MLB
Wednesday, May 7
Dodgers' OF Yasiel Puig, questionable Wednesday
Puig is recovering from a head injury and has missed the last two games. He is questionable for play Wednesday against the Nationals.
Mariners win fourth straight, get back above .500
Fernando Rodney was warming in the bullpen of O.co Coliseum, preparing himself for what was expected to be another nail-biter of a save situation on Tuesday night.
But teammates decided to give him a night off.
The Mariners turned a 4-3 lead into an 8-3 win, scoring four runs in the top of the ninth and rolling to an easy win over the Oakland A’s. The victory put them over .500 at 16-15 for the first time since April 15. They’ve now won four in a row and nine of their last 11 games — their best stretch of success this season. That eight-game losing streak seems like a distant memory. With a .516 winning percentage, they moved into second place in the division just ahead of Texas’ 17-16 record and .515 winning percentage. It seemed impossible two weeks ago.
RHP Leon set for long-awaited debut with A's
Right-hander Arnold Leon's long journey to the major leagues will end Wednesday when he is officially recalled from Triple-A Sacramento for the Oakland Athletics' doubleheader against the Seattle Mariners.
Leon likely will be available out of the bullpen, but there is a chance he could start the second game Wednesday. Either way, it will be a special day for Leon, whose professional career began in 2006 with Saltillo of the Mexican League at the age of 17.
Rangers 1B Moreland shines on mound
Mitch Moreland collected his fifth consecutive pinch hit Tuesday, an eighth-inning single, but that was the least interesting part of his evening.
The veteran first baseman took the mound in the bottom of the eighth with the Rangers trailing the Rockies by 11 runs. He retired three consecutive batters, and Colorado completed a 12-1 win.
Moreland became the sixth position player to pitch for the Rangers, making the seventh such appearance in franchise history. The last position player to take the mound for Texas was David Murphy on June 4, 2013, at Boston.
Moreland threw 15 pitches, 10 strikes, while getting Jordan Pacheco and Corey Dickerson to fly to right and Charlie Blackmon to hit a comebacker.
A closer at Mississippi State, Moreland made only one other professional pitching appearance before Tuesday. In 2008 at low Class A Clinton, he pitched two scoreless innings in two games.
Pirates win on overturned call
Starling Marte begrudgingly admitted after being part of a historic moment that he is softening his stance on the use of expanded instant replay in the major leagues this season.
"I like it sometimes, I guess," the Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder said. "I like it this time."
Thanks to an overturned call, Marte wound up scoring the winning run after tripling and racing home on a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Pirates edged the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Tuesday night.
It was the first time a game-ending run resulted from a changed call, and it ended the Giants' six-game winning streak.
Marte hit a drive high off the 21-foot Clemente Wall in right field with two outs off Tim Hudson (4-2). Rookie second baseman Ehire Adrianza, serving as the cutoff man, took the throw from right fielder Hunter Pence and then threw wildly to third base.
Marte initially hesitated and then raced home, but home plate Quinn Wolcott called him out. However, following a replay review of 1:14, it was ruled that catcher Buster Posey's tag was late and Marte was called safe.
NOTES: Both teams called up relief pitchers to aid bullpens that were stretched by Monday night's 12-inning game that was won by the Giants 11-10. San Francisco recalled RHP George Kontos from Triple-A Fresno and optioned RHP Jake Dunning to the same club. The Pirates recalled RHP Phil Irwin from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned LHP Jeff Locke to the same club. ... Giants 2B Brandon Hicks was the only regular from either team who did not start following Monday night's five-hour, 29-minute game. ... Pittsburgh OF Travis Snider (two games) and C Russell Martin (one game) had the appeals of their suspensions from Major League Baseball for their actions in an April 20 brawl with the Milwaukee heard by videoconference Tuesday afternoon. ... The three-game series concludes Wednesday afternoon with San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum (2-1, 5.12 ERA) facing Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (2-2, 3.69 ERA).
w-thumbs!^
