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Monday brought us the news that the Brewers have made a change in closer, as John Axford was removed as their closer, and Jim Henderson is in. Henderson came on and saved his first chance in the role on Monday afternoon.
Mitchell Boggs: the next closer to lose his job?
Well, there might be another closer change on the horizon, and the location is in St. Louis. Newly anointed closer, Mitchell Boggs, had a meltdown for the ages on Monday afternoon, as he came in to a 4-4 game in the 9th inning, and proceeded to give up 7 runs, 6 earned, on just 2 hits and 4 walks in one-third of an inning. I was watching the 9th inning, and he intentionally walked two batters and the two hits he gave up were bloop hits, so he wasn't hit hard at all. Boggs threw 29 pitches in the 0.1 inning he worked, while possible replacement Trevor Rosenthal threw 24 pitches in the 8th inning. Rosenthal gave up a run on two hits in his inning of work, and got through the 8th inning while Boggs could not escape the 9th.
Wandy Rodriguez injured; could Gerrit Cole call up be far behind?
Pirates starter Wandy Rodriguez was pulled with one out in the 3rd inning of his start vs the Diamondbacks last night due to tightness in his left hamstring, his push off leg. He will be evaluated today, and could end up on the DL. If so, could the Pirates call up Gerrit Cole, or will they be smart and let him pitch for a few months at AAA Indianapolis? The assumption is that Cole has his starts lined up up with Jonathan Sanchez's spot in the rotation, and once the team tires of watching Sanchez on the mound, Cole will be called up to replace him. We will learn more about Wandy's injury later today.
Matt Harvey: the Mets new ace?
In his first start of the 2013 season, Mets young starter Matt Harvey was completely dominant, striking out 10 Padres while shutting them out for 7 innings. But that was the Padres. HIs real test was traveling down the New Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia, where he would face the Phillies, and Roy Halladay. Harvey passed that test as well, as he limited the Phillies to just one run on 3 hits, 2 walks and 9 more strikeouts. He threw 110 pitches in his 7 innings of work, which is a concern, but 17 of his 66 strikes were of the swinging variety. He is fast making Mets fans forget they traded R.A. Dickey this offseason....oh wait.
Roy Halladay: is this the end for him?
Harvey's opponent on the mound was Phillies former ace, yes former, Roy Halladay. Like a friend of mine told me last night when discussing Halladay getting shelled again, he said "When the wheels come off, they really come off." And that applies to Halladay it appears. I am convinced he is injured as he lasted just 4 innings against the weak Mets lineup last night, giving up 7 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. His ERA sits just under 15.00 right now and he needed all of 99 pitches to get through 4 innings. Is this the end of the line for him?
More roundup worthy news:
Braves outfielder Justin Upton doesn't have grit, but he has 5 tools, and one of them is power. That power has been on display since....well, since he was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Braves this offseason. Upton homered for the 6th time last night, as he went 4-4 to raise his average above .420. Unfortunately for Upton's owners, his 6 home runs have driven in just 8 runs thus far.
Yankees second baseman has struggled a bit to start the 2013 season, but he had a big game at the plate vs the Indians yesterday afternoon, going 3-4 with 2 home runs, 4 runs scored, and 2 RBI. The home runs were the first two of the season for Cano, who was recently moved up to the second spot in the Yankees lineup.
Indians catcher Carlos Santana had to leave Monday's game after taking a Chris Perez fastball off his thumb. X-rays taken after the game came back negative, so the injury may only keep him out for a game or two, and this is good news for his owners, as he is off to a great start thus far.
Who is this guy disguised as Paul Maholm? Maholm has become Cliff Lee this year, it appears. Maholm shut out the Marlins on just ONE hit, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts in 7 innings of work to earn his second win of the season last night. Maholm struck out 7 and induced 10 ground ball outs. If I owned Maholm, I would be looking to deal him now.