AP Mike Napoli homered in his fifth straight game this afternoon as the Rangers routed the Tigers 10-4 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. The Rangers have now won eight consecutive games and sit at a major-league best 12-2 on the young season.
The Rangers took the Tigers out of this one pretty early, as they knocked right-hander Rick Porcello around for eight runs in the top of the first inning. This included a three-run homer by Josh Hamilton, who went 2-for-5 on the afternoon and is hitting an AL-best .424 (25-for-59) on the year. Porcello was eventually chased from the ballgame after giving up three straight hits to begin the top of the second. He gave up eight earned runs in all, tying a career-high, while the outing was the shortest of his career.
Napoli connected for a solo shot off Daniel Schlereth in the top of the ninth and suddenly Kevin Mench‘s franchise record of homers in seven consecutive games is in reach. Most of you know Mench for having an unusually large head, but I know him better as the son of my high school principal. Anyway, Dale Long, Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey, Jr. are tied for the all-time record with homers in eight consecutive games.
Matt Harrison allowed three runs over 7 2/3 innings in the victory and improved to 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA and 13/4 K/BB ratio over his first three starts. The Rangers will look for their ninth straight win when Neftali Feliz takes on Justin Verlander in the nightcap. Now that’s a fun matchup.
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For the second time this week the Twins have called up a player they signed out of an independent league. First it was reliever Caleb Thielbar and now it’s first baseman Chris Colabello, who signed with the Twins last year after dominating in the Canadian-American Association. Colabello is 29 years old and wasn’t all that…
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Rafael Soriano calls out Bryce Harper for the game-tying triple last night
May 22, 2013, 11:02 AM EDT
Well, Bryce Harper and/or whoever is in charge of defensive positioning in the late innings of last night’s Nats loss to the Giants. From USA Today: “With two outs and the tying run at first, you have to play the outfield so the ball doesn’t go over your head,” Soriano said in Spanish. “It may…
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AP
Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting just .242 with a .307 on-base percentage, but Red Sox manager John Farrell has stuck with him in the leadoff spot. However, the manager did admit to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he’s considering shifting Ellsbury down in the batting order. For his part Ellsbury thinks that would be a mistake,…
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Trevor Plouffe hits the seven day DL after catching a knee to the head
May 22, 2013, 10:30 AM EDT
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Trevor Plouffe had an awful tenth inning in last night’s Twins-Braves game. First he reached base by taking a 97 m.p.h. Craig Kimbrel fastball to the ribs. Then he tried to break up a double play and took a knee to the head, leaving him on the ground for a good while. Looked nasty. Plouffe has…
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Hanley Ramirez tested his hamstring injury by doing some running yesterday, but Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that he’s still at least two weeks away from returning to game action. That fits the initial 4-6 week timetable Ramirez was given for the injury back in on May 7. Dee Gordon has…
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On Monday Joe Maddon said he wasn’t pleased with Yunel Escobar making the “safe” sign as he crossed home plate following a home run in Monday’s loss. Last night he changed his mind on that. From Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times: “Some people point to the sky, he shows a safe sign. For…
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Apparently MLB is going to ignore Alex Sanabia throwing a spitball
May 22, 2013, 9:40 AM EDT
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised about this. Baseball ignores a lot of things which happen in Miami these days. And they’re not terribly big on paying attention to things which can clearly be seen on video replay. But I have to say, totally ignoring Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia hocking a loogie on a baseball the…
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Our Blue Jays commenters are fit to be tied today due to the called strikes to Melky Cabrera in the ninth inning of last night’s Jays-Rays game. Strikes one and three to Melky were clearly outside. Here’s Brooks Baseball’s plot of the at bat: Pitch one and three were called strikes, pitch two was…
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Ned Yost kills our buzz: apparently there is no “third baseman tree”
May 22, 2013, 8:52 AM EDT
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This is a few days old and I have no idea how I missed it, but when Ned Yost was asked over the weekend about what he’s gonna do with the Royals struggling third baseman Mike Moustakas, he painted an image for us which, I feel anyway, will form a larger part of his legacy…
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Pablo Sandoval walks off the Giants, Bryce Harper feared the wall
May 22, 2013, 8:23 AM EDT
Sounds like it was a wild game in San Francisco. Stephen Strasburg had a filthy changeup working and allowed only one run over seven, but the Giants came back. The first big hit: Gregor Blanco tripling in a run in the ninth. The bigger hit: Pablo Sandoval hitting a two-run homer to walk it off…
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Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 4: One of four games to require ten frames last night. This from the AP gamer: Reliever Matt Reynolds tried to outthink his former teammate, guess what pitch Wilin Rosario would be looking for and throw the opposite. Only, Rosario knew Reynolds was trying to get inside his head, so … Long story short, Rosario spent the last…
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Saving the home run for last, Mike Trout recorded his first career cycle Tuesday as the Angels crushed the Mariners 12-0. Trout struck out in his first at-bat of the night before singling in the third, tripling in the fourth, doubling in the sixth and homering in the eighth. He ended the game with five…
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FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reports that the Orioles will call up top pitching prospect Kevin Gausman to start Thursday in their series opener versus the Blue Jays. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette told MLB.com just one week ago that the 22-year-old right-hander was “doing fine at Double-A” and not close to a promotion, but…
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Finally some good news for the Anaheim Angels. According to beat writer Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, staff ace Jered Weaver could be activated from the disabled list for a start next week if everything goes well during his appearance in an extended spring training game on Wednesday. Weaver has been out since…
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Chris Sale won’t start Wednesday against the Red Sox because of left shoulder tendinitis
May 21, 2013, 9:20 PM EDT
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Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com has the news: Chris Sale has been scratched from Wednesday’s start with mild tendinitis in his left posterior shoulder, the team announced Tuesday. … A team official said Sale is expected to make his next start on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs. Hector Santiago will take the mound in his place. Sale has…
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Royals catcher Salvador Perez left Monday’s game against the Astros after slamming into the fence in front of the home dugout at Houston’s Minute Maid Park while trying to track down a foul popup. Perez has been diagnosed with a deep right hip bruise, according to beat writer Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star,…
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From Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com comes word that the Phillies have scratched second baseman Chase Utley from Tuesday’s game against the Marlins because of pain in his right side. The Phillies aren’t giving out many details, only saying that Utley will be reevaluated by team doctors on Wednesday. He apparently felt the discomfort while taking pregame batting…
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Anthony Rendon, Miguel Sano rate as 2013′s top minor league performers
May 21, 2013, 6:43 PM EDT
AP
The top of the minor league OPS leaderboard is typically littered with Triple-A veterans and A-ball players too old for their leagues. That’s still the case this year, but numbers two, three and four on the list are all top prospects. Minor league OPS leaders (minimum 100 at-bats) Scott Van Slyke (26 Dodgers): 1.236 OPS…
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MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers have scratched Nick Tepesch from his scheduled Wednesday start against the A’s due to a blister on his right middle finger. Ross Wolf will be called up from Triple-A Round Rock to pitch in his place. Tepesch developed the blister Friday evening on the only slider he threw…
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Sorry. That headline may have been a bit dramatic. But see, I turn 40 in July. And while I’m generally cool with that — and while I am, in all honestly, in The Best Shape of My Life — it has dawned on me pretty clearly that we are almost to the point where there…
