Nationals starter Jason Marquis threw a complete game shutout vs the Giants on Friday night giving up just 5 hits, walking none and striking out 7. Marquis out-dueled Giants ace Tim Lincecum and lowered his ERA to 2.62 with a 1.17 WHIP and a 24-5 K/BB rate in his 34+ innings pitched.
Lincecum went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and striking out 7. Lincecum threw 111 pitches, 82 for strikes, and 20 of which were swinging strikes.
Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond went 3-3 with a run scored and a SB. Desmond is hitting .247-.289-.447 with 3 HRs, 9 RBIs and 9 SBs. Desmond is running alot this year, and am starting to think he could steal 30 bases this year.
Brewers starter Zack Greinke made his second rehab start in AAA last night, and gave up 2 runs, on 7 hits, a walk and 7 strikeouts in 5 innings.
More Roundup after the jump:
Phillies rookie starter Vance Worley pitched 6 shutout innings on Friday night, giving up just 4 hits, 2 walks and striking out 5. He had trouble finding the plate, as he threw only 56 of his 102 pitches for strikes, and only induced 2 swinging strikes all night.
Jimmy Rollins went 2-3 with 2 walks, 2 run scored, 2 RBIs and a SB on Friday, and is now hitting .283-.366-.364 with a HR, 5 RBIs, 16 runs scored and 5 SBs. Rollins has only 6 extra-base hits in 99 at bats so far this season.
Indians catcher Carlos Santana went 1-4 with a game winning grand slam on Friday night. The home run was Santana's 4th of the season, yet he is disappointing fantasy owners as he is hitting just .195-.316-.366 with 4 HRs and 16 RBIs.
Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak went 1-4 with 2 RBIs on Friday night. Smoak's triple slash line is .300-.412-.557 with 4 HRs and 17 RBIs this season. He also owns a solid 16-14 K/BB rate. Smoak has 3 HRs and 11 RBIs in his last 5 games.
Tony Larussa used "closer" Mitchell Boggs in the 8th inning last night with the Cardinals losing 3-2. The Cardinals tied the game in the 9th off of Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, and then brought in Eduardo Sanchez to pitch the 9th and 10th innings. Does this mean the Cardinals have a new closer or a closer by committee? Some managers use their closer in the 9th inning when the game is tied and Sanchez was the reliever who pitched the 9th last night. Stating the obvious, it will be interesting to see who gets the next save opportunity, although I am sure Sanchez will not be available tomorrow after pitching two innings last night.
Speaking of closers, Leo Nunez earned his 8th save last night, but not without giving up 2 runs on 3 hits last night. Reliever Mike Dunn pitched a scoreless 8th inning with a walk and a strikeout. Is he the closer in waiting in Florida? He hasn't given up a run in 9 innings pitched this year with a 14-5 K/BB rate.
Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez went 2-5 with a run scored, 2 RBIs and a caught stealing. His triple slash line is now at .210-.304-.272 with only 9 RBIs. I expected alot more when I drafted him with the 2nd overall pick in my big money NL-only league, but it's early.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto went 1-3 with a walk and a run scored and his average dropped. He stinks. No, really, he is hitting .378-.509-.644 with 5 HRs and 16 RBIs. He has a ridiculous 13-24 K/BB rate and is, for me, the best hitter in baseball right now. Cardinal fans beg to differ.
Rays starter David Price was not on his game on Friday night, as he gave up 5 runs on 12 hits, a walk and 4 strikeouts in 4 1/3rd innings. His ERA rose to 3.95 and his WHIP rose to 1.27. He has given up 9 runs and 20 hits in his last 12+ innings pitched.
Ben Zobrist is human. He only went 1-3 with a run scored and a SB on Friday night.
Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo went 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBIs on Friday night. He has slumped after a fast start, and is hitting .239-.264-.432 with 4 HRs and 13 RBIs. Its possible he stays with the team after Kendrys Morales returns from the DL.
I remember reading before the season that the Braves wanted outfielder Jason Heyward to focus on hitting for more power this season. Well, he has. He went 2-5 with a HR and an RBI, and is now hitting .263-.358-.526 with 7 HRs and 14 RBIs. He has homered in 3 of his last 5 games, and owns an excellent 19-14 K/BB rate.
Shaun Marcum appears to be over his shoulder injury that he suffered at the beginning of the season, as he has pitched very well so far in 2011. Marcum threw 7 shutout innings, giving up just 5 base runners and struck out 6. He is now 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.
Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun went 2-4 with his 10th HR, and 2 RBIs n Friday. Braun leads the majors in HRs so far in 2011, and is hitting .362-.455-.713 with 23 RBIs. This year might be the year he hits 40 HRs.
Matt Wieters owners are starting to feel much more comfortable for drafting him this year, especially after last night's performance which saw him go 2-5 with a HR, 2 runs scored and 4 RBIs. For the season, he is now hitting .260-.333-.493 with 4 HRs and 16 RBIs. Only Russell Martin and Buster Posey have more RBIs than Wieters right now, so we could be looking at the start of his breakout year.
I am glad that Twins first baseman Justin Morneau is back on the playing field this year after the concussion issues he experienced since last year, and maybe he isn't 100% yet, but fantasy owners have to be getting frustrated with him. Morneau is hitting just .233-.291-.315 with no homers and 8 RBIs in 73 at bats so far in 2011.
Kevin Correia held the Rockies scoreless for 6 2/3rd innings on Friday night, giving up just 4 base runners and striking out 4. Correia is now 4-2 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Have the Pirates found their ace?
Alfonso Soriano does what he usually does when he actually gets a hit. He homered. Twice. He now has 9 HRs and 18 RBIs, but is hitting just .247-.269-.584. Of his 22 hits this season, he has 12 extra base hits.
Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton earned his 6th save of the season but did not look good in doing so. He gave up a run on 3 hits and was saved from his second blown save by a running diving catch by Tony Gwynn of a line drive of the bat of Nick Hundley with runners on first and third with two outs. Vin Scully had the best line before signing off last night, he said, "Broxton may not have earned the save tonight, but he did earn a scare." And it was. Vicente Padilla pitched the 8th inning and could be in line for a save real soon. I don't think it will take too many blown saves before Broxton is pulled from the role.