Notables:
-The biggest news of the day came on the injury front with both Kevin Youkilis (thumb) and Carlos Santana (knee) officially out for the rest of the season. The Red Sox have an interesting choice to make here. Can they still catch the Rays and Yankees? Not all hope is lost with Jacoby Ellsbury and Josh Beckett back from DL stints and Dustin Pedroia set to be back in a couple of weeks. Carlos Delgado could make as a nice replacement if the Red Sox go for it, which I fully expect them to do although the White Sox also have interest in him too.
-Russell Martin is also likely ruled out for the rest of the season with a hip injury. Expect the Dodgers to make some type of move to address this issue.
-Kevin Slowey cruised through seven innings before imploding in the eighth. After giving up a leadoff home run to BJ Upton, the normal control freak hit Kelly Shoppach, allowed a single and walked Evan Longoria. Jesse Crain walked in a run before Ron Mahay gave up a grand slam to Jason Bartlett, blowing the win for Slowey.
-Mark Kotsay missed hitting for the cycle by a double, going 3-for-5 with four RBI including driving in the game-winning run.
-Random question: Where does Carlos Gonzalez get drafted next season among OFers? Possibly before Matt Kemp or Justin Upton?
-Another random note: Am I the only one who would keep the USA, TNT and Spike channels over the summer rather than ABC, NBC and CBS?
-Jose Guillen was DFA'd by the Royals. If I'm a GM and I see a player who has had been on nine different teams, I might think he's a difficult player and pass on him especially since he's 34 with a checkered injury history. The Giants are rumored to be interested which will be nice since we can watch him and Pat Burrell on the bench discussing the benefits of AARP. Oh, and here comes the "Ghostface" Kila, KC!
-Stephen Strasburg threw a simulated game and reported no pain. Didn't I say last week he'd be fine? He should be back on Tuesday to face the Marlins. This is actually important for next year as the Nationals want to increase his workload by 20 percent based on this year's totals.
-James McDonald threw six innings of no-run ball, striking out eight and walking one. He allowed four hits but all were of the single variety. I'm skeptical of the Pirates future pitching rotation, however, they're lineup appears to have a lot of upside to me.
-Adrian Beltre hit the grand salami for his 20th shot. The dude's hitting .336 with 75 RBI. Nice return on investment for his owners out there.
-The Marlins got robbed by third base ump Bob Davidson about a wrong foul call at the third base line. As a result, the Phillies got the W in extra innings.
-Adam LaRoche went 3-for-5. The guy is in full second-half mode as his post-ASB batting average of .297 heading into tonight's affair indicates.
-Kevin Correia held the Dodgers to four hits (all singles) and no runs over 5.2 innings.
-Tommy Hunter continues to play Criss Angel with 6.1 scoreless innings. He allowed 10 base runners over that time so don't expect the 3.01 ERA to last. Felix Hernandez has gotten no run support from his squad this year. Then again, not too many of pitchers on the Mariner's staff can say that.
Save Chances:
-Bobby Jenks, blown in spectacular fashion. Jenks gave up a three-run shot to Ryan Raburn with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Read below for my evaluation of Jenks.
-Billy Wagner, converted. One hit, one strikeout, one save. Wagner is supposed to retire next year to spend more time with the family (which personally I think is admirable) but he has a $6.5 million vesting option for 2011. He'll probably retire yet it shouldn't surprise you if he doesn't.
-Jonathan Papelbon, converted. 0.2 innings, a walk and two Ks.
-Brad Lidge, converted. Two Ks, one hit, save #12.
-Leo Nunez, blown. 3-2-1=hits-runs-earned runs, over one inning.
-Heath Bell, converted. A tad extra work than the norm with 1.1 innings.
Other Closer Outings:
-Matt Capps got the win after the Twins rallied for two runs in the ninth with the game tied. He struck out BJ Upton in the eighth and recorded two more Ks in the ninth en route to his fourth win. The Twins were lucky to get the win after a Jason Kubel popup hit a catwalk and none of the Rays' infielders could get to the ball which landed 15 feet off the pitcher's mound.
-Jose Valverde took the loss after giving up a go-ahead triple to Mark Kotsay with the game tied. He's now given up three long balls over seven innings since the ASB and his ERA over that time is 11.57. The correction has arrived!
-Huston Street got some work in with a scoreless ninth. Keep moving folks, nothing to see here.
-Drew Storen tossed a scoreless inning giving up one hit with the Gnats down four.
-Aaron Heilman, converted. One K over one inning.
-Neftali Feliz worked a game with a six-run lead. Two Ks and no base runners allowed.
Non-Closer Outings:
-Sergio Santos pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win and lower his ERA to 1.53. JJ Putz retired the two batters he faced to lower his ERA to 1.79. Bobby Jenks is the closer and his ERA is now 5.13. Alrighty, then. Maybe Ozzie Guillen needs to assess his bullpen instead of worrying about which racial class gets treated better than Latinos.
-Jonny Venters, one inning pitched, two Ks and an ERA of 1.15. Here's your Joaquin Benoit of the National League.
Lineup-ology:
-The Halos are going to give Peter Bourjos an extended look at the expense of Hideki Matsui and Juan Rivera. If you need steals (I've heard Mike Scoiscia likes to run), take a flier on him.
-Brian Roberts returned to the lineup.
-The Braves will call up Mike Minor from Triple-A and start him on Monday. He'll probably be a two-start candidate next week (@ Houston, LA). Minor has struck out over a batter per inning at both Double-A and Triple-A this season. If you need to gamble to get make up some ground, roll the dice.
-Michael Brantley is expected to be called up Friday. I'm sure he loves the ride from Cleveland to Columbus and back by now.
-Miguel Montero got a routine day off on Thursday.
-Mark Reynolds was good news/bad news as he sat out Thursday's game but has not been diagnosed with a concussion. At least not yet.
Tough Days:
-Wade Davis labored through six innings giving up six runs on ten hits. His fastball only reached the low-90s a few times, mostly working in the high-80s. Davis had previously won his last four decisions and got an extra day of rest with the Jeremy Hellickson spot start so it's tough to determine what was wrong today.
-Chipper Jones went 0-for-4 with five LOB and one K.
-Cody Ross went 1-for-5. Four strikeouts. Six LOB. Was there really that much interest at the trade deadline? If there was any, shame on the Marlins for standing pat.
Injuries:
-Kris Medlen was placed on the DL and will likely need Tommy John surgery.
-David Hernandez landed on the DL with an ankle injury.
-Nyjer Morgan (hip) had an MRI but is considered day-to-day now.
-Jon Rauch had an allergic reaction which has caused blisters on his hand which could keep him out awhile. The Twins could have used him today in the eighth inning.
-Jason Bay (concussion) is not close to being activated off the DL.
Stolen Bases:
-Alexi Casilla (2), Juan Pierre (41), Omar Vizquel (6), Gerald Laird (3 -he obviously has a sidebet with Lou Marson), Jayson Nix (1), Lou Marson (5 – really?), Hanley Ramirez (22), Michael Stanton (4), Gabby Sanchez (5), Will Venable (19)
Caught Stealing:
-BJ Upton (7), Juan Pierre 2 (14), Paul Konerko (1), Garrett Jones (4), Jayson Werth (2), Domonic Brown (1), Kelly Johnson (6), Bobby Crosby (3)
Home Runs:
-Jason Repko (3), Jason Bartlett (3), BJ Upton (10), Ryan Raburn (3), Don Kelly (2), Mark Kotsay (7), Alex Gonzalez (19), Garrett Jones (15), Ronny Cedeno (6), Shin-Soo Choo (14), Nick Markakis (8), Torii Hunter (17), Adrian Beltre (20), Eric Hinske (9), Adam "The Beast" Kennedy (3), Carlos Ruiz (5), Ryan Zimmerman 2 (21), Rogearvin Bernadina (7), David Murphy (7), Chris Denorfia (7)