Monday, June 13, 2011

The Juice: Red Sox lay 16-run beatdown on Blue Jays

Nine innings, nine items to get you going. Ladies and gentleman of the Stew, take a sip of morning Juice.

1. Red Sox run riot: Brandon Morrow has probably had better days. The Red Sox pounded him for nine runs (a career-worst) and 10 hits in a 16-4 rout over the Blue Jays. Even worse, Morrow was outshined on the mound by a utility infielder.

With Toronto down by 12 runs, manager John Farrell used Mike McCoy ?�who started the game at second base ?�to pitch the ninth. And McCoy got a 1-2-3 inning, thanks to throwing slower stuff than hitters are used to seeing.

"That's throwing under the hitting speed," joked Dustin Pedroia of McCoy's deliveries, which ranged from 60 mph all the way up to 85.

Maybe Farrell should've used McCoy in the fifth inning, when the Red Sox broke out for seven runs, powered by homers from David Ortiz and Jason Varitek.

2. McCann's the man: Brian McCann broke up a 2-2 tie in the 10th inning with a three-run homer off Brandon Lyon, who couldn't retire a single batter. (McCann also surpassed 500 RBI for his career with the home run.) Rookies Mike Minor and Jordan Lyles battled for six innings, each allowing two runs. With their 6-3 victory over the Astros, the Braves have now won five straight games.

3. Uh-oh, Bartolo: Bartolo Colon allowed only two hits over 6 2/3 innings before straining his hamstring while covering first base. Meanwhile, home plate umpire Dan Iassogna tried to avoid a reprise of Friday's fracas, tossing Indians starter Mitch Talbot after he hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch in the sixth inning.

That came shortly after�Curtis Granderson hit his 20th home run of the season, tying Jose Bautista for the major league lead. Mark Teixeira later added his 19th as the Yankees won, 4-0.

4. Zack keeps winning knack: Zack Greinke won for the sixth time in his last seven starts, racking up nine strikeouts in seven innings. And Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks both homered off Chris Carpenter, leading the Brewers to a 5-3 win over the Cardinals. That pushed the Brew Crew's record at Miller Park to 24-9, the best home mark in baseball. With the victory, Milwaukee cut St. Louis' NL Central lead to a half-game.

5. Red alert, Timmy: Tim Lincecum gave up seven runs for the second time in his career, lasting just four innings against Cincinnati. Lincecum also walked four batters, as only 36 of Lincecum's 75 pitches were thrown for strikes. Reds starter Mike Leake got two of the seven hits off Lincecum, while also shutting the Giants out for eight innings in a 10-2 win.

6. Misery in Miami: An awful season continues for Javier Vazquez. He gave up six runs to the Diamondbacks in the fourth inning, fueled by Kelly Johnson's three-run triple. Chris Coghlan, Gaby Sanchez and Mike Stanton hit home runs for the Marlins, but that wasn't nearly enough as Arizona won, 9-5.

7. Tigers catch the Tribe: Capitalizing on the Indians' loss, the Tigers snatched a share of first place in the AL Central with�an 8-1 victory over the Mariners. Michael Pineda pitched�the worst outing of his rookie season, giving up six runs (five earned) and eight hits. Jhonny Peralta broke the game open for Detroit with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

8. Balto bullpen blows it: Mark Reynolds hit two home runs for the Orioles, but the Rays got key run-scoring hits from Evan Longoria and Casey Kotchman in the 11th inning that led to a 7-5 victory. Ben Zobrist went 4-for-6, with three doubles and a triple as the Rays racked up 15 hits. That bailed out David Price, who blew a three-run lead after giving up Reynold's second homer in the sixth.

9. Dodgers' hit parade: The Rockies nearly rallied from a six-run deficit with a five-run eighth inning. But Matt Lindstrom gave up four runs in the ninth, boosting the Dodgers to an 11-7 win. Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles notched four hits, contributing to an 18-hit onslaught by the Dodgers.

Extra frames: Chase Utley's homer and four RBI led the Phillies to a 7-1 win over the Cubs... Mike Moustakas hit his first major league homer for the Royals, but Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick pushed the Angels to�a 7-5 win... Anthony Rizzo also went deep for his first home run, yet got no help in�the Padres' 2-1 loss to the Nationals... John Danks won his second straight start as the White Sox beat the A's,�3-2...

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