Kuzul

Wade LeBlanc pitched another beauty for the San Diego Padres, a team that has relied heavily on a brilliant pitching staff to lead the National League West.

Entering this season, I presumed the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies would duke it out for the National League West crown. I tossed aside the Arizona Diamondbacks, and, given by their play this year, that choice was a smart one.

But the division’s other team, which I also thought would struggle, has been one of the great surprises so far.

The San Diego Padres ballpark is ginormous. It measures 367 feet to left field, 396 feet to center, 402 feet to the left field and right field alleys, and 382 feet to right field. The offense hasn’t been able to do much there during its seven-year existence.

Last year they were particularly awful: their offense hit a measly .219 at home. I looked for that to continue, especially considering they didn’t make any big offensive acquisitions. To me, slugger Adrian Gonzalez would be once again left alone in the lineup.

Their offense has instead proved me wrong. So far, they are hitting .252 at home, with more than Gonzalez producing. Gonzalez entered their series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies with 11 homers and 36 RBI, putting up his usual numbers,.

But, 35-year old David Eckstein has hit above .280 in the leadoff spot while 26-year-old Corvallis, Oregon native Nick Hundley , same-aged third baseman Chase Headley , and offseason signee Yorvit Torrealba have all swung similarly respectable bats.

Their offensive improvement is not the biggest reason why they entered the finale tied for the divisional lead at 33-23. Their pitching has been amazing from top to bottom. Their team ERA stood at 3.05, the second best mark in the majors. Only three pitchers have ERA’s worse than 3.72, and their starters ERA is a stifling 2.49.

Veteran starting pitcher Jon Garland , who has six wins and a 2.68 ERA, is a recognizable name. But who is Clayton Richard ? How about Mat Latos ? Tim Stauffer ? Kevin Correia ? Wade LeBlanc ? No, not at the start of the season at least.

Now they are making names for themselves.

Richard, a 6’5″ 26-year old lefty, has four wins and a sparkling 2.87 ERA. Richard, who was acquired in the deal that sent former ace Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox, has allowed one run or less in five of his last ten starts. 

Latos, a 6’6″ 22-year old righthander off the farm leads the staff in strikeouts with 56, has five wins, and is fifth in the NL with a WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched) of 1.05, which is a bit under the staff’s mark of 1.29.

Stauffer had pitched out of the bullpen to begin the season, but recently made his first start and tossed five shutout innings.

Correia has been the lone starter to struggle, posting a 5.03 ERA over 11 starts. But, fittingly, the offense has repeatedly backed him up, as he has managed to compile five wins.

Then there is LeBlanc, the 25-year old lefthander who was a second round pick of the Padres in 2006. He started against the Phillies, hoping to help his team salvage a series split. He got off to rocky start, but once his outing was over, it was another success story atop the mound for the Padres.

Philadelphia loaded the bases in the first inning, thanks in large part to a double-steal. But their offense, which entered having scored just 41 runs in their past 17 games, couldn’t take advantage.

LeBlanc made them pay for missing the first-inning chance, as their inability to muster much of anything continued, a sight their crowd has seen far too much recently.

They have the hitters, on paper, to do a tremendous amount of damage. This offense had led Philadelphia to two straight World Series appearances. And this offseason they only upgraded with the signing of third baseman Placido Polanco. But having a powerful batting order on the dugout’s lineup card doesn’t amount to much.

LeBlanc didn’t seem fazed by their potential statistical talents. He faced only one more than the minimum over the next six innings, retiring 14 straight at one point. He barely touched 90 on the gun with his fastball, but its extra zip into the hitting zone, as well as his complementary offspeed pitches baffled the already perplexed Phillies.

He finished having thrown those seven innings, allowing just five baserunners and no runs, lowering his ERA to 3.21. And thanks to back-to-back seventh inning homers by Gonzalez and Scott Hairston, he was in line for the victory.

He would get it, in large part due to San Diego’s superb relief core. The bullpen entered with a 2.64 ERA, having pitched three-plus scoreless innings 20 times while allowing only 21 percent of inherited runners to score.

Luke Gregerson , a 26-year old righthander who was selection in 2006′s 28th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and who has been a big piece to this puzzle, entered with 13 holds. He had relinquished only 12 hits and six runs in 29 1/3 innings, and continued to build upon those impeccable numbers, needing only eight pitches to breeze through a scoreless eighth.

Gonzalez added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, his second opposite-field homer of the night, giving closer Heath Bell a three-run cushion to work with. A hefty 32-year old righthander with a fastball in the mid-90′s, he struck out Shane Victorino to begin the frame, but followed by allowing a run to no fault of his own.

Polanco had singled and, after the second out was recorded, moved to second on defensive-indifference when Ryan Howard lifted a flyball near the left-field corner. Scott Hairston stumbled towards it and whiffed on what should have been a relatively easy catch. Polanco scored on the play that inexplicably wasn’t dubbed an error.

Philadelphia now sent Jayson Werth to the plate as the tying run, but he, who entered the at-bat 3-33 over his past 12-plus games, continued to have a tough time, striking out on high cheese to end the threat and the game.

The Padres congratulated Bell on his 16th save, then LeBlanc on another fine outing. This sight has been recurring throughout the season, and though the summer can be long and rough patches are bound to be hit, I believe game-ending congratulations like this will continue for San Diego, a team determined to get back to the playoffs, a place they haven’t been since 2006.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Boston Red Sox entered the opener of a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics having won 10 of their past 13 games.

Nearly every hitter is in a groove. Designated hitter David Ortiz has caught fire, raising his batting 37 points during that stretch. Adrian Beltre continues to swing a hot bat, with his average still hovering around the .330 mark.

Only the likes of former MVP Dustin Pedroia and offseason acquisition Marco Scutaro entered the month of May swinging cold bats. Neither Pedroia nor Scutaro did much to improve their batting average against Oakland, but Beltre, first baseman Kevin Youkilis , and catcher Victor Martinez managed to.

The trio worked their magic after the struggles of John Lackey , their starting pitcher and huge offseason investment, continued. His control was poor once more, but even when he did find the strikezone his repertoire couldn’t fool Oakland.

They tagged him for four runs in the opening five innings, allowing two each in the third and fifth. The four-run deficit could have been much larger. He worked around two two-out singles in the second, a two-out triple in the third, and escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth after quickly surrendering two runs in the frame.

Boston’s bats took advantage of the Athletics inability to push across more runs, teeing off on 24-year-old starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez in the bottom of the fifth. Martinez clubbed his second double of the evening after Pedroia’s batting average dipped to .252 with a leadoff groundout, then stayed put as Youkilis’s hot-shot to third base ate up Kevin Kouzmanoff .

After Ortiz struck out, which has been a rare occurrence over the past few weeks, Beltre followed by doing what Ortiz has been accustomed to doing, striking a Gonzalez curveball into the front-row seats of the Green Monster for a three-run homer , pulling Boston within one.

That would be all the production they would obtain in the fifth, but certainly there was more to come. Lackey managed to work out of a two-on, one-out situation in the top of the sixth, and the Red Sox offense thanked him for his efforts, no matter how ineffective he was overall.

Twenty-three-year-old reliever Tyson Ross replaced Gonzalez to begin the inning, walked left-fielder Bill Hall and center-fielder Darnell McDonald , somberly shuffled off the mound upon being taken out, then watched Craig Breslow , a former-Red Sox, load the bases by missing with a full-count fastball to Scutaro.

Breslow benefited from Pedroia, who is in a rut similar to Ortiz’s April slump. The second baseman grounded into a double-play, a presumed rally-killer even though the tying run scored on the play.

Now, two were out with McDonald on third. Boston could have been in a much better situation if Pedroia managed to right his wrongs at the plate, but thanks to Martinez, his struggles didn’t completely end the threat. Martinez pummeled a Breslow offering deep to center-field, deep into the triangle over 400 feet away. It was his third double and it gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead.

The unanswered runs would continue, as Hall tripled in J.D. Drew in the sixth and the floodgates opened in the eighth. Not surprisingly, Martinez was involved in the lengthening of the lead.

On-deck with Pedroia at the plate, he watched the short, stocky second-place hitter do what he himself had done three times already: sock a double. And this one rivaled his sixth inning two-bagger in length.

He made sure Pedroia’s first hit in 23 at-bats wouldn’t come in vain, slicing yet another double, this one lunging over the short-porch in right field on one bound. Five hits, four of which were doubles , becoming the first catcher to accomplish such a feat since Sandy Alomar did so in 1997 at Fenway.

The final of nine unanswered runs were tallied by rbi-singles off the bats of Youkilis and Drew. With that, the Red Sox notched another win, their 30th of the season, placing them five games back of American League East division-leading Tampa Bay, whom they had swept at Tropicana Field just before their successful series opener against the A’s, the unlikely leader of the AL West.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee sat cross-legged in the Philadelphia Phillies dugout. They assumed that pose for the longest time, sitting not five feet apart on the bench, and watched their ace Roy Halladay attempt to do something very historic. The 32-year-old pitcher whom they acquired during the offseason was on the mound pitching during the eighth inning, six outs away from throwing a perfect game.

Halladay has been one of the better pitchers in baseball, with perhaps the filthiest repertoire. His movement has baffled so many teams during his illustrious career, and the Florida Marlins were the latest to fall under his spell. Twenty-one outs had come rather easily, and a crowd that was Phillies-partisan stood anticipating perfection.

Juan Castro, getting the start at third base for Placido Polanco, and made a considerable impact, keeping the perfect game intact by gobbling up a hot shot off the bat of Jorge Cantu and firing to first for the eight’s first out.

Dan Uggla was next, and he stared, bat on his shoulder, at strike three, a fastball painted on the outside corner. Four outs left. Two pitches later, Halladay walked off the mound, having induced a pop-up out of Cody Ross, as the stadium buzzed in excitement.

The Phillies clung to a 1-0 lead entering their half of the ninth inning, as they to were baffled. Marlins ace Josh Johnson was excellent over his seven innings, allowing the lone run in the third inning as an error by Cameron Maybin had Wilson Valdez speeding around to score from first .

A struggling offense would have the opportunity to extend their slim advantage and make life much easier for Halladay. They could not provide insurance. One crack of the bat by the Marlins into the near empty seats could break up the perfect-game, no-hitter, shutout, and squander the lead.

Mike Lamb pinch-hit for catcher Brett Hayes to begin the bottom of the ninth, with the few thousand in attendance on their feet—Marlins and Phillies fans alike. His at-bat ended innocently enough, as an impeccably placed Halladay fastball was lifted meekly into center field.

For the second out, the 6’6″ righthander’s handling of pinch-hitter Wes Helms exemplified that it was indeed his night, that he was as sharp as could be. A fastball clipped the inside corner, another was tipped foul, a third narrowly missed the same target, and then the fourth hit Carlos Ruiz’s glove that danced on the inner-reaches of the strikezone.

Helms walked away. The crowd cheered. The announcer’s tone grew ever-more enthusiastic. One more out and Halladay would notch the 20th perfect game in Major League Baseball history, his first of such kind, as well as his first no-hitter.

A third-straight pinch-hitter strode to the plate. Ronny Paulino, a .280 career hitter who entered batting .310 on the season, could thwart history or be a part of it. The latter took place, as a fourth-pitch curveball hit sharply to third was consumed by Castro and fired to first baseman Ryan Howard.

Howard tapped the bag and thrust his arms in the air, as the crowd cheered as one. Halladay stood pumping his fist as the 27th straight out was recorded , hugged Ruiz, and sported the happiest of smiles as his teammates joined in on the celebration .

That smiled remained spread euphorically across his face as the few hundred Marlins fans and the few thousand Phillies fans stood and applauded. For a pitcher that dominated the American League for years with the Toronto Blue Jays, a pitcher that entered with 154 wins, including six this year, this moment was a long time coming—a moment only 19 others have experienced.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Currently, five Philadelphia Phillies are leading the National League All-Star Balloting at their respective positions. Jimmy Rollins leads at shortstop, Placido Polanco leads at third base, Chase Utley leads at second base, Jayson Werth leads in left-field, and Shane Victorino leads in center-field. These stars anchor a tremendous lineup, at least a lineup that was tremendous up until their last five games.

They lost their final two games against the Boston Red Sox during Interleague play, which is looking more and more understandable with Boston’s four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.

They were shut out in the first of those two losses as Daisuke Matsuzaka nearly threw a no-hitter , and fell in the second as the Red Sox broke through against ace Roy Halladay . Their three runs in the finale of that series came in the ninth inning, ending a 17-inning scoreless streak. Since, a much longer scoreless streak has been set.

Just as the Red Sox are inching closer to the Rays in the American League East, the Mets entered their three-game set at home five games behind their divisional foe. New York, having one their previous two games, could go from seven to two games back with a sweep of the Phillies.

And, to my shock, this dream scenario would come true in the most surprising of ways.

Their pitching has the reputation of being sup-bar, but the rotation has developed nicely this season. John Maine , Jon Niese , and Oliver Perez have struggled, combining for a 2-8 record and a 5.58 ERA.

But, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and Japanese import Hisanori Takahashi have pitched superbly in spot-starts, Johan Santana has delivered, and Mike Pelfrey has been splendid, by far the best of them all.

Dickey baffled the Phillies in the opener, tossing six innings while striking out seven. New York won 8-0 behind three runs scored by shortstop Jose Reyes as well as Jason Bay ‘s scorching bat. Just like Dickey before him, Takahashi put goose-eggs on the board, firing six shutout frames in a 5-0 win. Pelfrey, entering the finale with a 6-1 record and a sub-3 ERA, could keep the shutouts going.

The 6’7″, 230-pound 26-year-old righthander was fairly good in 2008, winning 13 games, throwing 200 innings and posting a 3.72 ERA. He had a setback last season, meshing in nicely with the rest of the mediocrity that filled New York’s rotation, losing 12 games to 10 wins and struggling to a 5.03 ERA.

This year he has turned the corner, drastically improving upon last season’s wretchedness and his respectability in 2008 by continuing his stifling display on the mound against Philadelphia.

He breezed through the first inning, striking out Victorino and Utley in doing so. Bay, who has hit .326 this month, continued his extraordinary resurgence after a rough April, stroking a Cole Hamels offering deep to center for a double, scoring Reyes, who led off the frame with a single. One inning in, Pelfrey had all the run support he needed.

He said, “I thought I was okay,” afterwards, but he was underselling himself. His sinker was devastating throughout, as it has been throughout this season, frustrating the Phillies to no end.

Over his seven innings, he allowed four hits, all singles and three of which to Victorino. Seven shutout innings , striking out seven in his historic effort. Pedro Feliciano made quick work of the eighth, and closer Francisco Rodriguez did his job in the ninth. Another shutout, a sweep, and suddenly the Mets are on the Phillies doorstep.

According to ESPN Stats and Information , as documented in their recap of the Mets 3-0 victory, “Only two other teams in major league history—and when Elias says “major league history,” they mean back to 1876 (not 1952)—swept three or more games from a first-place team without allowing any runs: the Orioles over the Red Sox in 1974 and the Washington Senators over the Philadelphia A’s in 1913.

Also, “It was the second time in Mets history they have shut out the same team in three straight games (last time was in 1969, also against the Phillies).” And last but not least: “Not since 2004 had any team shut out another club in a three-game series—Johan Santana and Minnesota blanked Kansas City in that set,” STATS LLC said.

It’s one thing if this three-game sweep full of zeroes comes against a pitiful offense. But these are the defending National League Champions, a team full of .300 hitters and 30-plus homer talent.

As noted in that ESPN recap, “The 2010 Phils are the first league champ in MLB history to be held scoreless in a series lasting at least three games.” On top of that, they haven’t scored in 46 of their past 47 innings. Still, the still-division leaders are taking this humiliating stretch with a grain of salt.

Werth said afterwards, “Big picture, a loss is a loss, no matter how you spin it. We’re still in first place.” If their struggles at the plate continue and if the Mets keep shutting down opponents, they won’t be for much longer.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Earlier this month, I said Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was “trade bait for 20 cents on the dollar.” In my opinion, he was dead weight, clogging up a roster spot on a terribly underachieving team.

But the team has picked up steam since that declaration, and he has been a big reason why. He baffled the Toronto Blue Jays two starts ago , and today improved upon that brilliant performance. In doing so, he had a tremendous chance to make history.

He was crushed against the Yankees in his last start, so though he was certainly capable of bouncing back against the Philadelphia Phillies in the season’s first batch of interleague play, I remained somewhat unconfident in his ability. Did he ever make me regret my doubts.

He worked around walks in the first, second and fourth innings, and hadn’t allowed a hit to one of the more potent offenses in the majors entering the fifth. Philadelphia, after Boston had scored the final four of their five runs in the top half, went quietly in that frame as well.

Matsuzaka needed only eight pitches to breeze through the sixth, acquiring the second out by swiftly covering first base, corralling an underhand toss from David Ortiz, and stepping on the bag just prior to Shane Victorino’s lunging arrival.

Having a no-hitter through five innings is a story, but Matsuzaka there is a big difference mentally, being just nine outs away from having his place in history. Pitchers start to sit by their lonesome at this juncture, on one side of the dugout while their teammates chat on the other.

A very disciplined pitcher who thrives for perfection, Matsuzaka remained focused, retiring the Phillies most dangerous hitters, Chase Ultey and Ryan Howard without much difficulty before his facing Jayson Werth. Potentially seven outs from being hoisted into the air in celebration of a no-hitter, it is necessary to have a laid-back persona that isn’t susceptible to tightening under pressure.

As his sequence against Werth suggested, he was far from stonefaced and consumed in seriousness, something some pitchers have been when approaching history. After tossing in a curveball for strike-one, Werth crushed a second, lacing it into Matsuzaka’s direction. With split-second timing, Matsuzaka reached his glove out and snared the scorched rocket off Werth’s relatively hot bat.

As Werth stared at the mound during his shocked walk back to his dugout, Matsuzaka walked off towards his. As he did, he stretched his mouth outward, gritting his teeth slightly as if to say “Whew! That was close!” His teammates and coaches that watched the play unfold laughed at his sigh of relief. Six outs away. And it was clear everything was going his and the Red Sox way with his cat-like reflexes.

In the eighth, it was third baseman Adrian Beltre’s turn to snare a hotshot and keep the no-no alive. With the crowd on their feet at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, some cheering on their Phillies and others cheering on Matsuzaka, Carlos Ruiz tagged a 2-2 pitch in the vicinity of Beltre.

Lunging to his right, one of the better defensive third baseman’s in the league secured the low line-drive , hopped up in an instant, saw that Raul Ibanez had drifted too far off first base, and rifled a throw over to Kevin Youkilis at first, in time to double up the dumbfounded Ibanez.

Two outs were made on one pitch, and, with members of the crowd and the Red Sox dugout cheering, Matsuzaka motioned into Beltre’s direction, giving him well-deserved thanks.

Four outs away, but it was not to be. His fastball’s velocity was mid-90s with late life. His curveball was fluttering. His changeup had impeccable tailing action. He had been unhittable. Then he was just nearly so. On a 3-1 count to Juan Castro, Matsuzka threw a curveball, a good one, down and inside.

Castro, a light-hitter with a .231 career average, managed to wait patiently and get just enough of the barrel on it to loft a looper to left-field. It was a dying quail, to use baseball terminology, and dropped just beyond the diving attempt of shortstop Marco Scutaro and just in front of outfielder Jeremy Hermida as Beltre, trailing the play, slapped his glove in disappointment as the ball innocently bounded through the grass.

The first hit, and the Phillies partisan crowd clapped in recognition of Matsuzaka’s flirtation.

The Japanese righthander finished the inning, inducing pinch-hitter Ross Gload into a lowly pop-fly to right. The one hit takes his performance off the list of top-stories and leaves him out of the history books, but shouldn’t diminish the fact that he threw eight strong innings , allowed that one measly hit, no runs, and five strikeouts.

His best outing of the season, an extraordinary start that he and the Red Sox needed. And one that makes me strongly regret doubting his abilities, abilities that I hope recur throughout the rest of the season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Papelbon redeemed himself against the Yankees, allowing the Red Sox to secure a split in the series.

Last night, Boston Red Sox close Jonathan Papelbon allowed four runs in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees. The first two, which tied the game at nine, came on a two-run homer by Alex Rodriguez, and the final two, a home-run by Marcus Thames, had their vaunted rival celebrating at home-plate. Papelbon walked off the field dejectedly.

Despite the lingering disappointment, he would get a chance to redeem himself in the second and final game of the series, though it didn’t seem this would be the case by going off Boston’s play over the first five innings.

Starting pitcher Josh Beckett struggled once more. He allowed two two-out runs in the second inning, a solo-homer to Juan Miranda in the fourth, and then two more two-out runs in the fifth. Nothing was going right mechanically and, as I expected, physically, as he was taken out in that fifth inning with manager Terry Francona and the Red Sox trainer by the righthander’s side.

The diagnosis was that he left with an injured lower back, but the Yankees weren’t buying it. They thought an injury was fabricated as an excuse to take him out and give reliever Manny Delcarmen, who had just began to warm up in the bullpen, as much time as he needed to get ready. If this was the case, it was a smart move by Boston. Even if it wasn’t, New York was set to file a protest, despite being ahead 5-0.

The point would be moot if they were indeed able to hold onto that lead, which, with ace CC Sabathia on the mound and a solid bullpen behind him, seemed like a plausible outcome. They could just take their win and forget about trying to be the first to win a protest since 1986. But as the game went on, the possibility of one being filed by the angered Evil Empire became more and more probable. That’s because Boston fought back.

They were down 5-0 in the opener and came back to take the lead, so why not do it again and this time finish the job? Their attempt at deja vu but with a happy ending began in the sixth, as Kevin Youkilis continued his torrid month by tagging a Sabathia sinker that didn’t sink enough deep into the left-field seats. Boston was on the board and had some momentum on which to build.

That momentum would carry over to the eighth, an inning that began with a fielding error by Alex Rodriguez at third that allowed Marco Scutaro, who is familiar with committing errors, to reach first. Those who followed Scutaro made Rodriguez pay for his mistake by battering the same Joba Chamberlain who relinquished three runs in his stint the night before. As far as Boston was concerned, he improved upon his performance in the opener, as four Red Sox scored in another forgetful frame tossed by the young righthander. Dustin Pedroia singled Scutaro to second; J.D. Drew laced a double to right scoring Scutaro; Youkilis plated both Pedroia and Drew with a single; then a rejuvenated David Ortiz singled in Youkilis despite being thrown out at second after center field Brett Gardner gobbled up his lofted drive into the center-field gap and fired successfully to shortstop Derek Jeter. His removal from the base-paths was crucial, as their rally was killed, but the damage was done, with Boston having secured a tie with New York by getting to their surprisingly shaky relief.

Yankees Stadium was silent just as they had been during the latter innings of the opener, but their disappointment was prolonged in this second game. Daniel Bard worked his way out of two-out trouble in the bottom of the eighth, handing the reigns once more to Papelbon for the ninth.

Papelbon would take the mound but not before being staked a lead. Boston somehow managed to break though against the best closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, whom they have both been triumphant against or completely baffled by in the past. His cutter, his lone pitch, is not as sharp, without the biting action nor the speed it had just a month ago. The Red Sox pounced on this pitch they have seen very often. Darnell McDonald singled with one out and Scutaro followed by benefiting from the wind, which whipped his fly ball around, eventually sending it to the ground and not into Thames mitt. It was an error, putting runners on first and second with one out, that would prove costly.

Rivera induced a ground out by Pedroia, but, in being hit to first baseman Mark Teixeira, it managed to move the runners to second and third. Now Boston needed a single and they could take the same two-run lead they had in that heartbreaking game one loss. They received better than a single, as Jeremy Hermida socked a 2-2 offering into right field, plating both runners and giving the Red Sox a far from safe two-run advantage on a blustery and rainy night in the Bronx.

Papelbon found himself in the same position as before. To start, it was deja vu, but he, in need of a save, and his Red Sox, in need of a win, hoped the ending would be a happy one. He made life difficult, as Scutaro muffed a grounder and Robinson Cano drove in Rodriguez to climb within one with nobody out. But after runners blanketed the corners with just one out, he snagged a come backer off the bat of Miranda and tossed to first, then ended a long battle with Randy Winn by striking out the aged left-fielder swinging at the eighth pitch and eighth fastball of the at-bat.

The game was over and the Red Sox, this time, held onto a late lead. The Yankees will protest, but if Beckett does go on the Disabled List as has been reported, their efforts will be in vain. At least, they should. The Red Sox deserve to hold onto what shred of dignity they maintained with this victory, a victory that allowed the team and especially Papelbon to wash the sour and sickening tastes out of their mouths and leave rain-sopped Yankees Stadium with the slight hope of competing with their nemesis for the long haul.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Baseball is a 162-game season, but not 40 games in David Ortiz appeared to be a lost cause. Despite hitting near the Mendoza Line, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona remained confident in his aging slugger, not ready to bench the player that had carried the team for so many years.

His confidence has since paid off, as Ortiz’s confidence has become just as strong. He has been hitting of late, having entered Boston’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers 10 for his last 30, and he only built upon that .300 batting average with another stellar day at the plate.

After Dustin Pedroia launched a first inning, two-run home run off Tigers starter Max Scherzer , two reached in front of Ortiz to give Boston a chance of putting up a big number early.

He took three balls to begin the at-bat, fouled back a fourth fastball, then made Scherzer pay for firing in a fifth, demolishing the offering 450 feet to right-center field . He stoically posed, knowing immediately the ball was gone. A three-run homer, his fifth blast of the season.

His second appearance against Scherzer was longer than the first, but the result was the same. Leading off the fourth, he worked the count full by taking a fastball inside.

Scherzer, equipped with two pitches, that fastball and a changeup, spun the latter then fired in the former, but Ortiz guessed right both times, fouling them back to remain alive. He guessed right again on the eighth pitch, an inside fastball, and this time got all of it, thunderously booming the regrettable pitch deep down the right field line. His second bomb of the contest gave the Sox a convincing 6-1 lead.

He would produce no more at the plate, striking out in his final two at-bats, but what he did do spoke volumes. One hundred and twenty-six games remain, and this is just one fantastic performance by Ortiz, but as his demeanor afterwards, as documented by the Boston Globe ‘s Peter Abraham , many more may be to come:

“David Ortiz, as you might expect, was in a good mood tonight.

Question: ‘Can you go over those two at-bats?’

Ortiz: ‘Fastball. Gone.’

Asked to expand a bit on that answer, Ortiz smiled.

‘Yeah, I’m feeling good. Swinging the bat, seeing the ball and hit it, my man. There’s people that know a lot about the game, they think they have everything figured out. You tell them the season is not over after April. It’s over after October,’ he said.

With that, Ortiz started to walk away from his locker. But he had one final comment over his shoulder.

‘Laser show, like Pedey said,’ he offered.

Dustin Pedroia, sitting at a nearby locker, started to cackle.

That’s four of five, eight of 11 and 15 of 23 for the Red Sox. Call the florist, the wake has been canceled. They’re 5.5 games behind the [Tampa Bay] Rays with 126 games left.”

And if Ortiz can be Big Papi with regularity, meaning a continued return to a form that wowed the crowds at Fenway Park for so many years, the Red Sox chances will exponentially increase in their quest of competing in the fiercely competitive American League East.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

At seven o’ clock this morning, Chicago Cubs top prospect Starlin Castro , a 20-year-old shortstop, received a call from the big club. His baseball life was about to change, and his dream was about to come true. He was told to travel to Cincinnati, where Chicago were to take on the Reds that afternoon, and did so giddily to find out he was in the starting lineup batting eighth.

Castro began in the Cubs organization at 18, shot through their rookie league in 2008, breezed through Single-A in 2009, possessing the speed, glove, and offensive ability of a talent near Major League-ready. He began this season in Double-A, and few wondered prior to this year whether he could make the opening day roster. He was considered to be that good.

Scuffling so poorly to begin the season that ace Carlos Zambrano was moved into the bullpen to try to stop the bleeding, the 13-16 Cubs thought it the right time to start Castro’s clock and add the unquestionable jolt he would bring. And did he ever provide the spark they were looking for.

His first at-bat came against Homer Bailey in the second inning. His helmet  appeared a tad too big. His jersey was loose. He looked 20 years old, baby-faced, and nervous beyond belief. Reality had just hit him, but the butterflies in his stomach didn’t keep him from pulling a Jason Heyward .

After Alfonso Soriano had walked and Geovany Soto had singled, Castro stepped in and took a fastball high to begin his major-league career at the plate. He was extremely patient, taking two strikes then a fastball just off the corner before taking his first swing.

A curveball from Bailey hung over the middle and, with a fluid right-handed stroke, he nailed the offering and watched it crawl over the right-field fence . Amidst cheers from the Cubs fans in attendance, he rounded the bases having just hit a three-run homer. His first swing. His first at-bat. Not a bad how-do-you-do to the big club.

Some teams give rookies the silent treatment after such a memorable moment. When John Mayberry Jr. hit his first home run as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, he walked into the dugout and gave out phantom high-fives as his teammates either hung nonchalantly on the rail or sat on the bench. Then he was mobbed, congratulated as a veteran would.

The Cubs took an entirely different approach. A franchise that hasn’t had much to celebrate in the past 102 years certainly basked in Castro’s blast, gleefully greeting him at the top steps of the dugout; patting him on the back and handing out a galore of high-fives. What a moment for the young kid. And for desperate Chicago as well.

After lining out in the fourth inning, the Cubs would have more to celebrate in the fifth. Bailey walked the first two hitters of the frame and then Micah Owings made a mess in relief. He loaded the bases by allowing a single to Aramis Ramirez then re-loaded them by walking Soto to force in a run. Now, with two out and the sacks packed, Castro stepped in, ready to take his hacks once more.

He continued to possess incredible plate discipline, working the count full before continuing the Reds and particularly Owings nightmare. Owings grooved a fastball right down the pipe and, upon striding powerfully, Castro tagged the mistake into the left-center gap.

Sprinting around the bases with lightning-fast speed, he witnessed all three baserunners score , then popped up from his slide into third for a triple and dusted himself off to cheers from the bounty of Chicago fans that made the pilgrimage to Cincy.

Even if the Cubs lose the next two games in the series, their travels certainly were not in vain. They saw Castro knock in six and be the catalyst behind the Cubs eventual 14-7 romp .

He would do nothing else at the plate in his debut and would see only five pitches in his final two at-bats, but his debut was one he will never forget. And, if this debut is any indication, before his career is done he will be as memorable as his amazing welcome to the majors was.

The debut’s rbi-total was the most since Ben Grieve scored five in 1997 with Oakland. Manager Lou Piniella after the game : “The kid—what a debut! He’s got to be ecstatic. He should be.”

Castro on his amazing debut: “I didn’t believe it.”

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This afternoon, prior to the start of the Boston Red Sox game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, I had thoughts of writing an article blasting manager Terry Francona for remaining confident in David Ortiz , who entered batting .149 on the season, as his designated hitter. One swing by Big Papi momentarily postponed that article.

Ortiz has struggled for more than two years. Last season he managed to slug 28 homers and drive in 99 rbi’s. How is that struggling? He hit just .238 and only reached base at a .338 clip. He played like sunset was approaching on his career, flailing repeatedly at off-speed pitches and failing to connect squarely with even the straightest of fastballs. It was tough to see him struggle, as he has been a very celebrated and beloved figure in Boston. He was far from the player that made up a deadly tandem with Manny Ramirez . He wasn’t the player you knew would deliver in the clutch. He would hit home-runs and send the Fenway crowds out of their seats, but he was longer Big Papi.

He expected to bounce back with a bang this season, but it has not gone the way he had planned. It has been more of the same. He was 8-56 in April, clubbing just one homer. But despite his problems at the plate, Francona continued to have faith in the big slugger. Just as the Seattle Mariners brought back Ken Griffey Jr . in part because of what he had done with the team years ago, Francona must have also had sentimental reasons for leaving Ortiz in as an everyday starter. At first I didn’t blame him. After all, this was a lovable character, a fan favorite, a player that guided the Red Sox in 2004 to their first World Series title in 86 years—a player that defined “clutch.” But, with the rest of the team struggling to score runs, Ortiz quickly turned, at least in my eyes, into a burden, as much as I hate to say it.

His woes continued in the second game of their series with the Angels, albeit in their second straight win over their scuffling opponent. He struck out twice and grounded into two double plays. Advocating for Mike Lowell , who entered tonight’s game with one more three more hits than Ortiz in 33 less at-bats, to start in his place and restore order in the order, Ortiz responded to this particular critic and many others by lashing out against Angels starting pitcher Joel Pineiro . In the fourth inning with Boston already ahead 1-0, he skied a changeup into the Green Monster seats for his fourth home-run , trotted around the bases amidst cheers as he has done so many times in a Red Sox uniform, crossed home-plate, received congratulations from Adrian Beltre , and jogged to the dugout and slapped hands with the rest of his teammates and Francona, whose faith paid off.

The solo-shot that gave John Lackey , who was facing his former team, more than enough support was Ortiz’s second hit of the contest. It notched just his second multi-hit of the season, but maybe it can right his sinking ship. The solid night at the plate raised his average to .171 and propelled the Red Sox, a team also backed by Lackey’s seven innings of two-hit ball , to their third straight win over Anaheim and their sixth win in nine games.

Hopefully, as I desperately wanting Ortiz to succeed and rekindle the magic of years past, his average will continue to increase and benefit a resurrected Red Sox offense. Hopefully I can indefinitely postpone the article I was originally going to write, and regret even thinking such a thought.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka , whom I consider to be trade bait for 20 cents on the dollar, made his season debut against the Baltimore Orioles and confirmed my harsh feelings towards him.

Matsuzaka is a former ace who won 18 games in 2008, and a return to those winning days would be very welcome, but his recent injury history and his lack of control has made him quite erratic, undependable, and dead weight. So, considering his rust and predictability, I was not in the least surprised at how he fared against his first two hitters.

A struggling Adam Jones took a first pitch strike, watched as two fastballs and two curveballs missed, and jogged to first base. Jones is fleet of foot, and Matsuzaka kept a keen eye on him, but his attentiveness to the baserunner backfired in more ways than one. A pickoff throw to first was errant, sending Jones sprinting safely down to second.

Now a single by Nick Markakis could score a quick run for Baltimore, which came in with an abysmal 5-18 record. And they would get it from his talented bat as the young right-fielder began his grand day at the plate with a ripped single to left, scoring Jones not more than 10 pitches into Matsuzaka’s outing.

Life would get better for the Red Sox pitcher, but one run has far too many times been insurmountable a deficit to overcome by his team. He worked out of the first with no further damage and pitched two scoreless innings.

In the tops of those two scoreless frames, Boston managed to score, as David Ortiz slugged a Brad Bergesen fastball to right-center field and Jonathan Van Every crushed the first pitch of the third more than 400 feet to dead center.

This slim lead would increase in the fourth on RBI-doubles by the scuffling J.D. Drew and the red-hot Adrian Beltre, and Matsuzaka tossed a perfect bottom of the frame. Everything was going well for Boston. A 4-1 advantage was theirs and Matsuzaka had settled down. Then, it all fell apart.

Baltimore feasted on Matsuzaka for six fifth-inning runs. Five of which were scored with two out, with the big blow coming from Wieters, a three-run homer that gave the Orioles the lead. Matsuzaka was replaced by knucklerballer Tim Wakefield once Miguel Tejada doubled after Wieters blast.

That pitching change didn’t help matters, as Wakefield nearly duplicated Matsuzaka’s mediocrity by surrendering four runs in the sixth, the final two coming on a homer by Markakis, who drove in five runs overall.

Ten unanswered runs by Baltimore, and though Boston somehow managed to score five runs in the latter innings, including four in the top of the seventh, the incredible offensive display by the Orioles and the Red Sox batting practice style of pitching doomed them in recording their second straight loss against the American League East’s worst.

That is what this Red Sox team will do. When they get good pitching they can’t hit. When they get bad pitching they hit. They are frustrating to no end.

They have good pitchers, but they haven’t received many good outings from them, at least not good enough for their woefully inconsistent offense to take advantage of. If this continues to be the case as I expect, a lot more losses will be on the horizon for this underachieving team.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com