The night belonged to Josh Hamilton, who became the 16th man in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game. He also doubled and drove home eight.
But that wasn't all. There was plenty of action to go around, from coast-to-coast.
Full Tuesday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for all 15 games
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The 2012 baseball season. It's already been jam-packed with unforgettable moments, but how about this one: According to ESPN Stats and Info (via Twitter), 2012 is the first season in baseball history with a perfect game (Phil Humber) and four-HR game (Josh Hamilton, Tuesday night). And it's only May 9. Here's to five-plus more months of madness.
Carlos Beltran, Cardinals. For a second, it looked like Hamilton might be overshadowed. After a grand slam in the second inning, Beltran sat with two homers and six RBI. Again, through two innings. Amazingly, that would be all the Cardinals scored the entire night, as they won 6-1 in Arizona.
Raul Ibanez, Yankees. The 39-year-old lefty went deep twice and drove home three runs in the Yankees 5-3 win over the Rays.
Special mention: He didn't get the nod here because it wasn't a multiple-homer game, but Brandon Inge of the A's bears mentioning, because he hit a walk-off grand slam against the Blue Jays.
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The Angels. Dan Haren was roughed up by the Twins' anemic offense while Scott Diamond, Jared Burton and Matt Capps combined for a four-hit shutout of the Angels' offense in a 5-0 Twins victory. But hey, at least Albert Pujols has one homer instead of zero. So there's that.
Henry Rodriguez, Nationals. A rough ninth-inning by the Nationals' replacement closer included two wild pitches and a walk-off homer by Rod Barajas. That's the same Rod Barajas who is now hitting .141 and entered the game with zero homers and zero RBI on the season.
Kerry Wood, Cubs. The bad start to Wood's 2012 season continued Tuesday night. He entered the eighth inning with the game tied, 1-1. Wood then allowed two walks and two singles, the second of which drove home two runs. Things could have been worse, too, but Wood picked Brian McCann off second -- with a 3-0 count to Jason Heyward -- to end the inning. On his way off the field, Wood threw both his glove and hat into the crowd in frustration. He now has a 14.54 ERA with six walks in 4 1/3 innings this season, in addition to a DL stint for shoulder fatigue.
Josh Hamilton Watch. How does one follow up a 5-for-5, four homer, eight-RBI performance? We'll find out Wednesday, when Hamilton's Rangers square off against Wei-Yin Chen (2-0, 2.76) and the Orioles. Colby Lewis (3-1, 2.97) will start for the Rangers. 7:05 p.m. ET
Something's Gotta Give, Part II. Last week, I used the Jack Nicholson movie title in reference to the struggling Francisco Liriano facing a struggling Angels offense. This time around, the roles are reversed. Ervin Santana (0-6, 5.59) has been utterly abysmal this season. The same could be said for the entire Twins' offense -- even after scoring five Tuesday night -- and they are Santana's opponent Wednesday night. Carl Pavano (2-2, 4.62) will start for Minnesota. 8:10 p.m. ET
Rubber match in L.A. After Ryan Vogelsong outdueled Clayton Kershaw in a beautiful pitching performance Tuesday night, the Giants and Dodgers have taken one each in the three-game series. The finale comes Wednesday with a solid pitching matchup: Chad Billingsley (2-2, 3.19) vs. Tim Lincecum (2-2, 5.68). Both are looking to rebound from sub-par outings. 10:10 p.m. ET/7:10 p.m. PT
Complete Wednesday schedule, with probable pitchers for all 15 games
• Unpopular owners. In light of the news that Royals owner David Glass will not be selling his team, Big League Stew put together a list of 10 owners that fans want to see become sellers. At the top? Considering Frank McCourt is gone, who else? The Wilpon Family (Mets). Peter Angelos (Orioles) checks in at No. 2. I definitely agree with these choices.
• Stay classless. Let's not get into generalizing entire fan bases, because select (disgusting) human beings in every fan base are capable of crap like this. Anyway, here are Jayson Werth's comments about coming back following a broken wrist:
“After walking off the field feeling nauseous knowing my wrist was broke and hearing Philly fans yelling ‘You deserve it,’ and, ‘That’s what you get,’ I am motivated to get back quickly and see to it personally those people never walk down Broad Street in celebration again,” Werth wrote in an email to the Washington Post.
Pathetic. I'll also take this opportunity to ask the "he sold out" crowd how many of you have ever turned down $126 million ... crickets. And don't give me "loyalty." Once a player starts playing poorly, the loyalty from fans goes away. Quit blaming guys for making a living.
• "Sparky and Me." That is the title of a book coming out about legendary manager Sparky Anderson. This one isn't just any biography, it's a collection of stories from one of Anderson's very best friends, Dan Ewald. One example is when Anderson phoned Ewald after golfing and said "82." No, that wasn't what he shot. That was how many balls he lost during his 18 holes. (DetroitNews.com)
• Shifty Maddon. Yes, the Rays play great defense because they have great defenders, but they also have a manager who puts them in the right places. Prior to Tuesday night, the Rays had employed an MLB-high 153 defensive shifts -- almost twice as many as the Orioles, who rank second in shifts. The New York Times has a good read on the subject.
• Come on in, just don't talk about it. The Cole Hamels hitting Bryce Harper story has dominated the early week in baseball, and MLB.com has a story that includes a survey of players (the majority are OK with pitchers sending a message). Of course, there were some quotes from hitters and pitchers alike saying it doesn't need to be publicly discussed.
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