Bases Covered is a daily roundup of the most interesting stories in baseball.
Freeway Series
The Dodgers fell to the Angels on Wednesday, 8–1. The Angels put up a five-run fifth inning and starter Nick Tropeano had a career night, though manager Mike Scioscia acknowledged that the win was tougher than it may have seemed.
“That game’s a lot closer than, maybe, it looked,” he said. “Nick had to make some good pitches to make it that way.”
The final game of the four-game series goes Thursday evening at Angel Stadium.
On a little run
Khris Davis has been on fire lately for the A’s, and he contributed another home run on Wednesday in Oakland’s 8–1 win over the Texas Rangers (giving the A’s the sweep). Danny Valencia, too, has buoyed his team on offence. A fan favourite in his time with the Blue Jays, Valencia is hitting .414 this month (and he’s put up six home runs so far, too).
Left-handed pitcher Rich Hill, meanwhile, has proven to be a smart off-season acquisition.
The A’s are just 19-22, but they’re on a mini four-game win streak. They’ll be hoping to take that momentum into a four-game series with the Yankees beginning on Thursday.
Cueto does it again
The Giants are also on a win streak, though in their case it’s a bigger one. San Francisco has now won seven in a row thanks to their Wednesday-evening victory over the Padres, 2–1.
Hunter Pence put up a two-run home run, while Johnny Cueto allowed just one run on four hits in a complete-game performance.
“They’re extraordinary starting pitchers, extraordinary ballplayers,” said Pence of Cueto and Madison Bumgarner. “It makes you look really good when your starting pitching is doing that kind of exceptional work. It’s not to be taken lightly but enjoyed.”
Saying goodbye
Is David Ortiz having second thoughts about retiring? There have been a lot of hot takes about Big Papi’s final season—his bat has been on fire, and many have hoped he’ll change his mind about calling it quits. But according to this story from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, Ortiz has made up his mind.
“Your body tells you,” Ortiz told Passan. “My body, man. My body’s pretty beat up. Remember, if you look at guys my size, they don’t last.”
Boston split a doubleheader with Kansas City on Wednesday. The Red Sox will take on Cleveland for a three-game series beginning Friday.
The evolution of Justin Verlander
Detroit starter Justin Verlander reached (and exceeded) the 2,000 strikeout mark on Wednesday during his team’s 6–3 victory over the Twins (with the win, the Tigers got the sweep).
Verlander’s getting up there in years—he’s now 33—so how has he adjusted his game? According to Detroit manager Brad Ausmus, Verlander has “more moxie” than he did in the past.