Nine innings, nine items to get you going. Ladies and gentleman of the Stew, take a sip of morning Juice.
1. Twenty-two Brewers up, twenty-two Brewers down: Of course it takes twenty-seven to complete a perfecto, but for those first twenty-two batters, St. Louis Cardinals hurler Jaime Garcia was untouchable. Just ask Ryan Braun, who looked completely helpless striking out three times on just nine pitches.
After finally walking the twenty-third batter, Casey McGehee, on four pitches, and then surrendering his first basehit just one pitch later to Yuniesky Betancourt, Garcia would reestablish command and cruise to the finish, completing the shutout in a 6-0 victory.
2. By the skin of his foot: Atlanta Braves sinkerballer Derek Lowe doesn't have tough enough skin to throw a no-hitter. And I mean that literally. Lowe was cruising along, no-hitting the Philadelphia Phillies for six innings, when a blister developed on his right foot and forced his exit after allowing two hits to start the 7th.
"I knew it wouldn't be happening," Lowe said of a possible no-hitter. "I knew it would come to an abrupt end. I'm disappointed in my skin."
Lowe may be disappointed in his skin, but the Braves are thankful for his good work. It allowed them to hang tight and overcome a 16 strikeout performance from Cliff Lee to claim a 5-0 win. Their sixth in a row.
3. Hosmermania is walking and running wild: The 30,690 fans (9,835 walkups) on hand at Kaufman Stadium to witness Eric Hosmer's debut never got to see the Royals top prospect put a baseball in play. On the night, Hosmer drew two walks, struck out twice, both times looking, and mixed in a stolen base in the Royals 3-2 loss to Oakland.
All four plate appearances came against tough lefties in Gio Gonzalez and Brian Fuentes, so we'll just pat the kid on the back and tune in again on Saturday.
4. Who's that Guyer?: Meanwhile, Tampa Bay's Brandon Guyer also realized his dream, but added a cherry on top by homering in his first big league at-bat. That was his only hit of the evening, but the two-run blast capped a three run 2nd inning, and that was all starter James Shields needed in the Rays 6-2 victory over Baltimore.
5. The Big 3-0: Andre Ethier keeps on hitting, extending his impressive streak to 30 games with a three hit night. But as is commonly the issue with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they couldn't bring him around. That left the door open for New York's Jason Pridie to be hero, and he was, blasting a three-run homer in the sixth. �Mets win it 6-3.
6. Grandyman delivers... twice: Curtis Granderson cracked his 9th and 10th home runs (both solos) in a Yankees 4-1 win over Texas. Granderson's torrid start is destroying the myth that he can't hit lefties. The first home run of the evening off of Matt Harrison was his 4th off a southpaw this season, equaling his total from 2010.
7. Knuckleball goes Plouffe: The Minnesota Twins found a cure to what ails their struggiling offense: Tim Wakefield's knuckleball. The Twinkees torched Wakefield for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings. Trevor Plouffe was the main catalyst of the assault, hitting a home run, swiping a bag and scoring three times in his 2011 debut. Twins win it 9-2.
8. Say Hey for the Giants: It was a special night at AT&T Park, where the San Francisco Giants organization and many friends honored Willie Mays on his 80th birthday. Pretty special night on the field as well, as the defending champs overcame Troy Tulowitzki's 100th career homer and a 3-1 8th inning deficit to knock off the Rockies 4-3.
9. They have LeCure: Jay Bruce jacked his fifth homer in ten days, a three-run shot off the Cubs Matt Garza, and reliever Sam LeCure diagnosed and a eliminated a bases loaded, no out mess in the 6th to help the Reds secure a 5-4 win. Of course the Cubs couldn't help but lend a hand in their own demise, going a miserable 2-for-12 with RISP.
Milwaukee Brewers Philadelphia 76ers New York Mets DeAngelo Hall Philadelphia Phillies
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