Last month, when the Rangers signed Roy Oswalt, the prevailing thought was "why in the hell do they need ANOTHER starter?" Well, this is why: in 15-8 drubbing against the Angels last night, Oswalt threw just five innings, allowed eight runs on 11 hits, and gave up three homers. For the season, Oswalt now has a 6.49 ERA, and while his 29 to six strikeout to walk ratio is solid, he's also allowed 25 earned runs in 34 2/3 innings on an eye-popping 54 hits. Man. So this is why they're looking for an ace…
Game of the Night: Mets 8, Giants 7 (ten innings). New York led this game 6-4 going into the ninth, and of course, the Mets bullpen struck again. Melky Cabrera led the inning off with a single, and Buster Posey immediately doubled him in to make it a 6-5 game. After a Gregor Blanco groundout moved Eli Whiteside (pinch running for Posey) up to third, Nate Schierholtz blooped a hit into right field to bring in Whiteside and tie the game. The Giants would load the bases before the Mets got out of the jam and sent it to extras, where they immediately struck. Scott Hairston led off the tenth with a solo homer to make it 7-6, and Rob Johnson squeezed in another run to make it 8-6. Of course, the Giants made it interesting in the bottom of the inning, as Schierholtz singled Ryan Theriot in to make it 8-7 before Manny Acosta got Brandon Belt to fly out and end the game.
Pitching Lines of the Night: In a 4-1 win, Hisashi Iwakuma of the Mariners dominated the Blue Jays, allowing one run over eight innings on four hits, walking three and striking out 13. Wow. And…that's all for good pitching lines.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In a 14-4 blowout win for the Cubs over the Pirates, Darwin Barney went 3/5 with three runs, four RBI, a triple, and a homer. His teammate Starlin Castro went 3/4 with two runs, three RBI, a walk, a double, and a homer. Kendrys Morales powered the Angels in that destruction of the Rangers, going 2/5 with two homers and six RBI, while Mike Trout went 2/5 with three runs, four RBI, a walk, and a homer. Scott Hairston of the Mets went 2/5 with three runs, three RBI, two homers, and a stolen base.
Other Games: The Braves crushed the Marlins 8-2, their first win on a Monday this year. The Orioles held off the Yankees, winning 5-4. Former Red Edinson Volquez led the Padres to an 11-5 win in Cincinnati, breaking the Reds 10 game winning streak. The Red Sox scored five late runs in a 7-3 win over the Tigers. The Twins walked off on the White Sox with a 7-6 win. The Brewers scored eight runs in the final two innings, beating the Astros 8-7. The A's beat the Rays 4-3 in a marathon 15 inning game. The Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 7-2 led by (who else?) Chris Johnson.
Today's Games: Cliff Lee (maybe) starts for the Phillies against Stephen Strasburg. Justin Verlander takes on Josh Beckett (maybe) in Boston. Ricky Nolasco takes on Kris Medlen of the Braves, replacing the bullpen-bound Jair Jurrjens. Jered Weaver starts for the Angels in Texas against Derek Holland. AJ Burnett will start for the Pirates against Ryan Dempster (maybe). Francisco Liriano makes his White Sox debut against his former team, the Twins. James Shields starts for the Rays (maybe) against Tom Milone. Wade Miley will start for the Diamondbacks in LA against Chris Capuano. Matt Harvey makes his second career start against Tim Lincecum. No big deal or anything.
