Around the Horn - 7/1

Look out AL Central, here come the Detroit Tigers. In case you haven't noticed, the Tigers, after last night's come from behind 5-4 win over the Twins, are now two games over .500 (42-40). The Tigers were 19-8 in June, and have won 7 straight, moving them to within 5 games of the White Sox for the AL Central lead.

The Tigers will be tested now though. Magglio Ordonez went on the DL after straining an oblique muscle on Sunday and Miguel Cabrera may be joining him after suffering from a hip flexor last night.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (42-40) «	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	5	12	3
Minnesota (45-38)	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	4	13	0

W: C. Fossum (1-0) L: M. Guerrier (4-3) S: J. Zumaya (1) HR: DET - M. Thames (15) MIN - None

Recap/Box

The Mets just can't build off of anything. They had a big win on Sunday against the Yankees after losing two straight. So what did they do last night? Go out and get clobbered 7-1 by the Cardinals. John Maine had a rough outing and the Mets offense fell flat. And Kyle Lohse is 10-2!

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets (40-42)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	3
St. Louis (48-36) «	2	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	x	7	10	2

W: K. Lohse (10-2) L: J. Maine (8-6) HR: NYM - None STL - C. Duncan (5)

Recap/Box

Tampa Bay has its first big Summer series...EVER. They got off on the right foot last night, holding off the Red Sox 5-4 despite Troy Percival being forced from the game in the 9th inning. The Rays closer apparently re-aggravated a hamstring problem. Back up closer Dan Wheeler had already pitched, so J.P. Howell closed things out. And the Red Sox still haven't, and won't, taken any disciplinary action against Manny Ramirez.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston (50-35)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	4	8	1
Tampa Bay (50-32) «	1	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	x	5	6	0

W: J. Shields (6-5) L: J. Masterson (4-2) S: J. Howell (2) HR: BOS - J. Drew (16) TB - B. Upton (6), G. Gross (6)

Recap/Box

Jr. still has some pop in that bat. Ken Griffey Jr. came off the bench to hit a walk off 2-run home run to give the Reds a 4-3 win over the Pirates in the 9th. It was career home run number 603. Before the game, Jr. playfully asked manager Dusty Baker's 9-yr old son Darren why he wasn't playing. "You can't hit lefties, and you're old!", responded Darren. Take that kid.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh (38-44)	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	9	0
Cincinnati (39-45) «	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	4	8	0

W: F. Cordero (3-1) L: M. Capps (1-3) HR: PIT - A. LaRoche (8) CIN - J. Hairston (2), K. Griffey (10)

Recap/Box

The Marlins walked one off too against the Nationals. After the fish tied the game in the 9th, Josh Willingham hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of the 10th. These fish know how to hit home runs.

Final 10th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Washington (33-51)	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	5	10	0
Florida (43-39) «	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	6	11	0

W: K. Gregg (6-2) L: J. Rauch (4-2) HR: WAS - E. Dukes (4), D. Young (4) FLA - J. Willingham (7), H. Ramirez (19), J. Willingham (8)

Recap/Box

The White Sox know how to hit home runs too. Nick Swisher hit a pair last night, including his second grand slam in a week, as the White Sox out lasted the Indians 9-7. Jim Thome also went deep as the Pale Hose increased their lead over the Twins to 2.5 games in the AL Central.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland (37-46)	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	3	7	14	0
Chi. White Sox (47-35) «	3	0	5	0	0	1	0	0	x	9	9	2

W: G. Floyd (9-4) L: J. Sowers (0-4) S: M. Thornton (1) HR: CLE - J. Peralta (12) CHW - J. Thome (16), N. Swisher (10), N. Swisher (11)

Recap/Box

Good and Bad news for the Astros last night. Roy Oswalt struck out 9 to lead the 'stros to a 4-1 win over the Dodgers. The bad news? Oswalt left the game in the 7th inning with a strained hip. Lance Berkman belted his 22nd home run.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
L.A. Dodgers (38-44)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	11	0
Houston (40-43) «	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	x	4	6	0

W: R. Oswalt (7-8) L: E. Stults (2-1) S: J. Valverde (22) HR: LA - None HOU - L. Berkman (22)

Recap/Box

Talk about a change in fortune. The Rockies lead the Padres 8-3. Final score- Padres 15 Rockies 8 with a 7-run 9th inning. The Pads hit 4 home runs, including a pair by Edgar Gonzalez. Jody Gerut also had one and knocked in 4.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Diego (33-51) «	1	0	2	0	0	5	0	0	7	15	22	0
Colorado (32-51)	3	0	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	8	9	0

W: H. Bell (6-3) L: B. Fuentes (1-4) HR: SD - E. Gonzalez (2), K. Kouzmanoff (11), J. Gerut (4), E. Gonzalez (3) COL - B. Hawpe (11)

Recap/Box

Greg Smith pitched the A's to a big 6-1 win over the Angels. Smith threw the first complete game of his career, limiting the Angels to just 4 hits. The win moved the A's to within 3.5 games of the Angels in the AL West.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland (45-37) «	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	6	13	0
L.A. Angels (49-34)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	2

W: G. Smith (5-6) L: J. Garland (7-5) HR: OAK - None ANA - M. Napoli (12)

Recap/Box

Complete games are nothing out of the ordinary for Roy Halladay, who went the distance in the Blue Jays 2-0 blanking of the Mariners last night. It was the 10th career shutout for the big right-hander.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto (41-43) «	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	10	1
Seattle (31-51)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

W: R. Halladay (9-6) L: R. Dickey (2-4) HR: TOR - None SEA - None

Recap/Box

Mark DeRosa homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in 6 as the Cubs pounded the Giants 9-2. Ted Lilly won his 9th while Barry Zito, unfortunately for Giants fans, went back to pitching like Barry Zito.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chi. Cubs (50-33) «	0	1	2	0	2	0	0	4	0	9	10	0
San Francisco (36-47)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	8	2

W: T. Lilly (9-5) L: B. Zito (3-12) HR: CHC - M. DeRosa (9), M. DeRosa (10) SF - None

Recap/Box

Good to see Doug Davis out on the mound and competing. In fact he picked up the win against his old club for the Diamondbacks last night.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Milwaukee (44-38)	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	1
Arizona (42-41) «	2	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	x	6	11	0

W: D. Davis (3-3) L: D. Bush (4-8) S: B. Lyon (17) HR: MIL - None ARI - M. Reynolds (17)

Recap/Box

O's closer George Sherrill blew a save in the 9th for the second straight game. This time it was the Royals coming from behind to tie things up on a Miguel Olivo home run. Jose Guillen knocked in the game winner in the 11th. Joakim Soria, the best unknown closer, picked up his 22nd save.

Final 11th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Kansas City (38-45) «	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	1	6	14	0
Baltimore (41-40)	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	10	1

W: R. Mahay (4-0) L: C. Bradford (3-3) S: J. Soria (22) HR: KC - M. Olivo (9) BAL - R. Hernandez (7)

Recap/Box

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Jeter an Astro Beater

We apologize for the late recap of last night's game, just got caught up in other things. A very well pitched game on the heels of Andy Pettitte's gem on Thursday night. Joba Chamberlain had his longest start of the season, though he didn't figure in the decision and Kyle Farnsworth gave Mariano Rivera a rest by picking up a save in the Yankees 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros.

This one was all about the pitching as Chamberlain and former Yankee one year wonder Shawn Chacon each allowed a run. Derek Jeter snapped the 1-1 tie in the 8th inning with his 4th home run of the season. Jose Veras picked up the victory with a pair of dominant innings, striking out three of the six batters he faced. Then it was up to Farnsworth who got assignment because Rivera had pitched five times in six days.

Farnsworth hit Ty Wiggington on a 3-2 pitch to start the inning, but Michael Bourn's sacrifice bunt went right back to Farnsworth. With Geoff Blum pinch-hitting for Brad Ausmus, Wiggington was throwing out trying to steal 2nd base by Jose Molina who had replaced Jorge Posada in the 7th inning. Farnsworth then threw a wicked breaking pitch past a swinging Blum for strike three and just like that the Yankees were 2 games over .500 for the first time since April 29.

News and Notes

Jorge Posada was removed as part of a double switch and even though Joe Girardi tried to downplay it, it was clearly a defensive move. The aggressive Astros had stolen 2nd base four times with Posada behind the plate. He did throw out Bourn attempting to steal 3rd. Joba Chamberlain also picked off Lance Berkman off of 2nd base on the front end of a double steal. Berkman was charged with a caught stealing as he attempted to reach 3rd base.

Chamberlain threw 88 pitches, 54 of which were strikes. Girardi said he would have gone out to start the bottom of the 7th if his spot in the order hadn't come up in the top of the inning. Chamberlain won't be on a pitch count when he faces the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
Derek Jeter's home run was the 199th of his career.

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Around the Horn - 6/11

From the injury front:

Braves pitcher John Smoltz's shoulder surgery revealed a torn labrum. It will be a long road back if he decides to return. The Braves got more bad news when starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens stumbled on a stairway and sprained his ankle. He's been scratched from his start today. And Tom Glavine has been put on the 15-day DL with a sore left elbow.

Mariners closers J.J. Putz had to leave this afternoon's game with the Blue Jays in the 9th inning due to a sore arm. Putz missed significant time earlier this season with a rib cage injury.

Blue Jays outfielder Shannon Stewart will be out at least a couple of weeks with a high ankle sprain.

The Padres will get Jake Peavy back from the DL tomorrow.

The Dodgers will be without Rafael Furcal for all of June due to a bad back.

Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki is set to begin rehab at Single-A as part of his recovery from a torn quad muscle.

Game News

Hideki Okajima had a pretty easy time of it in his 2007 rookie campaign, but that has not been the case this year. Okajima lost his 2nd game of the season last night in a 10-6 Orioles win. More importantly he was credited with his 6th blown save of the season and 2nd in his last 4 games.

Orioles veteran pitcher Steve Trachsel was designated for assignment. It could spell the end of his 17-year career.

White Sox starter Jose Contreras was on the losing end of a 6-4 game with the Tigers last night. It was the first time in 8 starts that Contreras allowed more than 2 earned runs.

The Royals bullpen was at it again last night. This time they blew a 5-1 lead against the Rangers, who eventually won 6-5. Josh Hamilton drove in his major league leading 70th RBI in the game.

Willie Randolph could only watch in horror as his awful Mets pitching staff got pounded by the Diamondacks, 9-5. Four different Dbacks went deep in the game.

C.C. Sabathia moved down the Twins last evening with a complete game 5-hit shutout. After posting a 7.88 ERA in April, he's put up a 2.42 ERA since.

With the Rockies playing so poorly this year, Aaron Cook's season has gone mostly unnoticed. The right-hander improved to 9-3 last night in the Rockies 10-5 win over the Giants. Cook, who has a 3.21 ERA, has more than one-third of the team's 25 wins.

Hanley Ramirez continued his torrid June with a solo home run in the Marlins 5-4 win over the Phillies. In 10 games this month, Ramirez has slugged 6 home runs, drive in 9 runs, scored 11 runs, and stolen 3 bases. He's also hitting .350 for the month.

Lance Berkman's been on a tear all season, though he entered last night's game in a 2-14 skid that dropped his average to .372, the lowest it's been since May 8. He responded with 3 hits, including a home run, and drove in 5 runs. He's 3rd in the NL with 53 ribbies for the season.

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Around the Horn - 6/4

There was a huge impact felt by a New York pitcher's start last night and it wasn't Joba Chamberlain. Pedro Martinez made his return to the Mets starting rotation and immediately gave them a lift, putting in a quality efforts in the Mets 9-6 win over the Giants. Pedro stepped on the mound for the first time since April 1, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings for his first won of the year and the 210th of his career.

The Cubbies ran wild in their come from behind 9-6 win over the Padres. Alfonso Soriano hit a 3-run home run and had one of the 6 Cubs stolen bases. The win was Chicago's 9th straight, their longest streak since 2001.

The Rockies snapped an 8-game losing streak and a 13-game road losing streak by beating the Dodgers 3-0. Jeff Francis turned in 7 stellar innings to pick up his 2nd win. The game also featured a brawl between Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp and Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba. Kemp struck out on a pitch that he chased in the dirt. When Torrealba tagged him, Kemp shoved him, and Torrealba shoved back. Kemp admitted afterwards that it was his fault.

“I’m not used to acting in that way. It’s not in my character. It was out of frustration,” Kemp said. “We were losing the game and it was stupid— really stupid. It was not a good decision on my part. But it happened, and we have to deal with whatever happens after it.

You can catch a video of the fight at the bottom of the thread.

Wandy Rodriguez and 3 relievers combined on a 5-hit shutout in the Astros 2-0 win over the Pirates. Lance Berkman drove in his 48th run.

Greg Norton's 2-run double in the 8th lifted the Braves over the Marlins 5-4. Chipper Jones hit his 399th career home run in the game, while the Marlins Dan Uggla had a pair to give him 18 this season.

Randy Johnson passed Roger Clemens for 2nd place on the all-time strike out list, but took the loss as the Diamondbacks fell to the Brewers 7-1. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and J.J. Hardy homered for the Brewers. Fielder has hit one out in 4 of the last 5 games.

Yadier Molina belted a 3-run home run to lift Kyle Lohse and the Cardinals over the Nationals 6-1. Albert Pujols was forced to leave the game with a strained calf.

Pat Burrell smacked a 2-run home run and Chase Utley drove in his 53rd run to help the Phillies hold off the Reds 3-2.

The Indians lost for the 13th time in 17 games when the Rangers pasted them last night 12-7. Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and David Murphy all went deep. Ian Kinsler (18 games) and Michael Young (19 games) each extended their hitting streaks.

Justin Masterson has struggled in the minors this season, but he's 2-0, 2.95 in 3 major league starts for the Red Sox. Last night Boston beat the Tampa Rays 7-4. Coco Crisp's 2-run double highlighted a 4-run 6th inning.

Carlos Quentin, A.J. Pierzynski, and Alexi Ramirez homered to help lift the White Sox over the Royals 9-5. Gavin Floyd won his 6th game as the White Sox moved 5 games over .500.

Radhames Liz won his first major league in the Orioles 5-3 victory over the Twins. Melvin Mora and Kevin Millar homered for the O's.

The A's rallied to beat the Tigers 5-4 in 11 innings. Newly recalled Travis Buck singled in the tying run in the 8th before Jack Cust's single sent everyone home happy in extras. Dontrelle Willis returned to the starting rotation for Detroit and tossed 4 shutout innings. He gave up 2 hits, walked 5, and struck out 3.

Maecir Izturis drove in 3 runs and the Angels held off the Mariners 5-4. Francisco Rodriguez notched his major league leading 23rd save to preserve the win for Joe Saunders (9-2). The loss left the Mariners 17 games under .500. Vlad Guerrero missed his 2nd straight game with hyperflexion in his right knee, but may return to the lineup tonight.

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Around the Horn - 5/30

Joe Torre was back in the city so nice they named it twice. But it wasn't at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees weren't playing. Torre took his Dodger blue to Shea and got pummeled by David Wright and the Mets, 8-4. Wright belted a couple of home runs off of Brad Penny to help the Mets win their 3rd. Jose Reyes has reached base safely in 29 straight games.

The Giants completed a very unexpected 3-game sweep of the Diamondbacks with a 4-3 win. The Giants tied the game in the 8th on Fred Lewis' bases loaded walk and went ahead for good in the top of the 9th on Randy Winn's home run. Barry Zito came up with arguably his best start of the season (6 IP 3 ER 6 H 3 BB 5 K) while Randy Johnson allowed 2 runs and struck out 9 in 7 innings.

The Pirates pounded the Reds 7-2 behind a big night from starter Phil Dumatrait. The lefty allowed 1 unearned run, 2 hits, and struck out 9 in 7 innings.

Kyle Lohse out pitched Roy Oswalt in the Cardinals 3-2 win over the Astros. Albert Pujols belted his 13th home run for the Cards while Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman went deep for Houston. Berkman's home run tied him with Chase Utley for the major's lead with 17.

Jody Gerut's 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th gave the Padres a 5-2 win over the Nationals. Padres pitcher Chris Young, who was hit in the head by a liner off the bat of Albert Pujols last week, will need surgery on his septum and there is concern about a small skull fracture he suffered.

The Cubs 4th straight win sent the Rockies to their 4th straight loss. Derek Lee homered for the 2nd straight night to help the Cubs to an 8-4 victory.

The Braves pounded the Brewers 8-1. Mark Texeira homered and drove in 4 and Jose Campillo won his 2nd big league game. He also drove in 2 runs. Rafael Soriano returned to the Braves bullpen after 45 days on the DL.

Jesse Litsch has been flying under the radar for much of the season, but certainly not in Toronto. The Blue Jays starter improved to 7-1, 3.18 in the Jays 12-0 trouncing of the A's. Rod Barajas, who will be getting the bulk of playing time with Greg Zaun on the DL, capitalized on his chances with a 3-hit, 3 RBI day.

John Danks improved to 4-4 in the White Sox 5-1 win over the Rays. Joe Crede and Paul Konerko homered in a battle between division leaders.

Kevin Slowey pitched a complete game as the Twins sent the Royals down to their 11th straight loss, 5-1. Carlos Gomez was 4-5 with 2 RBI.

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Around the Horn - 5/15

C.C. Sabathia kept the Indians starting pitch streak alive - not a run allowed in 43 innings now after Sabathia blanked the A's 2-0 on 5 hits. The big lefty also struck out 11.

For the 2nd straight night the Red Sox blew a 3-0 lead to the Orioles. Luke Scott hit the big home run on Tuesday and last night it was Jay Payton belting a grand slam to give the Orioles a 6-3 win.

The Royals are now 5-0 against the Tigers after Luke Hochevar and company shut them down 2-0. Justin Verlander pitched very well, but dropped to 1-7.

The Seattle bullpen blew a 3-2 lead, but Miguel Cairo bailed them out with the go-ahead RBI single in the Mariners 12-inning 4-3 win. Jarrod Washburn recorded the final outs for his career save.

Carlos Quentin belted an 8th inning grand slam to snap a 1-1 tie as the White Sox beat the Angels 6-1. After a bad start Jose Contreras is 4-2, 2.57 in his last 6 starts.

Matt Stairs belted a grand slam to help Roy Halladay overcome a rough outing in the Blue Jays 6-5 win over the Twins. Justin Morneau hit his 7th home run for Minny.

Look out National League, Alfonso Soriano is red hot. Sori homered for the 3rd straight game and is 10-19 over the last 4 games. The Cubs beat Jake Peavy and the Padres 8-5.

That wasn't Eric Gagne closing for the Brewers yesterday, but Guillermo Mota did his best, or is it worst, imitation. Mota gave up 3 runs in the 9th including a go-ahead to run double by Juan Pierre as the Dodgers pulled out a 6-4 win.

Todd Wellemeyer threw 2-hit ball for 7 innings as the Cardinals prevented the Pirates from reaching .500, 5-1.

Ryan Zimmerman homered and Tim Redding threw 2-hit ball for 6 innings in the Nationals 6-3 win over the Mets. That Nats have taken 2 of the first 3 games of the 4 game set.

The Astros blew a 3-0, but beat the Giants 6-3. Miguel Tejada (.345) had 3 hits including the game winner. Lance Berkman belted his 14th home run.

The Braves nearly blew an 8 run lead, but held off the Phillies 8-6. Chipper Jones smacked his 397th career home run. Tom Glavine picked up his 304th career win.

Micah Owings went 0-4 to drop his average to .370, but more importantly he threw 6 shutout innings in the Diamondbacks 4-3 win over the Rockies.

The Reds blew a 6 run lead in the 9th inning, but then beat the Marlins in 10, 7-6. Paul Janish had been recalled earlier in the day to replace the injured Jeff Keppinger and singled in the game winner.

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Around the Horn - 5/13

Pitching was the name of the game in Cleveland last night as the Blue Jays and Indians split a doubleheader. Both teams won by 3-0 margins as all four starting pitchers were on their game. In the opener, Fausto Carmona and A.J. Burnett locked horns in a scoreless duel until the 6th when David Dellucci provided the Indians with an RBI single. One inning later Asdrubel Cabrera smacked a 2-run home run to put the game out of reach. Carmona finished with his second career complete game shutout.

The two teams went scoreless in the night cap after the Jays Shaun Marcum pitched 2-hit ball thru 8 innings and Indians starter Cliff Lee's scoreless 9 innings lowered his ERA to 0.67. The Jays finally put 3 on the board in the 10th to gain the split. Cabrera topped off his night with an unassisted triple play.

The Twins took 3 of 4 from the Red Sox with a 7-3 win. Livan Hernandez got roughed up early, but then settled in to improve to 6-1. Clay Buchholz couldn't hold a 3-0 lead as Craig Monroe and Delmon Young drove in 2 runs each. Monroe had 6 RBI in the final 2 games of the series.

Crazy one in Arlington; Seattle blew 5-0 and 6-5 leads, then the Rangers blew a 4-run lead in the 9th. Ruben Vazquez finally settled things with a walk off home run in the bottom of the 10th for a 13-12 Rangers win. Earlier in the game Vazquez exchanged words with M's reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith after Vazquez took exception to Rowland-Smith's reaction to his strikeout (imagine if it were Joba). That lead to Baseball Tonight's John Kruk delivering the line of the night. "Neither of those guys is good enough to be yelling like that."

The Angels snapped a 4-game losing streak by out scoring the White Sox 10-7. Vlad Guerrero homered and drove in 4 runs to help Nick Adenhart pick up his first major league win.

The Nationals embarrassed the Mets 10-4 on a career night for Odalis Perez. And that was just at the plate. The veteran left-hander turned a so-so outing for his first win of the year, but he was 3-3 with 2 RBI, a run scored, and a sacrifice. Lastings Milledge had his first two RBI against his former mates.

The Pirates and Braves split a twinbill in Pittsburgh. Zach Duke and company blanked the Braves 5-0 in the opener. Freddy Sanchez drove in 3 runs and Adam LaRoche homered. Tim Hudson dominated the nightcap as the Braves earned a split with an 8-1 win. Brian McCann and Mark Kotsay drove in 3 runs each.

The Cubs pounded the Padres 12-3 to boost Carlos Zambrano's record to 6-1. Alfonso Soriano homered and is 6-10 in his last 2 games.

The Astros moved 5 games over .500 and Roy Oswalt won his 4th straight in Houston's 7-3 triumph over the Giants. Lance Berkman homered and his 3 hits have him batting .393.

The Reds held off the Marlins 8-7. Jeff Keppinger and Brandon Phillips homered to help Aaron Harang win his second game.

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Around the Horn - 4/3

Rich Harden and Jon Lester hooked up in a pitcher's duel in the A's-Red Sox series finale, but it was the A's bullpen that blinked first. David Ortiz had been 0-for the season before belting a 2-run HR off of Alan Embree in the 7th. Lester, Bryan Corey, and Manny Delcarmen combined on a 4-hitter in the 5-0 shutout.

The Rays have hopes of reaching .500 this season, but most of that will depend on their pitching. If last night was an indication they're in trouble. Starter Matt Garza and reliever Al Reyes blew a 6-3 lead to a weak Orioles team. Aubrey Huff homered and drove in 4 for the O's.

Seattle learned earlier in the day they would be without their closer J.J. Putz for at least 2 weeks due to mild costochondritis, an inflammation of the ribcage. For now, M's manager John McLaren is going with closer-by-committee, but last night one time Jays closer Miguel Batista finished off a 4-1 win with a scoreless ninth against the Texas Rangers.

Royals starter Brian Bannister was as good as it gets in a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers. Think the Mets could use the guy they mistakenly dealt for Ambiorix Burgos? Bannister is now 13-9, 3.71 in his 1 year and 1 start for the Royals.

Fausto Carmona walked 4 hitters in 7 innings, but the Indians starter pretty much picked up where he left off last season, limiting the White Sox to 1 run in the Tribe's 7-2 victory. Carmona lead the AL in inducing double play grounders last season and started off '08 with 3 more.

Nick Blackburn's wild pitch provided the only run in the Angels 1-0 win over the Twins. Blackburn was great, but Joe Saunders (8 IP) was even better as he and K-Rod combined on the shutout. Torii Hunter finally gave his old fans a treat with his first two hits of the season.

We picked Pedro Martinez to be our NL comeback player of the year, but we just know we are not a jinx like the Sports Illustrated cover (we think that's garbage anyway). Pedro was put on the DL with the hamstring he injured Tuesday night. He's expected to miss 4-6 weeks. The Mets took their frustration out on the Marlins last night in a 13-0 blow out.

Look at those Nats! The Washingtonians improved to 3-0 with a 1-0 blanking of the Phillies. Tim Redding went 7 innings and allowed 1 hit, the only hit the Phils would get on the night. Ryan Zimmerman hit his 2nd game winning home run of the season.

The Brewers pounded Ted Lilly and the Cubs 8-2 to improve to 2-0. Jeff Suppan picked up the win over the team many have picked to win the NL Central.

After a 72 minute rain delay the Giants finally got their first win, a 2-1 edging of the Dodgers. The Dodgers won't have 3rd Base coach Larry Bowa who was suspended 3 games for Tuesday night's ejection. Bowa is NOT happy!

It wasn't an important game, but there was Trevor Hoffman blowing another save for the Padres. After the Astros tied the game, Lance Berkman hit a game winning 3-run HR (Astros 9 Padres 6) off the all-time saves leader.

The Diamondbacks Brandon Lyon can empathize with Hoffman. He didn't retire any of the 3 Reds batters he faced in the 9th last night. The last one, Edwin Encarnacion, hit a walk-off 3-run HR to give the Reds a 6-5 win.

The Braves pounded the Pirates 10-2 for their first win of 2008. Pirates lefty reliever Damaso Marte was in much demand prior to the season. So far in 2 appearances he's allowed 6 runs and only recorded 2 outs.

The Cards picked up their first win too with an 8-3 win over the Rockies. Rick Ankiel, who heard off-season P.E.D. rumors, hit his 1st home run.

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