Saturday's action is highlighted by Ricky Romero's gem against the Rangers where he shut them out on 5 hits and struck out 12 in winning his 4th game of the season.
Here the rest of my thoughts after reviewing Saturday's boxscores:
Rockies closer Huston Street was pulled in his rehab outing on Saturday after 5 pitches. Manny Corpas' value just skyrocketed.
Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier may be headed to the DL with a fractured pinkie finger. Xavier Paul will more than likely take his spot on the roster, and could platoon with Reed Johnson.
The Phillies placed closer Brad Lidge on the DL with elbow inflammation. Current closer Jose Contreras saved his first game in the Phillies 10-6 win over the Brewers. He walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, then struck out Rickie Weeks and Craig Counsell to end the game.
Rays starter James Shields struck out 10 in 8 innings on Saturday as the Rays defeated the Mariners 3-2, but did not earn the victory. He lowered his ERA to 3.00.
Don't look now but the Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball as they have now won 6 straight games including two in a row over the Padres in San Diego. Oh, but you won't read about this on ESPN or elsewhere, because the Padres are still the darlings of the baseball writers, and winning is not news in LA. Ned Colletti bashing his young players to step it up is news though.
Clayton Kershaw got rocked by the Brewers on May 4th giving up 7 runs in just over one inning of work. Since that game, Kershaw has given up one earned run in 15 innings striking out 16 and walking 5. He has pitched 7 or more innings in 3 of his 8 starts so far.
Brad Hawpe batted 3rd in the Rockies lineup in both games of the double dip vs the Nationals and had 5 hits and is hitting .371-451-694 on the season. The Rockies may decide to keep Hawpe in the 3rd spot going forward.
Manny Corpas got the save in the second game of the double header vs the Nationals. He pitched a scoreless 9th inning. It remains to be seen whether Huston Street can stay healthy when he returns from the DL.
Orioles starter Brian Matusz held the Indian scoreless for 7 innings on Saturday. He gave up 7 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6. Matusz induced 10 ground balls vs 4 flyballs in his 7 innings of work.
Angels first baseman Kendry Morales hit his 8th and 9th HRs of the season, and drove in 5 as the Angels beat the A's 12-4. Morales is hitting .285-.329-.493 to go along with his 9 HRs and 28 RBIs.
How soon before we hear the Padres sending outfielder Kyle Blanks down to AAA? Blanks is currently hitting .157-.292-.344 for the season. A few weeks in AAA should turn him around.
Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner stole his 17th base of the season on Saturday. He is currently hitting .322-.384-.407 for the season. He has proven to be very valuable in fantasy leagues this season batting out of the 9th spot in the Yankees order.
Yankees SS Derek Jeter has been mediocre to start the 2010 season as he is hitting .271-.313-.406 with 4 HRs, 23 RBIs and only 4 SBs so far. I guess his 30 SBs in 2009 were a fluke afterall.
White Sox outfielder Juan Pierre had two hits and stole his 18th base of the season. His two hits raised his season BA to .254. He will hit close to .300 for the season, and is well on his way to leading MLB in SBs.
White Sox reliever Matt Thornton earned his first save of the season, getting the final two outs in the White Sox win over the Royals, Don't you just love closer by committees?