Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 4

SCOREBOARD
Red Sox (16-10) 6 at Yankees (13-12) 4
W: Lester (2-2) L: Hughes (1-1) S: Papelbon (7)

Phillies (13-10) 6 at Cardinals (17-9) 1
W: Blanton (1-2) L: Lohse (3-1)

Twins (13-13) 7 at Tigers (13-12) 2
W: Liriano (1-4) L: Jackson (1-2)

Mets (11-13) 6 at Braves (11-14) 4
W: Maine (2-2) L: Vazquez (2-3) S: Rodriguez (6)

Indians (10-16) 9 at Blue Jays (18-10) 7 - F/12
W: Betancourt (1-1) L: Camp (0-1) S: Lewis (1)

Astros (11-15) 4 at Nationals (7-17) 9
W: Lannan (1-3) L: Wright (1-1)

Orioles (10-16) 8 at Rays (11-16) 4
W: Baez (2-1) L: Kazmir (3-3)

Brewers (14-12) 7 at Pirates (12-13) 4
W: DiFelice (3-0) L: Capps (0-2) S: Hoffman (4)

White Sox (12-13) 0 at Royals (15-11) 3
W: Greinke (6-0) L: Colon (2-2)

Reds (13-12) 2 at Marlins (15-11) 3 - F/14
W: Badenhop (2-1) L: Herrera (0-1)

Angels (11-13) 5 at Athletics (9-14) 2
W: Saunders (4-1) L: Anderson (0-3) S: Fuentes (6)

Giants (12-12) 2 at Cubs (14-11) 4
W: Dempster (2-1) L: Sanchez (1-2) S: Gregg (4)

Rangers (13-12) 6 at Mariners (15-11) 5
W: Millwood (3-2) L: Hernandez (4-1) S: Francisco (8)

Rockies (10-14) 9 at Padres (11-15) 6
W: Rusch (2-0) L: Moreno (1-3) S: Street (3)

Diamondbacks (11-15) 2 at Dodgers (19-8) 7
W: Stults (3-1) L: Davis (2-4)

HR LIST
Mark Teixeira 2 (5)
Carlos Beltran 2 (4)
Evan Longoria (8)
Michael Young (7)
Russell Branyan (7)
Mark Reynolds (7)
Mike Lowell (6)
Jason Bay (6)
Miguel Cabrera (6)
Rickie Weeks (6)
Chris Davis (6)
Manny Ramirez (6)
Andre Ethier (6)
Johnny Damon (5)
Ryan Howard (5)
Chris Iannetta (5)
Nick Markakis (4)
Scott Hairston (4)
Jayson Werth (3)
Chipper Jones (3)
Brian Roberts (3)
David DeJesus (3)
Hanley Ramirez (3)
Ryan Theriot (3)
Franklin Gutierrez (3)
David Wright (2)
Kurt Suzuki (2)
Matt LaPorta (1)
Andy LaRoche (1)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 3

Sorry for missing Friday and Saturday, the Kentucky Derby took over my life. Me and Curtis, Cards and Rays writer, left and headed to Louisville and got in at Mike's, the Reds writer, at 2:00 AM Eastern. Got to see see Jim, the Pirates writer, and Alex, the Chi Sox writer, down there as well and it was an absolute blast. Next time I will put it out there that I'll be gone for everyone. On to the games.

SCOREBOARD
Indians (9-16) 1 at Tigers (13-11) 3
W: Verlander (2-2) L: Lee (1-4) S: Rodney (6)

Astros (11-14) 7 at Braves (11-13) 5
W: Geary (1-3) L: Moylan (1-2) S: Hawkins (3)

Orioles (9-16) 3 at Blue Jays (18-9) 4
W: Richmond (4-0) L: Guthrie (2-2) S: Downs (3)

Reds (13-11) 5 at Pirates (12-12) 0
W: Cueto (2-1) L: Karstens (1-1)

Red Sox (15-10) 3 at Rays (11-15)
W: Shields (3-2) L: Penny (2-1) S: Percival (3)

Diamondbacks (11-14) 3 at Brewers (13-12) 4
W: Stetter (1-0) L: Gutierrez (1-2) S: Hoffman (3)

Royals (14-11) 7 at Twins (12-13) 5
W: Meche (2-2) L: Baker (0-4) S: Soria (6)

Marlins (14-11) 4 at Cubs (13-11) 6
W: Zambrano (3-1) L: Nolasco (1-3) S: Gregg (3)

Athletics (9-13) 7 at Mariners (15-10) 8
W: Vargas (1-0) L: Eveland (1-2)

Rockies (9-14) 0 at Giants (12-11) 1
W: Medders (1-1) L: Corpas (0-3)

Padrese (11-14) 3 at Dodgers (18-8) 7
W: Billingsley (5-0) L: Gaudin (0-1)

White Sox (12-12) 1 at Rangers (12-12) 5
W: Harrison (2-2) L: Danks (2-2)

Angels (10-13) at Yankees (13-11) - POSTPONED

Cardinals (17-8) at Nationals (6-17) - POSTPONED

Mets (10-13) at Phillies (12-10) - POSTPONED

HR LIST
Ian Kinsler (9)
Brandon Inge (8)
Jay Bruce (6)
Kevin Youkilis (6)
Mark Reynolds (6)
Mike Cameron (6)
Mike Fontenot (5)
Luke Scott (4)
Vernon Wells (4)
Justin Upton (4)
Prince Fielder (4)
Jose Guillen (3)
Jack Cust (3)
Derrek Lee (3)
Jody Gerut (3)
Alex Rios (2)
Miguel Montero (2)
John Baker (2)
Kenji Johjima (1)
Mike Sweeney (1)
Brian Giles (1)

Pittsburgh Pirates April Awards

Alright, so this is the first time I've done this. After each month during the season, I will start doing a little recap and hand out monthly awards throughout the organization.

So here we go:

Hitter of the Month: Freddy Sanchez
Sanchez has gotten off to a very good start here in the 2009 campaign. After posting his worst full season as a professional last year, he seems to be back to where he was in 2006 and 2007. For those who don't remember, Sanchez won the NL batting title in 2006 with a .344 BA.

So far in 20 games he has posted a .337 BA, a .374 OBP, and is slugging .570. He hit 2 homers in April to go along with 10 doubles and 2 triples.

Pitcher of the Month: Zach Duke
Duke, in 4 starts, posted a 3-1 record to go along with a 2.43 ERA in the month of April. One of those starts for Duke was his 3rd shutout of his career. In 29.2 innings, Duke gave up just 6 walks to go along with 19 strikeouts.

Duke has already matched his win total from 2007, where he started 19 games, and has over half of his won total from last season (5) where he made 31 starts.

Minor League Hitter of the Month: Kris Watts
This was a tough decision, but ultimately, Watts beats out Garrett Jones and Jim Negrych. Watts, 24, is currently in Lynchburg, which is most likely a level too low for him. But the player does not always determine the level. And if Lynchburg is a level too low, then he's at least proving it. In April, Watts has posted a .444 BA with 2 HR and 12 RBI. He's been handling the catching duties for the Hillcats. Watts also posted a .565 OBP and a .685 slugging percentage. He's only struck out 7 times opposed to walking 12 times.

Minor League Pitcher of the Month: Rudy Owens
Owens posted a spectacuar April with West Virginia going 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA in 4 starts. In 19.2 innings, Owens struck out 13 batters while only walking 5. His WHIP stood at 1.07 for the month. He never gave up more than 2 ER in any of his 4 starts.

The southpaw was the Pirates' 28th round pick in 2006.

Major League Baseball Scoreboard April 30

SCOREBOARD
Athletics (8-11) 4 at Rangers (10-11) 2
W: Braden (3-2) L: Padilla (1-2) S: Wuertz (1)

Cardinals (16-7) 9 at Nationals (5-16) 4
W: Perez (1-1) L: Tavarez (0-2)

Blue Jays (15-9) 6 at Royals (12-10) 8
W: Davies (2-1) L: Burress (0-2) S: Cruz (1)

Diamondbacks (9-13) 1 at Brewers (12-10) 4
W: DiFelice (2-0) L: Gordon (0-1) S: Hoffman (2)

Angels (9-12) 4 at Yankees (12-10) 7
W: Coke (1-1) L: Speier (0-1) S: Rivera (5)

Marlins (14-8) 8 at Cubs (10-11) 2
W: Pinto (2-0) L: Heilman (2-1)

Red Sox (14-8) at Rays (9-14) 13
W: Garza (2-2) L: Beckett (2-2)

Padres (11-11) 5 at Dodgers (15-8) 8
W: Belisario (1-2) L: Gregerson (0-1) S: Broxton (7)

HR LIST
Albert Pujols (8)
Jorge Cantu (7)
Hank Blalock (6)
Evan Longoria (6)
Ryan Zimmerman (5)
Marco Scutaro (5)
Manny Ramirez (5)
Adam Lind (4)
Mike Napoli (4)
Johnny Damon (4)
Mike Fontenot (4)
Andruw Jones (3)
Felipe Lopez (3)
Orlando Hudson (3)
Milton Bradley (2)
Matt Holliday (1)
Michel Hernandez (1)

Red Sox/Rays Preview

The Boston Red Sox travel to Tropicana Field in Tampa (St. Petersburg technically) to play a 4 game series against the Rays. Is it just me, or does it not feel like every time you turn around, the Rays, Yankees or Red Sox are playing each other. The Rays are off to a tough start, 8-14, and really need to start getting things turned around quickly, otherwise Boston could bury them early. The Red Sox had their 11 game winning streak snapped on Tuesday, but come back Wednesday and rally for a 6-5 win in Cleveland to win the series. Probable Starters are:

Thursday, April 30

BOS Josh Beckett (2-1, 6.00)
vs.
TPA Matt Garza (1-2, 4.97)


Friday, May 1

BOS Justin Masterson (2-0, 2.70)
vs.
TPA Andy Sonnanstine (0-3, 7.78)


Saturday, May 2

Bos Tim Wakefield (2-1, 1.86)
vs.
TPA Jeff Niemann (2-2, 4.43)


Sunday, May 3

BOS Brad Penny (2-0, 8.66)
vs.
TPA James Shields (2-2, 3.74)

Cards/Nats Preview

The best team in Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals travel to Washington to take on the worst team in baseball, the Nationals. The Cardinals are coming from Atlanta, where the Redbirds took 2 out of 3. The Nats come home after finishing up a 6 game road trip, the last 3 games being played in Philadelphia. The Nats were able to salvage game 3 of the series to avoid the sweep. Nationals thirdbaseman Ryan Zimmerman comes into the series with a club record 18 game hitting streak. St. Louis Cardinals All World 1st Baseman Albert Pujols comes into the series tied for 2nd in the NL in homers with 7 and leads the league in RBI's with 26. Pitching Probables for the 4 game set are:

Thursday April 30

STL Mitchell Boggs (1-0, 1.17)
vs.
WSH Daniel Cabrera (0-2, 4.42)



Friday, May 1

STL Todd Wellemeyer (1-2, 6.14)
vs.
WSH Jordan Zimmerman (2-0, 2.38)


Saturday, May 2

STL Joel Pineiro (4-0, 3.76)
vs.
WSH Shairon Martis (2-0, 6.20) Martis has 40% of his teams wins for the year.


Sunday, May 3

STL Kyle Lohse (3-0, 1.97)
vs.
WSH John Lannan (0-3, 4.61)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard Apr. 29

SCOREBOARD
Angels (9-11) 3 at Orioles (9-13) 2
W: Loux (1-2) L: Uehara (2-2) S: Fuentes (5)

Pirates (11-10) 0 at Brewers (11-10) 1
W: Gallardo (3-1) L: Snell (1-3) S: Villanueva (2)

Marlins (13-8) 4 at Mets (9-12) 3
W: Pinto (1-0) L: Putz (1-2) S: Lindtrom (5)

Mariners (13-9) 3 at White Sox (11-10) 6
W: Thornton (1-1) L: Kelley (0-1) S: Jenks (5)

Padres (11-10) 5 at Rockies (8-12) 7
W: Cook (1-1) L: Correia (0-2) S: Street (2)

Cubs (10-10) 0 at Diamondbacks (9-12) 12
W: Davis (2-3) L: Dempster (1-1)

Cardinals (15-7) 5 at Braves (10-11) 3
W: Wainwright (3-0) L: Vazquez (2-2) S: Franklin (7)

Yankees (11-10) 8 at Tigers (11-10) 6
W: Chamberlain (1-0) L: Porcello (1-3)

Red Sox (14-7) 6 at Indians (8-14)
W: Okajima (2-0) L: Lewis (2-3) S: Papelbon (6)

Nationals (5-15) 4 at Phillies (11-9) 1
W: Olsen (1-3) L: Myers (1-2) S: Tavarez (1)

Astros (9-13) 0 at Reds (11-10) 3
W: Volquez (3-2) L: Paulino (0-2) S: Cordero (7)

Athletics (7-11) at Rangers (10-10) - POSTPONED

Blue Jays (15-8) 3 at Royals (11-10) 11
W: Greinke (5-0) L: Tallet (1-1)

Rays (8-14) 3 at Twins (11-11) 8
W: Blackburn (2-1) L: Kazmir (3-2)

Dodgers (14-8) 4 at Giants (10-10) 9
W: Lincecum (2-1) L: Stults (2-1) S: Wilson (5)

HR LIST
Adrian Gonzalez 2 (9)
Nick Swisher 2 (7)
Billy Butler 2 (2)
Torii Hunter (8)
Carlos Quentin (8)
Curtis Granderson (7)
Jermaine Dye (6)
Jorge Cantu (6)
Mark DeRosa (5)
Bengie Molina (4)
Kendry Morales (3)
Henry Blanco (3)
Chris Ianetta (3)
Mark Teahen (3)
Shane Victorino (3)
AJ Pierzynski (2)
Yovani Galladro (2)
Kelly Shoppach (2)
Todd Helton (2)
Chad Tracy (2)
Fernando Tatis (1)
Jonathan Van Every (1)

Zack Greinke (Kansas City Royals)

What else can I say? This kid is amazing. Although he gave up his first earned run(s) tonight, he still will have the best in baseball and is the first to reach 5 wins. I blame the run on the curse of the Sports Illustrated cover, which the latest edition conveniently came out today. (Anybody in Kansas City knows the curse, as well as all around the country.) Greinke came out and pitched 7 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. This made his 0.00 ERA move to 0.50, which is still amazing. The rest of the team is trying to play up to Zack's pitching, with Tuesday's game appearing to be a fluke after losing 1-8, but Monday's game a win 7-1 and tonight a whopping 11-3. This last one was a huge boost of confidence for the Royals and they are looking to take the series from one of the best teams in baseball. Billy Butler stepped up and hit two homers tonight and scored 4 times. How about this Alberto Callaspo kid? He is now ranked 9th in the majors with a batting average of .375, but had the number three in the AL spot for a short time. He wasn't even supposed to be out there. Trey planned on him only being a bench player, but Alex Gordon got hurt and moved Mark Teahen from 2nd to 3rd. They stuck Callaspo in and he ended up having a ten game hitting streak, ending this past Tuesday, but he then continued with 2 hits tonight. The Royals record is now (11-10) and with more consistency on the mound and more success at the plate, the Royals are still hungry for the top spot in the AL central. The last game of the series will be played tomorrow at 1:10pm CT at Kauffman, with Kyle Davies up for the Royals, and Brian Burres for the Blue Jays (ERA 12.46, 0-1). 

After the Blue Jays the Royals move on to the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome. 

Game 1
Friday May 1, 2009 at 7:10pm CT vs. Minnesota Twins
KAN Sidney Ponson (0-3), vs. MIN Kevin Slowey (3-0)

Game 2
Saturday May 2, 2009 at 6:10pm CT vs. Minnesota Twins
KAN Brian Bannister (2-0), vs. MIN Glen Perkins (1-2)

Game 3
Sunday May 3, 2009 at 1:10pm CT vs. Minnesota Twins
KAN Gil Meche (1-2), vs. MIN Scott Baker (0-3)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard Apr. 28

SCOREBOARD
Mariners (12-8) 1 at White Sox (10-9) 2 - GAME 1
W: Colon (2-1) L: Jakubauskas (1-3) S: Jenks (4)

Cardinals (14-7) 1 at Braves (10-10) 2
W: Moylan (1-1) L: McClellan (1-1) S: Gonzalez (3)

Nationals (4-15) 1 at Phillies (11-8) 7
W: Durbin (1-0) L: Lannan (0-3)

Angels (8-11) 7 at Orioles (9-12) 5
W: Saunders (3-1) L: Eaton (1-3) S: Fuentes (4)

Red Sox (13-7) 8 at Indians (8-13) 9
W: Wood (1-1) L: Lopez (0-2)

Yankees (10-10) 11 at Tigers (11-9) 0
W: Hughes (1-0) L: Perry (0-1)

Astros (9-12) 8 at Reds (10-10) 3
W: Rodriguez (2-2) L: Harang (2-3)

Marlins (12-8) 7 at Mets (9-11) 4
W: Badenhop (1-0) L: Green (0-1) S: Lindstrom (4)

Pirates (11-9) 5 at Brewers (10-10) 6
W: Julio (1-0) L: Chavez (0-1) S: Hoffman (1)

Athletics (7-11) 4 at Rangers (10-10) 5
W: Millwood (2-2) L: Wuertz (1-1) S: Francisco (6)

Blue Jays (15-7) 8 at Royals (10-10) 1
W: Richmond (3-0) L: Meche (1-2)

Rays (8-13) 3 at Twins (10-11) 4
W: Nathan (1-0) L: Howell (0-2)

Mariners (13-8) 9 at White Sox (10-10) 1
W: Hernandez (4-0) L: Danks (2-1)

Padres (11-9) 4 at Rockies (7-12) 3
W: Sanchez (1-0) L: Corpas (0-2) S: Bell (8)

Cubs (10-9) 11 at Diamondbacks (8-12) 3
W: Zambrano (2-1) L: Petit (0-2)

Dodgrs (14-7) 5 at Giants (9-10) 3
W: Broxton (2-0) L: Howry (0-2) S: Ohman (1)

HR LIST
Chase Utley 2 (7)
Jorge Cantu 2 (5)
Raul Ibanez (7)
Alfonso Soriano (7)
Adam Dunn (6)
Nick Swisher (5)
Rickie Weeks (5)
Justin Morneau (5)
Adam Jones (4)
Mark DeRosa (4)
Ben Zobrist (4)
Howie Kendrick (3)
Ivan Rodriguez (3)
Bill Hall (3)
Scott Hairston (3)
Seth Smith (3)
Mike Fontenot (3)
Pedro Feliz (2)
Ben Francisco (2)
Brandon Phillips (2)
Laynce Nix (1)
Jose Molina (1)
Ryan Sweeney (1)
Carlos Zambrano (1)
Yuniesky Betancourt (1)

Five Tool Player Stats Update

Now that we have almost a month of baseball under our belts, let's take a quick glance at the statiscial leaders.

AL Batting Average
1. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox - .414
2. Victor Martinez, Indians - .390
3. Alberto Callaspo, Royals - .386 (who?)
4. Nick Markakis, Orioles - .382
5. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers - .380

NL Batting Average
1. Carlos Beltran, Mets - .397
2. Joey Votto, Reds - .378
3. Luis Castillo, Mets - .370
4. Nick Johnson, Nationals - .359
5. Freddy Sanchez, Pirates - .359

MLB Home Runs
1. Carlos Pena, Rays - 9
T2. Albert Pujols, Cardinals - 7
T2. Carlos Quentin, White Sox - 7
T2. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres - 7
T2. Ian Kinsler, Rangers - 7
T2. Torii Hunter, Angels - 7
T2. Brandon Inge, Tigers - 7

MLB RBIs
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals -25
2. Carlos Pena, Rays - 24
3. Mike Lowell, Red Sox - 22
4. Nick Markakis, Orioles - 21
T5. Andre Ethier, Dodgers - 20
T5. Ian Kinsler, Rangers - 20
T5. Joey Votto, Reds - 20

AL Wins
T1. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - 4
T1. Zack Greinke, Royals - 4
3. 7 tied with 3 wins

NL Wins
T1. Joel Pineiro, Cardinals - 4
T1. Chad Billinglsey, Dodgers - 4
3. 9 tied with 3 wins

MLB ERA
1. Zack Greinke, Royals - 0.00
2. Johan Santana, Mets - 0.70
3. Dan Haren, Diamondbacks - 1.54
4. Ricky Romero, Blue Jays - 1.71
5. Jair Jurrjens, Braves - 1.72

MLB Saves
1. Heath Bell, Padres - 7
T2. Ryan Franklin, Cardinals - 6
T2. Francisco Cordero, Reds - 6
T2. Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers - 6
5. 5 tied with 5 saves