Everybody wins-day: 7 day games, 8 night games
Tuesday was a wild day (and night) around the league, as Jake Arrieta continued being absolutely amazing in just about every way, Lorenzo Cain and the Royals stormed back from a two-run deficit to stun the Nats as walk-off winners, and Justin Smoaksinglehandedly dismantled the Rangers' bullpen with a game-tying solo shot in the ninth and a walk-off two-run blast in extras.
That madness leads right into something we're calling Everybody Wins-Day, a day of wall-to-wall baseball featuring seven (7!) day games and then eight more tilts starting between 6:10 and 8:15 PM EST. Call out of work or school, grab one of those giant cheese puff containers and prepare for a full MLB takeover. Here's what's to come:
Cubs at Pirates - 12:35 PM ET (Jon Lester vs. Juan Nicasio)
After Arrieta dominated the Pirates on Wednesday, improving to an absurd 6-0 with a 0.84 ERA, the visiting Cubs go for the three-game sweep of their division rivals (and their 20th win) behind Jon Lester in a matchup with Nicasio. Lester comes into the game on a bit of a hot streak; he's thrown at least seven innings and allowed exactly one earned run in each of his last three starts. In fact, he's only allowed more than one earned run in one start so far this season -- a six-inning stint against the Reds on April 11.
Plus, we might get to see his latest creative way of getting the ball to first base:
Giants at Reds - 12:35 PM ET (Jake Peavy vs. Dan Straily)
New Giant Jeff Samardzija (4-1, 3.32) shut down the Reds on Tuesday with ease, though he was quite peeved at himself for striking out at the plate:
As a result of Shark's win, SF goes for the sweep behind Peavy (1-2, 8.61), who is definitely looking to get back on track. As for Cincy, they're relying on Straily (0-1, 3.38) to right the ship and hold off Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and the suddenly red-hot Giants' offense.
Braves at Mets - 1:10 PM ET (Jhoulys Chacin vs. Steven Matz)
Matt Wisler (1-2, 3.24) turned heads on Tuesday, holding the reigning NL champions to one hit through eight shutout innings. Atlanta will now turn to Chacin (1-1, 3.27), who's striking out batters like it's 2010 all over again in the series rubber game. New York is off to a solid 16-9 start to the campaign, but dropping a series to the 7-19 Braves at home isn't something they'd be interested in doing … they'd much rather drop 12 runs in an inning, if at all possible.
Angels at Brewers - 1:40 PM ET (Hector Santiago vs. Zach Davies)
The Angels' road trip hasn't gone especially well. After dropping two of three to the Rangers they enter Wednesday trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Brewers. They'll trust their fortunes to Santiago (2-1, 3.34 ERA), who has pitched quite well so far. The lefty has bumped up his velocity to the mid-90s and has won two of his past three starts. On the other side of the hill Wednesday is Davies (0-3, 8.78 ERA), a 23-year-old right-hander still looking for his first win this season.
Nationals at Royals - 2:15 PM ET (Stephen Strasburg vs. Kris Medlen)
The reigning champs almost entered Wednesday's finale with the Nats trying to avoid a sweep at Kauffman Stadium, but a ninth-inning rally against Jonathan Papelbon allowed the Royals to pull off a dramatic 7-6 win on Tuesday night. A happy Lorenzo Cain is the best kind of Lorenzo Cain:
As a result, they'll look to take the three-game set behind Medlen (1-2, 4.87), but Washington will throw up the formidable Strasburg (4-0, 2.25) in K.C.'s way. Stras comes in riding high, having allowed two earned runs or less in four of his five starts. Nats fans also hope Bryce Harper, 2 for his last 26, can break out of his slump.
Mariners at A's - 3:35 PM ET (Felix Hernandez vs. Sean Manaea)
Hernandez dominates in Oakland. For his career, the Mariners' ace is 11-3 at the Coliseum. He always tends to give the A's fits at their own park, and he'll have a chance to do the same Wednesday against touted lefty Manaea. Oakland hopes that Stephen Vogt and his .458 (!) career average against King Felix might help spark some offense.
Rockies at Padres - 3:40 PM ET (Tyler Chatwood vs. Cesar Vargas)
Padres righty Vargas (0-0, 0.87) has logged more than 10 innings and allowed just one earned run on nine hits through two games this season. He'll face off against the Rockies and Chatwood (3-2, 2.73) in the last of the day's early games. Sit back, relax and enjoy a couples hours in the soothing, scenic surroundings of Petco Park.
Tigers at Indians, 6:10 p.m. ET (Anibal Sanchez vs. Corey Kluber)
Kluber, who's recorded 16 strikeouts and allowed just three runs in his last two starts, hopes to win Game 2 of the three-game series against Sanchez. The Indians took the first game on Tuesday, 7-3, behind Josh Tomlin (4-0) and Francisco Lindor's offense, defense and smile. Tigers fans probably won't want to see any of those things from Cleveland's shortstop if they plan on winning. Well, maybe the smile. Who doesn't want to see that smile?
Yankees at Orioles, 7:05 p.m. ET (CC Sabathia vs. Tyler Wilson)
After losing on Tuesday to the Orioles, 4-1, the Yankees will send Sabathia to the mound to try to even up the three-game set and end their six-game losing streak. Word to the wise for Yanks pitchers: Do not pitch to Mark Trumbo. He has 8 home runs and 23 RBIs this season -- including two moonshots in Game 1:
Rangers at Blue Jays - 7:07 p.m. ET (Colby Lewis vs. Aaron Sanchez)
After managing just five hits through eight innings and trailing the Rangers, 1-0, on Tuesday -- Smoak decided to tie things up:
And then in the 10th, it was the Smoak Show all over again:
Considering the teams involved in this one, we can only imagine what Wednesday's rubber game will feature.
D-backs at Marlins - 7:10 p.m. ET (Rubby De La Rosa vs. Jose Fernandez)
Hoping to win their second straight against the D-backs, the Marlins will send their ace Fernandez to the mound. Although he's had a slow start to the season, the 23-year-old looked good his last time out -- striking out eight and giving up just two runs over six innings. Pinch-hitter/bases-loaded extraordinaire Ichiro Suzuki should also be available against the right-hander De La Rosa -- searching for hit number 2,948.
Dodgers at Rays - 7:10 p.m. ET (Alex Wood vs. Drew Smyly)
After giving up 10 runs to the Dodgers in a loss on Tuesday (including a homer that still hasn't come down), the Rays hope Smyly will serve as a stopper. The lefty has been brilliant this season, compiling a 2.60 ERA with 41 strikeouts over 34 2/3 innings. Facing a lineup of powerful right-handed hitters like Yasiel Puig, Trayce Thompson and Justin Turner, things should get very interesting.
Red Sox at White Sox - 8:10 p.m. ET (Clay Buchholz vs. Carlos Rodon)
Both Buchholz and Rodon hope to right their ship this season in Game 2 of the three-game set. The White Sox, after a Jose Quintana-led 4-1 win on Tuesday, join the crosstown Cubs in going for their 20th win of 2016. Jose Abreu has five multi-hit games in a row, the team is off to its best start in 10 years and its pitching has been nearly perfect. That makes Hawk Harrelson feel some feelings.
Twins at Astros - 8:10 p.m. ET (Phil Hughes vs. Mike Fiers)
Fiers hopes to build off two impressive starts and help the Astros take the rubber game of the three-game series. The Twins are hoping Hughes bounces back after giving up four runs in five innings to the Tigers in his last start. People who like home runs are just hoping that George Springer hits another baseball out of Minute Maid Park:
Phillies at Cardinals - 8:15 p.m. ET (Adam Morgan vs. Mike Leake)
Following a close 1-0 Phillies win on Tuesday, Wednesday's matchup between winless Leake and Morgan could wind up being a high-octane offensive affair. Philadelphia will turn to Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera to get its bats moving, while St. Louis should rely on the red-hot Stephen Piscotty and Yadier "I can do push-ups better than you can" Molina.
Are you prepared? Do you have your cheese puffs? That's four Cy Young Award winners, exciting matchups featuring present-day and historic division rivalries, two Chicago teams going for their 20th wins, and, um, games ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT long. Oh, and remember, it's still only May.
