Daily Baseball Update: 8/17

Did You Know

The Red Sox turned MLB's second triple play in as many days yesterday, which has not happened since 7/17/1990. On that day, the Red Sox were the victims of two triple plays but won 1-0. 

This Day in Baseball History

8/17/1999: Pitching in his 21st season in the major leagues, 42-year-old Jesse Orosco pitches his 1,072nd game, breaking Dennis Eckersley's all-time record. Orosco wasn't done, as he would go on to pitch in 179 more games from 1999-2003 to establish the record of 1,251. Interestingly, the age-defying reliever who pitched until he was 46, only saved 144 games in his 24-year career. 

News

Justin Verlander (Tigers) became the first pitcher to 200 K's. Casper Wells (Mariners) homered in his 4th straight game. Yankees moved to a half game ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. Diamondbacks won their 7th straight game, scoring 2 runs in the 9th to beat the Phillies 3-2. Astros rallied back to score 4 runs in the 9th to beat the Cubs 6-5. Jose Bautista (Blue Jays) walked in his 6th straight game. 

Game Scores

Red Sox (74-47) beat the Rays (65-56) 3-1 then lost 6-2. Nationals (58-62) beat the Reds (59-63) 6-4. Diamondbacks (69-53) beat the Phillies (78-42) 3-2. Braves (72-51) beat the Giants (66-57) 2-1. Astros (39-84) beat the Cubs (54-69) 6-5. Brewers (72-51) beat the Dodgers (55-66) 2-1. Yankees (74-46) beat the Royals (50-73) 9-7. 

Top Scorer: Blue Jays beat the Mariners 13-7. Longest Winning Streak: Diamondbacks, 7 games. Longest Losing Streak: Royals and Angels, 4 games.  

Standings

AL East: Yankees (74-46, .617 WPCT). AL Central: Tigers (65-57, .533). AL West: Rangers (71-52, .577). 

NL East: Phillies (78-42, .650). NL Central: Brewers (72-51, .585). NL West: Diamondbacks (69-53, .566). 

AL Wild Card: Red Sox (74-47, .612). NL Wild Card: Braves (72-51, .585). Bottom Team: Astros (39-84, .317). 

League Leaders

Offensive: AVG: Adrian Gonzalez (Red Sox), .348.  Home runs: Jose Bautista (Blue Jays), 35.  RBI: Ryan Howard (Phillies), 95.  Stolen bases: Michael Bourn (Astros), 45. 

Pitching: Wins: Justin Verlander (Tigers), 18.  K's: Justin Verlander, 204.  ERA: Jered Weaver (Angels), 2.13 (181.1 innings, 43 earned runs).  Saves: Craig Kimbrel (Braves), 36.  

Top Performers

Offensive: Jose Bautista (Blue Jays): 2-2, home run (35), 2 RBI, 3 runs, 3 walks, AVG up .003 from .311 to .314, hitting streak to 3 games (6-10, .600). 

Pitching: Randall Delgado (Braves): No decision, 6 innings, 1 earned run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 4 K's (6), ERA drop: 3.15 runs from 6.75 to 3.60. 

Worst Pitching Performance: Danny Duffy (Royals): Loss (3-7), 3 innings, 8 earned runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 K's (69), ERA jump: 0.69 runs from 4.97 to 5.66.

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included or you would like to be included on the original email that I send out every day, please leave a comment and I will take care of it.

HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average.  BAA: batting average against.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage