Around the Horn - 5/28

Josh Hamilton's rise back from the depths has been well documented and that rise continues this season. Last night, playing against his original organization, the Tampa Rays, Hamilton belted a grand slam and drove in 5 runs in the Rangers 12-6 win.

Franklin Gutierrez hit a grand slam in the Indians 8-2 win over the White Sox. The Indians were also credited with a triple steal. With the bases loaded, Jamey Carroll was picked off 1st Base, but got into a run down. Eventually all runners were safe with David Dellucci scoring. Which just goes to show you that official scoring rules definitely need to be changed.

Indians DH Travis Hafner could be headed to the DL with a bad shoulder.

Mark Teahen hit a game tying inside the park 3-run home run for the Royals in the bottom of the 9th, but the Royals still lost their 8th straight. Michael Cuddyer's 12th inning single gave the Twins a 4-3 win. Teahen's temporary heroics gave Joe Nathan his first blown save of the year.

Jeremy Bonderman was breezing along with a 2-0 shutout against the Angels, but LA tied it with 2 runs in the 8th and won it on Gary Matthews Jr.'s RBI single in the bottom of the 9th. Ervin Santana allowed just 3 hits in picking up the complete game win.

Greg Smith continues to impress for the A's. He tossed 6.2 shutout innings last night in the A's 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. It snapped the Jays 5-game winning streak. Frank Thomas had to leave the game with a strained quad.

The Mariners blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox, but snapped their 7-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory. Jose Lopez singled in the game winner off of Mike Timlin in the bottom of the 9th. Yunikesky Betancourt may be facing disciplinary actions by the Mariners after throwing a 9th inning tantrum when he was pinch-hit for.

Johan Santana is a good cure for what ails ya. Santana went out and got a much needed win for the Mets, 5-3 over the division leading Marlins.

Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit back-to-back home runs off of former Yankees prospect Charlie Manning to give the Padres a 4-2 win over the Nationals.

The Brewers overcame a strong outing by the Braves' Tim Hudson and rallied late from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2. Mike Cameron's 9th inning sac fly capped the comeback.

After scoring 20 runs the night before, the Phillies put up 7 in the first two innings against the Rockies last night and held on for a 7-4 win.

The Jay Bruce ERA began in Cincinnati in a big way. Talk about a memorable debut- 3-3 with a double, 2 singles, 2 walks, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, and a stolen base. And a post-game double shaving cream pie in the face celebration. The Reds won 9-6 over the Pirates with some help from red hot Adam Dunn who homered and drove in 4.

After 10 no-decisions, Shawn Chacon has won 2 straight. The right-hander pitched the Astros to an 8-2 win over the Cardinals. Hunter Pence was 5-5 with a couple of ribbies.

The Cubs scored 3 times in the 7th to beat the Dodgers 3-1. Hiroki Kuroda took a tough loss after a well pitched game. The Japanese media was excited about this one with Kuroda facing fellow countryman Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome drove in the Cubs final run.

Bengie Molina hit a 3-run home run and Jose Castillo added a solo shot as the Giants beat Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks 6-3. Tim Lincecum improved to 7-1 with 7 K's in 7 innings.