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The big news yesterday was the fallout from Derek Jeter making history after he went 5-5 and joined the 3,000 hit club on Saturday. I was amazed that he hit a HR for his 3,000th hit.
The Yankees dominated the baseball news yesterday as third baseman Alex Rodriguez decided to have knee surgery to repair the partially torn meniscus in his right knee and will be out 4-6 weeks. I think the Yankees will be looking to the trade market to fill third base while he is out. Royals third baseman Wilson Betemit has to be available with Mike Moustakas in the majors now.
Yankees starter CC Sabathia won his 13th game yesterday, throwing a complete game shutout. He held the Rays to just 4 hits, a walk and struck out 9. Sabathia owns a 2.72 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 126-35 K/BB rate in 145.2 innings of work. I wonder if Sabathia will opt out of his contract at the end of the season to get a bigger contract.
More Roundup after the jump:
Reds closer Francisco Cordero blew his 3rd save in his last 3 chances yesterday, as he gave up 2 runs in the 9th attempting to preserve a one run lead against division rival Brewers. I think the Reds will make a change at closer very soon, and could trade for someone like Padres closer Heath Bell or Royals closer Joakim Soria.
Blue Jays DH Eric Thames went 3-5 with a HR, 2 runs and 2 RBIs yesterday. He is hitting very well since his callup, as he is hitting .308-.357-.519 with 4 HRs, 11 RBIs, and 12 extra base hits in 104 at bats.
Marlins third baseman Emilio Bonafacio went 3-3 with a walk, 2 runs and 3 SBs yesterday. Bonafacio is quiety having a good season hitting .285-.356-.381 with 16 SBs in 20 attempts. He has stolen 9 bases in his last 10 games, so he is making some fantasy owners very happy.
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia went 2-5 with a HR and 3 runs scored yesterday and is now hitting .284-.395-.442 with 11 HRs, 44 RBIs, 59 runs, 16 SBs in 19 attempts and an excellent 49-63 K/BB rate. In his last 10 games, he has scored 13 runs and is 15-40 at the plate. He could end up as the #1 second baseman by the end of the year.
Am I the only one who thinks Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann could be the Nationals best pitcher again next year? Zimmermann shutout the Rockies for 6+ innings, giving up 4 hits, and striking out 6 to win his 6th game of the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.66 and WHIP to 1.07, and is the most recent starter to come back to dominate hitters after having Tommy John surgery. I think National's GM Mike Rizzo hopes Stephen Strasburg can duplicate Zimmermann's performance in 2012.
Kenny selected Phillies starter Cole Hamels as his LHP Fantasy All Star and Hamels went out and held the Braves to one run in 8 innings yesterday. He gave up just 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 6 to win his 11th game of the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.32 and his WHIP to 0.93 and is a leading candidate in the race for NL Cy Young this year.
Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown went 3-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs in the Phillies 14-1 blowout win over the Braves. He has raised his BA from .214 to .252 in his last 10 games, and has4 multi-hit games in his last 6 games as well.
Pirates outfielder Alex Presley went 2-5 with 2 runs scored yesterday and is now hitting .365-.424-.577 with 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 2 SB and a solid 9-6 K/BB rate in his 52 at bats since his call-up. The Pirates will have a decision to make when Jose Tabata returns from the DL, as Presley is holding his own leading off thus far.
Tigers starter Justin Verlander is having a terrific season thus far, and he held the Royals to an unearned run in 7.2 innings, giving up just 6 hits and striking out 9 to win his 12th game of the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.15 and and WHIP to an absurd 0.87.
Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak is struggling after a solid start to the 2011 season. He went 0-4 yesterday and is now hitting just .229-.327-.418 with 12 HRs and 43 RBIs. He hit .284 in April, then followed that with a .229 BA in May, a .226 BA in June and is hitting just .133 in July.