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| The Yankees made it interesting late, but Oakland held on to take the 8-4 win. The Yanks were led, once again, by first baseman Jason Giambi , going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and his 15th home run of the season, totaling two RBIs and two runs scored on the night. |
Our View: Giambi left May with a strong sense of resurgence, hitting .315 on the month with six home runs and 14 RBIs. Through the early games of June, he's hitting .360 with four home runs and 20 RBIs.
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| Khalil Greene had two hits, including his sixth home run of the year, to knock in his 25th run of the season while pushing his average up to .217. |
Our View: Greene will have to have a whole lot of nights like this one to bring his numbers anywhere close to last years levels (27 HR, 95 RBI) considering his production thus far. Last years efforts may end up being a career best season, but he is still a much better hitter than he has shown to this point.
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| Randy Wolf continued his solid work on the hill on Wednesday night as he held the Dodgers to four hits, one walk and just one run over seven innings in his fifth win of the year. |
Our View: Wolf also had nine punchouts and has been a tremendous source of strike outs with a 7.88 K/9 mark and he appears to be full over the health concerns that limited him to just 102.2 innings last year.
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| Chad Billingsley gave up four runs over seven innings to the Padres to lose his seventh game of the season. Billingsley, who entered the game averaging 10.06 K/9, only struck out three batters on the night. |
Our View: Billingsley was done in on this night by the home run allowing two. He only walked one batter over seven innings in a rare display of control of the strike zone, but he just couldn't put away batters on this night.
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| Andy LaRoche made his major league debut on Wednesday night, not at his traditional third base, but at first base, according to MLB.com. "Hopefully, I won't make too much of a fool out of myself," said LaRoche. He didn't look out of place at the plate as he hit a home run. |
Our View: Andy could also see some time at second base, in addition to his traditional spot at the hot corner, as he will try his best to be a jack of all trades until a full time spot opens up.
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| The reports of Vladimir Guerrero's demise may have been warranted after early struggles this season, but he's starting to heat up and get back into form, according to the Los Angeles Times. |
Our View: Guerrero hit a homer in the eighth today, his third dinger in four games. Since the start of June, Guerrero has gone 11-for-24 at the plate, raising his average from .246 to .269.
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| Willy Taveras had just as single hit but he also stole his 24th base of the season for the Rockies on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Taveras is likely to start losing some playing time to Ryan Spilborghs as he has only brought steals to the table this season with an average of .234, and even worse, an OBP below .290. A leadoff man simply needs to get on base more than that no matter how fast he is, just ask Michael Bourn.
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| Fred Lewis had two hits and stole his 12th base of the season for the Giants on Wednesday night, though Bengie Molina was unable to hold onto his throw home on a Yorvit Torrealba game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning. |
Our View: Lewis has been a solid all-around hitter since entering the Giants lineup early on, and is likely at the start of a long and productive career even if he doesn't offer much at this point other than the stolen base.
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| The Rangers had their sticks working in full force this evening, whopping the Royals 11-5. Outfielder Marlon Byrd failed to drive in a single run, but he was perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two walks and two doubles to total three runs scored on the night. |
Our View: Byrd comes off a strong month of May, hitting .300, and has improved in June, hitting .400 coming into tonight.
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| Ubaldo Jimenez matched Tim Lincecum of the Giants by pitching seven scoreless innings on Wednesday night for the Rockies. On the night, Jimenez walked only one batter while permitting just four hits. |
Our View: Jimenez has a tremendous right arm, and he was superbly able to locate his pitches tonight. Too inconsistent to really count on, Jimenez is an arm to monitor in NL Only leagues as he showed down the stretch last season just how effective he can be.
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| Tim Lincecum held the Rockies scoreless over seven innings in Colorado while striking out seven batters to lower his ERA to 1.99. |
Our View: Lincecum is a machine on the hill throwing 95 mph fastball after 95 mph fastball. When he has his change up working like it was tonight, batters have little chance of squaring up the ball.
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| The Rangers brought more than enough offense to the party this evening, dismissing the Royals 11-5. The leader in the clubhouse is outfielder David Murphy , going 3-for-5 at the dish with two home runs to total five RBIs and two runs scored. |
Our View: Murphy started warming up in May, hitting .280 for the month with four homers and 21 RBIs. Through the early part of June he's hitting .314 with four homers and 10 RBIs.
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| Jason Kendall had a solid all-around outing on Wednesday night as he has two hits, two RBI, two runs scored and a SB for the Brew Crew. |
Our View: One of the hits was the first home run of the year for Kendall. After hitting .301 in April, Kendall has fallen on hard times of late to lower his average to .251, but he still has value in points leagues given the fact that he plays almost every day.
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| In just his third start this season, Kansas City RHP Kyle Davies pitched well but watched as relief pitching failed to support his cause, falling 11-5 to Texas. Davies pitched six innings, allowing just one run on six hits with five walks and three strikeouts. |
Our View: Davies now carries an ERA of 1.53, taking the no-decision to stay at 2-0 on the season.
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| Carlos Lee hit his 13th home run of the season on Wednesday night, part of a big night that included three hits, two runs and two RBI. |
Our View: Lee is no pace for his standard 30-HR, 100-RBI season, but his average is languishing at just .268. Given that his BABIP is just .255, almost .040 points below his career .293 mark, we would expect his batting average to rise moving forward.
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| Manny Parra was far from his best on Wednesday night as he allowed 10 hits and five runs in 5.1 innings, but he held on long enough to let his offense earn him his fifth win of the season. |
Our View: Parra had allowed just two runs over his last two starts, to it was a bit disheartening to see him fall back so far tonight, though that's what happens when you allow three home runs.
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| Kansas suffered the slings of the Texas offense tonight, falling 11-5 in a game that carried plenty of hits, not nearly enough pitching, and more than a few runs scored. For the Royals, second baseman Mark Grudzielanek was the weapon of choice, going 2-for-5 at the plate with his 14th double and second home runs of the season, totaling four RBIs on the night. |
Our View: Grudzielanek is now hitting .293 on the season, getting on base safely in 10 of his last 12 games.
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| Brandon Backe lost his eighth game of the year on Wednesday night and saw his ERA rise to 5.00 after allowing five runs in four innings against the Brewers. |
Our View: There was a lot made of some of Backe's work early in the year, but the simple fact is that he is nothing more than an average major league hurler. Plan your roster moves accordingly.
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| Corey Hart hit two of the Brewers season best five home runs on Wednesday night against the Astros, on his way to four RBI. |
Our View: Hart has taken over the top spot in the lineup with Rickie Weeks on the DL, so there is a chance that he could run a bit more while knocking in a few less runs. Hart is on pace for a nice 25/25 season, which certainly would make his owners pleased.
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| Mark Reynolds hit his 15th long ball of the year on Wednesday night, a 3-run shot off of Billy Wagner in the ninth inning. |
Our View: Reynolds now has four home runs and six RBI in his last four games, and his overall production has him at .270-32-105 in 587 career AB, despite an incredible 206 strikeouts.
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| Billy Wagner picked up his fourth blown save as he allowed a 3-run home run to Mark Reynolds on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Luckily the Mets came back and won this game. Wagner, who has been automatic all year, has looked awful in allowing four runs while picking up two blown saves and a loss in his last two appearances. Continue to roll with him as this is likely just one of those dry spells that effect all closers from time to time.
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| Brandon Webb was pulled after throwing 58 pitches, 40 for strikes, in five innings against the Mets. Webb allowed five hits, he didn't walk anyone, and permitted three runs to score. |
Our View: Webb entered the game with a 1.06 ERA in five games at Shea. There are no injury reports floating around, so we assume that there was nothing physically wrong with Webb when he was pulled, though we are concerned given the low pitch count.
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| Oakland RHP Santiago Casilla continues to work through rehab in the minors and could rejoin the A's as soon as this weekend, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Casilla has battled right elbow soreness and has been on the DL since May 16th. On Tuesday, Casilla threw the first inning of Stockton's game against Bakersfield, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts. Casilla will make a second rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento on Friday and, if all goes well there, the righty could be making a return to the club's 25-man roster soon after.
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| Mike Pelfrey dominated the D'backs for eight innings on Wednesday night allowing just one run, though he ended up with a no-decision after Billy Wagner picked up his fourth blown save of the year. |
Our View: Pelfrey had eight K (a career-high) and just two BB on the evening and has now allowed just five earned runs over his last three starts (1.71 ERA). If he is available in your league, strike now as he is clearly found his groove.
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| Carlos Beltran hit a game-winning two run home run off of Edgar Gonzalez in the 13th inning on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Beltran had two hits on the night and knocked in four runs and he is now hitting .295 since the start of May to push his average up to .264. Still, he is limping along and may not reach the 20/20 level this season, though especially trouble is the seven home runs after averaging 37 home runs the past two years.
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| Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz spoke with the media today and believes RHP Daniel Cabrera is struggling due to flaws in his delivery, according to the Baltimore Sun. |
Our View: In his past two outings, Cabrera has allowed 12 earned runs and 15 hits spanning 11 innings, squandering three-run leads in each outing. After allowing six earned runs to the Boston Red Sox in the series opener Tuesday, Cabrera said he's having problems getting his two-seam fastball down in the zone. Kranitz notes that Cabrera's delivery is inconsistent but believes the work needed to get him back on track will be minimal. Kranitz is going to review tape of Cabrera's delivery from last season to indicate differences between then and now, hoping he can get the hurler to adjust to his old style of comfort.
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| Ryan Spilborghs was out of the lineup on Wednesday to rest his back, but once healthy he could find himself with more playing time in center field at the expense of Willy Taveras, according to MLB.com. "Nobody stays hot the entire time, so when guys can piggy-back off one another -- until a guy just takes off and runs away with the position -- that's always a good thing to have," manager Clint Hurdle said. |
Our View: Spilborghs is hitting a solid .312, .327 in his last 49 AB, and has hit 15 home runs with 74 RBI in his last 389 AB showing solid pop, though he brings little of the speed that is Taveras' game.
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| Jeff Bennett fell to 0-4 on Wednesday night as he was pounded for seven runs in just two innings in a spot start for Jair Jurrens who missed his turn in the rotation because of a sprained ankle. |
Our View: Bennet throws hard, but he just doesn't have the off-speed pitches to dominate a lineup. He also walks too many batters, but tonight the two walks didn't bother him anywhere near as much as the seven hits did.
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| Updating an earlier story, Detroit reliever Joel Zumaya failed to impress in his fourth minor-league rehab start, leaving questions about plans to call him back to the majors on Friday, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Despite hitting 100 mph twice on the radar gun, he allowed two runs -- one earned -- on two hits and two walks in one inning and didn't record an out in his second inning of work in the Mud Hens' win over the Indianapolis Indians, the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate. Zumaya, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, threw 17 of his 34 pitches for strikes. He fell behind in the count against six of the eight batters he faced. However, after the game Zumaya reported no immediate pain or discomfort, leaving the door open for a possible return despite the minor setback.
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| Ryan Theriot had two hits and knocked in two runs as he is now hitting .322 on the year. |
Our View: With Alfonso Soriano being placed on the DL, chances are pretty good that Theriot will slide into the leadoff role which likely won't change his value much. With 12 steals, he needs to cut down on the times he has been caught (eight) to make the jump to the next level.
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| Kosuke Fukudome had two runs, two walks and three RBI, with two coming on his fifth home run of the season, for the Cubs. |
Our View: Fukudome has managed to keep his average right around .300 with a .400 OBP, but his power has been lacking, not an uncommon occurrence for a Japanese player. He has been solid, but not the difference maker many had hoped for.
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| Ryan Dempster dominated the Braves with 11 strikeouts and nary a walk, as he hurled a complete allowing two runs in his eighth win of the season. |
Our View: Dempster continues to put up all-star caliber numbers as he lowered his ERA to 2.81 and his WHIP to 1.06 on this night, and it was great to see him bounce back from his last outing where he struck out only one batter.
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| Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera has appeared in four consecutive games, but manager Joe Girardi has hinted they will not look his way tonight, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Girardi was asked about Riveria's workload before the game and noted that he had intended to leave him be on Tuesday night as well, but Rivera was up and stretching before he realized what was going on in the bullpen. Tonight, he should have the day off.
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| Josh Bard has been out since May 22nd with a high ankle sprain, and he is about a week away from returning to baseball activities, according to MLB.com. "Bardo is making progressing. He's in full-blown rehab mode. He's on a stationary bike ... he's starting to do things in the weight room," Padres manager Bud Black said. |
Our View: Bard was unimpressive while in the lineup hitting .200, not that the Padres have gotten much better production from either of their other catchers in Michael Barrett (.200) or Luke Carlin (.167), so Bard will likely find playing time once he is healthy.
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| Minnesota designated hitter Jason Kubel enjoyed a wonderful evening with the stick this evening as the Twins put the 8-5 win on the Indians. Kubel went 3-for-4 at the plate, including his eighth home run of the season to total two RBIs. |
Our View: Kubel has gotten going of late, hitting 8-for-19 with two home runs and seven RBIs over his last six games.
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| Matt Capps pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Nationals to pick up his 16th save of the season. |
Our View: Capps doesn't get much publicity since he toils for the Pirates, but dating back to the start of last season he has a 2.36 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and 33 saves. Not many have better all-around numbers than that.
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| Cristian Guzman went 1-for-5 on Wednesday night as each of the first seven hitters in the Nationals order had a single hit. |
Our View: Guzman is hitting .309 which is better than the average of such luminaries as Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Tejada, Jose Reyes and Derek Jeter. Who would have predicted that?
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| Minnesota put eight runs on the board with 10 hits to get the win, 8-5, over Cleveland. The effort was led by first baseman Justin Morneau , going 2-for-5 at the dish with two doubles to total three RBIs on the night. |
Our View: Morneau was on fire last month, hitting .226 with four homers and 20 RBIs. Coming into tonight he had cooled significantly, hitting just .250 with no homers and two RBIs through June.
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| Ian Snell won his third game of the season on Wednesday as he limited the Nationals to just one run over six innings for the Pirates. |
Our View: Snell has been beset by ineffectiveness for most of the season, but over his last two starts he has 15 K and just six BB, so perhaps now is the time to make a trade offer for the fire balling righty.
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| Minnesota reliever Joe Nathan closed out the 8-5 win over Cleveland this evening to get his 17th save of the season. Nathan pitched the ninth, needing just 13 pitches to influence one ground out, one fly out, and one strikeout to seal the deal. |
Our View: After earning eight saves through 10 appearances in April, Nathan found just five closings through 12 appearances. Thus far in June, he has three save on four appearances.
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| Minnesota RHP Nick Blackburn picked up his fifth home run of the season, leading his Twins to an 8-5 victory over Cleveland. Blackburn pitched six innings to allow two runs (both earned) on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts. |
Our View: The hurler had suffered two losses and two no-decisions through his last four starts, though he has pitched well throughout. Tonight he was in command and minimized his mistakes to put Minnesota in position to get the win.
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| Alfonso Soriano could miss up to six weeks after learning that his left hand was broken by a pitch from Jeff Bennett, according to the Associated Press. Soriano will wear a splint for three weeks, and then build strength back in the hand before rejoining the lineup. |
Our View: Given that Soriano's game is predicated on the strength in his wrists and hands, this could be a potentially devastating injury. Look for Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds to both play on a daily basis now.
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| The Indians suffered the 8-5 loss to Minnesota this evening despite a strong effort from outfielder Grady Sizemore . Sizemore went 2-for-5 at the plate with his 14th double of the season as well as his 13th home run, good for three RBIs on the night. |
Our View: Sizemore struggled through rough times in May, hitting just .221 on the month despite hitting seven home runs and 16 RBIs along the way. This month he has the power and run production working again and his work at the plate is improved as well, hitting .306 on the month thus far.
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| Cleveland reliever Joe Borowski hasn't been the picture of stability this season but hopes of a reversal of fortunes had come alive with better results over recent weeks. Tonight he may have ruined that momentum, out of position for the save but still in the game in the ninth in the 8-5 loss to Minnesota. Borowski pitched one inning, giving up two runs (both earned) on three hits on just 24 pitches. |
Our View: This pushes Borowski's ERA back to 9.00 on the season. He had worked three appearances in May and two in early June without surrendering a single run, but tonight the horrors of the early season returned.
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| John Lannan threw six solid innings on Wednesday night though he lost his seventh game of the year to the Pirates. On the night, Lannan didn't walk a single batter while allowing seven hits and two runs. |
Our View: A tough luck 4-7 given his solid work this season, Lannan has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts though he has only picked up one win in that time.
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| Ryan Doumit homered for the third time in two games on Wednesday night and added three more hits to give him seven hits in his last two games. |
Our View: Amazing. Doumit is now batting .358 with eight home runs in just 123 AB and is squarely in the running to be a top-10 catcher this season.
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| Ryan Howard went 0-for-3 with another strikeout on Wednesday, his 90th, to drop his average to .208. |
Our View: How many times has Albert Pujols struck out 90-times in a season? Try once in his rookie year when he had 93. Howard certainly is no Pujols, but his strikeout rate continues to be alarming.
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| Boston needed just seven hits to score six runs, beating Baltimore 6-3 this evening. Leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury helped the cause, going 1-for-4 at the dish with his 29th stolen base. |
Our View: Ellsbury sparked the rally for five runs in the fifth, stretching what should have been a single into a triple by using his speed to spook an errant throw. That turned into one run scored, leading to five total runs on the inning.
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| Andrew Miller had another in a series of solid outings on Wednesday as he allowed just one run over seven innings of work. Miller also struck out seven and permitted just a single walk. |
Our View: Miller can dominate just about any lineup if he has his control, and on this night he did just that as he needed only 98 pitches to complete seven innings of work.
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| Cole Hamels struck out 13 Marlins batters and allowed only two runs, both solo home runs by Jorge Cantu, over eight innings in a no-decision. |
Our View: This outing was wasted by Tom Gordon who allowed a grand slam to Dan Uggla to destroy the efforts of the Phillies ace. The only concern with Hamels is if his body, and specifically his arm, can handle the 200-innings he is on pace for.
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| Boston RHP Bartolo Colon improved to 4-1 this evening with a 6-3 win over Baltimore, pitching six innings to allow just one run on five hits, surrendering one walk and seven strikeouts. |
Our View: Colon won his first three starts with a combined seven earned runs allowed with five walks and 13 strikeouts. Tonight was his most dominating performance yet and has fans in Boston happy with the gamble laid on the aging veteran.
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| Jorge Cantu had a big night on Wednesday as he homered twice, both solo shots, in the Marlins victory over the Phillies. |
Our View: Cantu now has 14 home runs which just so happens to be just one less than the Phillies first base on this night (Ryan Howard). Not bad for a guy who was probably drafted 20 rounds later.
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| Dan Uggla hit a game-winning walk off home run for the Marlins off of Tom Gordon with one out in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Say hello to the new Jeff Kent. Uggla continues to mash the ball at an amazing rate since struggling early in the year. He will certainly make this years all-star team given his tremendous work at the plate.
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| Baltimore LHP Garrett Olson suffered his second loss of the season as the Orioles fell to the Red Sox 6-3. Olson pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (all earned) on seven hits with three walks and no strikeouts. |
Our View: Olson gave up two homers on the evening. He surrenderd just one long ball through his first six starts, but has given up four over his last three.
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| The Red Sox have completed a 6-3 win over the Orioles, though Baltimore scattered nine hits through the evening. Every batter but one found a way to get on base, second baseman Brian Roberts being the one to go without. Roberts went 0-for-5 with one strikeout and three runners left on base. |
Our View: Roberts was hitting .368 for the month of June coming in, thus it is hard to get too upset about this outing. It ends a hit streak at eight games for Roberts.
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| Jason LaRue hit his first home run of the year on Wednesday as he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI for the Cardinals against his former team, the Reds. |
Our View: LaRue is hitting less than his weight (.196) and serves basically as a day off caddy for Yadier Molina. Don't expect this nice outing to lead to any more work than he has been getting.
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| Jay Bruce went 1-for-4 on Monday to lower his average to .381 since he began his major league career. |
Our View: Though he has been spectacular so far, Bruce is just 3-for-17 his last four games (.175) with six K and just one BB hinting at the fact that a big-time slowdown could be coming.
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| Yankee LHP Andy Pettitte has told reporters that he has pondered what he will do next season and realizes that future may not include the New York Yankees, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: The Yanks will be in a new stadium and reporters asked Pettitte if he thought the idea of pitching int that stadium was exciting, to which Pettitte replied that he had no idea if he would be in pinstripes or not. Pettitte, who turns 36 on Sunday, spent three stints on the disabled list in 2004 and wound up having elbow surgery. He still deals with the fear of something happening with his elbow though insists he has been pain-free since rejoining the Yankees last year. This season he is 5-5 with a 4.99 ERA heading into Thursday's start and coming off consecutive no-decisions.
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| Johnny Cueto fell to 5-6 on Wednesday as he allowed six runs to the Cardinals over five innings. Cueto allowed two home runs, five hits and a massive total of eight free passes. |
Our View: Cueto now sports a 5.42 ERA, far too high to consider starting him every time he takes the hill. Still, he had gone five straight starts allowing three or less runs, so we'll give him a mulligan considering how atrocious his command was tonight.
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| Braden Looper hurled a complete game shutout over the Reds limiting them to just three hits and zero walks in his 8th win of the year. |
Our View: Looper continues to be a solid pitcher this year keeping the Red Birds in most games he starts, though his ratios (4.34 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) are high enough to make him a risky play in shallow mixed leagues.
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| Ryan Ludwick went 2-for-4 with his 16th home run of the year for the Cardinals who improved to 13 games above .500 with the victory over the Reds. |
Our View: With Albert Pujols out, Ludwick will have to continue his hot hitting to give the team production from the middle of the order. Today was a great start.
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| The work of Justin Verlander was good enough for the win, but Detroit brought the offense as well, putting a 5-1 win on the Chicago White Sox. Outfielder Marcus Thames was the man of the hour, going 1-for-3 with ihs seventh home run of the season to total three RBIs. |
Our View: Thames left May after hiting .293 for the month, hoping to spark a new level of offense for the weeks ahead. Thus far it has not happened in June, hitting just .211 coming into tonight
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| The Detroit Tigers are sure to be happy with tonight's 5-1 win over the White Sox, happines in large part due to the work of RHP Justin Verlander . Verlander pitched the full game, going nine to allow just one run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts. |
Our View: After going 1-4 through May, Verland would like to get the wins going. Tonight is a definitive step in the right direction.
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| Chipper Jones (quadriceps) returned to the lineup on Wednesday night for a suddenly depleted Braves squad, according to MLB.com. "I'm sore, but I've got to go," said Jones. People are going to have to realize that I'm not dogging it," Jones said. "I'm just trying to stay in the game." |
Our View: We have said this all along - the only thing likely to stop Chipper this season is his health, so it remains to be seen how he will manage given his less than 100% status right now.
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| The White Sox suffered the 5-1 loss at Detroit this evening, totaling four hits over nine innings in a pathetic outing. The game left RHP Javier Vazquez with his fifth loss of the season, going six innings to allow five runs (all earned) on 10 hits with three walks and nine strikeouts. |
Our View: Vazquez hasn't posted consecutive wins since April, largely based on the offensive support he is given. Tonight there was almost no support at all.
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| Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki joined the list of players using this week to reach career milestones, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: This afternoon against Toronto Ichiro swiped the 300th base of his major league career. He has already registered 28 stolen bases this season, leaving us to wonder what the future holds for such a powerful runner.
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| The Twins believe LHP Francisco Liriano could return to the club in short order, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Liriano was solid on the mound on Tuesday for Triple-A Rochester, holding the Durham Bulls to one run over six innings. His control is still a bit off, but this gives Liriano three solid starts in rehab, going 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Manager Ron Gardenhire is adament that Liriano will be a starter when the does return, thus they want to insure he's ready to go when they make that call.
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| Alfonso Soriano was hit by a pitch square on the left hand, and he is currently en route to the hospital for x-rays, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: This did not look good. It would be awfully surprising if Soriano didn't break some bone in his hand as he took the pitch ri | |
