The Cardinals went from “tarps off” to tarps on the field Friday, as the NL Central matchup between the Cards and Reds in Cincinnati was postponed due to rain. The two clubs will make it up as part of a split doubleheader today, with games at 12:10pm CT and 6:15pm CT.
1. Henderson shines again
This may be small consolation given how the Dodgers swept the Brewers in the NLCS last season, but Milwaukee has now won each of its last nine regular-season games against Los Angeles following Friday’s 5-1 victory. Logan Henderson earned the win after tossing five shutout innings, and might’ve gone longer if it wasn’t for a minor back problem that the right-hander told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) wasn’t an issue going forward. Henderson’s performance made some history, as he is now the first pitcher in modern baseball history to allow two or fewer earned runs in each of his first 10 career starts. The series between the NL West leaders and the NL Central leaders continues today in Milwaukee when Roki Sasaki takes the hill against Robert Gasser.
2. Williams tops Sanchez in pitching duel
Kyle Manzardo hit a ninth-inning home run off Jhoan Duran for the only run of the Guardians’ 1-0 win over the Phillies on Friday. The game saw both starters dominate over eight innings of shutout ball, with Gavin Williams earning the win by striking out 11 batters and allowing only four hits during his gem of an outing. Cristopher Sanchez gave up only four hits and two walks during his eight frames of work, extending the star southpaw’s scoreless innings streak to 37 2/3 frames — well within reach of Grover Cleveland Alexander‘s Phillies record of a 41-innings streak. The red-hot Guards will try to extend their winning streak to eight games when Slade Cecconi faces Zack Wheeler today in Philadelphia.
3. Rays extend their AL East lead
Gerrit Cole looked very sharp in his return from Tommy John surgery, shutting out the Rays over six innings Friday and leaving the game with a 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay then erupted for four runs in the top of the eighth to emerge with a 4-2 victory in Yankee Stadium, and between the Rays’ five-game win streak and the Yankees’ three-game losing streak, the Rays now hold a 5.5-game lead over New York in the division race. The weekend series will be put on hold, however, as today’s game as already been postponed (until September 22) due to inclement weather.
