Friday Hockey + Baseball

There were a total of four hockey games and many more baseball games (forgot to count, and probably don't have the time to), and we started in the Nationwide Arena...

Of Columbus, Ohio, where the Blue Jackets hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Corey Crawford and Mathieu Garon took control of the nets. Chicago opened the scoring with Patrick Kane netting his 26th of the season, assisted by Chris Campoli and Nick Leddy. Brent Seabrook extended the Blackhawks lead on the power play with his seventh of the year, courtesy of Kane and Marian Hossa. Columbus got on the board with Maxsim Mayorov potting his first of the season, with help from Anton Stralman and Antoine Vermette. The Blue Jackets tied it with Derick Brassard on the power play, his 16th of the year powered by Stralman and Vermette. Columbus took the lead with Samuel Pahlsson notching his seventh of the season, with Stralman getting a sock trick and Sami Lepisto taking the secondary assist. Bryan Bickell used his 17th of the year to tie it for Chicago, with Duncan Keith grabbing the lone helper. The tie lasted into a shootout, where the Blackhawks beat the Blue Jackets on Viktor Stalberg's lone tally. Stralman, Crawford (31 for 34 saves), and Vermette grabbed the three stars.

Heading back east to New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Boucher and Johan Hedberg played in front of the cages. Philadelphia opened up the scoring with James van Riemsdyk getting his 20th of the season, with helpers provided by Mike Richards and Andrej Meszaros. New Jersey grabbed the lead in the second period with a pair of Patrik Elias goals, his 17th and 18th of the campaign, with Brian Rolston helping out on both goals, and Henrik Tallinder grabbing the secondary assist on the earlier even-strength goal. The Flyers tied it with Jeff Carter's 36th of the year, courtesy of Nikolay Zherdev and Claude Giroux. The Devils reclaimed the lead with a Nick Palmieri goal, his eighth of the season made possible by Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac. Elias wrapped up the scoring at 4-2, completing his hat trick with his 19th of the year, allowing Rolston to secure a sock trick and Dainius Zubrus picked up the other assist. The three stars went to Elias, Palmieri and Rolston.

Back west, the St. Louis Blues hosted the Calgary Flames. Miikka Kiprusoff and Jaroslav Halak tended the twine. St. Louis opened with Matt D'Agostini notching his 21st of the season on the power play, assisted by David Backes and Kevin Shattenkirk. Backes extended the Blues' lead with his 29th of the year, coming off of Shattenkirk and the ever-preoccupied T.J. Oshie. Calgary got on the board with Jarome Iginla netting his 38th of the campaign, with help from Alex Tanguay and Mark Giordano. Tanguay tied it for the Flames with his 20th of the season, thanks to Iginla and Daymond Langkow, who returned after a career-threatening injury from last season. Iginla put Calgary in front with his second of the game and 39th of the year, helped along by Tanguay. This score would later be the final, with Iginla, Backes, and Tanguay grabbing the three stars.

Hockey wraps up in Phoenix, with the Coyotes hosting the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Budaj and Ilya Bryagalov made the starts in goal. Colorado opened up with Philippe Dupuis registering his fifth of the season, coming off of Jay McClement and Ryan O'Reilly. McClement extended the Avalanche lead with his seventh of the year, assisted by Daniel Winnik and Cody McLeod. Phoenix entered the scoring with Lee Stempniak potting his 18th of the season, an unassisted goal. The Coyotes tied it with a Ray Whitney goal, his 16th of the year, helped along by Eric Belanger and Shane Doan. Doan added on a goal to put Phoenix in front, his 19th of the season coming on the power play from Whitney and Keith Yandle. O'Reilly tied it again for Colorado with his 12th of the year, from Kevin Porter and John-Michael Liles. The tie lasted into the shootout, where O'Reilly's lone tally put the Avalanche on top of the Coyotes 4-3. Whitney, Doan, and Stempniak got the three stars.

The baseball games began in...

Philadelphia, with the Phillies hosting the Houston Astros. Brett Myers took the mound against his former teammates and most notably, Roy Halladay. Houston finally got the opening runs in the sixth inning, with Bill Hall grounding out and allowing Angel Sanchez to come around for a run. The Astros kept it up in the seventh inning with Michael Bourn's two-run double, the two runs being Brett Wallace and Humberto Quintero. Sanchez also boosted the Houston score that inning with a sacrifice fly, allowing Bourn to cover the other two bases. Philadelphia started accumulating an answer in the bottom half of that inning with Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly scoring Placido Polanco and moving Jimmy Rollins to third, where he would score on the Raul Ibanez groundout to first. The Phillies got to work in the bottom of the ninth with singles by Ben Francisco, Wilson Valdez, and John Mayberry, bringing Rollins, Howard, and the winning run Francisco home for a 5-4 victory. The pitchers earning stats were Wilton Lopez with a hold before the closer Brandon Lyon blew a save and lost the game for Houston, giving the win to Danys Baez for Philadelphia. Bourn and Valdez were the top hitters.

Over to Chicago, where the Cubs hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. Kevin Correia and Ryan Dempster took the mounds as starters. Chicago got the early jump as Pedro Alvarez struggled to shake the spring jitters and committed an error, allowing Marlon Byrd to reach second and Starlin Castro to score. The Cubs benefited again with Carlos Pena's grounding into a fielder's choice, scoring Castro once again, although Aramis Ramirez was out at second. Pittsburgh made up for earlier shortcomings with Neil Walker hitting a grand slam, bringing around Ryan Doumit, Ronny Cedeno, and Jose Tabata. The Pirates extended the lead with a seventh inning two run homer from Andrew McCutchen, scoring Walker as well. The Cubs got one additional run, on Kosuke Fukudome's single that knocked in Darwin Barney, the evolutionary purple dinosaur. This left the score at its final, 6-3 in favor of Pittsburgh, whose pitchers went as follows: Correia for the win, holds to Jose Veras and Evan Meek, and the save by Joel Hanrahan. Dempster was the losing pitcher. Walker and Castro earned the top batter marks.

Into Cleveland, where the Indians hosted the Chicago White Sox. Mark Buehrle and Fausto Carmona were given opening day duty. Chicago opened the scoring with Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin singles, with Juan Pierre and Gordon Beckham crossing home plate. The White Sox had a pair of two run homers in the third inning, with Adam Dunn bringing Beckham in and Quentin doing the same for Konerko. Chicago got a huge boost again in the fourth inning, with Dunn and Quentin both hitting two-RBI doubles, scoring Brent Morel, Pierre, Beckham, and Dunn. They continued in the same frame with A.J. Pierzynski's single, allowing Konerko to cross the plate, followed by Alexei Ramirez's double bringing Quentin around and finishing the scoring for that inning with Morel's double to allow Pierzynski and Ramirez safe passage. After this barrage, the score was 14-0 for the White Sox. Cleveland woke up in the sixth inning, as Carlos Santana (not a guitarist by any means) sent Jack Hannahan to the plate. Travis Hafner followed with a single, as did Orlando Cabrera, bringing around Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, and Santana himself. The Indians continued in the seventh inning with homers by Hannahan and Santana, with the earlier one being a solo shot, and the other being a two-run tater bring Asdrubal back in. Chicago got back to scoring in the eighth inning with Pierzynski's shallow single to score Lastings Milledge, answered by a Michael Brantley double in the other half of the inning for Cleveland, scoring Matt LaPorta and Hannahan. The Indians brought the score to 15-10 with LaPorta's single that knocked Hafner in during the ninth, but no more runs were scored and they lost, although not as badly as they could have. Buehrle got the win while Carmona took the loss. The top batters were officially Quentin and Santana, although both teams had no trouble smacking the sphere.

We go down to Arlington, Texas, where the Rangers hosted the Boston Red Sox. Jon Lester and C.J. Wilson took the mounds after the Anthem. Boston opened the game up early with Kevin Youkilis hitting a double that brought Jacoby Ellsbury in. Adrian Gonzalez also had a single to complete the trip for Youkilis, but he got greedy and was out at second base. Ian Kinsler added a reply for Texas in the bottom of the first on a solo home run. Nelson Cruz also homered with his second inning solo shot to tie the game for the Rangers. The Red Sox retook the lead on another Gonzalez single, allowing Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia to cross the plate. Texas took the lead with a three-run homer off the bat of Mike Napoli in the fourth inning, bringing in Adrian Beltre and Cruz. Boston tied the game with a solo home run by David Ortiz in the eighth inning. On the flipside of that inning, the Rangers got busy with doubles by David Murphy, Elvis Andrus, and Josh Hamilton, bringing in runs for Napoli, Yorvit Torrealba, Murphy, and Andrus. This brought the score to its eventual final of 9-5 Texas. To credit the pitchers, Daniel Bard took the loss, Mark Lowe and Arthur Rhodes had holds, and Darren Oliver was tacked for a blown save and a win. Gonzalez and Napoli were the top batters for the game.

Moving along to Colorado, where the Rockies hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ian Kennedy and Ubaldo Jimenez were on the mound. Colorado opened it up in their half of the first, on a Seth Smith double to bring Dexter Fowler in, followed by a Todd Helton sacrifice fly that completed the trip around the bases for Smith. Arizona provided some answer with Gerardo Parra's double, allowing Miguel Montero to reach home in the second inning. Fowler singled in the other half of the second to gain the run back, as Chris Iannetta scored. The Diamondbacks took the lead on Justin Upton's three run homer, bringing Kennedy and Willie Bloomquist around. Arizona had a two run shot the next inning as Montero hit over the fence, accompanying Melvin Mora at the plate. Jose Lopez had a solo home run for the Rockies in the sixth inning, and hit a single that brought Helton in during the seventh. This tied the game until the eleventh inning, where Bloomquist's steal of second base shook up the Colorado defense, allowing Parra to reach home on the wild throw. On the Arizona side, Juan Gutierrez was tacked for a blown save, Sam Demel got the win, and J.J. Putz picked up the save. Matt Reynolds was the losing pitcher for Colorado. Montero and Lopez were the top hitters.

Up to Toronto, where the Blue Jays hosted the Minnesota Twins. Carl Pavano and Ricky Romero were the dueling pitchers. Toronto took no time to open the scoring, recording big in the first with Adam Lind getting beaned, scoring Rajai Davis, followed by Aaron Hill's sacrifice fly to bring Yunel Escobar in. Edwin Encarnacion followed suit, which brought Jose Bautista back across the plate. Travis Snider also helped produce a run on Tsuyoshi Nishioka's fielding error, which brought Lind home. The Blue Jays extended their lead with a two run homer by J.P. Arencibia, also bringing Snider in. Bautista and Lind sent a pair over the fence in the fifth inning as well for Toronto, followed by triple for Arencibia bringing Snider and Juan Rivera in. Minnesota was finally allowed to score in the seventh inning, with Encarnacion having a fielding error, allowing Danny Valencia on base and Delmon Young to cross safely at the plate. Alexi Casilla hit a double for the Twins in the same inning, knocking Jason Kubel in for a run, and Valencia scored on Denard Span's groundout to first. The Blue Jays wrapped things up in the eighth inning with another homer by Arencibia, a solo shot, as well as Lind's single bringing Escobar around, and Bautista scoring on John McDonald's sacrifice fly to produce a 13-3 final. Pavano took the loss and Romero earned the win. Span and Arencibia were the top batters.

Down to Florida, where the Marlins hosted the New York Mets. Mike Pelfrey and Josh Johnson got the ball. Florida opened up with a John Buck grand slam in the fourth inning, knocking in Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, and Logan Morrison. The Marlins added on in the next inning as Sanchez singled to score Hanley Ramirez. New York entered the scoring in the seventh inning with a Carlos Beltran double to bring Willie Harris around, and the following groundout by Ike Davis that allowed Beltran to complete his trip. Florida secured a 6-2 win in the eighth inning with a solo home run by Morrison. Pelfrey was dinged for the loss, while holds went to Mike Dunn and Clay Hensley, and the win was given to Johnson. Harris and Buck were designated the best hitters.

Staying in the state, the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Baltimore Orioles. Jeremy Guthrie and David Price threw the ball. Baltimore was the first on the board with a third inning single by Nick Markakis that drove in J.J. Hardy. Brian Roberts helped the Orioles cause with a triple in the fifth inning, batting in Matt Wieters and Hardy, followed by a Markakis sacrifice fly to complete the trip around the bases for Roberts. Tampa Bay avoided the shutout with a solo home run by Ben Zobrist, making it a 4-1 final. Guthrie grabbed the win while Price took the loss. Roberts and Zobrist were the top hitters.

Into Missouri, where the Kansas City Royals hosted the Los Angeles Angels. Dan Haren and Jeff Francis started the pitching. Howie Kendrick gave Los Angeles the early lead with his solo home run in the first inning. Kansas City replied with a Jeff Francoeur groundout that scored Billy Butler. The Royals broke the tie in the bottom of the ninth with a solo shot off the bat of Kila Ka'aihue. The win went to Joakim Soria, while the loss went to Michael Kohn. Kendrick and Ka'aihue got top batter status.

Out west to Oakland, with the Athletics hosting the Seattle Mariners. Felix Hernandez and Trevor Cahill took the mound. Oakland got on the board first with a two-run homer by Josh Willingham, also scoring Coco Crisp (the cereal center-fielder). Seattle was on the board in the third inning with a Jack Cust walk forcing Ichiro in. Ichiro singled in the sixth inning as well, knocking Brendan Ryan around the rest of his bases, before Chone Figgins sent a solo shot out of the park. The Mariners did some damage in the seventh inning, as Miguel Olivo reached on a fielding error, also bringing Cust into score. Adding insult to injury, Brad Ziegler committed a throwing error that brought Justin Smoak back across the plate. Olivo finished his trip on Ryan's fielder's choice, on which he made first base. This brought the score to its final, 6-2 Seattle, with Hernandez taking credit for a complete game win, and Craig Breslow taking both the blown save and the loss. Figgins and Willingham were the top batters.

Finally, the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants. Jonathan Sanchez went toe-to-toe with Chad Billingsley. Los Angeles was the first on the board a Matt Kemp ground rule double, scoring Billingsley. San Francisco went in front with a three-run homer by rookie Brandon Belt, clearing the bases of Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval. The Dodgers got busy in the sixth inning with Kemp reaching home on James Loney's sacrifice fly, followed by Hector Gimenez reaching on a Sanchez throwing error forcing Rod Barajas into home, and lastly by Rafael Furcal's single to complete the trip around the bases for Aaron Miles. This brought the score to 4-3, which was the final, crediting Sanchez with the loss, Billingsley with the win, Blake Hawksworth and Matt Guerrier for the holds, and a Jonathan Broxton save. Belt and Kemp took the top batter honors.

That's all for April Fool's Day, and that's certainly no joke. Saturday is packed, with a full slate of baseball along with eleven games of hockey.