New York 9 – Pittsburgh 8

W: Jason Isringhausen (1-0) L: Jose Veras (1-2) S: Francisco Rodriguez (16)
HR: Neil Walker (7), Carlos Beltran (9)
SB: Xavier Paul 2 (5), Andrew McCutchen (11)
CS: Xavier Paul (1)

- The Mets came back from an early seven-run deficit to beat the Pirates in Thursday's early game. The Metropolitans were helped by a three-run homer from Carlos Beltran and some clutch hitting as seven of the nine runs were scored with two outs.

- The two starters – Paul Maholm and Mike Pelfrey – were terrible as the two combined to allow 13 earned runs in 10.2 innings.

- Francisco Rodriguez got the save but allowed a run. He's now given up four runs in his last three outings (2.2 innings) to see his ERA rise from 0.74 to 2.00. Blame it on the teeth.

Minnesota 8 – Cleveland 2

W: Anthony Swarzak (1-2) L: Sean O'Sullivan (2-5)
SB: Ben Revere (3)
CS: Michael Cuddyer (1)

- Oddly the Minnesota offense exploded for eight runs, something I'm not sure they'll total in the next three games. With the DL stints of Jason Kubel and Jim Thome, look for Ben Revere to be a sneaky source of steals.

- Anthony Swarzak…I wouldn't trust him on any level. Doesn't strike out anyone and I'd be shocked if his BABIP continues to be around .230 after this game.

- Jeff Francoeur has been known as one of the better clubhouse guys in the league. Now he's showing he can be one of the better hitters as well. Frenchie went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple.

- Joakim Soria – two innings, zero runs. Buy-low? Now is the time.

San Francisco 12- St. Louis 7

W: Jonathan Sanchez (4-3) L: Lance Lynn (0-1) S; Jeremy Affeldt (1)
HR: Freddy Sanchez (3) Aubrey Huff 3 (8), Colby Rasmus (5)
SB: Albert Pujols (5) Tyler Greene (7)

- Isn't it nice to know that second-tier pitching can still be torched by Aubrey Huff? Every Thursday it seems to be a different player – Beltran, Giambi and now Huff scores a three home-run day.

- Aubrey Huff homered Wednesday too so maybe he's seeing the ball clearer. Just don't ask him or the city what the opinion is on Baltimore…

- More quietly, Colby Rasmus drove in six runs on the heels of a 2-for-6 day.

Texas 7 – Cleveland 4

W: Michael Kirkman (1-0) L: Carlos Carrasco (4-3) S: Neftali Feliz (12)
HR: Matt LaPorta (8)
SB: Carlos Santana (2), Orlando Cabrera (3), Elvis Andrus (18), Endy Chavez (3)

- Dave Bush and Carlos Carrasco combined to go 10 innings with eight earned runs and a 3:3 K:BB ratio.

- Matt LaPorta has homered two days in a row and he seems to be the AL version of Ike Davis, except he's healthy. I'd like to see Carlos Santana swinging more and utilizing his power since they bat him in the cleanup spot. He seems to be taking too many pitches and looking for walks. Grady Sizemore is putting up a more than stellar season provided he stays healthy.

- Cleveland was up 3-0 through four innings, so kudos to Texas for not quitting. In another note to Texas, it's probably not wise to cede away from the United States and name Chuck Norris your president. Just sayin'

- Seattle 8 – Tampa Bay 2

W: Felix Hernandez (6-4) L: James Shields (5-4)
HR: Justin Smoak (9), Jack Cust (2), Carlos Peguero 2 (4), Matt Joyce (10)
SB: Matt Joyce (4), Sam Fuld (14)

- King Felix struck out 11 while walking only two over seven innings of work.

- James Shields looked like the 2010 version of himself. He allowed four home runs over four innings (remember this is Seattle at home) as well as three walks and seven hits. Not exactly your Nolan Ryan performance.

- In case you haven't been paying attention, Ichiro went 0-for-5 to lower his batting average to .266. Because of his odd approach at the plate, it's been difficult for the Mariners to figure out if there's something wrong with him from a mechanical standpoint. Don't forget he's 37 and at some point there will be a decline in his skill set.

- I'm thinking Carlos Peguero has earned himself some regular playing time over the weekend. He's going to strike out a ton but when he makes contact, watch out.

Houston 7 – San Diego 4

W: Bud Norris (3-4) L: Tim Stauffer (1-4) S: Mark Melancon (5)
HR: Chris Johnson (6)
SB: Logan Forsythe (1)

- Despite giving up seven runs, Stauffer's day wasn't quite as bad as it seems. He suffered through three errors which led to only five of the runs being earned (one might argue that it should have been even fewer). As a whole the damage could have been much worse than seven runs as the Astros left 12 men on base.

- Even though he hit home run number six, I don't trust Chris Johnson. He's still striking out more than 26|PERCENT| of the time and hasn't been able to keep up his .387 BABIP from a season ago which has led to a .223 average. Think of him as a poor man's Mark Reynolds.

- Quietly, Chad Qualls has pitched his way back to semi-relevance in the fantasy world. He now has a 2.08 ERA, 0.960 WHIP and a 17:6 K:BB ratio over 30.1 innings. No, the K/9 rate isn't anything special but it seems like his new home park is agreeing with him.

Washington 6 – Arizona 1

W: Jordan Zimmermann (3-6) L: Zach Duke (1-1) S: Drew Storen (11)
SB: Ryan Roberts (9)

- Michael Morse went 4-for-5 to raise his batting average to .319. Last weekend I had the inkling to sell-high on him and offer his $2 contract to an owner who had a $28 Adam Dunn in my hometown keeper league. I waited and now I'm starting to think that was the right move. Who would you rather have going forward, Morse or Dunn?

- While their hitting .223 and .219 respectively, Nationals fans have to feel pretty good about the infield duo of Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa. Both have a solid speed/power skill set and now is the time to get them experience while the team is looking to the future.

- Speaking of the future, Jordan Zimmermann will make for a solid #2 behind Stephen Strasburg. Over 67.1 innings he's only given up three home runs (0.40 HR/9) and owns a 1.87 BB/9 rate.

- Justin Upton now has a five-game hitting streak going and has raised his batting average from .241 to .270 over that span. Teammate Ryan Roberts continues to be one of the nicer surprises in fantasy, stealing his ninth base and keeping him on track to put up a 20/20 season. While he's only hitting .271, his .377 OBP should keep him in the leadoff spot for time being.

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