Mets vs. Twins

The Mets started off their series with the Twins with a win, as they beat Minnesota 5-2. The Twins got things going with a lead-off home run by Denard Span in the 1st. Span knocked in the Twins second run in the 5th on a ground out to second base. The Mets scored three runs in the 3rd inning on doubles by David Wright and Jason Bay, and a single by Ike Davis. The Mets scored another run in the 5th on a sacrifice fly by Jose Reyes and again the 6th on a Wright home run.

Mike Pelfrey got the win, his 10th of the year. Pelfrey went 6 innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Minnesota’s Kevin Slowey took the loss. He lasted 6 innings, giving up five runs on six hits. Francisco Rodriguez recorded his 17th save.

Go to Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Braves vs. Tigers

The Braves ended their three-game losing streak and reached a few milestones as they beat the Tigers 3-1. Detroit scored their one and only run of the night in the 1st inning on an RBI single by Brennan Boesch. Atlanta tied it up in the 2nd on a single by Melky Cabrera. Brian McCann hit a home run in the 4th inning, his 9th of the year and the 100th of his career, to make it 2-1 Braves. The Braves scored again in the 8th with a home run by Brooks Conrad.

Kris Medlen got the win, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up one run on six hits. Andrew Oliver, making his Major League debut, took the loss. He went six innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Billy Wagner came in to the 9th to get the save, his 400th career save.

For more info go to Braves Baseball.

Marlins vs. Padres

The Marlins fell to the Padres 3-0. Florida’s bats were quiet for much of the night. The Marlins left nine men on base and only had one hit with runners in scoring position. The Padres didn’t do much at the plate either until the 7th when they scored one run on a single by Oscar Salazar and two more on a home run by Will Venable.

Chris Volstad took the loss, throwing 6 innings and giving up three runs on seven hits. Clayton Richard got the win, going 6 innings and allowing no runs on five hits. Heath Bell recorded his 20th save of the season for San Diego.

Check out Fish Guts for more info.

Phillies vs. Blue Jays

The Phillies crushed the Blue Jays winning 9-0. The Blue Jays batters couldn’t hit much off Roy Halladay.  Lyle Overbay did go 2-2 for Toronto. The Phillies scored in the 2nd inning on a single by Ross Gload, and again in the 4th on an RBI ground out by Shane Victorino. The Phillies big inning came in the 6th when they scored six runs on singles by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, and a double by Gload.  Victorino homered in the 8th to make it 9-0.

Halladay got the win, tossing seven innings and giving up no runs on six hits. Jesse Litsch took the loss, going only 4 innings and allowing six runs on seven hits.

For more, go to Phillies Phandom.

Nationals vs. Orioles

Sloppy defense cost the Nationals a win as they fell to the Orioles 7-6. Adam Dunn got Washington on the board in the 1st and 3rd innings with a  ground out and sacrifice fly. Ivan Rodriguez singled in a run in the 3rd also to make it 3-0 Nationals. Washington would score three more runs in the 4th on a doubles by Nyjer Morgan and Dunn. Baltimore broke through in the 5th to score three runs on a sac fly by Miguel Tejada and singles by Nick Markakis and Adam Jones, cutting the Nationals lead to 6-3. The Orioles tied it up in the 8th on a two run homer by Scott Moore and a Corey Patterson single. Baltimore went on to score the winning run in the bottom of the 9th on a throwing error by Christian Guzman.

J.D. Martin lasted only 4.1 innings and got a no decision. He gave up three runs on six hits. Tyler Clippard took the loss for the Nationals. Jake Arrieta also went 4.1 innings taking a no decision. He allowed six runs on eight hits. Alfredo Simon got the win for Baltimore.

For more go to Centerfield Gate.

Feliz with a granny

Pedro Feliz helped the Phillies finally cut down on their magic number to win the National League East, during a 7-4 win against the Astros.  Pedro Feliz  hit a fourth inning grand slam in the fourth inning putting the Phillies up for good in this one.  J.A. Happ(12-4) pitched 5.2 innings giving up only nine hits and four runs (three earned) and threw 199 pitches for the win in this one.  Ryan Madson got his tenth save of the year as he appears to be the closer of the week, but did give up two hits before recording the final out and needed 27 pitches to do it, check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Wilton Lopez(0-1) couldn’t do what the no name pitcher on Monday could do to the Phillies and was tagged for five runs and six hits in only 3.2 innings.  The Astros got home runs from Lance Berkman early and a two run shot from Kaz Matsui in the sixth inning but they ended their four game winning streak for the year against the Phils.

Once again the photographers took the night off for the game… thanks!

Anyway, the Braves finally lost a game, and it was a damaging loss as both the Rockies and the Phillies both won.

Chris Coghlan had three hits and two runs scored and Cameron Maybin had two RBI as the Marlins went on to beat the Braves by a score of 5-4.  Josh Johnson pitched well through five, giving up three hits and a run but left with a no decision in this one as the Braves eventually tied it.  Renyel Pinto(4-1) worked 1.1 scoreless innings to get the victory in this one and Leo Nunez got his 25th save of the season, check FishGuts for more.

Tim Hudson had a rough start for the Braves as he went five innings and allowed seven hits and four runs and three walks, but was bailed out by the bats to not get the loss.  Kenshin Kawakami(7-12) went 1.2 innings of relief and gave up three hits and a run in taking the loss in this one.  Matt Diaz had the big blow in this one, a three run shot in the sixth to tie the game off Brian Sanches, but it wasn’t enough.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

MacDougal gets another S

The Nationals took advantage of bad defense for the Mets last night on way to their second straight win, 4-3.  Sean Green(1-4) gave up an unearned run with a walkwhile there were errors by the middle infielders for the Mets allowing the Nats to take the lead.  Tyler Clippard(3-2) worked two innings of scoreless relief to get the win as well and then passed to MacDougal for his 18th save of the season even though he gave up a hit, but struck out two.  Centerfield Gate has more on the Nats win.

Going to the eighth inning, the Mets were up 3-0, then it fell apart.  In the eighth, Pelfrey gave up a two run home run to rookie Ian Desmond and later, a RBI single to Ryan Zimmerman to allow the game to be tied.  The Mets got an RBI walk to Beltran in the first and two RBI singles, one by Pagan and one by Wright in the second inning.  They had a chance to tie it on a deep fly by Wright in the top of the ninth, but a great running catch by Elijah Dukes killed that momentum.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Madson closes this one out

The Phillies put their big trade aquisition on the mound last night in Washington, hoping that he could get back in form.  Cliff Lee looked great through four innings, while only allowing a run and then things got scary.  Lee(6-2) ended up allowing ten hits and five runs(four earned) in seven innings plus of work.  He allowed three in the fifth, temporarily allowing the Nats to tie the game before the Phillies came back to secure the win.  The win was secured by back to back jacks by Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz, even though Lee gave one more back in the eighth.  Brad Lidge stayed on the bench and gave way to Ryan Madson in the ninth who gave up one hit as he recorded his sixth save of the year by a 6-5 score.  Phillies Phandom has more on this.

Garrett Mock put the Nats in the hole early as he allowed three runs in the second and an additional run in the fifth inning, giving up six hits, and walking three in five innings of work, but the Nats got him off the hook.  Tyler Clippard(2-2) ended up taking the loss as he went one inning and allowed two solo home runs in the eighth inning.  Adam Dunn had two RBI for the Nationals as well as Christian Guzman joining him with two as well during the loss, Centerfield Gate has more.

Cody Ross with the big blow

Last night the Marlins put the Mets down really early, with a four run first inning, with three runs coming on Cody Ross’ 21st home run, a three run shot.  Ricky Nolasco(11-8) held down the Mets for 6.1 innings and allowed only three runs and four hits and Leo Nunez once again worked a perfect ninth to get his 20th save of the season in the 6-3 victory.  Dan Uggla also added a solo home run and an RBI groundout in the first for the Fish, check out FishGuts for more on this game and the Marlins.

Pat Misch(1-2) who had a nice start his last couple times out, one earning his major league win just did not have it last night, especially early.  Misch went six innings allowing five runs on six hits including two home runs and hit one batter.  All the Mets offense came in the seventh with a Daniel Murphy RBI double, a sac fly by Francouer and a Tatis RBI groundout.  The Mets will look to salvage one game today, check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Tejada gets the walk-off hit!

The Houston Astros ruined another beautiful game from rookie Tommy Hanson last night with a ninth inning rally.  Miguel Tejada singled home Kaz Matsui and Lance Berkman with a one out single in the ninth, giving the Astros a 2-1 victory over the floundering Braves.  Wandy Rodriguez got off the hook of taking a tough loss as he went seven innings allowing only three hits and a single run as well.  Jose Valverde(4-2) worked a perfect top of the ninth with two k’s to get the credit for the win.

Tommy Hanson went eight innings allowing only five hits and struck out seven and allowed zero runs, is he a true candidate for rookie of the year?  Matt Diaz was the only person who could give any run support with a second inning RBI single scoring Yunel Escobar.  Rafael Soriano(1-5) blew his fourth save of the year getting only one out and giving up three hits and two runs and a walk, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

You were expecting Pedro?

Last night in Philadelphia, it was Pedro’s home debut, unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t cooperate.  Pedro Martinez got through three innings before a rain delay of just over an hour and he didn’t come back and couldn’t try to get a win, as he left losing.  Jamie Moyer(11-9) came in and pitched the final six innings of two hit ball while striking out five and allowed the Phils to come back and win the game 5-1.  Jayson Werth had a homer and an RBI double and Carlos Ruiz also added two RBI’s as the Phils were able to stay 4.5 up on the Marlins.  Phillies Phandom will have more on the Phils from this game.

Jon Garland did come back after the rain delay, and wasn’t the same as before the delay.  After coming back from the delay, Garland(6-11) gave up five runs in his final 3.1 innings pitched and took the loss.  The only offense the D’backs mustered was a solo home run leading off the game by Stephen Drew.

Nolasco with another gem

Ricky Nolasco saved the bullpen for the Marlins last night in Houston, pitching a gem of a complete game.  Nolasco(9-8) went the distance giving up three hits and two runs and striking out twn, his only mistake was a two run home run in the first.  The Marlins offense once again had his back as they got back even in the fourth and took the lead for good in the sixth inning winning 6-2.  Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida all added solo home runs for the Marlins who keep on chugging along and keeping the heat on the Colorado Rockies and the Phillies to keep winning.  FishGuts will have more information on the win and the Marlins current success.

The Astros got all the runs they could in the first inning on a two run home run by Carlos Lee which scored newly back from the Disabled List, Lance Berkman.  Nolasco shut them down after that, including only one additional hit as they couldn’t do anything from either side of the ball.  Bud Norris(3-1) went 5.2 innings and allowed five runs and a walk and two home runs as he took the loss.

Is he ever happy?

Last night, no one could have seen what would happen, with the suddenly heavy hitting Braves, facing the hobbled New York Mets.  Oliver Perez started how all Mets fans figured, as he allowed two home runs in the first three innings and the Mets were down 4-0.  Then the impossible happened, the Mets got ten base hits and eight runs, yes EIGHT in the bottom of the fourth inning and never looked back.  Oliver Perez(3-3) was able to get through five innings and only gave up those four runs and walked only one, but left with a sore knee.  The Mets bullpen went the final four innings allowing only five more baserunners as the Mets took the opener to the series.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog is your one stop shop for mets information.

Derek Lowe was the typical Derek Lowe for the first three innings of this game as he was shutting down the Mets and getting ground ball double plays when needed.  It all came unraveled in the fourth, and oddly enough, after he was hit on the hand with a ground ball, although he appeared to pitch fine afterwards.  Lowe’s(12-8) final line read 3.2 innings pitched, 11 hits and eight runs with no strike outs of ground balls.  The Braves offense was only able to produce a three run home run by Matt Diaz in the second and a solo shot from Adam LaRoche in the third inning.  The Braves Baseball Blog covers this loss and more.

CGon is on fire

The Rockies were barely able to sneak by the pesky Nationals last night visiting the Nations capital.  Going into the eighth inning, they were in a tie game before Carlos Gonzalez stepped to the plate.  Gonzalez hit a home run which broke the tie and lead to the eventual 4-3 win.  Clint Barmes followed with a solo home run in the ninth inning that proved to be the winning run and as mentioned earlier, helped the Rockies keep their lead on the wildcard.  Brad Hawpe added two RBI of his own on an RBI groundout and a solo shot early in the game.  Ubaldo Jimenez(11-9) was able to go eight innings and allowed just seven hits and two runs in earning the win and Huston Street worked a troubled ninth allowing three hits and a run, but did earn his 30th save of the season.

The Nationals bullpen couldn’t pick up the offense in this one, as late in the game, they faltered.  Sean Burnett(2-3) took the loss while recording one out but allowing the home run to Gonzalez and Tyler Clippard came in and finished the game with 1.2 innings but he also allowed a solo shot, putting the game out of reach.  Starter Craig Stammen, who received a no decision helped his own cause in the second with an RBI double and Nyjer Morgan and Christian Guzman added RBI singles as well.  CenterfieldGate covers the Nationals for you, check them out.

Please feel free to email any recommend questions or comments about the segment to mrose@nleastchatter.com or go to this forum topic and post a reply.

Latos is impressive

Rookie Mat Latos was impressive on Monday night against the Braves at his home park in San Diego.  Latos(3-1) went seven innings only allowing six hits and two runs, but nothing after the second inning.  Lucky for him, the Padres offense got single runs in hte 1st , 2nd, 3rd and 7th innings on route to a 4-2 victory while playing the entire game without Adrian Gonzalez’ bat.  Kevin Kouzmanoff added a double and Kyle Banks hit his sixth home run of the season in the game for the Pads.  Heath Bell also got his 27th save of the season while working a perfect ninth inning and striking out two.

Kenshin Kawakami pitched well in this game, but unfortunately for him, the vast outfield at Petco Park effected the Braves offense.  Kawakami(5-9) went six innings allowing three runs on eight hits, including the home run.  His only run support was a sacrifice fly from McCann in the first inning and a solo home run by reunited Brave Adam LaRoche.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more Braves information.

Figgy disappoints

The Arizona Diamondbacks had scored six runs in the first two innings last night in New York and with their ace, seemed to think they would cruise to victory.  They did win the game by a final of 6-5, but obviously this game was not as cut and dry as everyone thought.  Danny Haren(11-6) got through seven innings but allowed eight hits and five runs including a solo home run to get a victory.  Mark Reynolds hit home runs in each of the first two innings, his 31st and 32nd of the season and had driven in three of the six total runs the D’Backs had.  Miguel Montero also added a solo home run in the first inning immediately after Mark Reynolds’ first of the game.  Chad Qualls picked up his 20th save of the season with a perfect ninth.

The New York Mets went into this series on a pretty good role as they had won five of their past six games.   They end it losing three of four to the D’Backs and now have lost four of their past five to put them right back  in the hole.  Spot starter Nelson Figueroa(0-2) only went 1.2 innings and gave up ten hits and six runs, including three home runs before being pulled for relief.  Four Mets relievers went 7.1 innings giving up only three hits, two walks and allowing no extra runs.  The Mets tried to come back from their deficit with RBI’s from Angel Pagan, Luis Castillo(2 RBI) and David Wright.  Daniel Murphy even added a solo shot in the sixth to pull them within one, but thats the closest they got.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more Mets information.

Zimm hits another one

The Washington Nationals were looking for their second straight victory at Pittsburgh and also a series split on Monday night.  The normal heavy hitters from the Nats lineup came through for them again.  Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman each hit two run home runs and Christian Guzman added two hits, giving two more RBI to the Nationals as they won 8-4.  Tyler Clippard(2-1) worked three innings of scoreless and hitless relief to get the victory for the Nationals.  CenterfieldGate will have all the Nats info you need.

The Pittsburgh Pirates took an early 3-0 lead in the game, but their pitching just could not hold it.  Andrew McCutchen hit another home run, and the Pirates added an RBI single by Pearce and a grounders choice by Delwyn Young.   Charlie Morton(2-4) gave up four runs over six innings with six hits and two walks in taking the loss.  Jeff Karstens came in after Morton though and put the game out of reach allowing five hits and four runs while only recording two outs.

Happ watches Upton

Justin Upton wanted to make sure that the Diamondbacks won at least one game out of three against the Philadelphia Phillies.  In the first inning, he hit a two run home run off of Phillies starter J.A. Happ and int the eighth inning, he added an RBI single for insurance.  He also had three of the Diamondbacks total seven hits on a night the D’backs won 4-0.  Yusmeiro Petit(1-5) got his first win of the season as he went six innings but only gave up four hits and a walk while striking out eight.

The Philadelphia Phillies team, fresh off trading for last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, Cliff Lee, came in this game with the ability to sweep.  J.A. Happ(7-2) took his second straight loss after seven straight winning decisions but pitched well.  He gave up only the two run home run to Upton ion the first and only three hits in total and two walks. in six innings.  Two Philly relievers gave up a run each and the Philly offense couldn’t get a run home, which is a rare occurrence.  Read more about this game and other Philly news at Phillies Phandom.

Johnson pitches, and hits!

Josh Johnson decided to take the game last night against the Braves into his own hands, in every possible way last night.  Johnson deposited a Kawakami pitch in the fourth inning into center field for a three run home run which at the time gave the Marlins a 4-0 lead on way to a 6-3 win.  Hanley Ramirez contributed a RBI triple in the third and a solo home run in the fifth and Dan Uggla even got into the home run derby in the fifth as well.  Johnson(10-2) got his tenth victory of the year as he went six innings and gave up eight hits on three runs, all from home runs.  The Marlins sent four relievers to the mound to finish it off, with Leo Nunez getting his eighth save of the year working a scoreless ninth.  Check out FishGuts for more about the win and the Fish.

Kenshin Kawakami(5-8) had a terrible start, and the home run ball hit him harder than any other pitcher in the game, and it always hurts to give one up to the opposing pitcher.  Kawakami went 4.2 innings giving up seven hits and six runs, including the three home runs and even walked four.  The Braves offense did its best against one of the best pitchers in the NL as Casey Kotchman hit a solo shot and Garret Anderson hit a home run for the second consecutive night, of the two run variety.  The Braves Baseball Blog has all the Braves info you need.

If you hadn’t heard, New York is now Seattle East, so as seems to be a normal occurance, the rain came and didn’t stop last night.  The Mets and Rox will play a day-night double header today at Citi Field.

McGehee gets a hold of one

The Brewers were looking to avoid being swept by the worst team in baseball (by record that is) last night in Milwaukee.  After the second inning though, it wasn’t looking good as they were already down 4-0.  The Brewers came back though starting in the third on a Ryan Braun triple that scored a run, and he later scored on a wild pitch.  After going down 5-3 in the sixth, they Brewers got three in the sixth and never looked back.  J.J. Hardy missed an RBI chance in the sixth as he grounded into a double play scoring a run, but got an RBI groundout in the eighth to pad the stats.  Casey McGehee had the biggest blast as he hit a pinch hit two run home run to give the Nats the lead in the sixth.  Manny Parra(5-8) went six innings but gave up five runs and five walks on nine hits to get a shaky win for the Brewers.  Trevor Hoffman came in and struck out two in the ninth for his 23rd save of the season.

The Nationals’ Garrett Mock left the game after the fifth in line for a victory if the bullpen could hold on.  Unfortunately for him, Tyler Clippard(1-1) who had been very solid of late, blew his first save of the year going 1.1 innings and gave up two runs on the home run to McGehee.  Christian Guzman and Nyjer Morgan continued their hot play though, each having two hits and a run scored and Guzman even added an RBI.  Ryan Zimmerman added two RBI as well as Nick Johnson getting an RBI for the night.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more Nats info.

Rollins with a grand slam

The Phillies played a game on Saturday that entailed 29 hits and 20 runs, lucky for them, they had 14 of those 20 runs, winning 14-6.  Jimmy Rollins saved starter Rodrigo Lopez by hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning.  The Phillies took an early 3-0 lead, but squandered it by the top of the sixth inning.  Lopez (3-0) worked six innings giving up three earned runs and four total in staying undefeated on the season.  Jimmy Rollins finished the day with a career high five RBI and Shane Victorino went 4-4 with three runs scored, three RBI and even added in a walk.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more Phillies info from this game and all others.

Cardinals pitching could almost have not been worse today.  Three pitchers combined to give up the fourteen runs, starter Kyle Lohse was let off the hook of a bad start by giving up three runs in only four innings of work as he left for a pinch hitter with a high pitch count.  Jason Motte(3-4) left after getting one out and giving up back to back home runs, one of them being the grand slam to Rollins.  New Cardinals Julio Lugo and Matt Holliday had good games again, going 6-9 with two runs scored and two RBI combined.

Blake gets the game winning RBI

In Los Angeles, Casey Blake saved the Dodgers from another possible loss to the Marlins.  With two out in the ninth inning, Casey Blake stepped to the plate and singled to drive home Rafael Furcal to win the game 4-3.  Blake had also scoredt he tying run in the sixth inning as the Dodgers came back from a 3-1 deficit to win this game.  Jonathan Broxton(7-0) got the win as he worked the top of the ninth for the Dodgers in this game and Andre Ethier and Orlando Hudson each had three hits for the Dodgers.

The Marlins as mentioned took a 3-1 lead in by the sixth with RBI singles from Cody Ross and Jeremy Hermida and an RBI double in the first by Jorge Cantu.  Besides that though, their bats couldn’t break Dodger pitching.  VandenHurk had a second straight solid start going five innings of one run ball and left in position for his second straight win, but the bullpen couldn’t hold it.  Renyel Pinto was charged with two runs in one third of an inning in the sixth and then Dan Meyer(2-1) took the loss in the ninth as he had put the baserunners on, even though Luis Ayala let up the final hit.  Check out FishGuts for more info on the Marlins.

Gallardo does it again pitching and hitting

The Brewers were able to rebound from a late loss to the Braves and their bats on Friday night, and sent their ace to the mound.  Yovani Gallardo(9-7) pitched 7.1 innings only giving up four hits and four runs and striking out six as the Brewers went on to win 4-0.  Gallardo helped himself with an RBI single in the fifth for the games first run.  Craig Counsell had an RBI groundout in the same inning and pinch hitter Casey McGehee had a two RBI single in the eighth for insurance.

The Braves sent previously undefeated Tommy Hanson to the hill on Saturday.  Hanson(5-1) took the loss even though he went seven innings and only gave up two runs because the Braves bats were silent.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more on the Braves.

Niese pitches a gem

There have not been many days where I have been able to write about multiple story lines for the Mets.  Tonight you can take your pick, as the Mets won 10-3 against the Astros with a great performance from a rookie, a superb game from a newcomer and a home run from a player who hadn’t hit one all month.  Jonathon Niese(1-0) went seven innings giving up a single run on four hits and two walks to get his first win since last September on a day the Mets needed it.  Jeff Francouer also went 2-4 with a run scored and four RBI, three of them coming on a home run fifth inning, it was his second as a Met and seventh overall.  David Wright hit his sixth home run in the ninth inning and it was impressive because he hadn’t hit one this month.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has more info on the Mets.

Russ Ortiz(3-5) started for the Astros and only lasted 4.1 innings while giving up six runs on five hits and four walks.  The Astros managed a run early on a Pudge Rodriguez RBI single and then nothing until the bottom of the ninth when they had a nine run deficit.  Hunter Pence hit a two run homer in the ninth off Francisco Rodriguez, but that was all they would get.

Adam Dunn hits a granny

The Padres and Nationals waited out an over three hour rain delay in the second inning of the game Saturday in Washington, it could have been local time for the San Diego fans.  The Nationals got two runs in the first on a Zimmerman homerun and never looked back after the rain delay in the second.  Off a new pitcher, the Nationals scored five more after the delay, on a Adam Dunn grand slam.  Zimmerman ended this game with three RBI and Dunn had five RBI as the Nationals won 13-1.  Tyler Clippard(2-0) worked four innings after the rain delay to qualify for the win in this game as J.D. Martin had to leave after two innings because of the delay.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more info on the Nationals.

Padres starter Tim Stauffer(0-2) didn’t come back after the rain delay and went one inning giving up three hits and two runs to take the loss.  Five more Padre relievers combined to give up eleven more runs to make this game way out of reach.  The two finish their series on Sunday afternoon in D.C.

Lopez with another strong outting

Rodrigo Lopez, who is in for the injured Antonio Bastardo who is in for the injured Brett Myers is trying to keep Pedro Martinez out of the starting rotation as long as possible.  Lopez(2-0) got his second win of the season while holding the hot Cubs to only one run over six strong innings of work.  Of course, the Phillies offense which appears unstoppable gave him nine runs of support in those same six innings.  Raul Ibanez hit a three run home run in the first inning and Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard added home runs later in the game for the surging Phillies, on way to a 10-1 victory.  Chad Durbin got his 1st save of the year while working three innings of one hit ball to close out the game.  Check out Phillies Phandom for additional information about the Phils.

Ted Lilly(9-7) was rocked for nine runs(seven earned) and eight hits in only four innings of work for the Cubs and Ryan Theriot produced their only run with an RBI single in the fifth.

Diaz' triple puts the Braves in the lead

The Atlanta Braves are continuing their winning ways, unfortunately for them and the rest of the NL East, the Phillies are too.  After Tommy Hanson gave up the tying run in the top of the seventh inning to the Giants, Matt Diaz came through driving in what proved to be the two winning runs on a triple in the bottom of the inning.  Tommy Hanson(5-0) stayed undefeated on a day he probably didn’t figure to factor in the decision.  The Braves actually scored six runs in the frame to put the game away late, and even added two more in the eighth inning.  Ryan Church got his first home run as a Brave on this night as well.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more Braves commentary and information.

The Giants got another quality start from Jonathan Sanchez, although not of the no hit variety.  The Giants offense got him off the hook of a possible loss in the seventh as Sanchez went six innings giving up three runs.  Sergio Romo(2-1) got the loss while not retiring a batter in the seventh and giving up four earned runs for the Giants.

Ramirez helps out VandenHurk

Hanley Ramirez helped Rick VandenHurk get off to a good start on his trip back to the big leagues.  Hanley Ramirez homered in the first inning of what turned out to be a 3-2 Marlins win last night in San Diego.  VandenHurk(1-0) worked six strong innings while giving up two runs on five hits and two walks, but being hurt by the long ball, giving up two home runs.  Three Marlin relievers got holds during the game and current closer Leo Nunez got his fifth save of the year with Matt Lindstrom out.  The Marlins used smallball to get their other two runs on a groundout scoring a run and a bases loaded walk both in the seventh inning.  Check out FishGuts for great info on the Florida Marlins.

San Diego starter Tim Stauffer had his second straight strong start, but once again was not able to get a win, but at least this time he didn’t receive the loss.  Stauffer left with the lead after the sixth but Greg Burke(2-2) blew the save and took the loss giving up two runs in the seventh inning.  Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff provided all the offense for the Giants on solo home runs both in the sixth.

Hernandez continues to dominate the Nats

Livan Hernandez might be the Nationals worst nightmare…. no, seriously!  Hernandez has won his last eight decisions this versus the Nats including 3-0 this year.  Hernandez(6-5) left after seven innings giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and didn’t even reach the 100 pitch mark in that time.  He was helped by a 2-4 day from Daniel Murphy including two RBI’s and the same two RBI from Jeff Francouer as the Mets won 6-2.  Francouer now has seven RBI in seven games with the Mets after his ninth inning solo shot. Check out The Real Dirty Mets blog for more.

J.D. Martin(0-1) had a rough first couple innings for the Nationals allowing five runs in those two innings.  He then settled down but was pulled after four innings giving up five runs on eight hits.  The Nationals relief pitching was solid, only giving up the ninth inning home run to Francouer in five innings of work between Tyler Clippard and Logan Kensing.  Josh Bard provided all the offense for them on a double down the line scoring Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns.  Check out Centerfieldgate for more Nationals info.

According to MLBTR, the Nationals have DFA’s relief pitcher Kip Wells and called up former Yankee Tyler Clippard.

At AAA, Clippard had a tiny .92 ERA, so i’m surprised this move wasn’t made earlier.