Atomic RoadRunners

Mark Teixeira smacked three home runs to drive in four runs against the Mariners on Sunday. Teixeira hit a pair of solo shots off starter Carlos Silva, then added a two-run blast off reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith. Teixeira didn’t heat up in May as he usually does and hadn’t really done so in June either, but six of his 13 home runs on the season have come this month. He only figures to continue to improve. (Rotoworld)

Teixeira sounded more relieved than overjoyed after his second career three-homer game. “It was good. I haven’t been hitting the ball great this year,” he said. He definitely hit the ball well Sunday, connecting from both sides of the plate to lead the Braves to an 8-3 victory over the Mariners. With Chipper Jones sitting out with a strained right quadriceps, Atlanta’s other switch-hitting slugger drove in four runs for the third time this season. “Teixeira blasted off today,” manager Bobby Cox said. “He’s got a lot of RBIs. He’s just been waiting for that home run swing to come around, and it sure did today.” Teixeira hit solo drives batting left-handed in the second and fourth innings, and a two-run shot from the right side in the seventh for his 13th homer of the season. It was the first three-homer game for an Atlanta player at Turner Field. “I haven’t been very consistent,” he said. “For a game like that to help us win, it was very nice.” (CBS Sports)

Prince Fielder homered twice and doubled while driving in three runs in the Brewers’ 7-3 win over the Orioles. Fielder hit a solo shot off reliever Ryan Bukvich in the sixth, then added a two-run blast off Jamie Walker in the seventh. The red-hot Fielder has put his April and May struggles behind him by smacking five homers over his last six games, giving him eight total in the month of June. “They all feel good to me,” Fielder said of his homers. The big first baseman, who led the NL with 50 homers last year, has 16 this year after connecting in the sixth and seventh innings. He also doubled and scored on Hart’s 12th homer in the second. Fielder is batting .341 (47-for-138) with 11 homers in his last 36 games, raising his average from .241 on May 12 to .292. After his latest big game, he said he is feeling better at the plate than he has at any time this season. “Hopefully, I can keep it up,” he said. “When you feel comfortable, good things happen.” (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Tim Lincecum was given leads of 6-0 and 10-3 against the Royals on Sunday but still couldn’t pick up a win as the Giants lost the game 11-10. Lincecum struck out eight and walked just two, but six hits and a couple of wild pitches helped conspire to see him get charged with five runs for the first time this season. The Giants squandered a seven-run lead Sunday against the Royals and ended up costing Tim Lincecum an easy win. San Francisco had 10-3 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. The Royals scored two in the inning on Jose Guillen’s single and Alex Gordon’s sacrifice fly, then sent 11 batters to the plate in a five-run sixth that tied it up. The Royals closed within 10-5 against Lincecum, chasing him after five innings. He allowed six hits, five runs and two walks while striking out eight. He has suffered three straight no decisions.The bullpen was still more to blame as they couldn’t hold a 10-5 lead for four innings, with Keiichi Yabu deserving most of the blame there. Even with the poor outing Lincecum’s ERA is still a sparkling 2.54. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Chase Headley said he expects to return to left field Tuesday, when Kevin Kouzmanoff (back) is expected play, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Headley was called up to play in the outfield, but filled in at third (his natural position) while Kouzmanoff missed six games with a tweaked back. He has made five starts at third, which gives him eligibility at both third and in the outfield in some leagues. (Rotowire)

Brandon Webb gave up five runs — four earned — all in one inning as the Twins topped the Diamondbacks 5-3 on Sunday. Webb gave up eight hits and a walk while striking out four. His problem was that five of the eight hits, and an error, allowed for five runs in the fifth inning. The 2006 NL Cy Young winner started the season 9-0, but is 2-4 with a 4.64 ERA since. He has allowed 14 earned runs in his last three starts. Webb is going through a bit of a rough stretch right now, but there is no need to bail on him in Fantasy. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Brewers OF Corey Hart smacked his 12th homer of the season Sunday in a win over the Orioles. Hart is on pace to pretty much equal all of his offensive totals from last season, although he missed 22 contests in 2007, so he should be able to top most those numbers. He was only hitting .250 in June heading into Sunday, but has picked things up the last week or so. Keep him active in the majority of Fantasy formats. (CBS Sports)

Jeff Clement hit a two-run homer off Mike Gonzalez in Seattle’s three-run ninth Sunday. Gonzalez was making his second appearance in his return from elbow ligament-replacement surgery. Clement also doubled earlier in the game. Gonzalez obviously cannot completely be trusted as a closer at this point. He will pick up save chances a few times a week, but his injury return will keep him from working many back-to-back games, much less three consecutive high-pressure save situations. Consider Gonzalez a closer sleeper in deeper formats right now. (CBS Sports)

Giants OF John Bowker had three hits, including a bases-loaded clearing double, and three RBI in five at-bats Sunday against the Royals. He came into the game with just three hits in his previous 17 plate appearances. Bowker has two three-hit games and two three-RBI games in his last six appearances. Bowker has proven to be a streaky performer in his young career and can’t really be trusted outside of larger NL-only Fantasy leagues at this time. (CBS Sports)

For the second straight day, Mets SS Jose Reyes led off Sunday’s game against the Rockies with a triple, and he gave the Mets a 1-0 lead when he scored on David Wright’s infield single. Reyes extended his hitting streak to six games while netting his eighth triple. He is 9-for-23 (.391) with two RBI and two stolen bases in that span. Reyes had to leave Wednesday’s game against the Angels because of a stiff hamstring. He returned to the lineup Thursday and has since legged out three triples. Yeah, it doesn’t appear as though Reyes is having any lingering problems with his hamstring. (CBS Sports)

Rockies SP Greg Reynolds allowed six hits and three runs in seven innings during a 3-1 loss Sunday against the Mets. The decisive runs came on a two-run homer by Carlos Beltran in the third. Reynolds (2-5) allowed one walk and struck out two. Reynolds is 2-4 in his last six starts. He has allowed fewer than three runs in only his two wins. The former No. 2 pick in the first-year player draft has just been too inconsistent in 2008. He remains just a NL-only Fantasy SP at this point in his career. His next scheduled start is for Saturday against the Tigers. It’s on the road where Reynolds is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA this season. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  42.0    36.0     78.0  0.0  0.0
 2   Shoeless Jews       28.0    32.0     60.0  -4.0 18.0
 3   The Pi Train        29.0    30.0     59.0  2.0  19.0
 4   Goodfellas          35.0    23.0     58.0  1.5  20.0
 5   X-Men               18.0    39.0     57.0  -0.5 21.0
 6   Stanimals           37.0    18.0     55.0  -0.5 23.0
 7   Misogynistic Padres 27.0    26.0     53.0  -1.0 25.0
 8   Uncle Lester        10.0    38.0     48.0  1.0  30.0
 9   Get Off Kong!       26.0    20.0     46.0  -0.5 32.0
 10  Cover Zero          23.0    13.0     36.0  2.0  42.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/22/08)
Player                       BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL 0.4000  0 0   1    0
Bowker, John OF SF       0.6000  0 0   3    0
Coste, Chris C PHI       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL   0.7500  2 3   3    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD        0.6000  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL    0.5000  1 1   2    0
Headley, Chase 3B SD     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN 0.6667  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM    0.2500  0 1   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL    0.7500  3 3   4    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC     0.5000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI  0.0000  0 0   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/22/08)
Player                      ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------ ------ -- - --- ----
Gonzalez, Mike RP ATL     18.00  1 0   0 3.00
Lincecum, Tim SP SF        9.00  8 0   0 1.60
Webb, Brandon SP ARI       5.14  4 0   0 1.29