Old Time Family Baseball

Orioles 4, Red Sox 1 - I know I expected a correction to Clay Bucholz’s ERA from last season, but not quite this dramatically. Bucholz gave up 12 hits while surrendering four runs in 6.2 innings as his ERA climbed to 5.33. Zach Britton got his fourth victory on the season and Guerrero had three hits in this one.

White Sox 3, Yankees 2 - Thanks to social media, Brent Lillibridge is baseball’s next superstar. He also belongs to his own subspecies of mythological creatures.

Indian 9, Royals 4 - Jack Supermanahan hit two home runs to bring his career total to 20 and Justin Masterson got his fifth win of the season. Oh yeah, the Royals only got one flyball out against Masterson and his groundball to all out ratio is still below his career norm. He’s a wormburner.

Mets 6, Nationals 4  - Are the Nationals really going to waste a multi-home run day from Wilson Ramos? For shame. For shame.

Mariners 7, Tigers 3 - If only the Mariners could be gifted with a home run every game, then maybe they could turn this season around. It also helps when Felix Hernandez is on the mound. Don’t look now but Brennan Boesch is hitting .342. Maybe he’s the reverse Adam Laroche, blistering the ball for the first half of the season before coming down to earth in the second?

Giants 3, Pirates 2 (10 innings) - With the infield drawn in, Freddy Sanchez grounded to second base and 999 times out 1,000 the runner would have stayed at third or broken on contact. Darren Ford has no need for such convention. Ford, after tapping into the Speed Force, waited for Walker to field the ball and throw to first base before running home. Because he had his special Clockstoppers watch, Ford was able to slide in before a tag could be applied for the victory. Yes, that is two separate and distinct references to how Ford’s speed, but he deserves both.

Marlins 4, Dodgers 2 - With the Dodgers now losers of two in a row, does that mean that Don Mattingly’s burgeoning goatee is in danger? Could he perhaps go back to the mustache that defined a generation in the late 80s and early 90s? Hanley Ramirez and Mike Stanton each had two hits in the victory.

Rockies 4, Cubs 3 - Todd Helton and Ty Wigginton combined for three home runs, can you guess which one is Hall of Fame bound? Jorge De La Rosa continues to make the Rockies look very, very smart with nine K’s in 7 innings while James Russell lost his third game after giving up four runs in four innings.

Astros 6, Cardinals 5 - Score this one a win for the utility men. Bill Hall singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth and Brett Wallace moved his batting average up to .347, almost making up for his profile picture.

Blue Jays 10, Rangers 3 - Jose Bautista kindly lent Adam Lind some power, letting the kid hit two home runs and drive in five in the victory. That’s just the kind of guy he is, always looking out for his teammates.

Brewers 3, Reds 2 - All runs were scored by way of the home run. Earl Weaver would be proud.

Diamondbacks 7, Phillies 5 - Daniel Hudson got his first win of the season, going six innings and even doubling in two runs to help his case. It was a lot easier with Roy Oswalt exiting the game after only three innings with reporters needing to make veiled references to the possibility that Oswalt is hurt. Ryan Roberts had two hits and a home run, his fifth of the season, and must be very close to taking Melvin Mora’s job if it hasn’t happened already.

Braves 8, Padres 2 - Jair Jurrjens pitched his first career complete game as the Braves slaughtered the Padres. David Ross homered twice off of Aaron Harang and his career actually looks quite similar to Mike Napoli’s only Ross has had much less playing time, but has a much better glove.  Some good news for the Padres, maybe: Kyle Blanks is back to playing baseball, albeit in AA.

Angels 8, Athletics 3 - Brendan McCarthy’s line: 5.1 IP, 14 H, 7 ER. Eegads. And for those that argue that the triple is the most exciting play in baseball, Peter Bourjos has got you covered, hitting two triples in the victory.