That’s my boy!
1. Like father, like son: Pete Rose Jr. didn’t exactly have the best fatherly influence growing up. His dad was infamously banned from the Hall of Fame for betting on baseball, and Rose Jr. has now been arrested for selling illegal drugs to his minor league teammates. The drug is a known steroid alternative. Rose was sentenced to one month in prison and five months of home detention, though the crime could have warranted a $1 million fine.
2. Guess who’s back: The first Red Sox-Yankees game of the year was highlighted by Johnny Damon’s return to Fenway Park. Damon, once beloved by Red Sox fans, was booed for thirty seconds in his first plate appearance, and he went 0-4 on the night. David Ortiz, possibly the best hitter in the AL, led the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory with his 3-run homerun in the 8th. It was Ortiz’s 11th homer of the year, giving him the tie for the AL lead. Decent pitching performances for the Red Sox were turned in by Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, and Jonathan Papelbon.
3. Unwanted at home: While Damon’s boos in his return to Fenway were expected, we at least thought Jim Thome would get some respect back at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Thome did hit over 300 homeruns in his career for the Indians. But he got even worse treatment than Damon, as he was booed throughout the game by Cleveland fans. Thome went 1-5 with an RBI, but it was Scott Podsednik and Paul Konerko who led the Sox to an 8-6 victory. Konerko hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Podsednik went 4-5 and added a stolen base. For the Indians, Travis Hafner hit his 8th homerun of the year, a grand slam. But it wasn’t enough for Cleveland, who fell to 5.5 games off the White Sox’s lead.
4. Going all the way: Two complete games led two NL teams to wins on Monday. Tim Hudson of the Braves, who has struggled so far this year, had likely the best pitching performance of the season with a one-hitter against the Rockies. The only hit Hudson allowed was ironically to the opposing pitcher, Jason Jennings. Hudson had a hit of his own, which drove in one of the Braves’ two runs. The other complete game was tossed by Bronson Arroyo of the Reds, who allowed four hits and a run in the Reds’ 6-1 win over St. Louis. Arroyo, who is 5-0 on the year, held Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds to a combined 0-7 on the night.
5. Texas hold `em: The Texas Rangers are not known for their pitching. In fact, their hurlers have probably been the only thing holding them back from making the playoffs the last few years. But last night, their pitchers carried them in a 3-0 shutout of the Devil Rays. Kameron Low got the start and the win, with only 4 hits allowed over 7 innings. Francisco Cordero, who has allowed a run in every appearance since April 20, pitched a perfect inning. Akinori Otsuka, now apparently the closer for Texas, got the save. This was the first shutout of the year for the Rangers.
