TUESDAY:
— TEX 10, @BAL 3: Are you Joshing me? And who’s that HHS nut who called Hamilton “overrated”? (Well, if he was really all that, would he have settled for a double for his 5th hit? Shee-oot, the tattooed slacker didn’t even tie the record for total bases in a game!)
- It’s obvious why Hamilton merely doubled in the 5th inning: Elvis Andrus didn’t get on base. All 4 HRs came with Andrus on 1st. (I’ll bet no other 4-HR game had a twist like that, but I’ll let someone else check it.)
- It’s Hamilton’s first game of 3+ HRs. His four previous 2-HR games were at home.
- Guess what? He’s now on a 75-HR pace.
— @PIT 5, WSN 4: Last year, Andrew McCutchen homered on Opening Day and had 5 taters by the end of April. Tonight he hit his first of 2012 in his 26th game.
- That wasn’t the last HR by the Pirates, and certainly not the biggest.
- The bullpen spoiled A.J. Burnett’s 2nd high-quality start in 4 outings (8 IP, 2 R, 10 Ks, 1 walk). A.J. had just two 10-K games in his last two years with NYY.
- Third career walk-off bomb for Rod Barajas, but his first of the turnaround kind. Also, his first HR in 21 games as a Buc; he was 8 for 63 before blasting off.
- Do you suppose Henry Rodriguez lost a little focus after throwing two wild pitches that moved the tying run to 3rd base?
— ATL 3, @CHC 1: Seeing them tied at 1 in the 7th inning of Ryan Dempster‘s 5th start, a question came to mind. Which will come first?—
- he allows more than 2 runs in a game; or
- the Cubs win a game that he starts?
- We won’t get the answer tonight, now that Kerry Wood supplied Chicago’s latest late-game glitch. The Cubs had a 5.59 ERA in the 8th inning before tonight.
— @NYY 5, TBR 3: The Grandy-Man is heating up. With 10 HRs in 29 games, he’s a game ahead of his 2011 pace.
- Raul Ibanez now has a multi-HR game for each of the 4 teams he’s played for.
- Data overload: David Robertson loaded the bases in the 9th for Carlos Pena (8 career slams in 136 chances, including one against C.C. in his first AB of the year). The new Yankee closer whiffed him on a 2-2 count. That’s 25 Ks in 50 bases-loaded PAs in Robertson’s career.
— NYM 7, @PHI 4: Already leading the majors in 2-out runs, the Mets erupted for 4 more in the 7th to turn around a 4-1 deficit. Six of their 7 runs came with two away.
- New York’s rally left the Phils with that ol’ rundown feeling.
- The Mets have made Philly their own Phanatic Phun Zone, winning both early series this year to raise their record to 38-40 in C.B.P. since its 2004 opening. The Phils have returned the favor by going 14-13 in the Mets’ new home, but they won’t land in Flushing until May 28 this year.
— @HOU 3, MIA 2: Omar Infante gave Miami the lead with his 6th HR, then let in the two tying runs on a double error.
- Brian Bogusevic has hit just .244 as a starter in his young career, but pinch-hitting seems to suit him.
- That’s 15-and-0 for Emilio.
— @MIN 5, LAA 0: The 7th shutout loss for the Halos in 31 games. They’re also tied for the MLB high with 4 shutout wins.
- Seven ovals for Scott Diamond in his season debut (4 hits, 1 walk, 6 Ks). He’s the second MLB player born in Guelph, Ontario, and the first since the 1880s. Even if turns out to be a multifaceted gem, he’ll never win 32 in a season like the last Guelphian.
- That’s funny — I didn’t I-90 went as far north as Minneapolis.
— @KCR 6, BOS 4: I’ve eaten many meals at Bobby V’s restaurant, but I never knew they served Country Breakfast at this hour.
— @MIL 8, CIN 3: Cleanup man Aramis Ramirez did just that with a 2-out, base-clearing triple — but he spoiled his 4-year streak of exactly 1 triple.
- Nice sailing around the horn.
- Speaking of glove work, here’s how to play the wall in foul ground…
- … and in dead central.
- Yovani Gallardo piled on with his first hit and RBI of the year. He was hitless in his last 11 games dating to last year (including playoffs), a career-worst 0-23 slump.
— DET 6, @SEA 4 (9th): What percentage of the game is half mental, again? Papa Grande, back in a save situation after a one-game hiatus that must’ve made Jim Leyland repent his ways, has walked the first 2 men in the 9th. (No, I daren’t look again….)
— @OAK 7, TOR 3: Jays’ closing woes continue. Nobody likes cold Coco; he’s blown his last 3 save opps.
- With HRs in his last 2 games, Brandon Inge‘s 2012 total has equaled the 3 he hit in 102 games last year. (Sorry, no video available yet on his game-winning GS.)
- Toronto still has just one singleton result in 30 games so far: WWLLWWLLWWLLWWWWLLLLWWLWWWWLLL.
- Surprising A’s have won 5 of 6 and improved to 16-14.
— @SDP 2, COL 1: One of these struggling NL West teams gets to win. Rox have dropped 7 of 9, including the opener of this 8-game road trip (mustering only 2 runs despite a HR from the pitcher). A Pads victory would make them even in their last 16 games, which is progress after a 3-12 start.
- Something’s gotta give: San Diego had scored just 97 runs as the evening began. Colorado had allowed 156, which — I know you’ll never believe this — is the most in the NL.
— CHW 5, @CLE 3: After successful SP Chris Sale failed in his first try at closing, Robin Ventura announced that Sale will platoon with 3B Brent Morel until one of them learns to hit better than Aurelio Rodriguez. That player will then be released.
- On the bright side, Addison Reed.
— STL 6, @ARI 1 (9th): Hypothetical question for Cards fans: Say you could wave a magic wand and get Albert back at the club’s last offer price, but you had to void the deal for Carlos Beltran. Have you moved on already?
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… and a little canned hash from MONDAY:
— Lance Lynn has won 6 straight starts to open the season. Last Cardinal to do that was Bob Tewksbury (1994), who finished the season 12-10, 5.32.
— Jordany Valdespin, whose first and last names are unique in MLB history, notched 0.454 Win Probability Added for his 9th-inning tie-breaking 3-run HR as a pinch-hitter in his 8th career game. Just one other Met has had such a big PH impact within his first 10 games.
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Remember the dates:
April 11-12 — The only consecutive Twins wins this year. Their 7-21 start is the worst in franchise history, on the heels of the 2nd-worst season in their 51 years up north.
April 19 — Albert’s last multi-hit game. In 17 games since then, he’s 7-67 … but, you know, with a HR.
Sorry if I didn’t cover your team. I live on the East Coast and work in the morning, so it’s hard to get to the late shows.