While Tim Hudson impressed and Gavin Floyd flirted, there are many other Lineup-worthy stories to tell ...
Full Sunday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for all games
3 UP
Jay Bruce, Reds - Sure, Bruce "merely" went 1-for-3 with a walk in Cincy's 6-5 win over the Astros, but his eighth-inning bomb off Fernando Rodriguez gave him at least one home run in four consecutive games. For those wondering, the major-league record is eight, which is shared by Ken Griffey Jr. (1993), Don Mattingly (1987) and Dale Long (1956). Halfway to history!
Derek Lowe, Indians - Lowe worked 7.2 scoreless against the Angels on Sunday. Although he struck out only one, he gave up just two hits and recorded 14 ground-outs against just two fly-outs. In the process, he lowered his 2012 ERA to 2.27 and pitched the Indians into sole possession of first place in the AL Central.
Josh Willingham, Twins - In large part the Twins have Willingham to thank for sparing them from the indignity of losing a second straight game to the (equally) lowly Royals and a seventh straight game overall. On Sunday, Willingham went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored and his first triple since 2010 and was a homer shy of hitting for the cycle. Disaster averted.
3 DOWN
Grant Balfour, A's - With one out and two on in the ninth, Balfour entered the game to try to preserve Bartolo Colon's gem against the Orioles. Balfour coughed up a game-tying double to Matt Wieters, intentionally walked Chris Davis and then gave up a walk-off homer to Wilson Betemit.
Josh Johnson, Marlins - Coming into the 2012 season, Johnson boasted a sub-3.00 ERA for his career. In other words, when healthy he's been a first-order ace. However, after Sunday's blow-up against the Diamondbacks (5.1 IP, 5 R, 10 H) his ERA now stands at 5.34. The Marlins were supposed to worry about Johnson's health, not his effectiveness.
Albert Pujols, Angels - Strange as it seems, Pujols could really be a daily presence in "3 Down," but Sunday's 0-fer had some significance. After Pujols went hitless in four at-bats in the loss to Cleveland, each of "triple-slash" numbers (i.e., AVG, OBP and SLG) fell below .300. Almost a month into the season, Pujols, not so long ago the greatest hitter on the planet, is hitting .216/.266/.295. It's still early, but at some point it won't be.
Darvish V: Last time out, Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish finally rose to meet the press clippings, as he dominated the Yankees across 8.1 shutout innings. Can he keep it going? On Monday, Darvish will be tasked with shutting down the hard-hitting Blue Jays in Toronto. He'll oppose gifted young right-hander Kyle Drabek, whose overhauled cutter has led to early success this season. 7:07 p.m. ET
Kemp on Planet Coors: It's hard to get much hotter than Matt Kemp has been through the first month of the season. But what happens when Kemp and his Dodgers take their act to one mile above sea level for the first time this season? Coors is a great hitting environment, and it's even friendlier toward right-handed mashers like Kemp. Bring your gloves, fans in the outfield bleachers. 8:40 p.m. ET
The Orioles' daddy: Baltimore is off to a nifty start in 2012, but starting Monday they'll be in New York to take on the Yankees. In the otherwise promising current season, the O's are 0-3 against the colossus from the Bronx, and they've gone 5-13 against the Yankees in each of the last three seasons. The last time Baltimore posted a winning record against the Yankees over the course of a full season? Way back yonder in 1997. The Orioles will attempt to reverse course when they trot out Jason Hammel and his 1.73 ERA to oppose Hiroki Kuroda. 7:05 p.m. ET
Full schedule for Monday's games
• The great Jim Abbott: NPR has a terrific interview with retired major-league pitcher Jim Abbott, who, you'll recall, reached and thrived in the majors despite having only one hand. He's got a new book out that recounts his life and career in general and his 1993 no-hitter as a member of the Yankees in particular. Money quote from Abbott: "I endeavored my whole life to move past the label. Baseball gave me that chance. That no-hitter that special day in Yankee Stadium gave me that moment, when I could change the focus away from how I played to how well I played."
• Prosecution blues: Stewart M. Powell of the Houston Chronicle examines the difficult time the feds may have in winning their case against Roger Clemens. Then again, if the whole thing weren't a colossal waste of time and money, then it wouldn't be such a fitting outgrowth of the War on Drugs.
• Chan Ho Park story of the day: The Toronto Star's Richard Griffin, in the midst of a good read on the Jays' offseason flirtation with Yu Darvish (see above!), recalls the Jays' past efforts to promote another visiting import, South Korea's Chan Ho Park. Griffin writes:
"The Rangers listed Chan Ho Park to face the Jays on July 30, 2005. As such, the Jays reached out to the local South Korean community, aggressively selling out a 100-level section to a group of chanting, drum-beating, head-scarf-wearing South Korean fans.
In the bottom of the first, the bullpen gate swung open and in trotted Dominican native Joaquin Benoit. It turns out the Rangers had traded Park to the Padres for infielder Phil Nevin just before he was scheduled to warm up. As the shocked Korean contingent realized their man wasn’t on the hill, the drumbeats slowed, then stopped, and an entire section slowly emptied out into the night."
• Peyton's place: In case you were wondering, Peyton Manning, who plays something called "football," has declared his loyalties insofar as the fairer sport is concerned. Being college teammates with Todd Helton helps, as does the location of his new employer. Sayeth Manning: "My dad was a big baseball fan growing up. He played for Ole Miss and he was drafted. He was a Yankee fan growing up, and I was always a Cardinals fan. But really since I got to college, I've never been in a baseball town. New Orleans, Knoxville, and Indianapolis. Since I've been playing pro ball, the Rockies have been the team that I've kept up with, check the box score, see how Todd's hitting. They're my team now for sure." [MLB.com]
• Happy birthday, Wash: John Blake of the Rangers tweeted a photo of manager Ron Washington on the occasion of his 60th birthday, being treated to a cake by the Japanese media contingent. Washington, you'll notice, is decked out in traditional Japanese garb for the occasion:
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