Your Newest Rookie Sensation:

- a week that's already seen the major league debuts of Stephen Strasburg, Mike Stanton, Carlos Santana and Jose Tabata saw another wunderkind emerge Saturday, as Daniel Nava hit the first big league pitch he saw for a grand slam. Unlike those other guys though, who took the easy road of having "tools" that drew praise from "scouts", Nava started his pro career in the independent leagues after he graduated from college and had to earn his way to the majors by (get this!) actually being better than his competition at every minor league stop, rather than being projectable and cutting a fine figure in a uniform. What does this guy think baseball is, a meritocracy or something?

Notables:

- speaking of Santana, he went 2-for-4 with his first career double, home run and RBI (three of 'em, in fact).
- Fausto Carmona also liked what he saw of Santana behind the plate as he threw a complete game three-hitter for the win, coughing up just a Ryan Zimmerman solo shot, and even put up an uncharacteristically excellent 7:0 K:BB ratio.
- mark it down in your calendars: on June 12, 2010, Carlos Silva actually lost a game. The guy who the Cubs picked up this offseason because his name wasn't Milton Bradley still pitched well, giving up two runs over seven innings with a 6:2 K:BB ratio, but didn't get his usual inflated run support and saw his record drop to 8-1 as a result.
- Derek Jeter did a little bit of everything, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, three runs scored, two home runs, and a partridge... err, a stolen base.
- Chris Coghlan's bat only seems to have two settings: ice cold, and blistering hot. He went 2-for-4 tonight with a double, triple and two runs scored, extending his hitting streak to 12 games during which he has nine multi-hit efforts. I'll let you figure out which setting his bat is currently on.
- Jonny Gomes also cranked two home runs, and had six RBI. Teammate Brandon Phillips went 3-for-4 with a home run and a steal.
- Jason Hammel threw eight shutout innings to outduel Brandon Morrow, who gave up just one run over six innings. Both pitchers had identical 6:3 K:BB ratios.
- Adam LaRoche also also hit two home runs, both solo shots.
- Dan Haren turned in a Haren-esque performance, giving up just two runs on six hits over eight innings with a 9:0 K:BB ratio.
- Colby Rasmus joined the power 'n' speed brigade, going 2-for-4 with a homer and a steal.

Save Chances:

- Bobby Jenks, converted (11). He gave up a run and struck out two in an inning of work.
- Francisco Rodriguez, converted (13). One perfectly clean frame.
- Billy Wagner, converted (11). Gave up a hit.
- Rafael Soriano, converted (16). One K in a perfect inning.
- Chris Ray, converted (1). He relieved an extremely ineffective Neftali Feliz, and Frank Francisco had already pitched in the eighth.
- Manny Corpas, converted (8). One hit allowed in an otherwise uneventful inning.

Other Closer Outings:

- Carlos Marmol pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two, with the Cubs down by two.
- Jonathan Papelbon gave up to hits and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning with the Red Sox up by eight.
- Jose Valverde struck out the side in the ninth inning of a tie game. He now has an itty-bitty 0.34 ERA.
- Neftali Feliz got a hold, but only after giving up two ninth inning runs on two hits and two walks in just a third of an inning.

Non-Closer Outings:

- Trevor Hoffman managed to throw a shutout inning. He gave up two hits and a walk, but hey, baby steps.
- Aaron Heilman threw a shutout ninth with a five run lead, giving up a a hit and striking out one. Any good performance by a Diamondback reliever is worth noting.

Lineup-o-logy:

- Cristian Guzman was back in the lineup for the Nationals, hitting his usual second, after missing a couple of games with a sore hand.
- The Twins infield tonight to the left (your left, not his left) of Justin Morneau: Nick Punto at second, Trevor Plouffe at short, Brendan Harris at third. The '86 Tigers it ain't.
- Wes Helms made his second straight start at third base for the Marlins in an AL park, as Jorge Cantu DH's. This, while Cameron Maybin sits on the bench because manager Fredi Gonzalez can't find at-bats for him right now. Did I mention the Marlins came into Saturday one game below .500, and not exactly in the thick of a pennant race?
- Ryan Doumit got his third straight start at first base and hit fifth. He also committed his first error at his new position.
- Rajai Davis was back at leadoff for the A's after missing the last four games due to a hamstring tweak.

Tough Days:

- Wandy Rodriguez continues to break Joe Sheehan's heart, allowing eight runs over five innings, walking five and striking out four.
- bad as Wandy was, he was no Joe Blanton. Four innings, 13 hits, nine runs, new ERA of 7.28. Yee-owch.
- bad as Blanton was, he was no Brian Bannister. Bannister hadn't allowed more than three runs in a start since May 16th. He saved them all up for tonight, apparently: 11 runs, nine earned, on 10 hits (including three home runs) and two walks in just three innings.
- Ricky Nolasco's ratio tonight was 7:3. That doesn't look too bad, until you realize it's outs:home runs, not K:BB.

Injuries:

- Daisuke Matsuzaka went from scheduled starter to DL resident in the space of about two minutes after he complained of a forearm strain during his warmup pitches.
- Ryan Sweeney sat down with sore knees, and probably made creaky old man noises as he did so.
- Chipper Jones missed Saturday's game due to... well, the Braves didn't say. Call it scheduled maintenance.
- Marcus Thames left the game in the fifth inning with a hamstring strain.

Home Runs:

- Carlos Pena (15); Mark Reynolds (15); Adrian Gonzalez (14); Josh Hamilton (14); Ryan Zimmerman (13); Colby Rasmus (11); Carlos Lee (10); Hunter Pence (10); Jonny Gomes 2 (9); Garrett Jones (9); Adam LaRoche 2 (9); Chris Snyder (9); Russell Branyan (8); Carlos Gonzalez (8); Derek Jeter 2 (8); Brandon Phillips (8); JD Drew (7); Jeff Francoeur (7); Jorge Posada (7); Carl Crawford (6); Carlos Guillen (4); Sean Rodriguez (4); Jose Reyes (3); Melky Cabrera (2); Wes Helms (1); Oscar Salazar (1); Carlos Santana (1)

Stolen Bases:

- Juan Pierre (25); BJ Upton (20); Austin Jackson 2 (10); Brandon Phillips (10); Chris Young (10); Colby Rasmus (8); Derek Jeter (7); Joey Votto (7); Alcides Escobar (3); David Murphy (2); Jose Tabata (2); Ike Davis (1); Matt Lucroy (1); Michael Stanton (1)

Caught Stealing:

- Jerry Hairston (3); Fred Lewis (3); Rickie Weeks (3); PS3 spokesmodel Joe Mauer (2); Gerald Laird (1); Neil Walker (1)