MLB Recap: April 2nd

Blue Jays 6  Twins 1

In his first start of his first full Major League season, Toronto prospect pitcher Kyle Drabek, acquired in the Roy Halladay deal, shut down the Twins offense giving up one run on one hit in 7 innings, striking out 7. Toronto's offense was able to knock Twins starter Francisco Liriano out of the game after just 4.1 innings. The Jays did so with a balanced offensive attack, and they got home runs from Jose Molina(1) and Jayson Nix(1). The Twins were held without a single extra-base hit.

White Sox 8  Indians 3

The White Sox have been able to get off to a great start in 2011, especially on offense, against the Indians. They got 6 solid innings out of starter Edwin Jackson, who gave up 3 in the second but that was it. Chicago's offense was consistent all day. They managed 11 hits, but only 2 of those were for extra bases, each being doubles off of Carlos Quentin's bat. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco gave up seven runs, but was still able to pitch for 6.2 innings. The Indians got a home run from Travis Hafner(1).

Cubs 5  Pirates 3

The Cubs had very little to be excited about during the majority of yesterday's game against he Pirates. They headed into the bottom of the 8th down 3-0 and were unable to get much of anything going offensively all day. However, they were able to rally in this inning and pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt came in and hit a two-out, two-run base hit to put the Cubs up two and cap off a five-run rally. Carlos Marmol came in and struck out the side in the 9th for the save. The Pirates got a home run from Garret Jones(1), while the Cubs were homer-less.

Nationals 6  Braves 3

The Nationals had to rely on a couple of offseason additions for their offense en route to a 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Rick Ankiel went yard in the 3rd inning with a 2-run shot that gave the Nationals a 4-1 lead, and they never looked back from there. They also got a big performance from Jayson Werth, who went 3-4 with 2 doubles and a run scored. Cy Young hopeful Tommy Hanson did not look good in his first outing of the year, lasting just 3.2 innings giving up 4 runs, 3 earned. The Braves got home runs from Dan Uggla(1) and Alex Gonzalez(1), while just Ankiel(1) went yard for the Nats.

Royals 5  Angels 4

The Angels had this game in control for much of the game, only to see their bullpen blow it at the end. Ervin Santana was solid in 6.2 innings of work, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. The Angels had a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th, only to see Kevin Jepsen come in and blow the save. He gave up 4 hits and 2 runs in the inning. The only home run of the game was off of the bat of Torii Hunter(2).

Yankees 10  Tigers 5

The Yankees got off to a fast start yesterday, scoring 6 runs in the first two innings off of Tigers starter Brad Penny. Penny ended up lasting just 4.1 innings, giving up 8 runs on 7 hits. Mark Teixeira has had a good first two games, which is surprising for a guy who usually plays awful in April. He hit his 2nd home run in as many games in the 2nd inning. AJ Burnett looked solid in his season debut for a year in which he hopes to comeback from extreme inconsistency in 2010. The Tigers got home runs from Austin Jackson(1) and Victor Martinez(1). The Yankees had Tex, Russel Martin(1) and Alex Rodriguez(1) go deep.

Giants 10  Dodgers 0

After two straight losses to begin the season, the Giants came back with vengeance against the Dodgers yesterday. My 2011 NL Cy Young Matt Cain got off to a great start for his 2011 campaign. He was able to pitch 6 shutout innings, giving up 5 hits and striking out 3. On the other side of the coin, Dodgers starter Ted Lilly lasted just 4.2 innings and gave up 4 runs. The Giants Freddy Sanchez got his first home run of the season.

Padres 11 Cardinals 3

The Padres got offense from all over on Saturday, including their pitcher Clayton Richard, en route to an 11-3 pounding of St. Louis. The game was tied at 3 until the Padres exploded for 6 runs in the top of the 5th, and the game wasn't in question after that. Jake Westbrook got the start for the Cards and gave up 8 runs in 4.1 innings of work. Going deep was Chase Headley(1) for the Padres and Albert Pujols(1) for the Cards.

Phillies 9  Astros 4

The Phillies got an outstanding start out of their prize free agent signing Cliff Lee, making his 2011 debut in their Super Rotation. He pitched 7.0 good innings, tallying up a total of 11 strikeouts while giving up 3 runs on just 4 hits. This game was never really in doubt for the NL East favorite Phillies, who jumped on Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez for 7 runs on 9 hits in just 4 innings. Carlos Lee(1) hit the only home run of the game for the Astros.

Reds 4  Brewers 2

The Reds jumped out early in this game and relied on their pitching to get through the rest of the game. Scott Role(1) hit a two run shot in the first inning, and the Reds scored two more in the 2nd to give them all the runs they'd need for the game. Cincinnati starter Travis Wood pitched well in 7 innings of work, giving up just one run on 4 hits and striking out 7. The Brewers got a home run from Erick Almonte(1).

Mets 6  Marlins 4 F/10

Saturday was a pretty wild one in Florida between the Mets and Marlins. They headed into the 9th inning tied at 2 with solid pitching coming from both sides. However, they each scored in the 9th to bring the game to a tie at 3, only to have the Mets score 3 and the Marlins one in the first extra frame. David Wright was the Mets MVP of the day, hitting a home run(1) in the fourth and knocking in Jose Reyes for the winning run in the 10th. His homer was the only one of the game.

Orioles 3  Rays 1

Apparently, when the Orioles set a pitch count for you, they stick by it. Their starter Chris Tillman, starting his 24th game of his career, was lifted after 6 innings of no hit baseball by manager Buck Showalter. He was not efficient at the start of the game, and his pitch count was at 101 when he got pulled. He was not surprised by the move, and said that he may be able to stay in later if it was June. All of the scoring took place in the 8th inning. The Orioles got their runs from a 3-run shot from Brian Roberts(1), while Manny got the Rays lone RBI.

Rockies 3  Diamondbacks 1

Jorge De La Rosa looked brilliant in his start for Colorado on Saturday until he was forced out of the game after 5.1 innings. In that time, he didn't give up a run, gave up just 3 hits and struck out 5. Daniel Hudson also pitched well for Arizona, but their offense was not able to give him any support. The day ended without a home run, and Arizona was held without an extra base hit all game.

Mariners 5 A's 2

It was a memorable day for Seattle fans yesterday in Oakland, as the M's put together a 3-run 9th to rally for the win. The go-ahead run was knocked in by an infield single off the bat of Ichiro, who became the all time leader in hits in Mariners history with the game winner. Both teams starters looked solid, each giving up just one run in about 6 innings of work. In a relatively quiet offensive game, there were no home runs all day.