Putting Derek Jeter on the disabled list with a strained calf muscle is only delaying the inevitable. Sometime, probably before the All-Star Break, the Yankee’s captain will record his 3,000th hit. He’ll be the 28th player to do so and the first since Craig Biggio in 2007. He’s no longer a viable threat to top […]

Ramon Santiago may not have realized it on Monday, but he found a fairly unique way to end a baseball game when he hit a walkoff triple to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Rays in ten innings. In an era in which we’re used to walkoff homers and singles and even […]

With his ninth inning home run against the Astros on Thursday night, Lance Berkman officially passed his 2010 home run total. Last year, Berkman hit 13 with the Astros and one with the Yankees over 122 total games; this year he’s already got 15 bombs in less than half as many games.  How unlikely is […]

Last night, while almost all baseball eyes were focused on the draft, Tim Lincecum recorded his 1,000th Major League strikeout. On the surface, this isn’t a hugely impressive accomplishment. Lincecum is the 449th Major Leaguer to accomplish the feat, joining such luminaries as Ralph Terry (the guy who gave up Bill Mazeroski’s homer) and Michael […]

Ryan Doumit’s injury last weekend was all kinds of bad news for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Doumit’s been one of the Pirates’ better hitters in 2011, hitting .269/.333/.441 from the catcher position, forming a productive tandem with Chris Snyder behind the plate for the Bucs. That was good for the Pirates both because it’s good to […]

The improbable comeback of Bartolo Colon took another step forward yesterday when the 38-year old righty spun a complete game, four-hit, six-strikeout, no-walk shutout against the Oakland A’s. It’s Colon’s first shutout since 2006 and only his second since 2002. Once upon a time, Bartolo Colon threw shutouts fairly regularly. Between 1998 and 2002, Colon […]

When I moved to Chapel Hill, NC for grad school four years ago, I was a little worried about being five hours away from Major League Baseball in any direction. I’d spent my entire life to that point in Western PA, growing up an hour away from PNC Park and spending an undergraduate career a […]

Cliff Lee pitched eight innings against the Cincinnati Reds last night, striking out eight hitters, walking one, giving up four runs, and recording his fourth win of the year. None of that should seem surprising. He did given up 10 hits, but to be honest Lee does that from time to time. He’s already done […]

Admit it: you’re happy interleague play is over. You don’t know why and you know you can’t do anything about it, but you’re happy that dumb first island weekend with classic Pirates/Tigers matchups is over. I’m happy to, and I’m also happy to give you last night’s recaps in today’s Dugout Digest.  Indians 3 Red […]

The weird scheduling of a bunch of two-game series left Monday with an unusually full schedule, but don’t worry! The Dugout Digest is here to help you catch up. Rays 6 Yankees 5 This is how the Rays rally in 2011: a John Jaso double, a Sam Fuld homer, an Evan Longoria single, a Matt […]

As you undoubtedly know by now, Andre Ethier’s impressive hitting streak, which started in the season’s third game, ended last night at a nice, round 30 games. In hindsight, maybe we should’ve seen it coming.  Since 2000, there have been eight hitting streaks of 30 games or longer. Of those eight, Ethier is the fifth […]

Missed Monday night’s baseball action? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!   A’s 5 Rangers 4 (10 innings) The tenth inning in this game alone is exciting enough to write more about than most other games. A’s reliever Grant Balfour walked the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the inning when Ron Washington […]

There’s been an awful lot made of low MLB attendance in 2011. Ballparks all over the country and turning up empty. Just last night, attendance was so low at the Pirates/Nationals game that Sam Miller of the OC Register was able to count almost every single person in the stands at PNC Park. He came up […]

Blue Jays 6 Rangers 4 – A year ago, Jose Bautista hit four home runs in April and that seemed like a scorching hot pace for a guy who’d never hit more than 16 in a season. After last night’s bomb off of Colby Lewis, he’s got eight this year and suddenly his 54 last […]

The Milwaukee Brewers announced a huge extension for outfielder Ryan Braun this afternoon. On top of the $40.5 million that the Brewers owed him on his previous deal through 2015, the club will pay him an additional $105 million between the $10 million signing bonus and his annual pay from 2016 to 2020. MLB.com’s Adam […]