Yardwork: CC Strikes Out 13 & Juan Pierre Does Something Good

If you didn’t win 5-2 yesterday, you’re not staying up with the latest trends:

Red Sox 5, Phillies 2 — Any time Jason Varitek goes deep twice in one game, the Sox have to win, right? When I saw that Ryan Howard hit a two-run shot in the ninth I was holding out hope that it was off of Papelbon but, sadly, it came off cantankerous fatty, Bobby Jenks. Jon Lester pitched superbly, and Daniel Bard and PapelPratt did just fine. Cole Hamels, however, was hit in the glove hand by an Adrian Gonzalez liner in the fourth and came out of the game after getting Pedroia to ground out to end the inning. According to Phillies manager, Tyler Chicken, Hamels has a “real good bruise” between his thumb and his palm. The X-rays were negative and he will make his next start. Hamels declined to talk to the media because he was weeping.

White Sox 6, Rockies 4, 10 innings — Juan Pierre’s two-run single off the wall in the top of the 10th was the difference, as he’s finally given White Sox fans something to applaud. Jay-Z’s lyrics of “I used to run base like Juan Pierre” remain embarrassing. At least the Beastie Boys got it right when they said, “I got mad hits like Rod Carew.”

Cubs 5, Giants 2, 13 innings — Geovany Soto came up huge with two outs in the 13th inning, launching a pinch-hit, three-run shot off Ramon Ramirez. This was one hell of a win for the Cubs considering they lost Biz Z in the second inning because of pain in his lower back. The game went into extra innings thanks to a solo shot from Aramis Ramirez to tie things up at 1-1. How does that ass taste, Brian Wilson? And how about this, Notre Dame fans, Jeff Samardzija hasn’t allowed a run in three innings.

Tigers 5, Mets 2 — Between Justin Verlander’s June and Cliff Lee’s June, I think we know who the frontrunners are for the AL and NL Cy Young. Verlander wasn’t truly dominant yesterday (7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) but for most pitchers it would be considered a phenomenal outing. For the Tigers fans who are with us, what’s the general opinion out there of Verlander personality wise? I feel like I’ve heard mixed things about his relations with the media in that he can be flippant and touchy with reporters.

Cards 9, O’s 6 — The Ryan-Franklin-Free Cardinals are playing inspired baseball, though sweeping the pathetic Orioles was almost expected. Since a winning streak for Baltimore appears to be somewhat unrealistic, let’s change the policy on posting videos from the The Wire to losing streaks. That way we’ll see a lot more of Bunk, McNulty and our other favorites because winning three in a row might not happen again until August. See, everyone wins, except for the Orioles:

I’m still not understanding MLB’s deal with embedding videos. On some days, games from the night before are available, some days they aren’t. They are clearly playing with people’s heads. Here’s Teixeira’s bomb from the other night: