Friday's action is highlighted by the Johan Santana-Yovano Gallardo pitchers duel. Gallardo won out in the end as he shut out the Mets for 9 innings and got the win after Corey Hart hit a 2 run HR in the bottom of the 9th inning. Gallardo struck out 7 and gave up 8 hits and a walk while lowering his ERA to 2.78.
Here are the rest of my thoughts after reviewing Friday's boxscores:
The Red Sox put Jacoby Ellsbury back on the DL on Friday, Has Ellsbury been hanging out with JD Drew? Why was he activated from the DL in the first place?
The Rockies jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Dodgers on Friday night, but starter Jeff Francis could not hold the lead and eventually gave up the game winning HR to Mannywood....Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers bullpen limited the Rockies to a hit and 2 walks while striking out 8. Downright dominant. Is there a better bullpen in baseball right now?
Wow. The Red Sox sweep the Rays then go home and lose two in a row to the Royals? Really? Starter Tim Wakefield got rocked for 9 runs in 3+ innings on 12 hits and 3 walks. Ouch.
The Reds scored 15 runs on 19 hits in beating the lowly Astros on Friday night. Jonny Gomes led the attack going 4-4 with a HR and 4 RBIs. Astros starter Wandy Rodiriguez lasted lasted 3+ innings giving up 8 runs on 8 hits. Wandy-Rod is not the same pitcher as he was in 2009. If I owned Wandy, I would look for the best offer and take it.
Astros outfielder Carlos Lee had two more hits on Friday and is now hitting over .200. Let's see if Lee can get on a rol now,
The Rays batted Ben Zobrist in the leadoff spot an he responded with a 1-4 night with a run scored. Zobrist has his BA over .300 now and fantasy owners are just waiting for the power to return.
Has anyone else noticed that Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is on pace for a 34-134-30 season after stealing his 9th base on Friday?
Mariners starter Cliff Lee was dominant again on Friday, going 8 strong innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 4 hits and striking out 10. He will look real good in Dodger Blue in July. Dee Gordon, Chris Withrow and Ethan Martin enough or too much?
I know it was the Orioles, but the Blue Jay starter Shaun Marcum shutout the O's for 6 innings on 6 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 7. Marcum is now 5-1 with a 2.59 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and a 60/17 K/BB ratio. Impressive.
Nationals closer Matt Capps earned his league leading 17th save on Friday night, but did allow a run on 4 hits while doing so. He has given up a run in 4 of his last 5 outiings, and has given up 6 runs on 11 hits in those 5 outiings. Drew Storen anyone?
Saturday Morning Update:
Tigers DH infielder Miggy Cabera hit 3 HRs on Friday night. He is now hitting .341-.421-.653 WITH 13 HRs and 44 RBI. I think he is over the alcohol issues he had last year. MVP anyone?
A' starter Ben Sheets has pitched well in 4 of his lsat 5 outings after giving up 3 runs in 7 innings last night. He has walked just 3 batters in his last two outings after walking 10 in his previous 18 innings. He should be active on all mixed league rosters now.
Yankees starter Phil Hughes won his 6th game of the season after giving up 2 runs on 5 hits in 7 innings vs the Indians on Friday night. He struck out 8 and lowered his ERA to 2.70 and his WHIP to 1.06. He has a 57/19 K/BB ratio for the season so far and is on pace for close to 200 strikeouts for those of you in 5 x 5 leagues. He is the Yankees 5th starter, but could be a 1 or 2 on alot of teams right now.
Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval went 2-3 with his 4th HR of the season last night. Kung Fu Panda has been a slight disappointment to fantasy owners to date, as he has just 19 RBIs in the Giants inept offense.
Speaking of the Giants, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that the Giants may promote catcher Buster Posey before Saturday's game. GM Brian Sabean watched him play earlier this week, and the speculation is that Posey would play first base when promoted. Anything to get his bat in the lineup makes sense, but he is more valuable at catcher.