Rangers 3 - Rays 0
- Colby Lewis pitched 8 shutout innings with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts for his 5th win. He started the season with a 5.70 ERA in April, but posted a 2.43 ERA in May. His home run rate is way up this season as it's now at 1.56 HR/9.
- David Price allowed 3 earned runs over his 8 innings on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. 100 of his 113 pitchers were fastballs, which isn't something new for Price. The fact that he can miss so many bats with just his fastball is impressive. His control has taken a big step forward as he has 14 walks in 84.1 innings.
- The Rangers were active on the base paths as they racked up 5 steals. John Jaso was behind the plate for the Rays, if you were wondering.
- W: Colby Lewis (5-5), L: David Price (6-5), SV: Neftali Feliz (11)
- SB: Ian Kinsler (11), Elvis Andrus (16, 17), Nelson Cruz (2), Craig Gentry (5), Sam Fuld (13); CS: Sam Fuld (6)
White Sox 7 - Red Sox 4
- Gavin Floyd pitched 6.2 innings and allowed 4 earned runs on 9 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 1 batter, which continues a trend where his strikeout rate had slipped to 6.21 K/9 for the month of May. Floyd is now 5-0 against the Red Sox with a 3.83 ERA.
- Tim Wakefield took a no decision, after he went 6 innings and also allowed 4 earned runs. He allowed 7 hits with 1 walk and struck out 4. The 4 Ks are nice considering the White Sox have the 2nd fewest strikeouts in all of baseball and Wakefield's K/9 was at 3.89 coming into today. At 44 years old, he's only 5 wins shy of 200.
- Jonathan Papelbon's recent struggles continued as he served up a 2-run homer to Paul Konerko. That's now 2 homers and 4 earned runs in his last 4 innings. Previous to that, he had allowed no home runs and 5 earned runs in 19.2 innings.
- Alexei Ramirez went 3-5 with a RBI and 3 runs as he pushed his batting line to .297/.357/.455. Why do people want to vote Jeter to start in the All-Star game again?
- W: Gavin Floyd (6-5), L: Matt Albers (1-3), SV: Sergio Santos (9)
- HR: Paul Konerko (12), Brent Lillibridge (6), David Ortiz (13)
- SB: Juan Pierre (10
Yankees 4 - A's 2
- A.J. Burnett served up a 2-run homer to Josh Willingham in the first inning, but settled in after that with 6 scoreless innings. In all it was 3 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. That's now 5 homers in just 30 innings on the road (1.5 HR/9).
- Gio Gonzalez's hot streak ended with 4 earned runs in 6.1 innings. He had a 1.67 ERA in the month of May with 35 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. His ERA now balloons to a robust 2.49, which in this offense depressed season isn't even in the top ten in all of baseball.
- Andrew Bailey pitched a perfect 9th inning. Brian Fuentes set him up with a scoreless 8th inning.
- With two more RBI, Josh Willingham is now up to 37 on the season. I wasn't really sure where that ranked in the AL, so I looked. He's right there with Mark Teixeira (38) and Robinson Cano (37).
- W: A.J. Burnett (6-3), L: Gio Gonzalez (5-3), SV: Mariano Rivera (14)
- HR: Nick Swisher (4), Josh Willingham (10)
- SB: Russell Martin (6), Coco Crisp (17)
Orioles 2 - Mariners 1
- Brian Matusz made his 2011 debut, after dealing with a strained back muscle. He made 84 pitches in 5.2 innings with 1 earned run, 4 hits, 0 walks, and 3 strikeouts. In the second half of last season, Matusz had a 3.63 ERA in 72 innings with a 7.88 K/9 and 3.13 BB/9.
- Michael Pineda pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball in a no-decision. He walked 1 batter with 7 strikeouts as his rookie tour of duty continues. 9 of his 11 starts this season have been quality starts. It's still relatively early, but he has to be considered the front runner for AL Rookie of the Year.
- Adam Jones went 3-4 with a solo homer in the 8th to break up a 1-1 tie. He's now batting .296/.339/.462 on the season. Oh and he also made one of the best over the shoulder, up against the wall catches you'll ever see.
- W: Jim Johnson (4-1), L: Jamey Wright (1-2), SV: Kevin Gregg (9)
- HR: Adam Jones (7), J.J. Hardy (3)
- SB: Ichiro Suzuki (14); CS: Nolan Reimold (2)
Royals 2 - Angels 0
- Felipe Paulino pitched 5 shutout innings with 4 hits, 0 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Wasn't he just with the Rockies and then in the Royals bullpen? As an Astros fan, I saw Paulino do this on the regular and then follow it up with a disaster outing. If the guy ever figures it out, he's going to be nasty. At least the Astros have Clint Barmes (sigh).
- Tyler Chatwood also kept the opposition off the scoreboard with 7.2 scoreless innings. He gave up 5 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Despite his 3.64 ERA, I still can't help but think that a guy with 34 walks and 29 strikeouts is on the precipice of doom.
- Billy Butler went 2-4 with a 2-run walk-off homer. He's up to a .296/.395/.427 batting line. That's a .131 isolated power, for those of you playing at home.
- W: Tim Collins (3-2), L: Scott Downs (3-2)
- HR: Billy Butler (4)
- SB: Erick Aybar (14), Alex Gordon (5)
Tigers 4 - Twins 2
- Rick Porcello bounced back from his disaster start against the Red Sox (3 IP, 6 ER) with 6.2 innings and 2 earned runs allowed. He had a shutout going through the 6th inning, but in the 7th he offered up a 2-run homer to Drew Butera and he obliged. Since his first two starts (10 IP, 10 ER) he has a 2.74 ERA.
- Scott Baker pitched 6 innings with 4 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts. A 3-run homer from Miguel Cabrera in the 3rd inning was the death blow. A fly-ball pitcher, the homers are often a problem for him, but at least he's raised his strikeout rate this season to a career high 8.78 K/9.
- How long till Brennan Boesch is moved out of the 3rd spot in the lineup for the Tigers? He hit .186/.226/.326 in May and is hitting .250/.312/.383 on the season.
- W: Rick Porcello (5-3), L: Scott Baker (2-4), SV: Jose Valverde (14)
- HR: Drew Butera (1), Miguel Cabrera (11)
- SB: Andy Dirks (1); CS: Jhonny Peralta (2)
Indians 13 - Blue Jays 9
- Kyle Drabek's lack of command caught up to him as he allowed 4 earned runs, while only getting 2 outs. He allowed 3 hits with 3 walks and 1 strikeouts. He now has 45 walks and 43 strikeouts in 63.1 innings. Forget his 3.86 ERA in May; he's broken right now and needs fixing.
- Josh Tomlin improved to 7-2, after he was staked to an 11 run lead by Drabek and Shawn Camp. He wasn't particularly effect as he allowed 6 earned runs over 6 innings. To his credit he did walk just 1 and strikeout 7. Say what you will about him pitching above his talent level, but he does own a 1.38 BB/9.
- 13 runs and Carlos Santana had no RBI. He did however get on base with 3 walks and score 2 runs. Asdrubal Cabrera, Grady Sizemore, and Matt LaPorta each drove in 3 runs and scored 2 runs.
- W: Josh Tomlin (7-2), L: Kyle Drabek (3-4)
- HR: Matt LaPorta (7), Rajai Davis (1)
Nationals 2 - Phillies 1
- John Lannan held the Phillies to just 1 run (unearned) over 5.1 innings for his first ever win against the Phillies. Coming into the game he was 0-10 with a 6.44 ERA against them. He allowed 4 hits with 3 walks and 1 strikeout today. His ERA is now 4.08, but you have to be concerned about that 1.36 K/BB.
- Roy Oswalt took the loss, after he pitched 5.0 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. A Laynce Nix homer in the 3rd inning proved to be the difference here. It could have been worse as Oswalt had a runner in scoring position in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th inning. He needs to start working deeper into games as he's only pitched past the 6th inning in one start this season.
- Mike Morse went 1-3 with a double and a walk. He's slugging .507 and is becoming a legit power threat this season, now that he's getting more playing time with Adam LaRoche out.
- W: John Lannan (3-5), L: Roy Oswalt (3-3), SV: Drew Storen (10)
- HR: Laynce Nix (9)
- SB: John Mayberry Jr. (5)
Astros 3 - Cubs 1
- Brett Myers got back on the horse with 6 innings of 1-run ball. He allowed 3 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. His 6.90 ERA in May was not what he or his owners expected. WIth the win the Astros swept their first (and maybe last) opponent this season.
- Doug Davis had a quality start with 6.1 innings pitched and 3 earned runs allowed. The game was tied 1-1, when Davis left the game in the 7th, but a Michael Bourn 2-run single off of Sean Marshall gave the Astros the lead for good and charged 2 more runs to Davis.
- With two more hits Jeff Keppinger upped his batting line to .409/.435/.636. He's only played in 5 games so far, but he's off to a nice start. Hopefully Bill Hall doesn't show his face at Keppinger's expense any time soon.
- W: Brett Myers (2-4), L: Doug Davis (0-4), SV: Mark Melancon (4)
- HR: Jason Michaels (1), Kosuke Fukudome (2)
- SB: Michael Bourn (21, 22)
Braves 4 - Padres 3
- Tommy Hanson allowed 2 runs over 6 innings for his 6th win. He allowed 3 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. After the 2nd inning, he completely shutdown the Friars as allowed only 2 base runners over his final 4 innings. He's allowed more than 3 earned runs in only 1 of his starts this season, pretty good if you ask me.
- Clayton Richard lasted 4.2 innings and allowed 3 earned runs. His command was poor as he served up 8 hits with 4 walks. As you can tell by the 12 base runners, things could have been much worse. He has a 2.42 ERA at home this season, so spot start him there, if you can.
- Jordan Schafer went 1-4 with a strikeout as he fills in for Nate McLouth in centerfield. He's hitting .250/.385/.281 in 8 games since coming up.
- W: Tommy Hanson (6-4), L: Clayton Richard (2-6), SV: Craig Kimbrel (16)
- HR: Kyle Phillips (2), Marin Prado (8)
- SB: Jason Bartlett (9), Chase Headley (6)
Reds 4 - Brewers 3
- Shaun Marcum pitched 7 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs, but left with a no-decision. He had a 3-run lead going into the 7th inning, but served up a 2-run homer to the scorching hot Jay Bruce. He finished with 7 strikeouts and no walks, so he had good command.
- Mike Leake allowed 3 earned runs over 6 innings for a no-decision. He staked the Brewers to a 2-run lead in the first inning, but cruised for the most part from there on. It was his second start since coming back up to the majors. Now if he can just stay away from the shopping malls.
- Jay Bruce just won't quit. He hit his 17th homer of the season and is now batting .292/.355/.580. I heart him very, very much.
- W: Nick Masset (1-3), L: Kameron Loe (2-5), SV: Francisco Cordero (10)
- HR: Rickie Weeks (10), Joey Votto (7), Jay Bruce (17)
- CS: Miguel Cairo (2)
Pirates 9 - Mets 3
- Kevin Correia received his 8th win, after he pitched 6 innings of 2-run ball. He gave up 6 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. Outside of the 4th inning, when he gave up a 2-run single to Ruben Tejada, he was relatively untouched. I really don't see how he can sustain his 3.40 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 76.2 innings.
- Chris Capuano got touched up for 5 earned runs in his 6 innings. He had a shutout going into the 7th inning, but then things went off the rails with a series of 5 straight singles, before he was removed. Pedro Beato came in and finished things off, allowing all his inherited runs to score. He's now a little over 3 years removed from TJ Surgery.
- Justin Turner went 1-4 with his second homer of the season. He's now hitting .320/.364/.470 on the season. Not bad for the 26 year old second/third baseman. Now let's just see how long he can sustain that .361 BABIP.
- W: Kevin Correia (8-4), L: Chris Capuano (3-6)
- HR: Justin Turner (2)
- SB: Jose Tabata (14); CS: Neil Walker (1), Angel Pagan (2)
Diamondbacks 6 - Marlins 5
- Daniel Hudson allowed 4 earned runs over 7 innings with 10 hits allowed, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Pitching at Chase Field, where he has a 2.56 ERA over his 84.1 innings as a member of the D-Backs, this was a bit unlike him. He allowed a homer in this one, a 2-run slam by Mike Stanton, giving him 4 given up this season.
- Javier Vazquez had a good outing, compared to most Vazquez starts. He allowed 4 earned runs over 6 innings on 6 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. He's just eating innings at this point.
- J.J. Putz blew his first save of the season when John Buck took him deep in the 9th. Justin Upton socked a 2-run single in the bottom of the inning to give Putz the win. Even when Putz is bad, he's good to fantasy owners.
- W: J.J. Putz (1-1), L: Clay Hensley (0-2), BSV: J.J. Putz (1)
- HR: Mike Stanton (12), John Buck (6), Ryan Roberts (8)
- CS: Chris Coghlan (5)
Giants 7 - Cardinals 5
- Tim Lincecum struck out 9 and walked none, but allowed 5 earned runs over 6.1 innings in a no-decision. He allowed 10 hits, one of which was a 2-run homer to Allen Craig. Just a blip on the radar for Timmay.
- Jake Westbrook allowed 3 earned runs over 5.2 innings, also in a no-decision. He served up 9 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. After a 6.53 ERA in April, he bounced back with a 3.77 ERA in May. His 35 strikeouts and 30 walks in 64.2 innings does not inspire confidence.
- Brandon Crawford went 2-6 with a RBI and run. He's now hitting .333/.429/.556 in 6 games since coming up. This would be enough for me to play him over the corpse of Tejada everyday at short. That said, he skipped Double-A and Triple-A, so this probably won't last.
- W: Sergio Romo (3-0), L: Ryan Franklin (1-4), SV: Brian Wilson (15), BSV: Fernando Salas (1)
- HR: Aubrey Huff (5), Allen Craig (4)
- SB: Emmanuel Burriss (4), Cody Ross (3), Jon Jay (4), Colby Rasmus (5); CS: Ryan Theriot (1)
Rockies 3 - Dodgers 0
- Ubaldo Jimenez finally looked like the pitcher of last season as he dominated the Dodgers for a complete game shutout. He allowed just 4 hits with no walks and 7 strikeouts. Hopefully after his rough start, the command he showed tonight will stick. Prior to this game he had a career high walk rate of 5.33 BB/9. The Dodgers have scored the 5th fewest runs this season.
- Jon Garland had a quality start with 3 earned runs over 6 innings. He put on 6 base runners via 5 hits and 1 walk. Garland barely has more strikeouts (28) than walks (20) this season. But at least he'll give the Dodgers 200 innings.
- Dexter Fowler went 1-4 from the 8th spot in the lineup and is now batting .242/.344/.353. He's 5th in MLB in strikeouts with 63. He's like the Austin Jackson (65 strikeouts) of the NL in that regard.
- W: Ubaldo Jimenez (1-5), L: Jon Garland (1-5)
- HR: Todd Helton (7)