Atlanta 6 – Colorado 3
W: Tim Hudson (8-6) L: Juan Nicasio (3-2) S: Craig Kimbrel (27)
HR: Freddie Freeman (13), Jason Heyward (9)
SB: Jason Heyward (5), Nate McLouth (3)
- Outside of Jason Giambi and Seth Smith, the Rockies (sans CarGo and Tulo) ran out a lineup that featured no one hitting above .255. After some early trouble, Tim Hudson settled down and allowed three runs on five hits over 7.1 innings.
- Freddie Freeman had a 3-for-4 day including his fourth home run in four games. With guys like Mike Stanton and Starlin Castro getting a lot of attention for their talent/youth combo, the 21-year-old Freeman has gone under the radar. He's developed as a hitter as his monthly OPS' show - .717, .802, .819, 1.292. If he continues this growth or even this pace, would you place him inside the top-10 or outside for 2012?
- Craig Kimbrel set the rookie record for most saves by a rookie before the All-Star break. Remember how his draft value dropped before drafts under rampant speculation that he'd share the role with Jonny Venters?
Florida 5 – Houston 0
W: Brad Hand (1-3) L: J.A. Happ (3-11)
HR: Mike Stanton (18)
SB: Emilio Bonifacio (12), Dewayne Wise (2)
CS: Mike Stanton (2)
- Mike Stanton's eye must be clearing up after he hit his second home run in two days. I get the feeling the Marlins are in for a good weekend with the Astros in town.
- I know this could be crazy talk but has Emilio Bonifacio become a viable fantasy option? He's on a 10-game hit streak over which he's gone 15-for-40 (.375) with eight runs and seven stolen bases. Bonifacio is the type of guy I'd roll the dice with if I just lost Jose Reyes for the next three weeks.
Tampa Bay 5 – New York 1
W: Jeff Niemann (4-4) L: Bartolo Colon (6-4)
HR: Ben Zobrist (10), B.J. Upton (14), Robinson Cano (15)
SB: Reid Brignac (3)
CS: Ben Zobrist (2)
- Ben Zobrist who has a whopping 28 doubles (matching his total number from last year), missed the cycle by exactly that. He's now 8-for-11 over his last three games.
- B.J. Upton is now 7-for-21 over seven July games and has six home runs in his last 13 contests.
- Jeff Niemann looked like the Niemann of the first-half of 2010 going 7.1 innings and allowing only one run. In three of his last four starts he's only yielded one run or less. Oddly, the game he didn't accomplish that feat was against the Astros.
- Brett Gardner is now 5-for-28 over his last eight games with eight strikeouts. Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira have gone a combined 0-for-14 over the Yankees last two games. No, I don't think anything is wrong, just thought they were interesting stats to note.
Boston 10 – Baltimore 4
W: Andrew Miller (3-0), L: Jake Arrieta (9-6)
HR: Dustin Pedroia (9), Adrian Gonzalez (17), Jacoby Ellsbury (11), David Ortiz (18), Josh Reddick (2), Jared Saltalamacchia (6),
SB: Matt Wieters (1)
- Andrew Miller continued his winning ways by allowing three runs over five innings. He doesn't need to be great with this lineup and has been a relief to Boston fans considering the rash of injuries the rotation has had recently. While his 1.59 WHIP is ugly, he's worked himself out of jams and the 9.5 runs per game he's received from the Red Sox in run support suggests he'll rack up a few more wins.
- The BoSox went back-to-back-to-back in the seventh inning off Pedro Viola. I'd guess he'll be teammates with Brian Matusz in the very near future.
- Jacoby Ellsbury again reached a new career-high in home runs. Where do you pick him next season if he ends up with a line around .300, 110 runs, 20 home runs and 55 stolen bases? Keep in mind he'll only turn 28 in September.
Texas 6 – Oakland 0
W: Derek Holland (7-4) L: Rich Harden (1-1)
HR: Michael Young (8)
SB: Endy Chavez (6)
- While it was against Oakland, Derek Holland was outstanding pitching a complete game shutout. The lefty struck out seven while walking only two.
- Rich Harden resembled the pitcher he was last year with the Rangers by giving up five runs in five innings.
- Endy Chavez has become an interesting player to keep an eye on. He's now 7-for-11 over his last four games with a home run and two stolen bases.
Cleveland 5 – Toronto 4
W: Tony Sipp (4-1) L: Luis Perez (1-2)
HR: Jose Bautista (29), Travis Hafner (8)
SB: Aaron Hill (11), Michael Brantley (12)
CS: Aaron Hill (1)
- The story of the game was more ninth inning drama in Cleveland as the Tribe rallied down four and won with a walk-off grand slam from Travis Hafner. Frank Francisco allowed three runners before departing and Luis Perez allowed the rest of the damage. Who knows what's going to happen in the Toronto bullpen going forward.
- Carlos Villanueva obviously deserved a better outcome after tossing six shutout innings, striking out seven and walking only two. Rewind to last Saturday and guess who blew the lead for Villanueva again (although different circumstances)? Yes, Mr. Perez. I'm guessing they're not having dinner together anytime soon.
- Despite 11 hits, Bautista had the only extra base hit for the Jays.
- I attended the Yankees/Indians game Wednesday night as part of my son's birthday present and discovered a few things. First, avoid the 90 by Erie, PA unless you have a few hours to waste. Next, the waters outside the stadium being sold by random people are a buck; inside they're $4.25. If you wonder where the obese in our country come from look no further than the stand that sells everything from fried Twinkies to fried Oreos and I'm only listing about five percent of the fried products they sell. For $150 we had two tickets 23 rows up behind the Yankees dugout. I'm guessing I saved at least four figures by not going to Yankee Stadium for comparable seats. The Yankees – Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano (I think) all hit balls to right field that would have been home runs at home. Phil Hughes looked good for his first start as he didn't give up an extra base hit. His problem was his location with his curveball as just about every time I saw in the mid-70s on the radar gun it was called a ball. Oh and check out the Winking Lizard if you're ever in Cleveland. My eight-year-old approved of the chicken wings, which says a lot considering we live in Buffalo.
Minnesota 6 – Chicago 2
W: Carl Pavano (6-6) L: Philip Humber (8-5)
HR: Mark Teahen (3)
SB: Ben Revere (10), Alexi Casilla (13) Tsuyoshi Nishioka (2)
CS: Ben Revere (4)
- Joe Mauer played first base for the first time in quite a while and looked completely comfortable there. After going 3-for-4 at the plate it would be wise to see him there more often or at DH instead of taking "soreness" days off.
- Matt Capps had a much-needed clean inning by pitching with a four-run lead. It's worth noting Glen Perkins got the call in the eighth inning so Joe Nathan was available in the ninth had a save situation arisen.
- Ben Revere is 6-for-14 over his last three games with five runs scored. I'm curious to see what the Twins do when the outfield finally gets healthy.
- Until Thursday, Philip Humber hadn't given up more than four runs (he gave up six) in a start and that had only happened two times in 15 starts.
Chicago 10 – Washington 9
W: Sean Marshall (5-2) L: Henry Rodriguez (3-2) S: Carlos Marmol (18)
HR: Carlos Pena (19), Blake DeWitt (2)
SB: Rogearvin Bernadina (13), Danny Espinosa (11), Alex Cora (2), Tony Campana (10)
- The Nationals blew an eight-run lead which they had after the fourth inning to only watch it disappear in the last four innings.
- Carlos Pena has gone 2-for-9 in his last two games with four strikeouts. Luckily, both of those hits were two-run homers.
- Geovany Soto had an off night allowing three stolen bases without a CS. He entered the contest third among catchers with a .333 CS|PERCENT|. First? Matt Weiters with a .444 CS|PERCENT|.
Detroit 3 – Kansas City 1
W: Max Scherzer (10-4) L: Danny Duffy (1-4) S: Jose Valverde (22)
HR: Ryan Raburn (8), Casey Kelly (3)
SB: Jeff Francoeur (15)
CS: Chris Getz (5)
- Max Scherzer continues his feast or famine ways, this time going with the former. He allowed only one run over 6.1 innings while striking out two and walking none.
- I won't be the only one but I'll be targeting Danny Duffy next year. Over his last five starts he's given up two runs or less (27.2 innings, 4.23 ERA) four times and has a 25:8 K:BB ratio.
- Minor League note about someone with nowhere to go. Mike Aviles (yes it's the PCL) now has nine home runs over 99 at-bats for Omaha. If I was the Rockies I probably would have traded for him over Mark Ellis.
Milwaukee 5 – Cincinnati 4
W: Chris Narveson (6-5) L: Homer Bailey (3-4) S: John Axford (23)
HR: Ramon Hernandez (9), Rickie Weeks (16)
SB: Corey Hart (3)
CS: Drew Stubbs (5), Brandon Phillips 2 (5)
- Chris Narveson came into the game with dreadful numbers against the Reds but held his own with six innings of two-run ball. Credit Jonathan Lucroy with throwing out Brandon Phillips twice.
- A day after hitting a home run and walking twice in eight plate appearances, Chris Heisey was back on the bench for the .218 hitting Jonny Gomes. Well played, Dusty Baker.
- Prospect Zack Cozart was called-up and went 1-for-3 in his debut. His playing time is murky but one would think they didn't call him up to ride the pine more nights than not. He was hitting .310 with seven homers and nine stolen bases at Triple-A before getting the call.
- John Axford made things interesting in the ninth. After walking Drew Stubbs, Jonathan Lucroy threw out his third base runner of the game on a pitch-out. This played an important part of the game as Ramon Hernandez hit a home run which would have tied the game had Stubbs been on base. Axford worked through his ineffectiveness to record his 23rd save.
- Odd stat I noticed in the box score. How does Prince Fielder have nine errors this year?
San Francisco 2 – San Diego 1
W: Barry Zito (3-1) L: Cory Luebke (2-3) S: Brian Wilson (25)
HR: Ryan Ludwick (11), Eli Whiteside (3)
SB: Chris Denorfia (7)
CS: Jason Bartlett (6)
- Look at Barry Zito earn that contract! Even with a mid-80s fastball his off-speed stuff was effective enough that it seemed to set up the fastball. Counterpart Cory Luebke gave up his first earned runs as a starter but struck out eight while walking only one.
- Pablo Sandoval extended his hit streak to 18 games and he's raised his batting average from .281 on June 25 to .303 coming into Thursday's game.
Arizona 4 – St. Louis 1
W: Joe Saunders (6-7) L: Kyle McClellan (6-6) S: David Hernandez (6)
HR: Justin Upton (15)
- While he allowed only one run over five innings, I'm still aboard the "smoke and mirrors" team when it comes to Joe Saunders. He walked four and struck out only one over five innings. Saunders' 64:44 K:BB ratio over 112 innings should tell you all you need to know about him.
- Justin Upton probably got word before the game that his brother B.J. tied him with his 14th home run. Not to be outdone, Justin went one-up with his 15th shot.
- David Hernandez has been too awesome in the closer role but J.J. Putz is on track to return shortly after the ASB. Hernandez has four straight saves with a 5:0 K:BB ratio over 3.1 innings since Putz went on the DL.
Los Angeles 5 – Seattle 1
W: Jered Weaver (11-4) L: Doug Fister (3-10)
SB: Franklin Gutierrez (4)
- Jared Weaver made a strong case to start the All-Star Game, recording a one-run shutout. He has now thrown five straight starts of giving up one run or less (40 innings, 0.90 ERA).
-The biggest news coming from the Halos that will send the fantasy community buzzing heading into the weekend is the call-up of elite prospect Mike Trout. It'll be interesting to see what the Angels do if he hits the ground running. Do you demote him when Peter Bourjos gets healthy? He was batting .324 with nine homers and 28 steals at Double-A before his call-up. Question: would you rather own Trout or Bryce Harper if tomorrow were Opening Day 2014?
- Seattle prospect Kyle Seager was called up and went 0-for-4 in his debut. He raked between two levels in the minors, totaling six homers and nine stolen bases while hitting .312 at Double-A (266 ABs) and .455 (55 ABs) at Triple-A. He bats left-handed so Safeco won't impact him as much as if he was a righty. He's not Mike Trout by any means but is worth keeping tabs on.
Los Angeles 6 – New York 0
W: Clayton Kershaw (9-4) L: Dillon Gee (8-3)
SB: Angel Pagan (17), Ruben Tejada (1), Tony Gwynn Jr. (11), Matt Kemp (26)
- Clayton Kershaw rebounded to throw eight shutout innings, allowing only five hit (all singles). His ERA was lowered to 3.03.
- Matt Kemp is on pace to finish with 40 home runs, 100 runs, 120 RBI and 47 stolen bases. He's the fantasy MVP until this point, right?
- Daniel Murphy had two hits and is now 23-for-61 (.377) over his last 15 games.
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