1. One Man Show: When a stud like David Ortiz struggles the first week, you know he’s going to break out eventually. He did so yesterday as the Red Sox topped the Rangers 3-2 on Sunday Night Baseball. Ortiz hit his first two homeruns of the season, which drove in all three runs by the Sox. He got no help from his teammates in the win, as more than half their lineup went o-fer. At least Curt Schilling was able to return to his usual self after a poor first start. Schilling had one earned run in seven innings.
2. Return of the King: David Ortiz wasn’t the only star to break out of a slump yesterday. Albert Pujols had no RBIs, homeruns, or runs through five games and just one hit. But yesterday, he went 2-5 against the Astros with a homer and two RBIs. The rest of the Cardinals’ team performed too in a 10-1 rout. Scott Rolen drove in four runs, Yadier Molina had three hits and three RBIs, and starter Kip Wells allowed one hit in seven innings. The Astros are now 1-5, while the Cards aren’t much better at 2-4.
3. Losing to the Worst: The Yankees weren’t dealt the toughest opening schedule with the Devil Rays and Orioles. However, they have struggled with both teams in a 2-3 start. Yesterday, New York lost 6-4 to Baltimore despite A-Rod’s continued dominance. Rodriguez hit his fourth homerun of the season, but the O’s got round-trippers from Paul Bako and Kevin Millar. For Bako, it was his first homer since 2004. Erik Bedard rebounded from a poor first start to get the win for Baltimore.
Player of the Day: Johan Santana, Twins: 7 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 9 strikeouts in a win over the White Sox.
Stat of the Day: No Yankees starter has made it past the fifth inning this season.
Walk Off: Though the Mets were virtually handed the division in pre-season predictions, the Braves will prove once again to be a strong contender in the NL East. They just beat the Mets 2-1 in a series despite being outscored 16-7. That means the Braves’ pitching is back where it needs to be for them to be successful. Their relievers have been even better than expected, and Bob Wickman has three saves and a 0.00 ERA in the closer role.
