Around the Horn - 7/22

Great pitching match up last night at the warehouse they call a ball park in Phoenix. The Cubs sent recently acquired Rich Harden up against Dbacks oldster Randy Johnson. Apparently the Big Unit still has something left in him. He tossed 2 hit ball over 7 innings to pick up his 291st win in the Dbacks 2-0 victory. Hard luck loser Harden allowed just 1 hit, a home run, in 7 innings and struck out 10.

Harden has thus far lived up to expectations - 1 earned run allowed in 12.1 innings pitched. He's yet to get a win though as the bullpen blew his first start and no offense spoiled his second time out.

CC Sabatha is also living up to expectations in Milwaukee. He's allowed just 5 earned runs in 24 IP (1.88 ERA), while winning 3 games, going the distance in 2 of them. He's also homered! After starting the season 1-5, 7.51, Sabathia has gone 8-3, 1.92.

Teammates Miguel Cabrera and Matt Joyce combined for 9 hits and 11 RBI last night in the Tigers 19-4 blow out of the Royals.

B.J. Upton's offensive numbers are down for the Rays, but he did reach 30 stolen bases for the first time in his career with a pair of swipes last night. Scott Kazmir was dominant in the Rays 4-0 win over the A's, striking out 9 and allowing just 2 hits over 7 innings.

Curt Schilling has been out, Dice-K hasn't been fantastic, and Clay Buccholz has not yet lived up to the hype, but the Red Sox are very much in the thick of things, in great part due to the performance of Jon Lester. Known more for his cancer battle and a no-hitter earlier this year, Lester has put together a very solid campaign, improving to 8-3 after 7 shutout innings against the Mariners last night. Boston won 4-0 with Lester lowering his ERA to 3.20.

The Dodgers and Rockies banged out 38 hits last night in the Dodgers 16-10 road win. James Loney drove in 5 runs in this horribly pitched game.

Watching him pitch, you wonder how he ever wins a game, but Paul Byrd did it again last night. He and the Indians out dueled All-Star Ervin Santana in the Tribe's 5-2 win against the Angels.

The Astros were on the brink of victory last night, leading the Pirates 3-2 in the 9th. Then Jason Bay, Adam LaRoche, and Freddy Sanchez each hit round-trippers. Sanchez's was a 3-run inside the parker that took a weird carom off the fence. Final score, Pirates 9 Astros 3.

You never expect pitching with the Rangers, but last night Scott Feldman and three relievers held the White Sox to one run in a 6-1 win. Josh Hamilton hit a 3-run home run to give him 98 RBI on the season. Carlos Quentin's 24th home run was the lone Chisox run.

The Brewers blew a 9th inning lead, but Bill Hall homered in the 10th and the Brewers added two more to beat the Cards 6-3. The victory moved Milwaukee into a tie for 2nd with the Cards in the NL Central, 2 games back of the Cubs.

Jose Campillo allowed just 2 hits over 7 innings in the Braves 4-0 blanking of the Marlins. The rookie is now 5-4, 2.83.

The Padres rallied for 3 runs in the 9th inning to overcome the Reds, 6-4. Kevin Kouzmanoff stroked the game winning 2-run double. Ken Griffey Jr. smacked career home run number 606.

Adam Jones and Ramon Hernandez both went deep in the Orioles 8-3 win over the Blue Jays. Toronto has lost 14 of 18 on the road.

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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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Around the Horn - 6/24

Limited schedule last night, but some interesting match ups none the less.

Felix Hernandez belted a grand slam off of Johan Santana, but sprained his ankle one out shy of 5 innings. The bullpen did its his job in his place and the Mariners beat the Mets 5-2.

Another duel in Fenway between the Diamondbacks Dan Haren and the Red Sox Josh Beckett. Chris Young and Chris Snyder each drove in a run in the 7th to give the Diamondbacks a 2-1 win. The Red Sox also lost 1st baseman Kevin Youkilis in the game when a between inning warm up throw from Mike Lowell resulted in a black eye.

John Lackey missed the beginning of the season with arm trouble, but he looks like his old self on the mound. Last night he dominated the Nationals over 8 innings in the Angels 3-2 win. K-Rod picked up his 31st save after Garrett Anderson's 8th inning single snapped a 2-2 tie.

The Royals are loving interleague play. They're now 10-3 after beating up on the Rockies 8-4. Mark Teahen's 1st inning, 3-run home run got KC off to a fast start. Brian Bannister allowed 3 unearned runs in 7 innings for his 6th win.

The American League now holds a 99-77 advantage in this year's play.

In intralague play, Mike Cameron belted a 2-run home run to lead the Brewers over the Braves 4-1. Ben Sheets tossed a complete game 4-hitter and struck out 7.


News

Looking to beef up their squad, the Indians signed veterans Tony Graffanino and Juan Rincon to minor league deals.

Poor Nick Johnson's season is done again. The Nats 1st baseman will have surgery on his wrist to repair a torn ligament.

Mariners pitcher Erik Bedard may be headed back to the DL with a bad back, according to the Seattle Times.

It was done under the radar, compared to the Willie Randolph firing, but the Mets may have made a significant move when they hired Wayne Krivsky as assistant GM. Owner Fred Wilpon said GM Omar Minaya is doing a "great job", but ya never know.

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Around the Horn - 6/23

Weekend Interleague Recap

Interleague play continued this past weekend and will finish up this coming Sunday. Here are the latest results.

In a rematch of the 2004 World Series, the Cardinals finally won a pair of games. Too bad some of them couldn't have been 4 years earlier. Boston salvaged the finale only after Jon Papelbon blew his 4th save of the season. He only blew 3 saves all of last year. Kevin Youkillis provided a 13th inning walk off winner on Sunday. AL:1 NL:2

The Cubbies took the battle of the windy city in a clean sweep. The Cubs are now a remarkable 32-8 at home this season. Ryan Dempster's win on Sunday gave him a 9-0 record in Wrigley. Aramis Ramirez slugged a walk off winner on Friday and hit his 3rd in two days in Saturday's win. AL:0 NL:3

The Angels had no problem going into the "City of Brotherly Love" and beating the Phillies 2 of 3. Angels pitching held the Phillies to just 4 runs in the 3 games. Francisco Rodriguez became the fastest closer to earn the 30 saves when he closed out Sunday's win in the Angels 76th game. AL:3 NL:0

The Royals won their series with the Giants thanks to a big comeback in the finale. Down 6-0 to Tim Lincecum, KC rallied to an 11-10 win. It made up for blowing a 4-0 lead on Friday. AL:2 NL:1

The Astros and Rays played three 1-run games at the Trop. Roy Oswalt out dueled Matt Garza in the opener and Brandon Backe out pitched Scott Kazmir in the finale. In between the Rays won on Gabe Gross' pinch-hit 2-run single in the bottom of the 9th or it could have been an Astros sweep. The best part of the series was the Astros donning their old '70s uniforms. AL:1 NL:2

The Pirates made it a tough return for Cito Gaston, winning 2 of 3. The two teams were scoreless until the 12th on Friday when John McDonald made a rare error to give the Pirates a 1-0 win. The Blue Jays gave Gaston his first win since 1997 with an 8-5 win in the series finale. AL:1 NL:2

The Rangers and Nationals started their series with a 14th inning marathon, won when Elijah Dukes, who had tied the game with a home run, singled in the game winner. The Rangers got strong pitching performances, how often is that said, from Kason Gabbard and Vincente Padilla to take the next two. AL:2 NL:1

The Twins took a sweep of the NL West leading Diamondbacks, including a win against ace Brandon Webb on Sunday. Scott Baker, Livan Hernandez, and Nick Blackburn helped hold the Dbacks to just 6 runs in the series. AL:3 NL:0

Jim Riggleman got a present in Friday's 10-2 romp by the Mariners over the Braves, but it was downhill after that. Mark Texeira belted 3 home runs on Sunday for the second time in his career. AL:1 NL:2

Aubrey Huff hit a pair of home runs on Friday as the Orioles topped the Brewers for their 4th straight win. But the Brewers owned the rest of the series behind home runs from Prince Fielder and Corey Hart. AL:1 NL:2

After putting together no offense in a weekday series against the Yankees, the Padres put 6 runs on the board Friday to beat the Tigers, 6-2. They managed to score 5 and 3 the next two games, but this time the pitching let down and the Tigers took both. Justin Verlander won on Sunday, but continued his odd season, walking 5 and striking out 10 in 5.1 innings. AL:2 NL:1

The injury riddled Indians still managed to take 2 of 3 from the struggling Dodgers, dropping the finale on Sunday. The first two games went extra innings and included a 6-run 11th inning for the Indians on Saturday. C.C. Sabathia started that game, allowing 1 run over 7 innings and recorded 10 strikeouts. He also hit his first home run of the season. The big man is 2-0, 1.50 in his last 3 starts. AL:2 NL:1

The A's and Marlins played a thriller to start their series on Friday night. Dan Uggla's 2nd home run of the season tied the game in the 9th against Huston Street, but Kurt Suzuki doubled in the game winner in the 11th. Saturday's game came down to the 9th again, and again Uggla delivered, this time with a game winning 3-run double. The A's took the series with a laugher on Sunday. AL:2 NL:1

FINAL TALLY
AL: 22 NL: 20

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Around the Horn - 6/17

There was limited action in MLB last night, but there's a full slate on tap tonight. Before the news a recap of last night's action.

A big night for Ryan Howard in the city of brotherly love. He smashed a pair of home runs and legged out a triple in the Phillies 8-2 dismantling of the Red Sox. Howard's 4 RBI came mainly at the expense of Bartolo Colon who left, after a 4 inning, 4-run appearance, with back spasms. Cole Hamels went 7 innings for his 7th win.

The Tigers 6-game winning streak came to a screeching halt when they couldn't hold a 4-3 lead late. Fernando Rodney's first appearance of the season is one he'd like to forget- a 3-run home run surrendered to John Bowker. The Giants won it 8-6.

Carlos Beltran gave Willie Randolph a going away present, 2 home runs to propel the Mets to a 9-6 win over the Angels. Perhaps if Beltran and his teammates had played with fire and desire all year Randolph might still be manager.

The Marlins continued the Mariners misery with a 6-1 win on the left coast. Andrew Miller, who started the season so badly, allowed 1 run over 7 innings to improve to 5-5.

In the lone intraleague game, Jair Jurrjens threw 7.2 shutout innings to beat the Rockies 7-1. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup with a pair of RBI and raised his average to .403.


News

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the Tigers are interested in free agent pitcher Freddy Garcia.

This just in...the Mets are still gutless.

The Indians have signed recently released Morgan Ensberg to a minor league deal.

The Denver Post reports that Troy Tulowitzki could return from the DL this Friday.

The White Sox placed Paul Konkero on the DL with a strained oblique.

The Red Sox are expected to activate Dice-K this weekend.

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Interleague Weekend Recap

This past weekend we had the second set of interleague games in the 2008 battle of the AL vs. the NL.

Red Sox vs. Reds

This was the first time the Red Sox were playing in Cincinnati since the 1975 World Series. The Reds rubbed that in a little by having their World Series trophy on hand and showing highlights. But the Red Sox would take 2 of 3 this time around. Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn homered on Friday to help lead the Reds to their sole victory of the weekend, 3-1. Kevin Youkilis and Coco Crisp hit back to back home runs to take Saturday's contest 6-4 in 10 innings after Jon Papelbon allowed a game tying home run in the 9th to Edwin Encarnacion. No such trouble on Sunday as Crisp homered again, drove in 4 and Josh Beckett dominated in a 9-0 win. AL:2 NL:1

Rangers vs. Mets

The Willie Randolph death watch continued, but the Mets took 2 of 3 to help their skipper keep his job for now. The Mets won the opener on the dominant performance of Oliver Perez, who also drove in 2 runs in the 7-1 win. Saturday's game was rained out, so the two teams split a twinbill on Sunday. The Mets 8th and 9th inning rallies fell short in game 1 as the Rangers hung on 8-7. Robinson Cancel's pinch-hit 2-run single snapped a 2-2 tie in the 6th to give the Mets the nightcap, 4-2, and a series win. AL:1 NL:2

Cubs vs. Blue Jays

The Blue Jays took the opener on Friday 3-2 behind the pitching of A.J. Burnett and back to back home runs by Matt Stairs and Scott Rolen. Then Burnett told the press how he wouldn't mind playing for the Cubs and listed all of his friends on the team. We think there's a good chance J. P. Ricciardi will send him somewhere. Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly pitched the Cubs to wins in the latter two games of the series, 6-2 and 7-4. Reed Johnson got some revenge against his old team with a 3-run home run off former mate Roy Halladay in Saturday's game. AL:1 NL:2

Marlins vs. Rays

The battle of Florida went to the Rays, who took 2 of 3 at the Trop. Eric Hinske and Dionner Navarro drove in 2 runs each to win the opener 7-3, which also marked the return of closer Troy Percival. Luis Tiant threw out the first pitch on Saturday and watched Matt Garza dominate in a 4-1 Rays win. No fisticuffs with Navarro this time either. Ricky Nolasco came within one out of his first career complete game as the Marlins salvaged the finale of the series, 9-3. Nolasco struck out 12 in throwing 132 pitches. Wes Helms and Mike Jacobs hit 3-run HRs. AL:2 NL:1


Braves vs. Angels

Despite a rash of injuries to their starting rotation and freak injury to Chipper Jones, the Braves took the first 2 games of the series before the Angels salvaged the finale last night. Jo Jo Reyes beat John Garland on Friday, 5-2, with the help of that household name Gregor Blanco, who drove in 3 runs. Charlie Morton won his first major league game in defeating Ervin Santana and the Angels 9-4. Mark Texeira drove in 3 and Brandon Jones hit his first major league home run. Joe Saunders became the fifth 10-game winner when he lead the Angels to a 2-0 win. Casey Kotchman's home run accounted for all the runs. AL:1 NL:2


Dodgers vs. Tigers

Look out the Detroit Tigers are on the move. The Tigers built off their 3-game sweep of the White Sox with a 3-game sweep of the Dodgers. Armando Galarraga got things going on Friday by throwing 7 innings in the Tigers 5-0 win. Marcus Thomes and Magglio Ordonez homered. Thames and Miguel Cabrera went deep on Saturday as the Tigers outscored LA 12-7. Brad Penny was tagged for 7 runs in 3-plus innings. Nate Robertson tossed 6 shutout innings as the Tigers held on in the finale 5-4. Thames homered for the 3rd straight game and Brandon Inge went yard too. AL:3 NL:0


Pirates vs. Orioles

The O's took 2 of 3, starting with a 9-6 win on Friday after trailing 6-1. The Orioles honored members of the 1979 team, including former Yankees Scott McGregor and Grant Jackson, that beat the Pirates in the World Series after being down 3 games to 1. The Orioles trailed 7-6 in the 9th inning on Saturday after Adam Laroche hit a 2-run home run off closer George Sherrill. But Oscar Salazar hit his first major league home run since 2002 to tie it and Ramon Hernandez singled in the game winner. The O's came from behind yet again on Sunday, tying it in the 9th on Brian Roberts 2-run home run, but LaRoche's RBI single gave the Pirates a 5-4 win in 10. AL:2 NL:1


Padres vs. Indians

The Indians outlasted the Padres and the rain in a 9-5 win on Friday. Grady Sizemore homered twice in the game, 5 hours apart. The Padres took the middle game of the series with an 8-3 win in 10 innings. Tony Clark drew a bases loaded walk to break the 3-3 tie and then Kevin Kouzmanoff put the game away with a grand slam. The Padres won their threw back uglies. The Indians took the rubber game of the series behind a dominant performance by C.C. Sabathia (8 IP 10 K). Ben Francisco hit an early 3-run HR off of Greg Maddux, who dropped to 3-5. AL:2 NL:1


Twins vs. Brewers

The Twins scored 19 runs in the first two games. Friday night was a big game for Twins starter Kevin Slowey. 8 innings of 5-hit ball for the win and 2 hits and 2 RBI at the plate in a 10-2 win. Russell Branyan homered off of Joe Nathan in the bottom of the 9th to tie Saturday's game at 4-4, but the Twins struck for 5 runs in the 9th, 4 of them coming home on Michael Cuddyer's triple. It was 4, because Cuddyer scored too on Mike Cameron's throwing error. Cameron helped make up for it with a 2-run home run in the series finale as the Brewers got a good performance from Seth McClung and the bullpen in a 4-2 win. AL:2 NL:1


A's vs. Giants

The battle of the bay wasn't much of a contest as the A's swept the 3-game series at Pac Bell Park. The A's pitching dominated the series, allowing just 4 runs. Omar Vizquel accounted for the only Giants run in the opener by stealing home. Greg Smith and three relievers allowed just 5 hits and Jack Cust drove home 2 runs in a 5-1 A's win. Rich Harden topped Smith's performance with 6 innings of 1-hit, 9 strikeout ball in a 4-0 win on Saturday. Matt Cain struck out 11 in taking a tough loss. The A's finished things off yesterday with a 5-3 win lead by a strong start from Dana Eveland and Eric Chavez's 3-hit 2 RBI day. AL:3 NL:0


Rockies vs. White Sox

The suddenly struggling White Sox, coming off a 3-game sweep by the Tigers, thought they had turned things around when they rallied for a 5-4 win on Friday. Juan Uribe delivered the game winning 2-run single in the 7th. But four Rockies pitchers limited the Chisox to 3 hits on Saturday and both runs scored on White Sox errors in a 2-0 Rockies win. The Rocks took the series with a 5-3 win on Sunday as Aaron Cook won his 10th game. The White Sox had a chance in the 9th against closer Brian Fuentes when they loaded the bases with 2 outs. Joe Crede hit a pop up to shallow left that left fielder Matt Holliday and shortstop Carlos Quintanilla converged on. The ball went in and out of Holliday's glove, but the quick thinking outfielder caught the ball with his bare hand to end the game. AL:1 NL:2


Nationals vs. Mariners

This is the series that ultimately helped end Bill Bavasi's tenure as GM of the Mariners. The Nationals swept the M's in Seattle with tennis like scores- 7-6, 5-2, 6-2. AL:0 NL:3

Royals vs. Diamondbacks

A surprise here as the Royals took 2 of 3 including a 12-3 pasting in game 2. The Diamondbacks only win came on Chad Tracy's walk off home run to break a scoreless tie in the 10th inning of game 1. David DeJesus hit a grand slam and drove in 5 to take the finale 8-3. AL:2 NL:1

Final tally - AL: 22 NL: 17

In the lone intraleague series the Cardinals took 2 of 3 from the Phillies despite losing 20-2 on Friday.

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Around the Horn - 6/12

Willie Randolph must have been thinking things couldn't get much worse. His team was saddled with a 5-game losing streak, but had a 3-0 lead against the Diamondbacks in the 9th inning. Mike Pelfrey may have been pitching his best game in a Mets uniform. Then he allowed a base runner and Randolph pulled him for his closer Billy Wagner. Moments later Wagner was hanging his head after Mark Reynolds hit a game tying 3-run home run. But Carlos Beltran saved the day and his manager's stomach with a 13th inning walk off 2-run home run.

The Mets won 5-3, but the news wasn't all good. After 2 games back, it looks like Moises Alou is headed back to the DL.

Talk about tough losses in a win. The Cubs rolled over the Braves 7-2, but lost Alfonso Soriano for at least 6 weeks with a broken hand after he was hit with a Jeff Bennett pitch. Kosuke Fukudome belted a 3-run home run to help Ryan Dempster improve to 8-2.

Milton Bradley is nuts unstable. It's been documented on several occasions. Last night Bradley added to his resume by trying to go after KC Royals announcer Ryan Lefebvre in the press box when Bradley found otu that Lefebvre had spoken despairingly about him. Teammates stopped him and he returned to the clubhouse in tears.

"All I want to do is play baseball and make a better life for my kid than I had, that's it," Bradley said. "I love all you guys. I'm strong, but I'm not that strong."

Lefebvre said, from what he remembers, that he was complimenting Josh Hamilton and how he's been accountable for his mistakes and said "it doesn't appear Milton Bradley has done the same thing in his life."

"It is an interesting contrast between the two guys," Lefebvre said. "We also spent a lot of time complimenting Milton Bradley, but that's not what he heard when he was in the clubhouse."

Seriously, this guy needs meds if he's not on them already. Meanwhile his teammates came back from a 5-1 deficit for the second straight night to beat the Royals 11-5. Rookie David Murphy homered twice and drove in 5 runs.

Justin Verlander won his first game since May 20 and pitched in the 9th inning for the first time all season in Detroit's 5-1 win over the White Sox. Marcus Thames gave the Tigers offense a jolt with a 2nd inning 3-run home run.

Felix Hernandez won his third straight game as he moved down the Blue Jays over 8 innings in the Mariners 2-1 win. Closer J.J. Putz had to leave the game with a sore arm after facing just one hitter in the 9th inning.

The pitching match up of the night featured the Giants Tim Lincecum and the Rockies Ubaldo Jiminez. Each throw shut out ball for 7 innings and the game was scoreless in the 9th. The Rockies loaded the bases and Yorvit Torrealba's sac fly brought home the game winner.

Maecir Izturis' 2-run single in the 7th gave the Angels a 4-2 win over the Rays. John Lackey picked up his 3rd win in defeating Scott Kazmir. Rays starter James Shields dropped the appeal of his 6-game suspension stemming from the brawl with the Red Sox on June 5.

Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel combined for 5 RBI in the Twins 8-5 win over the Indians. Nick Blackburn won his first game since getting drilled by a Bobby Abreu line drive on June 1. Indians catcher Victor Martinez had to leave the game with a sore elbow and will be going for an MRI today.

The Padres won for the 5th time in 6 games, beating the Dodgers 4-1. Randy Wolf improved to 5-4 with 7 stellar innings, supported by home runs from Khalil Greene and Edgar Gonzalez. Jake Peavy comes off the DL today for the Padres and will start the finale of the series.

Baseballs were flying out of Minute Maid Park in Houston. 8 home runs in total in the Brewers 10-6 win. Corey Hart lead the way with a pair of home runs and 4 RBI. The Astros, who started out so surprisingly, have lost 10 of 13.

Bartolo Colon improved to 4-1, 3.41 with a 6-inning, 7 strikeout performance against the Orioles. Jason Varitek's 3-run home run capped a 5-run 1st inning in the Red Sox 6-3 win. Dice-K threw his first bullpen session since going on the DL on May 30.

Dan Uggla gave the Marlins a 6-2 with a 9th inning walk off grand slam, his 19th home run of the season. Chase Utley drove in both Phillies runs including a game tying RBI in the top of the 9th. That got Cole Hamels off the hook. Incredibly, he stood to take the loss after pitching 3-hit ball for 8 innings with 13 strikeouts. Two of those three hits were solo home runs by Jorge Cantu. The Marlins also ended the Jacques Jones experiment, designating him for assignment.

In case anyone cares, the Pirates beat the Nationals 3-1. 'nuff said. Bad news though for Nats fans, Ryan Zimmerman will miss at least another 4-6 weeks with his cranky shoulder.

The Cardinals played their first of many games without Albert Pujols and pounded the Cincinnati Reds 10-0. Rick Ankiel, Jason LaRue, and Ryan Ludwick all went deep. Braden Looper threw a complete game shutout to improve to 8-5. Pujols is expected to miss at least 3 weeks with a calf strain (our imagination or is the calf strain the new hamstring injury?).

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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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