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Stay For a Nightcap! - Rock & Fire Edition


Mariners 7 - A's 4

- Charlie Furbush got the win after 5 inning of 1 run ball.  He only gave up 2 hits with 0 walks and 3 strikeouts.  This was Furbush's second start as a member of the Tigers, after his trade from the Tigers.
- Gio Gonzalez pitched 6.1 innings and gave up 6 earned runs on 10 hits, 4 walks, and 9 strikeouts.  He has now given up 16 earned runs in his last 3 starts (16.1 innings).
- Josh Willingham was 1-4 with 3-run homer that brought the M's close, but it wasn't enough. 
- Mike Carp went 3-5 with 2 RBI, and 2 runs.  He's hitting .297/.366/.440.
- W: Charlie Furbush (2-3), L: Gio Gonzalez (9-9), SV: Brandon League (26)
- HR: Josh Willingham (16)
- SB: Caper Wells (2); CS: Jack Wilson (2)

Tigers 5 - Rangers 4

- Doug Fister held the Rangers to 3 runs (2 earned) over 7 innings.  He gave up 8 hits with no walks and no strikeouts.  It was his first game with the Tigers as he now has a 3.29 ERA.
- Matt Harrison gave up 4 earned runs on 9 hits and 3 walks.  It was a departure from his dominant self of late as he had given up 2 or less earned runs in 4 of his last 5 starts.
- Ryan Raburn went 3-4 with 2 RBI, 2 runs, and a homer.  The 2B/OF is batting .227/.266/.387.
- W: Doug Fister (4-12), L: Matt Harrison (9-8), SV: Jose Valverde (30)
- HR: Ryan Raburn (10), Alex Avila (12)

Red Sox 4 - Indians 3

- Tim Wakefield pitched 6.2 innings of 3- run ball.  He gave up 4 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.  It was his 200th win, quite the achievement.
- Carlos Carrasco held the Red Sox to 3 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits and 3 walks.  He now has a 4.55 ERA with a 85/40 K/BB ratio.
- Josh Redick went 2-2 with a walk.  He should gainer more and more PT in OF with his play.  He's batting .341/.387/.556 over 142 plate appearances.
- W: Jonathan Papelbon (4-0), L: Joe Smith (2-2)
- HR: Jason Kipnis (4), Jacoby Ellsubury (18)
- SB: Ezequel Carrera (4), Mike Aviles (11), Marco Scutaro (4); CS: Dustin Pedroia (4)

Rays 9 - Blue Jays 1

- James Shields tossed 7.1 innings of 1 run ball on 3 hits and 3 walks.  Shields has been nothing short of amazing this season with a 2.95 ERA.
- Carlos Villanueva was shelled for 8 earned runs over 2.2 innings.  A 4-run 2nd inning didn't help matters as he was left in for a 4-run 3rd.  On the season he has a 4.24 ERA.
- Robinson Chirinos went 2-2 with a 3-run homer and a 1-run single.  The catcher is batting .226/.333/.355.
- W: James Shields (10-9), L: Carlos Villanueva (6-3)
- HR: J.P. Arencibia (9), Ben Zobrist (15), Casey Kotchman (5), Robinson Chirinos (1)

Yankees 18 - White Sox 7

- A.J. Burnett got rocked for 7 runs over 4.1 innings in a no-decision.  He gave up 13 hits, including a 3-run homer to Carlos Quentin in the 4th inning.  Owners have to be pretty frustrated that he couldn't hang on for a win considering he had a 12 run lead at one point.
- Gavin Floyd pitched 2.1 innings and gave up 10 runs on 9 hits and 1 walk.  Ah the ups-and-downs of owing Gavin Floyd.  Not even last season's first half implosions can compare to this.  He gave up 4 runs in the first inning, 2 in the second, and another 2 in the third, before being pulled for Will Ohman, who let another 2 more of his runs score.  His ERA now stands at 4.56, which is just a shade higher than Burnett at 4.54.
- Eric Chavez went 3-6 and hit his first homer of the season, a 2-run blast.  He finished up with 4 RBI and a run. 
- Curtis Granderson racked up 5 RBI on a 4 hit night.  The OF is batting .278/.367/.576 this season.
- W: Cory Wade (2-0), L: Gavin Floyd (9-10)
- HR: Robinson Cano (17), Eric Chavez (1), Carlos Quentin (21)
- SB: Brett Gardner (33)

Royals 6 - Orioles 2

- Luke Hochevar allowed 2 runs (1 earned) over 7.1 innings as he evened his record to 8-8.  He struck out 7 batters and walked just 1 with 4 hits.  Over his last two starts (14.1 innings) he has 13 strikeouts to just 2 walks with 3 earned runs allowed.
- Jeremy Guthrie was touched up for 6 earned runs over his 7 innings on 8 hits and 3 walks.  He fell to 5-15 with a 4.34 ERA.  Things were close in the 7th, until a 3-run homer from Billy Butler sent Guthrie and the O's packing.  While the wins might not show it, this could be Guthrie's best season yet as he has a 4.39 xFIP.  That also says a bit about his level of talent in the rough AL East.
- Eric Hosmer went 0-2 with 2 walks and is now batting .283/.335/.451 on the season. 
- On the flip-side, Chris Davis and Mark Reynolds both went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.  The two must have watched Hosmer's at-bats and thought, what's he waiting for?
- W: Luke Hochevar (8-8), L: Jeremy Guthrie (5-15), SV: Greg Holland (1)
- CS: Vladimir Guerrero (1)

Twins 11 - Angels 4

- Scott Baker lasted just 3 innings as he allowed 3 earned runs.  Was it national get run early night in MLB?  He racked up 77 pitches in just his 3 innings and was pulled as a result.  He remains 8-6 with a  3.01 ERA.  It was the first game he's given up a homer in almost a month, which is quite the feat for the fly ball pitcher.
- Joel Pineiro fell to 5-6 as he allowed 7 earned runs over 4.1 innings on 7 hits and 1 walk.  He's never been known as a strikeout artist, but this season he just hasn't missed bats at all.  His 3.75 K/9 is his lowest of his career.
- Michael Cuddyer went 2-5 with a homer, 5 RBI, and 2 runs.  The 1B is batting .301/.371/.494 this season.  His OBP is a career and team high this season.
- Delmon Young hit 2 homers as he went 2-4 with 3 RBI, 2 runs, and a walk.  He's hitting .265/.300/.364, which is certainly a step back from his .298/.333/.493 line a season ago.
- W: Anthony Swarzak (3-3), L: Joel Pineiro (5-6)
- HR: Michael Cuddyer (17, 18), Jason Kubel (7), Delmon Young (3, 4), Peter Bourjos (4)
- SB: Ben Revere (19)

Braves 6 - Nationals 4

- Brandon Beachy pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits and 1 walk.  He now owns a 3.49 ERA and has allowed 5 earned runs over his last 3 starts.
- Chien-Ming Wang allowed 6 runs (2 earned) over 5 innings.  A 4-run fifth inning was made for not on his earned run average because of a throwing error he made. 
- Dan Uggla extended his hit streak with a 2-4 effort that included a 3-run homer.
- W: Brandon Beachy (5-2), L: Chien-Ming Wang (0-2), SV: Craig Kimbrel (32)
- HR: Dan Uggla (23), Jayson Werth (13)
- SB: Michael Bourn (40)

Brewers 10 - Cardinals 5

- Randy Wolf pitched 6 innings and gave up 5 runs.  He had a 3.61 ERA.  Last season he carried a 4.17 ERA over 215.2 innings.
- Edwin Jackson was allowed to give up 8 runs over 7 innings.  Why he was left in to give up 2 runs in the 6th win a 2-run lead is beyond me.
- Casey McGehee hit 3 homers with 5 RBI for the game.  He hit 23 homers with 70 RBI in a .285/.337/.464 batting line last season.
- W: Randy Wolf (8-6), L: Edwin Jackson (8-8)
- HR: Rafael Furcal (2), Corey Hart (15), Casey McGehee (6, 7, 8)
- SB: Corey Hart (4)

Phillies 10 - Rockies 6

- Roy Halladay added to his to his record, by pitching 7 innings of 5 run ball (4 earned).  He wasn't his sharpest by giving up 8 hits and 1 walk with 7 strikeouts.  The Phillies' ace has a 2.55 ERA.
- Jason Hammel gave up 6 earned runs over his 5 innings of work as he now has a 4.88 ERA.  Last season he finished with a 4.81 ERA over 177.2 innings.
- Todd Helton went 2-4 with 3 RBi and 2 runs.  The 1B is hitting .309/.393/.482 this season over 387 plate appearances.
- W: Roy Halladay (14-4), L: Jason Hammel (6-11), SV: Brad Lidge (1)
- HR: Ryan Howard (24), Todd Helton (12)
- SB: Eric Young Jr. (8), Dexter Fowler (7); CS: Wilson Valdez (1), Mark Ellis (3)

Giants 8 - Diamondbacks 1

- Ryan Vogelsong kept his fantastic season going with 6 innings of 1-run ball.  He gave up 5 hits with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts.  His NL leading ERA now stands at a mind boggling 2.19.
- Jason Marquis was shelled for 7 earned runs over 4 innings as the D-Backs fell 1 game back of the Giants.  Last season over 58.2 innings Marquis had a 6.60 ERA.  His last season with an ERA under 4.00 was back in 2004.
- Orlando Cabrera, freshly new to the G-Men, went 1-4 with 3 RBi and 1 run.  It probably doesn't mean as much to his fantasy owners, but to the NL West leaders that is gold coming from their SS position.
- W: Ryan Vogelsong (9-1), L: Jason Marquis (8-6)
- SB: Paul Goldschmidt (1)

Cubs 1 - Pirates 0

- Matt Garza held the Pirates scoreless for 7 innings on 4 hits, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts.  He now has an interesting 2.70/5.20 home/road ERA split.  On the plus side, he now has a career high 9.02 K/9 strikeout rate.  Now about that run support….
- Charlie Morton pitched 7 innings of shutout ball, but came away with the no-decision in what was a pitcher's duel.  He gave up 5 hits with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts as he lowered his ERA to 3.80.  Considering his last start, where he gave up 8 earned runs over 4 innings, this was a find bounce back effort.
- Starlin Castro went 3-4 at the plate with the game's lone run, a solo shot off of Chris Resop.  The sophomore shortstop is now batting .309/.337/.429 this season.
- W: Matt Garza (5-8), L: Chris Resop (3-3), SV: Carlos Marmol (22)
- HR: Starlin Castro (4)
- CS: Starlin Castro (5)

Marlins vs Mets was postponed

Astros 5 - Reds 4

- Jordan Lyles won his first career game with 7 innings of 3-run ball on 6 hits and no walks.  He did give up 2 homers, but they were both solo shots, which limited the damage.  Through his first 74.1 innings he has a 4.36 ERA with a 2.89 K/BB ratio.
- Dontrelle Willis pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk.  He also hit a home run, the 9th of his career.  On the pitching side, he now has a 3.41 ERA over 5 starts.  That's about the best anyone could hope for considering what Willis has been through to get back on a MLB mound as a starter.
- J.D. Martinez, the Astros 3-hole hitter, went 3-4 with 4 RBI, a homer, double, and a run.  The homer was the first of his career as he's only been up since the Pence trade.  He hit .338/.414/.546 this season over 370 plate appearances at Double-A.
- Jose Altuve went 2-3 and is now hitting .340.  He's pretty much all Astros fans have to cheer for these days.
- W: Jordan Lyles (1-6), L: Nick Masset (1-5), SV: Mark Melancon (11)
- HR: Todd Frazier (2), Dontrelle Willis (1), J.D. Martinez (1), Humberto Quintero (2)

Padres 3 - Dodgers 0

- Tim Stauffer pitched 6.1 shutout innings on 6 hits and 1 walk.  Go take a look at his season predictions from Rotowire for his ERA and WHIP and then look at what he's actually put up.  For those not clicking, he has a 2.96 ERA and 1.23 WHIP and was projected for a 2.91 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.  Jeff Erickson is psychic!
- Ted Lilly allowed just 1 run over his 6 innings as he fell to 7-11 with a 4.86 ERA.  I know it's an arbitrary number, but Lilly has just two games this season where he's had more than 100 pitches.  That strikes me as low considering he's a 35 year old veteran.  At any rate, his xFIPs over the last three seasons read 3.90, 3.95, and 3.95.  Pretty consistent if you ask me.
- Jesus Guzman went 1-3 with a RBI, walk, and stolen base.  He's likely just a stopgap corner infielder for your team, but you could do worse than his .337/.382/.589 that he has over just 102 plate appearances.  And at least he is hitting clean-up, granted it's in the Padres lineup.
- W: Tim Stauffer (7-8), L: Ted Lilly (7-11), SV: Heath Bell (31)
- HR: Jason Bartlett (2)
- SB: Jason Bartlett (22), Chase Headley (12), Jesus Guzman (3), Luis Martinez (1)