What a finish to the Mexico City series. The Padres went into the seventh inning up 7-2 on Sunday. The Diamondbacks took the lead with a six-run rally, fueled by a Tim Tawa grand slam, then tacked on four more in the eighth inning. The Diamondbacks are off Monday as they head back to the U.S. but the Padres host the Cubs in San Diego tonight.
1. Torkelson ties Detroit record
First baseman Spencer Torkelson extended the Tigers’ lead in the seventh inning on Sunday with a solo shot off righty Pierce Johnson. The blast bumped his home run streak to five games, tying him with Hank Greenberg, Rudy York, Vic Wertz, Willie Horton, and Marcus Thames for the franchise record. The most surprising part of the run might be Torkelson’s slow start coming into it. He had a .566 OPS with zero home runs before going deep on Wednesday against Chad Patrick and the Brewers. Torkelson now has an .836 OPS, a good reminder of how quickly numbers can flip this early in the year.
2. Tracy earns first MLB win
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy is on the board as a big league manager. Boston beat the Orioles 5-3 behind a strong outing from young left-hander Connelly Early. It’s the 500th managerial win of Tracy’s career, with the first 499 coming at various stops in the minor leagues. Tracy took over for former skipper Alex Cora, who was unexpectedly fired on Saturday, along with several other coaches. The Red Sox were off to a 10-17 start under Cora. Boston now heads to Toronto for a three-game set.
3. Miller extends scoreless streak
Closer Mason Miller retired the side in order against the Diamondbacks on Saturday. The uneventful save gave him 10 on the year, three more than any other reliever. It also pushed his scoreless streak to a franchise-record 34 2/3 innings. “Big load off, for sure — I think we can stop talking about it now,” Miller told reporters, including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “Just keep pitching, see how long we can go.” The righty is up to eighth on the all-time list for scoreless inning streaks by relievers since 1961.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Doster, Imagn Images
