Colby Lewis narrowly missed out on history Thursday
Each day there is a chance to see something historic in baseball and, even with a small slate of games, Thursday was no different. Although some of the great pitchers in baseball have had the lion’s share of the amazing performances this season, there have been outliers that have put themselves on the map as well. An attempt at a perfect game will open this daily update for June 17, 2016.
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Recap
Rangers nearly no-hit Athletics
Colby Lewis held the Athletics off of the basepaths until the eighth inning, when he allowed a walk to Yonder Alonso, and took a no-hitter into the ninth, settling for a complete game with one run allowed against Oakland in a 5-1 win for the Rangers. Lewis (6-0) now has a 2.81 ERA and 1.01 WHIP this season and 10 quality starts in his last 11 appearances. Adrian Beltre finished 3-for-4 with a double, run scored, and two RBI for Texas while Ian Desmond hit a home run and got on base four times. Daniel Mengden (0-2) allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits in 6 1/3 innings for Oakland with Max Muncy and Coco Crisp each doubling off of Lewis in the ninth and Crisp driving in Oakland’s only run.
Blue Jays club Phillies
The Blue Jays jumped out to an 8-0 lead by the fourth inning and added on runs late in a 13-2 win over the Phillies on Thursday. Kevin Pillar hit two home runs for Toronto with Edwin Encarnacion, Devon Travis, and Michael Saunders each adding a home run in support of J.A. Happ (8-3), who allowed one run (none earned) on three hits in seven innings. Aaron Nola (5-6) allowed eight runs (six earned) on eight hits in three innings for Philadelphia. Odubel Herrera finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Braves beat down Reds
A night after hitting for the cycle, Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run to help power the Braves past the Reds 7-2 on Thursday afternoon. Freeman finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI for Atlanta and Nick Markakis and Jace Peterson each added two RBI in support of Matt Wisler (3-7), who allowed two runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. Adam Duvall hit his 19th home run of the season for Cincinnati, but Dan Straily (4-3) allowed six runs on seven hits for Cincinnati.
What to Watch For
The matchup of Jeff Samardzija and the Giants and Chris Archer and the Rays will be the best of the Friday slate. Samardzija only made it through 4 2/3 innings in his last start after allowing 10 runs over his two previous appearances, but he still has a 3.36 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this season. Archer has 20 strikeouts in his last two starts, and has 96 strikeouts in 80 innings this season, but has allowed three runs or more in five of his last seven starts. Jake Arrieta, Michael Fulmer and Cole Hamels will also pitch today.
Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.
