Furcal scratched from lineup with sore back One night after
Joe Mauer's double with one out in the ninth inning
saved Minnesota from being no-hit, the same offense that ranked as the league's second-worst erupted for 13 runs on 16 hits Wednesday against
Mark Buehrle, who had been 20-10 with a 3.69 ERA versus the Twins. As if that weren't enough,
Carlos Gomez hit for the Twins' first cycle since Kirby Puckett in 1986,
Nick Punto collected five RBIs, and
Livan Hernandez took a shutout into the ninth inning.And people wonder why I love baseball so much.Gomez was hitting just .230/.247/.310 prior to being benched for one game on April 23. In eight games since then he's gone 13-for-30 (.433) with two homers, five total extra-base hits, and four steals. He's now up to .282/.306/.427 in 28 games overall, which along with going 13-for-14 swiping bases and playing excellent defense in center field is enough to make up for a hideous 29-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.Flaws and all, Gomez is on track to hit .280 with 60 total extra-base hits, 105 runs, and 70 steals as a 22-year-old, although keeping up that pace will be nearly impossible if he ends up with 160 strikeouts and only 15 walks. Of late Gomez has looked like he might be just a modicum of plate discipline away from emerging as one of baseball's better all-around center fielders in his first full season, although the Twins
aren't exactly known for teaching young hitters how to show patience.While Gomez somehow manages to overshadow both a five-RBI performance from Punto and Hernandez improving to 5-1, here are some other notes from around baseball .*
Cliff Lee and
Chien-Ming Wang squared off Wednesday in a matchup of unbeaten pitchers, with Lee winning the battle by shutting out the Yankees for seven innings. He's now 6-0 with a 0.81 ERA, which is absolutely astonishing given that he was demoted to the minors last season after posting a 6.43 ERA in Cleveland and came into this year with a 4.64 ERA in 125 career starts. It's natural to remain somewhat skeptical of Lee's amazing start, but don't write it off as a fluke.Lee has made some significant adjust! ments, beginning with using his fastball about 15 percent more often. He's also cut way down on changeups, particularly against left-handed hitters, who knocked him around to the tune of .327/.385/.533 last year despite Lee being a southpaw. Beyond that, his excellent 39-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio suggests that he's far less likely to see his luck run out than, say,
Gavin Floyd. In other words, his deal with the devil may last for a while.*
Chris Iannetta disappointed a ton of fantasy owners last year, but remained one of my favorite sleeper picks this year based on his excellent minor-league track record. In my column about NL-only hitting sleepers back in February, the section about Iannetta advised that he "could still move past
Yorvit Torrealb! a an d make a big impact" and continued to possess "strong long-term upside if he gets on track." Sure enough, that's exactly what's happened.Iannetta was seemingly facing an uphill battle to get another shot as the Rockies' starter behind the plate once Torrealba signed a multi-year deal this winter, but hitting .350 can change an awful lot. He started over Torrealba for the fourth straight game Wednesday, knocking in two runs with a game-winning triple. Iannetta is up to .353/.414/.686 in 58 trips to the plate, which shows why 200 games in the minors should be trusted over 50 games in the majors. He's for real.* Wednesday saw the Braves' bullpen get hit by a slew of elbow-related bad news, including the announcement that
Peter Moylan will have season-ending Tommy John surgery. Beyond that,
Rafael Soriano had to cut his throwing session short due to elbow soreness and
Mike Gonzalez's comeback from Tommy John surgery of his own hit a snag. Soriano and Gonzalez may still be back within weeks, but for now
Manny Acosta's ninth-inning duties are looking pretty secure.* Manager Dusty Baker surprisingly handed rookie
Joey Votto the starting job at first base early this season and then surprisingly stuck with him recently despite a two-week homerless stretch. Votto broke out of that slump in a big way Wednesday, going deep three times as the Reds hit a total of seven long balls in a blowout win over the Cubs. Votto is now batting .302/.362/.583 with seven h! omers through 32 games, so
Scott Hatteberg should get comfortable on the bench.* While the Reds' lineup was going nuts,
Edinson Volquez had 10 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings, slicing his NL-leading ERA to 1.06. Baker allowing the 24-year-old right-hander to throw 118 pitches in a game that was out of reach by the fifth inning is questionable and worth watching going forward given his track record of overworking young starters. Volquez has now cracked the 100-pitch barrier in five straight starts, including two outings of 110-plus pitches.AL Quick Hits:
Shaun Marcum was one out from a complete-game shutout Wednesday agaainst the Rays, but
B.J.! Upton ruined things with a two-run double .
Rich Harden (shoulder) is set to return from the disabled list Sunday versus the Rangers, with
Chad Gaudin shifting to the bullpen to make room in the rotation . Mariners fans had the indignity of watching
Miguel Cairo start at first base Wednesday when
Richie Sexson was a late scratch because of what the team called a family issue .
Brandon Inge said Tuesday that he's willing to catch when needed and would be open to becoming the Tigers' starter next season if
Ivan Rodriguez isn't re-signed .
Michael Young left Wednesday's game in the first inning with a hip injury and
Ramon Vazquez replaced him at shortstop .
Placido Polanco was hitting .140 through April 24, but after collecting five hits Wednesday he's 22-for-54 (.407) since . With
Jeff Mathis sitting in the midst of a 4-for-32 slump,
Mike Napoli started Wednesday and went 3-for-4 with a homer .
John Patters! on had a setback at extended spring training and has been shut down because of continued forearm soreness.NL Quick Hits:
Adam Wainwright tossed seven shutout innings Wednesday versus the Rockies, but got stuck with a no-decision when the bullpen blew a 3-0 lead .
Ryan Church went 3-for-4 with a homer Wednesday and is hitting .328 with 24 RBIs and 27 runs through 31 games .
Mike Jacobs exited Wednesday's game due to a quadriceps injury, with
Wes Helms replacing him at first base .
Mark Mulder h! as been shut down on his minor-league rehab assignment because! of a st rained rotator cuff, making it even less likely that he'll have an impact this season . Manager Manny Acta announced Wednesday that
Mike O'Connor will replace
Matt Chico in the rotation beginning Saturday against the Marlins .
Jack Wilson (calf) has experienced a setback in his recovery and is now expected to miss at least two more weeks . Making his first start since rejoining the rotation in place of
Yovani Gallardo (knee),
Dave Bush allowed six runs Wednesday against the Marlins .
Ryan Ludwick went 2-for-4 with a homer Wednesday and is now hitting .356/.424/.701 on the year.
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