Article:Baseball Notebook: Recaps of Yesterday's Games

Tigers Hit Two Homers to Top Yankees 6-4

The Tigers defeated the Yankees 6-4 as Kenny Rogers 2-3 pitches his first good game since his first start of the season. Curtis Granderson has only batted 23 times but has 3 homers while Gary Sheffield has batted 67 times and has hit only 2 homers. Both homered in the game yesterday. Placido Polanco was 4 for 5 in the contest and raised his average above the Mendoza line for the first time this season raising his average from .174 to .216. Phillip Hughes 0-4 only lasted 3 2/3 innings and his ERA rose to 9.00 after he gave up gave up 6 runs and 8 hits. Hughes may be Zitoed anytime now since neither he or the fifth starter Ian Kennedy have won a game this season.

Mariners Sink Indians 7-2

The Indians bullpen turned a 2-2 game into a rout when closer Rafael Betancourt gave up 3 runs in the ninth inning and Craig Breslow allowed 2 more runs to cross the plate as the Mariners sank the Indians into a last place tie with the Tigers in the AL Central. Ichiro Suzuki was 2 for 6 but is 5th on the team in batting average with a .261 average. He is in the middle of a 8 game hitting streak but has raised his average by only 11 points.

Orioles Move Into First Place In AL East, Defeating Rays 7-4

The Orioles took over sole possession of first place in the AL East with their 7-4 win over the Rays. Not many experts predicted the Orioles would be in first place on the last day of April especially after losing Erik Bedard. Most amazing of all is that the Orioles don't have a regular player hitting over .300. Garrett Olson 1-0 took the win in his first start of the 2008 season.

Lester Pitches 8 Inning One Hitter As Red Sox Shutout Blue Jays 1-0

This game can be summed up by the great pitching of Jon Lester who pitched a one hitter that defeated Roy Halladay 2-4 and the Blue Jays in a 1-0 shutout win. It can also be summed up by the great defensive stop by Dustin Pedroia that kept Vernon Wells from driving in the go ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. Jonathan Paplebon 1-0 took the win after Kevin Youkilis singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a chilly night in Boston with 47 degree weather and a 15 MPH wind.

Jose Guillen Drives in Five In Royals 9-5 Win Over Rangers

Jason Jennings 0-5 is the next candidate to be Zitoed this year after losing to the Royals by a 9-5 score and giving up 8 hits in 2 innings which is not a good way to stay in the starting rotation. I wouldn't be surprised if Jennings finds himself in the bullpen or in the minors very soon. Jose Guillen led the Royals offense driving in 5 runs while Mark Grudzielanek was 4 for 6 in the game. Josh Hamilton drove in his 28th run of the season for the Rangers which gives him the most RBI's in the majors this season.

Boof Bonser Pitches Twins To 3-1 Win Against the White Sox

Boof Bonser 2-4 pitched the Twins to a 3-1 victory over the White Sox as the Twins moved to within 2 1/2 games of the first place White Sox in the AL Central. The Twins are now tied with Royals for second place with the Tigers and Indians tied for last place. Joe Nathan notched his 8th save in the contest and lowered his ERA to 0.90.

Angels Shutout A's 2-0: Joe Saunders Now 5-0

Joe Saunders 5-0 became the first Angels pitcher since Frank Tanana in 1978 to have a 5-0 record in April. His opponent last night Greg Smith pitched a great game of his own allowing 2 runs and 3 hits in 8 innings. His only problem was that the A's had overdone it on Monday when they scored 14 runs and had 16 hits leaving no runs left for Smith on Tuesday night.

Hamels Outpitches Maddux As Phillies Defeat Padres 7-4

Cole Hamels 3-3 defeated future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux 2-2. Hamels also singled in the contest to raise his average to .313. Ryan Howard drove in his 12th run of the season but still is in a slump. He is 5th on the Phillies in hits with 17, 5th in doubles with 2, 3rd in homers with 5, 4th in RBI's with 12 with Jayson Werth ahead of him with 13 and Howard is 13 RBI's behind the team leader Chase Utley with 25. Howard is 5th in slugging with a .354 mark.

Glavine Pitches Well, Bullpen Falters As Nationals Defeat Braves 6-3

The Braves wasted a fine pitching performance by Tom Glavine who gave up 2 runs in 6 innings when the bullpen became unraveled in the seventh inning. Blaine Boyer 0-4 allowed 4 Nationals to cross the plate in the seventh. With John Smoltz on the disabled list the Braves can't continue to lose when the bullpen enters the game. The Braves have won only two of their last seven games and those games were won by Jair Jurjjens and Chuck James. Jo-Jo Reyes who has been lights out this season at the Triple A level will start on Saturday against the Reds. Chipper Jones hit his 8th homer of the season and raised his average to an astonishing .432 which is 66 points higher than the next closest hitter in the majors who is Albert Pujols with a .366 average. Ryan Zimmerman was 3 for 3 and drove in 3 runs to lead the Nationals offense.

Dodgers Edge Marlins 7-6 Behind Kent's Single in Ninth

Jeff Kent hit a two out single in the top of the ninth to give the Dodgers a 7-6 victory over the Marlins. Andrew Miller should be returning to the minors very soon after giving up 6 runs and 9 hits in 3 innings for the Marlins. In 25 innings he has given up 27 runs and 48 hits with a 9.12 ERA.

Mets Defeat Pirates 5-4 In Eleven Inning Game

Johan Santana had a 4-2 win when he left the game against the Pirates but the Pirates came back to tie the score at 4-4 in the top of the ninth inning when Billy Wagner blew his first save of the season. David Wright singled in the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh inning to end the game. Endy Chavez and Jose Reyes had 3 hits each giving them 6 of the 9 Mets hits in the contest. The Mets and Phillies both moved to within a half game of the first place Phillies in the NL East.

Brewers Pound Out 17 Hits In 10-7 Defeat of Cubs

Ben Sheets 5-0 didn't pitch his best game but still has a perfect 5-0 record after his last start in April. Mike Cameron was 3 for 5 with 2 runs batted in his return from a 25 game suspension. The second through sixth hitters for the Brewers drove in 8 runs and had 12 of the 17 hits by the Brewers. Sheets walked 7 in 5 innings showing he didn't have his best stuff but with the Brewers offense having a great night it really didn't matter. Derrek Lee hit his 8th homer and drove in his 22nd run of the season.

Cueto Implodes In 7-2 Loss To Cards

Johnny Cueto 1-3 proved last night that having a great start in his debut earlier this season means nothing until he can pitch like that consistently. In his debut Cueto allowed one hit and struck out 10 against the Diamondbacks but hasn't won a game since then. Yesterday he gave up 6 earned runs and 8 hits in 1 2/3 innings and in his last two starts has given up 11 runs and 16 hits in his last 8 2/3 innings. The only positive for Cueto is that he has walked only 6 in 35 innings but his strikeouts have dwindled from 10,8,6,5 to 2 in his last two starts. His ERA is now at 5.40 after a 1.29 after his debut. Joel Pineiro 2-2 pitched 7 innings of scoreless baseball and allowed only one hit for the Cardinals. Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus combined for a 5 for 9 night with 5 RBI's.

Astros Defeat Diamondbacks 6-4 Despite Sterling Debut By Scherzer

Max Scherzer who was just called up by the Diamondbacks pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless and hitless relief in his major league debut. He struck out 7 and walked none. Scherzer was 4-0 with Tucson before being called up and had struck out 38 and walked 3 in 23 innings. With Edgar Gonzalez 1-2 and 6.55 ERA the weak link in the rotation Scherzer may be moved into the starting rotation eventually but for one night at least (remember Cueto) he looks like he is going to be a good one.

Rockies Nip Giants 3-2 Behind Pitching of Cook

Aaron Cook 4-1 pitched seven strong innings but scattered 10 hits as the Rockies moved to within a half game of the third place Giants in the NL West. Todd Lincecum 4-1 pitched his fifth straight quality start but took the loss. The Giants outhit the Rockies 10-8 but couldn't come up with the hits when they needed them most. Jonathan Sanchez 2-1 will start for the Giants tonight after winning his last two starts against the Cardinals and Reds and recorded his second 10 strikeout performance in his last start. In his three best starts against the Padres, Cardinals and Reds he has allowed one run in 19 innings while striking out 25 batters.