MLB Musings

Ervin Santana was very efficient in his complete-game victory (9IP, 7H, 1ER, 6K). It was his 3rd complete game in his last 4 starts. His ERA is now 3.10.

Jose Bautista went hitless (0-for-3) again. The slugger has just a .205/.356/.342 slash line in the past 31 days.

Justin Masterson pitched well again (7.2IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 4K) but earned a no-decision. He now has a 2.69 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He continues to exhibit a stellar GB% (55.3%).

CC Sabathia gave up 5 solo homers in 8 IP to Evan Longoria, Johnny Damon, Casey Kotchman, Kelly Shoppach, and Elliot Johnson. In his previous 173 innings pitched, only 8 left the park.

David Price pitched well (8IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 4K) against the Yankees and evened his record to 10-10.

Pablo Sandoval accounted for the Giants lone run with a solo homer, his 14th HR of the year. He has surely righted the ship from last year's dismal performance when he was grossly out of shape. He currently owns a .314/.355/.526 slash line in 2011.

Ricky Nolasco (8IP, 6H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 4K) picked up his 9th win. Though his dominance (6.60 K/9) and control (2.10 BB/9) have fallen off from last years numbers (8.39 K/9; 1.88 BB/9), he has kept the ball inside the ballpark (.76 HR/9). However, his .324 BABIP and 71.2% strand rate show that his success is not due to luck. Nolasco has a good skill set.

Cole Hamels was not very sharp tonight (5IP, 6H, 3ER, 4BB, 5K). His record fell to a respectable 13-7. He also has a fine 2.62 ERA. He claimed after the game that he was dealing with a dead arm. It showed; he averaged only 89 mph on his fast ball.

Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to 32 games going 3-for-3 including 2 solo shots off Carlos Zambrano. He probably is hoping that August does not end in which he is batting a ridiculous .400/.405/.700 with a .300 ISO.

Freddie Freeman continues to make a case for ROY honors belting his 16th homer and going 2-for-4, 2R, 1RBI. He has thus far put up a .296/.363/.420 slash line in his inaugural major league season.

Jose Costanza (1-for-3, 2R, 2RBI's) remains white-hot and is keeping Jason Heyward languishing on the bench.

Nick Hundley doubled and homered (his 4th) in his first game back from his second stint on the DL. He ended the night 3-3, 1R, 1BB, 1RBI.

Matt Latos (7IP, 4H,2R, 2ER, 1BB, 5K) rendered a quality start but unfortunately came away with a no-decision. Josh Spence blew the game by giving up a 3-run homer to Jay Bruce with 2 outs in the 8th inning. The game-winning blast was Bruce's 24th dinger of the season to go along with 73 RBI's.

Wilson Betemit, batting in the 9th spot, went 3-for4, 1HR, 1R, 2RBI. He now is batting .296/.354/.435.

JJ Hardy continued his resurgence going 2-for-4, scoring twice, and knocking in 2 runs. He hit his 23rd homer of the year.

Talking about resurgence, Melky Cabrera went 2-for-5, 1HR, 1R, 3RBI, 1SB. He now has 15 homers, 16SB, and 70 RBI's on the year.

Tyler Flowers, forced into the game after A.J. Pierzynski injured his hand, had a rough night. The once promising prospect continues to flounder with the bat, and now with the glove. He was 0-2 at the plate and was the victim of 5 SB's.

Zack Greinke remains dominant after the All-Star break. Tonight he allowed 6 hits, 2ER, and 1BB, while fanning 9 batters. He has allowed 2 or fewer runs in his last 7 starts. In his last 114.2 IP, he has a phenomenal 143/26 K/BB ratio.

Justin Upton (2-for-3, 1R, 1RBI) hit his 24th HR. He now has 73 RBI's on the campaign.

Ian Kennedy handled the Mets (7.0IP, 6H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 5K) while improving his record to 15-3.
His ERA is now 3.12.

David Ortiz maintained his torrid power surge smashing his 24th HR and driving in his 79th RBI. He is now batting .299/.386/.560 for the year. Will Boston give him a long-term deal?

Brandon McCarthy (3.1IP, 8H, 7R, 5ER, 0K) was not only knocked around by the Texas line-up, he was forced from the game when he was struck on the right knee by a line-drive off the bat of Endy Chavez. The good news is he was able to walk off the field under his own power.

Matt Kemp, in the bottom of the 10th inning, drove in Casey Blake with an RBI single to right field to account for the only run in the Dodger's 1-0 win over Houston.