Yankees 9, Red Sox 4

- apparently to be productive again, Russell Martin just needed to get the heck out of Dodge(r Stadium). His two homer day boosts his line on the season to .321/.349/.679, with three HR and two SB.
- Ivan Nova couldn't get out of the fifth inning, and thus didn't get the win despite having one gift-wrapped for him by the offense. He was a popular sleeper pick heading into the season, but with the Yanks stock-piling veteran arms in the minors Nova may not have a very long leash.
- mind you, Nova was still better than Clay Buchholz, who couldn't get out of the fourth inning. Buchholz has a solid 1.44 GB/FB ratio through his first two starts but he's allowed five home runs in 10 innings. Those numbers will normalize, but his line this season will probably end up looking more like 2009 (4.21 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) than 2010 (2.33, 1.20).
- Dustin Pedroia had a three-double day (should that be called an 'Abner'?) for the Sawx but Jed Lowrie had a three-hit day of his own at shortstop. It's too early to start talking about Lowrie stealing the job away from Marco Scutaro, but if Boston keeps struggling and Lowrie keeps hitting that's the kind of move that will allow the club to claim they're "doing something" while they wait for the tide to turn.
W: David Robertson (1-0) HR: Martin 2 (3), Curtis Granderson (2), Robinson Cano (2) CS: Derek Jeter (1)

Phillies 10, Braves 2

- Brian Schneider hit his first home run of the season, then got lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 7th. Carlos Ruiz then pinch-hit himself as part of a double-switch, figured he could do better, and connected for his first jack of the season - a grand slam.
- Roy Oswalt's victory in this one was his first ever regular-season win over Atlanta.
- why the Phillies are winning: their 'four aces' have a combined 38:7 K:BB ratio through seven starts and 38 innings.
- why the Phillies are winning, part two: Raul Ibanez is the only starter in their lineup hitting below .300.
- I'd like to say something nice about Atlanta here, but there's not much. Brandon Beachy scuffled a bit, although he wasn't terrible. Freddie Freeman is hitting eighth (which is just flat out a mistake, especially when you've got a veteran out machine like Alex Gonzalez to plug in there instead) with a .172 batting average, which puts him just a anotch below Dan Uggla who's spinning his wheels at .176. But hey, at least they didn't commit any errors on Saturday.
W: Oswalt (2-0) HR: Schneider (1), Ruiz (1) SB: Shane Victorino (2)

Royals 3, Tigers 1

- if this time last season I told you to expect a pitching duel between Bruce Chen and Phil Coke, you'd have locked me away. Chen threw six shutout innings, striking out seven and walking one, while Coke allowed two runs over 6.2 innings while also striking out seven, although he walked four.
- Chen's final goose egg was preserved thanks to some great defense by the Royals, as Alex Gordon in left field hustled to get to a Magglio Ordonez double in the corner then made a good throw to Alcides Escobar, who made a great throw to the plate, where Brayan Pena did his best brick wall impression to deny Will Rhymes the run.
- Billy Butler went 2-for-3 with a double, and now sports a sick .414/.528/.690 line on the season.
- Joakim Soria coughed up a solo home run to Ryan Raburn for the Tigers' only tally en route to his second save. He has not been good so far (7.50 ERA, 2:2 K:BB ratio through six innings) and his cutter, which normally sits around 90 mph, struggled to get out of the mid-80s. Raburn's home run came when he muscled one up to 92 and it flattened out. It's too early to panic, but not too early to keep a close eye on his next few outings, either to know exactly when to panic or to spot an opportunity to get him at a bit of a discount.
W: Chen (1-0) SV: Soria (2) HR: Raburn (1) CS: Butler (1)

White Sox 4, Rays 2

- Philip Humber looked very good in his third career big league start, giving up just one run over six innings, but let's see him against a team that's figured out how to hit this season before assuming he'll be a safe add.
- Gordon Beckham went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a steal. Alex Gordon's big start in Kansas City has gotten most of the "breakout season" attention, but Beckham's .343/.415/.514 line is pretty good too.
- Wade Davis took his second loss of the season but pitched pretty well, allowing just two runs over six innings.
- Casey Kotchman is now 0-for-5 since being called up. This shouldn't need saying, but he's not the answer.
- Sam Fuld went 1-for-5 and stole his fifth base from the leadoff spot. He's hitting just .222 so far, but has three walks in six games and is flashing some very flashy leather in the outfield. He might just be part of the answer.
- with Matt Thornton unavailable Chris Sale picked up the save, but Sergio Santos (who tossed a scoreless eighth to keep his ERA at 0.00) might be the better bet to take over as closer if Thornton spits the bit.
W: Humber (1-0) SV: Sale (1) HR: Felipe Lopez (1) SB: Fuld (5), Alexis Rios (1), Beckham (1)

Orioles 5, Rangers 0 (Game 1)
Rangers 13, Orioles 1 (Game 2)

- Zach Britton was a little bit of all right, stymying Texas over 7.2 shutout innings in the opener. He walked three and struck out only two, which isn't a ratio you'd like to see, but he's more than just a crafty lefty. He'll struggle at some point of course, but this outing wasn't a fluke.
- Matt Harrison was just as good in Game 2, allowing one run over seven innings on just two hits and a walk while striking out three.
- Jake Arrieta, however, wasn't, getting smacked around for eight runs in just 3.2 frames. His 5:2 was decent, but he'll need to turn things around quickly to avoid a demotion.
- Adrian Beltre snapped out of his early season struggles in Game 2, going 3-for-5 with a double and his second homer of the season, while Nelson Cruz crunched his fifth and Mike Napoli his third.
- Mark Reynolds hit his first home run as an Oriole in Game 1.
- Luke Scott was back in left field in Game 1 as he gets eased back into action following his groin injury, getting a hit in his only official at-bat, walking twice and getting thrown out stealing. That's as good a sign as any that he's feeling 100|PERCENT|.
Game 1 - W: Britton (2-0) HR: Nick Markakis (1), Reynolds (1) CS: Scott (1)
Game 2 - W: Harrison (2-0) HR: Beltre (2), Napoli (3), Cruz (5), Adam Jones (2)

Rockies 6, Pirates 4

- Charlie Morton just could not find the plate, walking five over seven innings while striking out just one. He kept the damage to a minimum though, getting charged with only three runs (two earned).
- Greg Reynolds tossed six entirely serviceable innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks with two K's. Nice to see him begin to get his career back on track.
- Dexter Fowler went 0-for-3, but walked twice, scored two runs and stole his first base. He's now reached base eight times in the last three games.
- Jose Tabata went 1-for-3 with a solo shot and a stolen base. He also drew a walk, giving him six walks in nine games, after walking just 28 times in 102 games last year. With that kind of skill growth, his .343/.439/.571 line may not be as big a fluke as you might think.
- Matt Lindstrom picked up the save with Huston Street unavailable, giving up two hits in a shutout inning of work.
W: Matt Belisle (1-0) SV: Lindstrom (1) HR: Seth Smith (1), Ryan Doumit (1), Tabata (2) SB: Fowler (1), Tabata (4)

Marlins 7, Astros 5

- Javier Vazquez couldn't break 90 mph with his fastball but still made it through six innings and got the win, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four. Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said after the game that he was glad to see Vazquez battle through without his best stuff, but this may well be his best stuff. Be warned.
- Bud Norris pitched about as well as Vazquez, giving up four runs on five hits with a 6:2 K:BB ratio.
- Greg Dobbs was the big hero for the Fish, going 3-for-4 with the game-winning home run. With Hanley Ramirez still limping he could get another start or two at third base, but for now he's still third man on the depth chart at best, so don't get too excited.
- Florida's other big bat, Michael Stanton, made his return to the lineup and went 1-for-3 with a massive double to straightaway center, a one-bouncer off the wall up Taj's Hill. He walked once and struck out twice in other plate appearances.
W: Vazquez (1-1) SV: Leo Nunez (3) HR: Dobbs (1)

Brewers 6, Cubs 0

- Chris Narveson was brilliant, scattering six hits and a walk over seven shutout innings while striking out nine.
- Matt Garza was not brilliant, giving up five runs on eight hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. He did strike out eight though.
- Prince Fielder basically owned Garza, going 3-for-4 with three doubles (all off Garza) and four RBI.
- Nyjer Morgan got another start in center field, going 1-for-3 with a walk, run scored and an RBI. Carlos Gomez came on as a pinch-runner for Mark Kotsay, promptly stole two bases and scored, thus annoying anybody in daily transaction leagues who'd sat him down.
W: Narveson (1-0) SB: Gomez 2 (3)

A's 1, Twins 0

- tough day at the office for the hitters. No batter collected more than one hit, and the lone run of the game came on an error, and thus didn't produce an RBI.
- Gio Gonzalez ran up 106 pitches over six shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks while striking out four.
- Nick Blackburn was the tough-luck loser, giving up just the unearned run in six innings on five hits and three walks. He struck out only two, but that's about all you can expect from Blackburn.
- Brian Fuentes walked just one and struck out one over 1.2 innings to get the save.
W: Gonzalez (2-0) SV: Fuentes (2) SB: Coco Crisp (4)

Mets 8, Nationals 4

- Tom Gorzelanny got tagged for six runs (five earned) in 5.1 innings, but he actually didn't pitch that badly, giving up four hits (but two home runs) and two walks while striking out eight.
- Chris Capuano pitched a little better, allowing four runs on seven hits (also surrendering two dingers) and a walk over six innings while striking out eight.
- both Met home runs came off the bat of Carlos Beltran, who scored three runs and collected three RBI. Ike Davis also had a good game, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI, boosting his line to .345/.412/.621 with nine RBI in eight games.
- Francisco Rodriguez walked two batters in 1.1 but still squeezed out his first save of the year.
W: Capuano (1-0) SV: Rodriguez (1) HR: Ian Desmond (1), Danny Espinosa (1), Beltran 2 (2) SB: Jose Reyes (3), Angel Pagan (4) CS: Mike Nickeas (1)

Reds 6, Diamondbacks 1

- you'd never know it from the final score, but this was a pretty good pitcher's duel. Dan Hudson gave up two runs in the first inning but then shut down the Reds, striking out eight over seven innings. Bronson Arroyo was better though, giving up just an unearned run (on his own error, naturally) over six innings on eight hits and no walks while striking out six. Not bad for a guy battling mono.
- the D'backs flat out refused to pitch to Joey Votto, who walked three times (and scored two runs) in four plate apparances. His .393/.514/.714 line probably has something to do with that.
- Juan Gutierrez blew up in the Arizona bullpen, giving up four runs (three earned) in just a third of an inning. If J.J. Putz does falter as closer, Gutierrez is in no position right now to capitalize.
- Stephen Drew looked pretty healthy, going 1-for-4 and stealing his first base of the season.
W: Arroyo (2-0) SB: Kelly Johnson (2), Drew (1), Justin Upton (1) CS: Paul Janish (1)

Dodgers 4, Padres 2 (resumed from Friday)
Dodgers 4, Padres 0

- Jonathan Broxton hit the saves jackpot. He struggled through a shutout inning (giving up a hit and a walk) to nail down Friday's game which had to be finished Saturday due to rain, then picked up a cheap one-out save in Saturday's actual game. He still looks shaky, but he's at least racking up the saves while he's still got the closer job.
- Matt Kemp went 6-for-11 between the two games and stole four bases. He's now hitting a mere .429/.515/.679.
- Hiroki Kuroda couldn't quite get the shutout, allowing six hits and two walks over 8.2 innings while striking out four.
- Dustin Moseley wasn't too bad for the Padres, giving up three runs (two earned) in six innings on eight hits and three walks, but he only struck out one. He looks like a perfect guy to stream only for his home starts.
- Cameron Maybin went 3-for-5 with three steals in Friday's completed game. In fact, both teams kind of went crazy on the basepaths... see below.
Friday's game - W: Blake Hawksworth (1-0) SV: Broxton (4) SB: Jamey Carroll (1), Matt Kemp (2), Casey Blake (1), Maybin 3 (3), Jason Bartlett 2 (3)
Saturday's game - W: Kuroda (2-0) SV: Broxton (5) HR: Andre Ethier (1) SB: Kemp 3 (5), Tony Gwynn 2 (2)

Angels 6, Blue Jays 5

- in a crazy game, neither starter (Brett Cecil or Matt Palmer) got out of the fifth inning, and then neither bullpen allowed a run to cross until the 14th. Dan Haren ended up getting pressed into duty, and struck out one in a shutout 14th to pick up the win.
- three different Angels (Maicir Izturis, Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter) collected three hits each, while the only three-hit effort for the Jays came off the bat of, of all people, John McDonald.
- Jose Bautista went 2-for-4 and walked three times. Fantasy owners may not yet be convinced last season's explosion was real, but Angels pitchers certainly are.
- Howie Kendrick went 2-for-6 with his fourth home run of the season. His previous career high is 10.
W: Haren (2-0) HR: Kendrick (4) SB: Travis Snider 2 (2) CS: McDonald (1), Abreu (1)