Tigers 3 - White Sox 0
- Max Scherzer tossed 8 shutout innings to stay undefeated. Think about where he was this time last season. He's been pretty great since he came back from all of that. I wonder if Scherzer would be this good if he was still with the D-Backs.
- John Danks took the loss, after allowing three runs in six innings. He struck out 8, walked 2, and now has a 3.27 ERA, but has yet to find the win column. The White Sox have now lost 11 of their last 13 games. Ozzie not entertained.
- Jesse Crain and Matt Thornton both turned in perfect innings with Crain working the 7th and Thornton the 8th. We'll figure out the pecking order here eventually.
- Adam Dunn went 0-3 with a walk and strikeout and is now batting .145/.288/.291. This just means his May is going to be monstrous, right?
- W: Max Scherzer (4-0), L: John Danks (0-3), SV: Jose Valverde (5)
- CS: Brent Lillibridge (2)
Rays 2 - Blue Jays 0
- James Shields pitched a complete game shutout with 7 strikeouts. He's been pretty lights out this season and is starting to show that maybe that 5.18 ERA in 2010 was a fluke. As long as he keeps the ball in the yard, he should continue to find success. This is the kind of guy I like to buy high on because I think he can maintain it all season long.
- Ricky Romero logged 10 strikeouts in defeat with 2 earned runs in 7 innings. He had 9 groundballs to just 2 fly balls, which is nice to see, considering his last outing where he got pounded by the Red Sox with a high number of fly balls.
- The Blue Jays put Aaron Hill on the DL with a sore right hamstring, thus leaving them with Mike McCoy playing 2B and John McDonald at 3B today.
- Ben Zobrist went 2-4 with a 2-run homer and a stolen base. That's the Zorilla we grew to love in '09. Hopefully this is a preview of things to come. Lord knows the Rays offense can use it.
- W: James Shields (2-1), L: Ricky Romero (1-3)
- HR: Ben Zobrist (5)
- SB: Ben Zobrist (3)
Yankees 6 - Orioles 3
- Mariano Rivera blew his second save of the season in this game. That's two in a row now for the ageless wonder. This is what he does to make us think he's mortal. Prepare for him to go on a run where we are convinced otherwise.
- Freddy Garcia pitched 6 scoreless innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts. That's now back-to-back scoreless starts for Garcia. Things I didn't I'd say in 2011: Who needs Phil Hughes went you have Freddy Garcia?
- Derek Jeter went 4-6 with a RBI and run to raise his batting line to svelte .257/.317/.284. In all fairness, he was facing Jake Arrieta, so we can't take this too seriously. All of his hits were grounders, which should surprise no one.
- Curtis Granderson knocked out his 7th homer of the season, in a 3-3 effort. He leads the team in homers now, which is pretty surprising considering how many guys they have going yard this season.
- Brett Gardner went 0-5 with 4 strikeouts for the Golden Sombrero. He's down to a .140/.197/.263 batting line and is a serious funk.
- W: Boone Logan (1-1), L: Jason Berken (0-1), BSV: Mariano Rivera (2)
Twins 4 - Indians 3
- Carl Pavano bounced back from his stinker against the Orioles with 7 innings of 3-run ball. He would have taken another loss, had it not been for a Jason Kubel 2-run double right after he left.
- Carlos Carrasco had to leave after three innings with right elbow tightness. Hopefully it's not serious because he had pitched three straight quality starts prior to this injury and was starting to look like someone those in AL league could count on.
- Justin Morneau went 1-4 in his second consecutive start at 1B. Hopefully he's over that flu bug that bit him.
- Travis Hafner went 2-4 with a run and is now batting .348/.395/.580. I'm buying into his comeback, are you?
- W: Carl Pavano (2-2), L: Rafael Perez (2-1), SV: Matt Capps (4)
Rangers 8 - Royals 7
- Arthur Rhodes came on in relief of Brett Tomko and got a one out save, after Tomko gave up a 3-run shot to Mike Aviles. Darren Oliver had pitched on Friday and Saturday, so Rhodes was the next man up.
- C.J. Wilson struck out a career high 10 Royals batters and walked just 1 for this 3rd win. It wasn't all roses as he gave up two homers and two doubles in his seven innings. That's now 19 strikeouts and 2 walks in his last two outings.
- Bruce Chen got roughed up for 6 runs in 4.1 innings. Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli, and Andres Blanco's home run totals are all better for it.
- Jeff Francoeur went 1-3 with a homer and now has a hit in 19 of his 21 games this season. And to top it all off, he even took a walk.
- W: C.J. Wilson (3-0), L: Bruce Chen (3-1), SV: Arthur Rhodes (1)
- HR: Mike Aviles (2, 3), Jeff Francoeur (4), Adrian Beltre (7), Mike Napoli (5), Andres Blanco (1)
- SB: Mike Aviles (4), Chris Getz (5), Ian Kinsler (2), Julio Borbon (1, 2); CS: David Murphy (3)
Red Sox 7 - Angels 0
- Carl Crawford hit a home run! The slump is over, over I say.
- John Lackey pitched 8 innings of shutout ball against his former team. That's now back-to-back impress starts for the Texan. He really had his off-speed stuff working, striking out 6 batters and walking just one. This Red Sox turn around had to start somewhere, but not many thought it be on the shoulders of Lackey and Dice-K, considering how poorly they performed last season.
- Marco Scutaro started over Jed Lowrie and went 2-3 with 2 runs. He'll have to keep this up if he wants his job back.
- W: John Lackey (2-2), L: Matt Palmer (1-1)
- HR: Carl Crawford (1)
- CS: Jacoby Ellsbury (3)
A's 5 - Mariners 2
- Brett Anderson pitched 7 innings with 2 runs (1 earned) allowed for his second win. Mr. Anderson's control has been outstanding this season as he has walked 1 or less batters in all of his starts. This A's staff is fun to watch pitch.
- Doug Fister wasn't so bad himself as he tossed 6 innings of 1-run ball. With the Mariners offense supporting him, it's no surprise that he left with a no-decision. In AL only leagues you could certainly do worse than ground ball inducing righty.
- Brian Fuentes nailed down a 4 out save with 3 strikeouts. That has to be the most dominant performance of his career, no?
- Miguel Olivo hit clean up for the M's. Sorry I made you read that.
- W: Brett Anderson (2-1), L: Aaron Laffey (0-1), SV: Brian Fuentes (6)
- SB: Coco Crisp (8), Kevin Kouzmanoff (2), Ichiro Suzuki (8)
Marlins 6 - Rockies 3
- It seems that every time Josh Johnson takes the mound we need to be on no-hitter alert. Sunday, he had no-hit stuff through 5 innings, before giving up a run in the 6th. In the end it was 7 innings of 3 hit ball to lower his ERA to 1.06. The guy is a beast out there.
- In his second start since coming off the DL, Ubaldo Jimenez allowed 3 earned runs over 5 innings with four walks and seven strikeouts. He allowed only one hit, but was clearly still a bit rusty.
- Mike Stanton swatted a 3-run homer off of Matt Belisle to put the Marlins ahead for good. With 2 home runs in his last four games, he's starting to heat up.
- Leo Nunez struck out 2 in a perfect 9th inning. He quietly has 6 saves and a 1.80 ERA.
- W: Mike Dunn (1-0), L: Matt Belisle (2-1), SV: Leo Nunez (6)
- HR: Mike Stanton (2)
- CS: Jonathan Herrera (1)
Mets 8 - Diamondbacks 4
- Jonathon Niese won his first game, after he pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks. The Mets have now won four in a row and are inching closer towards a .500 record.
- David Wright had himself a heck of a game with 2 home runs and a stolen base.
- With Angel Pagan (oblique) on the DL, Jason Pridie played CF and hit his first career home run. His friends and family should send a thank you note to the Little Cat, Armando Galarraga.
- Gerardo Parra went 2-4 and made his fourth straight start at LF for the D-Backs. Everyone's early waiver wire add, Willie Bloomquist has been in the lineup once in the team's last 6 games as he deals with a hamstring issue.
- W: Jonathon Niese (1-3), L: Armando Galarraga (3-1)
- HR: David Wright (4, 5), Jason Pridie (1)
- SB: David Wright (5)
Nationals 6 - Pirates 3
- Jason Marquis allowed 3 earned runs over 6 innings for a win. The main theme to his nice start is improved control. In this start he walked 2, which makes four straight starts with 2 or less walks.
- Like Marquis, Kevin Correia has also shown improved control early on. However in this game, he got hammered for 11 hits in 4.2 innings, which resulted in 5 earned runs.
- Pedro Alvarez went 2-4 with a run and strikeout. With 5 hits in his last three games, hopefully he's starting to break out of his slump. The strikeouts though, will likely not end any time soon.
- Adam LaRoche and Michael Morse both went yard. For LaRoche, it's an encouraging as he had been dealing with some shoulder pain. Many had hoped that Morse would have more than 1 home run by now.
- Another save for Drew Storen with Sean Burnett nowhere to be found.
- W: Jason Marquis (2-0), L: Kevin Correia (3-2), SV: Drew Storen (3)
- HR: Adam LaRoche (3), Michael Morse (1)
- SB: Danny Espinosa (1); CS: Michael Morse (1)
Brewers 4 - Astros 1
- The Brewers sent Randy Wolf aka the Wolf out there to take care of the Astros and that's exactly what he did. Up until the 8th inning, he had a shutout going. A solo shot from J.R. Towles was the lone run he allowed. The box score might now show it, but Wolf dominated the Astros with only 4 base runners allowed.
- Wandy Rodriguez gave up 4 runs through 3 innings, then settled down and held the Brewers in check till he left after the 7th. This makes five straight starts in which he's alternated between good (1 run allowed) and bad (7, 5, & 4 runs allowed) starts. At least he was able to strikeout 9 in the loss. Wandy also got two hits, I mention this because the Astros have the highest batting average for pitchers this season at .357. They also have the highest batting average for catchers (.347). These are the small things I find solace in as an Astros fan.
- John Axford put down save number four in the books, but it wasn't without a base runner, which has become a common theme through out all of his appearances.
- All of the Brewers starting position players registered at least one hit.
- W: Randy Wolf (3-2), L: Wandy Rodriguez (1-3), SV: John Axford (4)
- HR: J.R. Towles (2), Rickie Weeks (5), Brandon Boggs (1)
- SB: Rickie Weeks (2), Carlos Gomez (6), Ryan Braun (2)
Dodgers 7 - Cubs 3
- Hiroki Kuroda turned in a quality start with 6.2 innings pitched and 3 runs (2 earned) allowed. The 7 strikeouts and no walks are also nice. Kuroda's control is something his owners have come to rely on.
- Carlos Zambrano aka Big Z spotted the Dodgers 5 runs in the first inning, but settled in after that allowing 1 more run in 4 additional innings. It's his first loss since June 25th of last season.
- Jerry Sands went 1-4 with a double, run, walk, and strikeout. The youngster is batting .154/.233/.269 in only 26 at-bats.
- Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 21 games with his 2-5 effort.
- Darwin Barney, who has become the Cubs everyday 2B now, went 2-5 with a run and RBI.
- Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless 9th with a walk.
- W: Hiroki Kuroda (3-2), L: Carlos Zambrano (2-1)
Phillies 3 - Padres 1
- Jose Contreras went to the DL after the game with an elbow injury. That allowed for Antonio Bastardo to come in an nail down a 1-out save in relief of Halladay. Ryan Madson is expected to assume the closer's role for the time being. I bet Phillies management had dreams about Heath Bell many times in this series.
- Roy Halladay racked up 14 strikeouts over 8.2 innings with just 1 run allowed. The Padres never had a chance against Doc as he allowed them only 6 base runners over what was almost a complete game.
- Wade LeBlanc allowed 13 base runners over 8 innings, but the Phillies were only able to plate 3 runs. Obviously, things could have gone much worse for the lefty who came up from the minors to make this start.
- Ben Francisco went 2-3 with a RBI and walk to raise his batting line to .263/.329/.434. After going cold for about a week, Francisco has started to warm up with 6 hits in his last five games.
- W: Roy Halladay (3-1), L: Wade LeBlanc (0-1), SV: Antonio Bastardo (1)
- HR: Shane Victorino (3)
Braves 9 - Giants 6
- Brandon Beachy and Jonathan Sanchez took no-decisions, after they both allowed 2 earned runs. Beachy went 6 innings with 7 strikeouts, while Sanchez pitched 5 innings with 5 strikeouts.
- Brian Wilson took the loss here with 3 earned runs in 1.2 innings. His ERA is now a robust 9.82, but that's largely because of two poor outings right after he came off the DL.
- With Craig Kimbrel having pitched Friday and Saturday, Jonny Venters got the save opportunity here. He took advantage with 2 strikeouts in a scoreless 10th inning.
- Jason Heyward went 3-5 with a home run, 3 RBI, and 2 runs. Fellow sophomore slugger, Buster Posey also hit a home run in a 1-5 effort. Heyward has now hit 2nd for seven straight games.
- W: Eric O'Flaherty (1-1), L: Brian Wilson (0-1), SV: Jonny Venters (1)
- HR: Jason Heyward (5), Buster Posey (4)
Cardinals 3 - Reds 0
- Coming off of three days rest, Jake Westbrook pitched 6 shutout innings with 6 base runners allowed and 4 strikeouts. After getting shelled by the Nationals in his last start, it was nice to see Westbrook bounce back against one of MLB's best offenses.
- Edinson Volquez was not as lucky as a 3-run homer from Yadier Molina sunk his evening. He put 9 base runners on in his 5.2 innings with 7 strikeouts. He can dominate hitters, but his control is still not there and until it is, Volquez will have outings like this.
- Scott Rolen was put on the DL with a bum shoulder. Miguel Cairo will fill in for him.
- Eduardo Sanchez struck out 2 in a perfect 8th inning. The rookie is up to 12 strikeouts in 7 innings with 1 walk.
- Mitchell Boggs posted save number three after a scoreless 9th.
- W: Jake Westbrook (2-2), L: Edinson Volquez (2-1), SV: Mitchell Boggs (3)
- HR: Yadier Molina (1)
- SB: Ryan Theriot (3), Albert Pujols (2); CS: Jonny Gomes (1)
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