Pujols 4 hits aid Carpenters first win (AP)

Daniel Descalso hit a two-out, bases-loaded single in the eighth off Kerry Wood and Albert Pujols had four hits Tuesday night, helping Chris Carpenter get his first win of the season as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4. St. Louis pulled out the victory without manager Tony La Russa, who had tests [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/05/11/pujols-4-hits-aid-carpenters-first-win-ap/

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Jeter gets 2 more hits in Yankees win (AP)

Derek Jeter is tired of talking about slumps. So is Alex Rodriguez. They’re finally doing something about it. Jeter had two more hits and drove in another run, A-Rod added a two-run single and Freddy Garcia turned over a two-run cushion to the New York Yankees’ bullpen, which held off the Kansas City Royals for [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/05/11/jeter-gets-2-more-hits-in-yankees-win-ap/

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La Russa has shingles, to miss road trip (AP)

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will miss the rest of St. Louis’ road trip after being diagnosed with shingles. La Russa had tests Tuesday at the Mayo Clinic, whose physicians consulted with Cardinals doctors and decided it would be best for the manager to rest and allow his medication to take effect.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/05/11/la-russa-has-shingles-to-miss-road-trip-ap/

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Blue Jays best Red Sox 7-6 in 10 innings (AP)

David Cooper hit his first major league homer and drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 on Tuesday night. Jose Bautista hit his 11th home run of the season and rookie J.P. Arencibia also went deep for Toronto. [...]

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Heyward leaves loss with ailing shoulder (AP)

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward left a loss to Washington in the eighth inning because of a lingering shoulder injury. Heyward says his right shoulder has been bothering him since spring training, but the pain got worse in the past week or so. Then, after his final at-bat in a 7-6 loss to the Nationals, [...]

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Dodgers Spot 10, Beat Bucs

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http://www.ladodgertalk.com/2011/05/dodgers-spot-10-beat-bucs/

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Yankees Mystique, Aura, Baseball-Playing Ability
Overcome Royals

It was a game in which half of the Royals fanbase was actually cheering for Kyle Davies to get lit up to end our Hiram nightmare for good. However, like a cockroach, Davies survived, gritting it out for five innings and three runs on seven hits, and more surprisingly, just one walk against the patient Yankees lineup. It was just enough to earn him another start, yet not good enough to overcome our anemic offense.

The game was arguably lost in the seventh when the Royals loaded the bases with one out. With Wilson Betimet and Mitch Maier sitting on the bench, Ned Yost went into a deep slumber and neglected to pinch hit for either Alcides Escobar or Chris Getz. Predictably, each struck out.

To make matters worse, Escobar was not his usual stellar self in the field. Alex Rodriguez's bases loaded slow-roller in the fifth was a playable ball that Alcides did not convert. If he isn't hitting, and isn't fielding, all that is keeping Alcides in the lineup is his charming smile.

Billy Butler and Alex Gordon combined to go 0-8. Since the Twins series, the dynamic duo has combined to go 7-51 (.138/.182/.216)

Well at least the Davies start is out of the way. I'm sure a veteran like Bruce Chen will give us the stabilizing quality start we need....oh cripes.

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Late Comeback Bid Not Enough As Atlanta Falls to
Jason Marquis, Washington 7-6.

After winning two out of three against Philadelphia, the Braves carried a ton of momentum into tonight's game against Washington. That momentum was nowhere to be found on the field until the eight inning, where the Braves attempted to mount a comeback, scoring five runs to cut the Nationals lead to 7-6. However, the comeback bid fell short as the Braves were unable to overcome some bad early defense and a large deficit, falling to Washington by that 7-6 score.

The bad defense started on the first play of the game, as Roger Bernadina reached on an error after Freddie Freeman lost control of the ball running to step on first base. Brian McCann then dropped the ball rushing to try and throw out Bernadina who stole second. Ian Desmond  followed with a grounder to short, which was bobbled by Diory Hernandez but advanced Bernadina to third. The play was ruled a hit as it would have been tough to get Desmond at first even if he had fielded it cleanly. 

Jayson Werth would then grounded into a double play, which allowed Bernadina to score from third, giving the Nationals an early 1-0 lead.

The rest after the jump.

The Nationals got back on the offensive in the fourth inning. After two quick outs, Adam LaRoche hit a hard grounder to first that bounced off Freddie Freeman, allowing LaRoche to reach base. It was originally ruled an error but was later changed to a hit. Wilson Ramos then followed with a liner to right center-field. Nate McLouth got his glove on it but then got spooked by Jason Heyward who was unnecessarily close to him on the play, and dropped the ball. McLouth surely had flashbacks to last season to the collision between the two that put McLouth on the disabled list.

That put runners on second and third for Laynce Nix, who promptly crushed a ball into the mostly empty right field stands for a three-run homer, giving the Nationals a 4-0 lead.

Atlanta finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth as Martin Prado broke up Jason Marquis' perfect game with a line drive home run to left, cutting the deficit to 4-1.

Washington would soon add to their lead though, as they added three more runs in the top of the fifth inning. Jerry Hairston Jr. led off the inning with a single, then stole second. After Hudson struck out Marquis, he walked Roger Bernadina. Ian Desmond grounded out to the pitcher, advancing the runners to second and third. Jayson Werth then came up and drove a Hudson pitch a couple rows into the left field stands for a three run homer, giving Washington a 7-1 lead. 

Tim Hudson struggled mightily, although the terrible defense behind him deserves a good bit of the blame. Hudson was pulled after the fifth inning, and finished with a line of 5 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K's. It was surprising to see Hudson struggle as he routinely owns the Nationals, entering the game with a 11-2 career record against Washington. 

Atlanta would start to make a game of things in the eighth inning.. Martin Prado got on with a one out single, then was driven in on a double to right center by Eric Hinske, who came into the game in the top of the 8th in place of the struggling Jason Heyward. Hinske's double would end the night for Jason Marquis, who pitched great. 

The Nationals brought left hander Sean Burnett into the game, and he was promptly greeted by Chipper Jones who lined a single to center that scored Hinske and brought the deficit to 7-3. Burnett would then walk Brian McCann, putting the runners on first and second. That would be the end of the night for Burnett, who was replaced by righty Tyler Clippard. Clippard faced Dan Uggla, who hammered a fastball to left center for a three run homer, making it a 7-6 game heading to the ninth.

The final line for Marquis was 7.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K's. 

Cristhian Martinez came in the game in relief on Hudson and pitched magnificently in his first outing in two weeks. Martinez threw three innings of no hit ball, walking one and striking out three. He deserves a large amount of credit for giving Atlanta the chance to comeback by keeping them in the game.

Drew Storen would come in to close the game in ninth for the Nationals. After Diory Hernandez flew out to begin the inning, pinch hitter Brooks Conrad put a charge into one that was ultimately caught right in front of the wall by Roger Bernadina. Martin Prado would ground out to Storen to end the game and Atlanta's valiant attempt at a comeback.

WP:

Jason Marquis (100th career win) - 7.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K's. 

LP: 

Tim Hudson- 5 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K's

Save:

Drew Storen- 1 IP, 0 H, 0R, 0 BB, 0 K.

Up Next:

Game two of the series is at 7:10 EST tomorrow as Tommy Hanson takes on John Lannan.

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Jason Heyward Has Sore Right Shoulder, Will
Undergo MRI

As Jason Heyward was coming up through the Braves farm system, the only aspect of his game that was ever really questioned was his ability to stay healthy for an entire season. For the second year in a row, Heyward has a potentially serious injury.

Reports from the Atlanta clubhouse surfaced on Tuesday night that Jason Heyward has a sore right shoulder and felt numbness in his right forearm and hand as well. The shoulder injury had been bothering him since Spring Training. He was removed from the game in the 8th inning, and he will likely miss at least one game.

Heyward has not looked comfortable at the plate over the last few weeks and after an 0-3 with two strikeout performance tonight, he's now 2-for-28 with 13 strikeouts in the month of May.

The Braves will need to get creative if Heyward is forced to miss an extended amount of time. Eric Hinske filled in for Heyward after leaving tonight's game, but he would be a huge defensive liability if he had to play right field with any regularity. The same would go for Joe Mather. Martin Prado could possibly move over, but that's unlikely with him finally getting settled into left field. The only outfielder in the Minor Leagues who could possibly handle starting on a daily basis would be Jordan Schafer, but it is unknown if the Braves feel he's ready to make his return to the Major Leagues.

Let's all just hope for the MRI to come back clean and for Heyward to be back in the lineup after a few days. We need him.

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Dodgers end hitting slump, rout Pirates (AP)

Matt Kemp hit a three-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers broke out of a lengthy hitting slump in a 10-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. The Dodgers posted a season-high 15 hits, including three each by Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles. Ted Lilly (3-3) had little trouble over six innings as [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/05/11/dodgers-end-hitting-slump-rout-pirates-ap/

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