by Todd Lammi
Injury updates:
Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals will miss four to eight weeks with a strained rib cage. The Cardinals are expected to promote P.J. Walters to start on Friday against the Chicago Cubs. Ichiro Suzuki returned from the disabled list for the Seattle Mariners. Melvin Mora of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury. Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox was placed on the disabled list with arm fatigue. New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady is headed to the disabled list with a right elbow injury that could require Tommy John surgery. In other news around the diamond on Wednesday…
American League:
Scott Baker’s return to the Minnesota Twins from the DL did not go well, as he allowed six runs in four innings. On the other side, if you are looking for somebody to root for, Scott Richmond got the win for the Toronto Blue Jays. It was just two years ago that Richmond was pitching in the independent league for the Edmonton Cracker Cats. Aaron Hill hit his 3rd home run for the Blue Jays and Vernon Wells and Scott Rolen each hit their second…..Armando Galarraga threw 6 1/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts as the Detroit Tigers blanked the Chicago White Sox 9-0. Miguel Cabrera hit his fourth home run and also stole a base…..Aaron Laffey got the win for the Cleveland Indians, starting in place of the injured Scott Lewis. Kerry Wood picked up his first save of the season…..Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox allowed two runs in a complete game win over the Oakland Athletics. Mike Lowell and J. D Drew each hit their second home run for the Red Sox. Rookie Brett Anderson of the A’s threw a solid seven innings, allowing two runs with five strikeouts…..Robinson Cano hit his second home run of the season to lift the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Rays. Andy Pettite allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings pitched…..The Texas Rangers pounded out 19 hits in a 19-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Ian Kinsler had a dream day at the plate for the Rangers going 6 for 6 with 4 RBI and a stolen base. Marlon Byrd went 5 for 6 and outfielder Nelson Cruz drove in 6 RBI.
National League:
Jason Marquis allowed one run in seven innings as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Jason Grilli got the save for the Rockies, after replacing closer Huston Street in the ninth inning. Street allowed a home run to Derek Lee and then put two more runners on base before being relieved. Catcher Geovany Soto returned to action for the Cubs…..Ryan Ludwick hit his third home run of the season for the St. Louis Cardinals. Chris Duncan went 3 for 4 and Yadier Molina went 3 for 3. Chris Perez returned from AAA and threw two shutout innings…..The Florida Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves 10-4, as four players had two hits each. Cameron Maybin went 0 for 3 for the Marlins with three strikeouts. On the year, Maybin is hitting .214 with 12 strikeouts in 28 at bats. As long as the Marlins keep winning and he plays defense, he might be able to hold the position, but at some point the team is going to need to get some offense from him. Chipper Jones of the Braves re-aggravated his bruised thumb and missed the game and will likely sit out tomorrow as well…..Mike Hampton pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts as the Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1…..Oliver Perez allowed one run in six innings to lead the New York Mets past the San Diego Padres 7-2. Jose Reyes stole his second base of the season for the Mets and Carlos Delgado hit his second home run of the year. Gary Sheffield got his first start as a Met and went 0 for 2. Scott Hairston stole his second base for the Padres…..Mike Cameron hit two home runs to power the Milwaukee Brewers past the Cincinnati Reds 9-3. Rickie Weeks hit his second home run. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez of the Reds picked up his first hit of the season and is now 1 for 19 on the year. Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 in seven innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, while allowing only one hit.
