Blackburn throws 127 in CG as Twins win (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 24 May 2011 11:35:31 PM. © MLB News Blog

Ron Gardenhire and the Minnesota Twins have always been mindful of pitch counts for their young starters, never wanting to tax their arms too much and risk injury. That philosophy went out the window for Nick Blackburn on Tuesday night, simply because Gardenhire didn’t have many options in his beleaguered bullpen.

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Avila hits 2 HRs as Tigers beat Rays 7-6 (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 24 May 2011 11:29:28 PM. © MLB News Blog

Justin Verlander refused to let his worst outing of the year get him down. A comeback win for the Detroit Tigers helped lift his spirits. Alex Avila’s second homer of the game gave the Tigers the lead in the eighth inning and they held on for a 7-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on [...]

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Cubs 11 Mets 1 May 24, 2011

post from The Mets Report on 24 May 2011 11:05:52 PM. © The Mets Report

The Mets were destroyed in ugly fashion by the Cubs tonight after dealing with owner Fred Wilpon’s nasty comments about several players. The team had a meeting in the locker room before the game to clear the air but it certainly didn’t work judging by the outcome of this game. The Mets had three errors ... Continue Reading

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Yankees ride Curtis Granderson to walk-off win

post from lenNY's Yankees - A Bronx Bombers Blog on 24 May 2011 11:03:35 PM. © lenNY's Yankees - A Bronx Bombers Blog

Four hits and the game-winning run by Curtis Granderson led the Yankees to victory to even the series with the Blue Jays. The Yankees were trailing 4-1 heading into the eighth, but rallied back to win on Mark Teixeira?s ninth-inning single. [...]

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Orioles Score 3 in 9th Off Soria, Duffy Denied
First Win

post from Royals Review on 24 May 2011 11:01:47 PM. © Royals Review

Kansas City Royals' Alex Gordon, right, scores on a single by Jeff Francoeur during the first inning of a baseball game as Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, left, waits for the ball, Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Two Quick hits:

Duffy pitched pretty decent. 6 Ks, 3 BBs, 5 Hits. He started struggling in the last couple innings though.
Soria is off. I am not sure how. Let me look tomorrow to see if it is the cutter. A cutter is meant to induce ground balls plays. Then the team's infielders are supposed to field them. When two balls are hit near Wilson Betemit there is a good chance they will end up as hits. Also, don't, for the love of God, throw a high faster ball to Luke Scott. It might end up as a home run.

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Strong Outing From Jair Jurrjens Leads Atlanta To
A 2-0 Victory Over Pittsburgh

post from Talking Chop on 24 May 2011 11:01:45 PM. © Talking Chop

Jair Jurrjens was dominant, shutting down the Pirates and leading the Braves to a 2-0 win.

Coming off his first loss of the season, Jair Jurrjens got back to his winning ways with a dominating performance against the Pirates, shutting out Pittsburgh in his 7.2 innings of work en route to a 2-0 Atlanta win over Pittsburgh.

Jurrjens was on from the start, throwing first pitch strikes to 12 of the first 15 batters he faced. For the game, he threw 97 pitches, 71 for strikes while facing 29 total batters, showing just how incredibly efficient he was. He also moved into the lead of the National League ERA race in front of Josh Johnson as he lowered his ERA to 1.56.

With Jurrjens dealing on the mound, Atlanta got just enough offense to win, starting in the second inning.

Alex Gonzalez hit a one-out single off Pirates starter Charlie Morton, and advanced to third on a single from Freddie Freeman.

Brooks Conrad, starting in place of Dan Uggla, hit a sacrifice fly to right field that was deep enough to score Gonzalez, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead.

The rest after the jump...

The Braves flashed some leather in the bottom of the second inning, and it came from Eric Hinske. The Pirates Neil Walker led off the inning and hit a shallow fly ball to right field. "Big Damage" did some big damage to the ground as he laid out in a full belly flop to catch the ball for the first out. Hinske has made his fair share of spectacular plays so far this season and this one is certainly added to the list.

The best part of it may have been Jurrjens covering his mouth with his glove and laughing after seeing Hinske lay out like that.

Atlanta would finish the scoring in the third inning, as Jordan Schafer and his obnoxiously large double-flapped helmet led the inning off with a walk. Martin Prado then followed with a double to left field that allowed Schafer and his great speed to come all the way around from first to score. That gave the Braves a 2-0 lead.

The Braves had a chance to add to their lead in the fifth inning, but a Pirates fan cost the Braves a run. After Jurrjens led off with a single and Jordan Schafer lined out, Martin Prado grounded into a force out, getting Jurrjens out at second and putting Prado at first. Chipper Jones then rocketed a ball to center field, where a Pirates fan reached out over the wall and caught the ball with his hat. The ball fell out of his hat and back onto the field, and the play was reviewed.

Prado was well on his way to third and would have easily scored, but the umnpires ruled Chipper's hit fan interference and a ground-rule double.

That gave Chipper second base, but they also held up Prado at third, a tough break for Atlanta. Brian McCann grounded out to end the inning and the threat.

The Pirates mounted their only real threat of the night in the sixth, as Jose Tabata led off the inning with a single. Jurrjens then issued his only walk of the game to Garrett Jones to put runners on first and second with no outs. Jurrjens would rally though, and got Neil Walker to pop out and coaxed a double-play ball from Lyle Overbay to get out of the jam,

Pirates starter Charlie Morton didn't pitch badly, but wasn't good enough to beat his old team. He threw seven innings, giving up the two earned runs, while scattering seven hits and three walks to go with four strikeouts.

Pittsburgh finally managed to knock Jurrjens out of the game in the eighth with a two-out single from Tabata. Jonny Venters came in and was filthy as usual, striking out former Brave Matt Diaz..

It's worth noting that Dan Uggla was brought in as a "defensive replacement" in the eighth inning, which surely has to be the first time that title has been used on him in his career.

Craig Kimbrel came in for the save in the ninth, and looked dominant, finally getting a 1-2-3 inning. Kimbrel struck out Neil Walker, then got a ground-ball to defensive replacement Uggla for the second out. Ryan Doumit would fall victim to Kimbrel as well, striking out to end the game and earn him his 13th save.

With most of the road-trip being filled with dramatic, extra-inning games that have been frustrating and tough to watch, it was nice to see the Braves cruise to a nice easy victory.

The Braves conclude the two-game series with the finale starting at 12:35 EDT as Mike Minor goes against James McDonald.

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Sands slam lifts Dodgers by Astros 5-4 (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 24 May 2011 11:01:28 PM. © MLB News Blog

Rookie Jerry Sands hit a grand slam in the third inning and Jay Gibbons also homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros. Houston starter J.A. Happ (3-6) walked Jamey Carroll with two outs in the third inning before a single by James Loney.

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Jones walkoff HR lifts Os past Royals (AP)

Adam Jones capped a ninth-inning uprising with a two-run walkoff homer against Joakim Soria, giving the Baltimore Orioles a 5-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Jones hit an 0-2 pitch far over the center-field wall to cap a three-run rally. Upon reaching the plate after a joyous trip around the bases, [...]

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Beckett, Red Sox end woes in Cleveland (AP)

Josh Beckett picked up first regular-season win in Cleveland — where he pitched an October gem four years ago — to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 win Tuesday night over the Indians, who couldn’t quite muster another late-inning rally and lost for just the fifth time at home. Beckett (4-1) allowed one [...]

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Barry Bonds Shows He Has Heart.

Barry Bonds Shows He Has Heart. By Lori Preuitt The lawyer who now represents Bryan Stow’s family in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Dodgers gave a new detail on a former Giants generosity to Stow’s two young children. Stow … Continue reading →

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