Boston Completes Sweep of Rays on Patriots Day

Monday April 15^th Games:

Boston 3, Tampa Bay 2
Mike Napoli singled home the game-winning run in the ninth inning just minutes after blowing a 2-1 lead as Boston swept the 3-game series on Patriots Day.  The celebration in Boston was short lived however, as about an hour later two bombs exploded just 1.5 miles from Fenway Park at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing 3 and injuring hundreds.  There will be time to celebrate the division rival sweep later.

New York Mets at Colorado Rockies were postponed due to snow.  A doubleheader is scheduled for Tuesday but more snow is expected.

St. Louis 10, Pittsburgh 4

Allen Craig had 3 RBI and the Cardinals scored seven runs in the second inning to stop the Pirates winning streak at 3.

Cincinnati 4, Philadelphia 2

Brandon Phillips singled in two runs in the eighth inning to break the tie and the Reds 5-game losing streak.

Washington 10, Miami 3

Ryan Zimmerman homered and had 4 RBI while Jordan Zimmerman (no relation) pitched a complete game for his third win as the Nationals stopped their 3-game losing streak.

Minnesota 8, Los Angeles Angels 2

Joe Maurer had 4 hits including a home run for the home crowd and Kevin Correia picked up the win for the Twins.

Toronto 4, Chicago White Sox 2

J.P. Arrenciba & Maicer Izturis homered, and Mark Buehrle won his first game as a Blue Jay.

Oakland 11, Houston 2

Nate Freiman hit a 3-run HR in a six-run first inning as the A's chased Astros starter Erik Bedard after just one out.  Tommy Millone improved to 3-0 for Oakland.

San Diego 6, Los Angeles  3
Eric Stultz pitched six innings in the win and hit a 3-run HR for the Padres as they pulled away from the Dodgers late.

Record Watch:   Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds.  Walked once Monday and is on pace to walk a record 262 times.

A.L. MVP Watch:   Jed Lowrie, SS, Oakland A's.  2-4 Monday with a HR and 3 RBI.  Hitting .385,  with 3 HRs and 12 RBI.

N.L. MVP Watch:  Brandon Phillips, 2B, Cincinnati Reds.  2-4 Monday with 2 RBI.  Hitting .340 with 4 HRs and 16 RBI.

Fantasy Spin:  Jordan Zimmerman, SP, Washington Nationals is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA and has won his last 8 starts dating back to last year.  He went 12-8 last year with a 2.94 ERA and should only improve, especially in the wins category as Washington should win a lot of games.  He's quietly sneaked into the top 30 starting pitcher conversation and could finish with 15-17 wins and a sub 3 ERA, but fantasy owners want to see strikeouts, and Zimmerman is not a top strikeout pitcher.  He struck out 158 last season and is only on pace for 137 this year.  If those numbers were higher, he'd be a legitimate top 15 pitcher.

History – Cleveland Indians, A.L. Central Team History

     The Indians were established as a Major League team in 1901 as one of the American League's charter franchises and have won 2 World Series.  In 1920, led by outfielder Tris Speaker who hit .388, they defeated the Brooklyn Robins 5 games to 2 (teams had to win 5 games from '19 - '21), and in 1948, led by Bob Feller, they beat the Boston Braves in 6 games.  Most recently they lost the '95 World Series to the Atlanta Braves in 6 games, and lost the '97 World Series to the Florida Marlins in 7 games. 

Trivia – Today’s Question – What is the record and who holds it for most times walked in a season?

Yesterday’s Question:   What is the live ball era record (post 1920) for lowest E.R.A. by a starting pitcher in one season with a minimum 20 starts?   

Answer:  1.12 by Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968.  From 1903 through 1968, the height limit of the mound was set at 15 inches, but in 1969 MLB lowered the mound to 10 inches, intending to increase the batting as pitching had become increasingly dominant.  1968 is known as "The Year of the Pitcher."

Vegas Bet:  Lastly, here’s an actual bet you can make in Las Vegas casinos:  Over/Under 3 inches of snow in Denver today for the Mets-Rockies doubleheader.

Yesterday’s Bet:   Over/Under 2 HRs hit today by the Mets in Colorado

Result:  Under.  The game was snowed out.

Standings
American League East W L GB Boston 8 4 - N.Y. Yankees 6 5 1½ Baltimore 6 6 2 Toronto 6 7 2½ Tampa Bay 4 8 4 American League Central Team W L GB Detroit 7 5 - Kansas City 7 5 - Cleveland 5 6 1½ Minnesota 5 7 2 Chi. White Sox 5 8 2½ American League West Team W L GB Oakland 10 4 - Texas 8 5 1½ Seattle 6 8 4 Houston 4 9 5½ L.A. Angels 4 9 5½ National League National League East Team W L GB Atlanta 11 1 - N.Y. Mets 7 4 3½ Washington 8 5 3½ Philadelphia 6 7 5½ Miami 2 11 9½ National League Central Team W L GB St. Louis 8 5 - Cincinnati 6 7 2 Pittsburgh 6 7 2 Chi. Cubs 4 8 3½ Milwaukee 3 8 4 National League West Team W L GB San Francisco 9 4 - Arizona 8 4 ½ Colorado 8 4 ½ L.A. Dodgers 7 6 2 San Diego 3 10 6
Tuesday 4/16 Schedule with probable pitchers in parentheses.  My picks to win are highlighted.  Yesterday’s Picks:  6-2   Overall: 100-85 Times EST GM 1: 3:10pm Mets Gee (0-2) @ Rockies Nicasio (1-0) 7:05pm D-backs McCarthy (0-1) @ Yankees Nova (0-1) 7:05pm Red Sox Doubront (0-0) @ Indians Jimenez (0-1) 7:05pm Cardinals Westbrook (1-1) @ Pirates Sanchez (0-2) 7:05pm Rays Hernandez (0-2) @ Orioles Arrieta (0-0) 7:07pm White Sox Axelrod (0-1) @ Blue Jays Johnson (0-1) 7:10pm Royals Guthrie (2-0) @ Braves Medlen (1-1) 7:10pm Phillies Kendrick (1-1) @ Reds Bailey (1-1) 7:10pm Nationals Haren (1-1) @ Marlins Sanabia (1-1) 8:05pm Rangers Holland (0-1) @ Cubs Wood (1-0) 8:10pm Angels Vargas (0-1) @ Twins Pelfrey (1-1) 8:10pm Giants Zito (2-0) @ Brewers Peralta (0-1) GM 2: 8:40pm Mets TBD @ Rockies Francis (1-1) 10:05pm Astros Peacock (1-1) @ Athletics Griffin (2-0) 10:10pm Tigers Fister (2-0) @ Mariners Harang (0-0) 10:10pm Padres Marquis (0-1) @ Dodgers Capuano (0-0)