Getting ready to roll over
1. 7-11 closes at 11: It looks like Barry Bonds is trying to prove everyone wrong who said that he couldn’t play at a high level anymore. The former MVP (and steroid user) bashed his third homerun of the season on Wednesday, giving him 711 on his career. This was his second round-tripper in his last two games, and it left Bonds only 3 shy of Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list. However, the Giants lost to the Mets in a high-scoring 11 inning game. Carlos Delgado homered for New York in their 9-7 edging of San Francisco.
2. “There’s a first time for everything”: Those were the words of Ben Sheets after the Brewers swept the Braves for their first time in franchise history. Sheets achieved his first win of the season, striking out 9 in six innings of work. Derrick Turnbow picked up his eighth save of the year, and his 3rd of the 3-game series. Jorge Sosa, who was one of the best pitchers on the Braves’ staff last season, lost the game to decrease his record to 0-4. The four losses are more than he had all last season. The Braves dropped to 9-12, five games back of the Mets in the NL East. The Brewers are now 12-10.
3. 6 up, 6 out: Kevin Mench wasn’t expected to carry the Rangers with his bat this season. Mark Teixeria and Hank Blalock were supposed to be the power hitters for the Rangers. But after yesterday, Mench is leading the team in RBIs and is second in homeruns. His 6 game in a row with a homer set a new Texas Rangers record, and all of his 20 RBIs have come in the last 7 days. However, thanks to another blown save by Francisco Cordero, Oakland defeated Texas 6-4 in 10 innings. Cordero’s 5th blown save set a major league record for the month of April, and Cordero’s ERA ballooned to a pitiful 11.70. Both teams trail the LA Angels in the AL West.
4. They are Lackey-ing some runs: Remember when the Detroit Tigers were the hottest offensive team in the majors? Chris Shelton was hailed as the Next Big Thing, and the Tigers were the talk of the major leagues. Shelton and the rest of the team have stumbled recently on offense, and that was showcased in their 4-0 loss to the Angels. John Lackey shut them down, with only 1 hit allowed over 8 innings. His ERA dropped over a point to 3.09, and he recorded 8 strikeouts as well. Vladimir Guerrero provided some offense for LA, with his 5th homerun of the season. Tigers pitcher Mike Maroth came into the game with an unbelievable .49 ERA, but after four earned runs it rose to 1.85.
5. The Royals don’t even have to deal with this: It’s not like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays needed any more problems to deal with. They already had more rebuilding to do than Bill Parcells’ wardrobe designer. But now, one of their top minor league prospects is getting himself into behavioral issues. Delmon Young, a former #1 overall draft selection and minor league player of the year, was ejected for throwing a bat at an umpire after striking out. Behavior like this belongs in Little League, not a professional organization. Young should be fined and further punished for his actions. We almost feel sorry for the Devil Rays.
