Fantasy Baseball Stats and MLB Recaps: April 26, 2011 Edition
April 25, 2011 was a good day in baseball, as there were a couple of walk-offs, a couple of complete game-shutouts and a near no-hitter.
Road team standouts are listed first, followed by the home team.
White Sox 2, Yankees 0
1 of 9
W: Philip Humber (2-2)
L: A.J. Burnett (3-1)
S: Sergio Santos (1)
White Sox Standouts
Philip Humber: 7 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Adam Dunn: 1-for-2, BB, RBI, R
Yankees Standouts
A.J. Burnett: 8 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 SO
Curtis Granderson: 1-for-3, BB, SB
Recap
Philip Humber retired the first 10 batters he faced and rode a no-hitter into the seventh. A.J. Burnett had a respectable outing on his own, going eight innings and allowing only one run. Given that both of the pitchers were on top of their games, offense was rare.
The only extra-base hit came in the fourth by Carlos Quentin, his 12th double of the year (he would later score on an Adam Dunn groundout, which ended the White Sox's 23-inning scoreless streak).
Commentary
Humber flirts with a no-no? Against the Yankees? The guy with a career ERA over five? Seriously? Man… No one saw that coming.
Pirates 4, Nationals 2
2 of 9
W: Paul Maholm (1-3)
L: John Lannan (2-2)
S: Joel Hanrahan (6)
Nationals Standouts
Jayson Werth: 2-for-3, BB, 2B, R
Adam LaRoche: 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI
Pirates Standouts
Brandon Wood: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
Neil Walker: 2-for-4, R
Paul Maholm: 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K
Recap
Washington scored two on an Adam LaRoche single in the first, but Pittsburgh rallied to score four in the fourth on two walks and three hits, including a two-run double by Brandon Wood. Paul Maholm did the rest for the Pirates, notching his first win of the year.
Commentary
Good rebound for Maholm after a rough previous outing against the Marlins.
Marlins 5, Dodgers 4
3 of 9
W: Brian Sanches (3-0)
L: Jonathan Broxton (1-1)
Dodgers Standouts
Jerry Sands: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI
Jamey Carroll: 2-for-4, R, RBI
Ivan DeJesus: 2-for-4, R
Marlins Standouts
Chris Coghlan: 3-for-4, 2 HR, BB, 2 RBI, 3 R
Emilio Bonifacio: 1-for-3, R, BB
Recap
The Dodgers were on the receiving end of a walk-off this time around, as Omar Infante singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Marlins their sixth win in seven games.
Craig Coghlan had two solo blasts. Jon Garland started for the Dodgers and pitched seven innings while giving up two runs—Coghlan's two home runs—on four hits. Ricky Nolasco started for the Marlins and allowed three runs over six-plus.
Commentary
Other than Coghlan, the Marlins didn't show a lot of offense on the day, but it turned out to be enough. Good confidence-building win for the Marlins.
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Rockies 5, Cubs 3
4 of 9
W: Esmil Rogers (3-1)
L: Matt Garza (0-3)
S: Huston Street (8)
Rockies Standouts
Dexter Fowler: 1-for-3, 3B, BB, R
Seth Smith: 1-for-4, R
Cubs Standouts
Kosuke Fukudome: 5-for-5, R
Darwin Barney: 1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
Jeff Baker: 3-for-4, BB, 2B, R
Recap
Matt Garza stymied the Rockies potent offense for most of the day (6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H), but three errors by Starlin Castro—all in the second inning—allowed three runs to cross the plate and helped give Colorado the victory.
Esmil Rogers pitched five-plus for the Rockies to get the W. Darwin Barney had a two-run shot and Kosuke Fukudome went a perfect 5-for-5 (all singles) for the Cubs in the loss.
Commentary
You'd think three errors in an inning is some kind of a record, but I doubt it's even a record for the Cubs.
Blue Jays 6, Rangers 4
5 of 9
W: Kyle Drabek (2-0)
L: Colby Lewis (1-3)
S: Jon Rauch (4)
Blue Jays Standouts
Corey Patterson: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Juan Rivera: 1-for 3, HR, BB, 2 RBI
Jose Bautista: 1-for-2, HR, 2 BB
Rangers Standouts
Michael Young: 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI
Nelson Cruz: 1-for-3, HR, BB
Yorvit Torrealba: 2-for-4, HR
Ian Kinsler: 1-for-3, BB, RBI
Recap
The Blue Jays and Rangers did what they seem to do best—hit home runs. Nelson Cruz and Yorvit Torrealba went yard for the Rangers, as did Corey Patterson, Juan Rivera and Jose Bautista (his league-leading eighth of the year) for the Jays.
Colby Lewis had a rough start, lasting only five innings and giving up six runs. Meanwhile, Kyle Drabek went six innings and allowed three in the win.
Commentary
Expect more of the same—lots of four-baggers—over the next three games of this series.
Reds 9, Brewers 5
6 of 9
W: Bronson Arroyo (3-2)
L: Chris Narveson (1-1)
Reds Standouts
Drew Stubbs: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 SB
Jay Bruce: 1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R,SB
Brandon Phillips: 3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R
Ryan Hanigan: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Brewers Standouts
Ryan Braun: 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, SB
Rickie Weeks: 2-for-5, 2B, R
Jon Lucroy: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R
Casey McGehee: 2-for-5, 2B, R
Recap
The Reds amassed eight hits in a six-run third inning to put this game out of reach quickly. The Brewers fought back for four runs over the last three innings—including a two-run homer by Ryan Braun—but it was too little, too late as the Reds cruised to a 9-5 victory. Bronson Arroyo allowed only one earned run in six strong innings for Cincinnati to get the win.
Commentary
Every Reds starter had a hit except for shortstop Paul Janish, meaning the domination was across the board on this one. Rough outing for Narveson.
Diamondbacks 4, Phillies 0
7 of 9
W: Ian Kennedy (3-1)
L: Cliff Lee (2-2)
Phillies Standouts
Placido Polanco: 2-for-3, 2B
Diamondbacks Standouts
Ian Kennedy: 9 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 K
Chris Young: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
Gerardo Parra: 1-for-3, HR
Justin Upton: 1-for-3, BB, 2B, R
Recap
Ian Kennedy had the second most surprising outing of the night (Humber's six no-hit innings claims the gold) with a complete-game shutout of the Phillies. It was the first complete game of the right-hander's career and most impressively only allowed three hits and no walks.
Chris Young nailed a two-run blast in the third, and the Diamondbacks tacked on two more to take the first of this three-game set. Cliff Lee struck out 12 in the loss.
Commentary
Other than his shutout against the Nats earlier in the month, Cliff Lee hasn't quite looked like himself yet. He seems to be striking out more batters (this was his third outing with at least 10 Ks), and his WHIP and BAA are down to where they should be, but his ERA is at 4.18. It can't stay this way forever, but Lee's struggles are a bit curious.
Padres 5, Braves 3, F/13
8 of 9
W: Cory Luebke (1-1)
L: Cristhian Martinez (0-2)
Braves Standouts
Alex Gonzalez: 2-for-5, RBI, R
Jason Heyward: 1-for-5, HR
Freddie Freeman: 1-for-5, 2B, R
Padres Standouts
Ryan Ludwick: 2-for-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Nick Hundley: 1-for-5, 2B, BB, RBI, R
Brad Hawpe: 2-for-5, 2B
Recap
Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run walkoff home run—his second HR of the day—to end the Padres' 13-inning affair with the Braves. Dustin Moseley started for the Padres, went six and allowed three runs—the most runs he's allowed so far this year. He allowed only a solo shot to Jason Heyward in the first and two more in the fifth.
Lowe pitched six innings for the Braves and only gave up a run in the second and a long-ball to Ryan Ludwick's first home run in the third. The Padres rallied to tie in the seventh off of a Nick Hundley double.
Commentary
It would be nice for San Diego if Ryan Ludwick could once again find his 2008 form, but I'm not holding my breath.
Angels 5, Athletics 0
9 of 9
W: Jered Weaver (6-0)
L: Gio Gonzalez (2-2)
Athletics Standouts
Coco Crisp: 3-for-4
Hideki Matsui: 2-for-4, 2B
Angels Standouts
Jered Weaver: 9 IP, 0 R, 7 H, 1 BB, 10 K
Howie Kendrick: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, R
Recap
Jered Weaver continued his dominant April with a complete-game shutout over their divisional rivals. Howie Kendrick had two hits and two RBIs, as the Angels made this one look easy. Gio Gonzalez allowed five runs—four earned—through five innings in the loss.
Commentary
Along with being the first pitcher in the majors to reach six wins—no one else even has five yet, four players have four— Jered Weaver has 49 K, a 0.79 WHIP, a .163 BAA and a ridiculous 0.99 ERA. If you project that for the year, Weaver should pitch 317 innings and go 42-0. I know it sounds silly, but at this point, I'm hesitant to rule it out.
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