 against the Phillies.

Reactions

Thankfully, Diamondbacks starting pitcher Archie Bradley was able to walk off the field  after this scary incident:

Although he didn't look very good doing so:

We're not saying chocolate sauce isn't good, but this might not be the optimal way to eat it:

Off the field

Tim Cooney will make his major league debut for the Cardinals  on Thursday afternoon against the Phillies. He'll get the first shot at replacing Adam Wainwright (Achilles') in the Cardinals' rotation. The 24-year-old left-hander has posted a 3.49 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 133:52 K:BB ratio in 175 1/3 career innings at Triple-A. 

The Blue Jays have reinstated Brett Cecil  as their closer. Cecil was replaced by Miguel Castro in the first week of the season, but Castro has struggled and manager John Gibbons is going back to his more trusted veteran.

Scores

American League

Royals 11, Indians 5

Yankees 4, Rays 2

Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 8

Twins 3, Tigers 2

Mariners 2, Rangers 1

Athletics 6, Angels 2

White Sox at Orioles, ppd.

National League

Reds 4, Brewers 2

Marlins 4, Mets 3

Cubs 6, Pirates 2

Nationals 13, Braves 12

Cardinals 11, Phillies 5

Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 5

Giants 2, Dodgers 1

Interleague

Astros 14, Padres 3

A look ahead

Wednesday's top three games (all times Eastern):

Tigers (14-7) at Twins (9-11), 1:10 p.m.:  Shane Greene crashed to earth in his last start; he'll be seeking redemption against a scrappy Twins team. The Detroit outfield duo of Yoenis Cespedes and J.D. Martinez have combined for nine home runs and 31 RBIs, providing ample protection for Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez.

Astros (13-7) at Padres (11-11), 3:40 p.m.: Don't look now, but Houston's talented youngsters are starting to find their way. The Padres are good, but they haven't had the firepower to keep up with the Astros in this series.

Mariners (9-11) at Rangers (7-13), 8:05 p.m.: Neither team is playing particularly well right now, but we are always watching when King Felix takes the mound.

Alec Brzezinski