by Todd Lammi
The injury bug continues to strike down players in Major League Baseball as several more players will be out of action for awhile. Kansas City Royals third basemen Alex Gordon will miss potentially two plus months after he undergoes hip surgery on Friday. Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels will be out of action with a strained pectoral muscle. Guerrero will meet with doctors upon returning to Los Angeles to determine a time frame for his return. Catcher Kenji Johjima of the Seattle Mariners was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hamstring. Yunel Escobar of the Atlanta Braves will miss 3 to 4 games with a strained abdominal muscle. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday…
National League:
Anibal Sanchez pitched the Florida Marlins past the Atlanta Braves 6-2. Sanchez allowed two runs in six innings. Cody Ross hit his first home run for the Marlins. Emilio Bonifacio struck out three times in five at bats and has now struck out seven times in his last 11 at bats. Jordan Schafer of the Atlanta Braves went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and has now struck out 10 times in his last 15 at bats…..Hunter Pence hit his third home run for the Houston Astros and Lance Berkman his second in a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. LaTroy Hawkins got the save, pitching in place of Jose Valverde who was out with back soreness…..Chris Duncan and Brian Barden each hit their second home runs of the year to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Franklin picked up his second save of the year. Sean Marshall got his first start of the year for the Cubs, allowing three runs in five innings. Kosuke Fukudome hit his third home run for the Cubs and Ryan Theriot stole his third base of the season…..Break out the bubbly, the Washington Nationals picked up their first win of the year, 8-2 over the Philadelphia Phillies. Adam Dunn hit his third home run for the Nationals and Elijah Dukes his second. Jimmy Rollins went 0 for 3 for the Phillies and is now hitting .111…..Chase Headley went 4 for 4 for the San Diego Padres with 3 RBI to help defeat the New York Mets 6-5. Heath Bell picked up his 5th save of the year for the Padres. Carlos Delgado hit his third home run for the Mets.
American League:
The Cleveland Indians spoiled the New York Yankees home opener in their new stadium with a 10-2 win. Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez each hit their third home run for the Indians. Cliff Lee got the win, allowing one run in six innings….. John Danks tossed six innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts to help lead the Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Jermaine Dye hit his third home run for the White Sox. The Rays continue to run wild on the bases as Jason Bartlett stole two bases and Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford each stole one. Carlos Pena hit his 5th home run of the season…..Toronto Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay became the first to three wins in a victory over the Minnesota Twins. Halladay tossed seven innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts. Marco Scutaro hit his third home run for the Blue Jays. Francisco Liriano was much better in his third start of the season allowing one run in six innings with five strikeouts.
