There’s no dominant story on a stupid bloody Tuesday but we’ve got a lot of little ones. Bulleted content will follow.
• Are you in or are you out on Anibal Sanchez(notes)? He’s quietly won three games in a row, with the latest coming Tuesday against the Braves (6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 6 K), and he’s still out there in about 85 percent of Yahoo leagues. Let’s take a look under the hood.
A 3.23 ERA over nine starts sounds decent, but the underlying stats don’t jump out at you: he’s only striking out 6.79 batters per nine innings; his strikeout/walk rate is barely over two; he’s getting by with a ridiculous 1.6 HR/FB rate, an obvious fluke. Sanchez’s fastball hasn’t been a plus pitch for him so far, but he’s getting a lot of mileage out of an improved slider. You can start Sanchez on the weekend against Philadelphia if you like; I’m not going to recommend it.
• Don’t look now but the Cardinals aren’t doing much on offense; they’ve only scored 196 runs for the year (tied for ninth in the National League) and they were shut out in San Diego Tuesday by Jon Garland(notes) and Company. Adam Wainwright(notes) was the hard-luck loser in Southern California, despite a one-run effort and 12 strikeouts.
• Jon Lester(notes) threw six bagels at the Rays, allowing just one hit and striking out nine. He was helped by Bob Davidson’s cushy strike zone, much to the dismay of Carl Crawford(notes) (ejected) and Joe Maddon (ejected). Crawford made mild (and accidental) contact with Davidson and might be looking at a suspension.
• Chris Iannetta(notes) is back in Colorado, hopefully with his confidence restored – he posted a .349/.447/.698 line in 17 minor-league games, along with five homers. Meanwhile, Miguel Olivo(notes) has kept things afloat, with a .281 average and eight homers.
• The Padres have made a lot of things happen on the bases this year and they’re adding another speedster to the mix: outfielder Luis Durango(notes) was recalled Tuesday and is expected to start Wednesday. Durango posted a .305/.384/.318 line at Triple-A Portland, and he was eager on the bases, with mixed results (stealing 18 bases on 28 attempts).
• Maybe the Phillies simply can’t do it against knuckleballers. On Sunday they were baffled by Boston veteran Tim Wakefield(notes), and Tuesday night it was R.A. Dickey(notes) doing the trick, skating around 10 baserunners (6 IP, 0 R, 7 K). "You are used to guys who have everyday stuff, but it’s rare that you see a knuckleballer," Ryan Howard(notes) said. "Two in a row is even rarer – like Halley’s Comet." Eventually someone is going to pay for this mini-slump the Phillies offense is in, but they get a tricky assignment Wednesday against unorthodox left-hander Hisanori Takahashi(notes).
Kings of Pain: Fred Lewis(notes) (foot) was a late scratch at Anaheim . . . Grady Sizemore(notes) was in Colorado Tuesday, getting his knee looked at . . . Brett Anderson(notes) (forearm) will throw in the bullpen Wednesday and might be ready to pitch as soon as this weekend . . . Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) was held out of Tuesday’s game due to a sore left side . . . Dallas Braden’s(notes) sore ankle abbreviated his turn at Baltimore . . . Coco Crisp(notes) has a sore chest muscle and might need to go back on the disabled list . . . Luke Scott(notes) has a strained shoulder and couldn’t go Tuesday . . . Aramis Ramirez(notes) is still dealing with a sore thumb.
Handshakes: Heath Bell(notes) allowed a seeing-eye single and a walk and needed 28 pitches against St. Louis, but ultimately he got the job done . . . David Aardsma(notes) went 1-2-3 against the Tigers . . . Carlos Marmol(notes) shut down the Dodgers and keeps piling up the strikeouts (46 whiffs in 23.2 innings) . . . Raul Valdes(notes) got a rogue save in back of Dickey, working three scoreless innings and striking out four . . . Neftali Feliz(notes) worked a perfect inning at Kansas City and is now 13-for-15 on saves . . . Brian Wilson’s(notes) facial hair scares me, and it apparently does the same to the Nationals (three strikeouts in the ninth) . . . Jonathan Papelbon(notes) needed just 13 pitches in Tampa, and amen to that – he’s one of the slowest workers in the majors. Daniel Bard(notes) (2.16 ERA, 0.92 WHIP) set up with a perfect eighth and looks like a stud closer-in-waiting if the Red Sox don’t re-sign Papelbon . . . Octavio Dotel(notes) has rallied nicely in May (10 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 14 K) . . . Manny Corpas retired three of four Diamondbacks and hasn’t allowed a run over eight appearances.
Speed Round: So much for Cleveland being a safe haven for Jake Peavy(notes) – the Indians knocked him around pretty good (6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 HR). He struck out five, but the Indians laced plenty of frozen ropes as well. He gets the Rays on the weekend . . . Clayton Kershaw(notes) allowed just one unearned run over six innings in Chicago, but Ryan Dempster(notes) was even better (8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K). He’s got a 3.31 ERA and a nifty 1.03 WHIP, but only a 3-4 record to show for it . . . Mike Leake(notes) still hasn’t had a bad turn – he got a no-decision after allowing one run over seven innings against the Pirates. Leake worked around 10 hits and one walk, and struck out just three, but there’s plenty of moxie in this kid . . . The Astros can’t hit and Randy Wolf(notes) was happy to take advantage (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K). You can’t blame Roy Oswalt(notes) for wanting out of this mess . . . The Blue Jays did their usual bit (three homers), but otherwise it was a winning night for underrated Ervin Santana(notes) (CG, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 10 K). Ricky Romero(notes) got touched up for 11 hits and seven runs on the other side, though he also struck out eight . . . It’s a shame this squirrel can’t hit, because he’s got great wheels.