Notables:
- CC Sabathia, aka "Big Daddy," pitched 8 shutout innings against the Metropolitans, in what was one of his best starts of the season. He struck out 6 batters and walked only 2. With the win he improved to 8-3 and has now won his last 4 starts.
- Mark Teixeira hit a grand slam off of Johan Santana, who we'll get to in a bit. With homers in back-to-back games and 3 in his last 6 games, Big Tex may be starting to heat up.
- Johan Santana is just not striking batters out like he used to. Today he struck out 3 batters, giving him 8 strikeouts over his last 4 starts. His swinging-strike rate is down to 8.7|PERCENT| this season. It was 11.4|PERCENT| in '08 and 11.3|PERCENT| in '09. Feel free to give your theories as to why his strikeout rate is down this season in the comments.
- Max Scherzer faced his old teammates, the Diamondbacks, on Sunday. He struck out 8 batters and allowed only 1 earned run, in a win. Since coming back from the minors, he has a 41:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Tigers sent Rick Porcello to the minors before the game and hope he'll have similar success when he comes back.
- Brennan Boesch hit his 10th homer of the season. He now has a batting line of .337/.384/.617. In comparison, Jason Heyward has a line of .264/.383/.481. If Boesch isn't the front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year, then who is?
- Josh Johnson took over the NL lead in WHIP (0.98), with his winning performance against the Rays. In 8 innings, he struck out 9 batters, walked none, and gave up 1 earned run. His 1.80 ERA is 3rd best in all of baseball, behind Ubaldo Jimenez (1.15) and Jaime Garcia (1.59).
- David Price struck out 9 hitters and gave up 3 earned runs, on 2 walks and 6 hits, over 6 innings in the same game. The loss, his 3rd, snaps a 3 game win streak. He's still tied for the AL lead in wins (10) and ERA (2.45).
- Matt Wieters went 1-3 with 3 RBI against Jon Garland. I would insert some stat about how he's been doing well lately, but he hasn't. The hit was his first in 5 games and his 2nd in 8 games. His production can only go up, I suppose.
- Freddy Garcia won his 5th game in a row on Sunday. In fact, he's now won 8 of his last 9 games. Against the Nationals he struck out 6, walked 1, and allowed 3 earned runs over 7 innings. He might not strikeout a ton of batters, but he hasn't had more than 2 walks in a game since April 15th, his second start of the season.
- Alex Rios was the 3rd highest ranked OF in Scott Pianowski's latest Shuffle Up and Deal and at first I thought that was a little high, but then I looked at the numbers. After his 3-5 game with 1 run, 3 RBI, and 1 stolen base game against the Nationals, he now has 13 homers, 20 stolen bases, 46 runs, 37 RBI, and a .317 batting average. Now I'm wondering if he should be ranked higher.
- Carl Pavano, the same man who once dated Alyssa Milano, sported a porn-stache in a complete game against the Phillies. He allowed struck out 2 batters, walked none, and allowed only 1 run in the win. If you're looking for a guy who doesn't walk batters, Pavano is your man, as he's walked 1 or less batters in 10 of his 14 starts this season. He's now won 3 in a row and 4 out of his last 5.
- Roy Halladay, for better or worse, does not have a porn-stache. He took the loss against Pavano, but not because he didn't pitch well. Halladay struck out 8 batters, walked none, and allowed 3 earned runs in 8 innings. The Phillies have average 1.7 runs scored in the 7 games he's received either a loss or no decision in. He didn't always pitch well enough to merit a win in those games, but you get the point.
- Here are the batting lines of 2 players on the same team... .306/.343/.502 and .304/.382/.436. Both were #1 overall draft picks. Both have 24 strikeouts this season. One batted 3rd in the lineup, the other batted 7th. Both went 1-4 against Roy Halladay on Sunday. One hit a single, the other hit a double. One is Joe Mauer, the other is Delmon Young.
- C.J. Wilson pitched 7 innings of 2 run ball against the Astros. He struck out 4 and walked 3 in a no decision, but it was his 10th quality start of the season. He'll face the 'Stro Show (a comedy with poor reviews) again this week.
- Josh Hamilton's .337 batting average is tied (with Ichiro) for the highest among all OFs in the majors. Let that sink in for a bit. On Sunday he went 5-6 with 1 run and 2 RBI. When healthy he's one of the most talented players in the game and he's proving it right now.
- Trevor Cahill struck out 7 Cardinals batters, walked none, and allowed only 2 earned runs, both solo shots by Matt Holliday, in 6 innings. Interesting fact: Cahill warms up to "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane in all of his home starts.
- Oye como va, Carlos Santana went 3-4 with a homer and 3 RBI and is now batting .393 since coming up. I bet he gets chingos of RBI opportunities, while batting 3rd this season. Thus concludes the musical and Spanish cuss word section of this Nightcap.
- Carlos Zambrano pitched his best game since coming back to the Cubs rotation. He struck out 7 Angels batters, walked 1, and gave up 1 earned run, over 7 innings in a win. Why he was taken out of the rotation again?
- Derrek Lee went 2-4 with 4 RBI and now has 3 homers & 7 RBI over his last 5 games. The window to buy low may be closing. He had 24 homers and 59 RBI from July 1st on, last season.
- Ryan Rowland-Smith, aka "Hyphen," pitched 6 innings of shutout ball against the Reds. He struck out 2 and walked 5 in his first win of the season.
- Aaron Harang, aka "Harang-atang," took the loss in that game, but didn't pitch bad at all. He allowed 1 run on 1 walk and 3 hits, over 6 innings, while striking out 4 batters. "The Reds are 22-14 vs. the NL Central, 15-19 vs. the rest of the league," according to Jeff Erickson's Twitter feed. Follow him, all the cool kids are doing it.
- Pedro Alvarez went 0-3 and is now batting .063 since he came up on Tuesday. If you buy into the line of thinking that he struggles against lefties (he faced 3 this past week), then note that he'll face 5 righties this week.
- Clay Buchholz pitched 6.2 shutout innings against the Dodgers, in the ESPN Sunday Night Big Market Game. He struck out 4, walked 3, and gave up 3 hits. He's now tied for 1st in the AL in wins (10) and 3rd in ERA (2.47). Jon Lester and him are quite the 1-2 punch.
Save Chances:
- Brian Wilson, converted (19). Struck out Lyle Overbay for the save. He came in after Jeremy Affeldt turned a 6 run lead into a 3 run lead. Saves don't get much easier than this.
- Neftali Feliz, converted (19). Struck out 2 in a clean 9th inning.
- Jose Valverde, converted (16). Struck out 1 in a clean 9th.
- Jonathan Papelbon, converted (16). Struck out 1 in a clean 9th.
- Leo Nunez, converted (15). Struck out 2 in a clean 9th.
- David Aardsma, converted (14). "DA" struck out 2 in a clean 9th. No word on the status of his baby.
- Billy Wagner, converted (14). Struck out 2 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 9th.
- Octavio Dotel, converted (14). Struck out 2 in a clean 9th.
- Andrew Bailey, converted (13). Struck out 1 and walked 1 for a 4 out save.
- J.J. Putz, converted (1). Struck out 2 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 9th. Bobby Jenks was given the day off.
- Matt Lindstrom, blown (4). Gave up 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks.
Other Closer Outings:
- Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning.
- Brian Fuentes had an ugly outing, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, while only getting 2 outs. Scioscia gave him the dreaded "vote of confidence" after the game.
- Manuel Corpas did Fuentes 2 better by giving up 5 runs and getting no outs. He gave up 3 hits and 1 walk, while turning a tied game into a bit of a blowout. Huston Street should be back this week.
- Carlos Marmol struck out 2 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 9th.
- John Axford struck out 1 in a scoreless 9th. Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless 8th and got the win.
Non-Closer Outings:
- Jenrry Mejia struck out 1 in a clean 7th inning. He'll be headed to the minors, so he can be stretched out into a starter.
- Joel Zumaya struck out 1 in a clean 8th inning.
- Joaquin Benoit gave up 1 hit and struck out 1 batter in a scoreless 9th.
- Craig Kimbrel picked up his second win of the season, after striking out 2 and giving up 2 walks in a scoreless 8th.
- Matt Thornton struck out 2 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Drew Storen gave up 1 run on 2 hits over 2 innings. He also struck out 3 batters.
- Brandon Lyon struck out 2 and walked 1 in 1.1 scoreless innings.
- Andrew Cashner struck out 1 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams, & Joe Thatcher each pitched a scoreless inning for the Padres.
- Brandon League struck out 3 in 2 scoreless innings.
Tough Days: AKA Dustin Johnson's Final Round
- Jake Arrieta went only 3 innings and allowed 5 earned runs. He struck out none and walked 3 Padres batters.
- Joe Saunders lasted 2.2 innings and allowed 5 earned runs. He gave up 9 hits and 2 walks to Cubs batters.
- Jonathan Sanchez also only lasted 2.2 innings. He only gave up 2 earned runs on 5 walks and 3 hits. He did strikeout 5 batters, if you're looking for a silver lining.
- Kenshin Kawakami got only 6 outs before he was pulled. 4 earned runs on 6 hits was the damage report. He's 0-9 this season with 14 starts.
- Felipe Paulino made his 14th start on Sunday. He has 1 win this season.
Lineup-ology:
- Dayan Viciedo played 3B and hit 7th for the White Sox, in his debut.
- Lance Berkman hit 2nd for the Astros as he tries to get out a prolonged slump.
- Alex Avila played over Gerald Laird for the Tigers. Expect for this to continue going forward as the Tigers try to get more offense in their lineup.
- With Troy Tulowitzki out (wrist) and Carlos Gonzalez nicked up (knee), the Rockies went with Clint Barmes at SS, Jonathan Herrera at 2B, Melvin Mora at LF, and Ryan Spilborghs at CF.
Comings/Goings:
- Coming: Jack Wilson (Mariners), Todd Coffey (Brewers), Jarrett Hoffpauir (Blue Jays), Chris Johnson (Astros), Jason Castro (Astros), Jason Bourgeois (Astros), Bobby Parnell (Mets), & Kason Gabbard (Red Sox).
- Going: Rick Porcello (Tigers), Jenrry Mejia (Mets), Edwin Jackson (Blue Jays), Matt Tuiasosopo (Mariners), Jay Buente (Marlins), Jorge Sosa (Marlins), Casey Daigle (Astros), Kevin Cash (Astros), & Cory Sullivan (Astros).
Injuries:
- Watch: J.D. Drew (hamstring), Humberto Quintero (head), & Carlos Ruiz (head).
- Back Soon: Huston Street (shoulder) & Takashi Saito (hamstring).
Chicks Dig the Long Ball:
- Justin Morneau (15), Mark Teixeira (12), Aubrey Huff (12), Matt Holliday (9 & 10), Brennan Boesch (10), Geovany Soto (8), Carl Crawford (7), Kevin Kouzmanoff (7), Carlos Guillen (5), Brad Hawpe (5), Pat Burrell (5), Nick Hundley (5), Wes Helms (3), Carlos Santana (2), Denard Span (2), Wilson Valdez (2), Freddy Sanchez (1), & John McDonald (1).
Stolen Bases:
- Alex Rios (20), Will Venable (13), David Wright (12), Chris Young (12), Tony Gwynn Jr. (10), Jason Bay (9), Dustin Pedroia (7 & 8), Ian Kinsler (5 & 6), Jason Heyward (5), Orlando Hudson (5), Chipper Jones (4), Scott Hairston (4), Mike Stanton (3), Randy Winn (3), Martin Prado (2), Ramon Castro (1), Kevin Frandsen (1), & Victor Martinez (1).
Caught Stealing:
- Carl Crawford (7), Torii Hunter (7), Brandon Phillips (7), Albert Pujols (3), Daric Barton (2), Ryan Sweeney (2), Austin Kearns (1), Aaron Cunningham (1), & Daniel Nava (1).
You Are Not The Father!
For those of you too young or not yet ready to take on the responsibility of Fatherhood, feast on this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGtWssdauME