Steven Wright's dream season back on track with first career shutout

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.

One of the best stories in baseball added another chapter on Friday night in Los Angeles.

Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright pitched his first career complete game shutout in a 9-0 victory against the Dodgers, giving him 13 wins in his breakout season.

Wright had actually hit a bump in July, posting a 6.23 ERA over six starts and 34 2/3 innings. In 15 starts prior, Wright had a sparkling 2.18 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .207 batting average. He also notched three complete games during that run, including a June 20 start against the White Sox where he allowed one unearned run.

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Those numbers were good enough to earn Wright an All-Star selection and even had him in the running for Cy Young consideration. It might be a tougher road now, but a strong finish could put him right back in that conversation.

In Friday’s outing, Wright allowed just three hits and one walk while tying a season best with nine strikeouts. Both manager John Farrell and pitching coach Carl Willis were concerned about the inconsistent movement in Wright’s knuckleball entering this start. The Dodgers would likely tell us everything was in working order here, as they had no answer for Wright’s dancing baseball.

Wright, 31, had made just 26 major league appearances before moving into Boston’s rotation this season. He’s now made 22 consecutive starts, and looks like he could be a key contributor on a true contender. This is why we love baseball.

TOP PERFORMERS

Dallas Keuchel: Coming off a Cy Young season in 2015, expectations were high for the Houston left-hander. Unfortunately, Keuchel’s been more miss than hit this season, but he was in top form in Friday’s 5-0 win against Texas, tossing his first complete game and shutout of the season. Keuchel limited the Rangers to three hits and two walks while striking out seven. That win was Keuchel’s seventh after winning 20 games last season. But those struggles will quickly be forgotten if he can help lead a surge to the postseason.

Jaime Garcia: Speaking of dominant performances, Garcia was an all-around beast for the Cardinals. Garcia not only held the Braves scoreless over eight innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out 11. He also drove in the only run in the Cardinals 1-0 win with a second-inning single.

Justin Verlander: Make that seven straight starts of two runs or less for Verlander. The longtime Tigers’ ace dominated the Mets in a 4-3 victory, limiting them to two runs on four hits over his six innings. Verlander also racked up nine strikeouts, giving him 57 over that same stretch compared to 13 walks. He also allowed just his second home run in 48 2/3 innings.

Gio Gonzalez: Washington’s left-hander handcuffed the struggling Giants offense, holding them to one run on two hits in Friday’s 5-1 win. Gonzalez tossed 104 pitches over eight innings, but made only one mistake, surrendering a solo home run to Angel Pagan. Washington countered with homers from Trea Turner and Wilson Ramos.

MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT

You’re looking at Starlin Castro’s 1,095th career hit, which was also his first career grand slam. That’s difficult to believe, but it’s true. Castro finally connected in Friday’s 13-7 win against the Indians. It’s not like he’s had any shortage of opportunities either.

REST OF SCOREBOARD

Pirates 3, Reds 2: After new closer Tony Watson allowed Cincinnati to tie it in the ninth, Sean Rodriguez smacked a walk-off homer to raise the Jolly Roger.

Blue Jays 4, Royals 3: Second baseman Devon Travis bookended a big Blue Jays win with solo home runs in the first and ninth innings.

Orioles 7, White Sox 5: Baltimore got a pair of solo homers from Pedro Alvarez and three hits apiece from Adam Jones, Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy.

Marlins 5, Rockies 3: Miami takes the first game of a key weekend series thanks to a four-run ninth inning. The Marlins remain tied with St. Louis for the second wild-card spot.

Twins 6, Rays 2: Tampa Bay falls to 44-64. Another loss on Saturday would put them behind Minnesota for the AL’s worst record.

Cubs 7, A’s 2: Welcome back, Jorge Soler. The Cubs slugger launched a three-run homer in his first at-bat since June 6 to pace their victory.

Mariners 6, Angels 4: Seattle scored all six runs in the first inning against Tim Lincecum.

Diamondbacks 3, Brewers 2 (11): A walkoff walk in the desert as Welington Castillo takes four pitches outside the zone from Blaine Boyer to force home the winning run.

Phillies 5, Padres 4: Catcher Cameron Rupp homered, doubled and drove in four runs to lead Philadelphia.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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