Balk Off!
I've now seen a game in person end in a balk. I was at the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game on Memorial Day, one that ended with Esmerling Vasquez balking in the winning run. Vasquez weirdly stayed on the mound for a really long time between pitches with Casey Blake on third base, and the batter stepping out of the box to take a couple of practice swings, with his catcher standing up out of the croutch. Blake faked a dash towards home and Vasquez flinched without coming to a stop first while going into his stretch. The balk was called, game over. But that wasn't the only weird aspect of the game:
- Chad Billingsley gave up three homers in the first two innings, but also recorded six strikeouts. He didn't allow a run after the second inning, and ended up throwing eight innings.
- Kelly Johnson committed a brutal double-error (https://www.memoriesofkevinmalone.com/2010/05/kelly-johnsons-play-of-compounded-uber.html) with the Diamondbacks up by two in the eighth inning and two outs, making it a tie game.
- James Loney opened the ninth with a walk, but then had three baserunning blunders. He failed to go from first to third on a softly hit single up the middle by Casey Blake, then failed to advance on a ball that got away from catcher Chris Snyder when Russell Martin was squaring to bunt. He topped it off by starting to attempt a delayed steal when Augie Ojeda had abandoned third base to talk to the pitcher, but then had second thoughts halfway between second and third and was easily run down. Blake moved to second on the play and then went to third on Martin's ground out, setting the stage for the game-ending balk.
Umpires Gone Wild:
- Roy Oswalt was ejected by Bill "Rabbit Ears" Hohn, who thought that Oswalt was yelling at the ump rather than at himself. Hohn whipped off his mask and confronted Oswalt, who yelled back that he wasn't talking to Hohn, and Hohn ejected him anyway.
Notables:
- Tommy Hanson benefited from double plays in the first two innings to escape jams and didn't allow a run until the seventh, when the Braves were far ahead. He lowered his ERA by 28 points to 3.78.
- Corey Hart homered for the sixth time in his last 10 games.
- Cameron Maybin's homer was of the inside-the-park variety, thanks to a bad route by Carlos Gomez in center.
- Ervin Santana struck out six while walking none against the Royals while giving up a run over seven innings.
- Ubaldo Jimenez won the duel against Tim Lincecum, throwing a complete game shutout, striking out nine.
- Brandon Morrow struck out just one batter, but he also walked just two, allowing just one run against the Rays in the process.
Save Chances:
- Andrew Bailey, converted (11). Bailey got the last four outs of the game, getting one strikeout while walking one. Nine of his 11 saves came in May.
- Octavio Dotel, converted (11). Two strikeouts, one walk in an otherwise clean inning.
- Kevin Gregg, converted (14). Gregg made it interesting, giving up a triple to Evan Longoria, but Longoria got thrown out trying to score on a grounder to shortstop with one out.
- Jon Rauch, converted (13). Rauch allowed two hits again (fourth time in five outings that he's allowed multiple hits), giving up a run before closing the door.
Other Closer Outings:
- Brad Lidge came off the DL and pitched a clean inning in a "get-work" situation, striking out one.
- Andrew Cashner made his major league debut, retiring the one batter he faced.
- Jonathan Broxton got the win after throwing a scoreless ninth inning in a tie game, striking out two while allowing one hit.
Non-Closer Outings
- Neither Rafael Perez (remember when he was good?) nor Chris Perez retired a batter in the seventh inning, when the Yankees blew the game open. The latter Perez served up A-Rod's grand slam and then a homer by Robinson Cano.
Lineup-o-logy:
- The slumping Jayson Werth (hitless in last 19 with 11 strikeouts) was given the day off, with Ross Gload starting in his place, batting leadoff.
- Gabe Gross has picked up a lot of starts on the A's current road trip after being a forgotten man earlier in the month.
- Ryan Theriot was benched in favor of Mike Fontenot after Theriot had a brutal month of May, hitting .236 while drawing just one walk.
Tough Days:
- All four Brewers pitchers on Monday gave up multiple runs, including Carlos Villanueva, who came into the game in the sixth inning, got just one out, and allowed two runs on two hits and a walk.
- Tim Lincecum walked five for the fourth start in a row.
- Bronson Arroyo got hit hard after an hour long rain delay in St. Louis, ending up allowing seven runs on 10 hits and five walks over 4.1 innings. He hurt himself by starting one two-out rally by walking the pitcher, Jaime Garcia. He was hurt a little bit by his defense, with Jay Bruce not throwing to third when he had a chance to nail a runner and throwing to third when he didn't have a chance. But most of the problems were of his making. It was his first loss since the Padres strafed him on April 23.
- When Oliver Perez is your second-best pitcher of the day, of five, you know it's not your day. Hisanori Takahashi really was a letdown for his owners after his last two good starts, getting hit for six runs on eight hits and two walks over four innings in Petco.
Injuries:
- Placido Polanco sat out again with a sore left elbow. He was supposed to have a cortisone shot on Monday and might return on Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Joey Votto (neck) missed his sixth game in a row, but could return as early as Tuesday. Miguel Cairo has been decent in Votto's spot, but he killed a rally with a GIDP when the game was still viable for the Reds.
- Jason Bartlett (hamstring) will miss the entire series against the Blue Jays.
Stolen Bases
- Shane Victorino (11); Rajai Davis 2 (21,22); Nyjer Morgan 2 (10,11); Michael Napoli (3); Howie Kendrick (5); Alberto Callaspo (3); Ian Stewart 2 (4,5); Matt Kemp (7); David Wright (9).
Caught Stealing:
- Brett Gardner 2 (3,4); Jeff Keppinger (1); David DeJesus (3); Pablo Sandoval (2); James Loney (3).
Home Runs:
- Chipper Jones (3); Troy Glaus (8); Jhonny Peralta (4); Alex Rodriguez (7); Robinson Cano (11); Corey Hart (13); Cody Ross (5); Cameron Maybin (5); Ryan Zimmerman (11); Carlos Maldonado (1); Gustavo Chacin (1); Maicer Izturis (1); Juan Rivera (7); Michael Napoli (8); Adam Lind (8); Justin Upton (8); Chris Young (8); Chris Snyder (8); Manny Ramirez (4); Rod Barajas (11); Jerry Hairston Jr. (3); Chase Headley (4); Michael Cuddyer (6); Jason Kubel (6); Delmon Young (5).