Interesting mix of games on Saturday, with eight day games, six 7:15 p.m. ET games -- only one of which any given fan could watch thanks to the awesome blackout rules -- and the main course starting at 10:05 p.m. ET. We saw a brilliant pitcher's duel between Brandon Beachy and Stephen Strasburg, the Mariners and White Sox combine for 18 runs, 26 hits and eight home runs, a Yu vs. C.J. duel, a hit-fest in Houston, another Jose Valverde meltdown -- and he still got the win -- and seemingly everything in between.
Full Saturday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for all games
3 UP
R.A. Dickey, Mets: You may have heard that Johan Santana spun a no-hit gem Friday night (please note sarcasm; I know you knew). Well, R.A. Dickey was tasked with following Johan's lead, and while he didn't throw a no-no, he came through with a shutout in a 5-0 Mets win. Yes, the Cardinals have injury woes, but they still entered the weekend with the highest OPS in the NL. And the Mets have not allowed a run against them this series through 18 innings. Meanwhile, Dickey is now 6-0 with a 1.76 ERA and 55 strikeouts in his eight starts since April 18. He's struck out 30 in his past three while allowing just one run over the course of those 23 1/3 innings. I'm thinking I'll be seeing him in Kansas City during the second week of July ...
Oakland Athletics: They entered Saturday on a nine-game losing streak and hadn't even scored a run since Tuesday. Jemile Weeks tripled and then scored on a grounder in the first. Then the A's added a run in the fourth and exploded for four (I mean, that's an explosion for them) in the sixth. In all, the A's scored nine runs on 10 hits. On the other side, Brandon McCarthy returned from the DL and threw six innings, allowing two runs and picking up the win. And the losing streak is over with the 9-3 win.
Brian Matusz, Orioles: The previously feel-good Orioles entered Saturday on a six-game losing streak, so they needed someone to step up. Matusz did just that, working 7 1/3 innings while allowing just two hits and one run. He also struck out seven and didn't even allow a hit until the fifth inning. He needed every bit of his effort, too, as his offense only provided him with two runs. Still, the 2-1 win breaks the losing streak and has the Orioles tied atop the AL East.
3 DOWN
Joe Thatcher/Luke Gregerson/Alex Hinshaw, Padres: After allowing two singles, in the seventh inning of a tie game, Thatcher balked in the go-ahead run. In the eighth, Gregerson loaded the bases with two walks after a double. Hinshaw then came in and walked in a run. And the Padres lost, 4-2. That's some mighty fine work.
Rangers' defense: They've been the best defense in baseball for the past few years, but it was a horrible display they put on Saturday night. There were three errors -- including one each from dynamic left-side duo Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre -- but that wasn't all. There was also a Mike Trout grounder to Andrus in the seventh with Erick Aybar on second base. Aybar basically ran through the ball in an attempt to distract Andrus. The ball may or may not have hit Aybar -- my best guess on the slow-motion replays is that it did not. If it did hit Aybar, he should have been called out. But instead of throwing to first immediately to try and get the second out of the inning, Andrus immediately started arguing with the umpires while holding the ball. That's a mental breakdown, which is unacceptable, especially from a player of Andrus' caliber. He's better than that, and so are the Rangers.
Colby Rasmus, Blue Jays: Rasmus' line of 0-for-4 with a strikeout and five men left on base looks bad enough on its own, but if you didn't watch the game, here's some context: With two outs in the second inning, Daniel Nava lifted a soft liner to dead center field. Rasmus completely misplayed the ball and basically just dropped it, allowing two runs to score. The official scorer ruled it a single and I have no idea how (sorry, "top spin" on the ball has never excused a player of an error that hits his glove). Then Rasmus ended the third inning by popping out with the bases loaded. And the Blue Jays lost 7-4. It's worth wondering what would have happened Saturday if someone else was in center.
Brooms for Halos? The Rangers-Angels series moves to the finale, with Matt Harrison (6-3, 4.41) and Dan Haren (3-5, 3.52) squaring off. Don't look now, but if the Angels win, not only do they sweep, but they move to within 2.5 games of the Rangers. They'd also have a clear advantage in swagger and momentum between these two teams, considering recent events. One game could swing things, though, so don't count out the Rangers. This is a must-watch game in a developing rivalry. 3:35 p.m. ET
Mets dealing, Cards reeling: After Dickey's stifling of the Cardinals Saturday, the defending World Series champs are now 7-15 since May 9. Meanwhile, the Mets are 17-10 since May 4, so these are two teams headed in completely opposite directions at this point. It'll be Sunday Night Baseball when the Mets try to continue the trend and the Cardinals try to reverse it. Jake Westbrook (4-4, 3.84) vs. Jonathon Niese (3-2, 4.55) is the pitching matchup. 8:05 p.m. ET
Astros goin' streaking ... the wrong way: Now that the A's got back in the win column, the longest streak -- good or bad -- belongs to the Astros, who have lost eight in a row. They'll look to break it against Bronson Arroyo (2-3, 3.59) and the Reds Sunday (as of this writing, the Astros have not announced a starter). Warning: Reds are pretty hot right now, as they're 11-3 since May 18. 2:05 p.m. ET
Sunday's probable pitchers
• Weird stance: I'm rarely one to nitpick batting stances because I think the whole idea is to just be comfortable and it's an individual thing. But this one ... I just can't believe there's even a remote chance this is comfortable.
Craziest batting stance I've ever seen: Alex Buccilli of Coastal Carolina.Youkilis ain't got nothing on this kid... twitter.com/LPD380/status/…
— Craig Barnhart (@LPD380) June 2, 2012
• Bad idea boxers: Don't streak. Please. Just don't. But if you absolutely must, don't do it in Sesame Street boxers with "sorry Mom" painted on your chest. That's beyond lame. (Notgraphs)
• Rally Squirrel, Part II? Oh boy ...
• Second-generation infield: Here's a pretty cool bit of information that you could use as trivia. Friday night, the Dodgers became the first team in MLB history to use an infield completely consisting of sons of former major leaguers. Scott Van Slyke (Andy), Jerry Hairston Jr. (Jerry), Dee Gordon (Tom) and Ivan DeJesus Jr. (Ivan) were the quartet. (Bill Shaikin via Twitter)
• Lil' Craze in Miami: The Marlins broadcast team (Fox Sports Florida) is looking to gain traction with a character: Li'l Jose (as in, a mini Jose Reyes doll). Only they don't plan to stop there. “Eventually, the big news is he’s going to have some little friends coming on. Li’l Giancarlo will make an appearance soon as well as Li’l Ozzie. He has been in close contact with Li’l LeBron.’’ (Fish Tank blog)
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