Red Sox 8, Marlins 2:
David Ortiz continues to heat up, adding a homer and a two-run single
to his increasingly improving statline. Tim Wakefield was strong too.
From the game story: Wakefield is now two starts and five home wins
behind Roger Clemens for the most in Red Sox history in each category.
I suppose that’s something Boston fans were mostly aware of, but you
could stump a decent number of Midwesterners and West Coasters with
that, I imagine.
Reds 7, Braves 2:
This one had a long rain delay, and when that happens, Marty Brennaman
and Jeff Brantley take calls. I caught a bit of it last night. This is
paraphrased, but it’s pretty close to how one call went down:
Marty: Hello, you’re on Reds radio!
Caller: Hey Marty, being from North Carolina, could you tell us who your favorite professional wrestler is?
Marty: Well, I um, er . . .
Brantley [interrupting, with extreme urgency and certainty]: No question about it, my favorite wrestler was The Million Dollar Man, Ted Di-Bi-ase. He was absolutely the best.
Marty and Caller: stunned silence.
I wish to God I was making that up.
Yankees 5, Nationals 3:
Cano went 4-4 and had the tie-breaking hit in the seventh. More game
story fun: “[Alex] Rodriguez greeted fans in Monument Park before the
game. One spectator told A-Rod he was a Phillies fan but he liked him.”
I was going to scoff at the inclusion of this, but then I realized
that, yes, someone publicly admitting that they like A-Rod does
probably qualify as newsworthy.
Rangers 6, Astros 1:
Pudge v2.0 ties Pudge v1.0 for most games caught, but this was the Ian
Kinsler show (3-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI). And Kevin Millwood (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER)
is quietly putting up his best season since his he broke out all
awesome-like ten years ago.
Cardinals 11, Tigers 2:
Verlander proves human after all, posting his worst start since April
17th (4 IP, 8 H, 5 ER). In other news, with a 2-1 lead (1934 & 2006
to 1968) the Cardinals can put this series away with a win this week.
Twins 8, Pirates 2:
Some Twins fans took me to task on the NBC blog yesterday for saying
that the Tigers looked to be solidly atop a weak division. I still
think the Central is fairly weak, but I think I should have waited to
declare Detroit solidly atop anything. The Twins are two games back and
they have a force of nature on their team. I repeat: The Superman exists, and he’s Minnesotan.
Royals 5, Diamondbacks 0: Mechetastic! (SHO, 4 H, 6K). GWRBI from Miguel Olivo. What?
Blue Jays 8, Phillies 3:
Ryan Madson blew the save in the ninth, and Clay Condrey barfed the
game away in the tenth, allowing five of the six batters he faced to
score. Madson and Condrey? Weren’t they the original Midnight Express? I’ll have to ask Brantley . . .
Mets 6, Orioles 4:
Bad defense — including a dropped popup to Aubrey Huff with which I’m
guessing Luis Castillo could sympathize — doomed the O’s.
Brewers 7, Indians 5:
Gallardo wasn’t efficient — he threw 61 pitches in the first two
innings — but the Indians didn’t cash in on it like they could have
and Yovani gutted his way to five and the win. So much enthusiasm for
this Indians team in March has devolved into wondering who will trade
for Mark DeRosa. Not exactly how Mark Shapiro drew things up.
Quick rundown of the late games because I’m jammed up with other stuff this morning:
Angels 8, Giants 1: Mike Napoli had a three-run homer and three other hits.
Dodgers 5, A’s 4:
Torre ties Sparky Anderson on the all-time wins list. Anderson still
leads Torre on guest starring spots on WKRP in Cincinnatti.
Mariners 5, Padres 0:
King Felix rules: Two-hit shutout. Kevin Correia was pretty good
himself (8 IP, 2 H, 2 ER), but you can’t win if your homies don’t
score.
Rays 12, Rockies 4:
Colorado’s winning streak ends. How much longer until the deulsion that
they’re contenders does too? Transaction junkies want to know.
White Sox at Cubs: Postponed: I can only imagine that having to
sit in the clubhouse during a rain delay makes Ozzie want to puke even
more than being in the dugout during a ballagme.
