I Love My Job

- this may have been just about the perfect mix of games to write up. Nothing hugely dramatic happened, but there were great pitching performances, late-game hitting heroics, weird weather, an in-game Ichiro impression, a fantastic defensive play or two, and I got to make fun of Fernando Rodney. What more can a recapper ask for?





Soggy Bottom Boys

- Seattle/Cleveland got washed out after not quite one full inning, and the game will likely get made up in August. Alex White and Erik Bedard, the two starters, will miss their turn which is a bummer if you were counting on a two-start week from them. Bedard owners may have dodged a bullet though, as he was battling his control early and needed 17 pitches to record just two outs.





Marlins 1, Nationals 0



- If Anibal Sanchez could face Washington every time he took the mound he'd be a lock for the Cy Young. Tonight's gem saw him toss eight shutout innings for the win, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out nine. In three starts against the Nats this year, Sanchez now has a 0.87 ERA and 0.822 WHIP with a 27:5 K:BB ratio in 20.2 innings. For his career, he's 7-0 against them.

- Livan Hernandez was the tough-luck loser, throwing seven solid innings with his only mistake being to groove a 2-2 fastball when Mike Stanton was looking fastball, which then quickly thunked into the left-center seats about 410 feet away.

- it was the second straight game in which Stanton has homered, giving him seven on the year. His batting average has slid back to .233, but presumably that was an acceptable risk for you when you drafted him.

- Logan Morrison picked up two more hits and is now 3-for-8 since coming off the DL.

- Laynce Nix had half of the Nats' four hits and stole a base, and looks to have a pretty firm lock on the left field job right now. A .313/.329/.563 line will do that for you.

- Cole Kimball struck out one and walked one in an inning of work in his major league debut, while Henry Rodriguez struck out both batters he faced. Line them up next to Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, with Collin Balester in the minors, and you begin to realize how ridiculous a collection of young power arms and strikeout artists the Nats have assembled. It's not just the rotation's future that looks very bright in Washington.

W: Sanchez (3-1) SV: Leo Nunez (14) HR: Stanton (7) SB: Nix (2) CS: Hanley Ramirez (5), Logan Morrison (1)





Braves 5, Phillies 3



- Jair Jurrjens took a perfect game into the sixth, but wound up allowing three runs (two earned) on just three hits and a walk while striking out six, which was still plenty good for the W

- Joe Blanton allowed solo home runs to the first two Braves he faced but settled down after that, giving up just the two runs in five innings with a 5:1 K:BB ratio. The numbers don't look too bad, but he's still dealing some soreness in his elbow and couldn't get out of the mid-80s with his fastball for most of Saturday's start. Tread very carefully here.

- Martin Prado remains crazy-hot. Like, Jose Bautista hot. He connected on one of those leadoff homers, his third blast in five games. Oh, and all five of those games have been multi-hit efforts, giving him a .478/.520/.913 line over that stretch.

W: Jurrjens (5-0) SV: Craig Kimbrel (9) HR: Prado (6), Nate McLouth (3)





Padres 9, Rockies 7



- the big hero here? Returning former Rockie Brad Hawpe, who topped off a comeback from a 7-1 deficit by depositing a Huston Street changeup into the right field bleachers. Hawpe was 3-for-5 on the day, and is hitting .458 with a .792 SLG over his last eight games. Anthony Rizzo can just cool his heels in the minors for a bit longer.

- Aaron Harang was fully responsible for that 7-1 Colorado lead, lasting just 4.1 innings and coughing up nine hits (including home runs to Carlos Gonzalez and the not-quite-dead-yet Todd Helton) and four walks with all seven runs being earned.

- the 37-year-old Helton is now slashing .319/.371/.531 with five home runs and 18 RBI. That would be his best SLG since 2005 if he can keep it up. I'm telling you, he's going to hang on until he can pass the "hitting star who's a former college QB" torch on to Kyle Parker, just you watch.

- Jhoulys Chacin cruised through six innings before running out of gas, eventually getting tagged with five runs on five hits with a 6:2 K:BB ratio. Two of the runs were "unearned" in the sense that two errors contributed to them, but Chacin committed both errors so those of you who make a crusade out of that particular rule idiosyncrasy can feel doubly outraged.

W: Mike Adams (2-0) SV: Heath Bell (9) HR: Hawpe (2), Gonzalez (4), Helton (5) SB: Chris Denorfia (3), Eric Patterson (2), Ty Wigginton (3)





A's 6, White Sox 2



- Tyson Ross has maybe the best start of his young career, tossing a personal best 7.1 innings and giving up two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out a personal best eight. Hmm, on second thought, scratch the 'maybe'.

- Gavin Floyd said after the game that his foot, cruelly bruised in his last start by an Ichiro Suzuki comebacker, wasn't bothering him but he certainly pitched like it was. He lasted just 4.1 frames, and got roughed up for five runs on nine hits and two walks.

- David DeJesus cemented his place in the Hall of Vague Noteworthiness with his 1000th career hit, a two-run triple.

- Adam Dunn went 2-for-4 with two doubles, and is now hitting .414/.469/.759 over his last seven games. Most of that power has stayed in the yard (seven doubles versus one home run) too, so he hasn't quite yet gotten locked in at the plate.

- Chris Sale walked two more batters in an inning of relief. Sale, Gordon Beckham... at what point do you think the ChiSox will learn to stop rushing their premium prospects?

W: Ross (3-2) HR: Paul Konerko (10)





Astros 7, Mets 3



- Carlos Beltran was scratched Saturday morning after waking up with a swollen right eye. No word yet on the cause, or how long he might be out of action.

- given the way R.A. Dickey was pitching, it wouldn't have mattered much if Beltran was available. Dickey's knuckler wasn't dancing and he needed 45 pitches just to get out of the first inning, eventually allowing six runs on 11 hits over 5.1 innings.

- J.A. Happ won the battle of the A middle initials, surrendering just two runs on five hits and three walks over six innings while striking out four.

- Carlos Lee went 2-for-4 with a home run and cemented his place in the Hall of Moderate Meritoriousness, becoming just the ninth active player to have 2000 career hits and 300 career home runs.

- Astros non-save situation bullpen watch: Wilton Lopez pitched 1.1 shutout innings in front of Mark Melancon, who gave up a run on two hits in the ninth.

W: Happ (3-4) HR: Donnie Murphy (3), Bill Hall (2), Matt Downs (2), Lee (4) SB: David Wright (9)





Angels 3, Rangers 2



- Dan Haren said afterwards that he pitched a "garbage-type game". Haren's idea of garbage? Two runs on six hits over 7.2 innings with a 5:0 K:BB ratio. Yeah, that's seriously awful, dude. (rolls eyes) Whatevs.

- It would have only been one run allowed, and a win, but Mike Scioscia cleverly brought in Fernando Rodney with runners on base to relieve Haren. Rodney faced just one batter. Guess what happened. No, really, go on, guess.

- Derek Holland mostly rose to the challenge of facing Mr. Garbage, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks over six innings with four K's.

- Maicer Izturis went 2-for-4 and drove in the winning run off Darren Oliver. He's now hitting .331/.379/.485 on the year, and is just one extended run of good health away from gaining the Placido Polanco-like level of respect that he deserves.

- Jordan Walden got back on that horse after some shaky recent outings, striking out two in a perfect ninth for the save.
- after spending all of 2010 somewhere other than in the majors, Endy Chavez hit leadoff for the Rangers and went 0-for-4. With Julio Borbon continuing to not set the world on fire, there's a chance here for Chavez to establish himself as the mostly adequate center field stopgap he was at his peak with the Mets and Expos.

W: Scott Downs (1-0) SV: Walden (7) SB: Elvis Andrus (12)





Orioles 6, Rays 0



- Brad Bergesen was stellar, turning in a four-hit shutout with a 5:1 K:BB ratio. Yes, I said Brad Bergesen. Crazy factoid: The Orioles had lost nine straight games prior to Saturday in which Bergesen had made an appearance.

- Wade Davis struggled again, giving up four runs on seven hits (including two home runs) and three walks in 5.1 innings. His velocity was inconsistent Saturday, starting out mostly in the 88-91 range early before he finally started popping 92-93 with some regularity towards the end of his day, and he's walked multiple batters in seven straight starts. He somehow still has a 3.47 ERA, but that could move north in a hurry if his 23:22 K:BB ratio doesn't change for the better.

- Mark Reynolds, dropped to ninth in the O's batting order, collected one of the those home runs off Davis. His K rate is actually down a bit from his usual 200+ pace, but so's his walk rate, he has yet to steal a base in the American League, and he committed his sixth error of the season to go along with his .180/.287/.336 slash line. He's still got time to get going, but right about now long-time Baltimore fans are getting that sinking Glenn Davis feeling.

W: Bergesen (1-4) HR: Reynolds (4), Jake Fox (2) SB: Nick Markakis (2), Brian Roberts (4), Sam Fuld (12)





Tigers 3, Royals 0



- Brad Penny only worked with Dave Duncan for a handful of starts last season, but Duncan must have said something that stuck. Transitioning to a two-seam sinking fastball instead of the four-seamer he used to rely on, Penny cranked out eight shutout innings Saturday and gave up just five hits. He had only a 2:0 K:BB ratio, but a 15:4 GB:FB ratio, which could be the more important stat for him going forward.

- he only gave up five hits in large part due to some great defense behind him, particularly Austin Jackson who flat out robbed Eric Hosmer of extra bases on a ball ripped to straightaway center.

- Jeff Francis gave up three runs in the first inning and then set himself on cruise control, going the distance and not allowing another run across.

- Jhonny Peralta is quietly having a very good year in Detroit. He went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and is now slashing .307/.366/.504 with five home runs and 22 RBI.

W: Penny (4-3) SV: Jose Valverde (10)





Brewers 8, Pirates 2



- Chris Narveson's control wasn't up to snuff but he still made it through six innings giving up only one run, despite four walks and four hits. Five K's didn't hurt.

- Jeff Karstens wasn't bad either, making it though five innings and allowing just two solo home runs with a 5:1 K:BB ratio. He came out on a double switch, which the Pirates probably regretted when Daniel McCutchen, Joe Beimel and some shaky defense proceeded to hand the game to Milwaukee.

- every Brewer starter ended up with at least one hit, with Prince Fielder leading the parade by going 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and two RBI.

W: Narveson (2-3) HR: Lyle Overbay (3), Fielder (9), Brandon Boggs (2), Ryan Braun (11) SB: Mark Kotsay (1)





Reds 7, Cardinals 3



- Johnny Cueto was sharp, giving up three runs (all unearned) on just three hits and two walks over 7.2 innings with five K's. Shockingly, that was the longest outing by any Reds starter so far this year. They inched back into first place in the NL Central with this one, but Cinci might just be underachieving right now.

- it was a nice run while it lasted, Ryan Franklin fans, but he's d-o-n-e done. Two more runs allowed in 1.1 innings, on three hits and a walk, push his ERA to 9.88 and his WHIP to 2.12.

- the big Red bats were Ramon Hernandez (3-for-3 with two solo home runs) and Drew Stubbs (3-for-4 with a walk, a double, two runs scored and a steal.) Brandon Phillips (2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI) was pretty good too.

- Jon Jay accounted for all of St. Louis' offense with a three run, pinch-hit homer off a flagging Cueto in the eighth.

W: Cueto (2-0) HR: Jay (3), Phillips (5), Hernandez 2 (5) SB: Stubbs (13)





Blue Jays 9, Twins 3



- Jose Bautista generously gave the Twins every chance to win, hitting balls right at people for a change through nine innings, but he finally grew weary of their futility in the 11th and spanked a two-run home run the opposite way to cash in the winning runs.

- the extra-inning bullpen collapse spoiled a nice outing by Nick Blackburn, who gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks over 7.2 innings while striking out eight.

- Jo-Jo Reyes earned his no-decision though, lasting just 5.2 innings and also giving up three runs (two earned) on 10 hits and a walk while striking out six. At 25 straight, he's now within sunflower seed spitting distance of Matt Keough's major league record of 28 consecutive starts without a win

- while Bautista's blast made the highlight packages, Corey Patterson was as big a hero for the Jays, going 2-for-4 and chasing Blackburn from the game in the eighth with a game-tying triple to set up Bautista's extra-inning star turn.

- Trevor Plouffe went 2-for-6 with a run scored and is now hitting .316/.435/.526 in five games since being called up. It's been a long strange trip through the minors for the 2004 first round pick, but the Twins may have actually found their long-term shortstop.

W: Jon Rauch (2-2) HR: J.P. Arencibia (6), Bautista (13), Michael Cuddyer (4) CS: Bautista (1)





Diamondbacks 1, Dodgers 0



- tough as Livan Hernandez's 1-0 loss must have been to take, you have to feel for Chad Billingsley just a little bit more. in addition to a strong 8:2 K:BB ratio he gave up only one hit over eight innings, a second inning double to Stephen Drew - who then promptly moved up when no one covered second on Billingsley's pickoff attempt and scored on a Melvin Mora sac fly. Boom. Ballgame.

- the Arizona ace who matched Billingsley pitch for pitch? None other than Josh Collmenter, making his first big league start. He gave up just two hits over six shutout frames, striking out three without walking anyone. Collmenter didn't break 89 mph with his fastball, but the hitch in his delivery and dead-on 12 o'clock release point had LA really off-balance. He might not be able to keep this up for years and years, but in the short term those mechanics are going to give opposing hitters fits. Don't be afraid to pick him up.

- James Loney was the only Dodger to solve Collmenter, going 2-for-3. Both singles, of course, but he's now hitting .282 in May. He still doesn't have an RBI yet this month, much less a home run, but hey, baby steps.

W: Collmenter (2-0) SV: J.J. Putz (8)





Red Sox 6, Yankees 0



- on a night when Josh Beckett was once again dominant, and Adrian Gonzalez homered for the fourth straight game by doing his Ichiro Suzuki impression, what was the big headline? Whether Jorge Posada was or was not sulking by pulling himself out of the game after being dropped to ninth in the order. Sigh.

- seriously, watch the video. The bat waggle, the leg kick, the way he falls out of the batter's box on his swing... Gonzalez is doing an Ichiro impression, and crushing a C.C. Sabathia fastball while doing it. Now, if he can homer while doing a Julio Franco impression, then I'll be impressed.

- Beckett's line: six shutout innings, four hits, 9:2 K:BB ratio. He's now got a 1.75 ERA and 49:15 K:BB in 51.1 innings. Outstanding stuff.

- Sabathia's line: 6.2 innings, six runs allowed, seven hits, 6:3 K:BB ratio. He's having his usual good year, with a 50:21 K:BB ratio in 59.2 innings and an ERA of 3.47. Don't fret the one off night.

- Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a steal. He's coming out of his swoon, hitting .333 (9-for-27) over his last seven games. Don't fret the .253/.371/.329 slash line on the season.

W: Beckett (3-1) HR: Gonzalez (9) SB: Pedroia (6), Curtis Granderson (4)





Giants 3, Cubs 0 (seven innings)



- Wrigley Field did its worst to phase Ryan Vogelsong, tossing rain, nasty winds that blew the rain sideways and barely-above-freezing temperatures at the players, but Vogelsong was having none of it. With the game called after 6 1/2 innings he technically gets credit for a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and a walk over his six innings while striking out seven. Don't forget that he was a top pitching prospect once upon a time, so while he won't keep posting a 2.36 ERA and even his 8.10 K/9 rate is probably a bit optimistic, he could end up being a very useable pitcher.

- Doug Davis, making his first big league start since last July, was solid too, giving up three runs (but only one earned) in five innings on four hits and a walk while striking out six. Over the last few years he's dealt with thyroid cancer, elbow trouble, heart inflammation and, I dunno, probably scurvy or something too, so it's great to just see him on a mound again. Not that you could really see him through the mini-hurricane, but you know what I mean.

- Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro remained joined at the hip, with each going 2-for-3. Barney's now hitting .333/.355/.422, while Castro's slashing .338/.361/.444. Now if only they'd swap so that each guy had one first and one last name, instead of one having two first names and one having two last names, they'd be perfect. (I'd prefer Barney Starlin and Darwin Castro myself, but any combination will do.)

W: Vogelsong (3-0)