Archive for the ‘Daily Dirt’ Category

The Daily Dirt for April 20th

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 20th, 2011

One of the early preseason candidates for National League Rookie of The Year Brandon Belt was sent to the minor leagues by the San Francisco Giants with the return of Cody Ross from the disabled list. Belt was hitting .192 in 52 at bats but did have eight walks and two stolen bases. The first basemen zoomed through three minor league levels last season, only getting 48 at bats in Triple-A. Because of the crowded roster for the Giants and with the team hoping to defend their World Series crown, they could not afford to keep Belt on the major league roster as a part-time player when he could be getting full-time action in AAA. In mixed league formats, I would still hold on to him if you have several reserve spots since he will be back at some point. His average in limited playing time does nothing to change his value in NL-only keeper leagues. If anything, it might present a buying opportunity for you if another owner in your league panics with Belt being demoted.

Third basemen Ian Stewart was sent to the minor leagues by the Colorado Rockies after struggling  at the plate with an .077 batting average and 11 strikeouts in 26 at bats., The move was made easier thanks to the infield depth the Rockies acquired this past offseason. Ty Wigginton should see the majority of starts at third base and now becomes an option in deeper mixed league formats. Jose Lopez could also see some starts at third base from time to time as well.

Drew Storen picked up a four out save for the Washington Nationals in relief of Sean Burnett. With the way Storen has been throwing of late, it would be no surprise to see him in the closer role going forward. Storen now has a 0.77 ERA to go with a 0.86 WHIP on the season.

Tyler Greene could see a few more starts at second base for the St. Louis Cardinals with Skip Schumaker headed to the disabled list. If you are looking for steals in a NL-only format, Greene could swipe a couple for you over the next two weeks. He stole his fourth base of the year today.

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The Daily Dirt for April 13th

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 13th, 2011

Here is a look at at the latest fantasy baseball news from around the major leagues on Wednesday night.

The Chicago White Sox bullpen is a mess after blowing another lead Wednesday before eventually losing 7-4 to the Oakland A’s. Chris Sale allowed three hits without recording an out, followed by Jesse Crain who allowed a walk and then Matt Thornton who allowed the game-tying hit in the 9th and then lost the game in the 10th. Thornton who stared the year as closer for the White Sox is now 0-for-4 on saves for the season.

The injury to Tsuyoshi Nishioka in Minnesota might be good news for Michael Cuddyer owners as he got his second start at second base on Wednesday night. Check your league position eligibility rules if you own Cuddyer to see if you might be able to move eventually into your infield where he would have more value.

Corey Patterson has taken over in center field for the Toronto Blue Jays with Rajai Davis on the disabled list. If you are looking for stolen bases in AL only, Patterson is worth grabbing for the next couple of weeks.

Greg Dobbs got the start at third base again for the Florida Marlins and could be seeing a few more at bats in the future as he is the one guy in the mix for playing time that is hitting, plus he is left-handed so he owns the better side of a platoon split with Wes Helms. Donnie Murphy has been struggling this season, hitting just .154 in 26 at bats and has give way to Dobbs the last two games.

Jonathan Herrera is making a little noise in Colorado with the additional playing time he has received with Ian Stewart out of the lineup. Herrera swiped two bases giving him four for the season and is hitting .474 with eight walks and one strikeout. Playing time is going to be a little harder to come by once Stewart returns unless Herrera starts to play over Jose Lopez at second base.

Catcher Chris Snyder was activated from the disabled list by the Pittsburgh Pirates and should own the majority of starts going forward which cuts the value of Ryan Doumit.

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The Daily Dirt for April 8th

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 8th, 2011

The big news of the day in major league baseball was outfielder Manny Ramirez announcing his retirement from baseball. The move leaves the Tampa Bay Rays with a hole at designated hitter that they could fill several ways, but for now it looks like Dan Johnson will serve as the designated hitter with Casey Kotchman promoted from the minor leagues to start at first base. Not a good situation for a team that is struggling to score runs. It could eventually hasten the arrival of Desmond Jennings to the major leagues, but it looks like we are going to have to wait at least a month or two for that to happen.

With the Boston Red Sox off to an 0-6 start, manager Terry Francona made some changes to the lineup, with the most significant impact being to Jacoby Ellsbury dropping to 8th in the batting order, which could cost him 50 to 75 at bats over the course of the season if he stays in that position.

For all the talk about Ryan Raburn being a sleeper for the Detroit Tigers, especially in those leagues where he qualifies at second base, Brennan Boesch has actually been seeing more time, now with 22 at bats to Raburn’s 15. Of course it helps that Boesch is off to a good start hitting .364 with a home run and five RBI while Raburn is without a home run and batting .267.

Brian Wilson struggled in his second outing since returning from the disabled list, allowing four baserunners in 2/3 of an inning and two runs before being bailed out by Ramon Ramirez. If you own Segio Romo in mixed leagues, I would still hold onto him in case Wilson has to miss any more time.

Stephen Drew returned to the lineup for the Arizona Diamondbacks at shortstop, but Willie Bloomquist still got a start, this time in left field for Gerard Parra with a southpaw on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds. Bloomquist gives the Diamondbacks a leadoff hitter so we’ll see how much time he continues to get with Drew back in action.

Fantasy baseball owners looking for saves finally got an inkling into who may get the early saves in Tampa Bay with Kyle Farnsworth getting the first save of the season. On the other hand, Matt Thornton blew his second save in as many chances for the Chicago White Sox after giving up a three-run home run to Dan Johnson.

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The Daily Dirt for April 7th

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 7th, 2011

It can be tough trying to find stolen bases in AL or NL only fantasy baseball leagues if you don’t find them in the draft or in the auction. One guy that might be out there on the waiver wire in AL only leagues is Sam Fuld of the Tampa Bay Rays who swiped three bases today giving him four for the season. He is going to get a ton of playing time as the extra outfielder, but manager Joe Maddon tends to play a lot of different lineups so he could get another 10 or so steal the rest of the year or until rookie Desmond Jennings is called up.

If you are looking for a middle infielder in NL only leagues, check to see if Wilson Valdez of the Philadelphia Phillies is available. It is only a stop gap measure until Chase Utley returns, but he is getting consistent at bats after Luis Castillo was released. In NL only leagues, it is often getting the most at bats in a season that is going to propel you up the categories and standings rather that how many stud players you have.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka suffered a fractured fibula against the New York Yankees today and will be out of action for a minimum of four weeks. Matt Tolbert and recent call up Larry Hughes could see time at second base in the interim.

Keep in mind that some players early on this season are getting more playing time due to injuries to players that were ahead of them on the depth chart. Just because your see your guy’s name in the boxscore more often does not mean you should assume he has more value than he really does so make plans to have a replacement ready when the main player is back from injury or the disabled list.

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The Daily Dirt for April 6th

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 6th, 2011

If you own Willie Bloomquist from the Arizona Diamondbacks in NL only leagues, now is the time to sell high and see if you can convince another owner in his league he has more value than he really does. Filling in for the injured Stephen Drew at shortstop, Bloomquist is now hitting .348 on the season with a home run and five stolen bases. Once Drew returns to the lineup, Bloomquist will go back to his utility role on the bench. He has only had more than 251 at bats in a season one time, which was in 2009 when he got 434 with the Kansas City Royals. I would be looking to to deal him now to a team that might be short on stolen bases and see if you can get a guy that will play regularly the rest of the season.

Mike Minor failed to take advantage of his spot in the rotation with the Atlanta Braves filling in for the injured Jair Jurrjens. Minor allowed seven hits and walked four in 4 1/3 innings giving up five earned runs. Jurrjens is expected to return to the rotation on April 16th against the New York Mets.

Casey Blake returned from the disabled list at third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers and went 2-for-3 while hitting second in the order. He is a play in NL only leagues at this point in his career. Jamey Carroll will return to his role as a utility player, but is a good guy to own at the end of your roster in NL only leagues as insurance in case Rafael Furcal or Blake get injured.

Brian Wilson was activated from the disabled list by the San Francisco Giants and allowed three runs in 2/3 of an inning against the San Diego Padres. He should be good to activate for games next week. Sergio Romo will go back to his role as the 8th inning set up man.

Jose Contreras picked up his first save of the season for the Philadelphia Phillies working a scoreless ninth inning with Ryan Madson serving as set up man.

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The Daily Dirt for April 5th

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 5th, 2011

Lots of fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Tuesday, here is a look at some of the more important stories in this edition of the daily dirt from a fantasy perspective.

Maybe the Milwaukee Brewers don’t have quite as much faith in John Axford after all, letting Yovani toss a complete game and 111 pitches to get the Brewers their first win of the season. Not sure that is a good idea to let your starter throw that many pitches in April but with the team sitting at 0-4, their confidence was more in a tired Gallardo than in Axford.

On the flip side of the mound, Derek Lowe has shown off a much improved slider through his first two starts and has now struck out 13 in 11 2/3 innings. If he is able to continue a better strikeout rate, he becomes much more of an option in shallower mixed formats.

More proof that PETCO cures all, Aaron Harang with his first quality start since 2007, allowing one run in six innings with six strikeouts. As with most Padres pitchers outside of Mat Latos, they have more value when you can spot start them for home games.

Drew Storen continues to struggle for the Washington Nationals as he allowed three base runners in one inning of work and took the loss, though the run ended up being unearned.

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The Daily Dirt from Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2010

I wrote just a few days ago in the Minor League Report that Chris Davis had maybe three more weeks until we saw Justin Smoak. It turned out to be actually only three more days as the Texas Rangers have recalled Smoak and designated Davis for assignment. No real big surprise with Davis hitting .188 with no home runs and striking out 35% of the time.  Smoak was hitting .326 with two home runs, but more importantly 16 walks with only five strikeouts.

Speaking of non-hitting first basemen, Troy Glaus has to be next up on the possible cut block. Freddie Freeman has started to heat up in Triple-A for the Atlanta Braves with three home runs in his last two games and six RBI and will be eventually knocking on the door if Glaus continues to struggle. Glaus went 0-for-4 Thursday with three strikeouts and is now hitting .170 on the season.

On the other side of the diamond, it is time for Brandon Wood to also go pretty soon I think. Wood is hitting .087 with zero home runs or RBI and only two runs scored in 46 at bats. Not helping matters is still his lack of plate discipline with two walks and 15 strikeouts. If Maicer Izturis is a free agent in your league and you need middle infield help, I would pick him up in advance of something happening.

Daisuke Matsuzaka is supposed to return from the disabled list and could get the start either Monday or Tuesday in Toronto, making him potentially a two-start starter in week 4 with the second start coming at Baltimore. In three starts in Triple-A, Matsuzaka had a 1.62 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.

Ubaldo Jimenez picked up a win Thursday night with 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball with five strikeouts. He is now 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. While all that is well and nice, he has rang up pitch counts of 115, 128 and 121 in his last three starts. Those are some awfully high numbers and we’re not even into May yet. His trade value is never going to be higher and with his recent pitch count numbers, there is no better time to trade him.

Aroldis Chapman worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Triple-A, allowing three hits with five walks and striking out eight. Until he gets his control in order which is going to enable him to pitch past the fifth inning and not blow out the bullpen on days he pitches, he is going to be stuck in Triple-A for awhile.

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The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2010

Manager Lou Piniella has officially gone of the deep end with today’s announcement that the Chicago Cubs were moving their opening day starter  Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen with Ted Lilly coming back from the disabled list. The Cubs are paying him $17.875 million dollars to go from a top of the rotation starter to getting three to six outs in the bullpen a few days out of the week. Carlos Silva has three good starts and all of a sudden everybody forgets about his 8.60 ERA and 1.71 WHIP ration from last season. It is decisions like that why the Chicago Cubs have not been to the World Series since 1908. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Jose Guillen hit his 6th home run of the season and drove in three runs giving him 13 RBI on the season. I think there is something to be said for players that hit better when they feel more natural in the field, or in Guillen’s  case as the designated hitter, more comfortable not in the field. Similar story in San Diego with Chase Headley moving back to third base.

Not sure if Guillen’s start is that surprising as he has 25 home run power when healthy, but the hot start of Alex Gonzalez in Toronto continues to amaze as he hit his fifth home run of the season and knocked in two runs giving 11 RBI for the year.

Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season and he also stole his third base. Braun is hitting .393 with 15 RBI on the season.

Mike Lowell got the start as designated hitter over David Ortiz with a left-hander on the mound and went 2-for-4 with two RBI and his first home run of the season. With the Red Sox below .500 and Ortiz struggling, I think it is much easier to sit him against southpaws and get Lowell some extra at bats.

Looks like the move of Elvis Andrus to the top of the Texas Rangers batting order and sliding Julio Borbon to the ninth spot is benefiting both players. Andrus will see additional runs scored and some extra steals maybe while Borbon can relax more at the plate at the end of the batting order. Andrus stole his 5th base of the season and scored two runs while Borbon went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Rafael Furcal is looking like the Furcal of old, going 3-for-5 with four RBI as well as stealing his seventh base of the year.

Sean Rodriguez finally rewarded owners that blew a good portion of their FAAB budget in him in week one, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and his first home run of the season.

Colby Rasmus went 3-for-4 with three RBI and hit two home runs giving him a total of five for the season.

Pitchers:

Zach Greinke allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts but was handed a no decision when the bullpen lost the lead in the 8th inning.

Yovani Gallardo tossed five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts to get his first victory of the season. Still is a step below the top tier pitchers until he can get his control in order. Racked up 103 pitches, with only 61 strikes in his five innings of work.

Ho-hum, another complete game for Roy Halladay, hurling a shutout with seven strikeouts. Instead of talking about him winning 20 games, it is quite possible that he picks up 30 wins this year.

Carlos Silva allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 2-0 . Silva has a .95 ERA and .63 WHIP through three starts.

Wade Davis worked six shutout innings and struck out six to gain his first win of the season. He had much better control this start, getting nine ground ball outs to two fly outs.

Francisco Liriano spun eight scoreless innings and struck out six to notch his second win of the year. Liriano lowered his ERA to 1.29 and his WHIP to 1.10.

Phil Hughes allowed one hit and one run in 7 1/3 innings and struck out 10 to get his second win of the season.

Felix Hernandez tossed a complete game with six strikeouts, while allowing one unearned run. King Felix improved to 2-0 on the season.

Closers:

Your major league leader in saves…Matt Capps with seven!! Despite that he has a 1.68 WHIP ratio, he has allowed only one earned run in 8 1/3 innings so far. The Washington Nationals have to be happy as it only helps to boost his trade value.

Chad Qualls allowed three runs in 1/3 of an inning in a tie ballgame to take the loss. With an ERA of 10.80 and a WHIP of 2.40, there has to be something wrong with him. If you did not pick up Juan Gutierrez already, now may be the time.

First game back from the disabled list and thrust right back into the closer role, Brian Fuentes took the loss, surrendering a two-run home run to Miguel Cabrera. Fuentes allowed two hits and two runs and had to be pulled from the game. If you own Fernando Rodney, I would hold on to him for awhile.

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The Dail Dirt from Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 20th, 2010

Mike Napoli owners have to be breathing a sigh of relief after news of Jeff Mathis now expected to miss a minimum of six weeks after fracturing his wrist. Mathis had taken over as the starting catcher for the Los Angeles Angels with 34 at bats compared to only 15 for Napoli as Mike Scioscia found it easier to play the best defensive catcher when that catcher is also hitting. Mathis was batting .324 with a home run and two stolen bases before the injury.

In other injury news, the Boston Red Sox lost 2/3 of their starting outfield with Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron headed to the disabled list. Ellsbury will be eligible to return on Monday, April 26th while Cameron will miss anywhere from 2-4 weeks.

Darnell McDonald was recalled from Triple-A and was the hero Tuesday night, delivering a pinch-hit two-run home run that tied the game in the 8th innings and then winning the game in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single. Top prospect Josh Reddick was also recalled from the minors and got the start in center field and hit ninth. Reddick went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI in the contest. The recent disabled list transactions should give Jeremy Hermida some extra time in the outfield. Hermida hit eighth in left field and went 2-for3 with two runs scored and delivered his third home run of the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond Tuesday night…

Hitters:

The Texas Rangers ran wild against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, stealing nine bases in six innings. Nelson Cruz (3), Elvis Andrus (3), Vladimir Guerrero (2) and Julio Borbon (1) all got in the action.

Troy Tulowitzki went 2-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season. Tulowitzki is hitting .286 on the season with seven RBI.

Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for-5 with two RBI and knocked out his second home run of the year. Zimmerman is hitting .316 with 10 men plated this season.

Vernon Wells shows no signs of slowing down still as he went 3-for-4 and hit his seventh home run of the season, although it has only led to 12 RBI this year.

Matt Kemp went 2-for-5 with three RBI and hit his 6th home run of the season. Kemp is hitting .333 with 18 RBI on the season.

Jose Reyes went 4-for-5 with two RBI and stole his second base of the year.

As much as the Houston Astros say that missing Lance Berkman was not impacting their lineup, their actions on Tuesday seemed to the contrary. The lowest scoring offense in all of baseball broke out for seven runs with Berkman going 1-for-4 with two RBI. Michael Bourn walked twice and stole two bases.

Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs as part of his 3-for-4 night with three RBI. Ludwick is hitting .333 on the season with eight RBI.

Chase Headley went 1-for-2 with the lone run scored for the San Diego Padres and also stole three bases, giving him five steals on the season.

Pitchers:

Two-start starter David Bush delivered in his first start of the week, working seven shutout innings with two strikeouts. Bush has a 2.41 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP through three starts this season.

Who knew the New York Mets best starter was going to be Mike Pelfrey in 2010, at least through the first three weeks anyway. Pelfrey tossed seven shutout innings with six strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season.

John Danks allowed one run in eight innings with nine strikeouts to pick up his second win of the year. Danks allowed only two hits as batters are now hitting just .162 against him this season.

Kevin Slowey hurled eight innings on one-run ball to go along with nine strikeouts to up his mark to 2-1 on the year. Slowey threw 71% of his pitches for strikes, while making it through eight innings on only 98 pitches.

Matt Latos worked seven shutout innings with two strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season. Tough luck loser Jesus Sanchez allowed one hit and one run in seven innings with 10 strikeouts.

Closers:

Ryan Madson allowed three runs in the ninth inning to blow the save and the win for Kyle Kendrick. Madson surrendered back-to-back home runs to Troy Glaus and Jason Heyward in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs.

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The Daily Dirt from Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 18th, 2010

Juan Pierre stole three bases giving him six on the season. Again a reminder of why it is hard to justify spending a high fantasy baseball draft pick on a one dimensional player high in the draft when speed options lurk late, such as Scott Podsednik and Brett Gardner who each stole their 7th base of the year today. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

Shin-Soo Choo is still a one-man force for the Cleveland Indians offense as he went 2-for-3 with his fourth home run of the season and five RBI. Outside of him and Asdrubal Cabrera, there was no other hitter in the Indians line up with an average above .231 on Sunday.

Dan Uggla went 3-for-4 with two RBI and hit his third home run of the season. Uggla is now hitting .346 on the season.

Jay Bruce doubled his RBI output for the season, hitting two solo home runs in a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Alberto Callaspo went 3-for-5 with two home runs and drove in six runs as the Kansas City Royals celebrated Alex Gordon’s return from the disabled list with a 10-5 win over the Minnesota Twins. Gordon went 1-for-4 hitting eighth in the line up.

Mark Reynolds went 3-for-4 with two RBI and knocked out his 4th home run of the season.

Ty Wigginton, filling in for Miguel Tejada who is day-to-day, went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI, including his fourth home run of the season. Despite being ninth on the team in number of at bats, Wigginton leads the Baltimore Orioles with 10 RBI.

Pitchers:

As much as the New York Yankees have players considered long in the tooth, they all keep producing. Andy Pettitte allowed two runs in eight innings with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the season.

Ervin Santana picked up a complete game win, allowing one run in nine innings with six strikeouts over the Toronto Blue Jays. His counterpart Ricky Romero coming was stellar once again, working eight innings while allowing one run with six strikeouts.

Matt Garza was dominant again in his third start of the season, tossing eight shutout innings with five strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season. He now has a 0.75 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP on the season.

Nate Robertson is making a bid to become a mixed league option after holding the explosive Philadelphia Phillies offense scoreless at home for 6 1/3 innings. Robertson struck out four in picking up his second win of the season, while lowering his ERA to 2.20.

Ryan Dempster allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision against the Houston Astros. Dempster was in line for the win until Carlos Marmol allowed a run in the ninth inning.

Brian Matusz notched his second win of the season, allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings while striking out eight. Matusz now has 23 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings on the season.

As I wrote about in the fantasy baseball waiver wire report for week 3, Wade LeBlanc should have some decent value while filling in for Chris Young. LeBlanc got the start on Sunday and allowed one run in five innings with seven strikeouts.

Ian Kennedy had a much better second start this week, working five shutout innings with seven strikeouts. Of course he had the aid of facing the San Diego Padres line up at Petco park, but still it was encouraging.

Barry Zito and Clayton Kershaw were locked in a pitchers duel Sunday, as neither player factored in the decision. Zito allowed one run in seven innings with three strikeouts, while Kershaw allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts.

Closers:

Franklin Morales blew his second save of the season, allowing two hits, two walks and two runs in the ninth inning to the Atlanta Braves. It would not be a surprise to see Rafael Betancourt possibly get a save chance the next time the Colorado Rockies have the lead in the ninth inning.

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The Daily Dirt from Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 16th, 2010

It was a night for the lesser name pitchers as David Huff (Cleveland), Matt Harrison (Texas) and Dana Eveland (Toronto) all threw well with Huff and Eveland picking up wins. If you have all three as free agents in your league and are considering picking one up, I would rank them Harrison, Eveland, Huff. Harrison throws the hardest, has the best chance to pick up strikeouts and has a solid offense behind him. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

Shin-Soo Choo seems like he is carrying the offense for the Cleveland Indians, but then I check his RBI count and it is only five. Choo went 2-for-4  with a home run and drove in all three runs for the Indians Thursday.

Ryan Braun went 4-for-5 with three RBI, including his third home run of the season. It could be this season that we see him break the 40 home run barrier.

Chase Utley homered for the third straight game, giving him five home runs on the season and 11 RBI.Teammate Shane Victorino is enjoying his new spot atop the line up with Jimmy Rollins out as he homered for the second straight day.

Robinson Cano hit two home runs and drove in three to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Matt Kemp homered for the third time in four games and drove in two runs giving him 13 RBI on the season. Hitting second in the batting order looks like a good fit so far as he is hitting .341 on the season.

Pitchers:

Francisco Liriano tossed seven shutout innings with eight strike outs to pick up the win. His control was much better in his second start, throwing 64 strikes versus 32 balls.

Bud Norris was much better in his second start, although he could only get through five innings because of a high pitch count. Norris earned his first win of the year without allowing an earned run and striking out nine. Still tough to play him every week with his up and down tendencies although it was nice to see this outing against the St. Louis Cardinals instead of someone like the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mike Pelfrey hurled seven shutout innings with six strikeouts to move to 2-0 on the year. Pelfrey got ahead in counts by throwing first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 25 hitters he faced and cruised through the Colorado Rockies line up with little problem.

Phil Hughes was successful in his first start of the season, allowing two runs in five innings with six strikeouts to get the win. The downside to owning him as a 5th starter is the chance that he will get skipped in the rotation on some weeks.

Josh Johnson claimed his first win of the season, allowing one run in six innings while fanning 10. He is averaging 3.3 more pitches per inning in 2010, thanks to an increase in his walks per nine innings.

Ben Sheets picked up his first win with the Oakland A’s, working six scoreless innings with four strikeouts. The lack of strikeouts is a concern if you own him going forward with eight strikeouts and 10 walks in 17 innings.

Hiroki Kuroda allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He had upped his strikeout rate the second half of last season and looks to be carrying it over so far in 2010 through his first two starts.

Closers:

Chad Qualls picked up a blown save on back-to-back nights, allowing two runs in the ninth inning and five base runners. The inability to throw strikes did him in, missing the strike zone on 13 of his 25 pitches. With the way closers have been going down this season, if you own Qualls, you might want to grab Juan Gutierrez as insurance just in case.

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The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 14th, 2010

Through the first two weeks of the season, the biggest news to date has been the number of key players already on the disabled list plus the changing of closers so early in the season. Here is a look at both issues with the latest news.

Injuries:

Miguel Montero is only expected to miss 4-6 weeks of action which puts his return at the end of May. That makes him worth holding on to still in all fantasy baseball league formats.

Jimmy Rollins will be on the shelf for the next 2-4 weeks with a calf strain. Juan Castro will assume shortstop duties in his absence.

Closer news:

Kevin Gregg was named new closer in Toronto by manager Cito Gaston. If you own Jason Frasor, I would still hold on to him. This could be a role that flip-flops several times during the course of the season.

Mike Gonzalez of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the disabled list with a strained shoulder. That would account for the drop in velocity we were seeing from Gonzalez this year. Jim Johnson will take over as closer until Gonzalez returns to action.

Fernando Rodney picked up his first save of the season as the fill-in closer for Brian Fuentes who was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a strained back

Hitters:

Jose Guillen went 3-for-4 and hit his fifth home of the season giving him five home runs in his last four games.

It looks like Dustin Pedroia can talk the talk and walk the walk. After spinning tales in spring training of hitting 20 home runs in 2010, Pedroia is well on his way after banging out his 4th home run of the season Wednesday night.

B.J. Upton drove four runs on his first two home runs of the season.

Nelson Cruz hit his 6th home run of the season giving him 12 RBI on the year. If the first two hitters in the order were hitting over .200, he might have 20 RBI by now.

Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with four RBI and hit two home runs giving four overall on the season.

Carlos Quentin went 2-for-5 and drove in six runs, four of them coming on a grand slam.

Jorge Cantu hit his third home run of the season and became the first player in the history of the major leagues to chalk up at least one hit and RBI in the team’s first nine games of the season.

Pitchers:

Joel Pineiro allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

David Price allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to notch his second win of the season.

Jonathan Sanchez worked eight shutout innings with 11 strikeouts to gain his first win of the season.

Colby Lewis struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings of work while allowing two runs. The downside was it took him 117 pitches to record those outs.

John Danks allowed one run in seven innings while recording six strikeouts to get his first victory of the season.

Brad Penny tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to claim his first win of the year.

Tommy Hanson evened his record at 1-1, hurling six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts.

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The Daily Dirt from Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 13th, 2010

I still don’t understand why some major league pitchers don’t realize how important having a good change up is. Watching the Toronto Blue Jays game, Ricky Romero looked to have a pretty good one and it makes it that much more difficult for the hitter to know what you are going to throw when you have three pitches you can throw for strikes. Romero took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before giving up a home run to Alex Rios. Romero finished the night with eight innings of two-run ball with 12 strikeouts. The ability to strike hitters out plus keep the ball on the ground (he recorded 10 ground ball outs to two fly outs) should help him navigate the tough line ups in the American League East.

Hitters:

Jose Guillen cracked his 4th home run of the season giving him four home runs in his last three games. Despite being 3-5, the six of the seven top hitters for the Kansas City Royals are all hitting over .300.

Carlos Pena went 3-for-5 with four RBI and delivered his second home run of the season.

Ty Wigginton went 2-for-5 with three RBI and hit his first two home runs of the season.

Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI. Jonny Gomes added four RBI and his second home run of the season.

Bad boy Milton Bradley hit his second home run of the year, a three-run shot in the 8th inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 3-0 win over the Oakland A’s.

Pitchers:

Andy Pettitte worked six scoreless innings with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year.

Clayton Kershaw notched his first win of the season but is still having command issues, lasting only through 5 1/3 innings before hitting 110 pitches. Kershaw allowed two runs and struck out seven.

Greg Smith of the Colorado Rockies allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.

Brett Anderson of the Oakland A’s tossed six scoreless innings with six strikeouts but did not factor in the decision.

Closers:

Kevin Gregg picked up his third save of the season working a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. While I don’t think there is a closer controversy yet, I thought it was interesting that Jays manager Cito Gaston did not give Jason Frasor a chance to close the game after he blew the save the previous night in which he threw only 19 pitches.

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The Daily Dirt from Monday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 13th, 2010

It was a day for the five home run club as several hitters clubbed home run numero cinco on the year. Vernon Wells (Toronto), Nelson Cruz (Texas) and Albert Pujols (St. Louis) all went deep to take the major league lead in home runs. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Monday…

Hitters:

Scott Podsednik went 4-for-5 with three RBI and stole his 5th base of the season.

Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 and knocked in four runs, three coming on his second home run of the year.

Shin-Soo Choo went 3-for-3 with two runs scored as he hit his second home run of the season and stole his third base of the year.

Kyle Blanks went 3-for-5 with five RBI as he blasted his second home run of the year to lead the San Diego Padres to a 17-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Will Venable chipped in by going 3-for-5 with four runs scored. Venable hit his second home run of the year and also stole his first base of the season.

Carl Crawford went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and hit his first home run of the year.

Scott Rolen went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two home runs, giving him three long balls on the season.

Andruw Jones went 3-for-4 with four RBI and knocked out his first two home runs of the season.

Bengie Molina went 4-for-4 with four RBI and hit his first home run of the season for the San Francisco Giants.

Not a good day for Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles as he was placed on the disabled list and also received an epidural injection in his back. Julio Lugo should see the majority of time at second base while Roberts is out.

Pitchers:

Carl Pavano picked up his second win of the year, allowing one run in six innings with four strikeouts.

Adam Wainwright tossed eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts to pick up victory number two on the year.

Justin Duchscherer worked 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with four strikeouts.

Matt Garza allowed one run in eight innings with five strikeouts to earn his second win of the season.

Closers:

Neftali Feliz picked up his first save of the season for the Texas Rangers, working a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Chris Perez was pulled from a tie game in the ninth inning after allowing a double, committing an error on a bunt and then surrendering a walk to load the bases without recording an out

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The Daily Dirt from Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 11th, 2010

Mike Leake debuted for the Cincinnati Reds as the 5th starter after spending zero time in the major leagues. Leake became the 21st player since 1965 to go from the draft to the major leagues. With a fastball touching 90, he was able to throw a variety of pitches to keep the Chicago Cubs hitters of balance, allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. The downside to his performance were seven walks and the fact manager Dusty Baker let him throw 106 pitches in his first start. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

Josh Willingham went 2-for-3 and drove in five RBI, four coming on his first inning grand slam off losing pitcher Johan Santana.

Jorge Cantu went 2-for-4 with five RBI, giving him 10 RBI for the first week of the year. Cantu also doubled and hit his second home run of the year.

Alex Gonzalez hit two home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays, giving him four solo home runs for the first week of the season. He has moved up to second in the line up with Aaron Hill out of action.

Dustin Pedroia went 4-for-5 and launched his 3rd home run of the season for the Boston Red Sox.

Scott Podsednik went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases giving him four steals for the first week and a .364 average.

Rajai Davis swiped two bases also giving him four steals for the Oakland A’s.

Kelly Johnson and Chris Young each hit their third home run of the season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. New starting catcher Chris Snyder, filling in for the injured Miguel Montero, went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI.

Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI to lead a St. Louis rally against the Milwaukee Brewers that ultimately came up short.

Pitchers:

Tom Gorzelanny looked good for the Chicago Cubs, allowing no earned runs in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts.

Charlie Haeger had his knuckle ball dancing Sunday afternoon en route to 12 strikeouts. Haeger allowed three hits, four walks and three earned runs through six innings.

Roy Halladay tossed a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits with no walks and eight strikeouts against the hapless Houston Astros.

Roy Oswalt pitched good, allowing two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts, but it was not enough to win with Halladay as the opposing pitcher.

Scott Feldman allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year for the Texas Rangers.

Ubaldo Jimenez picked up his second win of the year, allowing two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts.

Tim Lincecum also notched his second win, allowing two runs in seven innings with 10 strikeouts, while throwing 108 pitches.

Closers:

Chris Perez blew his first save of the season, done in by walking three hitters and allowing the game-winning run on a wild pitch.

Kevin Gregg picked up his second save of the season as Jason Frasor was given the night off. It was quite a week for the Toronto Blue Jays as they went 5-1 and recorded saves in each of the wins.

Trevor Hoffman allowed back-to-back home runs to Pujols and Matt Holliday in the ninth inning to blow the save, although he got the win after Casey McGehee hit a home run off Kyle McClellan in the bottom of the ninth inning.

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The Daily Dirt from Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 10th, 2010

The first week of the baseball season just re-affirms the rule of not wasting a high draft pick on a closer because of the good chance you can find saves late in the draft or through free agency. The leader in the clubhouse with week one almost complete, Jon Rauch of the Minnesota Twins who saved his 4th game in the Twins 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Jose Reyes returned from the disabled list for the New York Mets and went 1-for-4 hitting lead off. It is safe to get him active in all formats for next week.

Not the way you want your first start in the major leagues to go, Juan Francisco went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts for the Cincinnati Reds.

Jason Varitek played for the first time this season and delivered two solo home runs to power the Boston Red Sox offense.

Ryan Howard went 2-for-4 with three RBI and is well on his way to another 40+ home run season with his third dinger of the year.

Nelson Cruz slugged his 4th home of the season and looks ready to duplicate his 30+ home runs from last year.

I have caught two of the Atlanta Braves games this season and in each one I have seen Troy Glaus made a terrible play at first base. I know the Braves have him there for offense and not his defense, but if he is not slugging home runs by May and still playing that type of defense and if the team is in the race for the playoffs, I have to think they make a move at that position.

Pitchers:

Scott Baker was much better in his second start, allowing one run in seven innings with three strikeouts.

Jeremy Bonderman picked up his first win in almost two years, allowing one hit in five innings with five strikeouts.

Carlos Zambrano allowed three runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts to notch his first win of the season.

Rookie Jaime Garcia worked six solid innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts to pick up the win. Garcia struggled with his control throughout the game, pitching first-pitch strikes to only 9 of 25 hitters, but helped his cause by recording 10 ground ball outs.

CC Sabathia lost a no-hitter in the 8th inning and finished with 7 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. It would have been interesting to see if he had made it through the eighth without allowing a hit if the Yankees would have send him back out for the ninth as he threw 111 pitches.

Dana Eveland tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts to pick up the win for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jered Weaver allowed one run in six innings with seven strikeouts but received a no decision.

Closers:

Ryan Perry picked up a save for the Detroit Tigers with Jose Valverde getting the night off after already working in four games this week.

Matt Capps sure does like to make hings interesting as he loaded the bases in the ninth innings before getting Rod Barajas to line out to save his second game of the season.

It looks like Neftali Feliz might have some value after all this year after Frank Francisco blew his second save of the season. Francisco has given up three runs in each of his last two appearances, leaving him with a 27 ERA.

George Sherrill got the chance to close out the Los Angeles Dodgers win after Jonathan Broxton pitched the previous two days, but he was not up to the task, has the Florida Marlins rallied for the win with three runs in the ninth inning

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The Daily Dirt from Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 9th, 2010

Rick Porcello picked up the win for the Detroit Tigers allowing two runs in five innings with three strikeouts. It is a little disappointing to see management still coddling him as he was removed after a batter reached in the sixth inning despite being at only 87 pitches. If that continues to happen, it is going to end up costing him a few wins this season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Brian Roberts left the game after the first inning after straining his abdominal muscle after stealing second base.

Drew Stubbs hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th inning to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Rafael Furcal continues to turn back the clock, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and his third stolen base of the season.

Who said that Citi Field is not a home run ballpark? Jeff Francoeur and Rod Barajas both tested that theory on Friday night, by each blasting two home runs.

Chris Young went 3-for-4 with five RBI and delivered his second home run of the season. More importantly he has struck out only one time so far in 15 at bats this season.

Pitchers:

Jorge De La Rosa was stellar for the Colorado Rockies, allowing one hit in seven scoreless innings while striking out nine. He helped his cause by tossing first-pitch strikes to 18 out of the 24 hitters he faced.

Hiroki Kuroda worked eight innings, allowing one unearned run with seven strikeouts. As always, the key to his performance going forward will be his health. If you can get 180+ innings out of him on your staff, he is going to be a big help to your team ERA and WHIP.

Colby Lewis worked seven strong innings, allowing one run while striking out three. It was his first win in the major leagues since April 7, 2004.

Rodrigo Lopez looks like he has found a home in the National League, working six innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Gio Gonzalez picked up a win, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts for the Oakland A’s.

There was nothing to like about the performance by Bud Norris on Friday night. Yes, he can throw hard, in the 94-95 mph range at times, but he could not locate his fastball in the strike zone on a consistent basis. He still has not shown the ability to develop a change up as a solid third pitch so until he does, he his going to have nights like these. He walked four in 2 2/3 innings while allowing six hits and four runs.

Closers:

It was another bad day for Mike Gonzalez of the Baltimore Orioles as he blew his second save of the season. The only save he converted this season came after he loaded the bases and escaped out of the jam. It might be a good time to grab Jim Johnson if you own Gonzalez just to hedge your bets.

Billy Wagner surrendered a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to Edgar Renteria to blow the win for Tim Hudson.

Trevor Hoffman gave up a two-run home run on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning to Nick Stavinoha as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4.

Jon Rauch is making it easier for Twins fans to forget about Joe Nathan as  he picked up his third save of the season.

Kevin Gregg picked up a save for the Toronto Blue Jays with Jason Frasor given the night off after working the two previous games.

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The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 7th, 2010

New season, but same story as last year for Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he struggled with his control and was unable to make it through five innings. Kershaw allowed 11 runners in 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts, while throwing 50 balls and 59 strikes. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Jim Edmonds got the start again in right field over Corey Hart and went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

John Bowker hit his first home run of the season and looks good-to-go against right-handed pitching.

Russell Martin, who was dropped down to the 8th spot with Matt Kemp moving up to second, hit his first home run of the season.

Colby Rasmus stole a base but more importantly drew two walks on Wednesday. It seems in the early going he has improved his plate discipline from last season and could be headed for a very good season.

Reid Brignac got the start at second base for Tampa Bay and went 2-for-3 with a run scored. It looks like he could be sharing time at second base with Sean Rodriguez.

Vernon Wells went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four runs scored, giving him three home runs on the season.

The two question marks in the Minnesota Twins line up have answered the bell so far as Justin Morneau and J.J. Hardy both belted their second home runs of the season.

It was a bad night at the plate for Troy Glaus and Kyle Blanks as both sluggers went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.

Pitchers:

Ryan Dempster allowed one run in six innings with nine strikeouts in a no-decision against the Atlanta Braves. He was on top of his game Wednesday, getting seven ground ball outs and only two flyouts.

Matt Garza went eight string innings, allowing one run and racking up nine strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season. It looks like he is carrying over his jump in strikeout rate from 2009.

There was some good and some bad in Fausto Carmona’s start Wednesday as he only allowed one hit, but walked six batters against only one strikeout in six innings while picking up the win.

Max Scherzer’s first start in the American League went well with one hit allowed in six scoreless innings with three strikeouts in a no decision.

I got a chance to watch the start of Ian Kennedy against San Diego and I liked what I saw. His fastball was in the 88-90 range, but he showed a real nice change up recording a couple of strikeouts with the pitch. He also showed a good ability to locate his pitches on both sides of the plate to hitters. His only mistake was a 3-2 pitch that Scott Hairston hit for a three-run home run. It was the only runs Kennedy allowed in five innings while issuing no walks and eight strikeouts.

Closers:

Ryan Madson collected a four out save to nail down the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 win over the Washington Nationals

Jason Frasor was much better in his second save opportunity, working a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts.

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The Daily Dirt from Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 7th, 2010

The platoon police were out in full effect on Tuesday as several players got starts based on the pitcher on the mound.

Andres Torres got the start in right field over John Bowker for the San Francisco Giants against the southpaw Wandy Rodriguez.

Chris Johnson got the start at third base for the Houston Astros against lefty Barry Zito with Pedro Feliz sliding over to first base.

Corey Hart started in right field for the Milwaukee Brewers with the lefty Greg Smith on the mound for Colorado.

Eric Byrnes got the start in left field for the Seattle Mariners with Milton Bradley moving to designated hitter which put Ken Griffey Jr. on the bench. Byrnes has some value in AL only leagues and could steal 10+ bases in 200+ at bats

Ian Stewart owners had to be happy to see him in the line up against left-handed starter Randy Wolf. There was some thought that Melvin Mora would get to see time against left-handed pitching but manager Jim Tracy went with Stewart Tuesday night. Stewart responded by crushing a home run to left-center field, his second in two days so it should buy him some more at bats against southpaws.

Hitters:

Victor Martinez went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a home run off A.J. Burnett. I think him in the third hole all year for the Boston Red Sox gives him numbers equal or better to Joe Mauer this season.

Brian Roberts is 0-for-the season so far. I think it takes him a couple of weeks to get his timing down since he missed the majority of spring training so I would not be concerned where is average is at after two to three weeks as long as there is no bad news about his back.

Pitchers:

Barry Zito won his first start with six shutout innings against the Astros. Zito allowed three hits and one walk while fanning five.

Zito’s counterpart Wandy Rodriguez cruised through five innings before unraveling in the sixth. Walking the first two hitters to start the inning led to his downfall.

Randy Wolf allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings, but picked up his first win as a Milwaukee Brewer with eight strikeouts. Wolf helped his cause by throwing first pitch strikes to 22 of the 29 hitters he faced.

Chris Young of the San Diego Padres worked six scoreless innings, allowing one hit with five strikeouts to pick up the win.

Closers:

First save chance with his new team and Mike Gonzalez blew it for the Baltimore Orioles allowing a two-run single to Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays to lose the game.

New Minnesota Twins closer Jon Rauch had little trouble in his first save opportunity striking out two in a scoreless inning of work.

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The Daily Dirt from Monday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 5th, 2010

Roy Halladay was on top of his game in his first start in the National League, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to pick up his first win with the Philadelphia Phillies. To me, he is the odds on favorite to win the National League Cy Young award and could easily win 20 games this season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Monday…

Hitters:

Placido Polanco delivered a grand slam for his new club and hit second in the batting order. That pushed Shane Victorino down to seventh in the line up which means Victorino will see a drop in runs scored this season.

Albert Pujols had some injury issues in spring training but once the lights came on for real, he delivered in his usual stellar fashion going 4-for-5 with two home runs.

Colby Rasmus went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season hitting 5th for the St. Louis Cardinals. There is a great chance he hits over 20 home runs in his second go round in the major leagues.

Wonder how many people are kicking themselves today for passing on David Wright at the end of the first round? Wright delivered an opposite field home run at home in the New York Mets 7-1 win over the Florida Marlins.

Garrett Jones delivered two home runs with three runs scored and three RBI and catcher Ryan Doumit added a three-run shot as the Pittsburgh Pirates hammered the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-5.

Comeback kids Alex Rios of the Chicago White Sox and Vernon Wells of the Toronto Blue Jays both went yard on opening day.

Carlos Gomez went 4-for-5 with his first home run of the year and a stolen base in the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Jim Edmonds got the start for the Brewers in right field over Corey Hart and went 1-for-4.

The opening day line up for the Atlanta Braves was pretty impressive as they beat up the Chicago Cubs 16-5. Rookie Jason Heyward went 2-for-5 with four RBI and homered in his first at bat of the game. Shortstop Yunel Escobar added five RBI. Nate McLouth was dropped to 8th in the batting order with Melky Cabrera moved up to lead off.

Second basemen Chris Getz went 2-for-4 with a stolen base for the Kansas City Royals. If you are looking for stolen bases and he is on the waiver wire still, go and grab him.

Kyle Blanks hit his first home run of the season for the San Diego Padres hitting clean up. If there is a player that comes out of no where to hit 30 home runs this season, Blanks would be the person to do it.

Pitchers:

Opening day starter Vicente Padilla for the Dodgers? That did not work out so well. Padilla was shelled for seven runs in 4 1/3 innings with two strikeouts.

Mark Buehrle had an easy day at the office against the Cleveland Indians, working seven scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

Shaun Marcum carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but finished the game with a no-decision after allowing a three-run home run to Nelson Cruz. Marcum struck out six in seven innings of work.

Carlos Zambrano allowed eight runs in 1 1/3 innings leaving him with a 54 ERA after his first start of the season. Zambrano surrendered two home runs, six hits and also hit a batter.

Zack Greinke allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts but was denied a win after the bullpen coughed up the lead.

News of Tim Lincecum’s loss of velocity in spring training did not appear to be evident Monday night as he hurled seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. He was hitting 94 on the gun, but what sets him apart from other pitchers is his ability to throw his change up at any time or any count and get hitters out.

Ben Sheets was hitting 94 on the gun for the Oakland A’s but had trouble locating his fastball and curveball in the strike zone. As a result, he only made it through five innings before hitting 94 pitches. He allowed four hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

Closers:

Jason Frasor of the Blue Jays failed to deliver in his first save opportunity of the season, allowing five baserunners in 1/3 of an inning as he took the loss.

Franklin Morales converted his first save try filling in for the injured Huston Street for the Rockies.

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