Kuzul

We hear it all the time from coaches after a win: “We played a great game, got a much-needed win but we’re still searching for that complete effort—all facets of the game.”

You wont hear that from Clint Hurdle for awhile.

The Pirates thoroughly destroyed the Cubs 10-0 Saturday afternoon, belting out 10 hits of which four left the park.  The Pirates started the scoring in the top of the fourth when Steve Pearce drilled an 87 mph fastball up the middle for a two run single. 

Two batters later, Ronny Cedeno widened the margin with a three-run shot to right field, extending the lead to 5-0. 

The Pirates tacked on two runs in the sixth off of a pair of solo shots from Lyle Overbay and Chris Snyder. 

In the seventh inning, Andrew McCutchen destroyed an outside fastball into the right field seats, extending the lead to nine. 

An RBI double by Garrett Jones in the ninth put salt in the wound, as the Pirates scored double-digit runs for the second time this season.  

The pitching, as it has been all season, was spectacular, as Pirates starter Paul Maholm tossed a three-hit shutout and lowered his ERA by .47 points. It was Maholm’s third shutout of his career. 

Battling problems with his teammates giving him little run support all season, Maholm saved his best outing for a 10-run effort by the hitters.  Heading into the game, Maholm was the second “unluckiest” starter in the majors with his offense averaging just 1.9 runs per start.  Pearce’s two-run single to start the scoring onslaught was more than enough for Maholm. 

Notes

• Andrew McCutchen’s home run was his ninth of the year, leading the team.
• Steve Pearce left the game with a calf injury after scoring on Cedeno’s three-run home run in the fourth.  Brandon Wood took his place.
• Paul Maholm was the only Pirates starter who did not record a hit.
• May 28, 2011: Pirates record 15th road win of the season.  It took until September 12, 2010 for the Pirates to record their 15th road win last season.
• Per Root Sports, Pedro Alvarez will rehab in Bradenton but will not be allowed to run after hitting the ball.
• Pirates will go for their first three-game sweep of the season tomorrow.  Karstens vs. Dempster

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The hated enemy, the Boston Red Sox, took over first place in the American League East division last night, pushing the New York Yankees into the unfamiliar position of being a second-place team.

Boston and New York are tied in the lost column. It’s never too early to be aware of the lost column. The Yankees can make up the two wins by which they trail the Red Sox. Losses can never be made up.

Paradoxically, the Yankees’ problem, as ridiculous as it sounds, is their offense.

They lead the league in runs scored with 253 and average 5.16 runs a game, which is excellent, but the concern is how and when they score.

About 50 percent of the Yankees’ runs are result of the home run. The problem is that they score only about 50 percent of their runs without hitting a home run.

The first five batters in the Yankees lineup are solid, but Derek Jeter (.254/.308/.318) and Robinson Cano (.273/.312/.481) have been less productive than in the past.

The number six through number nine hitters’ decreased production from past years has been less noticeable thanks to the fact that top of the order hitters have covered for them.

Curtis Granderson is having an outstanding season and has 16 home runs with a .620 slugging average. Mark Teixeira has hit 14 home runs. Alex Rodriguez is doing well as well, hitting .288 with nine home runs and a .500 slugging average.

Russell Martin, Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner have tailed off. If the top five don’t produce, the Yankees often are in trouble, especially when they fail to hit the long ball.

Joe Girardi recently kept Swisher out of the lineup to give him time to work with batting coach Kevin Long.

Last night against the Seattle Mariners, Swisher walked and singled to raise his batting average to an awful .206, but with the Yankees trailing by a run, Swisher took a called third strike leading off the ninth inning.

Swisher led off the ninth inning because in the eighth inning, with Swisher at bat, Eduardo Nunez stole second to put the potential tying run in scoring position with two outs.

That is the kind of baseball that wins games, but then Nunez was picked off second, which in inexcusable.

Nunez expressed remorse after the game.

“I feel bad. It’s a big play in the inning,” Nunez told MLB.com’s Brian Holch. “The tying run is me. To get picked off, I feel so bad. It happens.”

Overall, the Yankees have the most prodigious offense in the major leagues, but upon close examination, the Yankees have scored nine or more runs in a game seven times, which has accounted for 80 of their 253 runs.

The problem is that they have often have trouble scoring in low scoring games when one or two runs can turn the game around.

In the 4-3 loss last night, Yankees pitchers held the Mariners hitless in chances with runners in scoring position, but the Mariners scored all of their runs on ground ball outs.

The Yankees will make the playoffs, but in October, when they don’t face the opposition’s fourth and fifth starters, they must score playing “small ball” as well as getting some home runs, but hitting home runs in the playoffs is usually difficult.

Winning 15-3 and 12-1 is great, but it is winning 3-2 and 2-1 that produces world champions.

Ask the 1960 Yankees.

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Bruce Bochy called a team meeting on Thursday evening in the Giants’ clubhouse in San Francisco. The Marlins had just finished a three-game sweep of the team that almost seemed to be in a state of mourning after the dramatic loss of one of their most prized possessions. 

“We talked today about a few things—the loss of Buster and how important it is for us to move forward here,” Bochy said. “That’s what Buster would want. There will be questions about how good we will be without Buster. We have to answer that question.”

“You can’t always control what happens on the field. But you can control how you respond. We have to respond the right way, and that’s to keep fighting.”

Sounds to me like something from Angels in the Outfield. These words of wisdom may just further prove how talented of a manager Bochy is. San Francisco was able to defeat a hot Milwaukee team on the road the next day. 

All we know for sure is that his message got through to at least one player on the team.

Some fans called the end of Buster Posey in 2011 “The Day the Magic Died” at AT&T Park. A clever play on the Giants’ 2010 marketing campaign. One unlikely young player proved that “There’s (still) Magic Inside.” And he did it on the first-pitch hanging curveball that he saw in the seventh inning with the Giants trailing 3–1. 

Brandon Crawford’s first big league hit was what turned out to be a game-winning Grand Slam to right field.

The Giants know Crawford’s potential and were cultivating him well in their highly acclaimed farm system. Crawford was excelling at the minor league level before being called up. He pulled through and gave the team the spark that they could not find anywhere else. 

Perhaps a new slogan for 2011 will be a combination of magic and torture. Regardless, I can tell you that many Giants fans will agree—“Magic never felt so good.”

Crawford was the story of the night, deservedly so. Only five other players in the history of the game have ever achieved such a feat. That gives you goosebumps, doesn’t it? 

However, the fresh rookie was not the only unlikely character of the Giants’ story to make a difference. The Posey injury has been highlighted by the media as a tragedy for the team, which isn’t a stretch. But we must keep reminding ourselves in situations such as these—the game must go on.

There is one particular player that found himself right in the wake of the loss. He takes on a very challenging role, replacing the “irreplaceable.” Under the radar, he also fought to snap the Giants’ three-game skid. Not surprisingly, Eli Whiteside’s offensive performance has been frustrating. Nevertheless, the backup catcher displayed an act of courage, the significance of which may have been dwarfed by other events in the game. 

The Giants were trying to preserve their treasured lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee’s first basemen power house, weighs 275 lbs, but it sure seemed like twice that much as came toward home plate and made an aggressive play on Whiteside. It was a legal play, but arguably inappropriate given recent events. Giants fans everywhere held their breath and closed their eyes, having flashbacks to the events of that fatal Wednesday night. 

But when they opened them, Fielder was punched out by the home plate umpire. And Whiteside was alive, with the ball in his glove. An act of courage and strength from another unlikely character. 

Oh yeah, and don’t forget that Tim Lincecum was pitching. The Giants ace is held to such a high standard of performance because of his raw talent that his hard work often goes by unnoticed when he doesn’t strike out 14 batters or pitch a complete game shutout. Timmy gave up three runs on six hits and had four strikeouts with no walks. A relatively impressive performance, that is, when comparing the young righty to actual human beings. 

We can be superstitious and say that the Giants just may have had the “Baseball Gods” on their side Friday night in Milwaukee. The events of the night may or may not be representative of what is to come in the San Francisco Giants increasingly uncertain 2011. However, they certainly will go in the record books, and be remembered for a long time by many. 

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It’s been 93 years since the Cubs played in Fenway Park. I bet they wish it was longer. 

On the first night of the week without rain, Boston poured it on the Cubs starter Doug Davis with eight hits and seven runs in 3.2 innings. The barrage continue with relief pitcher Scott Maine immediately giving up a two-run bomb to Kevin Youkilis. Maine lasted one-third of an inning while giving up two home runs, five hits and three runs, all earned.

Lefty reliever James Russel came on and put the fire out for three innings, allowing only two hits. If only he could have finished things up for the Cubs. Righty reliever Jeff Samardzija finished things off giving up five runs, three earned with two walks.

Boston starter John Lester scuffled some, allowing 12 hits and five runs, with two walks and five K’s. Scott Atchison pitched the three perfect innings with three K’s to close things out for the Sox. Save for Mike Cameron, all the Sox starters had at least one hit, with Adrian Gonzalez leading the way with four hits and four RBI. Kevin Youkilis (8) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2) homered for Boston.

Saturday will be a prime time affair with Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 2.60) making the start for Boston. He will be opposed by Cubs righty Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 4.89). Tonight’s game will  feature a stab at nostalgia with both teams wearing replica uniforms from the Cubs’ last visit to Fenway, the 1918 World Series.

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Writer’s Note: This piece was written one day after the Braves’ 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, May 13th, a game in which Dan Uggla struck out three times with runners in scoring position—twice with runners on third and once to end the game, leaving the potential game tying runner stranded on second base. Some baseball fans choose to not pay attention to WPA because they say it’s not an effective way to measure a player, but, for those who do, Uggla’s was -.392 that night.

Sounds a little like another former All-Star that was traded to the Braves and couldn’t hit a pitch to save his life, doesn’t it?

Is it too early for a Nate McLouth comparison? Maybe not. Uggla is painfully close to breaking McLouth’s horrid .190 batting average from last season, while McLouth is reaching base on a nightly basis.

That’s a good sign for Uggla’s 2012 season, but what about this one?

To start the season, Uggla told Braves fans that they shouldn’t expect much from him in the month of April, as he never performs well at the start of the season.

Okay, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, he is a two-time All-Star and former Silver Slugger Award winner.

But last I checked, the calendar has changed to May and Uggla’s batting average is still going down. After starting in both games for the Braves’ old-fashioned doubleheader against the Brewers on May 4th, Uggla managed to pull his batting average up to .218.

True, .218 is nothing spectacular, but it doesn’t start with a one or a zero so Braves fans will take it.

But now, after their win against the Phillies on Saturday, May 14th, a game in which Uggla went 0-2, he is batting .196 and is almost a guaranteed out.

Unless he gets hit by a pitch (which is how he reached base in Saturday’s game). In fact, Uggla is swinging and missing at pitches that aren’t even close.

In striking out against pitcher Ryan Madson in the game on Friday the 13th, Uggla swung at a ball in the dirt and so far outside that it became painfully obvious to everyone watching that he is simply trying to swing at everything thrown his way in order to break out of his funk.

No one is saying the Braves should replace Uggla, especially not with his backup likely being Diory Hernandez, but he’d better find his swing quickly.

A subpar second basemen in the always tough NL East could be a death sentence for the Braves, a team many analysts picked to reach the postseason again this season.

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Around 6:45 p.m. EST, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, facing the minimum 27 batters in leading his team to a 9-0 victory.

It is Verlander’s second no-hitter of his stellar six-year career and the seventh in franchise history. He threw the team’s most recent no-hitter in Detroit’s 4-0 victory over Milwaukee on June 12, 2007. 

The difference between that performance and this one is the fact that today’s performance was oh so close to being a perfect game. In fact, Verlander’s lone mistake came with one out in the eighth inning when he walked Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia on a 3-2 pitch after a back-and-forth 12-pitch at-bat.

With his performance today, he becomes the 28th pitcher in MLB history to throw multiple no-hitters.

Verlander improves to 3-3 on the season and lowers his ERA from 3.75 to 3.16. He is currently tied for fifth in the Majors with 55 strikeouts.

“I had really good control of my fastball,” said Verlander of his performance. “I was able to move the ball around, keep guys off balance and get some quick outs. Having been in this situation before, I was able to calm myself down a little bit better.”

The Tigers, who currently stand at 16-18, good for third place in the AL Central, were expected by many to contend for the division crown this season, yet have struggled through the first 34 games.

Who knows? This performance may be the spark the team needed to get them out of their early-season funk. Should Austin Jackson and Magglio Ordonez began to hit their stride, this lineup could look quite potent.

With a starting rotation that features three pitchers with an ERA under 4.00, it is reasonable to believe that the Tigers are on the verge of breaking out.

Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the third inning, scoring runs on a walk, a wild pitch and a groundout. Two home runs in the fourth inning pushed the lead to 6-0, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Verlander had some help from his teammates, as his defense came up with some stellar plays behind him.

In the fifth inning, after being hit on the forearm off a line drive from Edwin Encarnacion, Verlander picked the ball up and rifled a one-hopper to Miguel Cabrera, who handled it for the close out at first.

Cabrera outdid himself one inning later, jumping and catching a liner to end the sixth, and a great, back-handed scoop was made by shortstop Jhonny Peralta for the first out of the seventh.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft, Verlander has been part of a resurgence in Detroit that has seen the Tigers go from perennial losers to legitimate playoff contenders year in and year out.

Going into today’s game, Verlander’s career stats showed that he had a 85-55 record with a 3.80 ERA in 1112.1 innings pitched with a K/BB ratio of 1016/370. Only once has he finished a season with an ERA above 3.66.

In just his short career, Verlander, with his second no-hitter, has etched his name with some of the game’s in the history books.

“It’s really amazing when you consider that Greg Maddux never pitched a no-hitter,” said ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst Tim Kurkjian. “Throwing two (no-hitters) puts you on a very special list in baseball history.”

And this may just be the beginning of greater things for the Cy Young candidate.

“Keep in my how young he is,” said Kurkjian. “It’s relatively safe to say at his age (28) that’s he’ll get another no-hitter.”

Could this be a signal that baseball is becoming more dominated by pitchers after an era that saw incredible performances from hitters in recent years.

There were six no-hitters last season, two this season, and we nearly had another one by Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo early in the day. Gallardo lost his no-hiiter when he gave up a single to St. Louis third baseman Daniel Descalso to lead-off the eighth inning.

“I’ve been charting this for years now,” said Kurkjian. “Pitching has been making a comeback for the last five years now. Look at how many players and how many teams are really struggling. Pitching is really close to being all the way back.”

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With a blown save that does not show any pattern but shows that the fallibility of a closer is clearly one week to the next, Francisco Cordero closed with a loss on Saturday in Wrigley.

Sure, every week is another and every game is a rebirth, but at the end of the day Cordero was a less than appreciated closer with the Brewers and now has his first loss in the 2011 season.

Cincinnati is already struggling, showing no consistency that mirrored this point in the 2010 season and yet the season is a new and the players are clearly more than the same.

The question is whether there is enough to move past the first round of the playoffs.

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After a thrilling series with the Cleveland Indians, the Kansas City Royals traveled to Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers in a three-game series. This is the beginning of a six-game road trip that will end in Cleveland next week.

Game 1 has Jeff Francis on the mound for the boys in blue taking on Derek Holland for the Rangers.

This is just one of the games that Royals fans would like to forget. At least the Royals didn’t cave after being dug into a five-run hole. They fought back but were unfortunately bested by the power hitters of the Texas Rangers, who pounded out five home runs in the game.

This was Francis’ worst game of the season by far, giving up nine hits and five earned runs in four innings. He picked up the loss, making his record for the season 0-2.

It was nice to see Brayan Pena behind the plate again and showing off some power with a three-run home run in the fourth inning to tie the game up.

The Royals were simply over powered in Game 1, and they needed to find a way to shut down the Rangers’ bats in the second game.

Well, they did that. The Royals only allowed three runs scored, all earned from Kyle Davies (1-2), who pitched six innings and gave up four hits. Tim Collins and Louis Coleman combined for two innings of scoreless work.

In the spirit of Easter, Kila Ka’aihue performed a miracle of his own, actually hitting the ball. His solo home run shot put the Royals on the scoreboard in the seventh inning, but it was all the Royals would get. Squandered opportunities in the late innings kept the Royals from mounting a comeback, which led to Texas picking up the win 3-1.

This loss clinched the Royals first series loss of the season. The good thing is that the Royals were the last team to lose a series, which is definitely a difference than previous seasons. Alex Gordon also advanced his hitting streak to 17 games with a single first inning.

Looking to avoid a sweep, the Royals sent out their stellar lefty, Bruce Chen, to take on C.J Wilson in the Easter Sunday matchup.

Unfortunately, not even the unbeaten Chen could quiet the Rangers’ bats as the Royals fell 8-7 as Texas completed the three game sweep.

Chen gave up six runs on seven hits in four-and-a-third innings pitched. He only struck out two batters. Jeffress, Wood, Collins and Crow combined for the other three-and-two-third innings, with Jeffress giving up the other two runs.

The Royals made it interesting at least. Down 8-4 in the top of the ninth with two outs and two on, Mike Aviles blasted his second home run of the game, third of the season to pull the Royals to within one. Unfortunately, after drawing a full count, Melky Cabrera grounded out weakly to the shortstop to end the game.

In positive news, Alex Gordon extended his hitting streak to 18 games, which is now tied for tenth best in Royals history.  The record is George Brett’s 30-game hitting streak, achieved back in 1980.

The Royals, now 12-10, are still only 1.5 games back of Cleveland, thanks to some excellent play from Minnesota.  Detroit, however, has caught up and now ties the Royals for second place with a 12-10 record of their own.

The Royals will travel to first place Cleveland for a three-game series with the Indians, starting on Tuesday. Hopefully, the Royals will take advantage of the off day to rid their minds of the sweep and get mentally prepared to take over first place.

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For the second time in five days, the Rockies were fighting not for a victory, but for a single hit.

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After their second straight lackluster performance in a row, the Rockies offense had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs.

With a struggling Ryan Spilborghs coming to the plate (6-for-35 on the season), and Ramon Ramirez, a righty on the mound, it seemed like a no-brainer that Jim Tracy would call upon Jason Giambi to pinch-hit and take a shot at tying the game up.

Instead, Tracy allowed Spilborghs to hit, and from the first pitch it was clear that he had no chance at the plate. After four pitches, Spilborghs was dispatched, not coming within a foot of Ramirez’s split-finger, and the inning was over.

Obviously there was no guarantee that Giambi would have come through in that situation.

He may very well have struck out, just as Spilborghs did. However, there is one reason, and only one reason, why Giambi is a member of the Colorado Rockies. That reason is to hit in that situation.

Tracy has an excuse. Before the game, the team optioned struggling third baseman Ian Stewart to Triple-A Colorado Springs in order to get his timing back. That move allowed the Rockies to put Ubaldo Jimenez back on the roster, leaving the bench short a man.

Therefore, Tracy needed to be picky where he used his pinch-hitters, and with Seth Smith already being used, burning Giambi in that situation leaves the club short if they need a big hit late.

With the short bench, the move can be justified. However, Tracy has a tendency to think that outs in the ninth inning are more important than outs at any other point in the game.

With two men in scoring position, even a base hit would have put the Rockies within a run. That makes it much easier to get something going later in the game, or have someone run into a fastball and put it into the seats.

Giambi did get used. However, it came in the ninth inning, with the Rockies down by three and a runner on first base. Even if Giambi goes deep in that situation, the Rockies are still down by a run.

The combination of moves, not using Giambi in a game-tying situation, then using him in a non-game-tying situation is head scratching.

The moment when Spilborghs struck out was really the only time the Rockies were in the game. Ubaldo Jimenez, fresh off of the disabled list, made Rockies fans think they were watching a replay of Monday night’s game.

He gave up four runs in the first inning, including a three-run no doubt home run off the bat of Pablo Sandoval.

After Jonathan Sanchez gave up a lead off double to Dexter Fowler, he began to look like a left-handed version of Tim Lincecum. He didn’t give up his second hit until the seventh inning.

The Rockies struggles with the Giants continue, despite their excellent start. The club tries to avoid the sweep in a Thursday matinée. The Rockies send Jorge De La Rosa to the mound to face Matt Cain.

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