The Yankees are tired of being kicked around by the Royals. The Phillies are weary of being pushed in the mud by the Nationals ...
3 UP
Chris Capuano, Dodgers - Despite pitching on a windy day in Wrigley, Capuano threw a gem: 7.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 7 K, 2 BB. Capuano also went 1-for-2 with two RBI at the plate, and he had more extra-base hits on the day than the Cubs did.
Adam Dunn, White Sox - Dunn went 2-for-4 in Detroit and, most notably, launched a 422-foot bomb off closer Jose Valverde to put the Sox up for good. Dunn's strong start this season (.250/.376/.573, 8 HR) has put to rest all that talk about what disaster his Chicago contract is.
Felipe Paulino, Royals - Paulino, who's been on the DL with forearm tightness, made his 2012 debut to great effect. In 6.0 shutout innings against the Yankees, he gave up four hits, struck out six and walked two. Paulino's Royals are 6-3 since that 12-game losing streak came to an end.
3 DOWN
Jaime Garcia, Cardinals - Garcia was chiefly to blame for the Cards' third-straight loss. Garcia gave up four hits, four walks and six runs in 6.0 innings against the Astros. The killing blow was the 0-2 grand slam he served up to Chris Johnson. Garcia now has a career ERA of 6.89 against Houston.
Twins offense - How much worse can it get? Three days after being no-hit by Jered Weaver, they were one-hit by Felix Hernandez. Over their last four games, the Twins have scored a total of three runs and gone 9-for-116 (!) at the plate.
Mike Aviles, Red Sox - While you can of course pin the loss on Aaron Cook if you wish, we'll give him a pass for being disrupted by a pretty nasty spiking. Aviles, meanwhile, went 0-for-4 at the plate, left six runners on base, left three runners in scoring position, and hit into a double play.
Complete box scores and recaps from all of Saturday's games
Darvish redux: Rangers ace Yu Darvish has been tremendous in his last two starts, and the lack of command that plagued him earlier in this season hasn't been an issue. Can he keep it going? He'll face a challenge in the Indians, who lead the AL in walks, walk percentage and pitches-per-plate-appearance. Such a disciplined lineup could cause problems for Darvish, who has struggled with his control at times. 1:05 p.m. ET
Beltway brooms?: The Nats will go for a sweep against the Phillies on Sunday. D.C. comes in having won seven straight against the Phils, and, at this writing, they're 5.5 games ahead of the once-mighty Phillies in the standings. It falls to Cole Hamels to help the Phils salvage a game before they head home to face the Mets. 8:05 p.m. ET
Rested and ready?: Last time out, Jerome Williams crafted a three-hitter against the Twins and threw his first shutout in almost nine years. Can he tame the hard-hitting Blue Jays on Sunday in Anaheim. And we also must ask: Will Albert Pujols finally hit a home run? He's coming off a day of "mental rest," so perhaps the drought ends. 3:35 p.m. ET
Full Sunday schedule with probables
• He ain't heavy: Dmitri Young, a 13-year MLB veteran who has been sober for 11 months and has lost 100 pounds, is there for his younger brother Delmon, who just finished serving a seven-day suspension for his arrest on anti-semitic-tinged harassment charges. "I had my troubles, and I've got to say his troubles trump mine," said Dmitri. "Now, it's time for his comeback to trump mine and be the ballplayer he's supposed to be. The talent is there. Now is the time." [USA Today]
• Proceed directly to Ebay: There are promotions and then there are PROMOTIONS. The Royals' championship decision to give away miniature "George Brett pine tar" bats to fans before Saturday night's Yankee game is absolutely among the latter. Want. [MLB.com]
• Let's streak!: In case you missed it,
• Your traded seven-foot pitcher of the day: While we're all tired of trades involving seven-foot-one Dutch pitchers, duty compels me to inform you that the
• Morrow is today: Jack Moore of FanGraphs looks at Brandon Morrow's most recent start and asks: is Morrow finally about to break out? For years, Morrow's blazing stuff and underlying indicators have wowed us, but the results haven't quite been there. Maybe that's about to change.
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