Yardwork: The Mets Remain Undefeated; Yankees and Red Sox Remain Winless
By Tim Ryan
As for those blistering Mets? They started the season 3-0 in 2007 and went on to choke away the division to the Phillies; again. The lesson here is obviously to breathe, people, breathe.
Rays 3, Yankees 0 — Jeremy Hellickson allowed three hits in 8.2 innings. Only A-Rod, Tex and Swisher managed to get hits off the 25-year-old, which will obviously lead to articles highlighting just how old and creaky the Yankees lineup has become. It’s really simple though, the Rays have an excellent team, and everyone is well aware of that fact.
Tigers 13, Red Sox 12 — Boston was on its way to win No. 1 until Alfredo Aceves attempted to notch a save, instead serving up a three-run shot to Miguel Cabrera. This has been a fun project. His final line? 3 H, 3 ER, and an ERA of infinity. To make matters worse, Clay Buchholz was atrocious, giving up seven earned runs in four innings. To be fair, the Tiger bats are going to do this to a lot of pitchers.
Mets 7, Braves 5 — Everyone is missing the big story here: Frank Frank notched his third save in as many games, and pitched his second perfect inning of the season. Not sure how long such a fluke can last, but perhaps I’ve underestimated the notoriously uneasy, unreliable closer. In all honesty though, this is nice to see for a club that’s trudged through more shit than Andy Dufresne over the last handful of seasons.
Cubs 4, Nationals 3 — This line has to be pleasing for Cubs fans to see next to the name Jeff Samardzija: 8.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. Again, this is Jeff Samardzija. Hope is alive and well in just about every locker room where it was presumed to already be dead.
D-Backs 7, Giants 6 — The Giants, along with the Braves, Red Sox, Twins, and Yankees, are also winless at 0-3. And they managed to get there in brutal fashion, inexcusably blowing a six-run lead. Arizona got two in the fourth, three in the sixth, and two in the seventh, thanks in part to the immortal Lyyle Overbay, who smacked a two-run double and solo home run.
Reds 6, Marlins 5 — So who earned the Robert DeNiro “you bleeeeeeeeeew it”? Could have been Aceves, but it’s going to Heath Bell, frankly because more is expected of him than such a paltry line of 0.1 IP, 4 H, and 2 ER.
Pirates 5, Phillies 4 — The coolest story of the weekend has to be the Pittsburgh Pirates and their two walkoff wins over the Phillies. Yesterday it was Andrew McCutchen’s walkoff single with two outs in the ninth that sent PNC Park into hysterics. The Pirates are 2-1, the Phillies are 1-2, and nobody has any clue what the hell is going on. Hell, even the Orioles are 3-0. Yes, the Orioles.
Rangers 5, White Sox 0 — Josh Hamilton’s mammoth home run is worth a look, unfortunately the vid isn’t embeddable, so take a look on MLB.com. Both he and Adrian Beltre were 2-for-4 with a home run. Hamilton is off to a great start. Matt Harrison went six scoreless and allowed just four hits. The best part about the game? Bobby Valentine was on a plane rather than in the Sunday Night Baseball booth. We were all winners in that game.
[Photo via US Presswire]