Rockies 6, Mets 5; Rockies 9, Mets 4: The Rockies sweep the doubleheader and the series, with Troy Tulowitzki hitting home runs in both games yesterday. His line on the year right now is .364/.491/.909 with seven homers and 14 RBI, which I think makes him your NL MVP at the 12 game mark. In the first game Scott Hairston stopped running for a ball when he got to the warning track, allowing it to drop for a two-run double by Seth Smith. I’m guessing he saw his shadow or something. Or maybe it was a hallucination of his dead grandmother crawling up his leg with a knife in her teeth. Either way, it inspired Dustin Parkes to tell a funny joke on Twitter.
Yankees 6, Orioles 5: This one has to hurt. Baltimore had a 5-0 lead after they got done batting in the fifth, only to watch the Yankees steadily chip away. I didn’t see this game, but I bet it was one of those deals where the team in front seemed like they were behind even before they actually were. It wasn’t all grins for the Yankees, though. Phil Hughes continues to suffer from low velocity and, consequently, continues to stink. For the second straight start Bartolo Colon came in to bail him out and to do so effectively. Hmmm, I wonder who gets the next start when Hughes’ turn comes up? Anyway, four straight losses for Baltimore, as the bloom continues to come off the rose for some early season surprises. They’re off to face Cleveland next, though, so at least one of the First Week Friskies will likely leave with some momentum.
Phillies 4, Nationals 0: Cliff Lee dominates with a three-hit shutout and 12Ks. This kind of update is going to become so ubiquitous in Phillies games by the middle of the season that I may just start reducing their ATH entry to the pitcher’s name and line score.
Marlins 6, Braves 5: Mac points out something I hadn’t realized: the Braves keep winning the first game of series and then losing the rest of them. Cool. I mean, no, not cool, but it is slightly less unpleasant to momentarily appreciate a pattern rather than to stare at an undifferentiated pile of stank.
Brewers 4, Pirates 1: The Ships in the Night Series. Four straight losses for the Pirates and five of six, all at home. The Brewers, for their part, have won four straight and seven of eight. Randy Wolf struck out ten and shut out the Pirates over six and two-thirds. The Pirates need to get back out on the road where it’s safer.
Royals 5, Mariners 1: A rain-shortened game. Which was probably fine by the Mariners, because one doesn’t want to be forced to sit and dwell too long on the fact that one can’t hit Bruce Chen (8 IP, 6 H, 0 ER).
Rays 4, Twins 3: Walkoff two-run bomb for Johnny Damon in the 10th inning after Minnesota had taken a one-run lead in the top of the inning. This was a bullpen meltdown for Ron Gardenhire’s crew. Carl Pavano was money, shutting the Rays down over eight innings, but Joe Nathan and Matt Capps each gave up two runs, in the ninth and tenth, respectively. If Gardenhire were Ozzie Guillen he’d probably consider calling Rick Aguilera right about now.
Astros 1, Padres 0: Bud Norris and a trio of relievers shut out the Padres on three hits. Dustin Mosely has had three starts for the Padres this year. In all three, the Padres have been shut out. On the bright side, the experience has inspired Mosely to launch a career in music. His first song is actually about his Padres teammates.
Cardinals 9, Dodgers 5: A homer from Pujols and two doubles and three RBI from Matt Holliday. This is how it was supposed to go from the get-go for St. Louis. The offense has done a complete about-face in the last week. You know, ever since La Russa had that hissy fit at the press conference. Which is a shame, because it’s just going to make him feel validated for acting like a little brat.
Tigers 3, Athletics 0: Our third shutout of the night comes courtesy of Phil Coke and three relievers who three-hit the A’s. The Tigers couldn’t do anything against Gio Gonzalez but broke through for three against the Oakland pen. A pen which, I’m starting to believe, I talked up entirely too much over the winter.