Baseball 6/23

Today there are a mere five games of interleague play being played. We start in...

Washington, D.C. with the Nationals hosting the Seattle Mariners. Michael Pineda and Jason Marquis made the starts. The game was scoreless until a ninth inning sacrifice fly by Laynce Nix to give Washington the 1-0 win as Danny Espinosa crossed home. Chris Ray suffered the loss, while Tyler Clippard grabbed the win. Justin Smoak and Michael Morse were top batters as the Nationals took the series 3-0 in the sweep.

Onward to New York with the Mets hosting the Oakland Athletics. Graham Godfrey and Chris Capuano were on the mound. New York opened with a second inning double play grounder by Capuano to score Jason Bay, followed by Jose Reyes singling in Lucas Duda. Daniel Murphy extended the Mets lead in the fifth with a single to knock Reyes home. New York did some more in the sixth with Reyes singling home Josh Thole. Oakland got on the board with Coco Crisp's sacrifice fly to bring around Jemile Weeks. The final would be 4-1, with Capuano getting the win, Godfrey taking the loss, and Francisco Rodriguez converting the save. Scott Sizemore and Murphy were the top hitters. The Mets took the series 2-1.

Into San Francisco, with the Giants welcoming the Minnesota Twins. Brian Duensing opposes Tim Lincecum from the hill. San Francisco opened the scoring in the second on a Miguel Tejada groundout to squeeze in Pablo Sandoval. The Giants added on with a Cody Ross single to drive in Aubrey Huff. Minnesota made it 2-1 on a Michael Cuddyer double scoring Alexi Casilla, although a lack of further offense still resulted in a loss. Lincecum picked up the win, Duensing took the loss, and Brian Wilson had the save. Cuddyer and Tejada were top batters. The Giants win the series 2-1.

Moving to Kansas City with the Royals hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks. Daniel Hudson and Felipe Paulino make the starts. Arizona opened the first with Chris Young singling both Ryan Roberts and Justin Upton home. The Diamondbacks added a solo shot by Miguel Montero in the second. Kansas City got on the board in the bottom of this inning with Alex Gordon dashing home as Montero erred, and Alcides Escobar singling Mike Moustakas around the paths. Arizona replied with a third inning Stephen Drew double, allowing Roberts to score again. Juan Miranda supplemented this in the fourth for the Diamondbacks, with his own solo home run. The Royals made it 5-3 in the bottom of the inning as Matt Treanor knocked Jeff Francoeur in with a single. This would be the final, with Hudson winning, Paulino losing, and J.J. Putz picking up the save. Drew and Escobar took best hitting status. Arizona's win allowed them a three game sweep.

Wrapping up with the National League game, where the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Philadelphia Phillies. Roy Oswalt and Chris Carpenter made the starts. St. Louis started quickly with a Jon Jay home run, a solo shot in the first. The Cardinals added on in the second with Tony Cruz singling in Colby Rasmus before Ryan Theriot knocked in both Skip Schumaker and Cruz with his own single. In the third, St. Louis got another run with Schumaker grounding into a fielder's choice, providing passage home for Matt Holliday. Philadelphia found the scoreboard in the sixth as Ryan Howard singled Shane Victorino home. The Cardinals had an answer for this as Cruz singled to score Rasmus again. St. Louis kicked it into high gear in the eighth as Jay walked to force Yadier Molina home, Holliday singled so knock in both Daniel Descalso and Theriot, and Lance Berkman launched a three run blast to get Jay and Holliday back around. The Phillies cut it down to 12-2 as Carlos Ruiz hit a solo home run. Oswalt lost and Carpented got the win. Ruiz and Berkman were the top batters. Philadelphia put the brooms away, only taking the series 2-1.

Sandwich Showdown XXIII

This week, we bring a delayed showdown with a Spicy Italian on Garlic against a Ham on Wheat. The Spicy's two-meat attack came in strong as it usually does, creating the distinct blend of taste. The bread also held up strong and aided positively the taste. It would set a high precedent for the Ham, who went directly to the taste buds with the one meat stance. This proved very efficient, coupled with healthy and delicious bread that enhanced the sandwich very strongly. However, it would not be enough to beat the Spicy, although it was close. This feature will run again next week.

Song of the Week XXIII and XXIV (double edition)

Due to a lack of discipline, this is a double issue to cover two songs for the past two weeks. The first song will be a hit from Michael Jackson called Off the Wall. The song tells you to enjoy yourself and relax. This is set up by describing what a person can do in a club or party environment. It encourages you to be free and just act however you choose. It also motivates you to forget other problems around and have fun. The rhythm is typical of MJ works, featuring a solid beat and plenty of dance potential. The other song comes from the All-American Rejects. Their debut CD spawned a fairly decent hit in the song called Your Star, which has a decent pop sound. The song is about love at first sight, and working to have that love reciprocated. They usually do have a pop-punk sound, although the song takes a slightly more piano-pop oriented direction. All in all, both songs are very strong in their respective genres. This should be running again next week.

Fantasy Baseball All-Stars, week 11

Catcher: Miguel Montero, 3 runs, 7 hits, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .318 average, .348 on base
First Base: Michael Morse, 9 runs, 9 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .375 average, .444 on base
Second Base: Danny Espinosa, 5 runs, 12 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 SB, .444 average, .444 on base
Third Base: Ty Wigginton, 6 runs, 7 hits, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB, .368 average, .455 on base
Shortstop: Alcides Escobar, 5 runs, 12 hits, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 SB, .545 average, .583 on base
Outfield: Shane Victorino, 6 runs, 13 hits, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB, .419 average, .438 on base
Starter: Justin Verlander, 18 IP, 2 wins, 17 K, 0.50 ERA, 0.39 WHIP
Starter2: James Shields, 18 IP, 2 wins, 15 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP
Reliever: Matt Capps, 3 IP, 0 wins, 3 saves, 3 K, 0 holds, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP