Baseball Honors America
On 9/11 all of baseball took time to recall the horrific events that took place 17 years ago. Each game remembered the day in their own way and honored America. There were no politics, there was no kneeling, there was no disrespect of the flag. Everyone in the league, regardless of nationality, race, creed, or belief that police are evil stood for the flag. Even the thug from Oakland (Bruce Maxwell) who knelt for the last few games of last season before he pointed a gun at a food delivery girl stood for the flag and honored the fallen. Things sure are different in a sport that respects the countries it’s played in. Maybe the NFL should pay attention.
In any case the playoff races continued on Tuesday and while the AL leaders continued their strong push, the top of the NL West faltered. Colorado was taken down by Arizona 6–3 behind a strong 2 for 4 day by Ketel Marte that included a 2-run triple, and a 2-run home run by David Peralta. The Dodgers also lost ground to Arizona as they fell for the 6th time in a row to Cincinnati.
Right now the standings are as follows in the NL West:
- Rockies – 79–65
- Dodgers – 78–67, 1.5 games back
- Diamondbacks – 77–68, 2.5 games back
Another Bullpen Game for the Angels
In the AL West the top teams look like this:
+ Houston – 91-54
+ Oakland – 88-57, 3 games back
+ Seattle – 79-65, 11.5 games back and 8.5 behind Oakland in the wildcard
Things aren’t looking too good for the Mariners who dropped a game to the Padres on Tuesday and even though Robinson Cano hit a home run, it was the only scoring Seattle did on the day. As for Houston, they had a close one in Detroit but held off the Tigers as they had a 4 run rally in the 4th. With home runs by Altuve, White, and Kemp they were able to keep their distance from the Athletics, who also won. They beat Baltimore with a 3-run 3rd that featured 2 walks, a double, and 2 singles. Mike Fiers pitched 6 strong 1 run innings but I have to give my Pitcher of the Day to someone or someones else. Yeah, even though I call it Pitcher of the Day, I have to tip my hat to the Angels bullpen. They pitched a 2-hit shutout and though it took 8 pitchers to do it, they were all pretty solid, particularly since the only support they got was a home run by Jose Fernandez. It was the first of his career but it was enough when they bullpen was firing on all cylinders.
Pitcher of the Day: Angels Bullpen, LAA – 9 INN, 2 hits, 7 K, 0 ER
Player of the Day: Tony Kemp, HOU – 2–2, BB, HR, 2 RBI
Sports – West Coast Baseball – Baseball Honors America