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The Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 19th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Looking to add some power to their offense, the San Diego Padres recalled their top minor slugger Kyle Blanks from Triple-A. The Padres face left-handed starters in five of their next six games and will be playing American League clubs, giving Blanks the possibility of starting at first base, the outfield or at designated hitter. Blanks hit .283 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 66 games at Triple-A., while batting .424 over his last 10 games. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Derek Lee continues to roll, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and two RBI. Lee sent the game into extra innings with his home run off of Kerry Wood in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Brad Hawpe went 3-for-4 with three RBI, including his 10th home run of the season. Hawpe is currently second in the National League with a .343 batting average and fifth in RBI with 50 on the season.

Victor Martinez smacked his 12th home run of the season and drove in three runs, giving him 53 RBI on the season. Martinez has now driven in 12 runs in his last eight games.

Prince Fielder went 2-for-4 and clubbed his 17th home run of the season. Fielder also drove in three runs, giving him a RBI in five consecutive games., totaling 12 plated runners.

Jason Bay collected his 18th home run on the season and drove in two runs giving him 65 RBI on the season, good for second place behind Fielder’s 67. Bay has driven in 10 runs in his last nine game.

Miguel Olivo went 2-or-4 and blasted his 10th home run of the season. Olivo has certainly taken advantage of John Buck being out of action, by hitting five home runs and driving in 11 runs in his last nine games.

Aaron Rowand went 3-for-3 and hit his seventh home run of the season. After batting fifth for the majority of the season last year, he has found a home lately atop the batting order as the lead-off hitter, where is batting .346.

Marcus Thames went 2-for-4, knocking out two home runs and driving in four runs. Thames now has three home runs in his last two games.

Garret Anderson went 3-for-3 with four RBI in an Atlanta Braves 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Nate McLouth went 2-for-4 with two RBI and added his 12th home run on the season.

Pitchers:

Fernando Nieve picked up his second win of the year, allowing one run in six innings with four strikeouts. Nieve has now allowed three runs in 14 2/3 innings since being recalled on June 6th. His next start will come against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

Andy Pettite allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 7-3 on the season. It was no surprise the win came on the road for Pettite, where he has a 2.59 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .226 average compared to his home splits of a 5.77 ERA and a .332 average allowed. Fantasy baseball owners might want to consider benching him for his home starts.

Kevin Slowey allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts to notch his 10th win of the season. Slowey moved into a tie with Roy Halladay for the win lead in the American League.

Jon Garland tossed seven shutout innings, allowing seven hits with three strikeouts. The no decision snapped his five game losing streak.

The Daily Dirt for Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 18th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Adrian Gonzalez went 4-for-4 with two RBI and blasted his 23rd home run of the season. The home run was Gonzalez’s first since June 2nd as teams have continued to pitch around him more. Gonzalez already has 21 walks in June after walking 17 times in May. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

Nate McLouth went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs, including his 11th home run of the season. It remains to be seen whether there is any drag on McLouth’s batting average after hitting .315 at PNC Park before is trade.

Adam Lind went 3-for-4 with two RBI and blasted his 14th home run of the season. Lind has homered five times in his last nine games with nine RBI during that stretch.

Derek Lee smacked a three-run home run and drove in four runs, boosting his RBI total to 31 for the season. Lee has driven in 10 runs in his last nine games and extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

Alexei Ramirez homered for the second consecutive game, giving him seven bombs on the season. His batting average however still remains locked in the .250 range. Until he improves his batting average against right-handed pitching, he is going to be in that range for awhile. After hitting .281 against right-handed pitching in 2008, Ramirez has struggled this season, batting only .203.

Clint Barmes has found a home in the number two spot in the batting order. Barmes has had six multi-hit games in his last 10 starts, while knocking in eight runs. Barmes is hitting .351 in 94 at bats while hitting seconds this season.

Chris Young is starting to show some signs of life for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Young went 4-for-4 with his 11th stolen base of the year and now has five hits in his last six at bats. He has also walked four times with zero strikeouts in his last three games.

Franklin Gutierrez swatted two home runs, giving him three home runs in his last four games. He has a nice little trend line going, homering once in April, twice in May and currently has three home runs in June.

Chris Davis broke a long home drought, homering for the first time since May 26th. The strikeouts continue to pile up for Davis who has only one game in June that he did not strike out in.

John Mayberry Jr. returned from Triple-A with Raul Ibanez being placed on the disabled list, and homered for the second time this season on Thursday.

Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-4 and delivered his 10th home run of the season. The home run was Cuddyer’s first since May 29th.

Pitchers:

Tommy Hanson was a little better in his third start for the Atlanta Braves, tossing six shutout innings to pick up his second win of the year. After dominating the minor leagues and striking out a ton of hitters, it is disappointing if he is on your fantasy baseball team that his walk strikeout ratio sits at 10 / 12 in 17 2/3 innings.

Dan Haren allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out six to up his mark to 6-4 on the year. Haren has allowed two runs or less in his last five starts.

Nick Blackburn allowed one run in a complete game effort and struck out two to improve his record to 6-2 on the year. Blackburn has run off six straight starts allowing three runs or less, while shaving more than a run off of his ERA.

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts in a no decision. Floyd has run off three straight starts with only one run allowed in each outing.

Ubaldo Jimenez won his third straight start, allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings while fanning seven. Jimenez will have his next start at home against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ricky Nolasco picked up a rain-shortened win, allowing one run in five innings with five strikeouts. Nolasco now has a 2.50 ERA in his last three starts.

Craig Stammen was rewarded with his first major league win after tossing 6 1/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts.

Closers:

Mike MacDougal picked up his second save in as many days, working a scoreless ninth inning.

The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 17th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

After being bumped from the rotation, Scott Richmond returned to the hill as a starter on Wednesday night in grand fashion. Richmond allowed one run in eight innings and struck out a season-high 11 hitters to notch his 5th win of the year. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Mark Reynolds homered for the 18th time this season, connecting off of Zack Greinke. Reynolds has homered five times in his last 10 games while collecting 14 RBI during that stretch.

Aaron Hill went 3-for-5 and slugged his 15th home run of the season. Hill drove in three runs giving him 47 on the season and he is now batting .315 on the year.

Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with three RBI and belted his ninth home run of the year. Hart has now driven in 1o runs in his last seven games while raising his batting average 21 points.

Curtis Granderson returned to the lead-off spot, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and a stolen base. Granderson now has 16 home runs on the season to go along with 11 stolen bases.

Aubrey Huff went 2-for-3 with three RBI and delivered his ninth home run of the season. Huff has a modest five game hitting streak going and is now up to 44 RBI on the year.

Matt Wieters hit his first career home run, taking Tim Redding deep for a two-run blast in the second inning. Wieters is now hitting .240 on the season.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen hit his first major league home run, connecting for a two-run shot off of Francisco Liriano. McCutchen is now hitting .339 since being recalled from Triple-A.

Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run home run off of David PRice for his ninth home run of the season. Tulowitzki has four home runs in his last 10 games with eight RBI during that stretch.

Evan Longoria homered for the second consecutive game, giving him 16 home runs on the season. Longoria is second in the American League with 60 RBI, leaving him three behind Jason Bay.

Jose Lopez homered for the fifth time in his last nine games, giving him 10 home runs on the year. Lopez has knocked in 13 RBI during that span, plating runners in eight out of nine games.

Jason Werth hit a solo home run, number 11 on the season, and has now homered three times in his last four games.

Pitchers:

John Danks allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to even his mark at 5-5. The win broke a two game losing streak for Danks who has allowed three runs in his last 14 1/3 innings.

John Lannan allowed two runs in 8 1/3 innings with four strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season. Lannan has allowed two runs or less in his last three starts, going 2-0 during that span.

Brad Penny tossed five shutout innings and struck out three to improve his record to 6-2 on the year. Penny picked up his 100th career win and will remain in the rotation with John Smoltz returning to action next week as the Boston Red Sox for now are saying they will go with a six-man pitching rotation.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to even his record at 4-4. Despite allowing runs for the first time in his last three starts, he still managed to lower his ERA for a third straight start.

Ian Snell picked up his first win since April 18th, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts. It seemed like he had turned the corner in 2007, but his stats have been trending downward the last two years. His control has gradually deteriorated, going from a 2.6 K/BB ratio in 2007, to 1.52 in 2008 to his current number of 1.29.

Trevor Cahill hurled 5 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the year. Cahill continues to whittle away at his overall ERA, lowering it for a six consecutive start.

Closers:

Trevor Hoffman blew his first save of the season, allowing two runs in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians.

Mike MacDougal picked up his forst save of the season for the Washington Nationals. McDougal’s line has been much better since coming over to the National League at the end of May. MacDougal currently has a 1.29 ERA in 6 2/3 innings.

The Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 14th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

It was a good day for the New York Yankees offense on Sunday, as it scored nine runs off of Johan Santana in three innings en route to a 15-0 victory over the New York Mets. The Yankees scored 15 runs without receiving a RBI from Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez. Robinson Cano went 3-for-4 with three RBI, including his 11th home run of the season. Hideki Matsui hit his 1oth home run of the year and Derek Jeter went 4-for-4 to raise his batting average to .310. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

B.J. Upton is not delivering at the plate, but at least he is stealing bases in bunches to provide help in one fantasy baseball category. Upton stole two bases again on Sunday giving him three consecutive games with two steals.

Ty Wigginton went 3-for-4 and clubbed two home runs, giving him five on the season. Wigginton isn’t much of an option in fantasy baseball leagues with his reduced playing time. Since May 26th, Wigginton has started only six out of the last 17 games.

There must be some kind of curse on National League East third basemen this year that have stripped them of their power and turned them into high batting average hitters. Much like David Wright and Andy LaRoche, Pedro Feliz has followed suit in 2009, reducing his home runs and jacking up his batting average. Feliz went 3-for-5 on Sunday with two RBI and is now hitting .318 on the season.

Casey McGehee went 3-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season. He is definitely an option in National League only leagues with Rickie Weeks out for the season. McGehee has raised his batting average 82 points in the last 10 days to its current level of .338.

Corey Hart hit two solo home runs giving him eight on the season, in what has been a disappointing year so far. All he needs is the correct slot in the batting order for him to turn his season around. Batting first or seventh, Hart is hitting only .170 this year in 65 at bats. Compare that to the second or sixth spots in the line up and Hart is batting .290. Memo to Ken Macha, please adjust your batting line up accordingly!

Juan Rivera went 2-for-4 and belted two solo home runs. Rivera has hit three home runs and driven in nine runs in his last seven games.

Miguel Olivo continued his week 10 power surge, going 2-for-4 and hitting his ninth home run of the season. The home run was the fourth this week for Olivo who knocked in eight runs in six games.

Casey Blake went 2-for-4 with four RBI and collected his 10th home run of the season. The home run ended an almost month long drought for Blake who last homered on May 19th.

Ronny Paulino went 4-for-5 and delivered two home runs while driving in three. Paulino has gotten off to a good start in June, as he is now hitting .379 for the month.

Pitchers:

Jered Weaver tossed a complete game shutout with five strikeouts to improve to 7-2 on the year. Weaver has allowed two runs or less in his last five starts while going 4-0 in that stretch.

Matt Cain tossed a complete game, allowing one run with a season-high nine strikeouts. Cain, who has battled control problems in several starts this season, did not walk a batter for the third time this year.

A.J. Burnett tossed seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts to pick up win number five on the year. Burnett’s inconsistencies have been a direct result of his increase in walks and lack of control compared to previous seasons. His strikeout to walk ratio of 1.78 is currently the lowest it has been since 2003 and his batting average against of .261 is the highest since 2006.

Josh Johnson picked up a complete game victory, allowing three runs with six strikeouts to improve to 6-1 on the season. Johnson has been amazingly consistent this season. Outside of his start on April 18th, he has allowed three runs or fewer in every other start this year.

Chad Billingsley allowed two runs in seven innings with three strikeouts to up his mark to 9-3. It was the third consecutive win for Billingsley who moved into a tie for first place in wins in the National League with Matt Cain.

Brian Bannister hurled eight scoreless innings and fanned four to gain his fifth victory of the season. Bannister has allowed two earned runs in his last 13 innings.

Scott Baker allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts in a no decision. Baker now has a 2.87 ERA in his last three starts with 23 strikeouts in 22 innings.

Jason Hammel allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the year. Hammel has reeled off three straight wins with a 2.46 ERA in those outings.

Ross Ohlendorf allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts to pick up his sixth win of the season. The win for Ohlendorf was his first since May 13th.

Closers:

Trevor Hoffman allowed a run for the first time this season, taking the loss against the Chicago White Sox. Hoffman had worked 18 scoreless innings coming into Sunday’s game.

Jose Valverde returned from the disabled list and worked a scoreless inning with three strikeouts.

Frank Francisco was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. C.J. Wilson will take over as closer while Francisco is out.

The Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 13th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Torii Hunter hit three solo home runs, giving him four home runs in his last two games, in a 9-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Kendry Morales added his 10th home run of the season for the Los Angeles Angels. Joe Saunders allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 7-4. The win was the first for Saunders in his last four starts. The Angels made a couple of roster moves, sending Howie Kendrick to Triple-A and recalling second basemen Sean Rodriguez. Kevin Kouzmanoff was the lone offense for the Padres as he collected his seventh home run of the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Albert Pujols went 3-for-4 and blasted two more home runs, giving him four home runs in his last three days.

Gary Sheffield went 2-for-5 and homered for the second consecutive day, giving him seven on the season. What fantasy baseball owner would have thought that Gary Sheffield would have more home runs than teammate David Wright at this point in the season?

Armando Rios went 4-for-4 with two RBI and delivered his 8th home run of the season. The home run was Rios’ second in the month of June, who also added his 10th stolen base of the season.

Cody Ross went 3-for-4 and homered for the second consecutive day. Ross now has 10 home runs on the season with 39 RBI.

Jeremy Hermida homered for the third time in five games and drove in two runs. Hermida has five consecutive multi-hit games and six RBI during that time.

Ryan Zimmerman picked up his 12th home run of the season, homering for this first time in his last 19 games. Zimmerman has seen his batting average fall 34 points since his 11th home run back on May 22nd.

Brian Roberts went 4-for-5 with two RBI and collected a double in his fifth straight game. Roberts is currently on pace for a 16 home run, 65 RBI, 31 steal season.

Adam Jones homered for the first time since May 26th and drove in three runs. Jones is now batting .324 on the season with 41 RBI.

Jose Lopez went 3-for-4 and homered for the fourth time this week, giving him nine home runs on the season.

Pitchers:

Rich Harden returned from the disabled list after missing three weeks with a mid-back strain, allowing two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts.

Anthony Swarzak tossed seven shutout innings and struck out six to even his mark at 2-2. After the game Swarzak was sent back to Triple-A so the Minnesota Twins could recall a position player.

Jose Contreras hurled eight innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits while striking out eight. It was the second straight scoreless start for Contreras since he returned from Triple-A on June 8th.

Zach Duke picked up his seventh win of the season, allowing three runs in eight innings with three strikeouts. Duke has been a work horse this year, as he currently sits second in the National League in innings pitched.

Pitching on two extra days rest due to a sore wrist, Roy Oswalt notched his third win of the season, allowing one run in seven innings with five strikeouts.

Randy Johnson allowed two runs in seven innings with three strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the season. Johnson has a 2.15 ERA in his last five starts.

Joe Saunders allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 7-4. The win was the first for Saunders in his last four starts.

The Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 13th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The New York Yankees hit four home runs, but in the end, they needed a little luck to defeat the New York Mets 9-8. The Yankees rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on a two-out dropped pop up by Luis Castillo. Mark Teixeira (20), Robinson Cano (10), Derek Jeter (9) and Hideki Matsui (9) all went deep for the Yankees. Gary Sheffield delivered his sixth home run of the season for the Mets. Joba Chamberlain needed 100 pitches to make it through four innings, allowing one hit with five walks. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Joe Mauer went 2-for-4 with three RBI and hit his 13th home run of the season. Mauer has tied his career-high for home runs that he set back in 2006.

Mark Reynolds went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI, including his 16th home run of the season. Reynolds also picked up his 13th stolen base of the year.

Brian McCann went 4-for-4 with two RBI, raising his batting average to .331 on the year. McCann has driven in seven runs in his last six games.

Albert Pujols connected for his 2oth home run of the season and stole his ninth base of the year. Pujols is batting .321 for the year with 55 RBI.

Troy Tulowitzki hit his eighth home run of the season and swiped his six base in addition to scoring three runs. Tulowitzki has now homered three times in his last five games.

Kevin Kouzmanoff went 3-for-4 with three RBI and belted his sixth home run of the season. Kouzmanoff has been on fire his last five game with 11 RBI.

Pitchers:

San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy will miss eight to 12 weeks with a partially torn tendon in his right ankle. Peavy had struggled since suffering the injury, with a 6.28 ERA in three starts. The Padres have several internal options to replace Peavy although none are very exciting from a fantasy baseball standpoint. Top minor league prospect Mat Latos would probably be a long shot to get the call to replace Peavy. Latos is currently in Double-A with a 0.79 ERA through four starts.

Dan Haren picked up his fifth win of the year in a complete game seven strikeout performance. Haren has allowed one run in each of his last three outings with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.

Tim Lincecum pitched a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the year. Lincecum lowered his ERA for his fifth straight start to its current mark of 2.66

Kevin Slowey allowed struck out a season-high 10 in six innings to pick up his ninth win of the season. Slowey has been getting hit at a much higher rate in 2009 vs. 2008, allowing batters to hit over .300 against him this season. Heading into Friday’s game, he has been much tougher out of the stretch and even harder to hit with men in scoring position.

No one on base: .351 avg.

Runners on: .271 avg.

In scoring position: .200 avg.

Tommy Hanson picked up his first major league win, although it was not pretty, allowing 14 base runners in 5 2/3 innings and two earned runs. The damage could have been worse as Hanson left the game with the bases loaded, but Peter Moylan struck out Adam Jones to end the inning.

Jon Lester allowed one run in seven innings with 11 strikeouts in a no decision. It was Lester’s third straight start with double digit strikeouts, giving him 34 strikeouts in his last 22 innings, with only seven hits and three runs allowed in that span.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts to collect his seventh win of the season. The seven innings marked his longest outing since back on May 5th. The Detroit Tigers coaching staff has been limiting his pitch count for most of the year. The 99 pitches Porcello threw on Friday was a season high.

Ricky Nolasco turned in his best start of the season in a no decision, allowing two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts. It was his second straight effective start since being recalled from Triple-A. He should be safe to move back into fantasy baseball rotations in mixed leagues for the time being.

Vincente Padilla tossed five shutout innings with two strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season. It was the second straight win for Padilla since the Texas Rangers requested waivers on him back on June 3rd.

Luke Hochevar hurled a complete game, allowing one win with three strikeouts, to even his record at 2-2. Hochevar has won both of his starts since being recalled from Triple-A on June 6th.

Recent Double-A call up Aaron Poreda of the Chicago White Sox threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

The Daily Dirt for Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 11th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The Tampa Bay Rays used four home runs to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 11-1. Carlos Pena (19), Evan Longoria (14), Carl Crawford (5) and Dioner Navarro (4) all went deep for the Rays. David Price was pulled after 4 1/3 innings due to a high pitch count. Price who threw 105 pitches, allowed one run with six walks and six strikeouts. Angels starter Ervin Santana was pounded for the third time in six starts since returning from the disabled list, allowing six runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Angels announced that starter Kelvim Escobar would be moving to the bullpen after experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired shoulder. Matt Palmer will return to the rotation, starting on Friday against the San Diego Padres. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Thursday…

Hitters:

Justin Upton connected for his 12th home run of the season, drove in two runs and stole his ninth base of the year. Upton is now batting .317 with 37 RBI on the season.

Albert Pujols hit his 19th home run of the year and plated two runners. Pujols has now driven in 10 runs in his last 10 games.

Jim Thome homered for the third time in his last four games, during which time he has driven in seven runs. Thome is now hitting .258 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI on the year. Unfortunately for Thome who had just started to heat up, he will be out of the lineup the next week and a half as the Chicago White Sox go on the road to National League parks.

Curtis Granderson went 3-for-4 with two RBI, including his 14t home run of the year. It was the first home run for Granderson in the month of June.

Ian Stewart went 2-for-4 with three runs scored , while delivering his 12th home run of the season. Stewart has five home runs and 13 RBI in his last nine games, while boosting his batting average 52 points.

Ryan Braun went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and belted his 13th home run of the season. Braun has hit three home runs in his last four games with eight RBI.

Russell Branyan went 2-for-4 with three RBI and collected his 14th home run of the season. Branyan is now hitting .317 with 29 RBI on the year.

Derek Lee hit his seventh home run of the season and is showing a little bit of life at the plate lately. He has a modest 10 game hitting streak which has raised his batting average 23 points.

Raul Ibanez hit a game-winning three-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-3 win over the New York Mets. Ibanez has now driven in 12 runs in his last nine games and is hitting .322 on the season.

David Ortiz hit his third home run in five games and has now driven in seven RBI in his last seven games. With the Red Sox going into interleague play on the road, it remains to be seen whether Ortiz will be in the lineup, with Mike Lowell or Kevin Youkilis sitting on the bench.

Pitchers:

Max Scherzer tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts to pick up his third win of the season. Scherzer has not allowed a run in his last two starts covering 12 2/3 innings.

Kevin Millwood hurled 7 2/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout to notch is sixth win of the season. Millwood has not allowed a run in his last two outings totaling 14 2/3 innings of work.

Javier Vazquez struck out 12 in eight innings while allowing one run in a no decision. Vazquez momentarily took over the National League strikeout lead with 105 now on the season. He has allowed four runs in his last 20 1/3 innings but has no wins to show for it.

Ryan Dempster allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. This marks the first time since his opening day start that Dempster’s ERA has fallen below four. Dempster has allowed one earned run in his last 20 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Ricky Romero allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts in a tough luck 1-0 loss. Romero did not allow a home run after allowing seven in his previous three starts.

Brad Penny turned in six scoreless innings with five strikeouts in a no decision. Despite his ERA not being that pretty, Penny has picked up the strikeout pace in his last four starts, striking out 22 in his last 23 innings.

Gavin Floyd had his fifth consecutive solid start, allowing one run in eight innings with five strikeouts, before Bobby Jenks blew his win in the ninth inning. Floyd has a 1.67 ERA in his last 37 2/3 innings with 36 strikeouts.

Closers:

Joe Beimel picked up his first save of the season for the Washington Nationals, working a scoreless ninth inning.

The Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 10th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Chase Utley delivered two solo home runs, including the game winning home run in the 11th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the New York Mets. Utley now has 15 home runs on the season with 41 RBI. Ryan Madson picked up his third save of the season, in place of the injured Brad Lidge. David Wright went 3-for-5 for the Mets with two stolen bases. Wright is now batting .354 with 16 stolen bases on the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wendesday…

Hitters:

Mark Teixeira went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and delivered his 19th home run of the season. Teixeira is up to .296 on the season with 52 RBI, including 12 in his last 10 games.

Jose Lopez belted two home runs and collected three RBI, to give him 35 runs batted in on the season. Lopez has homered three times in his last four games, giving him eight home runs on the year.

Colby Rasmus went 2-for-5 with three RBI and slugged his 7th home run of the season. Rasmus has a nine game hitting streak that has raised his batting average 40 points during that time. Teammate Rick Ankiel went 3- for-5 with three runs scored and his fourth home run of the year. Ankiel has now driven in six runs in his last six games.

Alberto Callaspo went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs on a grand slam, giving him three home runs on the year. The home run ended an RBI drought for Callaspo going back to May 16th.

Willy Aybar went 2-for-3 with three RBI, including his fifth home run of the season. Aybar has homered twice with six RBI over his last three starts.

Bengie Molina went 2-for-5 with three RBI and hit his ninth home run of the season. It might be tough for Molina to get his batting average above .260 the rest of the season unless he turns his strikeout rate around. Molina’s strikeout total is currently on pace to double from 2008.

Catcher Chris Ianetta returned from the disabled list and went 0-for-2 for the Colorado Rockies. He should be safe to activate for your fantasy baseball lineup next week.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander earned his seventh win of the season, tossing a complete game with one run allowed while striking out seven. Verlander, who has not lost a start in almost two months, currently leads the major leagues with 106 strikeouts.

Gil Meche hurled seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts to pick up his third win of the year. For Meche, it was his first victory in his last seven starts. He has now allowed three runs in his last 20 innings of work.

Felix Hernandez allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 6-3 on the season. Hernandez has allowed three runs in his last 28 2/3 innings.

Carlos Zambrano allowed one run in eight innings with three strikeouts in a no decision. Zambrano has allowed two earned runs in his last 21 innings. His counterpart Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts.

Aaron Harang pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts in a no decision. The outing marked a second consecutive good start for Harang, as he had previously allowed 14 runs in his previous 17 1/3 innings.

Jair Jurrjens allowed two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts, but suffered his fourth loss of the season. It is the second loss already for the month of June for Jurrjens. who was a perfect 3-0 in May.

Recently traded Charlie Morton got the start against his old team the Atlanta Braves, making it through only one inning before being removed with tightness in his hamstring.

Closers:

Francisco Cordero blew his first save of the season, allowing two runs in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals.

Chris Sampson is someone to keep an eye on in National League only fantasy baseball leagues. After picking up his third win Wednesday, Sampson is a perfect 3-0 with three saves and a 1.70 ERA. With the possiblity of Jose Valverde and or LaTroy Hawkins getting traded if the Houston Astros don’t improve their position in the standings, Sampson, could be in line for some saves the second half of the year.

The Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 7th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Chipper Jones smacked two home runs and went 4 for 4 with 5 RBI to lead the Atlanta Braves to an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Yunel Escobar went 3 for 5 and drove in the game-winning run in the 8th inning. Rookie Tommy Hanson was taken deep three times in his debut, allowing six runs in six innings with five strikeouts. Ryan Braun went 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI for Milwaukee. Braun now has 38 RBI on the season to go with his 12 home runs. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

Nelson Cruz moved into a tie in the American League home run race after clubbing his 17th home run of the season. Cruz went 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Since May 20th, he has not gone more than three games without hitting a home run.

Shane Victorino went 2 for 5 with two RBI including his fifth home run of the season. Victorino is now hitting .295 on the season with 29 RBI and 9 stolen bases.

Juan Rivera went 3 for 5 with three RBI and his sixth home run of the year, giving him 25 runs knocked in on the season. Rivera has driven in a run in 7 of his last 8 games, giving him nine RBI during that period.

Aaron Hill broke out of an 0-for-25 rut by connecting for his 13th home run of the season and boosting his RBI total to 40. Despite a roughly 60 point drop in batting average from the beginning of May to the start of June, Hill still hit .307 for the month of May.

Alexei Ramirez went 2 for 5 with three RBI and delivered his fourth home run of the year. After ending May on a high note by hitting .281 for the month, he has started off slow in June batting .174.

Clint Barmes has been on a roll, going 3 for 4 with two RBI on Sunday, which gave him five consecutive games with two or more hits. He has now driven in seven runs in his last four games.

Jose Lopez went 3 for 5 with two RBI and hit his sixth home run of the season. Despite batting only .236 on the season, Lopez has still managed to drive in 31 runs so far this year.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5 with an RBI and is batting .333 early on since his promotion from Triple-A this week.

Mark Reynolds finally put an end to an 18 inning game, delivering a three-run home run off of position player Josh Wilson. The home run was the 14th of the season for Reynolds who had struck out four times earlier in the game.

Pitchers:

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and no walks with six strikeouts, to improve to 10-1 on the season. More impressive is that the shutout comes on the heels of throwing a season-high 133 pitches in his last start. Halladay has been a true workhorse this season, pitching at least seven innings in every start he has made.

Rookie Antonio Bastardo moved to 2-0 after allowing two runs in five innings with four strikeouts. He had some control problems, as he only managed first pitch strikes to 7 out of 23 hitters, but he pitched well with men on base to minimize the potential damage.

Livan Hernandez improved to 5-1 by hurling seven shutout innings with four strikeouts. Hernandez has dropped his ERA almost 3.5 runs since his only loss of the season back on April 23rd.

Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two runs in eight innings with nine strikeouts to notch his fourth win of the season. Take away his three starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has pounded him for a 10.20 ERA this season, and his numbers would be even better.

Rookie Vin Mazzaro improved to 2-0 by pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Mazzaro has yet to allow a run in 13 2/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A.

Erik Bedard allowed two runs in five innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 5-2 on the year. Despite his good record and low ERA of 2.47, he has not made it to the seventh inning in a start since May 5th.

Ricky Nolasco pitched better in his return from Triple-A, allowing two earned runs in seven innings with four strikeout, but was still tagged with his sixth loss of the season.

Closers:

Chad Qualls blew his third save of the season, allowing two runs in 2/3 of an inning. Qualls, who complained of forearm stiffness this past week has blown two of his last three save opportunities.

The Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 6th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Andre Ethier hit two solo home runs, including a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ethier has seen his average drop 54 points coming into Saturday’s game since Manny Ramirez was suspended. Rafael Furcal sent the game into extra innings with his second home run of the year in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge, who blew his sixth save of the season. In his second start back from the disabled list, Hiroki Kuroda tossed six shutout innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday night…

Hitters:

Ben Zorbist went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and connected on his 11th home run of the season. Zorbist has homered three times in his last four games.

Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and smacked his 17th home run of the season. I think with Alex Rodriguez protecting him in the line up and the way the New York Yankees new stadium is playing, Teixeira could easily be the second best first basemen in fantasy baseball behind Albert Pujols the remainder of the season.

Teammate Alex Rodriguez hit his 8th home run of the season and also stole his first base of the year. The home run was A-Rod’s first in his last 12 games.

Prince Fielder hit two solo home runs giving him 15 total on the season to go with 54 RBI. Fielder has heated up in his last 10 games, boosting his batting average 34 points and hitting five home runs with 11 RBI.

Nick Johnson went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and stroked his fifth home run of the season. Johnson is now batting .332 on the year with 30 RBI.

Ian Stewart banged out two home runs and drove in five while going 3 for 4 at the plate. Stewart has homered four times in his last four games with 12 RBI.

Josh Fields got the start over recent call up Gordon Beckham and went 2 for 4 with his third home run of the year. It was weird time to start Fields given that Beckham had only six at bats so far before sitting and Fields was hitting under .200 against left-handed pitching.

Pitchers:

Edwin Jackson picked up a complete game victory, allowing one run with five strikeouts. Jackson improved to 6-3 on the season and now ranks second in the American League in both ERA (2.16) and whip ratio (0.98).

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 4-5 on the year. Floyd has turned it around in his last four starts with six runs allowed in 29 2/3 innings and 31 strikeouts.

Jarrod Washburn allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Washburn has allowed two runs in his last 19 innings even though he does not have any wins to show for it. He is currently on pace to set a career high in strikeouts with 145 which would be his highest total since 2002.

Jon Lester pitched a complete game two-hitter to even his record at 5-5. Lester allowed one run and struck out 11 to give him double digit strikeouts in his second straight start.

Ryan Dempster threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He could be finally past his blister problems, as he has not allowed a run in two straight contests.

Rookie Trevor Cahill allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to notch his third win of the season. Cahill has allowed two runs in each of his last four starts.

Cincinnati Reds rookie Matt Maloney in his first major league start allowed two runs in six innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. He will face the Kansas City Royals in his next start.

John Lannan hurled a complete game shutout with two strikeouts to earn his third win of the season.

Making his first start since 2007, Kelvim Escobar allowed two runs in five innings with five strikeouts.

John Smoltz allowed one hit and one run in six innings in his rehab start in Triple-A on Saturday, while throwing 74 pitches. His next start in Triple-A will come on Thursday.

Closers:

Marian Rivera took a loss, allowing three runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rivera has suffered both of his losses against the Rays this season.

Randy Choate picked up his third save of the season for the Rays when Dan Wheeler was unable to close out the game in the ninth inning.

Leo Nunez picked up his second save of the year in relief of Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom was charged with two runs in the ninth inning before being removed.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 6th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

It was light day for fantasy baseball teams on offense on Friday night, as 15 teams scored two runs or less.The Colorado Rockies were the only team to score in double digits, erupting with a nine-run seventh inning to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4. Dexter Fowler hit his third home run of the season and Ian Stewart hit his ninth. Recent call up Carlos Gonzalez arrived late for the game and appeared in the 8th inning, going 0 for 1. Albert Pujols (18), Ryan Ludwick (9) and Yadier Molina (4) all went deep for the Cardinals. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Adam Lind followed up his 5 for 5 night, by going 2 for 4 with a home run. Lind’s recent hot streak has raised his batting average 33 points in his last seven games.

Pablo Sandoval went 2 for 4 with two RBI and delivered his fourth home run of the season. Sandoval is now hitting .306 on the season with 24 RBI on the year.

Carlos Lee went 2 for 5 and drove in four runs on a grand slam, giving him 10 home runs on the season.Lee is now batting .317 on the year with 35 RBI.

Luke Scott homered for the second straight day, and has now homered in six of his last nine games with 18 RBI during that stretch.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander tossed eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts, but lost his seventh win of the season when Fernando Rodney allowed two runs in the ninth inning. Verlander who last lost on April 17th has allowed five hits or less in six of his last seven starts.

Ricky Romero allowed three runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up his first win in a month and a half.

Kevin Millwood hurled seven shutout innings with five strikeouts to improve his record to 5-4 on the season. Millwood has allowed three runs or less in five of his last six starts.

Carlos Zambrano pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts to notch his fourth win of the year and his 100th career victory. Zambrano helped his cause by hitting his second home run of the season and is now hitting .269 on the year.

Yovani Gallardo scattered two hits in eight shutout innings with six strikeouts to up his mark to 6-2 on the season. Gallardo has had scoreless starts in two of his past three outings.

Mike Hampton allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4. Hampton has allowed one run in back-to-back starts while dropping his ERA by a full run over those two appearances.

Carl Pavano pitched nine scoreless innings with six punch outs to gain his sixth win of the year. Pavano has allowed four runs in his last 23 1/3 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Dallas Braden allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to even his record at 5-5. Braden has allowed three runs or less in four consecutive starts while going 2-0 during that stretch.

Felix Hernandez allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. His inconsistency is the only thing keeping him from taking the next step to one of the top pitchers in the game. In his last nine starts, Fernandez has had four outings with zero run, two outings with one run and three outings with five or six runs allowed.

Closers:

Some people scoffed earlier this year when I said Jonathan Broxton was the best reliever in the national league. He picked up his sixth win Friday night to move to a perfect 6-0 on the season. He has allowed only nine hits in 28 innings of work with 45 strikeouts on the year.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 3rd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, today has provided quite a swing of emotion. Three events happened which all somewhat coincided with each other depending on who’s version of the story you want to believe to shuffle the Atlanta roster. The first move was the Braves fleecing the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Nate McLouth for three prospects, none of whom were named, Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen, Jason Heyward or Freddie Freeman. Even with the addition of McLouth who takes the spot of Jordan Schafer who was recently demoted, the Braves are still short a bat in their line up. At only $2 million, the Braves take on very little salary by adding McLouth this season.

The next move the Braves made frees up salary, by surprisingly releasing Tom Glavine who was due to return from the minor leagues on rehab assignment very shortly. The release of Glavine saves the Braves $3.5 million in salary, in addition to creating a roster spot for top prospect Tommy Hanson who was called up from Triple-A. Hanson will move into the Braves rotation Saturday and get the start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kris Medlen gets a pat on the back for striking out nine in his six innings in his last start and a trip to the bullpen.

For the Pirates, the trade of McLouth opens up center field for Andrew McCutchen who should see the majority of starts for the rest of the season. McCutchen was hitting .303 with four home runs, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 201 at bats in Triple-A.

If you are a fan on minor league players or have some on your team, these last two weeks have to feel like Christmas with Matt Wieters getting called up and then Hanson and McCutchen getting called up today. If that was not special enough, late Wednesday night it was announced that Gordon Beckham has been recalled by the Chicago White Sox. If the White Sox are calling him up after just a week in Triple-A, it stands to reason he is going to be in the starting line up somewhere in the infield. Beckham was hitting .464 in Triple-A with three RBI and one steal in seven games. Between two levels on the season, he was at .326 with four home runs and 25 RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday night…

Hitters:

Ben Zorbist, wow, where did all the power come from? Zorbist should be a permanent fixture in the Tampa Bay Rays line up going forward, and is rewarding fantasy baseball owners, by connecting for home runs on consecutive days. Zorbist is currently on pace for a .300 average with 33 home runs, 105 RBI and 16 steals.

Nice to see Elvis Andrus finally turning on the jets a little bit, as he stole two bases and went 2 for 3 at the plate. With stolen bases in consecutive games, he is now on pace for 30 thefts on the season.

Jorge Posada homered for the second straight and has been on a nice roll since returning from the disabled list on May 29th with three home runs in six games with six RBI.

Bobby Abreu went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI including his second home run of the season. After being on a stolen base tear for the first month and a half of the season, Abreu has not stolen a base since May 19th.

Dan Uggla homered for the second consecutive day and is now up to 11 home runs with 39 RBI. His batting average is s-l-o-w-l-y creeping up t0 .219 after being around the Mendoza line for much of the season.

Hunter Pence went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and slugged his sixth home run of the season. The home run Wednesday night matched Pence’s home run total for the entire month of May.

Ryan Howard hit home run number 16 and knocked in two runs giving him 45 RBI on the season. He has now driven in a run in five consecutive game, totaling 11 plated runners.

Laynce Nix hit two home runs and drove in four, giving him seven RBI in June which matches his total for the entire month of May. He should continue to get the majoirty of at bats against right-handed pitching.

Brandon Phillips went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and two stolen bases and has homered three times in his last five games.

Scott Hairston was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained biceps. Will Venable was recalled from Triple-A and should see time along with Tony Gwynn Jr.

Asdrubal Cabrera was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left shoulder and is expected to be out 2-4 weeks. Jamey Carroll should see time at third base with Jhonny Peralta moving over to shortstop. Carroll went 2 for 6 batting second on Wednesday. Peralta, back at his old position of shortstop went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, including his second long ball of the year.

Pitchers:

Possibly there is light at the end of the tunnel for Jeff Niemann who tossed a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season and lower his ERA to 3.77. Niemann has allowed two runs in his last 18 innings with 18 strikeouts and has seen his overall ERA decrease in his last five outings.

Jered Weaver hurled seven innings of one run ball with 10 strikeouts to improve his record to 5-2 on the year. He has now allowed one run in five of his six last starts, although he only has two wins in those outings due to a lack of run support.

Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Atlanta Braves. He cost himself a win with a throwing error that caused an unearned run to score.

Josh Beckett tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his record to 6-2 on the year. He has allowed two runs or less in his last four starts while shaving two full runs off of his ERA.

Scott Feldman allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season. As a starter this season, remember that he had three relief appearances that threw his ERA out of whack, Feldman had an ERA of 2.59 heading into the game.

Josh Outman moved to 3-0, after allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Check out the top 2o in pitching for May, he ranked high in several statistics.

Cliff Lee allowed one run in eight innings with five strikeouts to notch his third victory of the year. Despite his 3-6 record, Lee has a 2.96 ERA as the Indians have been shut out or scored one run in six of his starts this year.

J.A. Happ tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season and second in three starts.

Chad Billingsley hurled six shutout innings with nine strikeouts to up his mrk to 7-3 on the year. His numbers would be even more impressive if he managed to reduce his walks, after walking four or more batters in 5 of his last 7 starts.

Closers:

Jose Valverde is expected to go on a short rehab assignment next week and if all goes well is on track to return from the disabled list around June 12th.

Joakim Soria returned to action, facing two batters and throwing 13 pitches. I would still hold on to Juan Cruz for another week or two if you need saves, just in case.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on June 1st, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Adrian Gonzalez stayed scorching hot, hitting his 20th home run and driving in three runs. What is mind boggling to me is how he was only 12th in the league in walks heading into Sunday’s game. The four hitters batting behind him on Sunday had averages of .228, .236, .172, .209. Why would he not be walked every time he came up to bat? He has homered against every team he has played against this season except for the San Francisco Giants. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

Mark Teixeira hit his 16th home run of the season and drove in all four runs for the New York Yankees on Sunday. He ends the week with three home runs and 10 RBI as he knocked in a run in 5 out of 6 games for the week.

Kevin Youkilis hit two solo home runs and scored three runs. Despite having nine home runs on the season, Youkilis leads the American League in slugging percentage as well as on base percentage.

David Wright stole his 12th base of the season. Despite hitting .333, he is off to a slow start in the power department with only three home runs. I have to wonder if he is hiding an injury as two stats give me warning flags 48 games into the season. One, he is on pace for 178 strikeouts which would be 60 higher than his career high of 118 last season. Second, he has already been thrown out stealing seven times, which is more than each of the three previous three seasons when he was caught five times each year.

Ben Francisco went 2 for 3 and stole his ninth base of the season. Francisco is quietly putting together a nice season, and is now on pace for 18 home runs, 70 RBI and 32 steals.

Josh Willingham hit two solo home runs giving him nine on the season. He seems to enjoy hitting with no men on base, because despite having nine home runs, he only has 12 RBI on the season.

Carlos Pena looks to be locked in the home run mode as he continues to swing for the fences. Pena hit his 17th home run of the season, but continues to strike out at a high rate, making it tougher for him to boost his .231 batting average. Pena has 66 strikeouts on the year, good for a 204 pace.

Mike Cameron homered for the second consecutive day and now has 11 long balls on the season. Despite being the 20th player to reach the 250-250 home run – steal level, his stolen bases are a thing of a past in 2009. He has two stolen bases for the season and both of those came on opening day.

Brandon Phillips homered for the second straight day as he continues to play through the the injury to his thumb. Phillips is up to 9 home runs and 36 RBI on the season.

Adam Kennedy went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and hit two home runs to give him four on the season. Since the Oakland Athletics acquired Kennedy from the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10th for a player to be named later, Kennedy has hit .390 with four home runs, 15 RBI and five steals in 82 at bats.

Edwin Maysonet went 2 for 4 and is now hitting .450 for the Houston Astros. With Kaz Matsui on the disabled list, Maysonet should have some value in National League only leagues the next few weeks.

Scott Hairston hit his seventh home run of the season and stole his sixth base of the year. With Jody Gerut now out of the picture, I see a possible 20-20 season out of Hairston.

Torii Hunter blasted his 12th home run of the season and knock in two runs to boost his RBI total to 42. Hunter is currently on pace for his first 30-30 season of his career with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases year to date.

Matt Kemp hit his sixth home run of the year and stole his 12th base of the season. Despite being slotted 7th in the batting order for the majority of the season, Kemp still is on pace to drive in close to 100 runs this year.

Pitchers:

Edwin Jackson hurled eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 5-3 on the year. Jackson has allowed three earned runs or less in his last five starts, going 4-1 during that period.

It took him three starts but Kris Medlen finally picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in six innings with nine strikeouts. The win most likely extended his stay in the rotation until Tom Glavine is ready to return.

Chad Gaudin allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts to notch his second win of the year. It was the first start this season for Gaudin where he did not walk a batter, after previously walking a minimum of three hitters in every start.

Jon Lester allowed one run in six innings with 12 strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season. Despite an increase in his strikeout rate, Lester has seen opponents bat 50 points higher against him in 2009 and his home run rate is 2.8 times higher than it was in 2008.

Eric Milton allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts to improve his record to 2-0. The 33-year-old Milton has solidified the Los Angeles Dodgers 5th starter slot, and one could argue his three starts should make him the fourth starter ahead of Eric Stults.

Yovani Gallardo allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts to boost his record to 5-2. Heading into Sunday’s start, Gallardo had the lowest batting average against for starting pitchers in all of baseball at .193.

Closers:

A painful way to end the week for David Aardsma owners, as he allowed six base runners in 2/3 of an inning with three runs scored to blow his first save of the year.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 30th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

If you read the minor league report earlier in the day, it looks like the winner is Antonio Bastardo for the Philadelphia Phillies. Bastardo will get the start on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres in place of the injured Brett Myers.

The Texas Rangers used 17 hits en route to a 14-1 pounding of the Oakland Athletics. Hank Blalock (12), Marlon Byrd (4) and Nelson Cruz (14) all went deep for the Rangers. Ian Kinsler added four RBI as all starters had at least one hit and one RBI except for Andruw Jones who went 0 for 5. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Armando Rios went 4 for 4 with two RBI and Adam Lind went 2 for 3 with two RBI including his 8th home run of the season in a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. It was the first home run for Lind since May 17th, from which he has seen a 30 point drop in his batting average to its current level of .289.

Jeremy Hermida went 3 for 5 with four RBI including his 5th home run of the year to power the Florida Marlins to a 7-3 win over the New York Mets.

Reed Johnson went 3 for 3 with two RBI and his third home run of the season. Johnson has homered three times in the last six games.

Carl Crawford went 3 for 4 with two RBI and collected his third home run of the season in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. The only negative for Crawford was he was caught stealing for the first time this season, ending his run of 30 consecutive steals this year.

Clete Thomas hitting lead off went 3 for 5 with three RBI and two home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Curtis Granderson chipped in with his 12th home run of the year. Luke Scott continues to put on an offensive show for the Orioles, hitting a home run for the fourth consecutive day and driving in two runs. Rookie Matt Wieters went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Prince Fielder went 3 for 4 with three RBI and clubbed his 12th home run of the year to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Ryan Howard blasted two home runs and drove in five in a 9-6 win over the Washington Nationals.

Brad Hawpe went 3 for 5 with three RBI and poked his seventh home run of the season. Hawpe raised his batting average to .343 and he now has 39 RBI on the year.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 19th home run of the season and drove in three runs. For Gonzalez, it was the third home run this week with seven RBI.

Albert Pujols hit two home runs giving him 16 on the season to go along with 42 RBI to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Joey Votto was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Cincinnati Reds in what the team is calling a “stress-related issue.”

Pitchers:

Josh Johnson allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season. Johnson has allowed two runs or less in six of his last seven starts.

David Price picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. Price was pulled after 108 pitches, 76 of which he threw for strikes.

Ryan Dempster tossed seven shutout innings with five strikeouts to improve his record to 4-3 on the year in a 7-0 defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

CC Sabathia allowed three runs in seven innings and struck out eight to raise his record to 5-3 on the year.

Javier Vazquez and Doug Davis hooked up in a pitchers duel, that the Arizona Diamondbacks won 3-2 in 11 innings. Vazquez allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts. Davis allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Davis continues to pitch much better when at home where he holds a 3.20 ERA compared to a 4.82 ERA on the road.

Jeff Karstens allowed two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to even his record at 2-2.

Brandon McCarthy allowed one run in six innings with two strikeouts. It was the second good outing in a row for McCarthy who has shaved 1.25 runs off of his ERA in those two starts.

Matt Palmer tossed seven shutout innings with five strikeouts in a no decision against the Seattle Mariners. His counterpart Felix Hernandez was equally effective, hurling 6 1/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts.

Closers:

Leo Nunez picked up his first save of the season by replacing an ineffective Matt Lindstrom with two outs in the ninth inning. Lindstrom allowed one run and left runners on second and third for Nunez who struck out Fernando Martinez to end the game.

Randy Choate picked up his second save of the season since being recalled from Triple-A earlier in the week.

Heath Bell blew his first save of the season in an 8-7 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Brian Fuentes blew his third save of the season, surrendering a three-run home run to Jose Lopez in the 9th inning, costing Matt Palmer a win.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 29th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Luke Scott went 3 for 3 and delivered two home runs while driving in five runs in a 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Scott has been on a tear since coming off the disabled list on Wednesday, with 5 home runs and 12 RBI in three games. Rookie Matt Wieters debuted as the starting catcher, going 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Wieters hit seventh and should see the majority of starts going forward. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Nelson Cruz went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI including his 13th home run of the season in a 6-3 win over the Oakland A’s in the first game of a double header.

Jermaine Dye started the Chicago White Sox scoring with his 13th home run of the season, en route to an 11-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski and Josh Fields each contributed three hits in the win.

Edwin Maysonet went 4 for 4 with RBI including his first home run of the season as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1. It was Maysonet’s second start of the season since being recalled on May 22.

Omir Santos hit his third home run of the season and drove in two runs in the New York Mets -21 win over the Florida Marlins in 11 innings. Santos will remain with the team when Brian Schneider returns from the disabled list, with the trade of backup catcher Ramon Castro to the Chicago White Sox.

Evan Longoria went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, including his 13th home run of the season, to power the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Longoria increased his league leading RBI total to 54.

Carl Crawford went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and connected for his second home run of the season. The home run was Crawford’s first since May 7th.

Yunel Escobar went 2 for 5 with three RBI to pace the Atlanta Braves offense in a 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Escobar knocked out his fifth home run of the season and his second in the last four days.

Carlos Quentin was placed on the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his foot. Quentin has been bothered by pain in his foot all season which helps explain his .229 batting average. Scott Podsednik will continue to see playing time in his place and is a good source for steals in American League only fantasy baseball leagues.

Pitchers:

Ted Lilly allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up his sixth win of the season in a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chad Billingsley took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts.

Josh Outman allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts in a no decision. Outman has allowed three runs or less in all eight of his starts this season and currently sports a 3.06 ERA.

Andy Pettitte allowed one run in five innings to improve his record to 5-1 on the season in a 3-1 defeat of the Cleveland Indians. Pettitte was removed from the game in the sixth innings with stiffness in his lower back.

J.A. Happ allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn his first win since moving into the starting rotation in a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals.

Brian Moehler allowed tossed a complete game allowing one run with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the year.

Casey Janssen picked up his first win in over two years, allowing three runs in seven innings with two strikeouts. For Janssen, who missed all of 2008 with shoulder surgery, it was his second start since being recalled from Triple-A last Friday.

Mike Pelfrey allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Pelfrey has allowed two runs or less in four consecutive starts while lowering his ERA by 1.5 runs. His counter part, rookie Sean West, allowed one run in seven innings with two strikeouts.

James Shields surrendered two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the year.

Braden Looper allowed two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to pick up his 5th win of the year in a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Scott Feldman allowed two runs in six innings with two strikeouts to boost his record to a perfect 4-0 on the year. Feldman has a 2.59 ERA since moving into the starting rotation on April 25th.

Clayton Richard allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts for his third straight quality start. Richard has allowed three runs in his last 20 innings with 18 strikeouts.

Jason Marquis pitched eight innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts to pick up his seventh win of the year. It was the third consecutive win for Marquis who has allowed three earned runs in his last 23 2/3 innings.

Jason Vargas allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings with two strikeouts to record his second win of the season in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The two runs were the most Vargas has allowed in his four starts this season.

Matt Cain improved to 6-1 by giving up one run in 6 1/3 innings with five punchouts in a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Cain has won his last three starts, while allowing two tuns in 21 1/3 innings.

Closers:

C.J. Wilson picked up a win and a save in the Texas Rangers double header. With Frank Francisco back as closer, Wilson should only see a few save opportunities going forward.

Huston Street picked up his 8th save of the season and has not allowed an earned run since April 24th. During that time he has lowered his ERA from 8.59 to his current number of 3.10.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 27th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

I am always torn whether St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is somewhat smart, just a little nutty, or a combination of both. In the Cardinals 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, La Russa had Nick Stavinoha batting clean up. Stavinoha is only playing because Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel are out with injuries, so Stavinoha is basically the team’s 6th outfielder. Yet he delivers two RBI to help the Cardinals win. For some reason, the Brewers don’t seem to like Corey Hart, regardless of who the manager is. First it was Ned Yost, now it is Ken Macha, who gave a start to Frank Catalanotto on Wednesday. With Hart off to a slow start, it would not surprise me to see the Brewers give him more time off. If the Brew Crew has no interest in Hart, they might as well trade him for pitching and stick Mat Gamel in the outfield now. Of course it would help if Gamel was hitting higher than .174, but it would also help if he received consistent at bats, something that has not happened since he was called up two weeks ago. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Nolan Reimold hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to help the Baltimore Orioles pull of a come from behind win. Reimold’s home run was his second in as many days.

Aaron Hill went 2 for 6 with two RBI and connected for his 12th home run of the season. Hill, who homered for the first time since May 17th is now up to 37 RBI on the year.

James Loney went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. Despite having only two home runs on the season, Loney ranks in the top five in RBI in the National League with 36 runs driven in.

Russell Branyan went 2 for 4 with two RBI and belted his 11th home run of the season. Branyan is batting .311 on the season with 23 RBI.

Daniel Murphy went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI including his fourth home run of the season in the New York Mets 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals. The left-handed Murphy should see the majority of at bats at first base as part of a platoon with Fernando Tatis.

Trade rumors sometimes seem to perk up a player when they are struggling. Case in point is Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins. Uggla went 3 for 4 with two RBI to lead the Marlins to a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Uggla has now homered five times in his last nine games.

The New York Yankees used four home runs to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-2. Mark Teixeira (15), Hideki Matsui (6 & 7) and Robinson Cano (9) all left the yard for New York. Ian Kinsler was the only offense for the Rangers, knocking out his 13th home run of the season.

Jay Bruce smashed two home runs and a triple while collecting four RBI. The power is legit, with 14 home runs and only 5 doubles, the majority of fly balls he hits are going over the fence.

Denard Span went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and stole his 11th base of the season. Span is now hitting .316 with 28 runs scored for the year.

Pitchers:

Rick Porcello picked up his 6th win of the year, allowing two runs in six inning with four strikeouts in a 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. Porcello has allowed 5 runs in his last 30 innings while reeling off five straight victories.

Carlos Zambrano allowed one earned run in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Zambrano was ejected in the 7th inning after bumping an umpire and making the ejection gesture and could be facing a possible suspension.

Erik Bedard allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts to up his record to 3-2 on the season. He is now a perfect 3-0 on the road and 0-2 at home this season.

Bronson Arroyo picked up his 7th win of the season, tossing a complete gem against the Houston Astros in a 6-1 victory. Arroyo scattered five hits while striking out three and has given up one run in back-to-back starts.

Johan Santana battled through control problems to notch his 7th win of the year, allowing three runs in six innings with 11 strikeouts. Santana walked six batters in the game, the first time he has done that since 2002 with the Minnesota Twins.

Kevin Slowey netted his seventh win of the season in a 4-2 defeat of the Boston Red Sox. Slowey allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts and has now allowed two runs or less in four straight starts.

Jered Weaver allowed one run in eight innings with eight strikeouts to improve his record to 4-2 in a 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Weaver has now allowed one run in 4 of his last 5 starts.

A. J. Burnett hurled six shutout innings and struck out seven to improve his record to 3-2.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 27th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

There is rejoicing in fantasy baseball land Tuesday night as top prospect Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles is expected to be recalled from Triple-A on Friday. It should not take long for Wieters to ascend to the top tier of the catching ranks, based on his expected performance. With injuries to Ryan Doumit and Chris Ianetta and Geovany Soto off to a slow start, it is not inconceivable for Wieters to be a top 5 catcher the rest of the season, behind Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brian McCann and Bengie Molina.

To give you an idea of the landscape at catcher from a fantasy baseball statistical purpose, Jorge Posada ranks six among catchers in RBI with 20 despite missing the last three weeks of action. Russell Martin still is stuck on zero home runs, although he does has six stolen bases and Mike Napoli should start to lose at bats with Vladimir Guerrero returning to action as Napoli was seeing time at designated hitter when not catching.

Wieters, who was the fifth overall selection in the 2007 June draft, will take over immediately as the Orioles starting catcher upon his arrival. Wieters is currently hitting .305 with 5 home runs and 30 RBI in 141 at bats with a 2o to 30 walk to strikeout ratio in Triple-A. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Orioles hitters responded to the news of Wieters impending arrival by collecting 14 hits in a 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Adam Jones (11), Aubrey Huff (8) and Nolan Reimold (3) all hit home runs in the victory. With the young bats the Orioles have and the pitching in their farm system, they are probably 1 1/2 years away from competing for the division.

The Cleveland Indians used four home runs to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1. Mark DeRosa starting in left field hit his 8th home run of the year and is now up to 32 RBI on the season. It is nice the Indians are show casing DeRosa’s versatility in the outfield to boost his trade value, but that comes at the expense of playing time for Matt LaPorta who was sent back to Triple-A. LaPorta never got untracked with the Indians, batting .190 with one home run in 13 games.

Carlos Pena hit his 16th home run and knocked in his 40th RBI to provide the lone run of offense for the Rays.

Joey Votto hit a two-run home in the seventh inning to propel the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros. The long ball was Votto’s 8th of the season to go along with his 33 RBI.

Gary Sheffield continues to pick up the slack offensively for the New York Mets with Jose Reyes, Ryan Church and Carlos Delgado all missing from the lineup due to injuries. Sheffield went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and belted his fifth home run of the year to lead Mets to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals. He has now driven in nine runs in his last five games.

Also for the Mets, rookie Fernando Martinez was recalled from Triple-A with Church going on the disabled list. Martinez got the start in right field batting sixth and went 0 for 3 with an RBI. Martinez was hitting .291 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI in 165 at bats in Triple-A with two stolen bases.

Chris Davis hit two home runs to power the Texas Rangers to a 7-3 win over the New York Yankees. Davis now has 12 home runs on the season, but is only batting .208 on the year.

Justin Morneau went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI including his 14th home run of the season in a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Morneau has driven in 11 runs in his last five games.

Mark Reynolds hit his 13th home run of the year and knocked in two in a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres. Reynolds is currently 5th in the National League in home runs and 7th in stolen bases with 10.

Jayson Nix hit two solo home runs to give the Chicago White Sox a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Pitchers:

Zack Greinke continued his amazing 2009 season, tossing a complete game against the Detroit Tigers in a 6-1 win. Greinke struck out eight while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He has still yet to allow more than two runs in any start this year and also has not given up a home run through 75 innings.

Joe Blanton tossed seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in a 5-3 win over the Florida Marlins. The victory evened Blanton’s record at 3-3 and easily surpassed his previous season high of six strikeouts.

Carl Pavano allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts to pick up his fifth win of the season. Pavano has now won 5 of his last 6 starts, while allowing four runs or less in all of them.

Livan Hernandez picked up a complete game win, allowing one run with six strikeouts. Hernandez has now allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts.

Adam Wainwright allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts in a 8-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Wainwright improved to 5-2 and has allowed one run in each of his last three starts, covering a total of 23 2/3 innings.

Nick Blackburn allowed one earned run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to move to 4-2 on the season. Blackburn has shaved 1 1/2 runs off his ERA in his last five starts to his current mark of 3.55

Eric Milton picked up his first win in almost three years, tossing five innings of one run ball in a 7-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. Milton allowed seven hits and struck out three in his second start since being recalled from Triple-A.

Sean Marshall allowed one run in five innings with six strikeouts to pick up a rain-shortened 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Marshall continues to keep pace with Randy Wells to see who will become the 5th starter once Rich Harden returns from the disabled list.

Max Scherzer allowed two runs in seven innings with 10 strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. Scherzer has had back-to-back 10 strikeout performances and will face the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Jarrod Washburn hurled six scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

Tim Lincecum pitched eight shutout innings and fanned eight in a 4-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves. Lincecum lowered his ERA to 3.03 and has struck out eight or more in 7 of his last 8 starts.

Closers:

Brad Lidge was supposed to get the day off, but after the Marlins cut the lead to two in the ninth innings, he came in to record two outs for his ninth save of the season. Manager Charlie Manuel’s use of the bullpen on Tuesday night signifies he has little faith in Ryan Madson as the closer and why he continues to stick with Lidge in spite of Lidge’s recent blown saves. Instead of using Madson in the ninth inning and a different set up man in the eighth, he still pitched Madson in the eighth and had Chad Durbin come in to close the door in the ninth, which Durbin failed to do.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Monday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 25th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

It was a painful loss for the Tampa Bay Rays, as the blew a 10-0 lead in an 11-10 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The blown lead was the largest in team history. The Rays used four relievers in the ninth inning, the last one being Jason Isringhausen, but none of them could stop the bleeding as the Indians rallied for seven runs to pull out the come from behind win. Rookie David Price, getting the start for the injured Scott Kazmir, displayed the same wildness that had been plaguing him in the minor leagues, as he walked five and allowed four hits in 3 1/3 innings while throwing 100 pitches. He did manage to strike out six and only allowed two runs, but his high pitch count limited his innings. Ryan Garko hit two home runs for the Indians and drove in five runs to pace the Tribe’s offense. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Monday…

Hitters:

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira continue to lead the surging New York Yankees offense, as the team pounded out 19 hits in an 11-1 win over the Texas Rangers. A-Rod went 5 for 5 with 4 RBI and Teixeira went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Who needs Manny Ramirez? The Los Angeles Dodgers pounded out 19 hits en route to a 16-6 pasting of the Colorado Rockies. Matt Kemp, Juan Castro and Juan Pierre each knocked in three runs.

The Chicago White Sox made short work of Ervin Santana, banging out 23 hits on their way to a 17-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Jermaine Dye (12), Jim Thome (8) and Paul Konerko (7) all went deep for the White Sox. The lone bright spot for the Angles was the return of Vladimir Guerrero to the line up.

Nelson Cruz hit his 12th home run of the year for the lone score for the Rangers. Cruz has homered 5 times in his last six games while driving in 10 runs. He has now collected an RBI in six consecutive games.

Ryan Howard hit two home runs and drove in three to provide all the offense for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Marlins. Howard now has 12 home runs on the season and 33 RBI.

Jonny Gomes went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI for the Cincinnati Reds in their 8-5 win over the Houston Astros. Gomes is a good pickup in National League only leagues as he should see playing time against left-handed starters.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 17th home run of the season in the San Diego Padres 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings. Scott Hairston went 3 for 5 and is now batting .333. With the trade of Jody Gerut to Milwaukee earlier in the week, Hairston should be someone to target if he is still on the waiver wire in your fantasy baseball league.

It took him 100 at bats but Travis Ishikawa finally hit his first home run of the season in the San Francisco Giants 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Ishikawa went 4 for 4 and drove in three runs. He is going to need more games like that if he does not want to lose at bats to recent call up Jesus Guzman.

Freddy Sanchez went 6 for 6 and scored four times to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-8 win over the Chicago Cubs. Sanchez drove in three runs and hit his fourth home run of the season.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander pitched seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in a 13-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. It marked the sixth consecutive game that Verlander has notched eight or more strikeouts. The outing was the most economical Verlander has been with his pitches all season, making it through seven innings on 96 pitches.

Jeremy Guthrie allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts to pitch the Baltimore Orioles past the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1. Guthrie’s biggest problem this season has been the home run, allowing 11 in 53 2/3 innings before his start on Monday.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 in 10 innings on a RBI single by Bill Hall. Both starting pitchers were superb in the game, with Chris Carpenter tossing eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts for the Cardinals, and Yovani Gallardo hurling eight shutout innings for the Brewers with six strikeouts.

Phil Hughes scattered three hits in eight shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season. Hughes struck out six while allowing only one walk to lower his ERA to 5.16.

Brett Anderson allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the season. It marks the second consecutive good start for the rookie who may be on the verge of turning things around for good.

Jonathan Sanchez, subject to some trade rumors earlier in the week, allowed two runs in five innings with six strikeouts to earn his second win of the year.

John Maine allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to get his fourth win of the season. Despite his 4.18 ERA he conitunes to be bothered by walks. With a 30 to 36 walk to strikeout ratio, Maine is on pace for 108 walks this season which would be a career high.

Closers:

Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 12th save of the season, but it marked back-to-back games that he surrendered two runs and a home run.

Francisco Rodriguez (back spasms) returned to action for the New York Mets and picked up his 13th save of the season.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 23rd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Eleven was the magic number for the Texas Rangers on Saturday, as they defeated the Houston Astros 6-3. The Rangers banged out 11 hits, including two home runs from Nelson Cruz, giving him 11 on the season. Cruz drove in four runs and now has 30 RBI on the year. Hank Blalock went 3 for 4 and added his 11th home run of the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday…

Hitters:

Joe Mauer went 3 for 3 with three runs scored and two RBI including his 9th home run of the year. Mauer is now hitting .429 on the season and has driven in 12 runs in his last six games.

Joey Votto went 2 for 4 with 4 RBI and swatted two home runs. Votto is now batting .371 with 31 RBI on the season.

Recent Philadelphia Phillies call up John Mayberry Jr. went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and his first major league home run. He should see some time in the outfield or designated hitter during interleague games.

Under the category “why do teams keep pitching to him”, Raul Ibanez slugged his 17th home run of the season, giving him a home run in four consecutvie games.

Recently promoted Jonny Gomes got the start in left field for the Cincinnati Reds and went 1 for 4 with a stolen base. Gomes should see starts against left-handed pitching as long as he is in the majors.

Adam Kennedy went 3 for 4 and hit his second home run of the season. Kennedy has been on a roll at the plate with three 3-hit games in his last eight games. Kennedy has raiased his batting average by almost 120 points in the last 10 days, to his current mark of .400

Jason Bartlett went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and stole his 13th base of the season. His current pace of a 22 home runs, 108 RBI, 48 steal season would put him in the company of Hanley Ramirez / Jimmy Rollins (back when he had power) in the first round of fantasy baseball drafts next year.

Pitchers:

The New York Mets defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2 on a two-run home run from Omir Santos in the ninth inning. Mike Pelfrey allowed two runs in seven innings for the Mets with six strikeouts. Josh Beckett hurled eight scoreless innings for the Red Sox while fanning five.

Kyle Lohse tossed eight innings of shut out ball and struck out six to improve to 4-3 on the season. The win for Lohse ended his personal three game losing streak.

Derek Lowe allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings to move to 6-2 on the year. Lowe has allowed two runs in three consecutive starts.

Matt Cain picked up a complete game victory, moving to 5-1 on the season. Cain allowed one run against the Seattle Mariners and struck out seven to lower his ERA to 2.40.

Clayton Richard, mentioned earlier in the week as a possible player in the Jake Peavy trade, tossed six shutout innings with eight strikeouts versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ross Detwiler allowed one run in six innings and struck out four in a no decision.

In his first start of the season, J.A. Happ allowed two runs in six innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. Happ is a good fantasy baseball play in National League only formats.

Rookie Anthony Swarzak of the Minnesota Twins pitched seven shutout innings with three strikeouts to earn his first major league win.

Josh Geer allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year for the San Diego Padres.

Rookie Sean West called up from AA by the Florida Marlins allowed two runs in five innings with five strikeouts in a no decision.

Casey Janssen returned to the Toronto Blue Jays rotation, making his first start since 2006, allowed three runs in six innings but did not register a strikeout.

Closers:

Brad Lidge blew his third save of the year, allowing three runs in 1/3 of an inning.

J.J. Putz picked up his second save of the season for the Mets in place of an ailing Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod is out of action due to back spasms and could be faced with a stint on the disabled list.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on May 22nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Jimmy Rollins hit his third home run of the season and stole his sixth base of the year. He has raised his batting average 40 points in the last seven games up to .240. In addition to slumping at the plate, he has struggled on the base paths this season getting caught stealing four times in 10 attempts. As a point of reference, he was 47 for 50 on stolen bases last season and 41 for 47 in 2007. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

Hitters:

Brandon Inge hit is 12th home run of the season and drove in two runs giving him 31 RBI on the season. He is now on pace for 49 home runs for the year. And people still don’t believe in the juiced ball theory? Brandon Inge, 49 home runs in one year? His career high was 27 back in 2006.

Exhibit two of my juiced ball theory, Raul Ibanez, with his third home run in as many days, this one coming at Yankee Stadium and Ibanez is now on pace for 65 home runs and 166 RBI. He leads the National League with 16 home runs, 41 RBI and is second in runs scored with 36.

Speaking of the new Yankee Stadium, through the first 21 games, 82 home runs have been hit which is a major league record, breaking the mark of 77 hit at Houston’s Enron Field back in 2000.

Carlos Pena hit home run number 15 on the season and drove in three runs in a 15-2 victory over the Florida Marlins. Pena is currently third in the American League with 38 RBI.

Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle, going 4 for 5 with 5 RBI and slugging his seventh home run of the season, giving him 30 RBI on the year.

Nolan Reimold went 2 for 5 and hit his second home run of the season and is now batting .313 on the year.

Elvis Andrus went 4 for 5, knocking out his third home run of the year and stealing his sixth base of the season. Andrus is now hitting .292 on the year.

Pitchers:

Johan Santana allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts to get his sixth won of the year. The 118 pitches he threw on Friday night were the most he had thrown this season.

Bronson Arroyo allowed one run in eight innings with two strikeouts to notch his 6th win of the season, good for a tie for first in the National League with Johan Santana and Chad Billingsley.

Kevin Slowey improved to 6-1, surrendering two runs in 7 1/3 innings with four strikeouts. It was the fourth straight start he has allowed three runs or fewer.

Rick Porcello allowed one run in six innings and struck out three to move to 5-3 on the season. He has now allowed three runs in his last 24 innings and has reeled off four consecutive wins.

Bret Myers allowed three runs in eight innings with five strikeouts to pick up win number four on the season.

Kenshin Kawakami picked up his third win of the year with a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Kawakami pitched eight shutout innings and struck out seven. Roy Halladay hurled seven shutout innings for the Blue Jays and fanned six.

Gavin Floyd tossed eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first win in more than a month, in a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zach Duke suffered the loss, allowing two runs in eight innings with seven strikeouts.

Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision against the Baltimore Orioles.

Todd Wellemeyer threw six scoreless innings with three strikeouts to even his mark at 4-4 on the season. He was much more effective with his pitches, needing only 85 to get through six innings.

Derek Holland made his first major league start for the Texas Rangers and allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. With Vincente Padilla on the disabled list, Holland should see another start or two.

There has got to be an injury that Ricky Nolasco is hiding for him to be this bad. Nolasco allowed eight runs for the second consecutive start and now sports a 9.07 ERA.

Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from the disabled list and allowed four runs in five innings with four strikeouts in a 5-3 loss to the New York Mets.

Chien-Ming Wang returned to the New York Yankees and threw three innings from the bullpen, allowing six hits and two runs with two strikeouts.

David Price is expected to be recalled by the Tampa Bay Rays to take the rotation spot vacated by Scott Kazmir who was placed on the disabled list with a quadriceps strain. Price would likely get the start Monday against the Cleveland Indians.

Rich Harden was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain. Carlos Zambrano returned from the disabled list Friday and will take Harden’s spot in the rotation.

Closers:

Troy Percival was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon said he would go with the dreaded closer by committee in place of Percival.

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