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Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
Zack Greinke’s return to Los Angeles wasn’t going to be a joyous occasion no matter what.*After leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers for the Arizona Diamondbacks during the offseason, Greinke wasn’t likely to be received well by the fans.
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Things wound up even worse than he could have*imagined.*Greinke was not only booed by Dodgers*fans, but wound up tossing one of his worst starts of the year. The 32-year-old righty gave up an astounding five home runs against his former team, leaving the game after just 4 2/3 innings. He was charged with eight earned runs during the 10-2 loss.
It was the first time ever in Greinke’s career that he allowed five home runs during a start.
In the fourth inning, Greinke started to show some cracks. Corey Seager doubled to open the frame, and was eventually driven in on an Adrian Gonzalez two-run shot. Still, Greinke escaped the inning giving up just two runs, with a little run support, a win or no-decision was within reach.
That all changed in the fifth inning. After getting a one-pitch groundout against Howie Kendrick, Greinke fell apart. Joc Pederson clobbered a solo homer, making it a 3-0 game. Kenta Maeda and Chase Utley then added consecutive singles.
With two men on base, Seager struck again, this time smashing a three-run homer. Justin Turner followed that up with a solo shot of his own, going back-to-back. Greinke was able to retire Adrian Gonzalez with a groundout, but then surrendered another solo home run to Yasmani Grandal. At that point, he was removed from the contest.
Zack Greinke gave up a career-high five home runs in his return to Los Angeles. (Getty Images/Harry How) Amazingly, Monday’s start was not Greinke’s worst outing of the year. That came Aug. 14, when Greinke allowed nine earned runs over just 1 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox.
Following Monday’s disaster start, the 32-year-old Greinke has a 4.41 ERA in his first year with Arizona. He’s owed $172 million over the next five seasons.
TOP PERFORMERS
Carlos Gonzalez: The Colorado Rockies may not be playoff bound, but don’t tell that to Carlos Gonzalez. The 30-year-old outfielder kept his club on the periphery of the wild card race Monday, smashing a grand slam during a 6-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. Gonzalez would also double during the contest, finishing 2-for-4, with one run scored and four RBI. With the win, the Rockies remain 6.5 games out of a wild card spot in the National League.
Edwin Jackson: For seven innings, San Diego Padres pitcher Edwin Jackson stymied one of the best offenses in baseball Monday. Jackson was fantastic, tossing seven shutout innings during a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox. Jackson allowed just four hits and two walks during the outing. He struck out 11 batters. With the performance, Jackson lowered his ERA to 5.55 on the year.
Franklin Gutierrez: Seattle Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez was relentless during the club’s 14-6 blowout win over the Texas Rangers on Monday.*All three of Gutierrez’s hits resulted in at least one run scored during the game. In the second*inning, he drove himself in, hitting a solo home run to right field. In the fifth, a single brought in shortstop Ketel Marte.*In the sixth, with the game out of hand, Gutierrez smacked a ground-rule double, bringing in two more runs. He finished 3-for-4, with one run scored and four RBI.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The Boston Red Sox may have lost Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres, but they did whatever they could to keep things close early. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia showed as much with an excellent leaping catch to end the third.
With a man on second and two outs, Wil Myers stepped to the plate looking to give the Padres an early 1-0 lead. On the 2-2 pitch, it looked as though he had succeeded. Myers shot a line drive near second base. The ball had some height on it, and it seemed like there was a good chance it would safely land in the outfield.
That was not the case. Pedroia was in the perfect position to make the play. Without hesitation, he left his feet, leaping in the air while throwing out his glove to make the play. Knowing he had kept the game tied up, Pedroia immediately sprinted off the field toward the dugout. The Red Sox would go on to lose the contest 2-1, but it was still an impressive display.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3: Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-for-4 with a home run. He scored one run and drove in three during the win.
Cubs 7, Brewers 2: Kyle Hendricks tossed another excellent start, giving up just one run over six innings. Through 165 innings, he has a 2.07 ERA.
Mets 5, Reds 0: Jay Bruce went hitless in his return to Cincinnati, but Bartolo Colon’s scoreless outing gave the Mets the edge in Bruce’s reunion.
Phillies 6, Marlins 2: Jerad Eickhoff struggled initially, giving up two runs in the first inning, but settled down to toss a quality start in the win.
Orioles 7, Rays 3: Chris Davis hit a solo home run and drove in two more RBI on a single later in the contest. He finished 2-for-4, with two runs scored and three RBI.
Royals 11, Twins 5: Brian Dozier’s three home run game couldn’t save Minnesota. With the performance, Dozier is now second in the American League with 38 home runs.
Angels 10, Athletics 7: The Athletics tried to mount a couple comebacks, but couldn’t overcome an early deficit. They did inspire their ballboy, though, so that was neat.
Nationals 6, Braves 4: Trea Turner notched three hits, including his sixth home run of the season. He drove in three runs during the win.
Cardinals 12, Pirates 6: Eight different Cardinals picked up at least one RBI during the offense-heavy fest.
Tigers 5, White Sox 3: Justin Upton broke the tie in the 11th inning, smashing a three-run homer that wound up winning the game for Detroit.
Astros 6, Indians 2: Alex Bregman picked up two hits, including his seventh home run of the year. Mike Napoli blasted his 30th home run of the season in the loss.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
Zack Greinke’s return to Los Angeles wasn’t going to be a joyous occasion no matter what.*After leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers for the Arizona Diamondbacks during the offseason, Greinke wasn’t likely to be received well by the fans.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
Things wound up even worse than he could have*imagined.*Greinke was not only booed by Dodgers*fans, but wound up tossing one of his worst starts of the year. The 32-year-old righty gave up an astounding five home runs against his former team, leaving the game after just 4 2/3 innings. He was charged with eight earned runs during the 10-2 loss.
It was the first time ever in Greinke’s career that he allowed five home runs during a start.
First time in Zack Greinke’s career he has allowed five home runs.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) September 6, 2016
Things appeared promising at first. Greinke cruised through the first three innings, giving up just one hit. During the third, Greinke struck out the side.— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) September 6, 2016
In the fourth inning, Greinke started to show some cracks. Corey Seager doubled to open the frame, and was eventually driven in on an Adrian Gonzalez two-run shot. Still, Greinke escaped the inning giving up just two runs, with a little run support, a win or no-decision was within reach.
That all changed in the fifth inning. After getting a one-pitch groundout against Howie Kendrick, Greinke fell apart. Joc Pederson clobbered a solo homer, making it a 3-0 game. Kenta Maeda and Chase Utley then added consecutive singles.
With two men on base, Seager struck again, this time smashing a three-run homer. Justin Turner followed that up with a solo shot of his own, going back-to-back. Greinke was able to retire Adrian Gonzalez with a groundout, but then surrendered another solo home run to Yasmani Grandal. At that point, he was removed from the contest.
Following Monday’s disaster start, the 32-year-old Greinke has a 4.41 ERA in his first year with Arizona. He’s owed $172 million over the next five seasons.
TOP PERFORMERS
Carlos Gonzalez: The Colorado Rockies may not be playoff bound, but don’t tell that to Carlos Gonzalez. The 30-year-old outfielder kept his club on the periphery of the wild card race Monday, smashing a grand slam during a 6-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. Gonzalez would also double during the contest, finishing 2-for-4, with one run scored and four RBI. With the win, the Rockies remain 6.5 games out of a wild card spot in the National League.
Edwin Jackson: For seven innings, San Diego Padres pitcher Edwin Jackson stymied one of the best offenses in baseball Monday. Jackson was fantastic, tossing seven shutout innings during a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox. Jackson allowed just four hits and two walks during the outing. He struck out 11 batters. With the performance, Jackson lowered his ERA to 5.55 on the year.
Franklin Gutierrez: Seattle Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez was relentless during the club’s 14-6 blowout win over the Texas Rangers on Monday.*All three of Gutierrez’s hits resulted in at least one run scored during the game. In the second*inning, he drove himself in, hitting a solo home run to right field. In the fifth, a single brought in shortstop Ketel Marte.*In the sixth, with the game out of hand, Gutierrez smacked a ground-rule double, bringing in two more runs. He finished 3-for-4, with one run scored and four RBI.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The Boston Red Sox may have lost Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres, but they did whatever they could to keep things close early. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia showed as much with an excellent leaping catch to end the third.
With a man on second and two outs, Wil Myers stepped to the plate looking to give the Padres an early 1-0 lead. On the 2-2 pitch, it looked as though he had succeeded. Myers shot a line drive near second base. The ball had some height on it, and it seemed like there was a good chance it would safely land in the outfield.
That was not the case. Pedroia was in the perfect position to make the play. Without hesitation, he left his feet, leaping in the air while throwing out his glove to make the play. Knowing he had kept the game tied up, Pedroia immediately sprinted off the field toward the dugout. The Red Sox would go on to lose the contest 2-1, but it was still an impressive display.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3: Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-for-4 with a home run. He scored one run and drove in three during the win.
Cubs 7, Brewers 2: Kyle Hendricks tossed another excellent start, giving up just one run over six innings. Through 165 innings, he has a 2.07 ERA.
Mets 5, Reds 0: Jay Bruce went hitless in his return to Cincinnati, but Bartolo Colon’s scoreless outing gave the Mets the edge in Bruce’s reunion.
Phillies 6, Marlins 2: Jerad Eickhoff struggled initially, giving up two runs in the first inning, but settled down to toss a quality start in the win.
Orioles 7, Rays 3: Chris Davis hit a solo home run and drove in two more RBI on a single later in the contest. He finished 2-for-4, with two runs scored and three RBI.
Royals 11, Twins 5: Brian Dozier’s three home run game couldn’t save Minnesota. With the performance, Dozier is now second in the American League with 38 home runs.
Angels 10, Athletics 7: The Athletics tried to mount a couple comebacks, but couldn’t overcome an early deficit. They did inspire their ballboy, though, so that was neat.
Nationals 6, Braves 4: Trea Turner notched three hits, including his sixth home run of the season. He drove in three runs during the win.
Cardinals 12, Pirates 6: Eight different Cardinals picked up at least one RBI during the offense-heavy fest.
Tigers 5, White Sox 3: Justin Upton broke the tie in the 11th inning, smashing a three-run homer that wound up winning the game for Detroit.
Astros 6, Indians 2: Alex Bregman picked up two hits, including his seventh home run of the year. Mike Napoli blasted his 30th home run of the season in the loss.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik