Daily Dose: Bucs Burn Harvey

Like opening presents on Christmas morning and shooting fireworks off on the 4th of July, cookouts have become a Memorial Day staple. Burgers, dogs, potato salad—it’s all part of the holiday’s mouth-watering goodness.

So excuse the Pittsburgh Pirates for beginning the feast two days early. The Pirates grilled Mets starter Matt Harvey for seven runs and six hits Saturday, sending the ace to only his second loss of the season.

This was by most measures the worst start of Harvey’s career. It was Harvey's shortest outing in the big leagues and the most runs he's allowed since July 16, 2011 when he was still pitching in Double-A. Pittsburgh's offensive outburst stretched his ERA from 1.98 to 2.91.

Andrew McCutchen’s two-run bomb in the first ended Harvey’s scoreless streak at 16 innings. Before that, Harvey hadn’t allowed a hit with runners in scoring position all season.

The blast was McCutchen’s 62nd career homer at PNC Park. That makes him the park’s all-time home run leader, one ahead of Jason Bay. McCutchen’s hit traveled 426 feet, good for his longest home run of the season. The 96 mph fastball left McCutchen’s bat at a speed of 106 mph.

Pedro Alvarez also hit a home run Saturday, but his came with no one on base. That’s been a theme for Alvarez. Dating back to last season, the last ten homers he’s hit have all been solo shots.

While the Pirates raked, the Mets had their hands full with veteran A.J. Burnett. He limited New York to one run over seven strong innings, lowering his ERA to 1.37 in the process. That leads all National League starting pitchers.

Like a fine wine, Burnett gets better with age. The 38-year-old passed Red Sox great Luis Tiant Saturday to move into 39th on the all-time strikeout list. This could be the year he finally makes the All-Star team.

As if Saturday wasn’t going poorly enough for the Mets, the team announced David Wright has been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. He’ll be shut down for at least another week. Meanwhile, his replacement at third base, Eric “Soup” Campbell, is in the midst of an 0-for-19 dry spell.

Rangers Conquer CC

There was a time when CC Sabathia was among the most feared pitchers in baseball.

When was that again?

Sabathia couldn’t do anything right Saturday against Texas. Yankees manager Joe Girardi mercifully took the ball from CC after 2 1/3 innings, making it his shortest outing since the 2011 playoffs.

The Rangers scored ten of their 15 runs during the third inning. Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo both had two hits in the frame with Choo contributing four RBI. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring inning since August 19, 2013 when they put up 11 against Houston. Texas has scored an incredible 17 third-inning runs over its last two games.

Rangers starter Nick Martinez went seven innings for the win, holding the Yankees to two runs on five hits. He’s now allowed three runs or fewer in 15 straight starts. That ties the team record set by Rich Hand in 1972.

Down by 13, the Bronx Bombers handed the pitching duties over to first baseman Garrett Jones in the ninth inning. The left-hander walked a batter and hit two more but managed to escape without allowing a run. His fastball topped out at 78 mph.

The Yankees have lost nine out of ten and now trail division-leading Tampa Bay by a game and a half.

Astros Turn Triple Play

Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler has been on four All-Star teams. He’s appeared in the World Series twice. He’s hit for the cycle. And now, he can finally say he’s hit into a triple play.

Funny, he doesn’t brag much about the last one. The Astros turned Kinsler’s fifth-inning grounder into a 5-4-3 triple play. It was Houston’s first triple play since August 19, 2004 against the Phillies and the tenth in franchise history. The last time Detroit hit into a triple play was May 20, 2009 against Texas. In a bizarre coincidence, Kinsler helped turn that triple play.

Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias had a scary moment when he collided with Astros first baseman Chris Carter on an infield single. Iglesias hung around for two more innings before eventually being replaced by Hernan Perez. He’s day-to-day with a bruised knee.

Miguel Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 11 games on Saturday. At .342, he now has the fourth-highest average in the American League.

Houston rookie Lance McCullers notched his first big league victory by limiting the Tigers to two runs in six innings. Unfortunately, he did it without the help of his awesome Batman cleats.

Another Meltdown for Price

Reds manager Bryan Price is known for his sharp tongue. He dropped no fewer than 77 F-bombs during a six-minute media tirade earlier this year. So one can only imagine the filth he must have said to earn his ejection Saturday against Cleveland.

Price is no stranger to getting tossed. Saturday was his second ejection of the year and the fourth of his career. But usually you can count on Price to at least make it past the first inning. Saturday he got the heave-ho before the game even started. He was arguing about the strike zone from the previous game when home plate umpire Sean Barber gave him the hook. Cincinnati’s bench coach Jay Bell took over as manager after Price hit the showers.

Often managers will get ejected to send a message to their team. Price’s message must have gotten lost in translation because the Reds lost 2-1 on Saturday, extending their losing streak to seven games.

American League Quick Hits: When you’re hot, you’re hot. Three of the top six hitters in baseball this month (minimum 25 plate appearances) are Cleveland Indians. Jason Kipnis leads the way with a .463 average in 82 May at-bats … U.S. Cellular Field drew its largest crowd of the season Saturday as 38,714 fans piled in to watch the White Sox retire Paul Konerko’s number … Chris Sale gave up a pair of homers Saturday. He hadn’t done that since September 17 … Jose Abreu has struggled to a .152 average against the Twins this season. Fortunately for fantasy owners he’s hitting .319 against everyone else … The Red Sox shook up their lineup Saturday against the Angels. Dustin Pedroia hit leadoff for the first time since May 22 of last year while David Ortiz moved into the cleanup spot for the first time since July 29 … Ortiz had reached base in all 19 home games before going 0-for-4 on Saturday … Another day, another Shane Victorino injury. The Red Sox outfielder left Saturday’s game with a tight left calf. Rusney Castillo took over in right field … After a 1-for-4 showing Saturday, Mike Trout now has a .350 career batting average at Fenway Park. Despite his success there, Fenway is the only American League park he has not homered at … Edinson Volquez gave up a run to St. Louis in the second inning, ending a streak of 27 scoreless innings by Royals starters. That’s one off the team record set in 1989 … Orioles starter Mike Wright read a Harry Potter book in the dugout Saturday and then went out and pitched seven shutout innings against the Marlins. Not bad for a Muggle … Eric Sogard singled home a run in the sixth inning Saturday to break Oakland’s 0-for-20 drought with runners in scoring position … Orioles reliever Brian Matusz was ejected Saturday after umpires discovered a foreign substance on his arm. Milwaukee’s Will Smith got an eight-game suspension for doing the same thing earlier in the week. Wasn’t Einstein the one who said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? Not a good look for Matusz … Jimmy Paredes, who is tied with Nelson Cruz for the AL lead in batting average, has reached base in 20 straight games … Josh Hamilton (shoulder) will make his season debut Monday against Cleveland. He batted .364 during his 12-game rehab assignment … Astros outfielder George Springer grounded into a double play Saturday. Believe it or not, he hadn’t done that since May 25 of last year.

National League Quick Hits: Opposing pitchers should make sure their first pitch to Ryan Braun isn’t anywhere near the strike zone. Braun entered Saturday with a .636 average when putting the ball in play on the first pitch … Braves starter Shelby Miller took a no-hitter into the ninth inning Sunday against Miami. Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez took that out of the equation right away by stroking a leadoff double on Saturday. Gomez scored later in the frame to halt Miller’s scoreless streak at 14 innings … Devin Mesoraco hasn’t caught a game since April 12 and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change. He aggravated his hip injury Friday and will be sidelined through at least the weekend. The Reds have opted to use Mesoraco as a pinch-hitter/DH instead of placing him on the disabled list … Johnny Cueto was scratched from Sunday’s start because of elbow stiffness. Right-hander Raisel Iglesias will start in his place … Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco struck out to begin Saturday’s game against Colorado but advanced to third when catcher Nick Hundley threw the ball into right field. Not the most conventional way to start a game … Jake Peavy (strained back) is on the comeback trail. He allowed just one hit in 3 1/3 innings Friday in a scoreless rehab start for High-A San Jose. 37 of his 50 pitches went for strikes … Ever find yourself wondering who the Dodgers’ emergency catcher is? The answer is shortstop Kike Hernandez, who caught a bullpen session for Brett Anderson on Saturday … Kris Bryant extended his hitting streak to 12 games Saturday with a single in the fourth inning. He’s certainly making his case for Rookie of the Year … The Mets have grounded into 39 double plays this season. That leads the National League … Ruben Tejada homered Saturday for the first time since September 28. That ends a stretch of 42 at-bats without a homer … The Phillies scored eight runs Saturday to break a streak of 66 games in a row with seven runs or fewer. That’s the most run support the Phils have given Cole Hamels since May 17 of last year … Stephen Strasburg, owner of the majors’ second-highest ERA (6.50), hasn’t lasted six innings in a game since April 25 … Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark will make his first start of the year Monday against the Cubs. He went 15-10 with a 2.85 ERA in 31 starts last season … If being passive aggressive were an Olympic event, the Nationals would win gold. They’ve been playing pop ballads from Linda Ronstadt and others over the stadium speakers during Phillies batting practice. Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg called the music “bush league” and promised to retaliate when the Nationals come to Philadelphia at the end of June.