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With this type of run support, Tom Milone could win 20 games. After getting nine runs in his last start, the A’s offense gave Milone 11 total runs and thumped the Detroit Tigers 11-4 at the Coliseum.

Josh Reddick went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five total RBI. Brandon Inge added four RBI, including his fifth home run, a three-run blast that busted the game open.

That was more than enough for Milone, who bounced back from a shaky first inning to go seven strong innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and struck out six total. 

The A’s responded in the first inning with a Kila Ka’aihue double and Inge singled to right to score him. After that, the offense put up crooked numbers in the third, sixth and seventh innings. Reddick’s first home run and a Seth Smith double made it 4-2 in the third.

The A’s would then score seven runs in the sixth and seventh, buoyed by Reddick’s second home run and Inge’s blast. 

Good: Josh Reddick. Milone was solid, but the night belonged to Reddick. He had two singles and two home runs to raise his average to .292 with eight home runs and 19 RBI. If he stays hot, Reddick could play himself into All-Star consideration.

Bad: Andrew Carignan. I questioned his recall and Carignan struggled in his one inning of relief. He threw 31 pitches (only 13 for strikes) and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks. His earned run average is 8.44 for the year. 

Ugly: Daric Barton. He went 0-for-5 to lower his batting average to .188. There is no reason why he should be starting over Ka’aihue at this point. It just does not make sense. 

Now 17-16, the A’s will send Brandon McCarthy against Detroit’s Doug Fister on Saturday, May 12. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. 

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The Chicago Cubs were able to bounce back from yesterday’s devastating loss by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers behind the strong outing of Paul Maholm, 5-4.

Here is what we learned after this Cubs victory.

Rafael Dolis will be the closer for now: The closer job was supposed to be up for grabs until Carlos Marmol is able to figure out his pitching issues, but it appears Dale Sveum is comfortable with having Dolis as the closer.  His second save of the year was less entertaining, as he casually slammed the door shut on the Dodgers offense.  Dolis appeared to gain confidence after each pitch he threw, and if he continues to thrive as a closer, this could spell the end of Marmol’s career in Chicago.

Paul Maholm is streaking:   Maholm had another dominating performance as he limited the Dodgers offense to one run on three hits while striking out four.  After his first two unmemorable starts to the season, Maholm has been lights out as he now has won three straight and given up only three runs in his last three outings.  

Joe Mather needs to get his at-bats:  Coming off the bench, Mather delivered a solo home run to add to the Cubs lead to make it 4-1.  If it’s starting or pinch-hitting, Mather has made most of his opportunities and he does provide offensive pop off the bench.  The only question is with a crowded outfield, where does Mather fit in?  Mather has to be hoping for an injury, a struggling player or a trade to guarantee him more playing time. That being the case, the Cubs need to find a way to have his bat in the lineup more often.

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I could not help but chuckle at the obnoxious Boston Red Sox fan shouting obscenities at Orioles first baseman Chris Davis Friday night at Fenway Park.

As Davis stepped to the plate in the top of the 13th inning, with the game tied at four, all I could hear was, “Go home Davis! Go home, you’re horrible!”

Two pitches later, Davis slipped a sharp ground ball past Boston’s first and second basemen to give the Orioles the lead.

This increasingly confident club never looked back, and after scoring another run in the top of the 13th, the Orioles defeated the Red Sox, 6-4.

In a positive development, Mark Reynolds, who had struggled mightily to this point in the season, went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI. Reynolds also had a double and a walk. Matt Wieters also had a pair of hits for the Orioles.

Wei-Yin Chen did not have his sharpest outing for the Birds, giving up three earned runs and five hits in five innings of work. But once again, the Orioles bullpen cashed in winning chips. Using five hurlers, the Orioles bullpen gave up zero runs in the next eight innings of play. Jim Johnson earned his eighth save for the Orioles.

On Boston’s side, Jon Lester had a bumpy starting go of it as well. He gave up three runs in six innings. The Red Sox bullpen matched the Orioles bullpen inning for inning. Or at least until the 13th inning when left-hander Franklin Morales gave up the winning runs to the Orioles.

Offensively for the Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-6. Dustin Pedroia added two hits with an RBI. David Ortiz, who had been scalding hot at the plate prior to this game, went 0-for-5 with an RBI.

With the victory the Orioles move to 17-9, which is good for second place in the American League East.

The Red Sox fall to 11-14, seven games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays.

The Orioles and Red Sox play again Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm ET at Fenway Park.

Basebook me!

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Just when you thought the Washington Nationals might lose a one-run game at home, they come from behind again to win against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Stephen Strasburg looked good on Friday night, but was the victim of the ball jumping out of Nationals Park. Hunter Pence and Carlos Ruiz connected for surprisingly long home runs. When they landed, they accounted for a total of three runs.

Strasburg had not allowed a home run since August 15, 2010.

Strasburg only allowed one other hit in his six innings of work and struck out four.

That Nats bullpen was lights-out on Friday. Five relievers combined for five innings of three hit balls. They also struck out six batters, with Henry Rodriguez and Tyler Clippard striking out two apiece.

Bryce Harper was hitless on Friday, but still had a big impact on the game. He went 0-for-3 but walked three times and was a part of the rally in the 11th inning.

Steve Lombardozzi singled with two outs in the 11th inning and was followed by Harper getting on base with a walk and Jayson Werth following with a walk.

Wilson Ramos singled on a one-two pitch scoring Lombardozzi and sending the 34,377 fans in attendance home happy.

Ryan Perry was credited with the win and Michael Schwimer took the loss in this one.

The Nats have scored 86 runs this season and 42 of them have been scored in the seventh inning or later.

They improve to an amazing 8-0 in one-run games at home this season. Overall, they are 11-3 at Nationals Park.

Washington (17-9) remains on top of the NL East and will look to create more distance with the Phillies on Saturday and Sunday.

Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 1.82 ERA) will take on the Phillies’ Vance Worley (2-1, 1.97 ERA) on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET.

The Nats and Phillies are in prime time on Sunday night when Jordan Zimmermann (1-2, 1.89 ERA) opposes Cole Hamels (3-1, 2.78 ERA) at 8 p.m. ET.

Follow @NargOnSports

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There is not a better immediate feeling than whacking a walk-off home run before a full house at your home ballpark.

There is not a worse feeling than pitching a gem of a ballgame, only to watch your hard work sail over the right center field wall.

Such is the beauty and cruelty of baseball, as it were on full display at Comerica Park in Detroit on Friday night.

Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta sent 30,000-plus fans home happy with a 5-4 victory when he hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

All Chicago White Sox hurler Jake Peavy could do was peer into chaos with his piercing blue eyes, as the Detroit Tigers snatched victory from defeat.

Gut-wrenching as it were, Peavy should be applauded for his performance. The right-hander pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits. Peavy left the game in the eighth inning with a 4-3 lead.

But left-hander Matt Thornton, perhaps filling in until ace Chris Sale can settle in as the new closer for the White Sox, could not hold the lead for Peavy.

While Tigers closer Jose Valverde got the win, rookie 22-year-old left-hander Drew Smyly put forth yet another quality start. The Little Rock, Ark. native gave up two earned runs and struck out seven in six innings of work.  

On the season, Smyly is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 22 innings of work. He has given up just three earned runs, while striking out 22 and walking eight.

Tigers second basemen Ryan Raburn got the scoring started in the second inning with a fly ball that scored Alex Avila. The Sox responded when Gordon Beckham doubled to left, scoring Dayan Viciedo.

After Avila hit a solo shot in the fourth inning, Adam Dunn scored Alexei Ramirez with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. The Sox struck gold again in the seventh inning when Gordon Beckham hit a two-run homer.

But the Tigers would have the last laugh, for after Don Kelly scored in the eighth inning on a Miguel Cabrera single, Peralta won the game in the bottom of the ninth in dramatic fashion.

With the win, the Tigers move to 13-12, which is good for second place in the American League Central.

The White Sox, now losers of three straight, fall to 12-14. The Sox are now three games back of the Central Division-leading Cleveland Indians.

The Tigers and Sox will play again tomorrow at Comerica Park. Game time is 4:05 p.m. ET.

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April behind them, the Detroit Tigers kicked off the month of May with a much-needed homestand victory. Jim Leyland and crew defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-3 at Comerica Park following Monday’s rain out, which shortened the series to two games. The game will be made up September 24.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Tigers at home behind an outstanding effort by Rick Porcello. The Tigers’ 23-year-old starter won his second game of the season and evened his overall record at 2-2. He is now 5-2 lifetime against the Royals and 11-4 in the month of April.

Porcello’s sinker led to eight effective innings on the mound, striking out three and inducing 14 ground-ball outs. Porcello didn’t allow a walk and was in command of the strike zone throughout the night, never needing more than 16 pitches in any one inning to finish off the opposition.

The maturing Porcello’s only real nemesis on the night was the Royals’ talented outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who nabbed three hits on the night. Jarrod Dyson also drove a shot deep to the right-center gap that nearly led to an inside-the-park home run for the Royals, but he was held up at third and didn’t challenge a play at the plate.  

The Tigers are now a perfect 4-0 against the Royals this season. 

Porcello got plenty of help from the Tigers offense which produced 14 hits and plated nine runs. The Tigers jumped on K.C.’s Luke Hochevar and chased the Royals starter from the game in the fourth inning.

Austin Jackson went 4-for-5 at the dish, including a double, stolen base, and two RBI. Jackson continues to be the catalyst of the Tigers offense. It was Jackson’s third four-hit game of the season, while Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks and Jhonny Peralta each chipped in two hits. Peralta also had two RBI and Cabrera and Dirks both mashed doubles in a powerful Detroit hitting attack.

Injured Tigers star Victor Martinez was in the clubhouse and on the bench for the game, and may have helped spark the resurgence of a Detroit offense that has been relatively quiet. Martinez is aiming for a September return from his knee injury.

Porcello also received some assistance via multiple spectacular defensive plays by Prince Fielder and Don Kelly, who sparkled in the field and at the plate for in Detroit’s Tuesday night victory.

Jackson also made a brilliant play late in the game, robbing a home run and forcing a ground-rule double instead by reaching over the fence to make an amazing snatch.

A strange play that Tigers manager Jim Leyland argued, and appeared could have been called an out. The deep fly bounced off the padded yellow top rail of the left-center fence, and then up and over at an angle that allowed Jackson to snatch it from beyond the fence and bring it back into play. 

Unfortunately, Dirks had to exit the game following his double in the bottom of the fourth when it appeared he tweaked an already existing hamstring issue. 

The Tigers are now 12-11 on the season, and the Royals fall to 6-16.

Detroit will finish up the shortened series with a Wednesday matinée featuring Tigers ace Justin Verlander, who will seek his third win of the season in six starts. The Royals will run out Jonathan Sanchez who sports a 6.75 ERA and is 1-1 on the season.

The Chicago White Sox will open a weekend series in the Motor City on Friday following Thursday’s scheduled day off.

Bleacher Report Featured Columnist J. Cook is a member of B/R’s MLB Coverage Team and contributes to B/R’s MLB content and Detroit Tigers page. He also covers key sport interest stories for all of Detroit’s major sports teams.

Follow J. Cook on Twitter: Follow @JCookBR

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The Oakland A’s put runs on the board early and Jarrod Parker made them stand up. But it took Jordan Norberto to bail out scuffling Grant Balfour as the A’s defeated Boston 5-3 tonight at Fenway Park.

Parker went a solid 6 2/3 innings. He allowed a single run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. The key was getting ahead in the count and Parker threw 59 strikes in 98 pitches.

Up 5-1 in the ninth, Balfour could only record one out before allowing a two-run, bases-loaded single to Boston shortstop Mike Aviles. Norberto entered and struck out pinch hitter Lars Anderson and retired Dustin Pedroia to end the game.

Yoenis Cespedes continued his trend of timely hitting with a one-out RBI single in the first to score Jemile Weeks. In the fourth inning, Cliff Pennington hit a two-out double to center field to score Kurt Suzuki. Weeks followed with a single that plated Kila Ka’aihue and Pennington and would later score himself on a wild pitch by losing pitcher Felix Doubront.

The Red Sox scored their only run off Parker in the bottom of the inning on an RBI ground out by designated hitter David Ortiz.

But the story of the night was Parker, who earned his first major league victory by keeping the Red Sox lineup off balance and spotting his fastball, which varied from 89 to 94 miles per hour. 

Good: Jarrod Parker.

Congrats are in order for his first major league victory. Nights like this make Billy Beane’s offseason moves look smarter and smarter.

Bad: Jonny Gomes.

He was 0-4 with three strikeouts. He has been feast or famine all season as his .189 batting average and .488 slugging percentage can attest.

Ugly: Grant Balfour.

He’s had two blown saves and a shaky outing in a week. His ERA has ballooned to 4.72 and he seems unable to consistently locate his pitches. Not a good formula for late-inning success.

With the win, the A’s improve to 12-13 and will look to even their mark in the finale tomorrow. Brandon McCarthy takes the ball for the A’s and will be opposed by Boston’s Daniel Bard.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. 

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Yankees’ prospect Jose Campos had been nearly perfect prior to Saturday’s start against Hickory.

Through four starts (22 innings), Campos owned a 1.23 ERA to go along with 23 strikeouts and a 0.818 WHIP.

He had allowed just four runs on the season, three of which were earned.

Unfortunately for him, he allowed double that number of runs in just 2.2 innings of work in his most recent start.

Through those innings, Campos allowed eight runs on seven hits. He walked three men—he had five total walks prior—and struck out three.

Because of the bad outing, Campos’ ERA jumped from 1.23 to 4.01.

The River Dogs were down 8-4 early, but strong offensive performances from Tyler Austin (two home runs, seven RBI), Cito Culver (single, double, triple, three RBI, three runs scored), Mason Williams (two singles, double, two RBI, three runs scored) and Dante Bichette Jr. (single, walk, RBI, two runs scored) kept the game close.

Charleston ended up coming out on top by a score of 14-9, leaving Campos’ record perfect at 3-0.

This was the last thing the Yankees needed especially now that Michael Pineda will be shelved for the remainder of the season.

General manager Brian Cashman already admitted his disappointment in how the deal that sent Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi to Seattle in exchange for Campos and Pineda has turned out thus far, so seeing Campos struggle tonight must have been really hard to swallow.

All signs point to this being a freak start for Campos, as he has otherwise been dominant in his first season in the Yankees’ organization.

All young pitchers are allowed to falter here or there, so look for him to right the ship in his next start later next week.

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The first step to being successful is getting over .500 and the Oakland Athletics have taken that step. 

The A’s took a 3-1 lead on an Eric Sogard two-run home run and never looked back on Friday night. 

Josh Reddick added a home run for Oakland and finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Brandon McCarthy picked up his first win of the year. He was solid for seven innings allowing two runs while striking out four and issuing three walks. 

The win gives the A’s an 11-10 record and puts them one game over .500 for the first time since May 18, 2011.

The A’s won despite Yoenis Cespedes having an 0-for-4 night. It has to be encouraging for fans to see the team get a win without the centerpiece of the offense breaking through.

Oakland has the opportunity to pile up wins in the early part of the season and put some distance between themselves and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The A’s are still trailing the Texas Rangers, but are doing their best to keep things close within the division.

It will be hard for them to have a chance in the division with the Rangers great lineup but they certainly still will have a shot at the playoffs.

If the A’s can keep themselves in contention through the first half of the year then they can make a legitimate push for a playoff spot come October.

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New York Yankees prospect Jose Campos had been nearly unhittable in his three starts prior to Sunday’s start against West Virginia.

Campos did not factor in the decision—the River Dogs came back from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth—but he still pitched very well.

In six innings of work, Campos allowed two runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out five.

Sixty-one of his 88 pitches went for strikes.

In 22 innings this season, Campos owns a K/BB ratio of 23/5. That’s something you like to see from a young flamethrower. He tops out at 95 MPH, and the fact that he can control that speed is astounding for his age (19).

Campos owns a 3-0 record through four starts this season, and his ERA sits at 1.23 (four runs, three earned). 

His success at limiting runs stems directly from his success at limiting baserunners. He’s given up just 13 hits to go along with the five walks, which equates to a WHIP of 0.818.

Campos doesn’t get as much recognition as he deserves, despite the fact that he is the Yankees’ No. 5 prospect.

He may very well turn into the best player of the Jesus Montero/Hector Noesi for Michael Pineda swap, and his progress through the minors will likely garner much more attention once he hits the higher levels of the Yankees’ system.

It’ll be a few years before we see Campos in pinstripes, but the Yankees will have to fight the urge to call him up earlier.

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