Archives › Matthew Pouliot
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Billy Butler had a grand slam, a two-run single and an RBI groundout to drive in a career-high seven runs as the Royals topped the Phillies 9-8 on Sunday. Butler’s slam off Cole Hamels was originally ruled a double, but it was correctly overturned on replay. The Royals won today despite going down 4-0 in…
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Will Middlebrooks hits three homers as Red Sox crush Blue Jays 13-0
Apr 7, 2013, 4:04 PM EDT
Third baseman Will Middlebrooks hit three homers and doubled Sunday in Boston’s 13-0 rout in Toronto. The 24-year-old Middlebrooks became the first player to hit three homers in a game this year, and he’s the youngest player to accomplish the feat since the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen on Aug. 1, 2009. He was the first member of the…
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A week after the Marlins shocked everyone by announcing his callup, 20-year-old Jose Fernandez allowed one run in five innings and struck out eight Mets in his major league debut Sunday. Fernandez, regarded as one of the game’s top five pitching prospects, was expected to spend the bulk of the season in the minors. In…
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Not only did B.J. and Justin Upton homer as teammates for the first time Saturday, but they did it in style, launching solo homers in the bottom of the ninth as the Braves came back to beat the Cubs 6-5. The Cubs were up 5-1 when the Braves rallied for three runs in the bottom…
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J.A. Happ probably would have opened the season as the most well-compensated pitcher in Triple-A if Ricky Romero hadn’t struggled so mightily this spring. Inserted into the Blue Jays’ rotation instead, Happ struck out six in 5 1/3 innings and combined with three relievers on a two-hit shutout of the Red Sox on Saturday. The…
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Oakland’s Dan Straily strikes out 11, wins and then gets demoted
Apr 6, 2013, 1:34 AM EDT
Dan Straily knew he was only a member of Oakland’s rotation because Bartolo Colon had a handful of games left on his 2012 PED suspension. So, it didn’t come as any surprise when he was optioned to Triple-A after striking out 11 Astros and picking up his third big-league victory Friday. Casey Pratt of CSNBayArea.com…
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Josh Hamilton knew the boos were coming in his return to Arlington on Friday, but he was still disappointed by much of what he heard in the Rangers’ 3-2 win over the Angels. “It probably hurts a little bit more to know that people would just turn that quickly,” Hamilton said. “You know, to think…
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Sweeping the Marlins wasn’t much of a tuneup for tonight; the Nationals gave up a whopping six homers Friday in a 15-0 loss to the Reds. Nationals pitchers had allowed just one run this season before Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart hit back-to-back jacks in the second inning tonight. Both would go deep again later…
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Phillies give up 13 runs to Royals, but it didn’t have to be this way
Apr 5, 2013, 8:18 PM EDT
I should start by writing about the intentional walk that went bad in the Royals’ rout of the Phillies on Friday. With the Phillies up 4-2 and one out in the sixth, manager Charlie Manuel decided he’d rather have lefty Jeremy Horst face Alex Gordon with the bases loaded than Kyle Kendrick or a right-handed…
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Change of plans? Yankees to activate Phil Hughes, start him Saturday
Apr 5, 2013, 6:28 PM EDT
Phil Hughes was scheduled to make a rehab start Saturday after opening the season on the disabled list with a bulging disc in his back, but the Yankees announced after Friday’s game that he’ll be activated to start against the Tigers instead. David Phelps will return to the pen to make room for Hughes in…
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Josh Hamilton had no answer for the boos that rained down in his return to Arlington on Friday; the former AL MVP went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a couple of misplays in right field as the Angels lost to the Rangers 3-2. Adrian Beltre hit a game-tying homer for Texas in the seventh, and…
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Prince Fielder saw to it that the Tigers didn’t need a closer today. Fielder hit a three-run homer off Boone Logan in the fifth to give the Tigers the lead and added a two-run blast for insurance in the seventh Friday as the Tigers beat the Yankees 8-3. Fielder’s first homer came immediately after Yankees…
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Evan Longoria called out in ninth for overtaking Ben Zobrist on double
Apr 4, 2013, 6:21 PM EDT
A potential ninth-inning rally for the Rays was sabotaged in Thursday’s game against the Orioles when Evan Longoria was ruled to have passed Ben Zobrist on the basepaths on what otherwise would have been a double. Down 6-2, the Rays had runners on first and second with none out and Longoria up. Longoria hit a…
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In what one can only hope is a temporary setback for Brian Roberts‘ comeback bid, the Orioles second baseman left Thursday’s game in the ninth inning with a right hamstring injury. Roberts said he felt a pop in his hamstring before diving headfirst into second base in the game against the Rays. He didn’t put…
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After Carlos Marmol‘s shaky showing got him pulled from a save chance on Opening Day, the Cubs reiterated that he was still their closer. Marmol, though, wasted no time in putting that to the test. Handed another 3-0 lead on Wednesday — thanks to a Nate Schierholtz homer providing two insurance runs in the top…
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No one told Josh Collmenter and Mitchell Boggs that it’s too early in the season for games to be lasting past 3 a.m. It took nearly 5 1/2 hours, but the Diamondbacks edged the Cardinals 10-9 in 16 innings Wednesday to claim two out of three in the opening series in Arizona. Cliff Pennington singled…
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Tim Lincecum‘s awful spring, in which he gave up 18 runs in 15 1/3 innings, only added to the Giants’ doubts about what they’d get from their two-time Cy Young winner this season. They’re probably no closer to figuring it out after Lincecum walked seven yet still defeated the Dodgers on Wednesday. Lincecum surrendered just…
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For the Yankees to have much of a chance this year, they’re going to have to rack up their runs without hitting a bunch of homers. Their biggest rivals are showing them how its done. On a bitterly cold Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Red Sox amassed 11 singles and two doubles to beat…
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The Mets didn’t want to put extra pressure on Matt Harvey by making him their Opening Day starter this year, but let’s face facts: he’s the club’s best hope for having an ace this year. He showed why on Wednesday night when he limited the Padres to one hit and struck out 10 over seven…
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Tigers lose because Jim Leyland’s closer-by-committee really wasn’t
Apr 3, 2013, 7:40 PM EDT
Jim Leyland said all of the right things this spring after Bruce Rondon failed to step up and win the Tigers’ closing gig. He didn’t seem the least bit disturbed to go with a closer-by-committee situation while waiting for things to shake out. And then he went and seemingly abandoned the idea in the second…
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Alexi Ogando wasn’t quite Yu Darvish today, but he did surrender just four hits and strike out 10 Astros over 6 1/3 innings in the Rangers’ 4-0 win. Michael Kirkman and Joe Nathan combined to fan five in relief, giving the Rangers their second straight 15-strikeout game. Darvish racked up that many all by himself…
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While Yu Darvish was dispatching of Astros with ease Tuesday night, a blister was popping up on his right ring finger, he Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson reports. Fortunately, it was just a small one, and the Rangers don’t seem concerned about it at all. Darvish played catch in the outfield today and is expected to make…
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Besides Giancarlo Stanton and maybe right-hander Jose Fernandez, the Marlins’ shining light this year was going to be their remarkable Double-A outfield; Christian Yelich is one of baseball’s very best prospects and both Jake Marisnick, who was acquired from the Blue Jays in the Jose Reyes trade, and Marcell Ozuna rate comfortably within the top…
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Thanks to Heath Bell, some couple is probably breaking up tonight
Apr 3, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT
Making his Diamondbacks debut, Heath Bell gave up two homers in the seventh inning Tuesday against the Cardinals. The first of them, coming off the bat of shortstop Pete Kozma, is most likely going to get this guy dumped after he bailed on his girlfriend with the ball coming down. Jon Jay hit the second…
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It looked like destiny was on his side when Yu Darvish made such quick work of Jason Castro and Carlos Corporan to start the ninth inning Tuesday against Astros. Seconds later, destiny rolled right between his legs into center field. In the end, the pitch count may have gotten to Darvish. Not that he seemed…
