by Todd Lammi
Raul Ibanez went 3 for 5 with two home runs and four RBI in the first game of a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals. He then went 2 for 3 with three RBI in the nightcap, including his third home run of the day, number 13 on the season. At age 36, Ibanez is currently on pace for 60 home runs. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday…
Hitters:
Alex Rodriguez hit a walk-off two-run home run to give the New York Yankees a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Ryan Zimmerman hit his ninth home run of the season and drove in two runs giving him 29 RBI on the year. Zimmerman is now batting .366.
Mark Teixeira went 4 for 4 with 4 RBI and his eighth home run of the season. He should benefit from having Alex Rodriguez hitting behind him, so his current .238 batting average should be on the upswing.
Justin Morneau went 2 for 3 and slugged his 12th home run of the year. Morneau has now homered six time in his last eight games with 10 RBI.
Carlos Lee went 3 for 4 and homered for the second consecutive game. Lee now has eight home runs with 29 RBI and is batting .341.
Pitchers:
Rich Hill returned from the disabled list for the Baltimore Orioles and allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.
Joba Chamberlain allowed two runs in six innings with six strikeouts but did not factor in the decision. He is going to struggle to pick up wins if he cannot make it past the six inning due to a high pitch count. His last three starts have only lasted a combined 17 2/3 innings, with pitch counts of 108, 104 and 108 on Saturday.
Randy Wells tossed six shutout innings with four strikeouts, giving him 11 scoreless innings in 2009.
Rookie Robert Ray picked up his first win of the year for the Toronto Blue Jays, hurling eight shutout innings and recoding three strikeouts.
Jeff Suppan out dueled Adam Wainwright in a 1-0 victory. The lone mistake by Wainwright was a home run hit by Corey Hart. Suppan tossed seven shutout innings with two strikeouts. Wainwright allowed one run in eight innings with seven punch outs.
Max Scherzer picked up his first win of the year, tossing six shutout innings with four strikeouts.
Rick Porcello allowed one run in six innings with five strikeouts to move to 4-3 on the season. Porcello has now allowed only two runs in his last 18 innings.
Eric Milton’s return to the major leagues was not too successful. Milton lasted only four innings, allowing two runs and four walks before being lifted after 84 pitches.
Carlos Zambrano is scheduled to throw a rehab start on Sunday and if that goes well, he will return to the rotation Friday against the San Diego Padres.
John Lackey’s return from the disabled list was short lived after he was ejected after only two pitches. After throwing behind Ian Kinsler on his first pitch, Lackey drilled him with his second pitch and was tossed from the game.
Closers:
Kevin Gregg allowed four runs in the ninth inning without recording an out against the Houston Astros.
Brad Lidge was sent to the mound for a third consecutive day and this time recorded his sixth save of the year with a scoreless inning.
Frank Francisco was placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 7th, so he could return by next weekend. C.J. Wilson will continue to close in his place.
