4-30 Recap

I can't believe the first month of the season has come and gone.  It has flown by.  We are already 1/6 of the way done with the season! Alright it's recap time!

Away	Home	Result	Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
D-backs	Marlins	MIA 5, ARI 9	Corbin (1-0)	Buehrle (1-4)
Orioles	Yankees	NYY 2, BAL 1	Kuroda (2-3)	Hammel (3-1)
Cubs	Phillies	PHI 6, CHC 4	Qualls (1-0)	Maine (0-1)
Royals	Tigers	Postponed
Rangers	Blue Jays	TOR 1, TEX 4	Darvish (4-0)	Drabek (2-2)
Athletics	Red Sox	OAK 6, BOS 11	Buchholz (3-1)	Milone (3-2)
Pirates	Braves	PIT 9, ATL 3	McDonald (1-1)	Minor (2-2)
Mariners	Rays	TB 3, SEA 2	Howell (1-0)	League (0-2)
Mets	Astros	NYM 3, HOU 4	Rodriguez (1-3)	Acosta (0-2)
Dodgers	Rockies	LAD 2, COL 6	Nicasio (2-0)	Harang (1-2)
Brewers	Padres	SD 3, MIL 8	Wolf (2-2)	Wieland (0-4)
Twins	Angels	MIN 3, LAA 4	Wilson (3-2)	Blackburn (0-3)

Diamondbacks 9 Marlins 5 (Loss)

Well so much for my prediction about the Marlins turning it around.  Buehrle got shelled today and the Miami offense still can't hit.  Jose Reyes is batting .220, Hanley Ramirez is batting .207, Gaby Sanchez is at .205, and Giancarlo Stanton is at .247 with 1 home run.  They need much more from those four and they need it in a hurry.

Yankees 2 Orioles 1 (Win)

The block for the Orioles continues as New York wins the opener of the series and improves to 4-0 vs Baltimore this year.  The Yankees scored both their runs on a 2-run home run by Eric Chavez, and Hiroki Kuroda made it stand.  I know that Baltimore will not go 0-18 this year against the Yankees but man they struggle against this team.

Phillies 6 Cubs 4 (Win)

Well would you look at that.  The Philadelphia Phillies offense actually scored a few runs.  They scored 4 runs in the first inning and watched as the Cubs crawled back to tie it and deny Vance Worley a win.  The Phillies got 2 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead and Papelbon came in and shut down the Cubs in the ninth.

Royals vs Tigers

This game was postponed due to inclement weather.  The lock of the day is not a loss.  

Rangers 4 Blue Jays 1 (Win)

Yu Darvish allowed only 1 run in 7 innings and struck out 9 batters as he improved to 4-0 in the month of April.  Darvish has been dominant so far this year and is rewarding the Rangers for giving him that huge contract.  Mitch Moreland and Chris Gentry both hit home runs for the Rangers, who won today after losing their first series of the season over the weekend.

Red Sox 11 Athletics 6 (Win)

The Boston bats came out today as they hit 4 home runs off of Athletics pitchers and finally got back to .500.  David Ortiz hit 2 home runs and Mike Aviles and Darnell McDonald also went deep for Boston.  Yoenis Cespedes did strike out once today but Seth Smith got the dubious Golden Sombrero by striking out 4 times today.  Ouch.

Pirates 9 Braves 3 (Loss)

Both teams from the state of Philadelphia finally starting hitting the ball today, although the case for the Pirates was worse than the Phillies.  Pittsburgh scored more than 4 runs for the first time today and it took them a month to do it.  James McDonald, the starting pitcher for the Pirates, had to be thrilled that his offense actually scored him a few runs today.

Rays 3 Mariners 2 (Loss)

Felix Hernandez and Jeremy Hellickson were both outstanding today.  Felix struck out 9 in 8 innings but didn't leave with the lead because Hellickson matched him pitch for pitch.  The only runs the Mariners got were a solo home run by Miguel Olivo in the second inning and a solo home run by Jesus Montero in the eleventh inning.  However the Mariners couldn't hold the lead in the extra frame and Tampa Bay won it in the twelfth.

Astros 4 Mets 3 (Win)

I am not going to lie I had no clue who to pick in this game.  My instinct told me the Mets and my instincts have been wrong quite often with the Mets this year.  I picked against my instincts and it ended up working out for me as the Astros won the game to take the opener of the series in Houston.  

Rockies 6 Dodgers 2 (Loss)

Another day in April and another Matt Kemp home run.  Fortunately for the Rockies it was a solo home run and that was his only hit of the game.  Juan Nicasio improved to 2-0 this year by limiting the Dodgers to just 2 runs and getting a lot of help offensively from a balanced Rockies attack.  He even helped his own cause out by going 1for 2 in the game today.

Brewers 8 Padres 3 (Win)

Welcome back Ryan Braun!! Braun hit 3 home runs and a triple today to count for over half of the hits the Brewers got as they beat the Padres down in San Diego.  The Brewers only got 7 hits as a team but 4 came from Braun, who also had 6 RBI's.  This was the first 3 home run game of Braun's career and the first 3 home run game at Petco Park since it opened its doors in 2004.

Angels 4 Twins 3 (Win)

Albert Pujols went the entire month of April without hitting a home run, and he currently has a batting average of .217.  Fortunately for the Angels the other big free agent signing is actually earning his contract as C.J Wilson pitched well enough to get the win and improve his record to 3-2.  Not really where they wanted but it is hardly Wilson's fault as he does have an ERA of 2.70.

Days Record: 7-4                  Overall Record: 183-155                Lock of the Day Record: 15-9 (No lock of the day today as the game was postponed)

We conclude April 28 games over .500.  Not the pace I want to be at but it is definitely picking up as I am learning more about each team.  I am confident that this will be my worst month winning percentage wise.  If I continue on the pace I am at now I will win 1319 games, which is 181 games worse than my goal.  Time to step it up!!