Most boringest day you could ever possibly imagine.
Two Things I Should Probably Mention
• Cliff Lee got traded to the Rangers for Justin Smoak and some other dudes. Lee will start for Texas on Saturday. Smoak immediately becomes Seattle's first baseman.
• There were two STUPID comeback wins tonight. In Texas, the Rangers lost after entering the 9th inning with a 6-2 lead. Per FanGraphs, the Rangers' win expectancy reached 98.6|PERCENT|. Earlier, Cincinnati lost in Philadelphia after entering the bottom of the 9th inning with a 6-1 lead. Their win expectancy reached 99.7|PERCENT|.
Notables
• Young Mike Leake pitched well again, conceding only 1 ER over 8.0 IP... until the 9th inning. With his Reds up 7-1, Leake allowed four runs while securing only one out, at which point Francisco Cordero and Arthur Rhodes went on to blow the game.
• I like Carlos Guillen at second base. That I, Carson Cistulli, like him probably isn't notable. That he's been hitting well and went 2-for-4 with a 3B probably IS.
• This guy Stephen Strasburg pitched today. You probably haven't heard of him, on account of he's a way underground prospect. Anyway, he did this: 6.0 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 2 GB in 13 BIP, 22 BF.
• James Shields got 9 K while facing just 27 batters. And lost.
• Omar Infante started at third, went 4-for-5, and hit a HR. Oh, I'm sorry: that's ALL-STAR Omar Infante.
• Corey Patterson, DH-ing for the O's, went 4-for-5 with a granny, and was also intentionally walked at one point with men on first and second.
• Jorge De La Rosa made his return from a weird middle finger injury today. Line: 4.1 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, 6 H, 5 ER, 5 GB in 14 BIP (not great), 22 BF. His BABIP for the game was .429, so there's some bad luck there. Would be nice to see more grounders; he's been slightly above league average in that department the last two years.
• Dan Haren, career BABIP: .303. Haren, 2010 BABIP: .340. Haren, today: 10 H on 24 BIP (.417 BABIP).
Caution, Warning
• Uh-oh. Francisco Liriano tonight: 1.2 IP, 1 K, 2 BB, 6 H, 7 ER. Apparently this is the second time he's been effed up by Detroit in three starts against them.
Stolen Bases
• Carl Crawford (30), Scott Podsednik (25), Chone Figgins (24), Elvis Andrus (23), Alexis Rios (23), Nyjer Morgan (20), Angel Pagan (17), Matt Kemp (15), Erick Aybar (14), Austin Jackson (14), Evan Longoria (13), Carlos Gomez (10), Ronny Cedeno (8), Josh Hamilton (7), Rickie Weeks (6), Melky Cabrera (4), David Murphy (4), Delmon Young (4).
Caught Stealing
• Alexis Rios (9), Michael Bourn (8), Omar Infante (3), Jose Tabata (3).
Save Chances
• Francisco Cordero, blown (6). He was part of the melee in Philly that saw the Reds lose after entering the 9th with a 7-1 lead. That qualifies as a melee, right?
• Billy Wagner, converted (20). No strikeouts, no walks, no nothing.
• Alfredo Simon, converted (12). No strikeouts, no walks, no nothing. Also, it was in the 10th inning.
• Octavio Dotel, blown (4). This happened:
- C. McGehee grounded out to third
- C. Gomez reached on bunt single
- C. Gomez to third on R. Doumit's throwing error
- G. Kottaras tripled to right, C. Gomez scored
- G. Kottaras out at home
- A. Escobar struck out swinging
• Huston Street, converted (4). Line: 1.0 IP, 2 K.
• Leo Nunez, converted (19). No strikeouts, no walks, no nothing.
• Brian Fuentes, converted (16). Just a K. Nothing else. Oh, and it was in the 10th inning.
Closer, Non-Save
• Jose Valverde pitched the final inning of Detroit's 7-3 victory versus Minnesota. Little to report, except this: Valverde now has a 0.84 WHIP and 0.95 ERA. And also this: his FIP (3.07) and xFIP (3.60) are higher than that.
• Francisco Rodriguez pitched with his Metropolitans down by a couple runs, allowing an H and a BB but nothing else.
• Neftali Feliz didn't get a blown save, because he didn't enter in a save situation. However, he DID give up 4 ER (a grand slam to Corey Patterson) in the 9th inning -- this, after having entered the game with Texas winning 6-2.
• John Axford got a K and a W, in that order. He also gave up an H, ya heard.
• Andrew Bailey got an L after coming into a tie game and giving up a HR to Erick Aybar.
• Jonathan Broxton gave up a run. Big whoop. His K:BB entering the game: 53:7. In 37.1 IP.
Lineup-ology
• Justin Morneau didn't play today due to a "minor" concussion. Thought: a concussion is only "minor" if it happens to someone else.
• Andres Torres left tonight's game with a tight left groin. He was replaced in the game by Aaron Rowand. Consider Torres day-to-day for now. Too bad: before that happened, he'd hit his fourth homer in six games.
• Cristian Guzman and Willie Harris batted 5th and 6th for the Nationals today. So, uh, THAT happened.
• Toronto decided to bat Jose Molina at DH today. Also, Jose Molina hit a home run. What the what?
• Chris Davis was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill the Justin Smoak-sized hole in the Texas lineup.
• San Diego's outfield right now, from left to right: Scott Hairston, Chris Denorfia, Aaron Cunningham. #FirstPlace
The Young and Potentially Restless
• Chris Heisey started in center field today -- against a righty -- and went 2-for-4 with a BB. He was slashing .277/.368/.569 through 65 AB entering play.
• Houston's rookie catcher Jason Castro was slashing only .175/.283/.275 entering play. But he also had a .240 BABIP. But he also had a 35|PERCENT| strikeout rate. I report, you decide!
• Josh Thole got the start today with R.A. Dickey pitching. It seems like that might be a thing that's happening. He was batting .261/.347/.424 at Triple-A Buffalo and, though lacking in power, shows above-average contact skills.
• Jon Jay has been getting starts in Ryan Ludwick's absence. Today, he went 2-for-4 with a 2B. He slashed .321/.394/.491 at Triple-A Memphis, where he was also a perfect 13-for-13 on stolen base attempts.
• Chicago White Sock Dayan Viciedo is a "third baseman." He's also 5-11, 240. Those are funny measurements. Also, he had a 8: 52 BB:K in 238 Triple-A ABs this year.