Observations:
- Zack Greinke went 8 innings, giving up 1 earned run, with 0 walks and 6 Ks, in a complete game loss. He's now 0-3 with a 2.27 ERA. If the Cy Young voting were today, I don't know how many votes he would get, but it wouldn't be enough. "Hard-luck loser" doesn't begin to tell the story.
- Alex Gordon got sent down to triple-A by the Royals. Chris Getz will play second, while Alberto Callaspo mans third. Coming off of a thumb injury, Gordon wasn't hitting all that well, but he was taking walks. What the Royals have to gain by sending Gordon down, instead of Getz, eludes me.
- The Orioles swept the Red Sox. Yes, swept. After hitting 2 home runs on Saturday, Ty Wigginton got hit by pitches in his first two at-bats. In the bottom of the 10th inning in a tied game, he doubled off Jonathan Papelbon to drive in Nick Markakis, for the game winning run. That, my friends, is sweet, sweet revenge.
- Love the camo uniforms the Padres wear.
- Astros 3-4-5 hitters are now batting .191, .211, and .213. Their names have been removed to protect their families, but you know who you are.
- Ichiro still amazes me. Today he took away a Justin Smoak home run at the wall. I would say "robbed," but there was no doubt that Ichiro would find a way to come down with the ball. He timed his jump perfectly, caught the ball, and made it look routine. As a Smoak owner, I wanted to be mad, but it was too pretty.
Notables:
- Justin Verlander got back on track with 8.1 IP of 1 run ball, in a win. He had 0 walks and 7 strikeouts.
- Phil Hughes, Wade Davis, Chris Carpenter, Jon Garland, and Jhoulys Chacin all pitched 7 innings of shutout ball. They struck out 6, 5, 8, 3, and 7 batters, respectively.
- C.J. Wilson and Doug Fister went head-to-head in a pitcher's duel. Wilson went 7 inning and gave up 1 earned run on 5 hits, while Fister went 8 innings and gave up no runs on 3 hits. Ah, life in the AL West.
- Aaron Harang went 6 innings and struck out 6, with 0 walks. He gave up 3 earned runs and 1 home run, but anyone who owns him will take it.
- Tom Gorzelanny pitched a 10K. That was somewhat unexpected.
- Alex Gonzalez hit his 8th home run of the season. As Ron Shandler says, once a player displays a skill, he owns it.
- Robinson Cano is, dare I say, en fuego. He went 2-4 with a home run (his 9th) and 3 RBI. He's batting .387 and shows no signs of slowing down.
- Paul Konerko crushed his baseball leading 12th home run.
- Austin Jackson got another 3 hits to raise his average to .367. He's going to stop hitting at some point... I think.
- Hanley Ramirez hit 2 home runs and how has 3 in the last 2 days. Don't hold your breath waiting on the steals.
- Alfonso Soriano went 3-4 and smacked his 5th and 6th home runs of the season. That's 4 in the last 3 games. Chris Liss may have been onto something when he wrote this. Some of those "outrageous" predictions aren't looking too outrageous right now.
- Delmon Young got 4 hits on Sunday. At 25 years old, it's much too early to give up on this former top prospect.
- Austin Kearns just keeps hitting. He went 2-3, with a walk, to increase his batting average to .373.
- Jason Heyward went 2-3 with 3 RBI and 2 runs. Remember when he was in a slump? Yeah, neither do I.
- David Freese went 3-4, with 1 run and 1 RBI. He's gotten a hit in 7 of his last 8 games.
- Andre Ethier went 3-5 with 2 home runs. He's batting .365 and has an OPS over 1.000.
- Shane Victorino hit a grand slam off of Johan Santana. On Saturday, he hit a 3-run homer.
- In the stolen base department Shin-Soo Choo (5th), Juan Pierre (10th), Fred Lewis (3rd), Darnell McDonald (1st), Chone Figgins (6th & 7th), Elvis Andrus (8th), Chase Headley (8th), Scott Hairston (2nd & 3rd), Troy Tulowitzki (2nd), Jason Giambi (1st), Eric Young Jr. (4th), Lastings Milledge (2nd), and Jeff Francoeur (2nd).
Save Chances:
- Rafael Soriano, converted. He walked 1 and struck out another. He now has 6 saves.
- Neftali Feliz, converted. Struck out 1 on the way to his 5th save.
- David Aardsma, blown. Protecting a 1 run lead, he gave up a lead-off walk to Elvis Andrus and it cost him. Andrus stole 2nd and scored on a David Murphy hit. That's 2 blown saves for Aardsma this season.
Other Closer Outings:
- Jon Rauch, Chad Qualls, and Francisco Rodriguez had a 1-2-3 outings.
- Jonathan Papelbon gave up 2 hits, a walk, and a run (unearned) for a loss. He's now walked as many hitters (9) as he's struck out (9) this season.
- Jose Valverde gave up 1 hit and got 2 outs, to finish what Verlander started.
- Matt Capps got 1 out in the 9th.
- Leo Nunez pitched a scoreless 9th inning, giving up 1 hit.
- Billy Wagner gave up 1 hit, while getting 1 strikeout in an inning of work.
- Franklin Morales faced 2 hitters and struck out both of them.
Non-Closer Outings:
- Sergio Santos went 1 IP with 2 Ks. The former shortstop has now gone 9.2 IP with 13 Ks, 4 BB, and 0 ER. Matt Thornton who?
- Jason Motte got 1 strikeout in 1 inning of work. He's struck out 9 and walked 4 this season in 10.2 IP.
- Mike Adams and Dan Runzler both struck out 2 in 1 inning of work. Don't sleep on the San Diego and San Francisco bullpens.
Tough Days:
- Ben Sheets got hammered by the Blue Jays on Sunday. He gave up 3 home runs, on his way to 9 ER in only 3.1 IP. His $10 million, 1 year contract isn't looking so hot right now.
- Edwin Jackson got hit around, again. This time he gave up 8 earned runs in 4 innings. Pitching in the NL is supposed to be easier, right?
- Johan Santana got abused by the Phillies tonight. His line was an ugly 3.2 IP, 8 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 4 HR, and 1 walk to Jamie Moyer with the bases loaded. This has to be one of Johan's worst outings ever.
- Mike Napoli went 0-3 with 3 Ks. Sigh....
- Gordon Beckham went 0-4 with 3 Ks. He's batting .211 on the season and is in a serious funk, along with Alexei Ramirez, who had 2 errors today.
- Luke Scott went 0-4 with 3 Ks. Between Scott and Nolan Reimold, they went 0-8 with 11 left on base. They're batting .187 (Scott) and .175 (Reimold).
- Mark Reynolds went 0-4 with 3 Ks and 5 left on base. This is part of the package.
Lineup-ology:
- Expect a Marcus Thames/Randy Winn platoon with Curtis Granderson on the DL. Thames will be used against lefties and Winn against righties.
- Mike Lowell started at first base for Kevin Youkilis, who is dealing with a groin issue.
- Ryan Hanigan got another start at catcher for the Reds. Hanigan has been swinging a hot bat lately and will continue to see starts over Ramon Hernandez, until he cools down.
- Omar Infante got the start at shortstop for the Braves. Yunel Escobar is dealing with a groin issue and might need a trip to the DL.
- Josh Donaldson got another start at catcher for the injured Kurt Suzuki.
- Travis Snider was out for the Blue Jays with an illness.
- Jeremy Hermida was out on Sunday with a left quad issue.
Comings/Goings:
- Mike Aviles has been reportedly called up from the minors to take Alex Gordon's roster spot.
- Donny Lucy was optioned to the minors. Ramon Castro will be back with the White Sox, now that his heel is better.
- Aaron Rowand was activated from the DL. Waldis Joaquin was optioned to the minors to make room for Rowand.
- Wilson Ramos was recalled from the minors, to fill in for Joe Mauer. Ramos is a prospect in the Twins system and could see plenty of at-bats, should Mauer need to go on the DL. He started Sunday and got 4 hits.
- Mark Melancon was recalled by the Yankees.
- The Royals traded pitcher Carlos Rosa to the Diamondbacks for shortstop Rey Navarro.
- The Mariners have reportedly released Eric Byrnes, sent Matt Tuiasosopo to triple-A, and recalled Josh Wilson & Ryan Langerhans.
Injuries:
- Andrew McCutchen has a mild right ankle sprain. He's thought to be day-to-day.
- Curtis Granderson is expected to miss a month with a groin strain (grade 2).
- Chris Dickerson is scheduled to have surgery on his right hamate bone. There's no timetable for his return.
- Joe Mauer is dealing with a heel issue that may force him to the DL. Mauer was thought to be day-to-day, but it appears he may now be week-to-week.
- Pat Neshek was placed on the DL with an injured right middle finger.
Star Prospect News:
- Stephen Strasburg pitched what is believed to be his last start at double-A. Look for him to move up to triple-A before his next start.