Gomes' walkoff homer wins a pitchers' duel for the Reds

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Jason Motte.jpgI spent the last 20 minutes reading Masters coverage in which sportswriters talk about how wonderful it is that Player X is leading Player Y because we know a lot about Player Y’s sex life and disapprove of it.  Thank God for day baseball.

Best game of the early going today: Reds-Cardinals.  It was a pitcher’s duel, with Bronson Arroyo and Brad Penny looking sharp. The former have up one run over eight innings, the latter one run over seven.  I am obligated to report that Bronson Arroyo “helped his own cause” by knocking in an RBI single, which means that this pitcher has been just as productive as the second richest team in baseball’s designated hitter this season.

The kicker, though was Jonny Gomes hitting a homer to left in the bottom of the ninth off Jason Motte to end it. Jason Motte, by the way, throws really hard. Unfortunately he throws really straight and thus gives up a lot of home runs. He threw six straight hard ones to Gomes. Gomes is a dead-red hitter.  Maybe not the best matchup in the history of La Russaville.

Silver lining for Cardinals fans? Brad Penny. While the line score was nice, even nicer was the fact that he got 13 ground ball outs and only four fly ball outs. If that pattern holds, he’s going to have a nice season.

Stanton, Donaldson, Kahnle activated by Yankees ahead of Dodgers series

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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LOS ANGELES — Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, and Tommy Kahnle were activated by the New York Yankees ahead of their weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

New York cleared three roster spots after a 1-0 loss at Seattle, optioning infielder-outfielders Oswaldo Cabrera and Franchy Cordero to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre along with left-hander Matt Krook.

Stanton, Donaldson and Kahnle all played in a rehab game for Double-A Somerset. Stanton was hitless in three at-bats in his first appearance since injuring his left hamstring on April 15.

Donaldson went 1 for 4 in his fourth rehab game as he comes back from a strained right hamstring originally sustained on April 5.

Kahnle pitched one inning, giving up one run and one hit and walking two. He has been out since spring training with right biceps tendinitis.

Aaron Boone said he wasn’t concerned about Stanton returning after playing in just one rehab game. He did say that Stanton likely will be a designated hitter for a couple of weeks after rejoining the Yankees.

New York is missing centerfielder Harrison Bader, who strained his right hamstring against the Mariners and went on the injured list the next day.

Left-hander Carlos Rodón, sidelined since spring training by a sore left forearm and an ailing back, was transferred to the 60-day injured list.