Brief Notes from 4-2-08

-Alex Gordon struck out 3 times and has 5 in 9 AB’s.

-Brian Bannister 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K’s

-The Tigers had 3 hits against the Royals, all by Edgar Renteria.

-Corey Hart stole 2 bases against the Cubs’ Soto.

-Manny Ramirez left 8 runners on base.

-Lester and Harden pitched a combine 11.2 innings without giving up a run, while Huston Street gave up a HR to Jason Varitek and lowered his ERA to 13.50.

-Fausto Carmona pitched pretty well against the White Sox allowing just an earned run in 7.0 IP, but Javier Vazquez got beat around by the Indians giving up 5 hits, 4 ER, and 4 BB in just 5 innings.

-Daniel Cabrera was Daniel Cabrera minus the K’s and that’s not good. 95 pitches in 4 innings, 6 hits, 6 ER, 5 BB, and 2 HR. Leave him on the waiver wire.

-On the positive side, Baltimore’s bullpen pitched 5 innings of 1 hit, shutout ball.

-A.J. Burnett - After 31 SB against him last year without a CS or pick off, the first base runner to attempt a steal this season, Bobby Abreu, was thrown out.

-The Washington Nationals got off to a 3-0 start. Tim Redding and 2 relievers allowed only 1 hit by the Phillies at Philadelphia. Ryan Zimmerman homered for the second time in 3 games.

-C Chris Snyder struck out 3 times in 4 AB’s. Edwin Encarnacion made up for his run scoring throwing error by smacking a game winning homer in the bottom of the ninth off D-Backs’ closer Brandon Lyon.

-SS Jeff Keppinger made it on base all 4 times he came to the plate.

-The Mets offense pounded the Marlins staff for 17 hits and 13 runs. Every Mets starter has at least one hit and scored one run. Oliver Perez had 8 K’s and 0 ER in 6 IP.

-Xavier Nady had 2 more RBI and has 6 total. The Braves’ 1-4 hitters (Prado, Escobar, Jones, Tex) were 7-15, scoring 6 runs and 8 RBI.

-Angels’ pitcher Joe Saunders pitched 8 innings of 4 hit, shutout ball against the Twins. Nick Blackburn took the loss allowing just a run on a wild pitch. The Twins have now scored only four runs in three games.

-Albert Pujols was on base five times but failed to score.

-Troy Tulowitski was 0-4 with a CS and an error.

-6 homeruns hit in San Diego? If you started Maddux because he was pitching at home you watched him give up three HR.

-The Dodgers’ 1-3 hitters: 0-10 with 8 K’s. Not a good way to start a rally.

-Because of rain both Tim Linceum and Chad Billingsley came out of the bullpen rather than starting and then sitting down. Lincecum was the lucky recipient of the “vulture win”

-With J.J. Putz on the DL, Miguel Batista picked up the save in Seattle’s win over Texas.