Hitters:

Jose Guillen cracked his 4th home run of the season giving him four home runs in his last three games. Despite being 3-5, the six of the seven top hitters for the Kansas City Royals are all hitting over .300.

Carlos Pena went 3-for-5 with four RBI and delivered his second home run of the season.

Ty Wigginton went 2-for-5 with three RBI and hit his first two home runs of the season.

Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI. Jonny Gomes added four RBI and his second home run of the season.

Bad boy Milton Bradley hit his second home run of the year, a three-run shot in the 8th inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 3-0 win over the Oakland A’s.

Pitchers:

Andy Pettitte worked six scoreless innings with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year.

Clayton Kershaw notched his first win of the season but is still having command issues, lasting only through 5 1/3 innings before hitting 110 pitches. Kershaw allowed two runs and struck out seven.

Greg Smith of the Colorado Rockies allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.

Brett Anderson of the Oakland A’s tossed six scoreless innings with six strikeouts but did not factor in the decision.

Closers:

Kevin Gregg picked up his third save of the season working a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. While I don’t think there is a closer controversy yet, I thought it was interesting that Jays manager Cito Gaston did not give Jason Frasor a chance to close the game after he blew the save the previous night in which he threw only 19 pitches.

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.

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.

Albert Pujols went 3 for 4 with two home runs and 3 RBI in the St. Louis Cardinals 12-8 victory over the New York Mets. Rick Ankiel added his first home run of the year for the Cardinals. Kyle Lohse picked up the win and is now 3-0 on the season, but he may miss his next start. Lohse is scheduled to have an MRI on his knee after injuring it while covering first base in the fifth inning. Carlos Beltran hit his second home run of the year for the Mets. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday…

National League:

Chad Billingsley pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros. Billingsley struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.05 on the season. Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in six innings in the loss for the Astros. Michael Bourn stole his third base of the year for Houston…..Milwaukee Brewers starter Dave Bush took a no-hitter into the eight inning before allowing a hit in a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ryan Braun hit his 4th home run of the season and is now batting .327. Phillies starter Cole Hamels left the game after getting hit in his pitching shoulder by a Prince Fielder line drive…..Joey Votto went 4 for 5 with his 3rd home run of the season in the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Aaron Harang threw seven shutout innings to pick up the victory.

American League:

Grady Sizemore hit a three-run home run to give the Cleveland Indians a 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Shin-Soo Choo picked up his third stolen base of the year. Gil Meche took the loss for the Royals, allowing three runs in 7 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts…..Felix Hernandez tossed seven shutout innings for the Seattle Mariners in a 1-0 defeat of the Tampa Bay Rays. Ichiro Suzuki stole his second base of the year. James Shields took the loss for the Rays, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings with four strikeouts…..Adam Eaton allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts (no, that is not a typo, he really struck out 9) in a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox….The Toronto Blue Jays hit three home runs in their 5-2 defeat of the Texas Rangers. Lyle Overbay (3), Vernon Wells (3) and Armando Rios (1) all went deep for the Blue Jays. Scott Richmond allowed two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts to get the “w”. With B.J. Ryan on the 15-day disabled list, Scott Downs picked up his first save of the year. Downs will see the majority of save opportunities while Ryan is out of action according to manager Cito Gaston. Rookie Ricky Romero was also placed on the 15 day DL with a strained oblique muscle.

Ian Kinsler continues to justify his first round status from fantasy baseball drafts, hitting his 4th home run and steal his 5th and 6th bases of the season in the Texas Rangers 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Michael Young chipped in with his 3rd home run and second stole base of the year. Kyle Davies of the Royals did not factor in the decision, allowing three runs in six innings with eight strikeouts. Davies should be a consideration in mixed league formats with 21 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings and a 2.89 ERA. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday…

American League:

The New York Yankees rallied for three runs in both the 7th and 8th inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians 7-3. Jorge Posada hit his 3rd home run of the season for the Yankees. Shin-Soo Choo hit home run number three for the Indians. It is going to be tough for Kerry Wood of the Indians to get saves this year if the key relievers in front of him continue to struggle. All three relievers that entered the game after starter Carl Pavano currently have an ERA over six…..Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays held the Oakland A’s scoreless for seven innings and struck out six in a 1-0 victory. Dallas Braden allowed one run for the Athletics in seven innings and now sports a 2.79 ERA. It is going to be hard to get wins if you own Oakland starting pitchers. The A’s are last or next to last in multiple offensive categories. Currently they are last in home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and second last in runs scored and RBI…..Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox picked up his first win of the season, pitching seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts to give the Red Sox a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Koji Uehara allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts in the loss…..Carlos Quentin homered in his third consecutive game to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 12-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Jim Thome added his third home run for the White Sox. Gavin Floyd allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts. B.J. Upton stole his third base of the year for the Rays…..Glen Perkins allowed one run in eight innings with four k’s to pitch the Minnesota Twins past the Los Angeles Angels 3-1. Bobby Abreu stole a base for his fourth consecutive game, giving him seven on the season for the Angels…..Rookie Rick Porcello pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run in the Detroit Tigers 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Shortstop Ramon Santiago continued his big week for the Tigers, driving in five runs. Santiago has been filling in for Adam Everett and should continue to start while he is hot at the plate.

National League:

The Florida Marlins rallied in the ninth inning for four runs off of Saul Rivera in a 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals. Cody Ross hit his 3rd home run of the season and drove in five runs, including the winning three runs in the ninth inning on a double…..Raul Ibanez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres. Chase Utley hit his 4th home run and Jimmy Rollins his first, in a pinch hit appearance. Fantasy baseball owners have to hope that the home run by Rollins gets him going on a hot streak. Josh Greer starting in place of Walter Silva, who was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained forearm, tossed seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Adrian Gonzalez hit his 5th home run for the Padres…..Javier Vazquez pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts in the Atlanta Braves 11-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chipper Jones returned to the lineup for the Braves and went 1 for 3…..Edison Volquez picked up his first win of the season for the Cincinnati Reds in a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros. Felipe Paulino starting in place of the injured Brian Moehler hurled six scoreless innings with six strikeouts…..Randy Johnson allowed one hit in seven shutout innings to give the San Francisco Giants a 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Max Scherzer allowed one run in five innings for the D-Backs with six strikeouts. Until Scherzer is able to command the strike zone better, he is a five to six inning pitcher at best at this point…..Matt Kemp hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers 14-2 thumping of the Colorado Rockies. Orlando Hudson went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs.

One thing to keep an eye on for fantasy baseball owners playing in an National League only league where you lose a player if he is traded. The Milwaukee Brewers staff is pretty bad outside of Yovani Gallardo. One transaction the Brewers made late in spring was to claim first basemen Joe Koshansky and send him to AAA. With Brad Nelson already on the roster, I think Milwaukee is preparing themselves early for the possibility of dealing Prince Fielder later this year. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Thursday…

National League:

NL only league players in deeper leagues should look to put in a free agent claim on Darnell McDonald of the Cincinnati Reds. McDonald looks to be the man against left-handed pitching in left field for the Reds. McDonald got his second start of the season on Thursday. Joey Votto continues to rake, hitting his second home run of the season. He is justifying his high draft status early on this year…..Chris Carpenter turned in a gem for the St. Louis Cardinals. He seems to be back to his form from 2006 but beware the injury risk still lingers going forward. Dennis Reyes got the save for the Cardinals as the Pittsburgh Pirates had lefties Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit up to bat in the ninth inning, so don’t rush to grab Reyes from the waiver wire assuming that he is the new closer.Ramon Vazquez got another start at third base for the Pirates over Andy LaRoche…..All the speed the Los Angeles Dodgers have and Orlando Hudson leads the team with three stolen bases? Hudson’s previous high was 10 in 2007. So far so good for Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres, now 2 for 2 in saves. Jody Gerut sat the bench again for the Padres with a lefty on the mound for the Dodgers…..Matt Cain got a win in his first start of the year for the San Francisco Giants. I think the Giants are the sleeper team in the National League West. Their offense does not look intimidating on paper but they seem to have a bunch of professional hitters that will put runs together this season.

American League:

In a battle of rookie starters, Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays outpitched Rick Porcello of the Detroit Tigers. Adam Lind hit his second home run of the season for the Blue Jays. He should be good for 20-25 home runs this season and out of the 5th spot in the lineup should be able to drive in 90+ runs…..Brandon Morrow of the Seattle Mariners was much better in his second save attempt shutting the door on the Minnesota Twins. Even though Glen Perkins got the loss, I like him in AL only leagues as a back half of a fantasy baseball rotation…..Lots of firsts for the New York Yankees on Thursday. First win in the new uniform for A.J. Burnett, first home run of the season for Mark Teixeira and first stolen base of the season for Brett Gardner…..Evan Longoria hit his second home run of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays. I had said in an earlier post that I expect him to battle David Wright and A-Rod for the first third basemen chosen in fantasy basbeall drafts next season. Jason Varitek hit his second home run for the Red Sox. He will provide a little bit of power from the catcher position for your fantasy team but be prepared to offset his low batting average…..Good starts from both Kyle Davies and John Danks in the Kansas City – Chicago game. Coco Crisp sent the Royals home a winner with his home run off of Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning. Alex Gordon stole his first base of the season for the Royals…..Andruw Jones got his first start of the season for the Texas Rangers and they decide to hit him cleanup? Mmmm, just saying, if a guy is good enough to hit cleanup when he plays, either he should be playing more or the manager is hitting him in the wrong spot in the lineup.