IL Weekend O-o-T-S

[Frayed Knot]

* Phils win behind Halladay 3-2 over Texas

* Marlins score twice on Sac Flys in the 8th to beat Tampa 5-3

* Baltimore celebrates last night's thumping by getting thumped again by the Nats late in the game. Nats went from not scoring for two days vs us to hanging up a 15-spot

* Braves are in Anaheim

btw, by aggregate record, the NL East has by far the highest win pct so far this season


* Pitt jumped all over the Tiggers in the only other game that's final so far (AL teams are slowing all the games up)

[Ceetar]

shame that all the NL East won, guess we still have a chance in Anaheim, if Johan Santana can shut down the Braves.

Sox killing the Cubs 10-5 to slip into second place.

[Frayed Knot]

Angels hang an 8-spot on Tim Hudson and they're not yet out of the 4th - so it looks like we might pick up ground on someone in the East tonight.

8-0 LAA - bottom 4

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

A Dexter Fowler flare scores Chris Iannetta, putting Colorado up 6-5 in the 14th of a nailbiter at Milwaukee... a nailbiter with everything (pitcher home run, sparkling defense, costly defensive lapses, two late tying homers from the home team, and Tulo getting tossed after a quick-pitch K)

Then Felipe Paulino issues a one-out walk to Ryan Braun... ahead of Prince Fielder.

Ballgame... and the end to a surprisingly compelling day of interleague play.

[Frayed Knot]

9-5 edge to the NL on the first day. The AL winners were:

- Cleveland, who was not only losing 4-0 to Cincy in the 6th but was getting no-hit by Travis Wood. Then the ML-best seriously, I just used a racist word when I really meant "Guardians" came back to tie and won it via a two-out bunt single in the 8th by a guy (Ezequial Cabrera) in his first ML AB

- BoSox torched the Cubs in the 'Oh my God it's a replay of the 1918 World Series so we have to put all three on national TV!!!!' game. When our game ended I think they were still in the 6th

- Mariners and Erik Bedard shut down the Padres ... but doesn't everyone?

- Royals shut-out the Cardinals.
2 more hits for Eric Hosmer, the first of what is expected to be several guys that KC has/will call up from their deep farm system. Two weeks and 51 ABs into his career so far the kid (21) looks good (.314/.368/.588 - 7 XBHs in 16 hits)

- and, as mentioned above, Anaheim thumped on Tim Hudson and the Braves

[Frayed Knot]

a) I had no idea these O-o-T-S threads wound up in a special archive section
I certainly had no idea they wound up here so quickly

I knew I had started one of these but it took me a while to figure out why I couldn't find it.


Anyway, weekend wound up 21-21 between the leagues thanks to a 10-4 AL romping on Sunday.

Sweepers included the Indians over Cincy, the Mariners who held the Padres to just two runs over three games, and the Giants over the A's

In the NL East the Phils & Marlins won twice, the Mets, Braves and Nationals once each.


There's a piece today in Baseball Prospectus about the role the IL sked could have on the NL Central race (and, in turn, the Wild Card). The Central is supposed to be "matched up" against the AL East this year but of course things never work out quite that easily. IL games with Central teams actually involve teams from all three AL divisions as well as a variety of "extra" series against NL teams as always happens during IL season due to the differing number of teams in each league. Plus this year's "rivalry" games screws the Reds who have the unexpectedly hot Cleveland Native Americans while their expected toughest competition for the Central crown Brewers and Cardinals get the relatively easier Twins & Royals.