BY ADAM RONIS
Alfonso Soriano went 2-for-4 with his 12th homer and had three RBIs giving him 34 for the season. He is batting .289 after .192 average in April. He's an example of why you don't panic early in the season. He also stole his fourth base and he should run more now that his calf seems better.
Ryan Dempster wasn't as efficient as he has been this season, but still got the win since everyone beats the Rockies these days. He went five innings, allowing three hits, three runs, four walks and struck out seven. He allowed two homers and is 7-2 with a 2.75 ERA. Sell high before its too late.
Carlos Marmol picked up the save, his third, with Kerry Wood having pitched the last two days and Marmol allowed one run. Marmol seems to pitch every day and has already thrown 36 innings.
Justin Verlander struggled again. He went seven innings and allowed eight hits, four runs, two walks and struck out one. He is 2-8 with a 5.16 ERA.
Felix Hernandez realized if you pitch for the Mariners, you can't allow a run in order to get a win. He threw seven scoreless innings and allowed two hits, no walks and struck out seven. He is 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA.
Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer to tie the score at 2 for the Mets in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was just his fifth homer of the season and he has 32 RBIs. Buy low before he heats up.
Chad Billingsley had another strong performance for the Dodgers, but the bullpen blew the lead. He threw seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits, three walks and struck out four to lower his ERA to 3.29.
Mike Pelfrey allowed several baserunners and was able to pitch out of trouble with his rotation spot possibly on the line with the return of Pedro Martinez on Thursday. Pelfrey went seven innings and allowed seven hits, two runs, one walk and struck out six in a no-decision. Billy Wagner struck out the side for his 11th save.
Mark Teixeira is beginning to heat up. He homered for the second straight day and has seven homers and 39 RBIs.
Put Jay Bruce in the Hall of Fame now. Bruce hit a walkoff homer for his first major league homer and went 3-for-5 with three runs and a walk. He is batting .579.
Rafael Soriano blew a save by allowing a run in the ninth. The job belongs to John Smoltz when he returns. I'd still own Soriano in case Smoltz can't stay healthy.
Josh Banks pitched very good for the second straight start for the Padres. He threw a six-hit shutout, walked none and struck out five.
Comments (5)
Felix was at 87 pitches of a two hit shutout when the took him out. I was heated.
Yeah, well, last time they left him in for the 8th inning, he got tattooed. That's a trend with him. I doubt you'd have been real happy if they left him and he got tagged for 4 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs in the next inning.
Ha. Point well taken. What's your take on Verlander?
I'm not high on Verlander. He's not as dominant as last season. He has pitched a little better lately and he could win more games as the Tigers offense gets better. His strikeouts are down and his walk rate has increased. If you can get buy him low, he's worth a shot. I wouldn't invest heavily in him.
I think Willie Randolph has bad breath and it's tough for players to listen to him. Thats just my theory but he really does look like he needs a tic tac,lol.. All joking aside I think Keith Hernandez would be a perfect fit as Mets manager. He gets respect from the veterans because he has won his whole career. He gets respect from the younger players because he has crazy party stories. Most importantly he's extremely knowledgable and wouldn't put up with anyone's sh*t. He commands respect and has a swager and a charisma that would get this Mets team's confidence going in a positive direction. Oh yeah and he's a fan favorite too so even from a marketing prospective the Met's front office should do it. And by the way him and Wilpon are extremely close. Unless the Mets make the World Series I think Keith will open the new stadium.