The St. Louis Cardinals continue their road woes as they lost their series in Washington. The Nationals beat Cardinals ace 1b Adam Wainwright 4-2 on Sunday. Wainwright has lost three straight starts for the first time in his MLB career. Wainwright has not picked the best time to struggle, as the Cardinals now sit five games behind the National League Central-leading Cincinnati Reds.

Wainwright allowed all four runs on six hits through just five innings. He allowed a two-run homerun to Mike Morse in the 3rd inning (Morse went 2-for-4 a day after going 4-for-4). Nationals starter John Lannan gave up just one run on eight hits through 7.2 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. He also did damage at the plate by going 1-for-3 with a two-run double. Lannan is 4-1 with a 3.25 ERA since being recalled from Double-A Harrisburg on August 1st.

The Reds increased their NL Central lead to five games as they defeated the Chicago Cubs 7-5. Reds rookie starter Travis Wood struggled but pitched well enough to earn the victory. He allowed three runs on ten hits through five innings while walking three. However lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes blew the save in the 8th inning when he gave up a Kosuke Fukudome two-run homerun to tie the game at 5-5. The Reds came right back to score two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, capped by a Fukudome throwing error that allowed Chris Heisey to score the go-ahead run. Francisco Cordero needed just nine pitches to close out the Cubs in the 9th inning for his 35th save of the season.

The NY Mets knuckleball pitcher RA Dickey single-handedly beat the Houston Astros 5-1 on Sunday. Dickey allowed just one run on six hits through seven innings. At the plate, Dickey contributed a two-run double in the Mets four-run 2nd inning off Astros starter Bud Norris. Dickey improved to 9-5 and lowered his ERA to 2.56 (which is 10th best in MLB).

The Atlanta Braves stormed back to defeat the Florida Marlins 7-6 after being down 6-1 after the 4th inning. Braves starter Derek Lowe lasted just three innings and allowed five runs on six hits while walking three. Marlins starter Josh Johnson was dominant through six innings as he allowed an unearned run on three hits while striking out eight. The Braves scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning off Marlins reliever Will Ohman (though only one was earned). In the 9th inning off Marlins closer Leo Nunez, Matt Diaz hit a pinch-hit two-run homerun and then with two outs and a runner on base, Brian McCann continued his hot day by hitting a ball off the right field wall which was ruled a double (McCann went 3-for-4). After further review, the umpires ruled that the ball was a homerun, and the Braves walked off with the 7-6 victory. It was the first reviewed walk-off homerun since MLB instituted replay for homeruns.

The Philadelphia Phillies continued their dominance over the San Diego Padres, as they swept the three-game series. Cole Hamels was again dominant, as he pitched eight shutout innings. Hamels allowed just four hits while striking out six (he also did not walk a batter). The Phillies have lost just four total games at Petco Park since it opened and have swept the Padres in San Diego four times in the last eight years (they only play each other home-and-home each year). The Phillies remain two games behind the Braves.

Ivan Nova of the NY Yankees won his first Major League game (in his second start) as he defeated the Chicago White Sox and Gavin Floyd 2-1. Nova allowed just one run on five hits through 5.2 innings and struck out seven. Floyd allowed just the two runs (one on a Marcus Thames solo homerun) on seven hits through 6.2 innings. Yankees rookie catcher Francisco Cervelli went 4-for-4.

The White Sox remain five games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central as the Twins were defeated by Luke French and the Seattle Mariners 2-1. French allowed one run on a Michael Cuddyer solo homerun in the 7th inning. He went seven innings and gave up just three hits while striking out four. Carl Pavano was the hard-luck loser as he allowed two runs on five hits through seven innings.

The Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays remain tied for first in both the AL East and the wild card as the Rays defeated the visiting Boston Red Sox on ESPN’s Sunday Night game of the week. Rays starter James Shields outlasted Red Sox starter John Lackey as the Rays won 5-3. Carlos Pena hit a solo homerun in the 4th inning off Lackey and Carl Crawford hit a two-run shot in the 6th inning off Lackey (his 100th of his MLB career). Shields allowed three runs while striking out eight while Lackey allowed five runs while striking out seven. John Jaso, Crawford, and Evan Longoria each had two hits a piece for the Rays. The Red Sox fell to 6.5 games behind the Yankees and Rays in the AL East and wild card standings.

Tags:

Adam Wainwright, Ivan Nova, James Shields, Marcus Thames, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays

The Philadelphia Phillies had a chance to pick up a game on the National League East division-leading Atlanta Braves after the Braves lost again to the Colorado Rockies. Controversy again plagued the game as it did on Monday night. Houston Astros starter Bud Norris and Phillies starter Cole Hamels locked up in a pitcher’s duel with Hamels’ only blemish being a two-run homerun by Carlos Lee through the wind blowing in. Norris only allowed an RBI double to Raul Ibanez in the 6th inning. The Astros would lead the game 2-1 heading into the 9th inning when Jimmy Rollins tied the game at 2-2 with a solo homerun off Wilton Lopez with two outs (Lopez had not allowed a run in 20+ innings).

The controversy came in the bottom of the 14th inning with Ryan Howard at the plate. The Phillies had runners on second and third with two outs and a chance to win the game. However back-to-back check swing calls against Howard led to his strikeout and immediate ejection by the third base umpire. The Phillies had no more position players left, leaving Ibanez to move to first base and starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to play left field. The first play in the 15th inning was a fly ball to Oswalt that he handled cleanly.

In the top of the 16th, the Astros got to rookie reliever David Herndon. Astros outfielder Hunter Pence singled with one out and Brett Wallace was hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch, Jason Michaels was intentionally walked. Chris Johnson followed with a ground ball to third baseman Placido Polanco, who tried to get the force out at second base, but everyone was safe and a run scored. Tommy Manzella then followed with a ground ball that Rollins made a great play on but Ibanez could not hold on at first base for the double play and another run scored. The Astros took a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the 16th, Oswalt came to bat as the winning run but grounded out to end the game.

The NY Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays continue to keep pace with each other as they are tied for first place in the American League East and the wild card. The Yankees brought out the offense on Tuesday night, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 11-5. They jumped on Blue Jays starter Marc Rzepczynski for six runs in just three innings. They also blasted five homeruns in the victory. Fill-in starter Dustin Moseley held the Blue Jays to two runs on five hits in six innings.

The Rays jumped on LA Angels starter Ervin Santana for five runs in the first three innings. The Rays pounded out 13 hits and 10 runs, with Evan Longoria going 3-for-5. Rookie Wade Davis returned to the rotation and was solid, allowing just two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.

In Chicago, the White Sox scored four runs in the bottom of the 7th inning against Baltimore Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie to break away from the Orioles to take a 6-2 lead. However Bobby Jenks was needed in the 9th inning as the Orioles came back to make it a 7-4 game and had the bases loaded with nobody out. Jenks was relieving JJ Putz (who got hurt while warming up), who was relieving Sergio Santos. Jenks got Ty Wigginton to hit into a double-play (though a run scored) and Luke Scott to pop up to end the game. The White Sox pulled to within 3.5 games of the Minnesota Twins, but may be in trouble. Both Putz and left-handed reliever Matt Thornton went on the disabled list Wednesday.

The Twins were in Texas for their big series against the AL West-leading Rangers. The Twins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning over Colby Lewis, but he settled in from there. Lewis allowed three runs on seven hits through 6.1 innings. Twins starter Carl Pavano pitched a complete game in the loss. He allowed four runs on eight hits. Andres Blanco of the Rangers delivered two key doubles and scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 7th inning in the Rangers 4-3 victory.

Tags:

Atlanta Braves, Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Oswalt, Ryan Howard

There were a lot of storylines on Saturday. NY Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez landed on the DL with a strained left calf. For the duration of his DL stint, the Yankees will go with rookie Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez (unless they make a deal for a veteran to spend some more money). A-Rod’s replacement on Saturday was Nunez, who was making his first Major League start. In the 7th inning of a tie game with the visiting Seattle Mariners, Nunez found a hole between first baseman Casey Kotchman and second baseman Chone Figgins for his first Major League hit, which proved to be the game winner.

The Yankees mounted four straight singles off Mariners starter Jason Vargas (after he retired 17 of 18 batters) which led to three runs (Nunez’ also being his first RBI). The Yankees bullpen (after starter Javier Vazquez lasted just one batter into the 4th inning) held on for a 9-5 victory.

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia came off the DL on Tuesday, only to be placed back on Friday with a sore left foot (the same foot that he broke). In his absence before his latest stint on the DL, Jed Lowrie played a huge part, as he hit over .300. Now with more playing time on the horizon, Lowrie looks to make the most of it. On Saturday night, he pinch-hit and walked in the 8th inning. He stayed in the game to play first base and prolonged the top of the 11th inning by missing a pop up near the first base bag for an error.

Lowrie redeemed himself in the bottom of the inning, as he led off with a walk-off solo homerun to give the Red Sox a much needed 5-4 victory. The homerun extended Lowrie’s hitting streak to nine games.

Cliff Lee surrendered four homeruns in his start against the Baltimore Orioles. The four homeruns he allowed was the first time in his career. It was his shortest outing of the season for Lee, who missed with his spots and the Orioles hitters did not miss the pitches. Orioles rookie third baseman Josh Bell connected in the 3rd inning for a two-run shot, his first of his Major League career. Bell connected on a three-run shot on Lee’s first pitch in the 4th inning, after Ty Wiggington and Luke Scott hit back-to-back homeruns earlier in the inning. On the season, Lee has allowed 13 homeruns, 7 to the Orioles in two games. Michael Kirkman made his Major League debut for the Rangers and he retired all four batters he faced, while striking out the side in the 7th inning.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard returned from the DL on Saturday from an ankle sprain (instead of rehabbing with Triple-A Lehigh Valley). Howard returned to first base and his fourth spot in the lineup. He collected a base hit off Washington Nationals rookie Stephen Strasburg in his first at-bat and contributed an RBI ground out in his second plate appearance against Strasburg. However the Phillies lost the game 8-1. The Nationals may have lost Strasburg for the rest of the season as he left the game in the 5th inning with a flexor tendon strain of his forearm (his pitching arm) and he will undergo an MRI Sunday.

Tags:

Alex Rodriguez, Casey Kotchman, Eduardo Nunez, Josh Bell, Philadelphia Phillies, Ramiro Pena, Ryan Howard

The Tampa Bay Rays swept a statement series Wednesday against the American League West first place team, the Texas Rangers. It was a possible divisional series matchup, and despite the lack of fans at the Trop, the Rays players seemed to treat it like a playoff series. James Shields looked like the Shields of old, pitching seven innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits, while striking out six. The hot hitter for the Rays continues to be Evan Longoria, who again went 3-for-4 including a homerun and four RBIs. The Rangers came back in the 8th and 9th innings to make the game interesting, but closer Rafael Soriano threw just eight pitches to record his AL-leading 35th save.

Despite the Rays sweep, both the NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox also won in the same timeframe. The Yankees won a slugfest against the visiting Detroit Tigers, 9-5. The Yankees hit three homeruns (Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, and Curtis Granderson), while the Tigers added three of their own (Don Kelly and Miguel Cabrera hit two).

As for the Red Sox, they survived another subpar start by John Lackey and a comeback against the LA Angels provided the 7-5 victory. Rookie Daniel Nava continues the folklore as he pinch-hit in the 7th inning and was hit by a pitch to drive in the game-winning run. He also made a rally-ending catch in the 8th inning in left field with two outs and two Angels runners on base. Jonathon Papelbon cruised through the 9th inning for his 30th save. He became the first player in Major League history to earn 30 saves in each of his first five full seasons.

Adam Wainwright’s undefeated season at home ended on Wednesday as the visiting Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2. Wainwright allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings while striking out seven. The Cardinals offense was dominated by Randy Wolf, as he allowed just one run on three hits in 8.1 innings. Until the 9th inning, only Allen Craig and Wainwright had collected hits. In the 9th inning, the Cardinals mounted a rally, scoring two runs and loading the bases. With Brendan Ryan at the plate, the Brewers went to all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman to finish the game. Ryan would strike out to end the game, giving Hoffman 598 career saves.

The Cincinnati Reds increased their lead in the National League Central to three games over the Cardinals as they came back to beat he Arizona Diamondbacks 11-7. The Reds scored four runs in both the 8th and 9th innings in the comeback. The bottom of the lineup for the Reds (Jay Bruce, Ramon Hernandez, and Paul Janish) combined to go 9-for-13 with six runs scored and four RBIs.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the hottest teams in baseball as of late, as they have increased their lead in the NL wild card to two games over the Cardinals and the SF Giants. Joe Blanton continued his first inning struggles against the Giants on Wednesday as he allowed a lead off homerun to Andres Torres. However he settled down to just give up another run into the 7th inning (Pat Burrell hit another homerun). The Phillies jumped all over Matt Cain and reliever Jeremy Affeldt as they hit three triples (Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins, and Raul Ibanez). Phillies rookie Domonic Brown added a pinch-hit homerun in the 8th inning into the right field upper-deck for an 8-2 victory.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, the Atlanta Braves continue to win. They beat the Washington Nationals on a Jason Heyward walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th inning off Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard. Both team’s starting pitchers (Livan Hernandez and Tim Hudson) were solid, as they both allowed two runs in seven innings. The Braves also added Derek Lee to their playoff contending team in a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox again to win their 6th game in a row and increased their AL Central lead to five games. Despite getting a subpar pitching performance from Francisco Liriano, the Twins scored three runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to beat Gavin Floyd. The White Sox mounted a comeback against Twins closer Matt Capps (he allowed a run to cut the lead to 7-6), but Alex Rios grounded out with the tying run on second base to end the game.

Tags:

Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Daniel Nava, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Jason Heyward, Jonathon Papelbon, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers

Kevin Slowey of the Minnesota Twins was skipped in his last start due to tendonitis and made his first start in 10 days on Sunday. He dominated the Oakland A’s as he pitched 7 no-hit innings. However due to concerns over his arm and the need for him to hopefully pitch into the playoffs, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pulled Slowey after 7 innings and went to the bullpen. In came Jon Rauch, to an array of boos, who allowed a double to Cliff Pennington with one out in the 8th inning. The A’s would score two runs, but Matt Capps would close out the game and the win for Slowey.

With the Twins victory, the Chicago White Sox were playing the Detroit Tigers. There was a fracas in the Tigers dugout in the first inning between starting pitcher Armando Galarraga and starting catcher Alex Avila. However the Tigers stormed back for the second straight game against White Sox reliever JJ Putz, scoring three runs in the 8th inning, and then four more runs in the 9th inning off Tony Pena to win 13-8. The loss in the slugfest for the White Sox dropped them to three games back in the American League Central.

After two straight pitcher’s duels in Atlanta between the Braves and the LA Dodgers, Sunday’s third game was all about the Braves offense. They pummeled Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla for 8 runs into the 5th inning and they scored four more runs in the 8th inning. Jair Jurrjens was dominant for the Braves by allowing one run on six hits in seven innings. Offensively for the Braves, Troy Glaus contributed two hits (one being a three-run homer) and Omar Infante went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.

With the Braves win, the Philadelphia Phillies needed to keep pace in the division. At rainy and soggy Citi Field on Sunday night, Kyle Kendrick of the Phillies and Mike Pelfrey of the NY Mets were locked in a pitcher’s duel. Unfortunately for Pelfrey, the Phillies used their speed to manufacture their three runs in a Phillies 3-1 victory. Jimmy Rollins stole two bases and Shane Victorino stole another as they scored two of the Phillies runs. Jose Reyes drove in the Mets lone run on a solo homerun in the 3rd inning off Kendrick. That was the final hit the Mets would collect the rest of the way. The Phillies win put them in a tie for the wild card lead with the SF Giants (who go to Philly to start a three-game series on Tuesday).

The San Diego Padres jumped all over Giants starter Tim Lincecum early and often in their 8-2 rout of the Giants to take 3.5 game lead in the National League West. Miguel Tejada of the Padres collected three hits while Yorvit Torrealba and Chase Headley each collected two hits.

The Cincinnati Reds moved into first place in the NL Central as they won 2-0 over the Florida Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals lost another game to the Chicago Cubs (despite scoring five runs in the bottom of the 9th to lose 9-7). The Reds received six shutout innings from Homer Bailey (who was starting in place of the suspended Johnny Cueto). Anibal Sanchez was the hard-luck loser for the Marlins as he allowed five hits in six innings, with the big hit being a two-run homerun to Miguel Cairo.

The 2002 number one overall pick in the MLB draft Bryan Bullington earned his first ML victory as he and the KC Royals shutout the NY Yankees 1-0. Bullington allowed just two hits in 8 innings while Joakim Soria collected his 33rd save. AJ Burnett took the complete game loss, as he allowed just four hits and the lone run in the 1st inning. The Yankees loss took just over two hours to complete and dropped them to just one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays received another quality pitching performance from rookie Jeremy Hellickson, who has now gone 3-0 in his first three starts of his career as a fill-in for injured starters Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis. Hellickson allowed just one run on three hits in six innings. The Rays increased their wild card lead to five games over the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox were once again dominated by CJ Wilson of the Texas Rangers. Despite receiving a good pitching performance from Daisuke Matsuzaka (until he allowed four runs in the 7th inning), the Red Sox offense could not muster anything against Wilson. Wilson was removed after allowing a single to Eric Patterson with two outs in the 8th inning. The Red Sox would score three runs off Rangers reliever Pedro Strop, but the Red Sox bullpen allowed two runs of their own and Neftali Felix shut the door in the 9th inning.

Toronto Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero received a five-year extension on Saturday and rewarded his team with a 4-1 victory over the LA Angels on Sunday. Romero allowed one run and six hits through seven innings, with the lone run coming on a Mike Napoli solo homer in the 5th inning. Aaron Hill drove in two runs, while Adam Lind went 2-for-2 with a solo homer.

Tags:

Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Jair Jurrjens, Kevin Slowey, Philadelphia Phillies

This is a big weekend in regards to the playoffs. I know it’s only August but some of these series could end the hopes of some teams or make other races more interesting. The LA Dodgers held a big lead that starter Clayton Kershaw gave to the bullpen on Thursday night, only to see Carlos Ruiz of the Philadelphia Phillies launch a two-run double to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. The Dodgers dropped to 9 games behind the first-place San Diego Padres and 6.5 games behind the Wild Card leading SF Giants. The Dodgers headed to NL East-leading Atlanta to face the Braves, who were 2 games ahead of the Phillies.

Thinking that the Dodgers would be mad and fired up after a tough loss and closer Jonathon Broxton being removed from the closer’s role, I expected a lot of offense. Instead, Braves ace Tim Hudson completely dominated the Dodgers. He was locked up in a pitcher’s duel with Hiroki Kuroda until the seventh when Brooks Conrad hit a solo homerun to centerfield to break the scoreless tie for the Braves. For Conrad, that is his 7th homerun after the seventh inning this season. Hudson had retired 12 in a row (he struck out the side in the fifth) before Scott Podsednik collected the Dodgers second hit of the game in the sixth inning. Billy Wagner closed out the ninth for the Braves 1-0 victory.

The Phillies headed to NY to face the Mets for a make-or-break series for the Mets. The Mets entered the series 8 games out of the Wild Card and 8 games behind the Braves. RA Dickey of the Mets had a no-hitter with one out in the fifth when Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels collected the Phillies first hit. Dickey would continue to dominate as he pitched a complete game one-hit shutout. Hamels lost his second straight 1-0 game to the Mets, as he allowed just an RBI double to Carlos Beltran.

The Boston Red Sox, after losing a stunner to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth on Thursday afternoon, headed to Texas to face the AL West-leading Rangers. The Red Sox torched Tommy Hunter and Scott Feldman in the fourth inning for 7 runs (and three straight homeruns). However after being down 8-2 early, the Rangers offense went to work on Red Sox starter Josh Beckett. They scored two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings to come within two runs and then scored two in the seventh and one in the eighth off the bullpen to tie the game at 9-9. In the bottom of the 11th, Nelson Cruz completed the seemingly insurmountable comeback by hitting the first pitch from Tim Wakefield for a walk-off homerun. With the Rays and NY Yankees losing on Friday night, the Red Sox could have used the win to gain ground in the division and wild card race.

The best matchup may be in San Francisco as the second-place Giants faced off against the first-place Padres. With a Giants sweep, the Giants would move a ½ game ahead of the Padres. After Giants starter Jonathon Sanchez’ comments about a definite sweep for the Giants, the Padres were fired up. The Giants scored two quick runs in the bottom of the first, but the Padres came right back to tie the game in the top of the second. Ryan Ludwick scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning on a Chase Headley grounder to shortstop, just sliding in ahead of the Buster Posey tag. The Padres bullpen made the one-run lead hold up. The Padres improved to 8-1 against the Giants this season.

The Baltimore Orioles could ruin playoff plans for many, as they play playoff contenders for the rest of the season (minus Seattle). Jeremy Guthrie of the O’s dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of their series, winning 5-0.

Tags:

Boston Red Sox, Brooks Conrad, Clayton Kershaw, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Ludwick

Just like the American League, the National League playoff contenders will need strong starts from three starting pitchers. Who has the best three-man rotation? Let’s take a look.

St. Louis Cardinals: Chris Carpenter (rhp), Adam Wainwright (rhp), and Jaime Garcia (lhp). This group offers two aces and a rookie that doesn’t throw hard but knows how to pitch. These three just proved how good they are as they swept their division rival, the Cincinnati Reds, and moved into first place in the Central. Wainwright is tied for first in baseball with 17 wins, is third in the league in strikeouts (158), and has the second best ERA (1.99) and may have moved ahead of Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez as the favorite for the CY Young award. Garcia has been overshadowed by all the big name rookies but may be the best (10-5 with a 2.71 ERA and has allowed just 6 homeruns in 22 starts). Carpenter hasn’t been as dominant as in 2009, but has been good (13-3 with a 2.89 ERA), though his good is most people’s dominant.

Tim Hudson

Atlanta Braves: Tim Hudson (rhp), Jair Jurrjens (rhp), and Derek Lowe (rhp). Hudson has completely regained his pre-surgery form and is a favorite for the CY Young award. He holds a 2.24 ERA and opponents are hitting just .217 against him. Hudson joins fellow ground ball machine Lowe, who has not been great but gives the Braves innings and keeps them in the game. Jurrjens has returned from the DL and been the pitcher he was prior to the beginning of the season. In six starts after the All-Star break, he is 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA and he keeps the ball in the ballpark (he has allowed just 7 homeruns all season).

Roy Halladay

Philadelphia Phillies: Roy Halladay (rhp), Cole Hamels (lhp), and Roy Oswalt (rhp). Halladay has never been to the postseason in his career but has pitched well against NL playoff contenders. Hamels has returned to his 2008 form and could be just as dominant this postseason. Hamels has been better at home than on the road. Oswalt was acquired by the Phillies to help with their postseason push. Oswalt has struggled in his career against the NL East, though he did just dominate in his Citizens Bank Park debut on Wednesday night.

Mat Latos

San Diego Padres: Jon Garland (rhp), Mat Latos (rhp), and Clayton Richard (lhp). Pitching has been the reason that the Padres have held onto first-place in the NL West for most of the season. Many teams passed on Garland this offseason and he has pitched well for the young Padres, going 10-8 with a 3.55 ERA so far. He has been better at home and seems to have recovered from his June and July struggles. Latos is 7-1 with a 1.42 ERA in his last 10 starts. Richard, since coming over from the White Sox in the Jake Peavy deal, has made a huge impact. He has struggled as of late.

Cincinnati Reds: Bronson Arroyo (rhp), Johnny Cueto (rhp), and Edinson Volquez (rhp). The Reds have held their own this season to stay with the heavy favorite Cardinals. They have done so with pitching and defense and the two youngest starting pitchers, Mike Leake and Travis Wood, have been impressive.These two may be pushed aside in favor of more seasoned pitchers like Arroyo, Cueto, and Volquez (and even Aaron Harang) for the postseason. Arroyo has quietly racked up 12 wins with an ERA under 4.00 while opponents are hitting .230 against him. Cueto has also put up solid numbers (11-3 with a 3.38 ERA) though he has struggled against the Cardinals and some playoff contenders (Atlanta and SF). Volquez has returned from Tommy John surgery and his 50-game suspension and could be like a July trading deadline piece (and he is rested). He has gotten better in his last two starts.

SF Giants: Tim Lincecum (rhp), Matt Cain (rhp), and Barry Zito (lhp). The Giants are carried by their pitching staff. Lincecum has not been as dominant as in season’s past yet he still made the All-Star team and still has solid numbers (11-6 with a 3.41 ERA). He is second in the league in strikeouts with 163. Cain has quietly put up a solid season with a 3.06 ERA though his record is just 9-9. Cain has also pitched well against playoff contenders. Zito is having his best season since joining the Giants and has pitched well within the division.

LA Dodgers: Vicente Padilla (rhp), Clayton Kershaw (lhp), and Ted Lilly (lhp). Padilla missed the month of May, which makes him a well-rested ace who dominates when the games are on the line. The young lefty Kershaw has struggled against the Phillies (though he pitched well Thursday night) and who knows they might match up for the third straight postseason. The Dodgers traded for Lilly to fill out their rotation, which would most likely push Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda to the bullpen.

Colorado Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez (rhp), Jeff Francis (lhp), and Aaron Cook (rhp). The Rockies are 8 games back (as are the Dodgers) but we all know the type of run that the Rockies are capable. Jimenez has struggled as of late and maybe that has to do with all the innings he has accumulated. Francis has pitched well after missing all of 2009. Cook is currently on the DL so they could go to Jason Hammel or Jorge De La Rosa.

Tags:

Adam Wainwright, Atlanta Braves, Mat Latos, Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Halladay, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Tim Hudson

Tuesday began the rematch of last season’s World Series between the NY Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. It was advertised as a marquee pitching matchup between the Yankees CC Sabathia and the Phillies Roy Halladay, who was 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA in his career against the Yankees. After the first inning, the Yankees exploded for five runs in the next two innings, capped by homeruns from Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher.

Halladay allowed another homerun in the fifth inning, this one to Mark Teixeira. He allowed six runs on eight hits in six innings. Five of the eight hits went for extra bases. Sabathia was cruising along until the fourth inning when the Phillies had the bases loaded and no one out and scored three runs, but could not pick up an extra base hit to really tack on runs. After that, the Phillies did not muster any offense. The win gave Sabathia his first win since April 16th against a team other than the Baltimore Orioles.

Speaking of the Orioles, they had rookie Jake Arrieta on the mound in San Francisco. In the last two weeks, he has been the only starter that has pitched well. That continued on Tuesday as he allowed just one run (a Pablo Sandoval solo homerun in the third inning) on three hits in seven innings. He improved to 2-0 and Dave Hernandez picked up his second save. Adam Jones homered for the Orioles and Ty Wiggington drove in two runs as the Orioles beat the Giants 4-1.

In Atlanta, Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami remained winless after losing to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. Kawakami allowed five runs (though only two were earned due to four Braves errors in which he had two of them) on seven hits and three walks in five innings while striking out six. Despite only going five innings due to a rain delay, Rays starter David Price won his American League-leading 10th victory. He allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out seven.

Offensively for the Rays, the top of the order was dominant. They (John Jaso, Carl Crawford, and Evan Longoria) went a combined 6-for-15 with seven runs scored and four RBIs. The Braves offense collected 13 hits but could only muster four runs in the 10-4 loss. Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Melky Cabrera, and Gregor Blanco all collected two hits a piece.

Former Florida Marlin Matt Treanor, now with the Texas Rangers, came up in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter with two outs and two men on base down 2-1. He ripped the first pitch he saw from Leo Nunez into left-center field for a two-run triple, giving the Rangers a 3-2 win. The two-run triple made a winner of Alexi Ogando, who made his Major League debut in the eighth inning and escaped trouble. Marlins starter Josh Johnson allowed just one run in the first inning and went seven innings allowing four hits while striking out seven.

Rangers starter CJ Wilson walked six in six innings but his one mistake was a two-run homerun hit by Hanley Ramirez in the sixth inning (after a walk to Gaby Sanchez) that gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead.

The Houston Astros jumped out to a 6-3 lead after four innings, which chased KC Royals starter Kyle Davies, but the Royals scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Astros starter Felipe Paulino allowed ten runs (eight earned) on eleven hits in 4.2 innings. This offensive outburst made a winner of rookie reliever Kanekoa Texeira (his first big league victory), who went two innings in relief of Davies. In the 15-7 rout of the Astros, David Dejesus, Billy Butler, and Alberto Callaspo collected three hits while Mike Aviles went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBIs.

Tags:

David Price, Florida Marlin, Jake Arrieta, Matt Treanor, Nick Swisher, Philadelphia Phillies

There was tons of excitement in Boston on Saturday, despite the rain. It began in the second inning off Philadelphia Phillies starter Joe Blanton. JD Drew led off the inning with a solo homerun on the first pitch. Adrian Beltre, Jason Varitek, and Darnell McDonald followed with singles to load the bases. Up came just promoted left fielder Daniel Nava, who was making his Major League debut.

On the first pitch he saw from Blanton, Nava deposited it deep into the Red Sox bullpen for a grand slam (reliever Manny Delcarmen made a nice leaping grab to keep it from going into the seats). Nava became the fourth player to hit a grand slam in his first at-bat (first since Kevin Kouzmanoff in 2006 who is the only other player to do it on the first pitch seen).

Nava was not a prospect coming out of high school, after junior college, or his senior year at Santa Clara (he was an equipment manager at Santa Clara before junior college). He went undrafted and was cut by an independent league team. He took a year off but played independent league ball, which after an MVP award, the Red Sox signed him in 2008. (For more on his story, check out http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100612&content_id=11104724&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb).

Oddly enough, the Phillies scored first on a two-run double by backup catcher Brian Schneider (who collected three of the Phillies seven hits). With expected starter Dice-K Matsuzaka sent to the DL just minutes before start time, the Red Sox had to use the bullpen for the entire game. However they are the only runs the Phillies scored while the Red Sox won 10-2, with Blanton going just four innings while allowing nine runs on 13 hits.

In Cleveland, top prospect Carlos Santana hit his first Major League homerun, a solo shot in the fifth inning off Washington Nationals starter JD Martin (a former Indians draft pick). Santana went 2-for-4 in his second game and also caught a great game. Indians starter Fausto Carmona allowed just one run on three hits in a complete game win. Carmona struck out seven and did not walk a batter. The lone run was scored on a Ryan Zimmerman eighth inning solo homerun.

In Colorado, both the Rockies and visiting Toronto Blue Jays received stellar starting pitching performances. Brandon Morrow of the Blue Jays allowed one run on a Carlos Gonzalez sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. He went six innings and allowed five hits and struck out six. That was all the runs Rockies starter Jason Hammel needed. He pitched eight shutout innings and allowed three hits while striking out six.

In Detroit, the Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates battled into extra innings. The Pirates received solid starting pitching from Paul Maholm as he allowed just one run on eight hits in six innings. Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman was also solid as he allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings. However Ryan Doumit’s two-out error cost the Pirates two runs and the lead in the seventh inning. With the 3-2 lead, the Tigers brought in fireballer Joel Zumaya.

With one out, rookie Jose Tabata hit a double, stole third, and scored on Neil Walker’s RBI single to tie the game at 3-3. The game would stay tied until the tenth when the Tigers Carlos Guillen hit the third pitch thrown by Brendan Donnelly into the right field seats for a walk-off homerun.
In Tampa, the Rays Carlos Pena homered for the sixth straight game (a franchise record) as the Rays held on to beat the Florida Marlins 6-5. Carl Crawford and Sean Rodriguez also homered off Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco. The Marlins mounted a comeback but Rays closer Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save.

Tags:

Carlos Guillen, Carlos Santana, Daniel Nava, Joe Blanton, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Zimmerman, Toronto Blue Jays

MLB almost had their second perfect game of the week (Roy Halladay completed one on Saturday), though according to most, there was a perfect game achieved Wednesday in Detroit.

Armando Galarraga, making just his third start of the season (as he was skipped last weekend to work on his slider) since returning from Triple-A Toledo, was absolutely perfect. He threw first pitch strikes to just about every Cleveland Indians batter.

He threw just 88 pitches, 67 of them for strikes. His defense behind him was flawless, though they did not have many chances that were not routine. Centerfielder Austin Jackson made a Willie Mays-type catch on Mark Grudzielanek’s deep fly to lead off the ninth, a ball that Jackson thought “Oh God. That’s gonna drop” when it was hit.

Instead Galarraga was two outs away from a perfect game. After inducing catcher Mike Redmond to hit into yet another ground ball out, Galarraga induced Jason Donald to hit a ground ball that first baseman Miguel Cabrera made a diving play on. His flip to Galarraga was in time at first base as both started to celebrate until the first base umpire signaled Donald was safe.

Galarraga looked in disbelief and Cabrera barked at the ump for the rest of the inning (Galarraga induced Trevor Crowe to ground out to end the game). Even the Indians bench was shocked as their wide-open mouths attest. The Tigers fans were booing and a few players told the umpire what they thought of him when the game was over. So instead of a perfect game, he had a complete game shutout and a one-hitter. Plus the Tigers earned a much-needed victory.

This was a game Tigers manager Jim Leyland called “a 28-out perfect game”. Many players after the game just wanted to talk about how great Galarraga was. They also commented about how umpires are only human and everyone makes mistakes. In their minds, they were part of a perfect game. The umpire in question, Jim Joyce, admitted after the game to his blown call and even apologized personally to Galarraga (which is kind of classy regardless of what you think of his call).

“He really feels bad,” Galarraga said after the game and his beer shower from his teammates. “He probably feels more bad than me. Nobody is perfect. I give a lot of credit to that guy. That (an apology) doesn’t happen. He apologized. He feels really bad. Nobody is perfect. What am I gonna do? His body language said more than a lot of words.

His eyes were watery, he didn’t have too say much. His body language said a lot.” There were also a few other games on the slate for Wednesday though this “perfect game” will be the one talked about for years to come. The Atlanta Braves swept the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to take a 2.5 lead in the division and picked up their 8th win in a row.

It was a pitcher’s duel between Braves starter Derek Lowe and Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick. Lowe was dominant in his eight innings as he struck out seven and allowed six hits. The only inning that Lowe was in trouble was the third inning, when he allowed four straight singles, capped by a Jayson Werth RBI single, but he induced a Chase Utley inning-ending double-play.

Kendrick allowed a run to score in the first inning on a Chipper Jones double-play ground out. Omar Infante, replacing the injured Jones in the fifth inning, deposited a Jose Contreras pitch in the eighth inning into right-center field for the game-winner.

For the second straight day, the Arizona Diamondbacks and LA Dodgers entered extra innings scoreless. This time the score would stay that way until the 14th inning. Veteran Garret Anderson blooped a walk-off RBI single to center to score Matt Kemp (the Dodgers second straight 1-0 walk-off victory).

The Diamondbacks, despite nine shutout innings from starter Edwin Jackson, have now lost ten in a row. They also have not scored a run in 31 consecutive innings. The Dodgers swept the three-game series with three walk-offs.

The Toronto Blue Jays jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on the Tampa Bay Rays and starter David Price (though both runs were unearned). That was all Price would allow in eight innings of work as he won his 8th game (which leads the American League). Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum was dominant until the ninth inning as he was trying to complete his first game of his career.

He allowed back-to-back singles and a perfectly placed squeeze bunt by Dioner Navarro knotted the game at 2-2. Reid Brignac delivered an RBI single to give the Rays a 3-2 lead. Marcum was removed from the game, but his bullpen allowed four more runs, capped by Carl Crawford’s grand slam off left-handed reliever Scott Downs.

Tags:

Armando Galarraga, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Derek Lowe, Jim Leyland, Jose Contreras, Kyle Kendrick, Matt Kemp, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Redmond, Philadelphia Phillies

Memorial Day was celebrated throughout baseball with a moment of silence at 3 o’clock throughout the country, pre-game celebrations of veterans and current armed forces members, and the annual wearing of commemorative baseball hats (with this year being white hats with a red brim).
The premium matchup of the day was in the National League West between the Colorado Rockies and the SF Giants.

The first day of the series pitted potential CY Young winner Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies against two-time CY Young award winner Tim Lincecum of the Giants. Jimenez was just as good as expected as he pitched a complete game shutout and allowed just four hits while striking out nine.

Jimenez lowered his ERA to 0.78 to improve to 10-1 on the season (only one of three players to have 10 wins and an ERA under 1.00 through May in the history of the game). Lincecum continues to struggle with his command as he walked five (his fourth straight start with at least five walks) in 5.2 innings. The Rockies scored four runs (three earned) off Lincecum on six hits.

The Cleveland Indians were down just 2-1 against the NY Yankees headed into the seventh inning. Indians starter Mitch Talbot was matching up well against Yankees veteran Andy Pettitte. Unfortunately for the Indians, Talbot ran out of gas in the seventh. The two relievers who followed for the Indians (Rafael Perez and Chris Perez) faced five batters without recording an out.

They allowed four hits and five runs, capped by Alex Rodriguez’ grand slam which was followed by Robinson Cano’s solo homerun. The Yankees blew the game open and won 11-2 on 18 hits. Offensively for the Indians, third baseman Jhonny Peralta continued his hot-hitting and hit his 100th homerun.

The Philadelphia Phillies offense had Atlanta Braves starter Tommy Hanson on the ropes by constantly putting runners on base. However the slumping Phillies could not muster any runs. They did however put together four straight doubles to score three runs off Hanson and Braves reliever Pete Moylan in the seventh, but the Phillies were already down 6-0.

After cutting the lead in half in the seventh, Phillies reliever Chad Durbin gave up a three-run homerun to Troy Glaus on the very first pitch Durbin threw in the game. Glaus has 28 RBIs in the month of May (which leads MLB). The Braves won 9-3 to move into first-place in the NL East and won their 20th game in the month of May.

With the game tied at 1-1 in Pittsburgh, Pirates pinch-hitter Bobby Crosby delivered a two-out RBI single off Chicago Cubs reliever Sean Marshall in the eighth inning. This gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead which they did not relinquish. The loss dampened the start of Randy Wells, who was coming off his six batter performance in his last start. Wells did not allow a run in five innings. Ross Ohlendorf of the Pirates allowed just one run on three hits while striking out six. The Cubs have lost 6-of-7 against the Pirates this season.

Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt had his string of quality starts snapped at 11 as he was ejected from his start Monday after sort of arguing with the home plate umpire. Replays showed he was more yelling at himself for throwing another ball than at the umpire but was immediately ejected for saying “I wasn’t talking to you”.

At that point, the visiting Washington Nationals had a 4-1 lead. The Astros cut the lead to 4-2 on a Gustavo Chacin solo homerun (he relieved Oswalt in the third inning). It was Chacin’s first ML at-bat since 2005 and it was his first ML hit. After Chacin, Astros relievers Jeff Fulchino and Chris Sampson combined to allow nine runs in the seventh inning, capped by two two-run homeruns by Carlos Maldonado and Ryan Zimmerman.

The St. Louis Cardinals regained the tie in the NL Central by beating the Cincinnati Reds. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo struggled for the first time in more than five starts (was it because he was without personal catcher Ryan Hanigan?) as he allowed seven runs on ten hits in 4.1 innings. He also walked five as the Reds walked ten batters and allowed 16 hits.

Cardinals rookie starter Jaime Garcia allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits in six innings. He also collected two hits and two runs scored. Every Cardinals starter had at least one hit with Felipe Lopez, Ryan Ludwick, Albert Pujols, David Freese, Colby Rasmus, and Garcia all collecting two hits.

Tags:

Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Crosby, Chad Durbin, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Jhonny Peralta, Mitch Talbot, Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Oswalt, SF Giants, Tim Lincecum, Tommy Hanson, Ubaldo Jimenez

Felipe Paulino of the Houston Astros has yet to win a game this season. He was facing the Cincinnati Reds and rookie Mike Leake, who has yet to lose a game. Unexpectedly, this was a pitcher’s duel as the game went into the tenth inning with the score 0-0. Paulino went eight scoreless innings and allowed just four hits and struck out five (though he walked four).

He also went 2-for-3 at the plate to raise his average to .389. Leake went six scoreless innings and allowed seven hits. He also went 1-for-2 to keep his average at .381. It was probably the game of two of the best hitting pitchers. The Astros Lance Berkman hit a two-run double in the tenth for the 2-0 victory to snap their three-game losing streak.

The Philadelphia Phillies continue to struggle offensively. Following Roy Halladay’s perfect game, veteran left-hander Jamie Moyer provided great pitching yet the lineup could not muster any runs. Moyer allowed just one run on four hits in six innings. Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez got a base hit, stole second, and scored on Ronny Paulino’s two-out single in the sixth inning.

Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez pitched into the seventh inning and allowed just three hits. Marlins closer Leo Nunez pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 10th save with two strikeouts. The Phillies have lost six of their last eight games and have been shut out in five of their last eight games, with three earned runs scored in that stretch.

The Atlanta Braves have crept to just a ½ game behind the first place Phillies in the National League East. On Sunday, the Braves came back against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. With the game tied at 2-2 in the eighth inning, Chipper Jones came off the bench to deliver an RBI single and rookie Jason Heyward delivered a two-run triple to give the Braves a 5-2 lead. Braves closer Billy Wagner shut down the Pirates in the ninth with just ten pitches to record his 7th save.

The Chicago Cubs could not figure out St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols at all on Sunday. Pujols homered in the first inning with two outs off Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. In the fifth inning off Dempster, Pujols hit a two-run homerun. In the ninth inning off reliever John Grabow, he hit a solo homerun (and two batters later David Freese followed with a two-run homerun).

Pujols’ offense alone was enough for Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, who allowed just one run on seven hits in seven innings while striking out eight. The lone run came on a Geovany Soto solo homerun in the seventh inning. Pujols and Freese collected three hits (with Pujols also walking twice), Matt Holliday collected four hits, and Ryan Ludwick contributed two hits.

The visiting Baltimore Orioles jumped on Toronto Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero for a run in the first inning. However that was the only run the Orioles could muster on the day. The Blue Jays also scored in the first inning, with a three-spot off Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie.

That was enough for Romero, who pitched a complete game and allowed one run on six hits while striking out seven. Offensively the Blue Jays hit three more homeruns, from Lyle Overbay, Jose Bautista (his MLB-leading 16th), and Alex Gonzalez (who also collected three hits).

The Boston Red Sox Jon Lester continued his dominance through the month of May. Lester dominated the visiting KC Royals by allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five (though he walked four). Royals spot-starter Bruce Chen allowed just one run on two hits in four innings, but his bullpen fell apart.

Reliever Brad Thompson allowed six runs in just a little over one inning, capped by a David Ortiz two-run homerun. The bottom three in the Red Sox order (Jason Varitek, Bill Hall, and Mike Cameron) combined to go 6-for-11 with seven runs scored.

The LA Angels had their second walk-off in as many days. This time they did not lose a slugger in the celebration. Down 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, Howie Kendrick hit his second homerun of the game, a three-run shot off Seattle Mariners closer David Aardsma for the Angels 9-7 victory. The walk-off shot was the culmination of the Angels comeback as they were down 7-3 after five innings.

Tags:

Albert Pujols, Anibal Sanchez, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Felipe Paulino, Florida Marlins, Jamie Moyer, Lance Berkman, Mike Leake, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals