Daily Scoring Drought Scorecard: 15 games
Teams Shutout:-1
Teams w/1 run scored: 4
Teams w/2 runs scored: 6
Teams w/ 3 runs scored: 2
Teams w/ > 3 runs scored: 17
Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson just keeps hitting long balls. Granderson went deep for the 14th time last night, and I have to say, I did not expect this. Granderson has benefited from an increase in his fly ball rate to 52% from 47% last year, and a huge jump in his HR/FB rate from 14.5% to 24.5%. His career HR/FB rate is 13.1%, so I expect that to regress going forward.
Now we know why Met's third baseman is hitting so poorly this season. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back, resulting from a diving play back on April 19th. Eric Simon from Amazin Avenue has more on his injury, but says that he will be out an undisclosed amount of time. Wright is getting a second opinion on his back before a decision is made to DL him. Willie Harris started at third base last night and should get some looks there while Wright is out.
The Braves called up Julio Teheran to start on Wednesday in place of injured starter Brandon Beachy. It is expected that he will make one start, get sent down since the Braves have on off day on his next scheduled start, and then called back up at the end of the month when the Braves need another 5th starter. Talking Chop has more on the call-up.
More Roundup after the jump:
Royals pitcher Vin Mazzaro took one for the team last night after starter Kyle Davies was pulled from his start with a shoulder injury. Mazzaro worked 2+ innings giving up 14 runs on 11 hits and 3 walks. His ERA is 22.74 after this ugly outing, but I have to think he is not rostered on too many fantasy teams.
Rays starter David Price was roughed up for 5 runs on 6 hits, a walk and 5 strikeouts in 5 innings of work. He is now 5-3 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols made his first start at third base in nine years last night, but went 0-4 while doing so. It is still early, but fantasy owners have to be frustrated with Pujols performance in 2011, as he is hitting just .259-.332-.407 with 7 HRs and 18 RBIs. He has not homered since April 23rd, and has only 6 RBIs this month.
The Blue Jays placed first baseman Adam Lind on the DL last night with lower back soreness. The Blue Jays called up AAA outfielder Eric Thames to take his place on the roster.
Marlins starter Josh Johnson left his start last night after 5 innings with a right forearm contusion. He gave up just one run on 7 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts before leaving. This injury could be nothing but you never know with Johnson.
Philles starter Cliff Lee was not himself last night, as he got walked a season high 6 batters vs the Cardinals. Coming into the game, he had walked only 7 batters in 52+ innings. He gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks, while striking out 4. He is now 2-4 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.
Cardinals new closer Fernando Salas earned his 4th save of the season last night, preserving the Cardinals 3-1 lead in the 9th. Salas followed former closer Eduardo Sanchez who gave up a hit and struck out one in his inning of work.
Blue Jays starter Kyle Drabek earned his 3rd win of the season last night, giving up just one run on 3 hits, but he walked 6 and struck out only 2 in the process. He is 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA and 1.64 WHIP and a horrible 35-34 K/BB rate. I wouldn't roster him until he improved his control. But he should be owned in keeper and dynasty leagues.
Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa went 1-3 with a game winning 2 run homer on Monday night. Espinosa is hitting just .196-.296-.377 but has 5 HRs, 22 RBIs and 3 SBs, and is on pace to go 20-87-12 this season. His BABIP of .229 is very low, so fantasy owners should expect his BA to rise from here.
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is heating up as he went 2-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI on Monday night. He raised his triple slash line to .242-.337-.451 with 7 HRs, 21 RBIs, 5 SBs and a solid 31-21 K/BB rate. In his last 10 games, he is 12-40 raising his BA from .217 to .242.
Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is on fire. He went 3-5 with a run scored and 3 RBIs last night, and now has 9 HRs and 37 RBIs in 168 at bats this season. He is on pace for a 36-146 season in 2011. Maybe Buster Olney's projection of 45-145 isn't so far fetched. If he comes close, he will be a top 3 pick in 2012.
Braves starter Tommy Hanson dominated the Astros on Monday, giving up one earned run on 3 hits, a walk and 10 strikeouts. He is now 5-3 with a 2.35 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He has struck out 54 and walked just 14 this year, and is close to joining starters like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Tim Lincecum as fantasy aces.
Indians first baseman Matt Laporta went 4-4 with 4 RBIs on Monday and was Fake Teams Fantasy Player of the Day on Monday.
Following up on yesterday's Roundup article where I speculated that the Reds could send pitcher Aroldis Chapman down to AAA, they have decided to DL him instead. This makes sense since he will be able to work on his nechanical flaws under the guidance of major league pitching coach Bryan Price.
The Cubs have demoted outfielder Tyler Colvin to AAA Iowa on Monday night. Colvin was hitting just .113-.191-.258 with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs in 62 at bats this season.
The Red Sox placed starter John Lackey on the DL on Monday and fantasy owners near and far were found partying in the streets after hearing that decision.
As I write this, Seattle's starter Michael Pineda has shutout the Twins for 7 innings, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 7. He is now 5-2 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and a 52-13 K/BB rate. He is the front runner for AL Rookie of the Year at this point in the season. He has exceeded expectations to say the least.
Rangers starter Colby Lewis shutout the White Sox in a complete game 5 hitter on Monday night. He walked just one and struck out 7. Lewis is now 4-4 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. At this point, I have been wrong about Lewis after his breakout season in 2010.