Yankees Must Now Address Right Field

The Yankees should fly Byrd to New York

When the Yankees signed Carlos Beltran to a three year, multi-million deal this past offseason, they expected a 25 HR, 90 RBI season from their new right fielder. What they didn't expect was for Beltran to be limited to designated hitter duties to a balky right elbow that may eventually lead to surgery.

For now, Beltran has begun throwing again, but is limited to the designated hitter role. Even if he gets cleared to play the outfield, it will be on a limited bases. Right now, Ichiro Suzuki is the right fielder. Kelly Johnson is on the DL with a groin strain and Zelous Wheeler has a little outfield experience. Yes, the Yankees need an outfielder, preferably someone who can play right field.

The possibilities:

Most teams aren't making deals since they are within close range of either the division leader or the two wild cards. But there are some teams ready to bite the dust.

Josh Willingham
The Twins are one of those team that are quickly descending back to the AL Central basement. The 35-year old had fabulous back to back seasons with the A's and Twins in 2011-12. But injuries limited him to 111 games last year and he missed three-quarters of May this season. His OPS is a modest .770, but his .412 slugging pct. is a vast improvement from last year.

Willingham is a free agent after this year and would be owed the remainder of the $7MM he's set to earn this season. The drawback is that Willingham has primarily been a left-fielder in his career. He has 35 games of experience in right field and that all came in the 2009 season, while he was a member of the Washington Nationals.

Had Beltran been healthy, Kendry Morales would have been a good acquistion from Minny to fill in for the much injured Mark Teixeira.

Marlon Byrd
The Phillies are "phading" fast - they enter Thursday's play 15 games under .500. The 36-year old (these guys are the perfect age to be a Yankee) has played 98 games in right field this season. The much traveled Byrd - he's been with seven organizations in the Major Leagues (and more than once as a member of the Phillies)  - has put up a .796 OPS with 19 HR and 58 RBI in 387 at-bats.

The drawback is that Byrd is owed $8MM next year with the possibility of a vesting option in 2016 (also at $8MM). The Phillies will get more in return in if they eat some of the contract, but they already have a ton of money owed to several players. So far, the rumor is that the Phillies are asking for too much in return.

Alex Rios
The player that was once compared to Dave Winfield is a conundrum. A two-time All-Star, a player let go off recallable waivers, 25 home run power one year and just four home runs in 97 games this year.

It's hard to believe Rios is 33-years old. It seems like yesterday that he was an up and coming five-tool athlete with the Toronto Blue Jays. Rios was an All-Star in 2006-7 and hasn't been since. Toronto signed him to a six-year, $64MM extension prior to the 2008 season. But after a solid, but not upper tier season in 2008, the Blue Jays put him on waivers during the 2009 season. At the time his production had dropped off more and the Blue Jays must have been regretting the contract extension they gave to the then 28-year old.

They could have pulled Rios off of waivers and tried to make a deal with the White Sox, but they simply let him go and allowed the White Sox to assume the rest of the contract. He had just a .530 OPS in 41 games. But he bounced back the next season with 21 HR, 88 RBI, and 34 steals. For the most part he did well with Chicago, but was dealt to Texas last August (after clearing waivers) for Leury Garcia, a light hitting infielder.

This season, Rios leads the AL in triples and has 16 stolen  bases. He has a $13.5MM team option for next season, which no team will exercise. He sprained his ankle a few days ago and has been unable to play, though the team does not think a DL trip is necessary. Rios is a risk, but at the right price, one worth taking for a handful of months.

Drew Stubbs
Stay away from the Colorado Rockies outfielder. The 29-year old once stole 40 bases in a season, but doesn't hit. His .297/.335/.498 slash line and 10 home runs in 82 games is merely a product of playing his home games at Coor's Field. Stubbs road line is .229/.277/.343.

There you have it
And sadly, that's about it. I would love for the Yankees to pick up  Jay Bruce, who has having an off-year. While the Reds might be willing to dump his salary, the Yankees aren't likely to pick up more. ($25.5MM guaranteed with the potential of $12MM more.) The Reds would also demand a king's ransom for him. Marlon Byrd should be the top target in this flip-a-coin reality.

The Yankees also need to address starting pitching, but let's solve one crisis at a time.

Edinson Turns Out Lights on 161st

The Yankees buzz saw ran into the hottest young pitcher in Major League baseball and their 7-game winning streak came to end. Edinson Volquez went 7 innings to push the Cincinnati Reds past the Yankees this evening, 4-2 at Yankee Stadium.

Volquez's ERA actually jumped up from 1.64 to 1.71 as he won his 10th game of the season. The game was tied 1-1 in the 5th inning when the entire evening turned on one play. Johnny Damon lost Edwin Encarnacion's lead off line drive, off of Yankees starter Mike Mussina, in the lights for what was, inexplicably, ruled a double though the ball glanced off of Damon's glove.

Corey Patterson sacrificed the runner to 3rd base and after Paul Bako grounded out with the infield in for the 2nd out, Joe Girardi made a decision that second guessers may still be debating tomorrow. Girardi opted to intentionally walk left-handed hitting rookie Jay Bruce, who was just 8 for his last 43, to set up a righty-righty match up with Mussina against Jolbert Cabrera, who was already 2-2. The move backfired when Cabrera doubled to left to score both runners for a 3-1 lead. Ken Griffey Jr. then singled to right to score Cabrera, who made an innovative slide to avoid Jose Molina's tag.

The Yankees cut the lead in half in the 7th, but blew a chance to get more. Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui hit consecutive one out singles, but Jason Giambi flew out to deep left-center for the 2nd out. A-Rod moved up to 3rd base on the play and scored on Robinson Cano's single to center, but Volquez struck out Melky Cabrera to end the inning.

The Yankees had one last gasp in the 9th against closer Francisco Cordero when Matsui sliced a two out single to left. But Cordero retired Giambi on a chopper to 2nd baseman Brandon Phillips and just like that the Yankees winning streak was over.


News and Notes

Jason Giambi may want to at least trim his mustache. He's gone into a 0-12 skid.

Alex Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 8 games, while Derek Jeter has now hit in 9 straight games.

It was the 2nd time this season that Mike Mussina pitched 8 innings.

June 20, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Cincinnati	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0		4	10	0
NY Yankees	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0		2	8	1

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Bruce, RF	4	1	1	0	1	2	0	.315
Cabrera, SS	4	1	4	2	0	0	0	.389
1-Janish, PR-SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.179
Griffey, DH	4	0	1	1	0	0	4	.244
Phillips, B, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.264
Dunn, LF	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.224
Hopper, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.290
Votto, 1B	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	.286
Encarnacion, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	0	1	.242
Patterson, CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.192
Bako, C	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.235
Totals	35	4	10	4	2	5	13
1-Ran for Cabrera in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Encarnacion (15, Mussina), Cabrera (1, Mussina), Votto (15, Mussina). HR: Votto (12, 2nd inning off Mussina, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Bruce; Cabrera 5; Griffey; Votto 7; Encarnacion 2. RBI: Votto (37), Cabrera 2 (2), Griffey (31). 2-out RBI: Votto; Cabrera 2; Griffey. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Griffey; Bako; Phillips, B; Patterson. S: Patterson. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING PO: Votto (2nd base by Molina). FIELDING DP: (Cabrera-Votto).

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Volquez (W, 10-2)	7.0	7	2	2	1	5	0	1.71
Burton (H, 7)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.58
Cordero (S, 14)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.76

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	1	0	1	0	.330
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.276
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.274
Rodriguez, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.335
Matsui, DH	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.324
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.254
Cano, 2B	3	0	2	1	0	0	1	.232
Cabrera, CF	3	1	1	0	0	1	3	.253
Molina, C	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.218
a-Betemit, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Moeller, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Totals	32	2	8	2	1	5	10
a-Flied out for Molina in the 8th.
BATTING TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez; Matsui 2; Cano 2; Cabrera. RBI: Damon (34), Cano (25). 2-out RBI: Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Cabrera. GIDP: Cabrera. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Rodriguez (9, 2nd base off Volquez/Bako). CS: Jeter (2, 2nd base by Volquez/Bako), Damon (6, 2nd base by Volquez/Bako). FIELDING E: Cano (6, throw). Outfield assists: Abreu (Cabrera at 1st base). DP: (Abreu-Giambi). Pickoffs: Molina (Votto at 2nd base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (L, 10-5)	8.0	10	4	4	2	4	1	3.93
Traber	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.86

WP: Volquez, Mussina.
Balk: Volquez.
IBB: Bruce (by Mussina).
Pitches-strikes: Volquez 103-63, Burton 11-7, Cordero 21-11,
Mussina 110-76, Traber 7-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Volquez 7-7, Burton 2-1, Cordero 2-1,
Mussina 10-8, Traber 2-0.
Batters faced: Volquez 26, Burton 3, Cordero 4,
Mussina 35, Traber 3.
Umpires: HP: Brian Runge. 1B: Scott Barry.
2B: Charlie Reliford. 3B: Greg Gibson.
Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:46.
Att: 53,421.

Edinson Turns Out Lights on 161st

The Yankees buzz saw ran into the hottest young pitcher in Major League baseball and their 7-game winning streak came to end. Edinson Volquez went 7 innings to push the Cincinnati Reds past the Yankees this evening, 4-2 at Yankee Stadium.

Volquez's ERA actually jumped up from 1.64 to 1.71 as he won his 10th game of the season. The game was tied 1-1 in the 5th inning when the entire evening turned on one play. Johnny Damon lost Edwin Encarnacion's lead off line drive, off of Yankees starter Mike Mussina, in the lights for what was, inexplicably, ruled a double though the ball glanced off of Damon's glove.

Corey Patterson sacrificed the runner to 3rd base and after Paul Bako grounded out with the infield in for the 2nd out, Joe Girardi made a decision that second guessers may still be debating tomorrow. Girardi opted to intentionally walk left-handed hitting rookie Jay Bruce, who was just 8 for his last 43, to set up a righty-righty match up with Mussina against Jolbert Cabrera, who was already 2-2. The move backfired when Cabrera doubled to left to score both runners for a 3-1 lead. Ken Griffey Jr. then singled to right to score Cabrera, who made an innovative slide to avoid Jose Molina's tag.

The Yankees cut the lead in half in the 7th, but blew a chance to get more. Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui hit consecutive one out singles, but Jason Giambi flew out to deep left-center for the 2nd out. A-Rod moved up to 3rd base on the play and scored on Robinson Cano's single to center, but Volquez struck out Melky Cabrera to end the inning.

The Yankees had one last gasp in the 9th against closer Francisco Cordero when Matsui sliced a two out single to left. But Cordero retired Giambi on a chopper to 2nd baseman Brandon Phillips and just like that the Yankees winning streak was over.


News and Notes

Jason Giambi may want to at least trim his mustache. He's gone into a 0-12 skid.

Alex Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 8 games, while Derek Jeter has now hit in 9 straight games.

It was the 2nd time this season that Mike Mussina pitched 8 innings.

June 20, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Cincinnati	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0		4	10	0
NY Yankees	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0		2	8	1

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Bruce, RF	4	1	1	0	1	2	0	.315
Cabrera, SS	4	1	4	2	0	0	0	.389
1-Janish, PR-SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.179
Griffey, DH	4	0	1	1	0	0	4	.244
Phillips, B, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.264
Dunn, LF	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.224
Hopper, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.290
Votto, 1B	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	.286
Encarnacion, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	0	1	.242
Patterson, CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.192
Bako, C	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.235
Totals	35	4	10	4	2	5	13
1-Ran for Cabrera in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Encarnacion (15, Mussina), Cabrera (1, Mussina), Votto (15, Mussina). HR: Votto (12, 2nd inning off Mussina, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Bruce; Cabrera 5; Griffey; Votto 7; Encarnacion 2. RBI: Votto (37), Cabrera 2 (2), Griffey (31). 2-out RBI: Votto; Cabrera 2; Griffey. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Griffey; Bako; Phillips, B; Patterson. S: Patterson. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING PO: Votto (2nd base by Molina). FIELDING DP: (Cabrera-Votto).

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Volquez (W, 10-2)	7.0	7	2	2	1	5	0	1.71
Burton (H, 7)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.58
Cordero (S, 14)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.76

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	1	0	1	0	.330
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.276
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.274
Rodriguez, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.335
Matsui, DH	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.324
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.254
Cano, 2B	3	0	2	1	0	0	1	.232
Cabrera, CF	3	1	1	0	0	1	3	.253
Molina, C	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.218
a-Betemit, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Moeller, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Totals	32	2	8	2	1	5	10
a-Flied out for Molina in the 8th.
BATTING TB: Damon; Jeter; Rodriguez; Matsui 2; Cano 2; Cabrera. RBI: Damon (34), Cano (25). 2-out RBI: Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Cabrera. GIDP: Cabrera. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Rodriguez (9, 2nd base off Volquez/Bako). CS: Jeter (2, 2nd base by Volquez/Bako), Damon (6, 2nd base by Volquez/Bako). FIELDING E: Cano (6, throw). Outfield assists: Abreu (Cabrera at 1st base). DP: (Abreu-Giambi). Pickoffs: Molina (Votto at 2nd base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (L, 10-5)	8.0	10	4	4	2	4	1	3.93
Traber	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.86

WP: Volquez, Mussina.
Balk: Volquez.
IBB: Bruce (by Mussina).
Pitches-strikes: Volquez 103-63, Burton 11-7, Cordero 21-11,
Mussina 110-76, Traber 7-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Volquez 7-7, Burton 2-1, Cordero 2-1,
Mussina 10-8, Traber 2-0.
Batters faced: Volquez 26, Burton 3, Cordero 4,
Mussina 35, Traber 3.
Umpires: HP: Brian Runge. 1B: Scott Barry.
2B: Charlie Reliford. 3B: Greg Gibson.
Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:46.
Att: 53,421.

Yankees vs. Reds - June 20

The Cincinnati Reds come to the Bronx tonight for the first time since 1976 and that forgettable (except for the fact we finally got back there) World Series. The 3-game series is the first time the two teams have met since 2003 when they played at the Great American Ball Park in Cincy. The Yankees lost the first 2 games of that series, 6-2 and 4-3, before winning in a laugher, 10-2, in the finale. Al Osuna and Mike Mussina took the losses while Jose Contreras picked up the lone win.

On to today- the Reds are struggling. They sit 8 games under .500 and 12.5 games back of the Cubs in last place in the NL Central. They are currently mired in a 5-game losing streak. This comes a season after they finished 72-90 and cost Jerry Narron his manager's job. Dusty Baker was hired to turn things around, but so far that has not happened, mainly because of the same problem most teams have. A lack of pitching.

The Reds do have some good young players to build with though. Pitcher Edinson Volquez, who starts tonight's game, was acquired in the Josh Hamilton trade. He leads the NL in ERA and strikeouts. Fellow pitcher Johnny Cueto opened the season with a 10 strikeout performance, but has had the ups and downs of most rookie seasons. And then there's super prospect Jay Bruce, who made a fantastic splash in his first dozen games in the bigs- a .457 average with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, and a 1.293 OPS. But he's come back a bit to Earth since then, going 7-42 (.167) with 1 HR and 1 RBI. They also have highly touted pitcher Homer Bailey who struggled in a brief call up.

As for the veterans, Ken Griffey Jr. is struggling with some aches and some poor hitting. He attained his 600th career home run, but is hitting just .244-7-30 and has a .746 OPS. The Reds would love to find a taker for him, but Jr. may not want to be moved, even if its a contender.

Adam Dunn is having his typical year. Mediocre average, lots of strikeouts, and lots of home runs (.228, 18, 72). So much so that Blue Jays G.M. J.P. Ricciardi insulted him the other day. Dunn's 43 RBI lead the ball guy club, while Joey Votto has the highest average for a regular at just .278.

The Reds also have former Yankee Andy Phillips on their squad.

Pitching Probables for the Series

Friday: Edinson Volquez (9-2, 1.64) vs. Mike Mussina (10-4, 3.87)
Saturday: Daryl Thompson (0-0, 0.0) vs. Dan Giese (1-1, 1.23)
Sunday: Johnny Cueto (5-7, 5.19) vs. Andy Pettitte (7-5, 4.29)


Tonight's lineup via Peter Abraham:

Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF

Yankees vs. Reds - June 20

The Cincinnati Reds come to the Bronx tonight for the first time since 1976 and that forgettable (except for the fact we finally got back there) World Series. The 3-game series is the first time the two teams have met since 2003 when they played at the Great American Ball Park in Cincy. The Yankees lost the first 2 games of that series, 6-2 and 4-3, before winning in a laugher, 10-2, in the finale. Al Osuna and Mike Mussina took the losses while Jose Contreras picked up the lone win.

On to today- the Reds are struggling. They sit 8 games under .500 and 12.5 games back of the Cubs in last place in the NL Central. They are currently mired in a 5-game losing streak. This comes a season after they finished 72-90 and cost Jerry Narron his manager's job. Dusty Baker was hired to turn things around, but so far that has not happened, mainly because of the same problem most teams have. A lack of pitching.

The Reds do have some good young players to build with though. Pitcher Edinson Volquez, who starts tonight's game, was acquired in the Josh Hamilton trade. He leads the NL in ERA and strikeouts. Fellow pitcher Johnny Cueto opened the season with a 10 strikeout performance, but has had the ups and downs of most rookie seasons. And then there's super prospect Jay Bruce, who made a fantastic splash in his first dozen games in the bigs- a .457 average with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, and a 1.293 OPS. But he's come back a bit to Earth since then, going 7-42 (.167) with 1 HR and 1 RBI. They also have highly touted pitcher Homer Bailey who struggled in a brief call up.

As for the veterans, Ken Griffey Jr. is struggling with some aches and some poor hitting. He attained his 600th career home run, but is hitting just .244-7-30 and has a .746 OPS. The Reds would love to find a taker for him, but Jr. may not want to be moved, even if its a contender.

Adam Dunn is having his typical year. Mediocre average, lots of strikeouts, and lots of home runs (.228, 18, 72). So much so that Blue Jays G.M. J.P. Ricciardi insulted him the other day. Dunn's 43 RBI lead the ball guy club, while Joey Votto has the highest average for a regular at just .278.

The Reds also have former Yankee Andy Phillips on their squad.

Pitching Probables for the Series

Friday: Edinson Volquez (9-2, 1.64) vs. Mike Mussina (10-4, 3.87)
Saturday: Daryl Thompson (0-0, 0.0) vs. Dan Giese (1-1, 1.23)
Sunday: Johnny Cueto (5-7, 5.19) vs. Andy Pettitte (7-5, 4.29)


Tonight's lineup via Peter Abraham:

Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF

Around the Horn - 6/9

Tampa is still in a feisty mood even though they are no longer playing the Red Sox. During yesterday's game with the Rangers, catcher Dionner Navarro and starting pitcher Matt Garza had to be separated. Garza was then yanked from the game by manager Joe Maddon, who later downplayed the incident.

The Angels have very quietly put together a 7-game winning streak, which ended with their loss to Oakland on Sunday. They're still not hitting, but their pitching continues to stand out. Imagine if they get Kelvim Escobar back healthy.

Every team in the American League is playing .500 ball or better, but it doesn't seem to be very good ball for most of the teams.

Despite a penchant for issuing walks, the Red Sox Justin Masterson is 3-0 after beating the Mariners yesterday. He'll get at least one more start until Dice-K comes back.

The White Sox have won 6 straight to take a 5.5 game lead on 2nd place Minnesota. Chicago is the only team over .500 in the AL Central.

The Tigers have probably lost Jeremy Bonderman for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.

The Indians have definitely lost Jake Westbrook for the season after it was announced he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.



















The Padres turned up the heat again on Willie Randolph with a 4-game sweep. San Diego came into the series 13 games under .500. They won three straight 2-1 games and rallied on Sunday for an 8-6 victory.

In case you haven't checked Jay Bruce's stats lately - in 13 games he's hitting .429 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, has 14 runs scored, and a 1.227 OPS. His teammate Ken Griffey Jr. still waits for that 600th home run.

Chipper Jones has a slight tear in his quad, but is only expected to miss a couple of games.

Around the Horn - 6/9

Tampa is still in a feisty mood even though they are no longer playing the Red Sox. During yesterday's game with the Rangers, catcher Dionner Navarro and starting pitcher Matt Garza had to be separated. Garza was then yanked from the game by manager Joe Maddon, who later downplayed the incident.

The Angels have very quietly put together a 7-game winning streak, which ended with their loss to Oakland on Sunday. They're still not hitting, but their pitching continues to stand out. Imagine if they get Kelvim Escobar back healthy.

Every team in the American League is playing .500 ball or better, but it doesn't seem to be very good ball for most of the teams.

Despite a penchant for issuing walks, the Red Sox Justin Masterson is 3-0 after beating the Mariners yesterday. He'll get at least one more start until Dice-K comes back.

The White Sox have won 6 straight to take a 5.5 game lead on 2nd place Minnesota. Chicago is the only team over .500 in the AL Central.

The Tigers have probably lost Jeremy Bonderman for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.

The Indians have definitely lost Jake Westbrook for the season after it was announced he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.



















The Padres turned up the heat again on Willie Randolph with a 4-game sweep. San Diego came into the series 13 games under .500. They won three straight 2-1 games and rallied on Sunday for an 8-6 victory.

In case you haven't checked Jay Bruce's stats lately - in 13 games he's hitting .429 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, has 14 runs scored, and a 1.227 OPS. His teammate Ken Griffey Jr. still waits for that 600th home run.

Chipper Jones has a slight tear in his quad, but is only expected to miss a couple of games.

Around the Horn - 6/3

The Red Sox received shocking news when it was learned that David Ortiz will miss at least a month with a torn tendon in his hand. For now he's got his wrist immobilized in a cast for the next 2 weeks. According to the Boston Globe, it is unlikely that he'll need surgery.

Boston's first game without their big slugger didn't go to well due a rare blow up by Hideki Okajima. The Orioles reached him for 4 runs in the 8th inning for a 6-3 win. Jim Johnson won his first major league game.

Bobby Crosby's 9th inning single gave the A's a 3-2 win over the Tigers, sending Detroit to 9 games below .500. Rich Harden and Kenny Rogers both pitched well in their starts, but neither figured in the outcome. Harden has made 5 consecutive starts without interruption for the first time in over 2 years.

Casey Blake had the kind of night that hitters dream of. Two home runs, a 3-run double, and 7 RBI. The Indians out scored the Rangers 13-9, though not before blowing an 8-3 lead. Josh Hamilton celebrated his choice as AL Player of the Month for May with a home run in 3 consecutive games.

Jeff Mathis slugged a 2-run home run and Ervin Santana won his 8th game in the Angels 4-2 victory over the Mariners. Vlad Guerrero missed the game with a sore knee.

Brian Horwitz hit his first major league home run, and along with Ray Durham, drove in 3 runs as the Giants bombed the Mets 10-2. Mets starter Oliver Perez only retired one batter before being pulled in the 1st inning. Bengie Molina also picked up his 1,000th hit in the game.

John Smoltz's return from the DL to the closer role was an unsuccessful one, but the Braves beat the Marlins 7-5 in 10 innings. Smoltz allowed 2 runs in the top of the 9th, but Jeff Francoeur scored on a wild pitch to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th, and Yuniel Escobar hit a walk-off 2-run shot in extras.

Carlos Zambrano is doing it all these days. He went 3-3 yesterday to raise his average to .366 and pitched 5 innings for his 8th win. Zambrano's won his last 7 decisions. The Cubbies are now 15-2 against the NL West.

The Rockies (20-38) rocky season continued last night as the Dodgers pounded them 8-2. Matt Kemp had 3 hits and one of the Dodgers 3 hits to help Derek Lowe earn his 3rd win.

The Pirates came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Cardinals 5-4. Jason Michaels hit a game tying grand slam in the 7th and Jason Bay drove in the go ahead run in the 8th.

Prince Fielder homered for the 3rd time in 4 games to give the Brewers a much needed 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Doug Davis allowed just 1 earned in 6 innings for AZ.

Chase Utley hit his major league leading 21st home run and the Phillies held off the Reds 5-4. Pedro Feliz and Chris Coste each added home runs for the Phillies. Jay Bruce hit his 3rd home run for the Reds and went to 2-4 to "drop" his average to .577.

The Nationals have lost 3B Ryan Zimmerman indefinitely with a partial tear of the labrum in his left shoulder.

Around the Horn - 6/3

The Red Sox received shocking news when it was learned that David Ortiz will miss at least a month with a torn tendon in his hand. For now he's got his wrist immobilized in a cast for the next 2 weeks. According to the Boston Globe, it is unlikely that he'll need surgery.

Boston's first game without their big slugger didn't go to well due a rare blow up by Hideki Okajima. The Orioles reached him for 4 runs in the 8th inning for a 6-3 win. Jim Johnson won his first major league game.

Bobby Crosby's 9th inning single gave the A's a 3-2 win over the Tigers, sending Detroit to 9 games below .500. Rich Harden and Kenny Rogers both pitched well in their starts, but neither figured in the outcome. Harden has made 5 consecutive starts without interruption for the first time in over 2 years.

Casey Blake had the kind of night that hitters dream of. Two home runs, a 3-run double, and 7 RBI. The Indians out scored the Rangers 13-9, though not before blowing an 8-3 lead. Josh Hamilton celebrated his choice as AL Player of the Month for May with a home run in 3 consecutive games.

Jeff Mathis slugged a 2-run home run and Ervin Santana won his 8th game in the Angels 4-2 victory over the Mariners. Vlad Guerrero missed the game with a sore knee.

Brian Horwitz hit his first major league home run, and along with Ray Durham, drove in 3 runs as the Giants bombed the Mets 10-2. Mets starter Oliver Perez only retired one batter before being pulled in the 1st inning. Bengie Molina also picked up his 1,000th hit in the game.

John Smoltz's return from the DL to the closer role was an unsuccessful one, but the Braves beat the Marlins 7-5 in 10 innings. Smoltz allowed 2 runs in the top of the 9th, but Jeff Francoeur scored on a wild pitch to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th, and Yuniel Escobar hit a walk-off 2-run shot in extras.

Carlos Zambrano is doing it all these days. He went 3-3 yesterday to raise his average to .366 and pitched 5 innings for his 8th win. Zambrano's won his last 7 decisions. The Cubbies are now 15-2 against the NL West.

The Rockies (20-38) rocky season continued last night as the Dodgers pounded them 8-2. Matt Kemp had 3 hits and one of the Dodgers 3 hits to help Derek Lowe earn his 3rd win.

The Pirates came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Cardinals 5-4. Jason Michaels hit a game tying grand slam in the 7th and Jason Bay drove in the go ahead run in the 8th.

Prince Fielder homered for the 3rd time in 4 games to give the Brewers a much needed 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Doug Davis allowed just 1 earned in 6 innings for AZ.

Chase Utley hit his major league leading 21st home run and the Phillies held off the Reds 5-4. Pedro Feliz and Chris Coste each added home runs for the Phillies. Jay Bruce hit his 3rd home run for the Reds and went to 2-4 to "drop" his average to .577.

The Nationals have lost 3B Ryan Zimmerman indefinitely with a partial tear of the labrum in his left shoulder.