Posted on April 6, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
From Rotoworld:
Kerry Wood (shoulder) is expected to throw batting practice again on Friday. Wood’s rehab is going much better than expected. An April start isn’t out of the question.
Adrian Gonzalez was the San Diego offense on Wednesday night, going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double in the loss to the Giants. With Ryan Klesko contemplating surgery, it looks Gonzalez could spend the bulk of the season as the Padres’ first baseman. .280-12-80 would be within reach if he gets 500 at-bats.
Jeff Kent left Wednesday night’s game after four innings with bruised left triceps sustained on a HBP. Ramon Martinez replaced him at second base. Kent is day-to-day, but with the Dodgers having Thursday off, he’s not likely to miss any time.
Ryan Zimmerman hit 10 doubles in his 58 at bats last season, but no home runs. He fixed that tonight, hitting his first major league home run Wednesday, a solo blast off Mets closer Billy Wagner to tie the game at four apiece in the top of the ninth inning. The Nationals went on to win 9-4 in 10 innings. Zimmerman took a 3-2 fastball from Wagner and deposited it into the left field seats. After Chad Cordero pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth, Mets reliever Jorge Julio was tagged for five runs — two earned — while getting two outs in the 10th. That was it for them.
J.J. Hardy walked, singled, and hit a solo home run in a 3-2 win over the Pirates tonight. Hardy is hitting second and also homered on Opening Day, so his stock is on the rise. After hitting .308 with eight homers in the second half of last season, he could be ready for a breakout campaign.
With a lefty on the mound, Prince Fielder was moved from the fifth to seventh in the Milwaukee lineup. He walked and delivered the game-winning RBI in four trips to the plate. Fielder was 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts in the first two games, so manager Ned Yost probably just wanted to take some pressure off him. Bill Hall started in place of third basemen Corey Koskie and hit fifth. It’s an alignment that could be used more often if Fielder continues to struggle, but there’s nothing definitive here yet.
Mark Mulder yielded three runs in seven innings in a no-decision against the Phillies tonight. Mulder didn’t walk a batter, but he gave up seven hits and struck out just one. He was in line for the win before David Bell hit a two-run homer in the seventh. He’ll get the Brewers and Reds next week. At the plate, he also drew a walk and collected a hit.
Rich Aurilia hit a two-run homer and singled in a run Wednesday against the Cubs. Aurilia started at first base and hit cleanup today against left-handed Glendon Rusch. He should play over Scott Hatteberg against all lefties, and he might also prove to be the superior option against right-handers.
From RotoWire:
Johnny Estrada (routine day off) is not expected to be in the Diamondbacks’ starting lineup at Colorado on Thursday, the Arizona Republic reports. Chris Snyder will fill in behind the plate. Just an FYI if you’re in a daily league, since this is a Coors Field start. The D-Backs had said during the spring that Estrada would get occassional days off against lefties, and Jeff Francis will start for Colorado on Thursday. Estrada ended the game last night following a Jose Valverde strikeout, by picking Cory Sullivan off first with a snap throw to end the game.
Aaron Heilman threw a scoreless eighth inning in the Mets’ 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Nationals. Heilman was helped out by a diving catch in shallow right field by Anderson Hernandez with two outs to prevent a first and third situation or possible play at the plate. The fact that manager Willie Randolph used him in the eighth -after Duaner Sanchez pitched the seventh - may mean that Heilman is Billy Wagner’s set up man. Though it may just be a case of Randolph going with who he is comfortable with, not having worked much with Sanchez, who was acquired this offseason and missed much of spring training at the WBC.
And the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has a nice profile of J.J. Hardy’s “sudden” home run prowess. (via Baseball Primer):
Hardy smacked four home runs in 60 spring training at-bats and the power surge has continued now that the games actually count. Hardy belted his second homer of the season Wednesday night, a fifth-inning solo shot off Pittsburgh lefty Zach Duke that helped the Brewers to a 3-2 victory.
Even when Hardy was at his lowest point in the first half, Brewers manager Ned Yost predicted that his young shortstop would develop into a 15- or 20-homer hitter before long. “J.J. is going to hit some home runs,” Yost said. “He’s not a Punch-and-Judy hitter. Both of the home runs he has hit (this week) have been big for us.”
Asked if he worried about Hardy getting caught up in home-run hoopla, Yost said, “Not at all. J.J. is too smart for that.”