April 3rd Notes

Cubs vs. Pirates
-Matt Garza went 7 innings and struck out 12 Pirates, but Carlos Marmol was not able to hold his lead in the 9th inning.  It wasn't all peaches and creme for Garza as he did allow 12 hits.
-Marmol got a bit unfortunate in the 9th after a lead off walk he allowed a couple of weakly hit base hits, but a blown save is a blown save.
-One thing that has blown me away in this first series, is how much better Starlin Castro has looked at the plate this season.  He was 3 for 4 today with 2 triples, and is now batting 8 for 13 for the season.

Angels vs. Royals
-Scott Kazmir proved once again why he is not a reliable fantasy option giving up 5 runs in 1.2 inning to the Royals. 
-Howie Kendick has two home runs today, making three for the year.
-Former top prospect Alex Gordon has 3 hits for the Royals.

Padres vs. Cardinals
-The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season, and needed an amazing performance by Jaime Garcia to do so.  Garcia threw a complete game shut out while striking out nine and only allowing 4 hits.  He is looking to avoid the sophomore slump and this is a good start.
-Dustin Moseley was the tough luck loser on the other side, only allowing an unearned run in the 5th inning to get the lose.

 
Red Sox vs Rangers
-Clay Buchholz looked great for the Red Sox only allowing the Rangers to get 5 hits over 6.1 innings.  Unfortunately for him and the Red Sox, 4 of them were solo home runs.
-  Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler both had their third home run of the year, while Mike Napoli and David Murphy also added one.
-One positive thing I took from the struggling Red Sox was how good David Ortiz is swinging the bat.  He was 2 for 4 today including a fly ball out that was caught at the warning track by Josh Hamilton.


Indians vs. White Sox
-The pitching duel between Justin Masterson and John Danks quickly became a blowout when the White Sox bullpen came into the game.  Danks struck out 8 while Masterson struck out 0, clearly indicated these players fantasy values.
-Orlando Cabrera did most of the damage for the Indians collecting 3 hits, including his first home run of the season.  In deep leagues he is a viable middle infielder.

Tigers vs. Yankees
-The Tigers won this absolutely slugfest in the Bronx where there were a combine 7 home runs in the game.  If you owned Phil Hughes or Max Scherzer you were not happy watching this game
-Miguel Cabrera and Jorge Posada hit two home runs, and Robby Cano, Mark Teixeira, and Brennan Boesch had one each.
-Jorge Posada has looked great from the plate this year and maybe being a full time DH will help the old catcher.

Twins vs. Jays
-Jose Bautista hit his 2nd home run of the year, but it was not enough to get the Blue Jays the win over the Twins.
-Joe Nathan came in with a 2 run lead in the ninth and struggled before getting the last out.  Nathan gave up two hits and two walks but picked up the save for his owners. 

Marlins vs Mets
-Javier Vazquez return to the National League did not go the way the Marlins wanted.  In 2.1 innings Vazquez gave 6 hits, walked 5, and gave up 4 earned runs.
-R.A. Dickey started where he left off last season throwing 6 scoreless innings, striking out 7 while picking up his first win of the season.

Brewers vs. Reds
-Rickie Weeks hit his second lead off home run in 3 games, but that was about all the Brewers could smile about as they got shelled by the Reds for the third start game.
-Brandon Phillips, Ryan Hanigan, and Jonny Gomes had a combine 4 home runs and the Reds won 12-3.
-The always underrated Bronson Arroyo picked up his first win of the season.

Braves vs. Nationals
-Tim Hudson went 7 strong as the Braves tacked on late runs first the National's bullpen to win 11-2. 
-Brian McCann had 3 singles and drove in 4 runs for the Braves.
-Jordan Zimmerman who is coming back from Tommy John surgery looked very solid in his season debut.  He went six innings only allowing 2 earned run.  If he is on your waiver wire he is someone to monitor.

 Phillies vs Astros
-Roy Oswalt picked up his first win of the year, going six innings and allowing 2 earned runs in the 7-3 win.
-Ryan Howard smacked his first home run of the year, a three run shot in the first inning.

Orioles vs. Rays
-Top prospect Zach Britton did not disappoint in his major league debut.  He went six strong innings only giving up 1 run while striking out six and picking up the win.
-Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, and Mark Reynolds all collected two hits for the Orioles who have taken 3 in a row from the Rays.


 Prospect Update:
-One of the Braves top prospects, Mike Minor, has been called up and will get the start for Jair Jurrjens on Wednesday.

Some quick injury notes:
-Evan Longoria has a sore oblique and will miss about a week.  It looks like he will be able to avoid a trip to the DL.  UPDATE: Longoria has been placed on the DL.
-Ubaldo Jimenez might miss next week's start due to a cut in his cuticle.  Try not too laugh to hard over this "injury"
-Mike Stanton who has been nursing a hamstring injury all of spring training, might take a few days off to rest.  I'd probably take him out of my lineup this week just to be careful.