Pirates 4, Dodgers 1
- Jeff Karstens continued to be strangely okay, going 5.2 innings with seven hits, a walk and a pair of strikeouts, but it was Jose Veras who got the win in relief.
- Chad Billingsley was decent on the other side, giving up three runs on seven hits in seven innings despite a 3:4 BB:K.
- Joel Hanrahan nailed down save No. 11 despite allowing a hit and committing an error.
- Andre Ethier got a hit for the second straight game. End one streak, start another.
- Ryan Doumit had three hits and an RBI to improve to .295 on the year.
- Hey, it's May 9 and the Pirates are over .500.
Tigers 10, Blue Jays 5
- Max Scherzer is still undefeated, improving to 6-0 with five good-enough innings -- two runs on five hits, three walks and five strikeouts.
- Brandon Morrow was cruising until the fourth inning, but he didn't get out of that inning, allowing five runs on just three hits and three walks overall. Bright side: six strikeouts.
- Austin Jackson got a rare opportunity for a leadoff hitter -- the chance to bat with the bases loaded twice in a game. He doubled all three men home and reached on an error in those chances, leaving him with the funny line of 1-for-6 with two strikeouts and four RBI.
- Octavio Dotel (four runs) and Ryan Perry (three runs) did some horrible relief work.
- Victor Martinez went 3-for-4 with a homer (3), three RBI and two runs.
- Yunel Escobar had a couple hits, including homer No. 3, and a couple walks.
- Corey Patterson (4) and Don Kelly (2) had steals.
Phillies 6, Marlins 4
- Joe Blanton returned with five inglorious innings -- eight hits, two walks -- but allowed only three runs and got his first win of the year.
- Javier Vazquez failed to strike a batter out over 4.1 horrendous innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk. He's got a 16:22 K:BB this year. Yeah.
- Vance Worley appeared in relief and went three nice innings, giving up just a Gaby Sanchez home run (6). Not sure why that happened, though.
- By the way, Sanchez went 3-for-4 with the homer and three RBI.
- Jimmy Rollins hit a first-inning homer (2).
- Chris Coghlan went 3-for-4 with a steal (3), an RBI and a run.
- Shane Victorino (8) and John Mayberry (1) stole bags for the Phillies.
- Marlins reliever Edward Mujica left the game with a strained knee.
- A scoreless ninth produced save No. 4 for Ryan Madson.
Reds 6, Astros 1
- Travis Wood takes home game MVP honors, going 6.2 scoreless with six hits, a 6:1 K:BB, and a three-run homer.
- Aneury Rodriguez was the man Wood victimized. He allowed five runs in five innings, and they all came on two swings of the bat.
- Ramon Hernandez produced the other big swing off Aneury, a two-run bomb -- his third of the year.
- Hunter Pence (5) homered in the eighth, just for your fantasy team.
- Edgar Renteria stole his first base of the year. Don't get used to it.
- Just a routine off day for Joey Votto, so don't panic. He must have given Wood his power bat for the day.
Athletics 7, Rangers 1
- Trevor Cahill (6-0) keeps on rolling, allowing just a solo homer among five hits in seven innings. He fanned seven and walked just one, and owns a sick 1.72 ERA this year.
- C.J. Wilson couldn't find the plate -- 65 strikes, 54 balls, 2:5 K:BB -- so even though he allowed just two hits in seven innings, he gave up five runs. Wilson fell to 4-2.
- Unfortunately for Wilson, one of the hits he allowed was Josh Willingham's sixth homer of the year, a three-run bomb. Willingham singled home another two later for a five-RBI day.
- Mitch Moreland (5) was the man who homered off Cahill.
- Good day for prolific base-stealers, as Coco Crisp stole his ninth and Elvis Andrus his 11th.
- Adrian Beltre got a day off, but pinch-hit and made the final out of the game.
Red Sox 2, Twins 1 in 11
- Carl Crawford's walk-off double -- his first hit of the night -- ended a frustrating game in which the two teams combined to score three runs on 19 hits and eight walks.
- Josh Beckett was terrific for the Sox, going seven innings and allowing just six hits and a walk while striking out five.
- Nick Blackburn pitched surprisingly well against a team that's traditionally given him trouble, going 6.1 and allownig just a run on seven hits and three walks. He fanned five as well.
- Jonathan Papelbon was stuck with a blown save, but Alfredo Aceves was the one who really made that happen, balking Denard Span to second base after his infield hit. Papelbon came on and gave up a game-tying single to Jason Kubel, then worked a perfect 1.1 innings after that.
- Just-recalled Ben Revere, playing in his third game of the season, went 0-for-5. A career .326 hitter in the minors (and a major speed demon), he's just 6-for-42 in his major league career. He's also just 23 years old and a fine speculative AL-only pickup.
- Alexi Casilla (3) and Luke Hughes (1) stole bases.
- Hideki Okajima (1-0) won in relief; Jim Hoey (0-1) lost in relief.
Brewers 4, Padres 3
- Zack Greinke (1-1) won his first game of the year, striking out nine and allowing just two runs on five hits and no walks in six innings.
- Mat Latos can't buy a win -- he fell to 0-5, allowing four runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings. If you're concerned about his performance so far this year (4.86 WHIP, 1.35 ERA), please trade him to me.
- Rickie Weeks had two hits, including a homer (7) and two RBI.
- Ryan Braun stole his fifth base.
- John Axford gave up a hit, but worked a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
- At this point I would start any pitcher against the Padres, even Charlie Morton.
Rockies 2, Mets 1
- Jhoulys Chacin gave 'em the ol' C.J. Wilson treatment, walking six men over six innings of work and allowing only two hits, except unlike Wilson, he lucked out and allowed just one run. He strike out five, which helps. Matt Belisle won in relief.
- Chris Capuano was effective on the other end, pitching into the seventh, but took the loss after Chris Iannetta got to him for the second time. The line: 6.2 innings, five hits, two runs, three walks, four strikeouts.
- Iannetta had both of the extra base hits in the game, which I'm told was played in Coors Field. He doubled and scored in the fifth and homered in the seventh -- a cheap shot down the line, but a homer nonetheless. He also threw out village idiot Willie Harris trying to steal second with one out in the ninth inning.
- That caught stealing helped Huston Street collect his 12th save, tying him with Mariano Rivera for the MLB lead.
White Sox 8, Angels 0
- It was unofficially Carlos Quentin Day in Anaheim, as Chicago's right fielder jacked a couple of run-scoring doubles and a three-run homer for a five-RBI day. He'd picked up a grand total of two RBI in his previous 14 games.
- Edwin Jackson put together seven pretty innings, shutting down the Angels on five hits and striking out five to improve to 3-4. His WHIP is still an unsightly 1.45. How far do you trust E-Jax going forward?
- Ervin Santana let up five runs in six innings on the other end. He allowed eight hits and three walks, striking out five.
- Alexei Ramirez (4) and Gordon Beckham (3) also homered for the White Sox.
- Erick Aybar (9) and Bobby Abreu (5) stole bases for the Angels.
- The terrifically awful Vernon Wells gave his fantasy owners yet another excuse to drop him, leaving the game with a groin strain.