Friday, April 5, 2013

Rivera Saves First in his Last Season


Thursday April 4th games:

New York Yankees 4, Boston 2
Mariano Rivera returned to the mound after tearing his ACL last May and secured the win against Boston with strikeout of Red Sox rookie Jackie Bradley on a borderline pitch, that, according to another Rookie was outside, but the Red Sox rookie needs a lot more seasoning under his belt before he ever gets a call that close, especially against a Hall of Fame pitcher in his last season.  Andy Pettitte scattered 8 hits through 8 innings for his first win and Brett Gardner & Francisco Cervelli each hit solo HRs.  The Yankees lost the series 2-1.

Chicago Cubs 3, Pittsburgh 2
Nate Schierholtz padded the Cub lead in the 9th inning to 3-0 with a 2-run HR and Chicago barely hung on to win despite giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to the Pirates.  Cubs won the series 2-1.

Cincinnati 5, Los Angeles Angels 4
Shin Soo Choo, Todd Frazier & Chris Heisey all homered for the Reds and Aroldis Chapman nailed down his first save of the season to preserve the win for Bronson Arroyo.  Reds won the series 2-1.

Minnesota 8, Detroit 2
Trevor Plouffe & Josh Willingham homered to lift the Twins at home and the Tigers shaky bullpen surrender 5 runs late to put the game out of reach.  Twins won the series 2-1.

San Diego 2, New York Mets 1
Eric Stultz silenced the red-hot Met hitters as he struck out 7 through 5 innings as the Padres held on to salvage a game in New York.  Mets won the series 2-1.

Kansas City 3, Chicago White Sox 1
Jeremy Guthrie shined in his season debut for the Royals, allowing 5 hits and 1 run through 6 innings while striking out 9 White Sox batters as Kansas City avoided a series sweep.  White Sox won  the series 2-1.

Baltimore 6, Tampa Bay 3
Chris Davis homered for the 3rd consecutive game and drove in 4 runs to  as the Orioles took the rubber match with Tampa Bay.  Orioles won the series 2-1.

Oakland 8, Seattle 2
Josh Reddick & Yoenis Cespedes homered and combined for 6 RBI in the Oakland while Mike Morse hit his 4th HR in his 3rd game for the Mariners.  Athletics won the series 2-1.

Washington 6, Miami 1
Jayson Werth hit a 3-run HR and Jordan Zimmerman allowed the Marlins first run of the season as the Washington won easily at home.  Nationals swept the series 3-0.


Toronto 10, Cleveland  8
In a game that featured 7 HRs, Toronto catcher J.P. Arenciba was responsible for two of them, and Edwin Encarnacion & Jose Bautista each drove in 3 runs to lift the Blue Jays at home to escape a sweep by the Cleveland.  Indians won series 2-1.

Philadelphia 2, Atlanta 0
Cliff Lee was spectacular in his first start of the season for Philadelphia as he held the hot hitting Braves to just 2 hits in 8 innings while striking out 8 Phillies.  Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in the 9th inning to notch his first save of the season as Philadelphia avoided the sweep.  Braves won the series 2-1.

Fantasy Spin  - Orioles outfielder/first baseman Chris Davis is off to a scorching start, hitting HRs in his first 3 games and all signs point to another powerful year.  He hit 33 HRs last season while playing in a career-high 139 games and has the advantage of playing in a very hitter-friendly Camden Yards in Baltimore, making him a very attractive fantasy option.  Don't be surprised if he hits 40 HRs this season, but don't expect more than 100 RBI.  Davis routinely hits 5th or 6th in the Baltimore lineup and his career-high in RBI is 85 set last year.
News & Notes
In an effort to bolster their shaky bullpen, the detroit Tigers signed closer Jose Valverde to a minor league deal.  Valverde saved 35 games for the Tigers last season but was not offered a contract in the spring. 

The Cleveland Indians places pitcher Scott Kazmir on the DL with a strained ribcage muscle, just days before he was to make his season debut.
A.L. MVP Watch Chris Davis is hitting .636 with 4 HRs for the Orioles.
N.L. MVP Watch  Carl Crawford is hitting .556 as the Dodgers lead-off hitter.

Record Watch -Chris Davis is on pace for 594 RBI

History – Team History   Seattle Mariners
The Mariners have a confusing history as Seattle was awarded an American League franchise in the expansion year of 1969 called the Seattle Pilots, who played just one season in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee for the 1970 season to become the Brewers.  The Brewers stayed in Milwaukee for 6 seasons and moved back to Seattle in the expansion season of 1977 where the took the Mariners name and where they've remained ever since.  Seattle has never been to a World Series, but the do hold the record for most wins in a season with 116 in 2001, but ultimately lost to the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

Trivia - Today’s Question –
What is the record for most RBI in one season?

Yesterday’s Question:  
Who was the first Angels player to win the M.V.P award?
Answer – Don Baylor in 1979 with a .296 batting average, 36 HRs, 139 RBI, 120 runs scored and stole 22 bases. 

Weekend Schedule 4/5 - 4/7 (With Pitching Matchups)   My picks to win are highlighted. Yesterday's Picks: 6-5  Overall 24-21
Friday 4/5 (Times EST)

1:08 PMN.Y. Yankees Nova (0-0) @ Detroit Fister (0-0)
2:05 PM L.A. Angels Vargas (0-0) @ Texas Holland (0-0)
3:05 PM Minnesota Hendriks (0-0) @ Baltimore Arrieta (0-0)
4:05 PM Kansas City Davis (0-0) @ Philadelphia Kendrick (0-0)
4:10 PM San Diego Marquis (0-0) @ Colorado Francis (0-0)
4:35 PM
St. Louis
Westbrook (0-0) @ San Francisco Zito (0-0)
7:07 PM Boston Doubront (0-0) @ Toronto Johnson (0-0)
7:10 PM Miami Sanabia (0-0) @ N.Y. Mets Hefner (0-0)
7:10 PM Washington Haren (0-0) @ Cincinnati Bailey (0-0)
7:10 PM Cleveland McAllister (0-0) @ Tampa Bay Moore (0-0)
7:30 PM Chi. Cubs Feldman (0-0) @ Atlanta Minor (0-0)
8:10 PM Oakland Straily (0-0) @ Houston Peacock (0-0)
8:10 PM Arizona Miley (0-0) @ Milwaukee Lohse (0-0)
8:10 PM Seattle Beavan (0-0) @ Chi. White Sox Quintana (0-0)
10:10 PM Pittsburgh Sanchez (0-0) @ L.A. Dodgers Greinke (0-0)
Saturday 4/6





1:07 PMBoston Lackey (0-0) @ Toronto Happ (0-0)
1:10 PM Miami Nolasco (0-1) @ N.Y. Mets Niese (1-0)
1:10 PM Seattle Hernandez (1-0) @ Chi. White Sox Axelrod (0-0)
1:10 PM Washington Detwiler (0-0) @ Cincinnati Leake (0-0)
4:05 PM
St. Louis
Miller (0-0) @ San Francisco Vogelsong (0-0)
4:05 PM N.Y. Yankees Phelps (0-0) @ Detroit Scherzer (0-0)
4:05 PM L.A. Angels Hanson (0-0) @ Texas Harrison (0-1)
7:05 PM Minnesota Worley (0-1) @ Baltimore Tillman (0-0)
7:05 PM Kansas City Mendoza (0-0) @ Philadelphia Lannan (0-0)
7:10 PM Oakland Colon (0-0) @ Houston Bedard (0-0)
7:10 PM Chi. Cubs Villanueva (0-0) @ Atlanta Teheran (0-0)
7:10 PM Arizona Corbin (0-0) @ Milwaukee Fiers (0-0)
7:10 PM Cleveland TBD @ Tampa Bay Cobb (0-0)
8:10 PM San Diego Ross (0-0) @ Colorado Garland (0-0)
9:10 PM Pittsburgh Burnett (0-1) @ L.A. Dodgers Kershaw (1-0)
Sunday 4/7











1:05 PM N.Y. Yankees Sabathia (0-1) @ Detroit Verlander (1-0)
1:07 PM Boston Lester (1-0) @ Toronto Dickey (0-1)
1:10 PM Miami Fernandez (0-0) @ N.Y. Mets Laffey
1:10 PM Washington Strasburg (1-0) @ Cincinnati Cueto (0-0)
1:35 PM Kansas City Shields (0-1) @ Philadelphia Hamels (0-1)
1:35 PM Minnesota De Vries (0-0) @ Baltimore Hammel (1-0)
1:35 PM Chi. Cubs Samardzija (1-0) @ Atlanta Hudson (0-0)
1:40 PM Cleveland Masterson (1-0) @ Tampa Bay Price (0-0)
2:10 PM Seattle Iwakuma (1-0) @ Chi. White Sox Sale (1-0)
2:10 PM Oakland Anderson (0-1) @ Houston Norris (1-0)
2:10 PM Arizona Kennedy (1-0) @ Milwaukee Gallardo (0-0)
4:05 PM St. Louis Wainwright (0-1) @ San Francisco Cain (0-0)
4:10 PM Pittsburgh Locke (0-0) @ L.A. Dodgers Ryu (0-1)
4:10 PM San Diego Volquez (0-1) @ Colorado Chacin (0-0)
8:05 PM L.A. Angels Weaver (0-0) @ Texas Darvish (1-0)

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