Which is great, except it was against my team. At least I got me another Adam Jones bobblehead.

24 June

NPB
Saitama Seibu Lions (2) at Rakuten Eagles (6). Ryohei Isaka tosses his first complete game win as the Eagles dominate Seibu for the win, improving their record to 32-35-1 in fifth. Getting close to fourth…

MLB
San Diego Padres (3) at Tampa Bay Rays (5). The Rays FINALLY snap their losing streak and prevent the sweep. Hopefully this is a sign that Tampa Bay is turning things around. They get to face the weak Diamondbacks this weekend allowing the Upton brothers to battle. Their record improves to 43-29, still tied for second.

Florida Marlins (5) at Baltimore Orioles (11). Kept forgetting that Baltimore scored 11 when I recounted the score. Oh well, the Fish were miserable. Nate Robertson only went two and one-thirds and the Fish lost their lead in the 3rd, never able to come back. At least Alex Sanabia’s debut went ok (not the best, but ok). The Orioles just kept POUNDING the outside corner and the Marlins kept swinging at those bad pitches. I swear I saw five straight strikeouts with that happening over and over again. Florida stays just shy of 0.500 at 35-37 while Baltimore improves to 0.278 with 20-52.

A lot of this happened last night.

Florida inexplicably went and replaced their manager, Fredi Gonzalez, yesterday and Edwin Rodriguez stepped in as interim manager. I still don’t understand why this happened, but I guess we’ll have a new manager next year.

23 June

NPB
Hanshin Tigers (9) at Hiroshima Carp (4). I was really hoping that Hiroshima would have a better showing coming off of some relatively solid interleague play. He’s on the wrong team, but Toritani had himself quite the night (4 H, 2 RBI). Go Toritani! The Carp record drops to 26-37-2, still in fourth.

Saitama Seibu Lions (8) at Rakuten Eagles (10). Remember when Rakuten had no offense to speak of? They’re lucky to have won this considering that Darrell Rasner only went 3.2 innings and gave up five. The Golden Eagles are now 31-35-1 and they’re closing in on fourth.

MLB
Kansas City Royals (1) at Washington Nationals (0). I hope Strasburg doesn’t end up one of those pitchers who never gets any run support from his team. Washington has been seriously struggling offensively of late, so I’m not too surprised, but it’s a waste of a quality start. Strasburg K-Kount (see what I did there?) is up to 41. The Nationals record is down to 33-40.

Florida Marlins (7) at Baltimore Orioles (5). Even though their winningest manager in franchise history was fired, the Marlins were still able to show up, offensively, and dominate the birds. Gaby Sanchez has been quietly making a case for Rookie of the Year with his offense while Chris Coghlan is definitely back to his old self, hitting 0.317 since his season low of 0.146 in April. That’s good enough to put his average at 0.280 now. The Marlins record improves to 35-36 while Baltimore drops to 19-52.

San Diego Padres (5) at Tampa Bay Rays (4). So frustrating. They’re still tied for second, but Shields’ loss to San Diego extends their losing streak to three. Maddon needs to sit down with his players, hash this out, and get them back on course, pronto. The Rays are now 42-29 on the season.

Action shot!

I just can’t miss seeing the Fish when they’re in town. I let nothing stand in my way, even the dental surgery I had last night. It was with a sore jaw that I saw them rock Baltimore last night. New York got its chance to beat up on the Orioles and the Indians to improve their record. Now it’s time for Florida.

22 June

NPB
Hanshin Tigers (13) at Hiroshima Carp (7). A real brutal game for the pitchers. Kan Otake has a bad night, but my boy Higashide manages two RBIs. The Carp still hold on to fourth, but their record drops to 26-35-2.

Saitama Seibu Lions (5) at Rakuten Eagles (3). Could moving Ma-kun’s starts around have affected his rhythm? It’s odd for Tanaka to give up five. We’ll see if he’s this bad next week too. The Golden Eagles are now 30-34-1 in fifth.

MLB
Florida Marlins (10) at Baltimore Orioles (4). Not Anibal Sanchez’ best pitched game, but not a total wash either. I think I see Wieters homer most games I go to. The kid’s got some pop. Florida’s record improves to 34-36 in fourth while Baltimore drops to 19-51 in a historically bad last.

Kansas City Royals (3) at Washington Nationals (4). Atilano managed a decent start after a few miscues the last few times up. Facing the Royals can only be good for Washington and tonight’s matchup is bound to be yet another impressive Strasburg start. Washington is still in fifth with their 33-39 record.

San Diego Padres (2) at Tampa Bay Rays (1). This is as hard-luck as they get. Wade Davis has really been struggling, but this could have been turned around with a little more offense. The Rays retain their tie with Boston for second, 1.5 games back with a 42-28 record.

Strasburg pitched again and it wasn’t quite as magical, but part of that was due to a bad mound. He still has a sub 3.00 ERA (2.19) and struck out another eight. Rock on Strasburg.

11 June

NPB
Nada.

MLB
New York Mets (5) at Baltimore Orioles (1). Back-to-back series against the two New York teams can’t be good for Baltimore. R.A. Dickey brings the knuckleball back to confound the Orioles hitters.

Washington Nationals (2) at Cleveland Indians (7). Throwback jersey night does not go well for Luis Atilano. I bet that Atilano gets optioned soon (or goes when Chien-Ming Wang comes back up).

Florida Marlins (14) at Tampa Bay Rays (9). I hate it when the Rays lose, yet I love it when the Marlins win. I can tell that I’m a huge Marlins fan, because I was ecstatic to see them crushing the Rays. Tampa definitely has a potent offense to catch up, but the Fish proved to be too much. I think it’s great that Florida seems to have Tampa’s number a good portion of the time. I think this could develop into a real rivalry.

12 June

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (6) at Saitama Seibu Lions (2). There’s nothing better than having your team beat one of the best in the Pacific League. Kan Otake notches his first win for the season and the Carp actually see some power without Kurihara.

Yakult Swallows (4) at Rakuten Eagles (1). My two least favorite teams are the Swallows and the Lions. Hirohima did its part and beat Saitama, but Rakuten falls on an uncharacteristically bad night for Iwakuma, who gives up two earned runs.

MLB
Mets (3) at Orioles (1). I’m really starting to get fond of Hisanori Takahashi, even if he was a Giant back in Japan. He hurls seven innings and only gives up one. Nice work.

Nationals (1) at Indians (7). Fausto Carmona is having a real resurgence this year. He completely blanks the potent Washington offense while enjoying another seven-run game.

Marlins (5) at Rays (6). A real close one that came down to the wire, but Carlos Peña’s offense the past week has been red hot. Tough loss for Florida.

13 June

NPB
Carp (4) at Lions (2). Giancarlo Alvorado does his job over six to earn yet another win. Justin Huber, Kurihara’s DL replacement, even goes yard in Kenta’s honor. The Carp end the weekend at 25-34-2, good enough for fourth by 3.5.

Swallows (3) at Eagles (1). Tanaka gives up two in another uncharacteristically bad game to a team whose new manager is paying dividends. Rakuten’s record drops to 29-33-1, good enough for fifth.

MLB
Nationals (9) at Indians (4). If the Nationals bats awaken every time Strasburg comes out to toss, his record is going to balloon. He tosses 5.1 innings and ends up walking five, but I put part of the blame there on his super-shaky mound. The Nats record improves to 31-33, which is only good enough for last in the competitive NL East.

Mets (11) at Orioles (4). The Orioles get brutalized by the Mets, giving up four home runs, two of which went to David Wright. Their record is a miserable 17-46.

Marlins (6) at Rays (1). Chris Volstad and the Marlins serve up Jeff Niemann’s first loss of the season and I love it. Mike Stanton still hasn’t hit any home runs, but since he came up last week he’s been hitting a solid 0.368 with an OPS of 0.981. Not too bad. The power is definitely coming. Florida’s record improves to 31-32, barely edging out the Nats for fourth, while the Rays drop into a tie with the Yankees with their 40-23 record.

Seibu gets its revenge.

Hiroshima takes an ugly loss from the first place Lions, but at least they won the day before.

25 May

NPB
Saitama Seibu Lions (10) at Hiroshima Carp (7). Takeya Nakamura blew this game open in the third with a grand slam. Hiroshima desperately tried to recover in the 8th with a five-run rally partially fueled by a Kenta Kurihara blast, but it wasn’t enough. The Carp record drops to 19-28-0 in fifth.

MLB
Oakland Athletics (1) at Baltimore Orioles (5). Markakis homered and Baltimore managed another win, but there’s nothing less interesting to me than the Oakland Athletics. Sorry Oakland. Baltimore’s record climbs to 15-31 in last.

Atlanta Braves (4) at Florida Marlins (6). Atlanta is surprisingly not that great this year, despite everyone’s predictions to the contrary. Kenshin Kawakami has been beat up and sports an 0-7 record after this game. I really did not expect that at all. Florida ends the day with a 24-22 record in second, two games back.

Boston Red Sox (2) at Tampa Bay Rays (0). A very well pitched game, but Lester was better than Jamie Shields. I really hope Boston doesn’t return the favor and sweep the Rays at home. Come on Tampa Bay! The Rays are now 32-14 after their two game losing streak.

Washington Nationals (2) at San Francisco Giants (4). Liván Hernández has another bad day and the Nats bats can’t keep up. Washington is now tied for last with the Mets with a 23-23 record.

The Rays were the only MLB team I follow with a game yesterday, which they promptly went ahead and blew.

24 May

NPB
Saitama Seibu Lions (0) at Hiroshima Carp (3). Eric Stults is really starting to bring it all together. His second win comes against a tough first place Seibu team. Hiroshima’s record improves to 19-27-0 in fifth.

Rakuten Eagles (0) at Chunichi Dragons (3). Can’t totally blame Rasner for this one, especially not when the Rakuten bats are silent. He turned in a quality start, after all. Rakuten is now 21-28-0 in fifth.

MLB
Boston Red Sox (6) at Tampa Bay Rays (1). Wade Davis has really been knocked around since his first few starts. The loss puts Tampa Bay at 32-13, only 5.5 ahead.

Ok, so this space isn’t really about Lost, but how great was it? Oh yeah, there was baseball played too.

21 May

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (7) at Softbank Hawks (1). Kenta Maeda is a beast. Really. This guy is the best pitcher in the Central League with his 1.59 ERA and he’s consistently dominant.

Yomiuri Giants (4) at Rakuten Eagles (5). Always good to see the Giants lose.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (5) at Washington Nationals (3). Shocked that the Nats dropped any to Baltimore, but I guess it can happen sometimes.

Tampa Bay Rays (1) at Houston Astros (2). This was an even worse loss. At least it wasn’t a blowout.

Florida Marlins (0) at Chicago White Sox (8). Mark Buehrle really dominates Florida teams and Ricky Nolasco had a terrible outing.

22 May

NPB
Carp (4) at Hawks (7). Hiroshima gets some runs in on the starter, but it’s not enough to hold back the Hawks’ strong offense.

Giants (5) at Eagles (3). Rakuten can’t afford to lose games Iwakuma starts. Sure, he gave up three, but the relief core gave up the winning runs.

MLB
Marlins (1) at White Sox (4). Another bad game for the Fish. The offense just couldn’t solve White Sox pitching.

Orioles (6) at Nationals (7). Sloppy pitching by both teams, but the Washington offense came out on top.

Rays (4) at Astros (2). This is much more like it. No more losing to bad teams, Tampa.

23 May

NPB
Saitama Seibu Lions at Carp. Rained out. The Carp end the weekend 18-27-0 in fifth.

Eagles (7) at Chunichi Dragons (2). Something happened to Chunichi’s starter, because he was pulled after 3.2 after only giving up three. It’s strange to see Rakuten’s offense awaken at random times, but it does exist. They close the weekend at 21-27-0 in fifth.

MLB
Orioles (3) at Nationals (4). Washington wins this one in extras on a walk-off home run by The Hammer, Josh Willingham. Washington closes the weekend at 23-22, tied for third with the Marlins.

Marlins (13) at White Sox (0). The recent trend is for the Fish to kick major ass whenever Josh Johnson is on the mound shutting out the opposing team. Johnson destroys the Sox over six while the Fish hit five home runs, two by Cody Ross alone. Their record sits at 23-22 in third.

Rays (10) at Astros (6). David Price has an uncharacteristically bad start, but the Rays offense helps him out by scoring a ridiculous amount of runs while the bullpen held the Astros to only one. Tampa Bay’s record jumps to 32-12, putting them a HUGE six games up on the Yankees.

The Lions went and slaughtered my precious Golden Eagles, leaving them with something to think about over the next two off days. It was not a great day for my favorite baseball teams.

05 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (3) at Seibu Lions (19)! The Lions really dished out some punishment. Rakuten is still miraculously in fourth place with its 16-21-0 record, but that’s no real consolation since there’s a three-way tie for first 6.5 games up.

Hiroshima Carp (4) at Yokohama BayStars (5). Tough losses to the ‘Stars push Hiroshima back two games. Why can’t Maeda start every day? The Carp are now 14-20-0 in fifth.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (5) at New York Yankees (7). They came so close to winning this, but it just wasn’t enough. The Orioles record is such a joke at 7-21 that I almost don’t want to mention it any more. Suffice it to say that they’re in last.

Atlanta Braves (7) at Washington Nationals (6). Matt Capps notches his first loss in extras (still no blown saves) in a hard fought game against Atlanta. Washington’s 14-13 record is good enough for third.

San Francisco Giants (3) at Florida Marlins (2). Barry Zito pitches himself a great game and the Marlins just don’t have the bats to win. When Hanley goes 0-4, what can you expect?

Tampa Bay Rays (8) at Seattle Mariners (2). A pitchers duel that somehow ends with Cliff Lee getting tagged for four just goes to show how potent the Rays offense is. Tampa had to win to maintain their lead with their 20-7 record.

I get to experience good weather at Nats Park for the first time since Opening Day above.

Who would have expected Liván Hernández to have a sub 1.00 ERA and one of the best records in baseball at this point in the season?

Why do the Marlins seem to drop the first game of every series?

Will either of these trends end? I hope one definitely does!

04 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (5) at Seibu Lions (6). Not a good habit to get into (losing to the Lions). Rakuten falls to 16-20-0 with the next highest place (3rd) 5.5 games ahead of them.

Hiroshima Carp (5) at Yokohama BayStars (6). Speaking of teams that you don’t want to keep losing to, Hiroshima drops yet another game and falls behind the BayStars in the standings with their 14-19-0 record.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (4). Déjà vu. 7-20 is a mighty big hole to dig out of.

Atlanta Braves (3) at Washington Nationals (6). I get to see the Nats win for the first time this season. Good times. Wasghington is 14-12 in third.

San Francisco Giants (9) at Florida Marlins (6). Florida miraculously ties up the game started by Tim Lincecum, but they can’t break the tie and secure the win. They finally lose it in the 12th thanks to the Marlins relief. Florida falls to 13-13 and is in fourth.

Tampa Bay Rays (5) at Seattle Mariners (2). Longoria hits himself another home run as the Rays comfortably win behind Jamie Shields. It’s Matt Garza against Cliff Lee tonight and this could be an exciting pitching duel. In the meanwhile, the Rays have a one game lead on the Yankees with their 19-7 record.

Dave's trying to do the same pose as Slicky in the bottom right corner.

Rainout makeups, but an otherwise uneventful day for baseball.

3 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (5) at Seibu Lions (4). It brings me great joy to see my least favorite Pacific League team, the Lions, lose. Keep up the good work, Rakuten (16-19-0, 4th)

Hiroshima Carp (3) at Yokohama BayStars (1). Another solid win for Hiroshima, who has had some problems with the BayStars this year. They’re now tied for fourth with Yokohama at 14-18-0, but that will change tomorrow since they play again.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (4). No one expected the win streak to continue against Sabathia. The Orioles are now 7-19 in last.