Pirates 10, Cubs 0

- Paul Maholm owned the Cubbies in this one, tossing a three-hit shutout while striking out four and not walking anyone. In fact he has yet to allow a run to the North Siders this season in 15.2 innings. Now if only he didn't have to pitch against the rest of the league...
- Randy Wells, making his first start off the DL, might have wished he'd stayed on the shelf a little while longer. He got tagged for five runs in four innings on five hits and three walks, although he did strike out seven.
- every Pirate starter got at least one hit, with the biggest bat belonging to Andrew McCutchen (2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI). Brandon Wood proved to be immune to the contagious offense though, replacing Steven Pearce at third base once the rout was on and going 0-for-2.
W: Maholm (2-7) HR: Ronny Cedeno (2), Lyle Overbay (5), Chris Snyder (2), McCutchen (9) CS: Garrett Jones (1)

Padres 2, Nationals 1

- Blake Tekotte, making his first major league start in center field, proved to be too much for the Nats to handle, going 2-for-3 with a walk, double, triple, run scored and an RBI. The kid was a third round pick in 2008, and has a nice, rounded skill set - speed, some plate discipline, and a bit of pop. Don't be afraid to throw a couple of bucks at him in deeper leagues.
- Tim Stauffer walked three straight batters in the first inning, wriggled out of it by getting Mike Morse to ground into a double play, then cruised for another six innings to get his first win of the year.
- just to round out the day of firsts for the Friars, Logan Forsythe got the start at second and picked up his first big league hit.
- Jordan Zimmermann was the tough-luck loser, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk over six innings while striking out four.
- Ian Desmond went 0-for-2 with two walks. He also drew two walks on May 16. Those are the only walks he's drawn in the entire month. If Nats fans want to try and figure out why the offense is struggling so badly, they can start by asking Jim Riggleman what the #|STAR|@# Desmond's .259 OBP is doing in the two-hole.
W: Stauffer (1-3) SV: Heath Bell (11) HR: Laynce Nix (7) SB: Eric Patterson (6) CS: Desmond (2), Morse (3)

Blue Jays 9, White Sox 8 (14 innings)

- in the name of all that is holy, why does anyone give Jose Bautista anything he can hit anymore? Edwin Jackson was the latest fool to give Joey Bats a pitch in the same area code as the strike zone, and the result was a three-run Jays lead before Jackson had even gotten anyone out. Bautista finished the night going 3-for-4 with two walks, three runs scored and the three RBI.
- Jackson actually didn't pitch that bady overall, but paid dearly for his rare mistakes. His final line was six runs on nine hits and a walk over 6.2 frames with seven strikeouts.
- Carlos Villanueva also gave up six runs (five earned) in just five innings, on eight hits and a walk while striking out four. Expect Toronto to get him back in the bullpen pronto.
- aside from Bautista, the heroes for the Jays were Luis Perez, who saved the bullpen a lot of grief by throwing 3.2 shutout innings of relief to get them through extra innings, and Corey Patterson, whose 5-for-7 night included a walkoff solo shot in the 14th.
- that home run came off Gavin Floyd, who was pressed into service on his throw day and took the loss fo his troubles.
- Frank Francisco blew another save, giving up a run on two hits in the ninth to send the game to extras, and his time as closer seems to be running out.
- other nice nights at the plate: Brent Lillibridge went 2-for-5 with a triple and a home run, and Jose Molina went 3-for-6. He's got 10 hits in his last five starts (dating back to the 15th, mind you) to boost his slash line to a highly improbable .328/.386/.453.
- on the flip side, Juan Pierre, Omar Vizquel, Rajai Davis and Juan Rivera all managed to go 0-for-6 on a day when the two teams combined for 29 hits and 17 runs. You know that somewhere out there is some poor sod who had at least three of those guys in their active roster.
W: Perez (1-0) HR: Lillibridge (5), Bautista (20), Patterson (3)

Indians 7, Rays 3

- Matt LaPorta switched Friday's Golden Sombrero for a snazzy old-school Olympic winner's laurel Saturday, going 2-for-3 with a home run off the red-hot James Shields. It's important to remember that, while it's taken him a while to figure things out in the majors, LaPorta's minor league profile showed pretty much the complete package as a hitter. His career Triple-A line is .310/.400/.548 with a 54:66 BB:K rate in 111 games. He's worth being patient with.
- Shields had what counts as a bad outing for him this season: three runs on seven hits and three walks over seven innings, with eight K's.
- Carlos Carrasco was solid, giving up two runs on seven hits in six innings with a 4:0 K:BB ratio.
- Evan Longoria, installed in the leadoff spot by Joe Maddon to better utilize his on-base skills and help snap him out of his funk, went 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo shot. Mission accomplished, Joe.
- Chris Perez fell into another cheapie one-out save after Rafael Perez (no relation) loaded the bases with a four-run lead. Merry Christmas, C. Perez owners!
W: Carrasco (4-2) SV: Perez (14) HR: LaPorta (6), Longoria (3)

Brewers 3, Giants 2

- little-ball fetishists were in heaven after Milwaukee won the game on a nearly-perfect suicide squeeze by Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy's only hitting .333/.378/.513, so you can see why Ron Roenicke would want to take the bat out of his hands with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning.
- both starters turned in good outings, and neither got rewarded for it. Jonathan Sanchez gave up two runs on two hits and an 8:4 K:BB ratio over seven innings, but Randy Wolf matched him with two runs (one earned) on three hits and a 5:2 K:BB ratio over 7.1 innings.
- Ryan Braun reached base every time up, going 1-for-1 with three walks, a steal and two runs, including the winner on Lucroy's suicide squeeze.
W: John Axford (1-1) HR: Carlos Gomez (3) SB: Emmanuel Burriss (3), Braun (12)

Diamondbacks 11, Astros 3

- Zach Duke, making his first start of the season, vasically won this one single-handedly. He held the Astros mighty bats (cough) scoreless over seven ininngs, giving up just three hits and a walk while striking out four, and hit a three-run homer off Bud Norris for good measure.
- Norris escaped too much damage to his ERA thanks to a Bill Hall error and four unearned runs, but six runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings isn't going to win many ballgames.
- Duke wasn't the only one swinging a hot bat for the D-backs. Stephen Drew went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, and Miguel Montero went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI.
W: Guy (0-0) SV: Guy (0) HR: Guy (0) SB: Guy (0) CS: Guy (0)

Twins 1, Angels 0 (10 innings)

- Jered Weaver was facing Anthpny Swarzak in this one. One of them flirted with a no-hitter. The fact that I'm burying the lede like this should tell you which of them it was.
- mind you, Weaver was no slouch either. Nine goose egg innings, striking out seven while allowing just two hits and two walks, but instead of a shutout he gets a no-decision.
- Swarzak lost his no-no in the eighth, after which he hit the showers and thus got an ND as well. Just the one hit and two walks over eight shutout frames, with four K's. He might stick around in the rotation for a bit.
- Delmon Young, who can't quite get going at the plate, broke an 0-for-13 skid with the game's only two-hit performance.
- Danny Valencia got to be the hero, but really it was more Kevin Jepsen being the goat, as he allowed hits to the only three batters he faced.
W: Alex Burnett (1-3)

Braves 7, Reds 6 (12 innings)

- it was not a good day to be a starting pitcher in Atlanta. Bronson Arroyo got shellacked for five runs on nine hits (including Brian McCann and Freddie Freeman home runs) in just three innings, while Derek Lowe also got tagged for five runs on seven hits and a ghastly five walks in just 3.1 innings. There's no report of Lowe being hurt, but this is the kind of brutal outing that gets people speculating about elbow trouble.
- McCann ended up 4-for-5 on the day with two solo shots.
- Drew Stubbs answered for the Reds by going 3-for-7 with a double, a stolen base, a run scored and three RBI, while Jonny Gomes went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
- this game's extra-ining hero was Chipper Jones, who brought home Jordan Schafer with his only hit and RBI.
W: Scott Linebrink (1-) HR: McCann 2 (6), Freeman (5) SB: Stubbs (16), Edgar Renteria (3), Freeman (2) CS: Schafer (1)

Rangers 10, Royals 1

- last August 14, Sean O'Sullivan gave up back-to-back-to-back homers to Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson. Today he managed the same dubious feat, but the homers came off the bats of Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli... and Endy Chavez. Seriously, if you're giving up long balls to Endy Chavez, it's time to think about another profession.
- O'Sullivan's day wasn't done there though. He limped his way through 5.2 innings with a final tally of 10 runs on 15 hits and FIVE home runs, with Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz being the other two guys to get in on the fun. Between this game and that Vincent Mazzaro horror show, Ned Yost true feelings about starting pitchers has become pretty clear. At least Dusty Baker leaves his guys out there too long when they're pitching well, not when they're sucking.
- Matt Harrison wasted a solid start, tossing six shutout innings with five hits and a walk with one K. I mean, he could have totally sucked and still gotten the win.
- 36-year-old Yoshinori Tateyama tried to get in on that "oldest Ranger to record a save" contest that Arthur Rhodes and Darren Oliver were staging a while ago, posting a three-inning save in his third MLB appearance.
W: Harrison (5-4) SV: Tateyama (1) HR: Moreland (6), Napoli (7), Chavez (1), Beltre (11), Cruz (9)

Phillies 5, Mets 2

- Cole Hamels was pretty close to dominant, striking out 10 without walking anyone over seven innings while giving up two runs on seven hits.
- Mike Pelfrey was good too, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks over 7.2 frames with six K's. He's been alternating solid starts with, err, liquid ones recently, but the overall results (three wins, 3.30 ERA, 1.14 WHIP over his last seven starts with a 25:12 K:BB ratio) are roster-worthy in plenty of leagues where he's still sitting on the waiver wire due to his awful April.
- Phillies bullpen update: Jose Contreras set up Ryan Madson, and both got the job done. Unless Madson starts unravelling expect that arrangement to stay in place until Brad Lidge is back.
- injury return update: Chase Utley went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored, an RBI and a steal, while Angel Pagan went 1-for-4 with a steal. Obviously you'll want to get both of them active.
- Jose Reyes continued to showcase himself as the Mets' most tradable asset, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two steals.
W: Hamels (7-2) SV: Madson (11) SB: Utley (1), Jimmy Rollins (10), Justin Turner (2), Jason Bay (3), Reyes 2 (19), Pagan (6) CS: Pagan (1)

Rockies 15, Cardinals 4

- Jaime Garcia must have thought he was pitching for Kansas City. 12 runs, 11 earned, on 11 hits and four walks in just 3.1 innings. He did strike out six, but that's small consolation for his owners.
- on the flip side Juan Nicasio had a great first start in the majors, giving up just an unearned run on six hits and two walks over seven innings with two K's. He's a bit of a late bloomer, but with a live fastball that can scrape the mid-90s and improving off-speed pitches, he's got interesting potential.
- Chris Iannetta was a beast, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI.
- Eric Young Jr. had a big game too, going 3-for-6 out of the leadoff spot with a run, an RBI and a steal.
- in fact every Rockies starting position player got at least one hit, and Todd Helton and Ty Wigginton were the only ones not to collect multiple base raps.
W: Nicasio (1-0) HR: Iannetta 2 (7) SB: Young (1)

A's 4, Orioles 2

- it wasn't pretty, but Josh Outman picked up his first win since he had Tommy John surgery in 2009, allowing two runs on six hits and five walks over six innings while striking out two.
- Bradley Bergesen was about as effective but took the loss, getting touched for three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
- Mark Ellis went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the year. Apparently the Scott Sizemore deal is already paying dividends.
W: Outman (1-0) SV: Brian Fuentes (10) HR: Ellis (1) SB: Coco Crisp (15) CS: Robert Andino (1)

Marlins 6, Dodgers 1

- starters? Who needs starters? The Marlins elected to go with a "bullpen day" instead of trusting the ball to any of their motley assortment of Triple-A options, and the results were as good as they could have hoped. Brian Sanches and four other relievers combined to do a very passable Josh Johnson impression, giving up the lone run on six hits and three walks while striking out eight.
- Hiroki Kuroda didn't fare so well, allowing five runs on 10 hits with a 2:1 K:BB ratio in 5.1 innings.
- ho hum, another three-hit day for Joltin' Greg Dobbs, who now has a .359/.394/.487 slash line thanks to a .426 BABIP. Hands up, everyone who thinks that's sustainable? Yeah, that's what I thought.
- Chris Coghlan also had a three-hit game. He's been extremely streaky in his short career, and he's now hitting .290 (9-for-31) over his last seven games with three multi-hit efforts. If he's on your bench, this is as good a time as any to try and time the market by getting him active.
W: Edward Mujica (5-2) SB: Rafael Furcal (2) CS: Hanley Ramirez (6)

Mariners 5, Yankees 4 (12 innings)

- the day's final extra-inning affair saw Mariano Rivera give up a game-winning hit to Adam Kennedy. Sure, why not.
- Felix Hernandez struggled with his control, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks over seven innings with just four K's.
- that was a better effort than the Yankees got from Ivan Nova though, who lasted just 3.2 innings and got charged with four runs on five hits and three walks with one lonely strikeout.
- Robinson Cano went 3-for-5 with a solo shot, while three different M's (Miguel Olivo, Kennedy and Franklin Gutierrez) all had three-hit efforts. Olivo also had three RBI, and left the game in the 11th on his final hit after a head-first slide into first base bloodied him up a bit. He should be fine going forward though.
W: David Pauley (4-0) HR: Cano (10), Mark Teixeira (15) SB: Derek Jeter (4), Ichiro Suzuki (12) CS: Cano (1), Olivo (3)