The latest news was that Kendrys Morales was coming along from his second ankle surgery and was expected to be ready to start the season on time. At just 28 years of age, when healthy he was expected to be one of the building blocks for the Angels offense. Now with Pujols in the fold, Morales or Pujols figures to spend time at designated hitter. There are a few issues with that scenario however. One is that Bobby Abreu is penciled in as the designated hitter since the Angels outfield is already full and two, we haven’t even talked about Mark Trumbo yet who hit 29 home runs in his rookie season. Trumbo has played first base and outfield in the minor leagues so unless the team can convert him into a third basemen, he looks like trade bait for now if Morales is healthy.

Next year the Angels shed the contracts of Hunter and Abreu when they become free agents so they will have holes in 2012, though top prospect Mike Trout will take one of those spots. For fantasy league owners in keeper leagues that own Trout and were expecting value from him in 2012, that doesn’t look like that is going to happen unless a series of cataclysmic events occur.

The Angels also added left-handed starting pitcher C.J. Wilson with a five-year $77.5 million contract. The move helps to bolster a solid rotation that already features Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana as well as it takes away one of the top pitchers from their division rival, the Texas Rangers.

New general manager Theo Epstein of the Chicago Cubs has found a replacement for free agent Aramis Ramirez by acquiring third basemen Ian Stewart and relief pitcher Casey Weathers from the Colorado Rockies for outfielder Tyler Colvin and infielder D.J. LeMahieu. The recent signing of David DeJesus made Colvin expendable for the Cubs in the outfield. Stewart, a career .236 hitter, is hoping that a fresh start will help to get his career back on track. While his power numbers were not much different on the road compared to at home in Coors Field, the one noticeable difference was his splits in strikeout rates. In his career, Stewart fanned 27.7% of the time at home and 35.8% of the time on the road which does not bode well for any type of success in the batting average department unless he can rework his swing.

On the Rockies side, getting Colvin opens the doors for the team to move Seth Smith in a trade to bolster another part of the roster. With Eric Young Jr. and Ryan Spillborghs already in reserve, Colvin has little value unless Smith or Dexter Fowler is moved in a deal. At third base, Colorado has Chris Nelson, Jordan Pacheco and top prospect Nolan Arenado that will compete to replace Stewart.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one-year contract. He doesn’t present much of an upgrade at the plate; low average with a little bit of pop, but he is better defensively and has more range than Yuniesky Betancourt showed last season.

The grid below has the players listed based on my 2011 fantasy baseball rankings with the current ADP shown for where a player would fall in either a 12 or 15 team mixed league. The rounds for a 12 team league may vary slightly as first basemen may slide a little bit later with fewer teams in the league, but it will still give you a good ballpark range for what round you should be looking to take that certain player that you have an eye on.

I still find it hard to fathom Paul Konerko going in the 5th round in 15 team leagues. Not sure why everybody is so intent on paying for last year’s performance when 2011 is a whole new season. Last year he was going in rounds 11-15 in fantasy baseball drafts and now after hitting 39 home runs (the most he has hit since 2005) and turning 36 in March, he is suddenly a 40 home run hitter? That is not the way you win fantasy baseball leagues by paying for performance from the previous season.

Let’s compare two players from 2009-10 and see if you can guess which player is which

Player A (2009) 78 runs 21 HR 93 RBI .301 average
Player B (2010) 72 runs 19 HR 85 RBI .273 average

Really not too much difference between the two players outside of batting average, yet player A has an ADP that is six rounds higher. Player A is of course Billy Butler using his 2009 season which was better than his 2010 year and player B is Gaby Sanchez. I am not saying that Sanchez has to be drafted where Butler is, but rather Butler is going a little bit higher than he maybe should be with similar players available later in the draft.

Butler hit 51 double in 2009 and the thought was some of those double would turn into more home runs in 2010 and he ended up hitting six fewer bombs, while hitting 45 doubles. Even if you were to give the most optimistic of projections in order to justify where he is being drafted, you would have him around 25 home runs, driving in 95+ runs and hitting .310 or so.

Hitters:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pitchers:

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

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

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

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

Closers:

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

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

Heading into the draft with the #1 pick, I was still debating on Albert Pujols vs. Hanley Ramirez and also how I was going to cope with waiting 28 picks between rounds because of the snake draft. Here is a look at the team with the rounds they were drafted in parenthesis.

Hitters:

C – Victor Martinez (2) – same as in my auction, one of the guys I was targeting, as I have written many times before, I don’t believe in punting the catcher position.

C – Russell Martin (11) – again, same comment applies from my auction, I wasn’t looking to get Martin, but I needed his 10 stolen bases.

1B – Albert Pujols (1) – despite the numerous fantasy baseball leagues I play in each year, I have not owned Pujols a full year since his rookie season. I was debating on Hanley Ramirez, but I took Pujols and hoped that Jose Reyes would make it back to me at the end of round two, but unfortunately he did not.

2B – Brandon Phillips (2) – in my mock drafts I was debating between him and Dustin Pedroia. Since Pedroia was off the board at my pick, it made the decision easier.

SS – Asdrubal Cabrera (10) – high average, should steal a few bases and should score a lot of runs hitting lead off.

3B – Chone Figgins (6) – Not sure I really wanted him, but with Juan Pierre my outfield target already off the board I figured I better grab the stolen bases while I could.

Cor – Paul Konerko (14) – I was very happy he slid back to me.

Mid – Jose Lopez (8) – was happy to get 20 home runs from a middle infielder

OF – Shin-Soo Choo (4) – one of my targets, love to get 20-20 outfielders.

OF – Franklin Gutierrez (12) – hoping that he gets up to 20-20 this season.

OF – Lastings Milledge (16) – same comment as on my auction team, not a huge fan of his, but needed 20 steals and he was the best fit. He is only 25 so there is still some upside there.

OF – Cody Ross (18) – mmm, not much to say.

OF – Will Venable (20) – for some reason I like him, not sure why, I think he has the chance to steal 20 bases with a little bit of power.

UT – Aaron Rowand (22) – really embarrassed to have to type that.

Overall, I am short on power unless Pujols hits 50 and Brandon Phillips hits 30. My outfield is in bad shape, but somehow the rest of my other categories I seem to have met my targets on, although my batting average might be a percentage or two lower than what I need.

Pitchers:

P – Tommy Hanson (5) – picking at #1, I knew that if I did not take a pitcher here, there was not going to be anyone in the top tier left at my next pick.

P – Chad Billingsley (7) – I like him and am willing to discount his second half of last season.

P – Randy Wolf  (15) – decent strikeouts, ERA and WHIP should be higher than in 2009, but still a guy I like in round 15.

P – Brian Matusz (17) – has been getting some hype this spring, but still pitches in the American League East which limits his upside slightly.

P – Ian Kennedy (19) – despite his injuries in the past, I still believe in his minor league numbers and the move to the National League should help, despite his new home ballpark.

P – Bronson Arroyo (21) – just have to keep reminding him, “no guitar, no guitar”.

P – Bud Norris (23) – still a pitch short of being a successful starting pitcher. I like him for his strikeouts, will have to spot start him.

RP – Jose Valverde (9) – I think he is in the second tier of closers after the top 3-4.

RP – Bobby Jenks (13) – crossing my fingers he holds it together for the full season.

I like my staff a lot more than the staff from my auction team. I think Hanson and Billingsley are two solid anchors and Kennedy and Matusz have some upside. I have some work to do on my ratios based on my projections unless Matusz, Kennedy and Norris are able to make some improvements.

Reserves:

Rd 1 – Jeremy Hellickson – I expect him up by the middle of the season although it is hard to see who he would replace based on the current Tampa Bay rotation.

Rd 2 – Jose Guillen – not sure if this is better or worse than Aaron Rowand

Rd 3 – Mike Adams – when / if Heath Bell gets traded, I think Adams takes over.

Rd 4 – C.J. Wilson – a flier

Rd 5 – Chris Carter (Oakland) – with Oakland short on power, I think he is up in July.

Rd 6 – Ramon Ortiz – late round gamble on him winning the 5th starter job with the Dodgers

Rd 7 – David Bush – Rick Peterson will work his magic with at least one Milwaukee Brewers pitcher, hopefully I picked the right one.

Here is a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball tiers for first base.

Tier 1:  rounds 1-2

1.  Albert Pujols
2.  Ryan Howard
3.  Mark Teixeira
4.  Prince Fielder
5.  Miguel Cabrera

Tier 2: rounds 3-4

6.   Kevin Youkilis
7.   Justin Morneau
8.   Joey Votto
9.   Adrian Gonzalez
10. Kendry Morales

Tier 3:  rounds 5-6

11. Lance Berkan
12. Derrek Lee
13. Billy Butler
14. Carlos Pena

Tier 4:  rounds 10-14

15. James Loney
16.  Adam LaRoche
17.  Paul Konerko
18.  Chris Davis
19.  Todd Helton

Tier 5:  bottom of the barrel time

20.  Aubrey Huff
21.  Nick Johnson
22.  Daniel Murphy
23.  Hank Blalock
24.  Lyle Overbay
25.  Casey Kotchman
26.  Gaby Sanchez

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Projected Batting Order:

1.  2B Skip Schumaker (ADP 330)
2.  SS Julio Lugo  (ADP ND)
3.  1B Albert Pujols (ADP 1)
4.  LF Matt Holliday (ADP 21)
5.  CF Colby Rasmus (ADP 178)
6.  RF Ryan Ludwick (ADP 161)
7.  C Yadier Molina (ADP 206)
8.  3B David Freese (ADP 346)

2010 St. Louis Cardinals Projected Rotation & Bullpen:

1.  Chris Carpenter (ADP 73)
2.  Adam Wainwright (ADP 56)
3.  Brad Penny (ADP 334)
4.  Kyle Lohse (ADP 411)
5.  Jaime Garcia / Kyle McClellan (ADP ND)

Closer – Ryan Franklin (ADP 153)
Handcuff – Jason Motte

2010 St. Louis Cardinals prospects with potential impact this year:

1.  Jaime Garcia – SP
2.  Lance Lynn – SP

Mark DeRosa was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the St. Louis Cardinals for Chris Perez and a player to be named later. DeRosa should retain his same value as Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will have him play multiple positions. Perez should not see any save chances with Kerry Wood signed through 2010  plus a vesting option for 2011.

Jonathan Sanchez has been sent to the bullpen by the San Francisco Giants in a move that was long overdue. Ryan Sadowski will get the start on Sunday but it not really a good bet for long term success. There is a very good chance the Giants will turn to one of their top minor league prospects once the second half of the season starts.

Hitters:

Jason Werth went 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI to power the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Werth has hit five home runs with 10 RBI in his last 10 games.

Albert Pujols hit two two-run home runs off Kevin Slowey to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Pujols now has 28 home runs with 74 RBI on the season.

Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-5 with two solo home runs, raising his batting average to .340 on the season. Sandoval has been on fire in June, batting close to .400 with eight home runs and 18 RBI.

Scott Podsednik went 4-for-5 with three RBI including his third home run of the season. Podsednik is now hitting .319 on the season with to home runs, seven RBI and three steals in his last 10 games.

Casey McGehee homered for the third time in his last six games and is now batting .340 on the season. If your fantasy baseball league has 10 game eligibility for position qualification, McGehee is now eligible at second base and third base.

Prince Fielder went 2-for-5 with four RBI and connected for his 19th home run for the season. Fielder is now second in the National League with 73 RBI, one behind Pujols. Fielder has hit three home runs and plated 11 runners in his last 10 games.

Aubrey Huff went 2-for-3 with his 10th home run for the season. Huff now has 51 RBI on the season and has driven in 11 runs in his last 10 games.

Pitchers:

J.A. Happ tossed a complete game shutout while striking out four to up his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season. It was only the second start this season where Happ did not walk a batter.

Tim Wakefield worked six scoreless innings with a lone strikeout to notch his 10th win of the season. Wakefield is 4-0 in his last five starts with one no decision.

Javier Vazquez allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a tough-luck loss against Wakefield. It is nothing new for Vazquez to receive no run support, as he has allowed two rouns or less in five of his last six starts and only has one win to show for it.

Felipe Paulino, back from the disabled list and making his first start in three weeks, twirled a gem of a game, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Paulino allowed only three hits and did not walk a batter, making it through seven innings on 96 pitches.

Scott Kazmir returned from the disabled list exhibiting much better control than the majority of his pre-inury starts. Kazmir making his first starts in more than five weeks, allowed one run in five innings with five strikeouts. More importantly for fantasy baseball owners, he walked only one batter in the outing.

A.J. Burnett allowed one hit in seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to earn his six win of the season. Burnett has allowed one run in his last three starts covering a total of 20 1/3 innings.

Kevin Correia has been a new man since June 1st, and he was back on the mound again on Saturday with the same reuslt. Correia allowed three runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts to win his fourth game in his last five starts. Correia has a 2.41 ERA in those five starts with 29 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings.

After a slow start to the month of June, interleague play has lit a fire under Albert Pujols. Pujols went 4-for-5 on Sunday and smacked two home runs while driving in six runs. Pujols has hit eight home runs in his last 10 games with 17 RBI. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Sunday…

Hitters:

B.J. Upton went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and four RBI. Upton, who hit his fifth home run of the season, has really started to pick up his offense the last 10 days. In that span, Upton has raised his batting average 28 points, drove in nine runs and stole eight bases.

Brandon Inge went 2-for-3  with three RBI and slugged his 16th home run of the season. Inge has homered three times in his last nine games while driving in seven runs. Currently at 47 RBI, Inge is on pace for his first 100 RBI season.

Lyle Overbay went 3-for-5 with five RBI, including his ninth home run of the season. Like Inge, Overbay is also on pace for his first 100 RBI season plus a potential career high in home runs. Part of the reason for Overbay’s improvement this year has been an increase in his walk rate, going from a walk every 8.4 plate appearances in 2008 to a rate of 5.8 this season, as well as a reduction in his strikeout rate, going from a strikeout rate of 5.3 in 2008 to 6.9 this year.

Clint Barmes went 2-for-4 with two RBI and connected for his eighth home run of the season. Barmes has driven in eight runs in his last eight games and is currently on pace for a 19 home run, 88 RBI, 12 steal season.

Hanley Ramirez homered for the first time since May 22nd, going deep for a two-run home run off of Brett Tomko. Despite the lack of power, he has surpassed his RBI total of 11 for the month of May with several games left to play in June.

Pitchers:

CC Sabathia left his start against the Florida Marlins in the second inning with bicep tightness. Sabathia was removed after 1 1/3 innings and 28 pitches thrown. It would be best to bench him in fantasy baseball leagues until the severity of his injury is determined.

Justin Verlander allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts to pick up his 8th win of the season. The win at home for Verlander continued a season long trend. He entered Sunday’s game with a 0.82 ERA in five home starts, compared to a 4.87 ERA on in nine road starts.

Ricky Romero allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Romero has a 2.59 ERA in his last 31 1/3 innings with 31 strikeouts.

Mark Buehrle tossed seven shutout innings with three strikeouts to notch his 7th win of the year. The win for Buehrle was his first since May 19th.

Cole Hamels allowed two runs in eight innings with 10 strikeouts in a hard-luck loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Hamels has allowed two runs in each of his last two starts with 16 strikeouts in 14 innings. Hamels is still getting hit at too high of a rate for a pitcher of his caliber. After limiting batters to a .227 average in 2008, Hamels batting average against is currently .297.

Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in seven innings with eight strikeouts to even his mark at 6-6. The win stopped his losing streak at four, giving him his first win since May 20th.

Randy Wells allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings with three strikeouts to get his first win of the season. The win was well deserved for Wells who has allowed three runs or less in seven of his eight starts this season.

Kevin Correia allowed one run in 6 2/3 inning with seven strikeouts. Correia is 3-1 in his last four starts with a 2.03 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings.

Closers:

Brian Wilson picked up his 19th save of the season, giving him 12 consecutive scoreless appearances. Since May 21st, Wilson has lowered his ERA from 4.87 to 2.94, while picking up 10 saves.

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.

New York Mets starter Johan Santana hurled seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season in a 1-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies. Santana was  dominant in his start, throwing 72% of his pitches for strikes. Jose Reyes added his seventh stolen base of the season for the Mets. Jon Niese is expected to get the start on Friday in place of Oliver Perez (15-day disabled list) for the Mets. Chan Ho Park kept his starting rotation spot for another week for the Phillies, allowing one hit in six scoreless innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Wednesday…

National League:

The Colorado Rockies used three home runs to defeat the San Francisco Giants 11-1. Todd Helton (3), Matt Murton (1) and Yorvit Torrealba (2) all went deep for the Rockies. Ubaldo Jimenez went seven innings, allowing one run with six strikeouts to pick up the win…..The Milwaukee Brewers scored nine runs off of Cincinnati Red starter Bronson Arroyo in the first two innings, en route to a 15-3 win. Ryan Braun hit his sixth home run and had 6 RBI. J.J. Hardy added his fourth home run of the season and 3 RBI. Prince Fielder chipped in with his 5th home run of the season, off of shortstop turned mop up pitcher Paul Janish, in the ninth inning…..In his second game back from the disabled list, Garret Anderson drove in three runs to pace the Atlanta Braves to a 8-6 win over the Florida Marlins. Jordan Schafer went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts and is now hitting .227 on the season. Schafer has struck out 14 times in his last 19 at bats and although he has been drawing walks at a decent rate, striking out in 43% of his at bats is not going to cut it, especially for a guy who is not a home run / power hitter. Jorge Cantu hit his 8th home run of the season for the Marlins and drove in five runs. In attempts to get some additional offense, Cameron Maybin has been moved up to the second spot in the batting order and catcher John Baker has been dropped to the fifth slot…..Aramis Ramirez hit his fourth home run of the year and Reed Johnson drove in three runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros. Rich Harden allowed three runs in seven innings with four strikeouts to get his third win of the year. Lance Berkman hit home run number seven for the Astros, but his batting average still remains below the Mendoza Line at .194…..Albert Pujols, making his case early this season for the Triple Crown, blasted home run number 11 on the season to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pujols went 4 for 4 and is now hitting .364 on the year, and leads the National League in home runs, runs and RBI. Nyjer Morgan stole his seventh base of the season for the Pirates…. Justin Upton hit two home runs to propel the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres. Felipe Lopez added two stolen bases. Jon Garland tossed seven shutout innings with two strikeouts. Josh Whitesell was recalled from Triple-A and could split time at first base with Chad Tracy with Tony Clark going on the disabled list.  Jake Peavy took the loss, allowing two runs in seven innings with 12 strikeouts.

American League:

Carlos Pena hit the game winning home run in the 10th inning to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees. Carl Crawford (20), B.J. Upton (7) and Evan Longoria (2) all swiped based for the Rays. Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI for the Yankees…..Victor Martinez went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI, including his sixth home run of the season to help the Cleveland Indians score a 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Mark DeRosa also hit his sixth home run and drove in two runs.  Aaron Laffey, moved to the bullpen to make room for Jeremy Sowers in the rotation, picked up a three inning save…..Mark Teahan and Mike Jacobs each drove in three runs to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 9-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Billy Butler went 3 for 4 and has now raised his batting average 83 points in the last eight games. Sidney Ponson picked up the win, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings…..Elvis Andrus hit his second home run of the season to help the Texas Rangers defeat the Oakland Athletics 3-2. Nelson Cruz stole his fourth base of the year. Jack Cust went 3 for 4 for the A’s and is now batting .299…..The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1, in a game that was called in the top of he 6th inning due to rain. Nick Markakis (5) and Luke Scott (4) each homered for the Orioles. The Twins demoted second basemen Alexi Casilla to Triple-A. Matt Tolbert got the start Wednesday night and went 0 for 3. Brendan Harris will likely see the majority of time at second base unless Tolbert can go on a hot streak.