Carlos Gonzalez, the Triple Crown, & Omar Infante:
- Carlos Gonzalez went 3-4 with 2 homers and 4 RBI against the Dodgers. Any discussion about a NL Triple Crown race should now include Car-Go, as he's 1st in batting average (.326), 5th in HRs (29), and 3rd in RBI (90). In reality though, the most important name in the NL Triple Crown race is Omar Infante because once he gets enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, he's bring a .341 batting average with him.
Leo Nunez Hates Josh Johnson:
- Josh Johnson pitched 6 innings of shutout ball against the Braves, but in the end it didn't matter because Leo Nunez blew the save (a 2-run homer to Matt Diaz) and the game (a walk-off shot by Brian McCann). Nunez has 8 blown saves this season, 4 of which have come in starts by Johnson.
Planet Man-Ram:
- Manny Ramirez is rumored to be on his way to the White Sox in a waiver claim, not a trade. If Manny does indeed join the South Siders, he'll be facing the Indians & Red Sox this week, in an odd coming home tour of sorts.
Notables:
- Mike Aviles, Billy Butler, & Alex Gordon each went 2-5, in the Royals 6-2 win over the Indians. If you're a Bruce Chen owner, then know he picked up his 9th win after he pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 earned runs.
- Rick Porcello tossed 7 innings of 1-run ball against the Blue Jays. He struck out 4, walked 1, and now has back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
- Ryan Raburn hit 2 homers and collected 4 RBI... Is a 2B eligible outfielder with 8 HRs & 21 RBI in the month of August something you might be interested in?
- Ivan Nova won his first game as a Yankee, after he pitched 5.2 innings and allowed 1 earned run to the pre-Manny White Sox. He pitched opposite Gavin Floyd, who gave up 2 earned runs over 6.2 innings.
- Josh Hamilton did what Josh Hamilton does, hit a home run and drive in two runs. He's up to 31 HRs, 95 RBI, and a .359 batting average.
- Gio Gonzalez held the Rangers to 2 runs over 6 innings in a win, his 12th. His 167 innings with a 3.23 ERA and 1.26 WHIP have been plenty useful this season in fantasy leagues.
- Cliff Pennington stole his 23rd base of the season. His first 22 were so quiet that I didn't even know they happened.
- Jered Weaver and Jeremy Guthrie engaged in an all out pitcher's duel. Weaver struck out 11, walked 1, and allowed 1 earned run over 8 innings, while Guthrie struck out 5 and walked 1, but allowed 0 earned runs over 8.1 innings. The win went to Aaron Burr Guthrie.
- Carl Pavano fell to 15-10, after he allowed 2 earned runs over 7 innings to the Mariners. In classic Pavano style, he walked 1 and stuck out 2.
- James Shields pitched 6.2 innings and allowed 3 earned runs, but none came via home run. He has now allowed only 1 homer in his last 4 starts, his best stretch by far this season. Oh yeah, this was also against the Red Sox and the hapless John Lackey.
- Jay Bruce hit his 17th homer, while Joey Votto stole his 12th base. Bruce had a rather quiet July (0 HR, 5 RBI, & .200 avg.), but has really turned it on this month (7 HR, 15 RBI, & .316 avg.). Votto is now tied with Pujols in stolen bases.
- R.A. Dickey was a one man wrecking crew on Sunday for the Mess Mets. He not only pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball, but he also went 2-3 at the plate with 2 RBI. At 9-5 with a 2.57 ERA, I still don't believe, but then again I'm pretty stubborn.
- Adam Wainwright (5 innings & 4 earned runs) was out done by John Lannan (7.2 innings & 1 earned run) in the Nationals win over the Cardinals. The Reds now lead the Cards by 5 games in the NL Central.
- Ryan Braun went 4-4 with a home run (17) and 2 RBI (79). He's batting .300, but it's been a somewhat disappointing year for him, considering he has averaged 34 HRs & 105 RBI over the last three seasons.
- Cole Hamels put up lots of zeros against the Padres Sunday. He pitched 8 innings of no-run ball with 6 strikeouts and no walks. He's only 8-10, but carries a 3.31 ERA on the season.
- Matt Cain kept the D-Backs to 3 runs over 6.1 innings, but was left with a no-decision. He struck out 7 and is now 10-10 on the season with a 3.11 ERA.
Save Chances:
- Rafael Soriano, converted (39). Struck out a batter and walked another in a scoreless 9th.
- Brian Wilson, converted (36). Got a 5 out save with 1 strikeout and 2 hits.
- Francisco Cordero, converted (35). Struck out a batter in a clean 9th.
- Mariano Rivera, converted (27). He walked one batter in a scoreless 9th.
- David Aardsma, converted (25). Pitched a scoreless 9th.
- Trevor Hoffman, converted (8). Got 2 clean outs.
- Koji Uehara, converted (4). Got 1 batter out... who says being a closer is hard?
- Drew Storen, converted (3). Got 4 outs, 3 via strikeout, but he also gave up a solo shot to Pedro Feliz.
- Leo Nunez, blown (8). Blew a 6-4 lead on a 2-run homer by Matt Diaz to tie the game. Then served up a walk-off shot to Brian McCann.
Other Closer Outings:
- Joakim Soria struck out the side in the 9th.
- Jose Valverde gave up a 3-run homer to Adam Lind, in the 9th inning of a 10-1 game.
- Bobby Jenks pitched 1.2 scoreless innings.
- Fernando Rodney struck out a batter in a clean 9th.
- Hisanori Takahashi struck out a batter in a scoreless 9th.
- Huston Street pitched a clean 9th.
Non-Closer Outings:
- Phil Coke pitched a scoreless 8th.
- Joba Chamberlain struck out a batter in 1.1 scoreless innings.
- Craig Breslow pitched 2 clean innings.
- Mike Wuertz pitched a scoreless 9th.
- Alexi Ogando got 1 strikeout and 1 walk in a scoreless 8th.
- Mike Gonzalez struck out 1 batter in the 9th.
- Jesse Crain pitched a clean 8th.
- Brandon League pitched a clean 8th.
- Joaquin Benoit pitched a clean 8th.
- Sean Marshall allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, in 1 inning of work.
- Arthur Rhodes got 1 out via strikeout and offered up a 2-run homer to Kosuke Fukudome.
- Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless 8th.
- Clay Hensley got 2 outs, 1 via strikeout.
- Jonny Venters struck out 3 and walked 1, in a scoreless 8th.
- Takashi Saito picked up a vulture win, after he pitched a scoreless 9th with 1 walk & 2 strikeouts.
- Evan Meek got 2 outs, 1 via strikeout, before he took a liner off his chest.
- Kenley Jansen struck out 3 and walked 2, in 2 scoreless innings.
- Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless 9th with 1 strikeout. In August he has allowed 2 earned runs with a 26/3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- Juan Gutierrez allowed 1 earned run, issued 2 walks, and struck out a batter in the 8th.
Tough Days:
- Carlos Beltran went 0-4 with 1 strikeout. In 137 at-bats since coming off the DL, he's got 2 HRs, 14 RBI, and 1 stolen base.
- Mike Stanton went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. He's in a 5-48 (.104) slump right now with 0 HR, 0 RBI, and 0 runs.
- Pedro Alvarez was 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. He's in a 6-39 (.154) slump right now with 0 HR, 0 RBI, and 2 runs.
- Jorge Cantu was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. In 57 at-bats as a member of the Rangers, he's batting .211 with 0 HR, 0 RBI, and 5 runs.
- Andre Ethier went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts for the Golden Sombrero... you knew we'd get there eventually.
- The Mariners lineup featured one batter (Ichiro) with a batting average over .247.
- Derek Lowe gave up 5 earned runs in 3 innings and was lucky to not take a loss. He struck out 4 and walked 3 in the disaster start against the Marlins.
- Charlie Morton, aka Sorry Charlie, pitched 3.1 innings and allowed 7 earned runs to the Brew Crew. He gave up 9 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. He's now 1-10 with a 10.03 ERA this season.
- Ted Lilly struck out 8 Rockies batters and walked 1 in 4 innings. That's the good news, the bad news is that he also gave up 7 earned runs.
Lineup-ology/Injuries:
- Edwin Encarnacion was placed on the DL with a sprained left wrist. Mike McCoy was recalled in a corresponding move.
- Kanekoa Texeira was placed on the DL with a right elbow strain. Robinson Tejeda was activated to take his spot.
- Mike Minor was recalled to by the Braves & Craig Kimbrel was sent down. Kimbrel was brought up to pitch in relief in between Minors starts.
- Julio Lugo took a pitch to his head from Jered Weaver. A CT after the game didn't show anything serious.
- Mike Napoli was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox. The move was probably made to block the Rays, as a trade is thought to be unlikely.
- Aroldis Chapman should be on his way up Monday or Tuesday. If he blows out his elbow like Strasburg, the headline will read "Cuban Missile Crisis." Let's hope it reads "Cuban Missile" instead.
- Jose Reyes continues to deal with a right oblique strain. Don't be surprised if he's done for the season or plays again this week... It's the Mess Mets after all.
- Evan Meek took a Ryan Braun liner off of his right hand. He doesn't have any broken bones, but will be out for a few days.
- Brandon Morrow will be shutdown for the season (innings limit) after his next start. Fantasy owners scream NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
- Nelson Cruz is expected to be activated from the DL (hamstring) on Monday.
Home Runs:
- Josh Hamilton (31), Carlos Gonzalez (28 & 29), Carlos Pena (25), Ryan Braun (19), Adam Lind (19), Hanley Ramirez (18), Jayson Werth (18), Brian McCann (18), Jay Bruce (17), Carl Crawford (15), Michael Cuddyer (12), Stephen Drew (12), Kevin Kouzmanoff (12), Kosuke Fukudome (12), Ryan Doumit (11), Ryan Raburn (9 & 10), Ryan Spilborghs (10), Mike Morse (10), Brandon Inge (9), Marcus Thames (9), Neil Walker (7), Matt Diaz (7), Mike Sweeney (7), Delwyn Young (6), Pedro Feliz (5), Mitch Maier (5), Jason Donald (4), John McDonald (4), Mark Ellis (3), & Josh Thole (2).
Stolen Bases:
- Juan Pierre (51), Brett Gardner (37), Angel Pagan (32), Chris Young (26), Drew Stubbs (23 & 24), Cliff Pennington (23), Franklin Gutierrez (19), Eric Young Jr. (12), Joey Votto (12), Alcides Escobar (10), Gregor Blanco (10), Troy Tulowitzki (9), Mike Aviles (7), Alexi Casilla (5), Justin Maxwell (5), Miguel Cabrera (3), & Rick Ankiel (2).
Caught Stealing:
- Chone Figgins (10), Jason Bartlett (5), Cliff Pennington (5), Denard Span (4), Luis Castillo (3), Gregor Blanco (3), Brent Lillibridge (2), & Francisco Cervelli (1).