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Stay For a Nightcap! Tuesday's Games

Notables:

- Ricky Romero didn't have his cleanest outing, giving up five runs on nine hits, but also added nine strikeouts in his six innings of work and still got the win.
- Andy LaRoche went 2-for-4 with a homer to raise his average to .333, and his OBP above .400.
- Livan Hernandez keeps dodging raindrops in a monsoon, allowing 10 baserunners in 5.1 innings but allowing just two runs (one earned).
- Jason Heyward was actually described as "struggling" in one outlet that I heard over the weekend - not sure where I heard it, but it was obviously based solely on his batting average at the time. At his lowest point, he was hitting .224, but even then, he had an OPS of .806. The suggestion by the analyst was that maybe he was taking too many pitches - the old "not aggressive enough" bromide. While it's true that he has struck out 26 times, he's also walking and hitting for power. He's also since gone on another tear, going 2-for-2 with two walks and his 8th homer of the season on Tuesday. His OPS is back up over 1.000.
- A.J. Burnett allowed just one "unearned" run (due to his own throwing error) over 7.1 innings, striking out eight while walking two.
- Jon Lester allowed only one run over eight innings against the Angels, giving him one run allowed over 20.2 innings spanning his last three starts. Ervin Santana was nearly his equal, allowing one run but lasting only seven innings (throwing 115 pitches to get there). That extra inning made a difference - the Red Sox did their damage against relievers Kevin Jepsen and Scot Shields.
- David Wright hit his sixth homer but also struck out for the 31st time. He's just a different type of hitter now.
- Ian Kennedy gave up eight hits and two walks in his 6.2 innings, but only one of those hits was for extra bases as he held the Astros scoreless. Roy Oswalt allowed just a solo homer to Justin Upton to pick up the unlucky loss.
- Gavin Floyd had another bad start against a weak opponent, giving up 13 hits and two walks, striking out only two.
- Tim Lincecum struck out 13 Marlins through seven innings but lost the win thanks to Sergio Romo giving up a three-run homer.
- James Shields - two runs on eight hits, no walks, 10 K's. Evan Longoria went 3-for-4 with his seventh homer.

Save Chances:

- Kevin Gregg, converted. I can't fight it any longer - ok, Kevin Gregg was a brilliant signing by the Jays, and he really is a world class reliever. There, I said it. Another converted save (7), with one strikeout. His ERA and WHIP both sit at 0.69. Now that I've given him his due, maybe he'll have the decency to go away.
- Octavio Dotel (4), converted. One walk, one strikeout, no other damage.
- Matt Capps, converted. Capps was gifted a save chance by Miguel Bastista, who got one out in the ninth but allowed one run to make it a three-run game. Capps came in and induced a double-play to pick up his 11th save.
- Joba Chamberlain (2), converted. One hit, two strikeouts.
- Francisco Rodriguez (4), converted. No walks, no hits, no K's.
- Chad Qualls (6), converted. Perfect inning, one strikeout.
- Guillermo Mota (1), converted. Strictly a last-man-standing save in extra innings.
- Leo Nunez, blown (2). Nunez gave up a game-tying homer to Aaron Rowand. This was the first homer allowed by Nunez, but he gave up seven in 68.2 innings last year.
- Andrew Bailey (4), converted. A four-out save.
- Rafael Soriano (7), converted. Two strikeouts, one walk.
 
Other Closer Outings:

- Brad Lidge pitched the ninth after Cole Hamels started the ninth with a 1-0 lead, only to give up the lead. When Lidge came in, it was already 1-1. He got out of the inning without allowing a run, striking out one and walking one.
- Jon Papelbon pitched with a four-run lead, striking out two in a perfect ninth.
- Francisco Cordero got the loss, giving up a solo homer to Rod Barajas in a tie game in the ninth.
- Matt Lindstrom pitched for the first time since Saturday and threw a clean inning.
- Brian Wilson retired all four batters he faced, striking out one.
- Heath Bell got the win, pitching a scoreless ninth and seeing the Padres rally in the bottom of the inning.
- Franklin Morales got the loss against the Padres, walking two (one intentionally).

Non-Closer Outings

- Evan Meek pitched a scoreless seventh, Joel Hanrahan a scoreless eighth.
- Jose Contreras got the win in relief with a scoreless 10th, dropping his ERA to 1.17 in the process. He struck out two, giving him a 14:0 K:BB on the season.
- Ryan Perry gave up a triple and a wild pitch in the ninth to get the loss in a previously tied game.
- Dan Runzler gave up one hit but struck out the side and got the win in an extra-innings battle against the Marlins.

Closer Non-Outing:

- The Indians' Chris Perez hasn't had a save chance since April 18.
- The Twins allowed Nick Blackburn to pitch the ninth with a 3-2 lead, and he gave up a tying homer to Brennan Boesch. Despite pitching a full nine innings and allowing 11 hits, he needed only 95 pitches.

Tough Days:

- Jake Westbrook was nearly scratched with a bad back and then lasted only 3.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and five walks.
- Aramis Ramirez went 0-for-4 with his 26th strikeout on the season.
- Clayton Kershaw's turn to suffer an ouchie - he allowed seven runs on five hits and two walks. The Brewers scored a whopping nine runs in the second inning.

Lineup-o-logy:

- Omar Infante will be starting at shortstop for the Braves with Yunel Escobar on the DL. He batted eighth on Tuesday.
- Jeremy Hermida returned from his quad injury to hit a game-winning, bases loaded double in the eighth against the Angels.
- Mike Aviles started at shortstop with Yuniesky Betancourt struggling and went 3-for-5.

Late Injuries:

- Asdrubal Cabrera sat out with a strained left quad. He'll also sit on Wednesday, with Mark Grudzielanek playing for him at second.
- Joe Mauer's MRI on his heel revealed no structural damage - he sat for the fourth consecutive game.
- Gerald Laird fouled a ball off his shin. Alex Avila could get more of a chance to take over the starting catching duties.

Stolen Bases

- Jose Bautista (3); Travis Snider (2); Marlon Byrd (3); Yadier Molina (3!); Brooks Conrad (1); Brett Gardner (12); Michael Napoli (2) - Napoli went 3-for-3 and had his third extra-base hit of the season; Kelly Johnson (2); Chris Young (3); Orlando Hudson (3); Chris Getz (5) - two in consecutive days; Juan Pierre 2 (14); Gordon Beckham (2) - the White Sox are running at every opportunity against Jason Kendall; Nate Schierholtz (2); Brett Carroll (1); Elvis Andrus 2 (10); Craig Gentry (1) (as a pinch-runner)

Caught Stealing

- Grady Sizemore (picked off); Cristian Guzman (1); Chris Young (picked off); Hunter Pence (2); David DeJesus (1); Aaron Rowand (2); David Eckstein (1); Scott Hairston (picked off); David Murphy (1); Ichiro (picked off)

Interesting Callup

- Kila Ka'aihue should have gotten his audition last year, but the Royals instead traded for Mike Jacobs and Ka'aihue stagnated. He started off 2010 on-fire and finally is back up, with Rick Ankiel on the DL. Will the Royals actually play him, though?