Wednesday is getaway day for many teams in Major League Baseball this week, so that means it's getaway day. What's getaway day mean? You guessed it: Day baseball!
Among the day games came a pair of matinee bouts between division rivals that expect to be contending this season and a bench-clearing situation on the south side of Chicago. At night there's always intrigue with the Red Sox and Yankees, despite both being a disappointment to this point. Can the Mariners break their five-game losing streak? Can the Rays become the first team to 14 wins this season?
The biggest story of all comes in the last game of the night, though, as the Astros look to win their 11th straight game.
All that and more is below in our daily roundup.
Select games can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free). For more on what channel each game is on, click here.
Baseball schedule/scores for Wenesday, April 17
FINAL - Phillies 3, Mets 2 (box score)FINAL - Cardinals 6, Brewers 3 (box score)FINAL/10 - Royals 4, White Sox 3 (box score)FINAL - Dodgers 3, Reds 2 (box score)Red Sox at Yankees, 6:35 p.m. ET (GameTracker)Indians at Mariners, 6:40 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Pirates at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Giants at Nationals, 7:05 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Cubs at Marlins, 7:10 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Orioles at Rays, 7:10 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Diamondbacks at Braves, 7:20 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Blue Jays at Twins, 7:40 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Angels at Rangers, 8:05 p.m. ET (GameTracker) Astros at Athletics, 10:07 p.m. ET (GameTracker)Arrieta deals another gem, Phillies barely hold on
Some of us like to refer to Jake Arrieta's ridiculous run in the second half of 2015 and into the first several weeks of 2016 as the Terminator version of Arrieta. He had arguably the best second half in baseball history before throwing a shutout in the wild card game. In recent years, he has lost some velocity and the control abandons him more than he'd probably like to admit, but the movement on his stuff is still filthy.
When he's keeping it inside the zone, even if he's not getting swings and misses, he gets weak contact.
Such was the case on Wednesday afternoon. Through six innings, he'd allowed just three hits and they were all infield singles. He would end up going eight-plus, allowing just six hits and two earned runs, though the second one was a tough one to swallow. It was an infield hit and then Arrieta was removed only to see the bullpen allow his runner to score.
Regardless, Arrieta walked six in his first outing, but cut that to three walks in seven innings in his second start and now he's only given out three free passes in the last 15 innings. If he's going to be in the zone, we better be prepared to see his ERA remain pretty damn low. Through four starts, it's 2.25. He's not quite the Terminator, but he's a frontline starter with this control.
Oh, speaking of the bullpen, it continues to be a headache for the Phillies. After a Pete Alonso single that bounced off Arrieta to start the ninth, Adam Morgan came in and hit Robinson Cano with a pitch. Just like that, the tying run was on base with no outs. Morgan coaxed a deep flyout from Michael Conforto and was removed for Hector Neris. Neris got a huge strikeout before Amed Rosario's weak tapper ended up another infield hit. Then Neris hit Wilson Ramos with a pitch.
Oh boy. It was now 3-2 with the bases loaded and two outs. Neris fell behind Keon Broxton 2-1 and then saw the count run to full. There was no margin for error. He wouldn't mess around, pumping a fastball right down the middle. Keon Broxton swung through and the Phillies held on by the skin of their teeth.
The good news is the 11-6 Phillies are in first place and Arrieta looks like the frontline pitcher they thought they signed before last season. The bad news is his effort was almost wasted due to the shaky bullpen. Until they get a healthy David Robertson back, it's likely to remain anxious in the late-and-close situations for Philly.
Cardinals salvage one, Burnes has HR problem
The Cardinals went to Milwaukee this week with a chance to take first place despite having lost three of four there to start the season. Instead, their pitching staff was brutalized -- mostly by Christian Yelich, who has eight homers against the Cardinals this season -- and they dropped the first two games of the series.
The Cardinals managed to get one back on Wednesday afternoon and they even avoided a Yelich home run. Michael Wacha put together a quality start for the Cardinals (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) while Matt Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna went deep for the winning club. For more on Ozuna raking while the rest of the outfield is banged out, click here.
On the Brewers' end, starting pitcher Corbin Burnes was again teed up. Through four starts this season, he's posted a 10.70 ERA and 2.15 WHIP. He has struck out 24 hitters in 17 2/3 innings, but everything else looks rough, particularly the long ball. He has now given up an MLB-worst 11 home runs. For a reference point, the NL leaders in home runs allowed last season were Chase Anderson and Tyler Anderson with 30. It's April 17 and Burnes is more than a third of the way there.
Aside from Zach Davies, pretty much the entire Brewers' rotation has been an issue so far this year and Freddy Peralta is now on the injured list.
Still, the Brewers remain in first place at 12-7, thanks in large part to dominating the rest of the NL Central (10-3), including going 5-2 so far against the Cardinals.
Quick hits
