Justin Upton played his first game at Chase Field last night as a visitor. His new team (the Braves) smashed his old team (the Diamondbacks) 10-1. More telling was Upton's stat line: 4/5 with two runs, two RBI, a double, and a homer. Chris Johnson, who came to Atlanta with Upton in this winter's trade, went 3/4 with three RBI,, a double, and a homer. But it's not all depressing for Diamondbacks fans: Martin Prado went 2/2 with a walk and a double against his former team, but also committed an error at third base and was thrown out at the plate by the elder Upton brother, BJ.
PIC OF THE DAY
Bryce Harper leaves the field after running into the scoreboard at Dodger Stadium. He needed 11 stitches in his chin and jammed a shoulder, but thankfully did not receive a concussion. (Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports)
Game of the Day: Indians 1, Yankees 0. There really weren't many close games yesterday. Only one of the 11 games on the slate featured a traditional save (and not one of those garbage time three inning saves, and this one wasn't it. But because of the precariousness of the situation over the course of the entire game, I had to give the nod to game one of the Indians-Yankees doubleheader. Cleveland got a solo homer from Jason Kipnis, their second batter of the game, and got nothing over the rest of the game. But that was still a better effort than the Yankees gave. New York didn't get an extra base hit at all during the game, and they didn't have a runner in scoring position with less than two outs all game. Justin Masterson was dominant, and we'll get to his full line after the jump.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Masterson's complete game shutout was a thing of beauty, allowing just four singles and three walks in nine innings while striking out nine Yankees hitters. Travis Wood helped the Cubs to a 9-1 romp over the Rockies, allowing only two hits in seven shutout frames, walking three and striking out two. Marco Estrada gave the Brewers a solid start in their 5-1 victory in Pittsburgh, giving up one run on three hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out five. AJ Griffin led the A's to a 5-1 win over the Rangers, tallying one run on six hits in seven innings, notching eight strikeouts without a walk.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Billy Butler went a perfect 5/5 for the Royals in their 11-4 smashing of the Angels, scoring twice, driving in five runs, and also doubling twice. The Tigers beat the Astros 7-2 in large part to Andy Dirks, who went 3/4 with two runs, four RBI, a double, and a homer. Aaron Hicks had the best game of his young career in Minnesota's 10-3 win over the White Sox, going 2/3 with three runs, a walk, and two homers. Norichika Aoki had a good game for Milwaukee, going 3/5 with two runs, three RBI, two doubles, and two steals. And finally, lost in the Upton/Johnson return to Arizona, Brian McCann went 2/3 with two runs, three RBI, a walk, and a homer for the Braves.
Other Games: The Yankees saved all their doubleheader offense for game two, beating the Indians 7-0. The Cardinals beat the Mets 6-3. The Nationals beat the Dodgers 6-2, with Bryce Harper's injury overshadowing everything.
What You Missed: I broke down the worst umpiring gaffes of 2013. Randy took a look at Anthony Rizzo's extension with the Cubs. Michael examined John Gast in advance of his major league debut tonight for the Cardinals.
Today's Games: Andrew Cashner and the Padres will take on Chris Tillman and the Orioles in Baltimore. Scott Kazmir gets the nod for Cleveland in Philly. Felix Hernandez will take on CC Sabathia in New York. RA Dickey starts for the Blue Jays, hosting the Giants. Kyle Lohse and the Brewers take on Jeff Locke and the Pirates. Doug Fister and the Tigers host the Astros. John Lackey takes on Matt Moore in an AL East clash. Carlos Villanueva starts for the Cubs against the Rockies. Jake Peavy takes on Kevin Correia in Minnesota. Pat Corbin and the Diamondbacks host Julio Teheran and the Braves. Jeremy Guthrie starts for the Royals in Los Angeles. Dan Haren starts for the Nationals against Clayton Kershaw.
National TV: Red Sox-Rays (7 PM, MLB Network), Giants-Blue Jays (7 PM, MLB Network [alternate])
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
