Needless to say, Johan Santana, author of the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history, was the star of the night. But putting him in the Lineup would be a bit too obvious, right? Instead, we'll honor a Met who helped Santana out on Friday night -- a Met who didn't even play ...
Full Friday scoreboard with box scores and recaps for all games
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Terry Collins, Mets: Overshadowed by Santana's history-making night was that Collins had a pretty difficult decision to make. Santana, who didn't pitch at all last season after undergoing major shoulder surgery, was headed for a career-high pitch count entering the ninth. In some senses, Collins's decision was easy: you let him go for the first no-hitter in franchise history. In other ways, though, it was a tough call: do you really let your fragile ace rack up pitches in a game that's already decided and during a season in which the team is contending? Credit Collins for not visibly wavering (save for perhaps that brief trip to the mound) and letting Santana give Mets fans something they'll never forget. After the game, Collins wondered aloud whether he did the right thing. That's the sign of a self-aware manager who takes his many and sometimes conflicting responsibilities quite seriously.
Mike Trout, Angels: Let's enjoy watching him for the 15-to-20 years, shall we? In a big win over the Rangers on Friday night, Trout went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI (two of which came with two outs). The 20-year-old future MVP is now hitting .309/.370/.537 on the season.
White Sox: Yep, the entire team. After Friday night's 7-4 win over Seattle, the White Sox have won nine in a row. They've also won 13 of 14. And while their most recent win was at home, it's still worth noting that they've also won their last seven on the road. One might characterize them as "hot." Robin Ventura's club is now a half-game behind the Rangers for best record in the AL.
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Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles: The damning line: 5.2 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 1 HR. All five of those runs came in the first inning (a 36-pitch first inning for Chen), so in that sense the Orioles were buried early. Worse, they fell out of first place for the first time since May 5.
A's offense: Oakland hasn't scored a run since Tuesday. Over their last 10 games, they've managed a total of 14 runs. They've now been shut out 10 time this season. By way of comparison, they've scored more than five runs in a game just nine times this season. The A's offense is … not good.
Hanley Ramirez, Marlins: In Miami's tough 6-4 loss to the Phillies, Ramirez went 1-for-5 with six runners left on base. Most critically, he struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the eighth. For the game, the Marlins went 1-for-14 with RISP.
Stras. Burg: He was supposed to go on Friday, but rains in D.C. pushed Stephen Strasburg back to Saturday. He'll oppose Brandon Beachy, who leads the majors with a 1.77 ERA. So you can see Strasburg. And you can see Beachy. And you can see Bryce Harper. And you can see Michael Morse make his 2012 debut. And you can see Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons make his major-league debut. In other words, you can see a lot things in this one. 4:05 pm ET
Time for 10?: The magma-hot White Sox will go for their 10th straight win on Saturday at home against the Mariners. But it might be a challenge. That's because Gavin Floyd and his 5.02 ERA are starting for Chicago. Floyd has given up 21 earned runs over his last 14.2 innings pitched, but perhaps the dominant-of-late White Sox offense can give him a cushion. 4:10 pm ET
Yu and C.J.: Yu Darvish and C.J. Wilson will square off on Saturday in what's turned out to be an important game in the AL West. Wilson comes in having given up only one run over his last two starts, while Darvish continues to be occasionally brilliant and occasionally not so brilliant. Wilson's Angels have a chance to whittle Texas's lead in the division down to 3.5 games. 10:05 pm ET
Saturday probables for all games
• Bartering for Beltran: Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger has a fascinating inside look at the trade that sent Carlos Beltran to the Giants last season.
• Sox solitude: The White Sox are white-hot. So why won't anyone go see the South Siders play? The Chicago Sun-Times examines the attendance woes at U.S. Cellular.
• A beautiful thing: The Astros, bless them, are giving sanctioned tailgating a try. May this experiment exceed all hopes. [Houston Chronicle]
• Kerry Wood's next gem: Retired hurler Kerry Wood is using his downtime wisely. He's written a book, All You Can Be, that aims to inspire kids. And speaking of inspiring kids, Wood and wife Sarah remain active in Chicago's public schools. [Chicago Parent]
• Barry Zito slept here: Who would pay $11 million for a house? Presumably, the buyer of Barry Zito's Bay Area mansion, which is for sale. To be fair, it looks very nice. [The Cove]
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