Cubs 3, Reds 2



- Francisco Cordero blew his first save of the year, giving up a game-tying home run to Carlos Pena, then three more hits to bring home the winning run.

- speaking of Pena, that's his third blast in four games, and he got walked three times in the fourth game. His miserable April is slipping rapidly into the rear view.

- Kosuke Fukudome went 3-for-4 with the walkoff single.

- both starting pitchers were solid. Casey Coleman allowed two runs on four hits and three walks with six K's over six innings, while Bronson Arroyo got denied the win by Cordero after giving up just one run ovr 7.1 innings.

W: Marcus Mateo (1-1) HR: Blake DeWitt (1), Pena (3) SB: Drew Stubbs (11) CS: Pena (1)





Red Sox 4, Twins 0



- with the Sawx bullpen depleted, Clay Buchholz did an absolutely amazing thing: he pitched five shutout innings. To be more accurate, he pitched two shutout innings before a 127 minute rain delay, and three shutout innings after a 127 minute rain delay. With both Tim wakefield and Alfredo Aceves unavailable, that was huge.

- the Twins played the delay a little more conventionally, but it did allow them to bring Kevin Slowey in for a solid 4.1 inning, one run allowed relief stint in his first action off the DL.

- Jacoby Ellsbury was the big bat for Boston, going 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a steal.

W: Buchholz (3-3) SB: Ellsbury (9), Dustin Pedroia (4)





Rays 8, Orioles 2



- Evan Longoria's bat woke up, and he went 2-for-4 with a double, four RBI, and his first home run of the season.

- Ben Zobrist extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a 4-for-5, three runs scored day, while B.J. Upton celebrated his pending suspension by going 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Even Casey Kotchman went 3-for-4 with a double.

- Jeremy Hellickson struggled with his control, walking five, but still hung in there for five shutout innings to get the win.

- Jeremy Guthrie bore thr brunt of the Rays' attack, getting tagged for seven runs on 10 hits over five innings.

- Nick Markakis was the only Oriole to show up, going 3-for-4 with both Baltimore RBI.

- Sam Fuld went 0-for-5 and went over the wall to rob Matt Wieters of a home run. Those of you who have both players on your fantasy team should hop on Twitter and demand an apology from Sam.

W: Hellickson (3-2) HR: Longoria (1), Upton (5)





Tigers 9, Blue Jays 0



- Justin Verlander became the 28th pitcher in major league history to throw multiple no-hitters in their career. He faced the minimum 27 batters and came within about an inch of a perfect game, as the only base runner he allowed was a walk to J.P. Arencibia that came on a 100 mph heater just off the outside corner to cap an epic 12 pitch plate appearance.

- Alex Avila not only called a good game (duh) but socked a home run. Miguel Cabrera also deserves a nod for a couple of nice defensive plays at first, including corralling a one-hop throw from Verlander in the fifth on a hard comebacker by Edwin Encarnacion thaat ricocheted off the pitcher's back.

- Austin Jackson also had a good game, going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored.

- Adam Lind left the game with a tight lower back, which certainly didn't hurt Verlander's chances of closing out the no-no.

- in his own words, Ricky Romero picked the right day to have a bad game, coughing up six runs on five hits and two walks in just 3.1 innings.

W: Verlander (3-3) HR: Jhonny Peralta (2), Avila (6)





Brewers 4, Cardinals 0



- while Verlander was hanging goose eggs on the Jays, about 800 miles to the southwest Yovani Gallardo nearly pulled off a no-hitter of his own. He carried a no-no through seven innings before Daniel Descalso dribbled one back up the middle to lead off the eighth. Gallardo had to settle for eight one-hit shutout innings, with four walks and six K's.

- Kyle Lohse was the hard-luck loser, giving up just one run on six hits and two walks over eight frames of his own.

- Carlos Gomez went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, run scored and two RBI, and crashed into the wall to deny Colby Rasmus an extra-base hit. Casey McGahee also had a great game, going 3-for-4 with a double, run scored and an RBI.

W: Gallardo (3-2) CS: Rickie Weeks (2)





Phillies 3, Braves 0



- Julio Teheran's debut wasn't exactly storybook, as he was charged with three runs on four hits and two walks over 4.2 innings, striking out just one.

- you can hardly blame the Braves for mustering no offense, given that they were facing one of the Phillies' vaunted four ac... oh, wait, never mind, it was only Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick did a passable ace impression in his first start of the season though, tossing five shutout innings and giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out three to drop his ERA to 1.50. Also noteworthy is that this was the first appearance in 2011 in which he struck out more batters than he walked. Inevitable Regression, Kyle; Kyle, Inevitable Regression.

- Ryan Howard supplied all the offense Kendrick needed with a solo shot off Teheran.

W: Kendrick (2-2) SV: Ryan Madson (3) HR: Howard (7) SB: Jimmy Rollins (8)





Pirates 6, Astros 1



- Charlie Morton turned in another strong outing, allowing one run on seven hits and a walk while striking ouot five over 7.2 frames.

- Bud Norris wasn't bad either, K'ing nine in seven innings while giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks.

- the only two guys to manage multi-hit games were the leadoff men. Michael Bourn went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.

- Jason Bourgeois, getting a look at second base, went 1-for-3 before straining his left oblique and leaving the game.

W: Morton (4-1) HR: Lyle Overbay (2)





Royals 4, A's 3



- Brandon McCarthy and Luke Hochevar, inspired by the earlier heroics of Verlander and Gallardo, tried to get an epic duel of their own going. Hochevar retired the first 11 batters he faced but McCarthy topped him by a full inning, retiring the first 14 Royals he saw.

- Hochevar's line ended up far superior, athough he didn't get the win. He allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings, with a 4:0 K:BB ratio. McCarthy stayed in an inning too long, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks in a complete game loss, striking out three.

- The first Kansas City batter to solve McCarthy? Why, Eric Hosmer of course, who picked up his first big league hit to spoil McCarthy's nascent perfecto.

- Cliff Pennington accounted for all of Oakland's offense with a game-tying three run home run in the eighth.

W: Joakim Soria (2-0) HR: Pennington (2) SB: Alex Gordon (3)





Nationals 5, Marlins 2



- Tom Gorzelanny handcuffed the Marlins over seven innings, surrendering just two runs on two hits and four walks while striking out six.

- Chris Volstad wasn't bad for once, albeit in vain. He gave up three runs on eight hits and a walk over six innings while striking out five.

- Rogearvin Bernadina hit leadoff in his first game since being recalled and went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a steal. Ian Desmond, back up in the two hole, went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI.

- John Buck hit a two-run homer for Florida and is heating up a bit, going 10-for his last-28 (.357) with three home runs and eight RBI over his last eight games. On the colder end of the spectrum, Chris Coghlan went 0-for-4 and has just two hits in his last 21 at-bats.

- Mike Stanton committed another act of youthful indiscretion, getting doubled off first after taking too wide a turn on a single. He's a prodigious talent, but there are still plenty of growing pains ahead.

W: Gorzelanny (2-2) SV: Drew Storen (7) HR: Buck (4) SB: Bernadina (1) CS: Jerry Hairston Jr. (1)





Mets 4, Dodgers 2



- Chris Young was a late scratch for the Mets due to muscle tightness, but Dillon Gee stepped in with 5.1 not entirely terrible innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three.

- Gee's main victim was Andre Ethier, who went 0-for-4 to see his hitting streak snapped at 30 games.

- Jason Pridie went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.

W: Paul Byrdak (1-0) SV: Francisco Rodriguez (9) HR: Dioner Navarro (1) SB: Matt Kemp (11)





Rangers 7, Yankees 5



- Bartolo Colon crashed back to earth with a massive thud that twitched the needles on seismic sensors all over North America, giving up five runs on nine hits (including two home runs) in 4.1 innings.

- Derek Holland was worse, walking five and getting roughed up for four runs in just three innings, but at least he's skinnier.

- Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 with a double that had Michael Kay weeping with relief and joy.

- Michael Young had the biggest bat for the Rangers, going 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.

- Julio Borbon had a big game as well, going 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI. He's got a little seven game hitting streak going, during which he's hitting .474 (9-for-19) with a couple of steals.

W: Arthur Rhodes (1-1) SV: Neftali Feliz (6) HR: Nick Swisher (2), Young (2), David Murphy (3)





Diamondbacks 6, Padres 0



- Dan Hudson owned the Padres for seven shutout innings, scattering five hits and striking out six without walking anyone. He's still got a 4.47 ERA on the season, but a 17:1 K:BB ratio over his last three starts (20 innings). Get him. Get him now.

- Dustin Moseley proved to be mortal after all, getting knocked around for six runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks over five innings to bump his ERA from 1.63 up to 2.47.

- Ryan Roberts went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a stolen base, and is currently slashing .301/.408/.554. Yes, I'm really talking about Ryan Roberts and not Stephen Drew or Justin Upton.

- no San Diego player did anything remotely positive in this game. Wait, I stand corrected. Brad Hawpe continued his mild resurgence by going 1-for-3 with a double and is now hitting a respectable .289 (11-for-38) over his last 10 games.

W: Hudson (3-4) HR: Upton (7) SB: Roberts (4)





White Sox 6, Mariners 0



- the day's sixth shutout came courtesy of Gavin Floyd, who gave up just three hits and two walks in eight clean frames while striking out six.

- Doug Fister found out what happens when you pitch to the wrong kind of contact, getting slapped around for 14 hits (13 singles, three doubles) and five runs in 5.2 innings.

- if that run total seems low for Fister, thank the ChiSox's sputtering offense. All told they tallied an incredible 24 LOBs, with Alexei Ramirez (0-for-4, 8 LOB) being the worst offender.

- the bottom of their order showed some life though. Alexis Rios went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Gordon Beckham and Brent Moral each went 3-for-4.

- Ichiro Suzuki was the lone bright spot for the M's, going 2-for-4 with a swipe.

W: Floyd (4-2) SB: Suzuki (11) CS: Rios (2)




Indians 4, Angels 3



- Jered Weaver had another off night, failing to strike out a batter and giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings. He got outdueled (kind of) by rookie Alex White, who picked up his first big league win by ekeing out a quality start: six innings, three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six.

- Shin-Soo Choo, Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner each picked up two hits for the Tribe, with Choo's two-run double being the biggest blow for Cleveland.

- Chris Perez, scored upon in four of his previous seven appearances, cruised through a perfect ninth to collect his 10th save of the season.

W: White (1-0) SV: Perez (10) HR: Vernon Wells (4) SB: Lou Marson (1)





Giants 3, Rockies 2



- with Esmil Rogers being a late scratch Clayton Mortensen did the most with his emergency start, giving up two runs (one earned) over six innings on four hits and four walks, striking out three.

- Madison Bumgarner was a bit better, also giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks over six innings while K'ing five.

- Freddie Sanchez went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Giants, while Alfredo Amezaga was the only Rockie to manage a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

- Felipe Paulino came into the game with a 6.75 ERA and left it with a 7.59 ERA, failing to get an out in the bottom of the ninth and geting stuck with the loss. In a 3-3 tie, he pitched for the second straight night while Huston Street and Rafael Betancourt sat on their butts in the bullpen. Good job, Jim Tracy!

- did you know Todd Helton was hitting .313 with 15 RBI so far? I didn't. Not bad for a 37-year-old. I assumed at this point he was just hanging on until he can pass the torch to another former college quarterback in Kyle Parker, but maybe he's got some gas left in the tank after all.

W: Brian Wilson (2-1) SB: Miguel Tejada (1), Darren Ford (3) CS: Dexter Fowler (3)