Saturday sports

Saturday brings us twenty-six total games to be played, and it's a miracle I'm even close to being on pace for all of them. We begin at the...

TD Garden, where the Boston Bruins hosted the Atlanta Thrashers. Ondrej Pavelec and Tuukka Rask played in front of the goals. Boston led off with a Mark Recchi tally, his 14th of the season from Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Atlanta replied with a Dustin Byfuglien goal, his 20th of the year on the power play, powered by Zach Bogosian and Bryan Little. The Thrashers took the lead with Evander Kane recording his 19th of the campaign, courtesy of Nik Antropov. The Bruins retied it with the fourth of the season by Daniel Paille, a shorthanded and unassisted tally. Boston made it 3-2 on a Michael Ryder penalty shot, his 18th goal of the year, thanks to a Johnny Oduya hook. This was the final, and the three stars went to Ryder, Bergeron, and Paille.

Up in Minnesota, the Wild welcomed the Tampa Bay Lightning to Xcel Energy Center. Dwayne Roloson and Niklas Backstrom took care of the goals. Minnesota opened up with Pierre-Marc Bouchard netting his eleventh of the season, with help from Kyle Brodziak and Cal Clutterbuck. Tampa Bay replied with Ryan Malone potting his 12th of the year, thanks to Dominic Moore and Mike Lundin. Steve Downie gave the Lightning lead with his tenth of the season, created by passes from Simon Gagne and Eric Brewer. Tampa Bay made it 3-1 on a Sean Bergenheim goal, his 14th of the year, assisted by Martin St. Louis. As this was the final, the three stars went to Malone, Brodziak, and Roloson (29 for 30 saves).

To Nashville, where the Predators hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Pekka Rinne tended the twine. Todd Bertuzzi and Shane O'Brien opened the game with an early fight. Nashville opened the actual scoring with a Ryan Suter power play goal, his fourth of the season powered by Mike Fisher and Patric Hornqvist. Martin Erat also struck on the power play for the Predators with his 17th of the year, via Shea Weber and Suter. Fifty-five seconds later, Nashville tacked on again with Sergei Kostitsyn notching his 20th of the season, made possible by Fisher and Matt Halischuk. Bertuzzi went again with the SOB in their second dance of the game. Detroit fed off of this a bit, as Jakub Kindl sank his second of the year, an unassisted goal. Justin Abdelkader tied it for the Red Wings with a pair of goals, his sixth and seventh of the season coming in the second and third periods, with helpers by Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom on the first and Bertuzzi and Brian Rafalski on the second. The tie lasted into overtime, where Detroit won 4-3 on Danny Cleary's 25th of the year, with help from Rafalski and Henrik Zetterberg. Abdelkader, Cleary, and Suter grabbed the three stars.

Finishing the matinees, the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen and Jonathan Quick played between the pipes. Los Angeles opened the scoring in the second period with Wayne Simmonds potting his 14th of the season, courtesy of Willie Mitchell and Trevor Lewis. Dallas replied with Brad Richards registering his 26th of the year, thanks to Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski. The Kings took the lead again with Matt Greene getting his second of the season, helped along by Simmonds and Kyle Clifford. Los Angeles secured victory at a 3-1 margin with Dustin Brown potting his 28th of the year into the empty net, coming off of Jarret Stoll. Simmonds, Drew Doughty, and Stephane Robidas got the three stars.

In an Eastern Canada battle, the Ottawa Senators hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer and Craig Anderson took control of the blue paint spaces. Toronto opened with the 30th of the season for Phil Kessel, assisted by Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur. The Maple Leafs extended their lead with Nazem Kadri getting his third of the year, an unassisted goal. Ottawa got on the board with the 18th of the season by Jason Spezza, helped out by Bobby Butler. Spezza tied it for the Senators in the third period with his second of the game and 19th of the year, a power play goal off of Andre Benoit and Patrick Wiercioch. Toronto took the lead back with Tyler Bozak's 14th of the season on the power play, powered by Joffrey Lupul and Carl Gunnarsson. The Maple Leafs secured a 4-2 victory with the 29th of the year by Nikolai Kulemin, guided in by MacArthur. Kessel, Spezza, and MacArthur got the three stars.

Down to New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Martin Brodeur tended the twines. Montreal took the early lead with Mathieu Darche netting his eleventh of the season, courtesy of Brian Gionta and Hal Gill. The Canadiens extended their lead on the power play in the third period as P.K. Subban notched his 13th of the year, thanks to Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri. Darche moved Montreal a bit further with his second of the game and the 12th of his season, assisted by Gionta and Scott Gomez. New Jersey got on the board with Ilya Kovalchuk notching his 29th of the year, helped along by Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus. Darche, Price (20 for 21 saves), and Brodeur (26 for 29 saves) got the three stars.

To Washington, D.C., where the Capitals hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth played in the creases. Washington was the first on the board with Mike Knuble getting his 22nd of the season, assisted by John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin. Alexander Semin extended the lead for the Capitals with his 28th of the year, made possible by Nicklas Backstrom and Marco Sturm. Buffalo entered the scoring with Thomas Vanek potting his 28th of the season, thanks to Jason Pominville and Chris Butler. The Sabres tied it on Drew Stafford's 29th of the year, with helpers provided by Brad Boyes and Tyler Myers. Paul Gaustad gave Buffalo the lead in the third period after a scoreless second, his eleventh of the season gathering steam off of Nathan Gerbe and Mike Weber. Knuble replied with his second of the game and 23rd of the year, a power play goal from Brooks Laich and Backstrom. Stafford put the Sabres back on top with his second of the game and 30th of the season, also a power play goal, coming off of Tim Connolly. The Capitals found another equalizer, the 17th of the year by Jason Arnott, a power play goal powered by Ovechkin and Semin. Ovechkin tallied in the ensuing overtime, his 30th of the campaign created by Carlson and Backstorm, the latter of which made a sock trick, to win it 5-4 for Washington over Buffalo. The three stars were Ovechkin, Knuble, and Arnott.

Also being played was a game in south Florida between the Panthers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brent Johnson and Scott Clemmensen guarded the goals. Pittsburgh opened with the 20th of the season by Tyler Kennedy, with help from Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz. Florida replied on the eighth of the year for Jack Skille, guided in by Marty Reasoner and Dmitry Kulikov. Twenty-two seconds later, the Panthers had a lead on the third of the season by Clay Wilson, assisted by Sergei Samsonov and Mike Weaver. The Penguins retied it in the second period with Pascal Dupuis recording his 14th of the year, thanks to Max Talbot and Chris Conner. Pittsburgh took the lead when Zbynek Michalek put his fourth of the season into the twine, helped along by Paul Martin and Staal. Craig Adams secured a 4-2 victory with his fourth of the year, coming off of Staal and Ben Lovejoy into the empty net, giving Staal a sock trick. Staal, Michalek, and Skille got the three stars.

Back north, the New York Islanders hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. Cam Ward and Al Montoya were given goaltending duties. Carolina took the early lead with Jussi Jokinen potting his 18th of the season off of Joe Corvo and Derek Joslin. New York answered with Jesse Joensuu recording his sixth of the year, thanks to Jack Hillen. The Islanders took the lead on John Tavares' 28th of the season, made possible by Matt Moulson and Dylan Reese. The Hurricanes retied it in the third period with Corvo notching his eleventh of the year, courtesy of Tim Gleason and Tuomo Ruutu. Carolina took the lead with Erik Cole getting his 24th of the season, with assists from Eric Staal and Corvo. Staal secured a 4-2 victory with his 32nd of the year into the empty net, an unassisted goal. The three stars went to Cole, Corvo, and Tavares.

Into British Columbia, where the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Devan Dubnyk and Cory Schneider were called for starting. Edmonton was the first on the board with Kurtis Foster on the power play, his seventh of the season getting helper out by Ryan Jones and Jordan Eberle. Eberle tallied on the power play in the second period with his 18th of the year for the Oilers, thanks to Andrew Cogliano and Foster. Edmonton extended the lead again with Linus Omark recording his fifth of the season, with helpers provided by Teemu Hartikainen and Cogliano. Vancouver got on the board with Alexandre Burrows notching his 25th of the campaign, assisted by Henrik Sedin and Kevin Bieksa. Magnus Paajarvi secured victory at 4-1 for the Oilers with his 13th of the year, made possible by Omark and Chris Vandevelde. Omark, Dubnyk (40 for 41 saves), and Foster got the three stars.

Down the coast to San Jose, where the Sharks hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Ray Emery and Antti Niemi tended the twines. Anaheim opened the scoring with the 34th of the season by Bobby Ryan, assisted by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks extended their lead with Lubomir Visnovsky's 17th of the year, courtesy of Cam Fowler and Perry on the power play. San Jose got on the board with the 25th of the season Dany Heatley, with help from Ryane Clowe and Douglas Murray. Patrick Marleau tied it for the Sharks with his 36th of the year, with assists coming from Devin Setoguchi and Dan Boyle. Setoguchi gave San Jose the lead on his 21st of the season, a power play goal powered by Boyle and Marleau. Marleau made it 4-2, the eventual final, with his second of the game and 37th of the year, an empty netter off of Joe Pavelski and Setoguchi. Setoguchi, Murray, and Marleau got the three stars.

To baseball, beginning in...

Cleveland, with the Indians hosting the Chicago White Sox. Edwin Jackson opposed Carlos Carrasco. Chicago got the early lead with Paul Konerko's sacrifice fly to knock in Gordon Beckham. The White Sox continued in the second inning with Alexei Ramirez singling to drive in Carlos Quentin, and he finished his trip as did Brent Morel on Beckham's single. Adam Dunn also brought in Juan Pierre with his groundout to first. Cleveland got on the board in the bottom half of the same inning with a Travis Hafner home run, a solo shot, followed by Jack Hannahan eventually using a single to bring Orlando Cabrera and Travis Buck back around. Chicago did some more scoring in the sixth inning, with Pierre's single to drive in Morel, but Pierre was caught trying to get to second base. Quentin doubled in the next inning to make it 8-3 as Konerko and Alex Rios scored. Carrasco was pinned for the loss, and Jackson got the win. Quentin and Hafner were the top batters.

To Washington, where the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves. Tommy Hanson and John Lannan took the mound. Danny Espinosa put Washington up first with a sacrifice fly to score Michael Morse. Atlanta answered in the third inning with Chipper Jones' single to get Nate McLouth across the plate. The Nationals did some work on the other half of the inning, with Morse's sacrifice fly bringing in Jayson Werth, and Rick Ankiel's two run homer, which also scored Ryan Zimmerman. The Braves kept it close in the sixth inning with a solo shot by Dan Uggla. Ankiel produced another Zimmerman run with his sacrifice to the pitcher. Alex Gonzalez also sent one out of the field of play for Atlanta in the eighth inning. Washington made it 6-3 with a Zimmerman single in the bottom of the eighth, knocking in Ian Desmond. This score was final, with the win going to Lannan, holds going to Chad Gaudin, Tyler Clippard, and Drew Storen, and the save went to Sean Burnett. Hanson took the loss. Gonzalez and Ankiel were given top hitter status.

Onto the North Side of Chicago, where the Cubs hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Paul Maholm and Carlos Zambrano were on the mound. Pittsburgh was on the board in the first inning with Pedro Alvarez's single to bring in Jose Tabata. Tabata also scored for the Pirates with his run off of Neil Walker's double in the third. Garrett Jones added on a solo tater for Pittsburgh in the seventh inning. Chicago exploded in the eighth inning with a ground rule double by Starlin Castro to bring in Kosuke Fukudome, followed by Marlon Byrd reaching on a Lyle Overbay fielding error, allowing Castro to score, with Byrd then scoring on an Alfonso Soriano single, topped off by a Blake DeWitt double to bring in Geovany Soto and Soriano, making it 5-3, which would be the final. Jose Veras got credit for a hold, but Evan Meek took a blown save and a loss in the Pittsburgh side, while the Cubs got the win for Sean Marshall and the save for Carlos Marmol. Jones and Castro were the top hitters.

Up to Toronto, with the Blue Jays hosting the Minnesota Twins. Francisco Liriano and Kyle Drabek got the starting duties. Jose Molina led off the scoring for Toronto with a solo home run in the third inning. Minnesota replied as Justin Morneau grounded out to drive in Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Jayson Nix replied for the Blue Jays with a solo home run. Toronto continued in the fifth inning with an Edwin Encarnacion single that brought in Jose Bautista, followed by a Travis Snider double to score Adam Lind and Encarnacion. Aaron Hill topped it off with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, making it 6-1 Blue Jays as Molina scored. Drabek took the win while Liriano took the loss. Denard Span and Molina were given the status of best hitters.

To Kansas City, where the Royals hosted the Los Angeles Angels. Ervin Santana and Kyle Davies made the starts. Los Angeles opened with a Torii Hunter home run in the fourth inning. Kansas City replied in the fifth inning with Chris Getz singling to first and bringing in Jeff Francoeur. Alcides Escobar continued it with a fielder's choice, taking Getz off the basepaths with an out, but knocking in Wilson Betemit. The Angels did a little more in the sixth inning with Vernon Wells singling to bring around Bobby Abreu, and then reaching second on a throw. Alberto Collaspo then scored Hunter with a single, and Wells completed his trip on a fielder's choice by Erick Aybar, taking Callaspo off. A pair of singles in the eighth inning gave the Royals a 5-4 lead, with Matt Treanor and Getz knocking in Billy Butler and Jarrod Dyson, respectively. This would be the final, with Aaron Crow getting the win and Joakim Soria getting the save. Hisanori Takahashi took a hold and Kevin Jepsen got dinged for a loss and blown save for Los Angeles. Aybar and Getz had the best batting.

Onward to Los Angeles, where the Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants. Matt Cain and Ted Lilly took the mound as starters. The scoring was opened in the third by San Francisco, with Miguel Tejada grounding out but bringing in Mark DeRosa. Tejada also fueled the Giants work in the fifth inning, with his single to score Aaron Rowand, and subsequent advance to second on the throwing error. He finished his trip on the Freddy Sanchez double, and Sanchez did the same with a single by Aubrey Huff. DeRosa got San Francisco scoring again in the sixth, knocking in Brandon Belt with his double, and completing the trip on a Sanchez single. Huff provided a 2-RBI single this time, bringing Cain and Tejada back across the plate. The Giants got a homer from Sanchez in the eighth inning, and capped the scoring 10-0 with DeRosa grounding out in the ninth but giving time for an Andres Torres dash to home. Cain took the win while Lilly took the loss. The best batters were Sanchez and Andre Ethier.

Back east to the Bronx, where the New York Yankees hosted the Detroit Tigers. Brad Penny and A.J. Burnett squared off in pitching. New York got off to a quick start in the first inning, with Alex Rodriguez doubling to bring in Derek Jeter, followed by Robinson Cano singling for an RBI as Mark Teixeira crossed, and then Rodriguez finishing his trip around with Nick Swisher's sacrifice fly. The Yankees clustered three runs in the second inning on a Teixeira home run, which also scored Brett Gardner and Jeter. Detroit got on the board with a solo shot by Austin Jackson in the third. The Tigers added on in the fifth with an Alex Avila single, knocking in Brennan Boesch, followed by a groundout from Will Rhymes to score Jhonny Peralta. New York picked up three more runs with Russell Martin smacking a ball out of the field of play, with Cano and Jorge Posada being the men on base at the time. The Yankees followed with Rodriguez hitting a solo shot in the sixth. Victor Martinez added on for Detroit with his two-run tater in the eighth inning, bringing around Don Kelly. The Tigers got one more run, but fell short 10-6 in the ninth with Ryan Raburn reaching on an error, also causing Avila to reach home safely. Penny took the loss, while Burnett took the win and Mariano Rivera got credit for the save.

Moving along to St. Louis, where the Cardinals hosted the San Diego Padres. Clayton Richard and Jake Westbrook got the ball. St. Louis opened the scoring in the first with Allen Craig singling to bring in Colby Rasmus and David Freese. San Diego had a reply in the second inning with a Nick Hundley single to drive in Ryan Ludwick, followed by Richard's sacrifice to the catcher that scored Cameron Maybin. The Cardinals retook the lead with a solo home run by Albert Pujols in the third inning, which was met by a Hundley triple in the fourth that brought around Ludwick again. The Padres added some serious damage in the fifth inning, with Ludwick walking while the bases were full to score Will Venable, followed by chase Headley singling to welcome Jason Bartlett and Brad Hawpe back to the dugout, followed by Maybin doubling to complete Ludwick's trip, and Headley coming through on Richard getting walked, finally ending the scoring with Venable bringing in Maybin on a sacrifice fly. This was a 6-run inning. For good measure, San Diego capped off a 11-3 throttling of St. Louis with a two-run homer by Headley that scored Ludwick for the fourth time in the game. Richard easily took the win, as easily as Westbrook was the losing pitcher.

Next up, the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Tillman and James Shields took the mound. The scoring started late with Baltimore striking first in the eighth inning on a three-run bomb by Brian Roberts, also bringing around Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy. Tampa Bay answered in their half of the inning with an RBI single from Manny Ramirez that allowed safe passage home for Elliot Johnson. The final eventually stood at 3-1, with the win going to Jeremy Accardo, holds going to Michael Gonzalez and Koji Uehara, and the save to Kevin Gregg. The losing pitcher was Shields. Roberts and B.J. Upton were the top hitters.

To Cincinnati, where the Reds hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. Shaun Marcum and Travis Wood were the pitchers. Cincinnati got out to an early lead with a two-run home run by Scott Rolen, which knocked in Joey Votto. The Reds continued in the second inning with a Drew Stubbs triple that drove in Ryan Hanigan, and then Stubbs scored on Rickie Weeks' throwing error that got Votto on first. Milwaukee got on the board in the fifth inning with Erick Almonte sending a ball over the fence. The Brewers also got Casey McGehee to bat Ryan Braun in home during the ninth, but only getting the score to a 4-2 loss for them. Marcum got dinged for the loss, while the win went to Wood, the lone hold went to Nick Masset, and Francisco Cordero grabbed the save. Almonte and Rolen were given the honor of top batters.

Southward to Florida, where the Marlins hosted the New York Mets. Jonathan Niese and Ricky Nolasco made the starts. Florida led off in the first inning with Logan Morrison singling to bring around both Omar Infante and Hanley Ramirez. New York got on the board with a solo home run by David Wright in the fourth inning. The Mets tied it with Ike Davis doubling to center to score Carlos Beltran. Josh Thole put New York in front with his single to score Chin-lung Hu. Greg Dobbs answered for the Marlins with a single knocking in Brett Hayes. In extra innings, the Mets took the lead with Wright's single to bat in Jose Reyes, followed by a Will Harris double that brought both Angel Pagan and Wright across the plate. Hayes answered for Florida by using a single to bring in Gaby Sanchez, but they ran out of runs and lost 6-4. Francisco Rodriguez got a blown save but a win, and the save went to Blaine Boyer. Ryan Webb took the loss. Wright and Morrison were the top hitters.

West to Texas, where the Rangers hosted the Boston Red Sox. John Lackey and Colby Lewis took to the mound. Texas jumped up early with an Ian Kinsler home run, a solo shot. Boston took the lead with a two-run David Ortiz homer, bringing around Adrian Gonzalez. The Rangers got back to business in the third inning, with Elvis Andrus lining a triple to score Kinsler, and then completing his trip around the horn with a Josh Hamilton single. Gonzalez crossed the plate again in the fourth inning on an Ortiz groundout. Texas responded in the bottom half of the inning with Julio Borbon tripling to bring around Yorvit Torrealba, before Andrus used a double to bring him in, capped off by Adrian Beltre's grand slam to score Kinsler, Andrus, and Hamilton for a 6-run inning. Torrealba blasted his own homer out of the park in the fifth, a two run shot to score Mitch Moreland. Nelson Cruz followed this up for the Rangers with a solo home run in the sixth inning. The Red Sox got two more runs with Jacoby Ellsbury going out of the yard, bringing around Jarrod Saltalamacchia. This brought up the final of 12-5 Texas over Boston. Lackey was designated as the loser, with Lewis picking up the win. Ortiz and Andrus were the best hitters.

Onto Colorado, where the Rockies welcomed the Arizona Diamondbacks. Daniel Hudson opposed Jorge De La Rosa. Colorado opened the scoring in the third inning with a Dexter Fowler double to score Chris Iannetta. Iannetta extended the Rockies lead with his own double to knock in Jose Lopez, and then crossed home himself on a single by De La Rosa. Arizona avoided the shutout in the ninth inning with Ryan Roberts' single, bringing in Justin Upton. The final stood at 3-1, with Hudson taking the loss, De La Rosa getting the win, Matt Belisle and Rafael Betancourt getting holds, and Huston Street recording the save. Roberts and Iannetta earned top marks for hitting.

Finally, in Oakland, where the Athletics hosted the Seattle Mariners. Jason Vargas and Brett Anderson were handed the ball. Oakland was on the board first with David DeJesus' groundout that brought in Cliff Pennington. Seattle replied with a sixth inning Jack Cust single to score Milton Bradley (and to him, it's MORE than just a game). The Mariners added on with Michael Saunders sacrifice fly in the next inning, knocking in Brendan Ryan. The Athletics got an equalizer from a Josh Willingham single to bring Coco Crisp home. Seattle took off in the ninth inning with Ichiro hitting a single to bring in Jack Wilson, and Miguel Olivo reaching third as Daric Barton misfielded a ball. Olivo reached home on a Brian Fuentes wild pitch, which brought Ichiro up a base as well. Ichiro completed his trip and made it 5-2 by crossing home on the Chone Figgins sacrifice fly. For the pitching stats, Jamey Wright got a hold, Chris Ray took both a blown save and a win, and Brandon League converted a save. Fuentes took the loss. Ichiro and Barton were the top hitters.

For those of you actually reading this outro, thank you very much. We have had a lot of readership lately, so I'd love it to be kept at a high standard. More posts are to come as expected, but they may be delayed, so patience is the best thing for the readers right now.