Around the Horn - 5/21

Whatever good feelings the Mets and their fans may have had after the weekend sweep of the Yankees went out the window yesterday when the Braves took both ends of a doubleheader from the Flushing crew.

Mets fans are still mad at Tom Glavine's horrid performance in the season finale last year and are probably pissed off even more now after Glavine retired the last 17 men he faced in beating the Mets in game 1, 6-1. Jorge Campillo earned his 1st major league win in the nightcap when the Bravs won again, this time 6-2.

The Phillies and Nationals hooked up in a scoreless pitching duel until Greg Dobbs' pinch-hit RBI double gave the Phillies a 1-0 win in the 9th. Tom Gordon got the win after Cole Hamels struck out 11 in 7 innings.

The Brewers bounced back from their awful weekend in Boston with a 7-2 pasting of the Pirates. Mike Cameron and Corey Hart homered to help Manny Parra win his 2nd of the season. Eric Gagne had to leave the game in the 9th with shoulder stiffness.

Tim Lincecum improve to 6-1 after the Giants edged the Rockies 6-5. Lincecum has a road best ERA of 0.39. Rich Aurilia and Fred Lewis each homered. Rockies injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki took fielding practice for the first time since ripping a quad muscle at the end of April.

The Cardinals' Joel Pineiro was shutting down the Padres into the 6th when Kevin Kouzmanoff belted a go-ahead 428-ft, 3-run home run. The blast held up in the Padres 3-2 win. Greg Maddux got no decision after giving up 2 runs in 5 innings.

Dan Uggla belted his 14th home run and Mark Hendrickson struck out 7 in 5-plus innings as the Marlins edged the Diamondbacks 3-2. Micah Owings was solid, thought he went hitless, for Arizona, allowing 3 runs in 7 innings while striking out 10.

Chad Billingsley tossed 7 scoreless innings in the Dodgers 4-1 over the Reds. Adam Dunn has his (shared) team record of 5 straight games with a home run stopped, and also had an 8-game RBI streak ended. Ken Griffey Jr. has gone 86 at-bats without a home run.

Hunter Pence belted a 4th inning grand slam in the Astros 4-2 win over the Cubs. Miguel Tejada doubled in the game for his 1,800th career hit to help Chris Sampson even his record at 3-3.

There was no no-hitter for the Red Sox last night, but the KC Royals went down just as meekly. Justin Masterson won his first major league game as he and the Sox bullpen limited the punchless Royals to 5 hits. Sox reliever/spot starterJulian Tavarez passed through waivers and expected an assignment to Pawtucket.

Justin Verlander finally won his 2nd game as the Tigers out scored the Mariners 12-8. Edger Renteria enjoyed a 4-hit, 5 RBI night, as he, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, and Curtis Granderson all went deep.

Left fielder Emil Brown lost Dionner Navarro's 8th inning line drive in the lights enabling 3 runs to score to give the Rays a 3-2 win over the A's. Navarro was credited with a 3-run double after the play was initially ruled an error. It ruined a great effort from Greg Smith who was tagged with the loss. Frank Thomas hit his 518th career home run.

John Lackey won his first game of the year with 7 stellar innings in the Angels 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. Francisco Rodriguez walked the bases loaded in the 9th, but escaped with his 18th save. Angels shortstop Erick Aybar dislocated his pinky during the game. X-Rays were negative, but he may miss some time.

The Twins pounded the Rangers 11-4 to earn Glen Perkins his first major league win. Texas expects to activate Hank Blalock this weekend. He'll be starting at his new position, 1st Base.

Jose Contreras won for the 3rd straight time out in the White Sox 4-1 win over the Indians. He lowered his ERA to 3.17 in the process of beating C.C. Sabathia. Carlos Quentin and Jim Thome (#515) homered for the Chisox.