Notables:
-Tim Lincecum tossed a six-hit shutout over the Mets, one-upping R.A. Dickey who threw seven innings of one-run ball.
-Jair Jurrjens won his second game of the season, giving up one run over 6.2 innings. He looks healthy and is primed to be solid going forward.
-Tommy Hunter improved to 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA beating the BoSox at home. There will be regression to the mean but kudos if you rolled with Hunter until this point.
-Chris Carpenter threw eight innings allowing only one run. This should put to rest his two questionable starts before the ASB.
-Joel Pineiro won his seventh straight decision, holding the Mariners to three runs over seven innings.
-Jordan Zimmerman threw four innings without allowing an earned run, striking out four and walking none in a rehab start. It's possible he could be back in early August and should be on everyone's watch list. I remember when he came up last year he appeared to be pinched by the umps but got stronger just before his injury – over his last 45.1 innings he boasted a 45:15 K:BB ratio in his last two months of starts. More reasons to like him? His .339 BABIP seems unlucky with a GB rate of 43.5|PERCENT| and an xFIP of 3.39. He'll make a solid #2 behind whoever might be #1 in Washington next year.
Save Chances:
-Billy Wagner, converted. How solid has he been? Two Ks, 21st save.
-Bobby Jenks, converted. A four-out outing with a K of the O-Dog with the bases loaded in the eighth.
Non-Closer Outings:
-Alexi Ogando lowered his ERA to 0.54. He allowed a hit and a walk but made up for it with three strikeouts. Those numbers are pretty good in any format.
Tough Days:
-Tim Wakefield. I'm thinking he's not an answer in the Boston rotation. Six earned runs over two innings say enough.
-Jamie Moyer was almost as bad. Any thought that older pitchers might not win playoff games? Moyer gave up six runs over three innings, slightly better than Wakefield. Still, not good.
-Kevin Slowey, five runs, nine hits, three innings. Lucky to escape with a no-decision.
-Clayton Kershaw gave up four earned runs over 4.1 innings, including an ugly first.
-Erik Bedard felt discomfort in his shoulder when he threw on Thursday. I'm beginning to think this isn't good for this season and beyond.
-Jose Contreras gave up five runs over 0.2 innings while Bob Howry gave up four runs over 0.2 innings. My Euclid-like math skills say those aren't good outings.
-Justin Smoak did nothing to impress his new teammates with an 0-for-4 performance with three strikeouts.
-John Danks gave up six runs in six innings. I'm beginning to see an anti-pitcher trend tonight.
Injuries/Lineup-ology:
-The reports on Adrian Beltre's hamstring looks good although he remains day-to-day.
-Carlos Beltran returned to the lineup and went 1-for-4, batting cleanup. I'd be encouraged by the zero strikeouts and one CS if I owned him.
-Allen Craig was called up by the Cardinals to add some outfield depth as Nick Stavinoha was placed on the 15-day DL..
-Justin Morneau got sent to the DL with a "minor" concussion. To me, a "minor" concussion is like a girl being "kinda" pregnant. In case you haven't heard, his second-half splits are nothing to write home about.
-Matt Wieters also will be placed on the DL. He'll be coming off two disappointing seasons but I'll still buy-low on him next year. New management and hopefully team attitude should do him wonders.
-Mike Gonzalez for the Orioles is looking at three more rehab starts which would put him back with the club around the 20th.
-Jason Heyward came off the DL and went 0-for-4; watch his production over the next week to see if his thumb is actually better.
-Chris Seddon got called up by the Mariners to likely take Cliff Lee's spot. He's a lefty which plays well at Petco and didn't allow an earned run in five of his last eight starts. Put him on your radar in AL-only/deeper leagues.
-Travis Snider could be back by the weekend.
-Russell Branyan cut his foot running into a table at a hotel. This sounds like "I hurt my ankle on a moped" or "I fell asleep in a tanning bed" or "I dreamed of spiders" or "It was a hunting/snowboarding accident" or "I kicked a metal chair" or "I punched a (fill in the blank). Just my overstated opinion of course.
-Shawn Marcum should be solid enough to start on Sunday.
-Think "The Happenings" when you hear Aroldis Chapman.
-Jeff Manship was called up from Rochester and Matt Tolbert is expected to come off the DL on Friday.
Stolen Bases:
-Starlin Castro (2), Alex Cora (3)
Caught Stealing:
-Alex Rios (10), Carlos Beltran (1)
Home Runs:
-Corey "Ready to be traded" Hart (22), Martin Prado (11), Chipper Jones (7), Bengie Molina (4 – expect at least eight more by summer's end), JD Drew (11), Bill Hall (8), Ryan Howard (18,19 – expect 20 more going forward), Derrek Lee (11, another strong second half on tab?), Alfonso Soriano (16), Geovany Soto (10), Andre Ethier (15), Gordon Beckham (4)