Observations:
- Ok I lied, there are no monster trucks here. Just a sweet look back at what happened today.
Notables:
- Cliff Lee struck out 10 and walked 1 in a complete game loss... yes, loss. He only gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits, but the Mariners offense offered him no run support. Zack Greinke and Roy Oswalt feel his pain.
- Ricky Nolasco picked up his 4th win of the season, after holding the Mets to 2 runs over 6 innings.
- Matt Garza gave up 1 earned run over 6 innings in a no decision.
- Tim Hudson's still got it. He allowed 1 earned run over 8 innings against the Diamondbacks. He struck out a season high 6 batters and walked only 1.
- Chad Billingsley threw 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball against the Padres. He struck out 6 and walked 1, on the way to his 4th win.
- Barry Zito got his 6th win, after pitching 7 innings of 3 run ball against the Astros. The remake of Cocoon will be directed by Jamie Moyer and star Zito in a leading role.
- Bronson Arroyo, Joel Pineiro, and Jake Westbrook all threw complete games for a win. Arroyo held the Cards 1-5 hitters to only 2 hits, Pineiro got 14 ground ball outs, and Westbrook struck out 8.
- Brett Myers also threw a complete game, but he took the loss. He gave up 4 earned runs over 8 innings and struck out a season high 7 batters.
- Scott Olsen and Jeff Francis went head-to-head in a pitcher's duel that lasted almost 7 full innings. Neither got the win, but both only allowed 1 earned run.
- Brandon Morrow got 8 strikeouts and allowed 2 earned runs, over 6 innings in a win. It might not always be pretty, but the kid's got talent.
- Wade LeBlanc allowed 1 earned run over 7 innings against the Dodgers. He struck out 4 and walked 3. He has a 2-1 record with a 1.54 ERA.
- Armando Galarraga came up from the minors and held the Red Sox to 1 run over 5 2/3 innings for the win.
- Jason Kubel hit a grand slam off of Mo Rivera. Kubel gets today's gold star and a call to his parents to tell them how well he did.
- Martin Prado, Troy Glaus, and Eric Hinske all homered off of Diamondbacks pitching. Together they collected 9 RBI off 9 hits.
- Brennan Boesch only went 1-4 to drop his average to .380. If anyone has a nickname for him, I want to hear it.
- Alex Rios went 3-4 and hit his 7th homer of the season. His average is up to .318.
- Scott Rolen hit his 7th home run of the season, in a game in which he went 2-4. All of the Reds hitters, except for Ryan Hanigan, got at least 1 hit today.
- Cody Ross went 4-4 with 2 doubles to raise his average to .297.
- There was a Chris Coghlan sighting in Florida. He hit a pinch hit 3 run homer off Fernando Nieve to put the Marlins ahead for good.
- Andres Torres went 2-3 with a home run, 2 RBI, 2 runs, and 1 stolen base.
Chicks Dig the Long Ball:
- Jose Bautista (10), Justin Morneau (9), Dan Uggla (9), Casey McGehee (8), Alex Rios (7), Scott Rolen (7), Luke Scott (7), Bobby Abreu (5), Troy Glaus (5), Aaron Rowand (5), Corey Hart (5), Russell Branyan (4), Martin Prado (3 & 4), Carlos Lee (3), Jason Kubel (3), Chris Coghlan (2), Matt LaPorta (1), Eric Hinske (1), Ramon Santiago (1), Jason LaRue (1), and Andres Torres (1).
Stolen Bases:
- Carl Crawford (10), Denard Span (9), Shane Victorino (5), Angel Pagan (5), Andres Torres (5), Johnny Damon (3), Jason Heyward (3), Alfonso Soriano (4), Aaron Hill (1), Don Kelly (1), and Cole Gillespie (1).
Caught Stealing:
- Andrew McCutchen (4), Mark Teahen (4), Corey Hart (2), Michael Young (1), Alexei Ramirez (1), Johnny Damon (1), and Ronnie Belliard (1).
Save Chances:
- Kevin Gregg, converted (11). Gave up 1 hit and got 1 strikeout. What a difference a year makes.
- Jon Rauch, converted (10). Gave up 2 hits, but struck out 3. Joe Nathan who?
- Rafael Soriano, converted (10). A clean inning, except for the 1 hit he gave up. Soriano now has a 1.69 ERA.
- Joakim Soria, converted (9). 1 hit was all the White Sox could get off of him.
- Leo Nunez, converted (9). He gave up a triple to Jason Bay, who eventually scored on a ground out, but struck out the other 2 batters he faced.
- Brian Wilson, converted (9). Gave up 2 hits, but struck out 2 in a scoreless 9th.
- Jonathan Broxton, converted (7). A 1-2-3 9th inning got it done. He has 6 saves in the month of May.
- Carlos Marmol, converted (6). Struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 9th.
- Manny Corpas, converted (2). Struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th.
- J.C. Romero, converted (1). Struck out 1 in a 1-2-3 9th.
Other Closer Outings:
- Jose Valverde gave up 1 hit and 1 walk, while getting 1 strikeout in a scoreless 9th inning. His 0.51 ERA is absurd.
- Mariano Rivera came in with 2 outs and the bases loaded (courtesy of Joba) and walked in a run. Then Mo gave up a grand slam to Jason Kubel... I guess he is human. The last time Mo gave up a grand slam was in 2002.
- Francisco Rodriguez tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning.
Non-Closer Outings:
- Joba Chamberlain loaded the bases before he was yanked from the game, in favor of Mo. The rest was a disaster, as you can read in the Rivera notes (above).
- Tyler Clippard got his 9th decision, a loss, on Sunday, when he gave up a sac fly to Brad Hawpe to score Seth Smith in a tied game. He's now 7-2 with a 2.05 ERA. It'll be interesting to see how Clippard is used once Drew Storen gets some innings under his belt, aka will they continue to run Clippard into the ground.
- Sean Marshall struck out and walked 1 in a scoreless 8th inning for a win over the Pirates. Don't sleep on Marshall, he's got a 23/7 strikeout to walk ratio and 2 of those walks were intentional.
- Evan Meek gave up 1 unearned run on 2 hits, in 1 inning of work. His ERA is now 0.72. Memo to Octavio Dotel: The Meek shall inherit the Earth and your closer job.
- Frank Francisco, Mike Adams, Luke Gregerson, Jeremy Affeldt, Scott Downs, and Ryan Perry all pitched 1 scoreless inning.
Tough Days:
- Dan Haren got jumped by the Braves hitters. They got 6 earned runs off of 3 walks and 8 hits, 2 of which were homers. Haren didn't make it out of the 5th and now has a 4.83 ERA. He does know it's the first half and not the 2nd half of the season, right?
- Brad Penny got lit up by the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. They scored 7 earned runs off of 13 hits and 1 walk. After today, Penny's ERA is only 2.73 because Dave Duncan knows magic.
- John Lackey got hit around by the Tigers on Sunday to the tune of 5 earned runs on 9 hits and 4 walks, over 7 innings. His ERA is 4.86, but he has a 4-2 record.
- Gavin Floyd wasn't effective, yet again. He gave up 5 earned runs on 10 hits and 1 walk, over 6 innings. The 1 walk is nice, but his 7.00 ERA is not.
- Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain's combined to give up 5 earned runs in 1 inning and blow a 2 run lead for the Yankees.
- Nelson Cruz went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts for the Golden Sombrero! Yesterday Josh Hamilton wore it, but today he only went 0-3 with 3 Ks. Which Texas Ranger will wear it tomorrow?
- The Mariners, A's, Red Sox, Orioles, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Dodgers, and Padres all scored less than 2 runs... Talk about a lazy Sunday.
- The Rangers, A's, Brewers, Mets, Astros, Padres, and Nationals all got swept this weekend... ouch.
Lineup-ology:
- Dustin Pedroia (knee), Carlos Quentin (illness), Mark DeRosa (wrist), Nick Swisher (biceps), Travis Snider (wrist), Carlos Ruiz (knee), and Scott Hairston (hamstring) were all out of action on Sunday.
- Pablo Sandoval (foot) and Josh Willingham (groin) were back in action.
- Hank Blalock started at first base for the Rays.
- Mike Lowell started at third base for the Red Sox.
- Gordon Beckham was back batting second for the White Sox. He had been batting 8th.
- Nolan Reimold started at first base in triple-A on Sunday. When the Orioles bring him back up, he could take over for Garrett Atkins.
Comings/Goings:
- Jeff Francis, Kurt Suzuki, Henry Blanco, Mike Morse, Joaquin Arias, and Henry Rodriguez were activated.
- Drew Storen, Danny Worth, Josh Bard, Brent Clevlen, and Bryan Bullington were called up.
- Armando Galarraga, Henry Rodriguez, Antonio Bastardo, Alberto Castillo, and Adam Stern were recalled.
- Max Scherzer, Scott Sizemore, Rhyne Hughes, Kila Kaaihue, Josh Donaldson, Brandon Hicks, Matt Daley, Josh Thole, Pedro Strop, and Jo-Jo Reyes were optioned to the minors.
- Willy Taveras and Brian Bruney were designated for assignment.
Injuries:
- Brad Lidge (right elbow inflammation), Justin Duchscherer (left hip soreness), Doug Davis (pericarditis), and Adam Moore (leg injury) were placed on the 15-Day DL.
- Erik Bedard & Diory Hernandez were transferred from the 15-Day DL to the 60-Day DL.
- Grady Sizemore suffered a knee contusion and is thought to be day-to-day.
- Jonathan Niese was pulled from action Sunday, after sustaining a hamstring injury.
- David Hernandez missed his start due to right shoulder discomfort.
Star Prospect News:
- Drew Storen was called up by the Nationals. He should start to factor into the late innings of games, sooner or later.
- On his way to the ballpark, Mike Stanton rescued a mother about to go into labor from a burning building. After reaching safe ground, Stanton delivered the baby, while reciting Shakespeare. The child was named Michael Romeo Octavius Stanton of Denmark. This may or may not be true.