Long after the Detroit Tigers broke the game open
Sam
Martin Jersey , JaCoby Jones made the play of the day.
Maybe even the play of the year in the Comerica Park outfield.
Jones’ twisting, backhanded catch in the sixth inning took a home run away from Adrian Beltre in Detroit’s 7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on
Saturday.
The Tigers scored all their runs in the first, chasing Cole Hamels before that inning was over. It was still 7-0 when Jones made his spectacular catch in
left-center field.
Beltre’s drive was headed toward the Texas bullpen, but Jones came over from center and jumped, reaching over the wall with his left hand and backhanding the
ball. Jones’ momentum spun him around a bit, and he fell forward onto the
ground, holding on for the out.
”You have to time it,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. ”As you saw, his whole arm went over the fence, and he snagged it behind. It’s a timing thing,
and you have to be athletic to be able to do some of those things.”
Jones did not stay in the clubhouse to talk to reporters afterward.
Hamels (4-8) retired only two batters for the Rangers in his shortest start since 2010.
Mike Fiers (6-5) allowed a run and five hits in six innings. He struck out six with one walk.
Rougned Odor hit a solo homer for Texas immediately after Beltre was robbed by Jones. Shin-Soo Choo doubled twice for the Rangers to extend his on-base
streak to 46 games, tying Julio Franco’s club record set in 1993.
Niko Goodrum had four hits for the Tigers.
Nicholas Castellanos opened the scoring with a solo homer with one out in the first. John Hicks added an RBI single, and Jose Iglesias hit an infield single
with two outs and the bases loaded to make it 3-0.
Hamels still would have made it out of the inning, but center fielder Delino DeShields misplayed a line drive by Jones for an error , allowing three more
runs to score.
”It just knuckled on me,” DeShields said. ”I was trying to stay with it, but it swerved on me at the last second. It’s frustrating, because you are doing
everything you can to make the play, but he hit it right on the screws and right
at me, and that’s when a ball will take off on you.”
Mikie Mahtook followed with an RBI double, and Hamels was replaced after allowing five hits, two walks and three earned runs. He threw 41 pitches.
LOOKING BACK
It was the shortest start for Hamels since June 1, 2010, when he also lasted two-thirds of an inning for Philadelphia at Atlanta. That start was shortened
because of a rain delay.
Hamels had gone at least five innings in each of his first 17 starts this year.
”By the time he gave up the double, he was pushing 40 pitches, and that’s my limit,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said. ”Once you get to 40 in one
inning
Darius
Slay Jersey , you are pitching fatigued, and it is too much of a risk to
leave him out there. I’m not going to do that to one of my pitchers.”
ON A ROLL
Goodrum had his second four-hit game in a week. He also went 4 for 4 at Toronto on July 1.
He’s hitting .464 (13 for 28) over his last seven games.
”I didn’t know that,” he said. ”The only stats I can see is what they show on the board of everyone.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: SS Elvis Andrus appeared to foul a pitch off his left leg in the fifth but remained in the game. He was taken out in the eighth.
UP NEXT
Michael Fulmer (3-7) takes the mound for Detroit against Austin Bibens-Dirkx (1-2) in the series finale Sunday.
—
Luis Severino is making a strong case to start the All-Star Game for the American League.
Severino became the majors’ first 12-game winner, Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorius homered and the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0
Tuesday night.
Severino (12-2) struck out nine in seven dominant innings, lowering his ERA to 2.10. The ace has allowed three runs or less in 16 of 17 starts.
”It would mean a lot,” Severino said about taking the mound in the Midsummer Classic on July 17. ”But I’m thinking about five more days and what hitters I’ll
be facing.”
Jake Arrieta (5-6) had another rough outing for Philadelphia, which had won four consecutive series before losing two straight to the Yankees. Arrieta gave
up six runs – three earned – and nine hits in five innings.
Another sellout crowd in Philly made it sound like a home game for the Bronx Bombers, cheering loudly for the team with the best record in the majors.
Meanwhile, Phillies fans tried to drown them out by chanting ”E-A-G-L-E-S.”
Hicks hit Arrieta’s third pitch of the game out to straightaway center for his 11th homer. Arrieta was 0-4 with a 6.66 ERA in five starts in June after
posting a 0.90 ERA in five starts last month.
An error by second baseman Cesar Hernandez led to three unearned runs in the third. Arrieta has allowed 14 unearned runs this season and has expressed
frustration with the team’s defense. The 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner is
earning $30 million this season as part of a $75 million, three-year contract he
signed as a free agent in March.
With two runners on, Gregorius hit a grounder to Hernandez that should have been an inning-ending double play. But Hernandez flipped wide to shortstop Scott
Kingery and all three runners were safe. Arrieta struck out Giancarlo Stanton
for the second out. But Gleyber Torres hit a two-run single past third baseman
Maikel Franco’s diving attempt. Greg Bird followed with a bloop single to left
to make it 4-0.
”It’s always difficult when you get a grounder and we don’t make the play,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ”We win and lose as a team.”
Austin Romine led off the fourth with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Hicks’ sacrifice fly. Gregorius drove his 15th homer out to
right-center in the fifth.
Severino has come a long way in less than two seasons. He was 0-8 with an 8.50 ERA in 11 starts in 2016. But the 24-year-old righty finished third in AL
Cy Young voting last year and went to the All-Star Game. Now he’s one of the
elite pitchers in baseball.
”Every time I get the ball, I want to win,” he said.
Severino’s fastball was consistently in the upper 90s against the overmatched Phillies.
”The life on his fastball seemed really special,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Adam Warren and Chasen Shreve each tossed one inning to finish off the six-hitter for the Yankees (52-25).
CONSISTENCY
Severino has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 14 consecutive starts, the longest such streak by a Yankees starter since 2014, when Masahiro Tanaka did it
in 16 straight. His 12 wins are the most by a Yankees pitcher before the
All-Star break since Tanaka had 12 in 2014.
STREAKING
Kingery has a career-best seven-game hitting streak.
GLOVE WORK
Hicks made a superb catch to rob Rhys Hoskins of extra bases in the eighth, leaping a few feet in front of the wall to grab a deep drive to left-center.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: Tanaka, on the 10-day disabled list since June 9 with strained left and right hamstrings, threw his second bullpen session. Boone isn’t sure what
the next step will be in Tanaka’s rehab.
Phillies: RHP Pat Neshek allowed one run and two hits in one inning in a rehab appearance at Double-A Reading. Neshek, an All-Star last year, hasn’t
pitched this season because of shoulder strain.
UP NEXT
RHP Luis Cessa (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will make his first start for the Yankees since last August 14 on Wednesday night. RHP Zach Eflin (5-2, 3.42 ERA) takes
the mound for Philadelphia in the series finale.
—
