Maybe he can pitch better with 1 eye?

Joe Blanton continues to be a rock in the Phillies rotation, with another good start last night.  Blanton(8-6) went eight innings and scattered ten hits and three runs while striking out four in a 12-3 Phils win.  Ryan Howard once again had a huge game as he hit a three run home run and also added an RBI double in the game and was joined by Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz in the home run game.  The Phillies completed another three game sweep and are on a nice role heading into New York to face the Mets this weekend, check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Doug Davis couldn’t stop the Phillies offense, but not many can at this point in the season.  Davis(7-11) only got through five innings in taking the loss as he gave up five hits, six runs (five earned) and four walks in cluding a home run.  Alex Romero, Miguel Montero and Chad Tracy all had RBI hits for the Diamondbacks, but that couldn’t save them.

A rare bad start for JJ

Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros continues to have a nice bounce back and surprising year.  Rodriguez(12-7) went eight innings and only gave up four hits and a run, which is a rarity against the Florida Marlins as the Astros won 4-1 to take the series.  He was supported by two fourth inning home runs, a two run shot by Lee and a solo shot by Hunter Pence and Wandy Rodriguez capped the scoring himself with an RBI double in the fifth.  Jose Valverde pitched a perfect ninth with two k’s for his 18th save of the season.

The Marlins have now broken their consecutive ten hit games streak and are on a two game losing streak heading into a weekend against the Braves.  Josh Johnson(12-3) took only his third loss of the year, and could not get out of the fifth inning, recording one out in the fifth but allowing seven hits and four runs with two home runs in all.  Dan Uggla had an RBI ground out to score the only run of the game for the Fish, but check FishGuts for more.

best part of the night for the Mets fans

Former Met Ryan Church took it to the Mets last night, which must not be fun for Mets fans.  He went 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI as the Braves won 3-2 for a series victory in New York.  Brian McCann added a solo home run in the fourth inning and Omar Infante also had an RBI for the Braves.  Starter Kenshin Kawakami(6-9) was able to pick up a win as he went seven innings allowing seven hits and only a single run while striking out five and Rafael Soriano got his 18th save of the season while allowing only a hit in the ninth.  The Braves Baseball Blog will have more information on the Braves for you.

Johan Santana couldn’t even get the win last night , even though he pitched ok..but it certainly wasn’t a Johan classic game.  Santana(13-9) went seven innings and allowed nine hits and three runs and only struck out two for the game.  Corey Sillivan and Omir Santos produced the Mets only runs on RBI singles in the third and eighth.  The best point of the game was Billy Wagner pitching a perfect inning in the eighth on only fourteen pitches and striking out two.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more info on the Mets.

a sweep...ouch

The Rockies were able to complete a three game sweep in Washington last night as they rode Jason Hammel’s pitching to a 4-1 victory.  Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe were credited with RBI hits and Torrealba was able to score on a wild pitch in the fifth.  Jason Hammel(8-7) went seven innings and allowed only a single run and three hits and once again Huston Street worked the ninth, this time a perfect one and got his 32nd save of the year.

The Nationals are back to the Nationals everyone knew of, but part of it is surprising.  The pitching wasn’t terrible as Garret Mock(2-5) worked five innings allowing three hits and two runs and struck out eight.  Adam Dunn produced the only run for the Nationals with an RBI double in the sixth but he was the only hitter with two hits and only Guzman and Willingham even had a single hit besides him.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more on the Nats.

I love the odd faces pitchers make

Tommy Hanson continues to impress for the Braves, as the Bravos rolled to victory in a makeup game versus the Diamondbacks yesterday, 9-4.  Hanson(8-2) went six strong innings and allowed only six hits and two runs in earning his eighth win of the season.  Hanson also helped himself with a run scoring fielders choice groundout and LaRoche added a two run homer late in joining Garrett Anderson in Braves who hit balls out.  The Braves Baseball Blog is your place to go for more Braves info.

Max Scherzer struggled today, but also was not helped by his defense in this game.  Scherzer(7-7) went five innings and was charged with nine runs, but only THREE of them were earned as the Diamondbacks made two errors behind him.    Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew added home runs for the Diamondbacks and Miguel Montero had an RBI single as well, but the errors allowed the game to get out of hand.

how much longer in the rotation?

The San Francisco Giants, a typically low scoring, good pitching team, got a gift wrapped game from the Mets last night.  The Giants scored in six of nine innings and put up crooked numbers within two of them to win by a score of 10-1.  Aaron Rowand hitting out of the seven hole was 4-5 with two runs scored and two RBI and even added a home run in the fourth.  Randy Winn was also 3-5 with two runs scored batting in front of Winn in the blowout.  Rookie Joe Martinez(3-1) went five innings and only allowed a third inning run and walked two.

Livan Hernandez was awful again for the Mets in receiving his eighth loss and costing the Mets a chance to win this series.  Hernandez(7-8) went 5.1 innings and allowed 11 hits and six runs, including a home run while actually only throwing 76 pitches on the day.  Gary Sheffield knocked in Cory Sullivan in the second inning to score the Mets only run.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has more on the Mets and be sure to check NLEC out for the Chatter Up! Between the Braves and the Mets later.

Moyer old, but solid, as usual

Early in the game, it looked like Moyer was going to be on the losing side of this game as seven different D’Backs had been on base by the third inning.  He continued to get out of trouble and in the fourth inning, Ryan Howard got the Phils off to a start by hitting a two run home run.  Moyer(10-7) went 6.2 innings while scattering six hits and four walks, but allowing no runs.  Rollins, Ibanez, Feliz and Bako added RBI’s for the Phillies as they went on to win 6-2 on Monday night, now with a seven game division lead.  Phillies Phandom has all your Phillies news.

The Diamondbacks obviously wasted many opportunities, as evidenced by the fact Moyer lasted as long as he did.  The D’Backs finally did get on the board in the eighth inning after a Mark Reynolds solo home run and an RBI single by Chad Tracy later in that inning.  John Garland(5-10) went five innings giving up six runs on five hits but only three of those runs were earned because of errors behind him.

Tatis' Granny is the winner!

Fernando Tatis and the Mets have been horrendous all season with the bases loaded, and Tatis it seems, hits into a double play in every opportunity he sees.   Last night, Fernando Tatis stepped to the plate pinch hitting for left fielder Cory Sullivan with the b ases loaded only one out and every Met fan was thinking “here comes another double play”.  Tatis surprised everyone and put a ball into the left centerfield seats to help send the Mets to a 7-3 win against the wild card leading Rockies on Monday night.  Down 2-0 and then 3-1, the Mets climbed back with a Jeff Francouer home run, a Daniel Murphy RBI single and a Cory Sullivan Sacrifice fly to be in a tie game in the eighth inning for Tatis’ hit.  Pedro Feliciano(3-3) worked one inning giving up a hit and striking out two for the win and Francisco Rodriguez worked a perfect ninth in a non save situation to secure the victory.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more Mets info.

The Rockies scored runs the same way they have been all season, getting three runs on two home runs.  In the second inning, Troy Tulowitzki hit a home run home run to deep center field for a 2-0 lead.  After the Mets cut the lead in half, Clint Barmes hit a long home run down the left field line to extend the lead temporarily to 3-1.  Starter Ubaldo Jimenez worked seven innings giving up three runs and left the game to the bullpen, already with a no decision.  Juan Rincon walked three in the eighth inning(one intentionally) and only got one out on a sacrifice bunt by Daniel Murphy.  Rincon(2-2) took the loss as Franklin Morales came in with the bases loaded and gave up the grand slam to mentioned above.

This sight will haunt the Brewers

The “Hammer”, Josh Willingham had a career game last night in Milwaukee, and one that you need to do a double take at the box score.  Willingham went 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 8 RBI on two grand slams, in consecutive innings none the less.  This was on way to a 14-6 Nationals route of the Brew Crew on Monday night.  Zimmerman added a solo home run of his own and Christian Guzman and Adam Dunn had a pair of RBI each.  Starter Craig Stammen couldn’t get out of the fourth inning as he was charged with five runs and couldn’t qualify for the victory, even though once the Nats took the lead in the fifth, they never looked back.  Jason Bergmann(1-1) worked 1.1 innings of relief giving up one run and was credited with the relief win.  Make sure to check CenterfieldGate for more Nats info.

Brewers starter Jeff Suppan had allowed no runs through the first four innings and he was even given a 2-0 lead by his team.  This was before the fifth inning came about and he only lasted one out into the sixth.  Suppan’s(5-8) final line is ugly, 5.1 innings pitched, 10 runs on 10 hits and four walks, all of those runs coming in the fifth and sixth inning.  Corey Hart and Ryan Braun homered in the losing effort for the Brew-Crew.