Name this player
1. Who dat?: Some of the names atop the leaderboards this season are in unfamiliar territory. The AL batting leader so far is…drum roll…Alex Rios! He is hitting .384, exactly 100 points higher than his career average. While usual stud Edgar Renteria leads the National League in batting, the next three in this category are Brad Hawpe, Brad Ausmus, and Brian McCann. Who??? And while the NL homers and RBIs lists feature a lineup of past and present superstars, the AL lists feature a certain Tampa Bay duo. Johnny Gomes is second with 12 homers and Ty Wigginton is also second with 30 RBIs. If anyone outside of Tampa Bay has heard of these two before the season started, you are probably a writer for the Baseball Encyclopedia. Actually, considering Tampa’s fan base, I don’t think anyone in Tampa has heard of them… By the way, the Yankees probably wish they had kept Jose Contreras, who is 5-0 with a league-leading 1.41 ERA.
2. Time for a Holliday…: The Rockies and Cardinals might seem like one of the biggest mismatches in the NL, but actually the teams have identical 20-13 records. When the two teams met in front of another sellout at Busch Stadium, the Rockies prevailed, 6-2. Behind strong pitching from Jeff Francis, who allowed one run in 7 strong innings, the Rockies were able to shut down Albert Pujols and company. Francis is 2-2 this year with a 3.16 ERA, production the Rockies haven’t seen in a while from a starting pitcher. The offense was powered by Matt Holliday, who hit two solo homeruns to give him 9 on the year. More good news for the Rockies: Todd Helton was back in the lineup on Monday night (though he was held to 0-5).
3. …and for a Halladay: On Sunday, Johan Santana took a no-hitter through seven innings. Yesterday, it was Roy Halladay’s turn, as he allowed his first hit in the sixth inning in a complete game performance. On the night, Halladay allowed one run and only 4 hits, leading the Blue Jays to a 4-1 win over the Angels. The win gave Toronto a 3-1 series win over the struggling Angels (14-19), who are nearly last in the AL West. Meanwhile, some of those offseason acquisitions have helped Toronto to a decent 17-14 record, only two games behind the deadlocked Red Sox and Yankees.
4. San Diego…Super Padres: After a down start in which their pitching was as bad as Ron Zook’s coaching, the San Diego Padres are back in the hunt for the NL West division lead. After an 8-3 win over the Cubs last night, they have won 9 in a row. They are still behind the Rockies and Diamondbacks for the division lead, but that is expected when you start out a horrendous 8-15. Brian Giles and Mike Cameron drove in 3 runs apiece against the Cubs, and Dave Roberts even swiped 3 bases. Greg Maddux, everyone’s darling after a 5-0 start, was hit with his second straight loss after allowing 7 runs in less than 4 innings pitched. The Cubs (14-17) are back at 5th in the loaded NL Central.
5. Bonds sits, Giants win: The Giants didn’t need a Bonds homer to power them on Monday, as they were just fine without the slugger in a 7-5 win over the Astros. This game wasn’t even supposed to be played; it was rescheduled due to two earlier rainouts in the season. Pedro Feliz hit a homer and 3 RBIs. Bonds will have to wait for upcoming series against the Cubs and Dodgers (both at home) to get 714 or possibly 715.
