Posted on May 27, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
From Rotoworld:
Clay Hensley limited an ailing St. Louis lineup to one run and five hits over eight innings to win Friday. Hensley has been pitching pretty well anyway, and he took advantage of the some ill Cardinals to even his record at 3-3 tonight. Hensley has a 3.40 ERA in eight starts since moving into the Padres’ rotation. It looks like he’s a fixture now.
Dave Roberts went 3-for-3 with his second homer, a walk and a stolen base Friday against the Cardinals. Roberts has been one of the NL’s top fantasy outfielders for this month. He is batting .349 with two homers, nine RBI, 23 runs scored and 10 steals during May.
Prince Fielder hit a go-ahead, RBI single off Phillies closer Tom Gordon in the top of the 10th inning on Friday. Closer Derrick Turnbow blew a 5-3 lead for the Brewers in the bottom of the ninth, but he picked up the win thanks to Fielder. Reliever Brian Shouse was afforded the save opportunity with Turnbow having already thrown 21 pitches while struggling and converted with a scoreless bottom of the 10th. Fielder also added a stolen base in the contest, his fourth of the season. His father Cecil had just two steals in his entire career.
Taylor Buchholz was rocked for nine runs on 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings of work versus the Pirates tonight. Buchholz did strike out five and walk just one. However, when he was in the strike zone the Pirates were hitting the ball with authority and totaled six extra-base hits (three homers) in the contest. Buchholz had thrown a complete game shutout last time out, but he’s given up a total of 25 runs in his three starts surrounding that outing. He’s been too erratic to count on in NL-only leagues and certainly can’t be used against the Cardinals next week.
Manager Felipe Alou said he hopes to have Moises Alou back from a sprained ankle in another week or so. If Moises takes a rehab assignment, it probably won’t last more than a game or two. His return will send Steve Finley back to the bench.
Ronny Paulino went 4-for-4 with three RBI in a 12-5 win over the Astros on Friday. The four hits raised Paulino’s average to .310, but he still has just seven extra-base hits (one homer) in 100 at-bats for the Pirates this season. However, he won’t be in danger of losing any playing time to Humberto Cota or Ryan Doumit until that batting average starts sinking again.
Mike Lieberthal (knee) will play in a game for Double-A Reading on Saturday and then rejoin the Phillies on Sunday or Monday. Carlos Ruiz will be sent down to make room for Lieberthal.
Jose Reyes went 0-for-2 with two walks and his 19th stolen base of the season on Friday. Reyes tied Carl Crawford for the major league-lead in stolen bases when he swiped second off Marlins starter Josh Johnson. What’s more impressive is the 21 walks Reyes has drawn this season. The switch-hitter walked just 29 times all of last season, and increased plate discipline should help Reyes score more runs, steal more bases, and make better contact when he is swinging the bat. That he’s hitting just .251 with such great speed and relatively few strikeouts is surprising, but that number should rise over time.
Brandon Webb improved to a major league best 8-0 on Friday by throwing a complete-game shutout against the Reds. Webb has been fantastic all season with quality starts in 9-of-11 outings. He’s also given up one or zero runs in six of those starts. Webb had also thrown a complete game shutout against the Braves last time out. The 8-0 start is the best in the club’s brief history, surpassing Randy Johnson’s 7-0 start in 2000.
Marlins acquired outfielder Cody Ross from the Reds for a player to be named or cash. Ross won’t be joining the Marlins until Saturday at the earliest, so it wasn’t announced who he’d replace on the roster. Chris Aguila is our guess, since he has options and Joe Borchard doesn’t. Ross probably won’t be worth using in NL-only leagues while serving as a reserve outfielder and pinch-hitter. The Reds decided they preferred Quinton McCracken to Ross, and they needed to open up a roster spot for Kent Mercker.