RADIO
Friday is upon us like a warm soft blanky, nursing us to sleep so gingerly into weekend oblivion. I have a fantasy football draft this weekend, which I am 100% unprepared for, so tonight is going to be some serious cramming my last chance to study up. Baseball is winding down and playoffs are creeping up on us-- my, how fast it's gone. Hopefully you made the right moves, drafted well and are on your way to your fantasy championship. My team deeply disappointed me this year and I am mired in a middle-of-the-pack black hole where I am far from moving up in all but two categories, Saves and HR. So I made trades to acquire Giancarlo Stanton, Troy Tulowitzki, Brandon Phillips and just this week Mark Trumbo. Needless to say, Stanton has been a bust (along with Cespedes whom I kept from last year), Tulo has hit .208 since I acquired him and Phillips is steadily going 1-for-5 with 1 RBI almost daily...I surrender. Damn you, fantasy gods!!! I would like to see some comments at the bottom on how your season has panned out: what did you do right, did you get lucky and draft guys like Segura or Carlos Gomez? Did you bust like I did on some super studs?
The WONG Way
The Cardinals announced that they had called up infield prospect Kolten Wong following their win over the Pirates on Thursday. Wong, a second baseman by trade, will likely push Matt Carpenter to third base while moving the struggling David Freese to a bench/platoon role. After hitting .303 with 10 homers and 20 stolen bases at Triple-A Memphis, the Red Birds have decided to give their prized prospect a shot at the highest level. He’s worth an immediate add as the Cardinals are one of the highest scoring teams in the league and he should get plenty of pitches to hit as long as he doesn't hit eighth.
Wheeler’s a Turnin’
Zack Wheeler struck out a career-high 12 batters on Thursday as the Mets…met with the Padres. It took him 115 pitches to get through six innings, however, which is not something you want to see for a young pitcher too often. He allowed just one run on seven hits with a walk in the no-decision, and now owns a 3.43 ERA with a 57/29 K/BB ratio over 63 innings. He’s definitely hitting his stride and is showing why he was such a highly touted prospect. He and Matt Harvey should be a devastating one-two punch for the Mets for years to come.
AL Hot Shots:
- Raul Ibanez connected for his first homer since July 12. It was his 25th on the season and part of a 2-for-4 night scoring the only run for the M’s.
- Alex Cobb’s return from the DL after taking one off the bean two months ago was a success as he limited the Mariners to one run over five innings. He’s 7-2 with a 2.94 ERA now.
- Wil Myers finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI in the Rays' 7-1 defeat of the Mariners, snapping his recent 1-15 funk. Evan Longoria hit his 23rd homer in the win.
- Anibal Sanchez limited the Royals to one run over 7.1 IP to earn a victory Thursday
- Nate Freiman homered and drove in four as the A’s shutout the Astros 5-0 behind a dominant outing by Sonny Gray who struck out nine over eight shutout innings.
- Chris Nelson smacked two homers (one being a granny) off Yankees pitchers as the Angels defeated the Bombers 8-4. Nelson had been DFA’d by the Yankees just a few weeks prior. Mmm, the bittersweet taste of revenge.
- Mark Buehrle defeated Jake Peavy and the Red Sox by going seven strong allowing just one run on 10 hits and 2 walks. Peavy posted his best outing as a member of Boston going six innings allowing 2 ER with 4 K allowing just 5 hits and walking none.
- Chris Colabello has hit .409/.536/.727 with two homers in 28 plate appearances since Aug 6.
- Alfonso Soriano stayed hot going 4-for-5 with an RBI single and a run scored in Thursday's loss to the Angels.
- The Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies may be closing in on a deal for Delmon Young soon as there is a mutual interest.
NL Hot Shots
- Gonzalez Germen recorded six outs for his first career save in Thursday's win over the Padres. If Bobby Parnell remains out and LaTroy Hawkins groin does not improve, Germen could sneak in for a few crucial saves. Saves are tough to come by late in the season, naaameeen?
- Tony Cingrani struck out nine while allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings in the Reds' 2-1 win over the Brewers on Thursday.
- Carlos Gomez may have dodged a bullet-- postgame reports are that his knee injury was not serious or structural.
- Rafael Soriano blew his fifth save of the season allowing three runs over an inning on Thursday to the Giants. Drew Storen was recalled from Triple-A and maybe the team will give him a chance that he’s the future closer again since they’re falling out of playoff contention.
- Brandon Belt launched the fourth homer in his last seven games in Thursday's comeback win over the Nationals. Belt has been on fire for some time now hitting .400 in August with five HR
- Matt Holliday ended an extra inning affair with the Pirates by delivering a walk-off RBI single in the 12th inning.
- Russell Martin clubbed a solo homer going 2-for-5 in a losing effort against the Cardinals.
- Roy Halladay allowed three earned runs over six innings Thursday in his rehab debut. I think its pointless to have him pitch again this season but the Phillies brass does a lot that is pointless.
- I blew a save today as I dropped, almost caught, then re-dropped my Monster Rehab Energy Tea moments after purchasing it causing me to purchase another one. Its my first blown save of the year in an otherwise dominating season of drinking Monsters. Stick with me, I can shake it off.
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Follow Shawn Caswell on Twitter, or don’t: @CasKnowsRoto
