Run at perfection: Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada took a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Rays before giving up a one-out infield single to Logan Forsythe.

***

Garcia continues to dominate: When the Cardinals lost Adam Wainwright for the season in late April, there were suddenly big questions about the St. Louis rotation. How could there not be? Wainwright is a true ace and that makes him irreplaceable. The Cardinals had to plug the hole and hope for the best.

Enter Jaime Garcia. The 28-year-old southpaw has missed a ton of time due to injuries in recent years -- Garcia made only 36 starts total from 2012-14 -- but he got healthy and was able to join the rotation in late May, effectively replacing Wainwright. It was tough to know what to expect given the injuries, but the Cardinals turned him loose.

After holding the Marlins to one run in seven innings on Wednesday (STL 6, MIA 1), Garcia improved to 3-3 with a 1.69 ERA in seven starts since coming off the DL. He struck out four and walk none, and has a 32/7 K/BB in 48 innings. The Cardinals scored a total of zero runs in his three losses, so Garcia hardly deserves blame there. Here's a reminder of what Garcia can be when healthy:

As a whole, the St. Louis rotation has a 2.97 ERA on the season, the best in baseball and the best in the NL by nearly one-quarter of a run. Rather than collapse following the Wainwright injury, the starting staff has thrived, thanks in part to Garcia, who's been ace-like since returning from his latest injury.

Jaime Garcia dominated for the Cardinals again on Wednesday.
Jaime Garcia dominated for the Cardinals again on Wednesday. (USATSI)

Nova returns: Also notable is that 28-year-old right-hander Ivan Nova made his return to the Yankees' rotation on Wednesday, as he opposed trade bait Cole Hamels and the Phillies. Nova, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year, brought with him a career ERA+ of 100 and a K/BB ratio of 2.25.

Nova enjoyed a good developmental season in 2013, as he pitched to an ERA of 3.10, set career bests in FIP and K/BB ratio and generally did a much better job of managing contact off the bat. Command has never been Nova's strongest trait, and often that's the last thing to return to a pitcher coming off reconstructive elbow surgery. That said, in 31 1/3 minor-league rehab innings this season, Nova recorded 20 strikeouts against just six walks. 

The results on Wednesday in the Bronx? Quite good. The Yankees won by a score of 10-2 (box score), but that's not all ... 

Needless to say, that's encouraging for Nova and the Yanks. What's also encouraging is this Brooks Baseball velocity chart from Nova's Wednesday outing ... 

That's peak, 2013-grade fastball velocity from Nova right there. As well, he was able to continue hitting the mid-90s even in the late innings of his start. That's all very good, as the Yankees need some worthy innings from him. After all, coming into Wednesday, they ranked 12th in AL with a rotation ERA of 4.50. Developing!

Ivan Nova took the ball for the Yankees on Wednesday for the first time in a long time. (USATSI)
Ivan Nova took the ball for the Yankees on Wednesday for the first time in a long time. (USATSI)

Welcome to the Eye. It is here that we'll be building out a monster of a daily recap post throughout the day and night. We'll have recaps, injury news, rumors, fun stuff and a look ahead to Thursday. Park it here or just come back in the morning, to each his or her own. 

Today's MLB action (Full scoreboard)

Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 7 (recap | box score)

Royals 8, Mariners 2 (recap | box score)

Giants 6, Padres 0 (recap | box score)

Dodgers 5, Cubs 2 (recap | box score)

Athletics 8, Rangers 5 (recap | box score)

Nationals 2, Braves 1 in 11 innings (recap | box score)

Brewers 4, Mets 1 (recap | box score)

Reds 5, Pirates 2 (recap | box score)

Blue Jays 1, Rays 0 in 12 innings (recap | box score)

Yankees 10, Phillies 2 (recap | box score)

Twins 6, White Sox 1 (recap | box score)

Indians 8, Tigers 2 (recap | box score)

Angels 2, Astros 1 in 13 innings (recap | box score)

Cardinals 6, Marlins 1 (recap | box score)

Red Sox 5, Orioles 1 (recap | box score)

Milestone Watch

Longest current hit streak: Jason Kipnis of the Indians is at 19 games and counting. On Wednesday, he kept said streak intact by going 1 for 3 with two walks in the win over Detroit. 

Another milestone for A-Rod: Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with a walk Wednesday, passing Al Kaline for sole possession of 27th place on the all-time hit list. A-Rod has 3,008 hits, Kaline 3,007.

Sale's streak: White Sox ace Chris Sale didn't have his best outing in the loss to the Twins on Wednesday, but he did manage to strike out 10 in defeat. On that point ...

And also ...  

First for Lindor: New Indians shortstop and top prospect Francisco Lindor hit his first career home run on Wednesday. Here's the milestone blast:

Daily Awards

All-Star Game teaser of the day: Looking good, Queen City ... 

Optimism of the day: Needless to say, the Mariners need vintage Robinson Cano in the worst way ... 

Pre-game view of the day: It's been a rainy and gray spring and early summer, but this is definitely more like it ... 

Catch of the day: Josh Donaldson shall now follow this ball to the gates of hell ... 

Whoa. That was in preservation of Marco Estrada's bid for a perfect game -- a bid that eventually came to grief, as noted above.

Catch of the day, part 2: As long as we're doling out praise for the Toronto "D," let's give a little love to Jose Bautista ... 

Estimation of the day: Chris Colabello hit the go-ahead home run in that hotly contested Jays-Rays tilt. He was merely somewhat confident about it off the bat ... 

Strikeout of the day: Chris Sale managed to strike out Torii Hunter ... on a pitch that hit him:

The swing supersedes the hit-by-pitch!

Ejection story of the day: Yankees skipper Joe Girardi was ejected for arguing a check swing call in the third inning on Wednesday. He was in the dugout barking at the umpire then came out to get his money's worth. What did Girardi say to get tossed? From Chad Jennings of the Journal News:

“I told (umpire Alan Porter) he swung,” Girardi said. “He said something, and I said, ‘He swung.’ He said ‘Knock it off,’ and I said, ‘I’d knock it off if you got the call right,’ and he threw me.”

That's a solid ejection story right here.

Catch of the day, part 3: Air Gordon? Air Gordon. Take it away, Dee:

Fan of the day: Following Wednesday afternoon's game against the Indians, Tigers ace David Price made his way from Cleveland to Omaha to watch his alma mater (Vanderbilt) try to win their second straight College World Series championship.

Trolling of the day: This is A+ trolling from ESPN New York Mets beat writer Adam Rubin. The Mets came into Wednesday with a six-game losing streak.

Play of the day: Check out this play by Virginia third baseman Kenny Towns in the decisive Game Three of the College World Series:

Considering the stakes -- runner on third with two outs and the score tied in the winner-take-all national championship game -- that is a huge, huge play. Well down, Towns.

More to come throughout the night.

Injuries, News & Rumors

Giants OF Nori Aoki suffers fractured leg, manager says

Cubs prospect Javier Baez to begin rehab in Arizona

McClendon hoping Martinez will be positive influence on Mike Zunino

Yankees' Andrew Miller throws 25 times from 60 feet

Royals P Joe Blanton could start Tuesday in Houston

Red Sox SP Clay Buchholz not expecting to be traded

Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera out of lineup for second time in 2015

Royals' Yordano Ventura expected to throw 75 pitches Friday

Astros rookie Carlos Correa joins some elite company

Giants RP Sergio Romo leaves Tuesday's game with knee injury

Click here for more MLB player news.

Looking Ahead to Thursday (all times ET)

AWAY HOME TIME AWAY STARTER HOME STARTER NATL TV
Chi. White Sox Detroit 1:08 pm Rodon (3-1) - 3.75 ERA Simon (7-4) - 3.29 ERA  
Baltimore Boston 1:35 pm Wright (2-3) - 5.16 ERA Rodriguez (3-1) - 3.13 ERA  
Oakland Texas 2:05 pm Gray (8-3) - 1.95 ERA Lewis (7-3) - 4.08 ERA  
N.Y. Mets Milwaukee 2:10 pm deGrom (7-5) - 2.34 ERA Jungmann (2-1) - 3.50 ERA  
L.A. Dodgers Chi. Cubs 2:20 pm Frias (4-5) - 4.68 ERA Lester (4-5) - 3.80 ERA  
Arizona Colorado 3:10 pm De La Rosa (6-3) - 4.96 ERA De La Rosa (4-3) - 5.47 ERA  
San Diego San Francisco 3:45 pm Shields (7-1) - 3.75 ERA Heston (7-5) - 3.83 ERA  
Atlanta Washington 4:05 pm Wisler (1-0) - 1.13 ERA Fister (2-3) - 4.80 ERA  
Cincinnati Pittsburgh 7:05 pm DeSclafani (5-5) - 3.48 ERA Burnett (6-3) - 2.05 ERA  
St. Louis Miami 7:10 pm Lynn (4-4) - 3.07 ERA Haren (6-4) - 3.19 ERA  
N.Y. Yankees Houston 8:10 pm Warren (5-4) - 3.62 ERA Keuchel (8-3) - 2.35 ERA