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Nate McLouth continued his career rebirth with the Baltimore Orioles, taking Vidal Nuno deep for a game-ending home run in a 3-2 victory against the New York Yankees to snap a six-game losing streak Tuesday night.

McLouth, an All-Star and Gold Glove winner with the Pirates in a breakthrough 2008 season, wandered around in decline during the following seasons until the Orioles picked him up as a free agent in June 2012. McLouth helped the surprising O's reach the playoffs, and has kept on helping in 2013 via a stat line of .277/.365/.423, with three homers and a league-leading 13 stolen bases coming into Tuesday. Make it four homers. After blowing three straight saves, Jim Johnson picked up the victory in relief and former Yankees outfielder Chris Dickerson hit two solo home runs.

Kung fu grip: After a killer triple by San Francisco's Gregor Blanco turned the tables on Washington in the ninth, slugger Pablo Sandoval turned the lights out in the 10th with his eighth home run, a mammoth shot to center, sending the Giants to an unlikely 4-2 victory. As Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper said, "He put both cheeks into that one."

Walkoff this way:

The Atlanta Braves didn't walk off with a home run, but Evan Gattis tied the score with two outs in the ninth with his second pinch-hit homer in four days. In the 10th, the Minnesota Twins walked off the field in sadness after Freddie Freeman blooped a two-out single to score Jason Heyward and produce a 5-4 victory.

However, as Paul Newberry of the Associated Press wrote, Gattis coming through against Glen Perkins was the talk of the clubhouse:

Walk, don't run: Wilin Rosario of the Colorado Rockies wants to know where his walkoff love is at? He delivered a game-ending single against Matt Reynolds and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th. Rox win 5-4.

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Angels 12, Mariners 0: And you probably know about Mike Trout hitting for the cycle.

Tigers 5, Indians 1: Kind of a big win for the Tigers, even though it's May, because they stopped Cleveland's five-game winning streak and moved a little closer to first place. Detroit's Max Scherzer was perfect after the first inning, retiring 22 straight before saying good-night.

Brewers 5, Dodgers 2: Carlos Gomez and Matthew Lucroy spoiled the homecoming, so to speak, of Zack Greinke. Hey, he called Wisconsin his home for 1 1/2 years — it counts! Greinke had racked up 15 victories without a loss inside of Miller Park. Eventually, that bratwurst gets ya'.

Athletics 1, Rangers 0: Peep this: Dan Straily outpitched Yu Darvish. The margin was a home run by Yoenis Cespedes.

White Sox 3, Red Sox 1: Left-hander Jose Quintana got on a roll, man, taking a no-hitter into the seventh. The difference was a two-run Jeff Keppinger. First a walk, now this.

Rays 4, Blue Jays 3: Fernando Rodney of the Crooked Cap Club straightened himself out to save it for Alex Cobb.

Phillies 7, Marlins 3: Nice games by Ryan Howard and Delmon Young, but Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz are hurt, so keep on dog paddling!

Reds 4, Mets 0: Mike Leake didn't get a complete game but pitched well, and David Wright made a key error he probably thought should have been ruled a hit. Mets!

Cardinals 10, Padres 2: Daniel Descalso hit a grand slam and Adam Wainwright finally earned a victory at Petco Park. Waino's lone holdout: Citi Field.

Royals 7, Astros 3: Rather than picking someone else from the Third Baseman Tree, manager Ned Yost stuck with Mike Moustakas, and he rewarded the Kansas City Royals with a tying RBI single in the eighth to break an 0-for-18 streak at the plate. The Royals stopped a four-game losing streak themselves and got back to .500.

Pirates 5, Cubs 4: How about a pinch-hit grand slam by Travis Snider? OK!

''One hit is not going to ... completely turn anything around, but it's a big hit in a big situation and it gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. Everybody had confidence in me.''

— Mike Moustakas

• Right-hander Samuel Deduno, a World Baseball Classic star for the Dominican Republic, gets the start for the Twins on Wednesday.

• Indians bearded closer Chris Perez deactivated his Twitter account after two poor outings and harsh comments from followers. He'll be back.

• The White Sox scratched left-hander Chris Sale from his scheduled start Wednesday due to mild discomfort in his shoulder.

Baseball is in full swing! Interact with @AnswerDave, @MikeOz, @Townie813 and @bigleaguestew on Twitter, along with the BLS Facebook page!

The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong was having perhaps his best start of the season for the San Francisco Giants on Monday. But this is the National League, where pitchers bat and accidents happen, and now Vogelsong is slated to have surgery Tuesday to fix a broken pitching hand. He had pitched five innings of three-hit ball against the Washington Nationals in an 8-0 victory at AT&T Park, but that's the extent of the good news. (And Brandon Belt had four hits and scored four runs — that's also good.)

Swinging in self-defense during his at-bat against Craig Stammen in the fifth inning, Vogelsong didn't get enough wood on the ball. The Associated Press reports:

Vogelsong broke two bones along the right pinkie and dislocated a knuckle the area that the medical staff couldn't get popped back into place. He was scheduled for surgery Tuesday morning at Stanford and said he likely would have pins inserted to stabilize the hand and help speed the healing process.

''We're not talking about Tommy John or anything here,'' Vogelsong said, his eyes misty. ''Basically as fast as we can get it to heal so I can start throwing again.''

Someone lend a hand: Remarkably, we have another broken hand to announce regarding a pitcher named Ryan on one of these teams.

Washington manager Davey Johnson said that right-hander Ryan Mattheus broke his pitching hand punching a locker in frustration Sunday. Mattheus had been pitching well, but allowed five runs in a blowout loss at San Diego and took out his frustration on himself. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post described the Nats pitching staff as already being in disarray before Mattheus lost his cool.

“It’s pretty embarrassing,” Mattheus said. “I let the whole Washington Nationals organization down by doing something stupid.”

Ain't broke, so don't fix it: Rookie left-hander Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks tossed a three-hitter at the Colorado Rockies in what was described as a "virtuoso performance." He lowered his ERA to 1.44 in joining Randy Johnson as the only lefty in team history (brief as it is) to start a season 7-0. If there was such a thing as a Cy Young Watch List in May, he'd be on it.

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Indians 10, Mariners 8 (10 inn.) : Close your glove, Wilhelmsen!

Blue Jays 7, Rays 5: Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey might be coming around.

Yankees 6, Orioles 4 (10 inn.): Yikes! Orioles closer Jim Johnson has blown three straight save opportunities after nailing down 35 in a row. It all started with a tying home run by Travis Hafner. The O's have lost six in a row.

Padres 4, Cardinals 2: Jason Marquis has won five straight starts. He does this sometimes, though not since 2007 with the Cubs.

Braves 5, Twins 1: They should have had Kent Hrbek ceremonially lift Ron Gant off first base to celebrate the '91 Series. Instead, they just had Julio Teheran and Dan Uggla go to work.

Dodgers 3, Brewers 1: Manager Don Mattingly is done a solid by ace Clayton Kershaw.

Astros 6, Royals 5: Young third baseman Matt Dominguez had a big night: A homer and three RBIs, all on one swing. K.C. drops to 20-21.

Is it time to start the Ned Yost watch?

White Sox 6, Red Sox 4: Boston ace Jon Lester has a 5.43 ERA in 10 career games against the White Sox for some reason.

Reds 4, Mets 3: Aside from a rough third inning, Johnny Cueto pitched like himself in a return from the DL.

Athletics 9, Rangers 2: Happy 40th birthday, Bartolo Colon (on Friday, but let's celebrate now)!

''I asked myself, 'What was going on, what happened?' I told myself I have to start pitching the way I am. Then after that, I said, 'That is me.' "

— Johnny Cueto of the Reds, using a translator. Perhaps he should have used two of them.

Now watch Carlos Gonzalez catch it on video.

• The Miami Marlins scored at least three runs for the second time in 13 games.

• With Ian Kinsler injured and on the disabled list, Jurickson Profar made his 2013 debut for the Texas Rangers. He went 0 for 2 with two RBIs, which is unusual.

• Shelby Miller of the St. Louis Cardinals allowed three runs, just the second time this season he's permitted that many in nine starts.

Baseball is in full swing! Interact with @AnswerDave, @MikeOz, @Townie813 and @bigleaguestew on Twitter, along with the BLS Facebook page!

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• Busch Stadium pitcher’s mound flattened for Man City-Chelsea match
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Ironically, it was less than 24 hours earlier that we rehashed Tim Lincecum's accusatory comments on the Coors Field mound in September 2010 that had everyone (myself included) turning into expert lip-readers.

Of course that became temporarily significant again because of the interesting exchange between Troy Tulowitzki and Madison Bumgarner on Friday night after a baseball was taken out of play at Tulowitzki's request as he was running the bases. Rather than a continuation of bad blood, though, it turned out to be nothing more than an honest request and a miscommunication. Everyone went about their merry way heading into Saturday night's game in Denver. But maybe the mere mention of that incident stirred up some spirits at Coors Field.

Well, that, or maybe Tim Lincecum just can't catch a break these days, because the struggling former Cy Young Award winner ended up taking an embarrassing tumble on that same mound in the fourth inning of Colorado's 10-2 victory.

It happened right in the middle of his 1-1 delivery to Charlie Blackmon when his plant leg slipped right off the rubber. He's actually pretty lucky he didn't suffer a sprained ankle or even a knee injury considering the torque and pressure put on his lower leg, but he bounced up and carried on with the only downside to the mishap being a balk that awarded the runner second base.

Well, I guess there was some downside to staying in the game, too, because the Rockies immediately went back to bouncing Lincecum. Their own pitcher, Tyler Chatwood, made Timmy pay for his balk by delivering a two-out, RBI single. Colorado tacked on a two more in the fifth on Wilin Rosario's two-run homer deep into the left field seats.

When all was said and done, Lincecum had allowed six earned runs in five innings, which was better than Bumgarner's line the night before, but certainly not what the Giants needed during this uncharacteristically tough stretch for their starting rotation.

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I’m paraphrasing, of course, while channeling my inner Vin Scully.

Lincecum never backed off his words following the game, and the accusation seemed to be that Colorado would occasionally throw a few non-humidor baseballs into the bag later in games to give their offense a better chance at instant offense. Though it felt more like gamesmanship than anything, Major League Baseball took San Francisco’s complaints seriously, even changing the rules for how baseballs at Coors Field were handled between the point where they leave the humidor and end up in the umpires hands.

Case closed. That particular issue has not resurfaced since, whether it be the Giants or any other team visiting Coors Field, but the hard feelings between the National League West rivals have seemingly lingered since that point without ever truly boiling over.

That brings us to Coors Field on Friday night. For a few seconds it seemed like we may have been headed towards that inevitable flare up. It happened in the third inning with Troy Tulowitzki running on first base, D.J. LeMahieu at the plate, and Madison Bumgarner pitching. As it's being reported, Tulowitzki asked first base umpire Tim McClelland to check the baseball. McClelland complied, stopping play to give it a once over before tossing it out of play.

Bumgarner had the outward reaction you'd expect. He didn't appear pleased by the stoppage or the insinuation, and even directed some words in Tulowitzki's direction, but it didn't go beyond those words. That left many of us wondering what exactly the situation was. Had Tulowitzki played the gamesmanship card himself? Did he think something shady was going on? What did McClelland find, if anything?

Andrew Baggerly of Comcast Sports Net San Francisco has some of the answers. At least the ones straight from the players.

“I wasn’t accusing him at all,” Tulowitzki said. “I have too much respect for him to do something like that. I didn’t think they were cheating.”

Tulowitzki said he noticed the mark and pointed it out to umpire Tim McClelland, only to suggest that they put a fresh one into play.

“You respect the game and there’s something on the baseball, so let’s get rid of it and move on,” Tulowitzki said. “You respect guys who compete. I have respect for him and hopefully he has the same for me.”

Bumgarner added:

“I was just confused at the runner on first base asking for the ball to be checked,” Bumgarner said.

Did he think at the time that Tulowitzki was trying to get in his head?

“He didn’t, if he was,” Bumgarner said. “I didn’t take it that way.”

Much ado about nothing, it seems. Just a bizarre occurrence where the runner spots a scuff on the baseball before the batter or home plate umpire. Not a first, but certainly not something you see often. When you then take the history of the two teams into consideration, not to mention the Clay Buchholz accusations from a couple weeks ago, it became a situation worth investigating, but we can close the book on it quickly.

We can also close the book on Colorado's 10-game losing streak to San Francisco. They pounded Bumgarner for nine runs in four and a one-third innings, and then held tight to a 10-9 win after once leading 10-5.

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With their desired lineup intact for the first time in 40 games, the Atlanta Braves offense turned it up a notch in their 8-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jason Heyward, who just returned from the disabled list on Thursday after undergoing an emergency appendectomy in Colorado last month, reached base three times to help set the table. Justin Upton then cleared it in the sixth, cracking his third career grand slam off Paco Rodriguez.

''As soon as he took that swing, I knew that ball was going to be out of the ballpark,'' said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. ''That was one of the prettiest swings I've seen put on a baseball.'

After traveling an estimated 461 feet, we're sure the baseball agreed with Gonzalez's assessment. It was Upton's tenth homer — out of 14 — to travel over 420 feet this season. He's averaging 427 feet on all of his home runs, which is the most for any players with more than five.

Just awesome, game-changing power. As we're about to learn, though, the Diamondbacks aren't exactly lacking that type of player despite trading Upton during the offseason. But boy how nice would it be to have two of them?

Good as Goldy: How about the start for Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt? After going 4 for 5 with two more home runs and 4 RBIs in the D-Backs 9-2 win over the Marlins on Friday night, the 25-year-old slugger is up to .338 on the season with 12 big flys and 35 driven in. Only Upton has more homers in the National League with his 14. Goldschmidt is also second in RBIs to Brandon Phillips. An all-star bid seems more likely with each passing day.

Hiroki Special: For the fifth time since the beginning of the 2012 season, Hiroki Kuroda gave the New York Yankees eight plus innings of scoreless baseball. Only Felix Hernandez has more during that time with eight. Kuroda didn't have much room for error on this night as Mark Buehrle nearly matched him through six innings. New York did manage single runs in the first and fifth, and then finally broke it open with a three spot in the seventh to lock up their 5-0 win.

Rosales strikes again! And this time... it counts! After hitting a game-tying home in Cleveland last week that was incorrectly ruled (despite a review) a double, Adam Rosales left no doubt on Friday. His eighth inning solo home run was the difference in Oakland's 2-1 victory over James Shield and the Royals.

''I think I was pretty sure about that one,'' Rosales said with an ear-to-ear grin. ''It felt good to get over that hump. Every ballfield I went to, they all were saying, 'Oh, it was a homer,' or you talk to family and friends and like, 'Yeah, it was a homer.' So, now they'll be talking about something else. They'll talk about a real homer.''

And more importantly, a real win.

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Mets 3, Cubs 2: Matt Harvey gets the win on the hill and the game-winning RBI at the plate. He’s already 5-0.

Phillies 5, Reds 3: Philly gets two in the eighth after bullpen blows lead for Cliff Lee.

Pirates 5, Astros 4: The Astros lose in the most Astros way possible.

Indians 6, Mariners 3 (10 inn.): Three-run, walk-off home run by Jason Kipnis sends Indians fans home happy.

Rays 12, Orioles 10: Camouflaged Rays strike early and often, then hold on as O's rally for six runs in eighth.

Red Sox 3, Twins 2 (10 inn.): Boston steals another game late on the road. Jonny Gomes' sac fly in the tenth is the difference.

Tigers 2, Rangers 1: The pitching duel scheduled for Thursday arrived one day late.

Cardinals 7, Brewers 6: David Freese's long-awaited first home run in 2013 was a grand slam. That helped St. Louis overcome two three-run homers by Aramis Ramirez.

Rockies 10, Giants 9: Jordan Pacheco's go-ahead grand slam in the fifth holds up as Colorado snaps their 10-game losing streak to San Francisco.

White Sox 3, Angels 0: Even dozen strikeouts for Chris Sale.

Nationals 6, Padres 5 (10 inn.): Chad Tracy homers off Huston Street in the tenth. That's six allowed by San Diego's closer in 17 innings.

''We don't want to be the heart-attack kids, but it's a good character check for us right away.''

— Jonny Gomes on Boston's back-to-back dramatic road victories in their final at-bats.

• Elias says the Yankees are the first team in AL history to begin a season 17-0 in games they've scored first.

• Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson became first pitcher to allow eight earned runs and still win the game since Andy Pettitte in 2007.

• According to Yahoo!'s Jeff Passan, the Kansas City Royals have lost six of James Shields' nine starts this season, with each coming by one run.

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Matt Harvey came close to a no-hitter Tuesday. Shelby Miller was nearly perfect Friday. Baseball awaits its first no-hitter or perfect game of the season, and Sunday a few pitching performances had people thinking back to when Dallas Braden threw a perfect game on Mother's Day 2010.

Chris Sale and Jorge De La Rosa, they both were close.

Sale, the lanky Chicago White Sox ace, took a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels before Mike Trout broke it up with a single. De La Rosa, meanwhile, and his Colorado Rockies teammates didn't give up a hit to the St. Louis Cardinals until there were two outs in the seventh. Close, but now we still wait for that elusive pitching gem.

Sale's performance was blemish-free except for that Trout single. He finished with a one-hit shutout as the White Sox won 3-0. After the game, he told reporters this was going through his head during the game:

"There's no way this is going to happen."

Have some confidence, dude.

De La Rosa left after seven innings and the Cards scored two in the ninth, but the Rockies still managed an 8-2 victory. This is noteworthy for Colorado, because they were on the futile side of one-hit and two-hit shutouts Friday and Saturday.

MORE SCORES

Indians 4, Tigers 3: The Indians tied the game in the ninth and went ahead in the 10th. They are now tied atop the AL Central with Detroit. The Indians have won 12 of their last 14.

Reds 5, Brewers 1: Reds sweep Brewers, powered by a three-run homer from Donald Lutz, his first in the MLB. He's the first "German developed" player to make the big leagues.

Pirates 3, Mets 2: Pedro Alvarez hits a go-ahead single for the Pirates in the eighth.

Blue Jays 12, Red Sox 4: Toronto hits five homers, including two from Jose Bautista, to power past Boston, which has lost eight of its last 10.

Cubs 2, Nationals 1: Cubs score in eighth and ninth as Nats waste a stellar outing from Gio Gonzalez.

Rays 4, Padres 2: That's five in a row for the Rays, including a sweep of the Padres. There's always Father's Day, guys.

Yankees 4, Royals 2: Robinson Cano, Vernon Wells both go deep as Yankees sweep Royals.

Orioles 6, Twins 0: Starter Wei-Yin Chen leaves with injury, but no matter as the Baltimore offense handles business.

Rangers 12, Astros 7: Rangers pummel Astros as Adrian Beltre goes 4-for-5 with four RBIs. It was 12-1 going into the eighth.

Giants 5, Braves 1: Tim Lincecum looks strong for S.F., pitching seven scoreless innings and striking out seven. It was his best start of 2013.

Mariners 6, A's 1: Joe Saunders improves to 3-0 at home — but 0-4 on the road. The A's are 3-7 in last 10 games.

Dodgers 5, Marlins 3: The Dodgers have won two in a row after going 0-for-May until Saturday.

Phillies 4, Diamondbacks 2: Brandon McCarthy pitches eight scoreless innings for the D-backs, who then give it up in the ninth and tenth.

"It's an inning that I'd always like to go back out [for], but the last few weeks things haven't been smooth, so I haven't been a guy that has been counted on. I'd like to get that reputation back where if I'm in that situation, it's a no-brainer that I'd go out for the ninth."

D-backs pitcher Brandon McCarthy on getting pulled with a 2-0 lead and only 88 pitches thrown heading into the ninth inning.

Ron Kittle (x2) watching their newest commercial and hanging out before tonight's game. instagram.com/p/ZOuFVsFsXQ/
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 12, 2013

Real person and mascot. Nailed it.

• Houston Astros' Single-A club the Lancaster JetHawks threw a combined no-hitter Sunday, the first in team history.

• Matt Kemp got his 1,000th career hit Sunday.

• Mariano Rivera is 15-for-15 in save attempts this season. In 2008, he started the season with 28 in a row.

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The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

A wild game at Tropicana Field ended with one clutch swing of the bat by Evan Longoria. Trailing 7-6 with a runner on and two outs in the ninth, the Rays third baseman connected for his fifth career walkoff home run (the most in Rays history) off Padres closer Huston Street to extend the home team's winning streak to four.

And we do mean dramatic, because it seemed like Tampa Bay had the game well in hand with a 6-2 lead and Jeremy Hellickson rolling right along into the seventh inning. That all changed, however, when San Diego loaded the bases and then pinch-hitter Jesus Guzman delivered his first homer of the season — a grand slam — to tie it up. The Padres then reloaded the bases against reliever Jamey Wright and grabbed the lead on a walk to Carlos Quentin.

That held until the ninth, right up until Street walked Ben Zobrist with two outs and then Longoria followed with his magic to send Rays fans, and especially manager Joe Maddon, home happy.

Here's more from the Associated Press:

'It would have been among the top three worst losses of the year,'' said manager Joe Maddon, who was uncharacteristically perturbed about another blown lead.

''That's not going to happen very often,'' Maddon said. ''We were fortunate Longo was in the right spot, fortunate that Zo gets it as a hitter. You had all this talent coming together at that particular moment. But you can't go to the dance playing like that. When you get leads, you've got to put the other team away. I'm not happy with that. That's inappropriate. That's got to stop.''

I said better mood, not necessarily a good mood. Maybe that will come on Sunday.

Liriano’s dazzling debut: A broken arm suffered during the offseason pushed Francisco Liriano’s Pirates debut back about five weeks, but it was certainly worth the wait as the 29-year-old left-hander struck out nine Mets over five and one-third innings in the Pirates 11-2 victory. Liriano allowed only six hits and one run in the outing, and benefited form an offensive outburst that saw Pittsburgh build up an 8-0 lead against Jonathan Niese.

Taking one for the team: Though Brewers manager Ron Roenicke felt bad, his depleted pitching staff left him with no other option but to ride out Hiram Burgos' rough start in Cincinnati. The unfortunate result was 12 runs allowed (10 earned) on 11 hits in just three innings.

''I don't ever want to do that to somebody again,'' Ronenicke said afterward. ''We're hurting in the bullpen.''

In baseball, sometimes positioning yourself for a better tomorrow is more important than surviving today. This was one of those cases. However, in another unfortunate twist for Milwaukee, Reds starter Mat Latos didn't have it either (six earned in six innings), but the game was already decided with Cincinnati holding on, 13-7.

Finally: With their 8-1 victory over the Marlins, the Los Angeles Dodgers eight-game losing streak is finally over. Hyun-Jin Ryu is the winner with six and two-thirds innings of one-run ball.

MORE SCORES

Cardinals 3, Rockies 0: Colorado will try to avoid being shutout for the weekend on Sunday.

Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 2: Adam Lind’s ninth inning home run bails out Jays after the bullpen blew a 2-0 lead in eighth.

Cubs 8, Nationals 2: Stephen Strasburg allowed four unearned runs in the fifth and falls to 1-5.

Giants 10, Braves 1: Gregor Blanco delivered a base-clearing double and an RBI triple off the bench to set a new career-high with four runs batted in.

Indians 7, Tigers 6: How's this for weird baseball: Ubaldo Jimenez out dueled Justin Verlander.

Rangers 8, Astros 7: Nelson Cruz, Adrian Beltre and Lance Berkman all homer in support of Yu Darvish.

Twins 8, Orioles 5: Three hits apiece for Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

Angels 3, White Sox 2: Mike Trout homered for fourth time in 10 games.

Phillies 3, Diamondbacks 1: Despite the loss, D-Backs left-hander Matt Reynolds extended his scoreless appearance streak to 22.

A's 4; Mariners 3: Oakland snaps a five-game losing skid with solo homers from Josh Donaldson, Daric Barton and Brandon Moss.

''I really don't think he's forgotten how to pitch, forgotten how to throw a cutter or any of that. I always say, when you're old or overweight - and you don't want to be both - and you're struggling, people are always going to be saying, 'Is something wrong? Is something wrong?' It's baseball. Everyone struggles.''

— Yankees manager Joe Girardi on the recent struggles of Andy Pettitte. Those were not at all apparent on Saturday, however, as the veteran left-hander held Kansas City to two runs over seven innings in a 3-2 victory.

The Chicago Cubs' tumblers — Anthony Rizzo (rolling) and Darwin Barney (standing).

• Nelson Cruz has three game-tying home runs in the past week. They have all come in the sixth inning.

• Stephen Strasburg has already allowed eight unearned runs this season. He allowed six unearned runs all of 2012.

• Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez became the first major league player to hit multiple home runs off Yu Darvish in the same game.

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1. The St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation is rolling right now with Adam Wainwright and Shelby Miller serving as the bookends.

2. The Colorado Rockies are in the midst of one awful, maddening, team wide hitting slump that seems to be getting uglier by the day.

Now, what happens when you put those two ingredients together?

History, of course, as Miller completed a one-hit shutout of Colorado's punchless lineup on Friday night (retiring the last 27 batters he faced in order) and then Wainwright followed it with a two-hit shutout of his own on Saturday (retiring the first 13 Rockies in order) as the Cardinals cruised to a 3-0 win.

When put together, Cardinals pitchers retired 40 consecutive Rockies batters between Eric Young Jr.'s single leading off the game on Friday and Todd Helton's one-out walk in the fifth inning on Saturday. That tied the MLB record for most consecutive batters retired by one team versus the same opponent. That was originally set by the Texas Rangers back in 1996 when they set down 40 straight Detroit Tigers.

It would be another nine batters before Nolan Arenado broke up Wainwright's no-hit bid with one-out in the eighth, meaning Colorado's lineup was mired in a very real and very ugly 0 for 49 stretch and had gone 50 straight plate appearances without a hit.

The Rockies were also one batter away from being one-hit for the second straight game. Dexter Fowler ended that bid with single, but Wainwright kept it at two hits by retiring Carlos Gonzalez to end the game. That put Colorado's two-day hitting total at 3 for 57 (.052).

Hideous numbers to look at, and they get even worse when you go back to Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Yankees. Colorado plated their only run that afternoon in the first inning against C.C. Sabathia, which means their scoreless inning streak now sits at 26. But hey, at least they had four hits in that one. If you go back to Tuesday's game, which the Rockies won 2-0 over New York, their offense is 19 for its last 146 (.130) with six total runs scored in five games.

The Yankees series, by the way, was played at Coors Field, so this isn't a typical Rockies road slump we're witnessing. It's just a nasty, all-encompassing slump, and running into the Cardinals rotation right now is the worst possible remedy.

As they say within the game, good pitching will always beat good hitting. What we're seeing now is what happens when elite pitching squares off against an offense that might struggle hitting off a tee. It's a mismatch of grand proportions, and the Rockies just have to hope Sunday is the day they finally start figuring it out, or at least start putting their few hits together to create a run.

It won't be easy, though. Not against Jaime Garcia, and certainly not against a rested Cardinals bullpen.

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Batting eighth… and pitching… No. 41, David Phelps. Phelps. No. 41.

Yes, I still miss Bob Sheppard's voice. And yes, it's one-hundred percent true the Yankees skipper has elected to hit his pitcher, David Phelps, eighth, with backup catcher Austin Romine having the dubious distinction of batting ninth.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t exactly unusual strategy being utilized by Girardi. Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa used to do it fairly regularly to mostly inconsequential results. But it's notable because, well, it's the Yankees, and also because it isn't frequently done by American League teams during interleague play.

In fact, the last time an AL team hit the pitcher eighth was 2009 when the Kansas City Royals did it with Zack Greinke. Considering Greinke's athletic ability and three career home runs — two coming since his move to the National League — he's exactly the type of pitcher you can envision hitting eighth.

David Phelps, on the other hand, is not.

Here's why:

In six seasons at the professional level, Phelps has never once stepped into a batter's box in the minors or major leagues. Not once. His first career plate appearance (assuming he survives long enough) will come Wednesday night at Coors Field, so it's not as if Girardi is basing this strategy off Phelps' track record as a hitter.

He's also not padding the top of his lineup with a second lead-off type hitter (such as Brett Gardner, who actually is leading off) as is often the strategy when a pitcher bats eighth. That's also a common strategy in many American League lineups.

Honestly, at first thought, Girardi's strategy feels just as much random as it does unconventional (and perhaps misguided), but WFAN's Sweeny Murti has at least one possible theory.

Possible explanation for batting Phelps 8th: can PH Hafner/Boesch for P and not stack LH bats (Gardner 1, Cano 2).

— Sweeny Murti (@YankeesWFAN) May 8, 2013

As has been pointed out by many on Twitter, a .280/.334/.414 hitter over seven minor league seasons such as Romine won't exactly motivate a manager to burn through his bullpen quicker, but this is about as good an explanation as one can come up with without hearing from Girardi himself.

Needless to say, that will be one interesting postgame presser in the visiting clubhouse.

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A Colorado Rockies fan was caught on camera Sunday showing his team a special kind of love — mohawk love.

It's one thing to wear a Rockies cap, it's another entirely to devote a mohawk to your favorite team. MLB.com's Cut 4 blog introduced us to this rockin' Rockies fan, but we couldn't help but wonder what some of the actual Rockies players would look like with a Rock-hawk (Yep, that's a thing now).

We'll start with Troy Tulowitzki, whose name and number is honored on half of the 'hawk.

"I dunno, guys," Tulo says. "I think it looks better than the mullet pic from when I was a kid."

Carlos Gonzalez says: "I look good in anything."

Dexter Fowler is not amused.

Catcher Wilin Rosario with the Rockies mohawk ... or a pro wrestling character?

For Todd Helton, we decided to change things up, and make it a high-top fade. Fresh, right?

This is what Tulowitzki thinks of these shenanigans.

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Have a baseball road trip coming up? Well, in a bid to help you with your upcoming journeys, Big League Stew has solicited the help of the locals. Over the next month or so, we'll be hitting up our usual guest blogger crew to feature 10 tips for enjoying each of the 30 ballparks like the locals do. Have a suggestion in addition to the ones listed here? Make sure to list it in the comments below.

Up next is our good friend Frank Schwab, a Denver resident who also helps man the Dr. Saturday blog here on Yahoo! Sports. Hooray for synergy!

Coors Field is best known for its thin air and skewing offensive statistics as a result of the ball flying out of the park, but it’s also really a beautiful place to watch a game.

The stadium was built in 1995, around the Camden Yards era, so it has that neo-retro feel with plenty of oddities that make it unique. The neighborhood surrounding the park is a great place to hang out before or after the game. The games might drive traditionalists and pitching coaches insane, and the dozen pitching changes might get tedious at times, but it’s a comfortable, accessible stadium in a wonderful setting.

Denver is a pretty good baseball town, too. The Broncos will always rule the city, though the Rockies are probably a closer second than you’d think for a 20-year-old expansion team. The fans are pretty knowledgeable and loyal. Colorado does well in attendance most years, even for a team that has never won a division title (but does have a World Series appearance, in 2007).

So if you’re ready to experience a beautiful ballpark and watch a game in which the home team’s seven-run lead doesn’t seem overly safe, this is the place.

1. Get ready for scoring: You may have heard about this about Coors Field, but there are a lot of runs scored here. The first time my mom came from out of town to a Rockies game, the Tigers took an 8-0 lead by the fifth inning. I told her not to worry, that the Rockies would at some point probably at least get the tying run to the plate. The Rockies took a 10-8 lead in the sixth inning. That’s Coors Field. As the years pass, Hideo Nomo’s no-hitter at Coors Field on a miserable rainy September night in 1996 looks more and more like one of the most unbelievable feats in baseball history. Given the Rockies’ historically awful pitching and how the ball travels nine percent further in altitude, it’s a decent bet the home team may never throw one.

The scoring calmed down a little in 2002 when the Rockies started storing baseballs in a humidor, which adds moisture to the game balls. But on most days at Coors Field, you won’t be bored because there aren’t enough runs being scored.

2. The ballpark’s neighborhood is a destination in itself: Before Coors Field opened in 1995, the neighborhood around 20th St. and Blake St. was a mess. It wasn’t very safe and there was no reason to go. The stadium was the centerpiece of a dramatic rebirth in what is known as LoDo (lower downtown). There are dozens of trendy bars and restaurants in the area, and expensive lofts and condos to live in. Even on nights the Rockies don’t play, the neighborhood around Coors Field is the place to be in Denver. On game days, arrive early, stay after and have a great time.

3. Have a Blue Moon, since it was invented here: Coors Field is where Blue Moon beer was born. That alone should make the stadium a historic landmark. Brewmaster Keith Villa was the mastermind, and he came up with the concept of the beer and its orange-garished goodness at the Sandlot Brewery in the ballpark. The ballpark isn’t far from the town of Golden, the Coors brewing headquarters, and as such it’s a pretty good stadium for beer lovers. I mean, how many other ballparks have a microbrewery attached?

4. For $4, you can get a ticket: If you want to get into a game cheap, there aren’t many better deals than the Rockpile at Coors Field. The only problem is you’re roughly eight million miles from home plate, in a small section of seats high above dead center field. No matter, for $4 a seat you can’t go wrong. For big games (opening day and pretty much anything with fireworks) the line gets pretty long because all but a few reserved Rockpile tickets go on sale two-and-a-half hours before the game. So if you’re short on money and really want to get in the stadium you can go this route, just don’t expect to see much.

5. For the best view, sit on the first base side: If you go to a night game at Coors Field, try to sit on the first-base side, down the line and away from home plate a bit. Beyond the left field concourse you’ll get a fantastic view of the sun setting over the mountains, just past where the upper two levels end on the third-base side. The higher you sit in the stadium, the more of the mountains you can see. It’s one of the more picturesque views of nature you’ll find from a baseball stadium.

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6. Really, it’s a good family experience: Coors Field is very kid friendly. It’s a pretty laid back crowd (insert Amendment 64 and Ballpark Holistic Dispensary joke here) and you’ll feel very comfortable bringing your family to the park. There’s a playground in the left field concourse, close to a concession stand just for kids named Buckaroos. The Rockies’ purple dinosaur mascot, “Dinger,” is available for pictures and autographs in the center field concourse in the early innings. If you're wondering why a baseball team has a giant purple dinosaur as a mascot, it's because they found a dinosaur fossil that was 66 million years old when they were building the park.

7. Yes, they still love Vinny Castilla here: If you want to get in good with the local fans, just drop a mention of the “Blake Street Bombers,” the nickname for the franchise’s early teams in the mid-1990s. Those teams weren’t particularly great – a 77-67 record in the strike-shortened 1995 season was the high point – but they were fun. And memorable. The Rockies recently had a bobblehead day for Vinny Castilla. Dante Bichette is the team’s popular hitting coach. Andres Galarraga was one of the Rockies’ first stars. And Larry Walker might still rank as the second most popular player in franchise history, although current shortstop Troy Tulowitzki might have overtaken him. Back in the pre-humidor days, that lineup just tried to pound teams into submission. They were always interesting, and still remembered well around here.

8. The Toddfather: So if Walker or Tulowitzki are battling for No. 2, who is the most popular player in team history? That one is pretty easy. Todd Helton broke into the majors with Colorado in 1997 and has played more than 2,100 games at first base for the Rockies. While the latter half of his career has been known for the nine-year, $141.5 million contract extension he signed in 2001 and the lack of production since (his last season with more than 20 home runs was 2004, his last 100-RBI season was 2003, from a player who had 91 home runs and 293 RBI in 2000 and 2001), he’s still a lock to be the first Rockies player to get his number retired.

Look, you know a guy is a legend when he is playing first base, and out in the left field concourse there’s the Helton Burger Shack, where you can buy a Helton Burger, Helton Fries or Helton Onion Rings and a Helton Shake. Like the restaurant’s namesake, the food at the Helton Burger Shack is solid but definitely overpriced.

9. Who’s the statue of? Nobody, really: The Rockies don’t have a ton of history, but everyone wants a statue outside the stadium. So instead of having a statue of David Nied or Brad Hawpe commissioned, the Rockies have a statue of a generic baseball player. It’s titled “The Player,” in case you didn’t believe that it was generic. It’s a nice enough statue that has no historical significance whatsoever to the Rockies, but if you’re meeting a group of people before or after a game, that’s the landmark. It’s easy enough to find, standing outside the home plate entrance. You won’t miss it even if you’ve had too many Blue Moons beforehand.

10. What’s with the purple ring of seats?: A few rows from the top of the stadium, in the upper deck, there is a row of purple seats which stands out among the normal green seats. The significance is that row is exactly one mile above sea level. That’s a pretty unique thing about the stadium and a cool way to represent it, but you’re probably better off taking a glance at the far reaches of the upper deck from better seats. Make a mental note of the odd row of purple seats, and then watch some banjo-hitting infielder drill one 430 feet over the center field fence in the thin air.

What are your favorite tips for visiting Coors Field? Share them in the comments below!

Frank Schwab writes for Dr. Saturday, the college football blog on Yahoo! Sports

Previous parks: Citi Field, Marlins Park, Great American Ball Park, Petco Park,Comerica Park, Progressive Park, AT&T Park, Rogers Centre, Wrigley Field, O.Co Coliseum, Yankee Stadium, Coors Field, Minute Maid Park, Fenway Park

The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

The signs did not get any more encouraging for R.A. Dickey and the Toronto Blue Jays during their 8-1 loss to the Mariners on Saturday. The 38-year-old knuckleballer made his scheduled start after an MRI on his ailing back and neck came back clean, which has to be considered good news. However, the results on the field told a story far too similar to the what Dickey experienced throughout April.

In six innings of work, Dickey allowed seven runs (all earned) on six hits and two walks. He was tagged for three home runs, including two by Michael Saunders and a Dustin Ackley grand slam in the fourth. That raises his season ERA to 5.36, but more importantly raises concerns that Toronto may not soon see the ace they paid so heavily for during the offseason.

But he's certainly not alone when it comes to Blue Jays not living up to the hype.

''We've got a group of great guys,'' the knuckleballer said. ''And the chemistry in here, nobody is blaming other people. We're all trying to own what ours is to own in this. But we're not very good right now and everybody knows it. That's no secret.''

The secret they must learn is the one the Miami Marlins never figured out last season (with many of the same key players) and the one the Los Angeles Angels are still struggling with right now. What does it take to win when everyone expects you to win? It's much easier said than done.

Filthy Phil: The Oakland A’s entered play on Saturday with an MLB leading 164 runs scored this season. Apparently Phil Hughes doesn't care because he held those A's scoreless on four hits over eight very solid innings to defeat former teammate Bartolo Colon. The outing probably came as a shock to Colon, as he's been used to getting plenty of support in his starts. In fact, Oakland had scored 29 runs in his three previous outings. This time, it was only two runs, and those two came too late as New York held on 4-2.

O's start new win streak in extras: Early on the story was Freddy Garcia's sparkling and equally stunning season debut. The 36-year-old right-hander actually held the Los Angeles Angels hitless through six innings, but ended up not factoring in the decision after LA rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie.

No problem for the Orioles. Despite their 17-game extra inning win streak ending last week, they pushed across a run in the tenth on Steve Pearce's RBI single and held on for the 5-4 win.

* * *

Lather. Rinse. Walkoff.: For the second straight night, a San Francisco Giants catcher hit a walkoff home run to defeat the Dodgers. On Friday, it was reigning National League MVP Buster Posey. On Saturday, it was none other than... Guillermo Quiroz? Really? Really! His a rocket to the left field seats off Brandon League gave San Francisco the 10-9 win in the 10 innings.

MORE SCORES

Indians 6, Twins 3: Scott Kazmir earns his first win since Sept. 19, 2010.

Reds 6, Cubs 4: Cincinnati didn’t draw blood against Jeff Samardzija, but they did pummel Chicago’s bullpen for four runs in the eighth.

Nationals 5, Pirates 4: Stephen Strasburg looked healthy working through seven innings. Nats use three sacrifice flies to get the curly W.

Cardinals 7, Brewers 6: The words "relentless" and "resilient" always apply to the Redbirds.

Marlins 2, Phillies 0: Jose Fernandez may be staying for awhile. Seven innings of one-hit baseball here to pick up his long overdue first major league win.

Mets vs. Braves (ppd, rain): Scheduled starters Jonathan Niese and Julio Teheran will go on Sunday.

Tigers 17, Astros 2: Detroit scored in every inning but the third. Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera combined to go 8 for 9 with two homers, eight RBIs and six runs scored.

Rangers 5, Red Sox 1: Craig Gentry knocks in three in support of Alexi Ogando.

Rockies 9, Rays 3: Nolan Arenado has arrived. Seventh inning grand slam off David Price helps Colorado pull away.

Diamondback 8, Padres 1: Remember the name Patrick Corbin. He's already 4-0 and is posting a strong 1.80 through six starts.

''It was three long months there (in Colorado). I'd hate to bottle up seven years in the major leagues to three months, but certainly it wasn't going well. In baseball, you can never take anything for granted. Someone can be on top of the game one month and in three or four months you can be out of the game."

Jeremy Guthrie puts the last 13 months of his career into perspective. In 2012, Guthrie started the season with a 3-9 record and a hideous 6.35 ERA for the Colorado Rockies. He was then traded to Kansas City Royals where he went on to lose his first three decisions, but has since gone 17 straight starts without a loss.

That includes his four-hit shutout of the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night as the Royals cruised to a 2-0 win.

Hey! Leave Teddy alone, Mr. Cheese Chester!

• Josh Reddick is 1 for his last 22 overall and 0 for 33 in 11 career games at the new Yankee Stadium.

• Colorado's win snapped an 11-game home losing streak in interleague play.

• Jeremy Guthrie went 188 career starts before throwing a shutout. That's the third longest wait for a pitcher in MLB history.

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The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

Axed by Axford... again: Any plans the Brewers may have had to reinstate John Axford as their closer will likely be placed on hold after their veteran right-hander suffered another meltdown in the team’s 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh. Attempting to protect a 4-2 lead, Axford allowed four eighth inning runs, including a game-tying two-run homer to Starling Marte and RBI singles to Brandon Inge and Pedro Alvarez.

The Brewers never recovered and had their eight-game home winning streak snapped in the process. As for Pittsburgh, the win wrapped up an impressive 6-4 road trip. Think about that for a second or two, and then consider this victory was only their eighth in Milwaukee over the past 54 games dating back to 2007.

''We don't make (the losing streak) as big as everybody else does because a lot of these guys weren't here,'' Pittsburgh manager Hurdle said. ''They don't feel the baggage. They hear the noise but after a while, you don't need to hear the noise because you know what you need to do. You need to play better and win games. That's how you stop the noise.''

I'm with you, Clint. But how do we stop the funk?

Claymation is taking over: To say Clay Buchholz is clicking on all cylinders would be an understatement. The Boston Red Sox right-hander moved to 6-0 (the first six game winner in baseball) after another scoreless outing — seven innings, two hits and eight strikeouts — against the Blue Jays. That lowered his ERA to a minuscule 1.01, and if you're to believe his catcher, David Ross, the run of dominance may not be expiring for quite some time.

''A lot of those guys knew what was coming and still couldn't hit it,'' Ross said. ''As far as how he can execute four to five pitches on both sides of the plate, there's not many other guys like that in the big leagues. That's why he's doing what he's doing.''

Offensively, the Red Sox connected for five home runs en route to the 10-1 win, including two from Mike Napoli that were estimated at over 450 feet. You'd hate to say they were wasted, but Buchholz sure didn't need them. I'm sure he appreciated them all the same, though.

Ten straight for Lynn: The St. Louis Cardinals won a low-scoring series over the division rival Reds by taking the rubber match 4-2. Starting pitcher Lance Lynn is the main reason why as he allowed one run in seven innings to earn his fifth victory. That made him the first pitcher in the National League to reach five wins, and extended his personal winning streak to 10 straight decisions.

The teams had split the first two games in the series, each winning 2-1. Wednesday's tilt seemed destined for another repeat score until the Cardinals broke through for three in the sixth against Homer Bailey on consecutive RBI singles from Matt Carpenter, Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso. Earlier, Carlos Beltran cracked his team leading seventh home run.

Raburn stays sizzling: Ryan Raburn's improbable hot streak entered its third day on Wednesday. After hitting two home runs in each of his two previous games, Raburn equaled his career-high with four hits (also achieved on Monday) and drove in two runs as the Indians stomped the Phillies, 6-0. That brings Raburn's three day totals to 11 for 13 (.846) with two homers, nine RBI and 24 total bases.

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Mets 7, Marlins 6: The Mets rallied from a 4-1 deficit thanks in large part to Jordany Valdespin's three-run, pinch-ht home run, and then managed to stay out of their own just long enough to end their six-game losing streak.

Twins 6, Tigers 2: Coming off his franchise-record 17 strikeout performance on Friday night, Anibal Sanchez needed 41 pitches just to get through the first inning.

Angels 5, A's 4: Home runs from Mark Trumbo, Howie Kendrick and Mike Trout, coupled with two poorly timed miscues by Yoenis Cespedes help Los Angeles prevail.

Nationals 2, Braves 0: Hours after Lance Lynn reached five wins, Jordan Zimmerman joined him thanks to eight shutout innings.

Yankees 5, Astros 4: Lyle Overbay's brilliant baserunning was the difference. I'm not making that up.

Cubs 6, Padres 2: Scott Feldman strikes out 12 in a complete game three-hitter. Maybe the Rangers will call him back up if another starter goes down.

White Sox 5, Rangers 2: A.J. Pierzynski drama!

Royals 9, Rays 8: Kansas City overcomes 6-1 deficit to sting Tampa.

Rockies 7, Dodgers 3: Dexter Fowler goes above and beyond to help Colorado win a rare series at Dodger Stadium.

Giants 9, Diamondbacks 6: Same script, different performers. Brandon Belt's three-run blast off David Hernandez provides the difference.

Mariners 8, Orioles 3: Michael Morse's power surge continues.

''It's something I've been wanting to do for a while. Always seemed like my pitch count got up or (I) got taken out a little before that could happen.''

— Scott Feldman explains the key factors in pitching a complete game.

• Six of Jordany Valdespin's 10 career home runs have come as a pinch hitter.

• Despite their loss, the Tigers became the first team in American League history to strike out at least 10 batters in six consecutive games.

• Michael Morse became the first Seattle hitter to have nine homers in the team's first 30 games since Mike Cameron in 2002.

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We're not talking about Justin Upton leading the league in home runs or Bryce Harper having a stellar second season. We're talking about John Buck being a stud and the Colorado Rockies being in first place. Will these records and these stats hold up long term? Eh, probably not. Maybe in a few cases. But, if not, they'll always have April.

1. The highs and lows of the Boston Red Sox: Literally no one could have predicted everything that happened to the Red Sox in April. After a tragic bombing sent their city into hysteria, the Red Sox rallied to put together the best record in baseball at month's end. Adopting the "Boston Strong" mantra, the Red Sox are 18-8 and lead the AL East. Their +38 run differential is tops in baseball. Quite an achievement for a team that finished in last place in 2012, and didn't even have one of if its biggest bats, David Ortiz, for a majority of April.

2. Who the heck is John Buck? The New York Mets found an unlikely offensive juggernaut in catcher John Buck, a 32-year-old playing for his third team in four years. He leads the NL in RBIs (27) and is second in homers (9) behind Justin Upton. Those numbers are in 23 games. Last season, in 106 games, he hit 12 home runs and drove in 41 runs.

3. The Rockies and Diamondbacks start sharp in NL West: Think this division is all about the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the San Francisco Giants? Not in April. The Rockies lead the division after a 16-11 record. Yes, they fed on the Padres for six wins, but they also lead baseball in hits and have a team ERA of 3.75 after a league-worst 5.22 last season. Meanwhile, the D-backs are 15-11 after a month in which they've played the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants.

4. Matt Harvey owns April: Savvy baseball pundits knew a Matt Harvey breakthrough year was a possibility, but that doesn't discount the fact that he's been the breakout star of the first month of the season. On an otherwise boring New York Mets pitching staff, the 24-year-old Harvey has been pitching more like Stephen Strasburg than Stephen Strasburg has. Harvey is 4-0 and is in the top five for strikeouts, ERA and WHIP.

5. Chris Davis should get a rake endorsement: Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis was on fire in April, particularly to start the season. He had a good 2012, so it's not a complete surprise that he's been potent with the bat, but this good? He's near the top in the American League in all the Triple Crown categories — hitting .348 (fourth), slugging nine homers (tied for first) and driving in 28 runs (tied for first).

6. Who leads baseball in runs scored? Would you believe it's the Oakland A's? When you think of Oakland, you think of pitching and "Moneyball," but the Athletics lead the league with 158 runs. They finished a middle-of-the-pack 14th last year in runs scored. In 2013, they've been getting it done thanks to household names such as Josh Donaldson, Seth Smith and Brandon Moss. Of course you know those guys, right?

7. Redemption thy name is Evan Gattis: He's the feel-good story of the first month of the season — a former highly-touted prospect who gave up baseball, worked as a janitor and contemplated suicide before eventually getting a shot with the Atlanta Braves. Gattis is an injury replacement for catcher Brian McCann, one who has played well enough to stick around. He's hit six homers, driven in 16 runs and is slugging .566. If he keeps it up, Gattis' story of redemption might be baseball's best since Josh Hamilton.

8. The hotly competitive NL Central: Most people thought the NL Central this season would be a two-team race between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. There's still a good chance it still will be. But in April, the NL Central proved to be one of baseball's most interesting divisions. On May 1, it's the only division with four teams above .500. Since April 22, the Pirates, Reds and Cardinals have all been in first place in the NL Central. Even the Cubs were in first way back on April 2. Hope they enjoyed that.

9. The Royals are royally interesting: While they shouldn't schedule a crowning anytime soon, the Kansas City Royals are in second-place in the AL Central and could be, after Wednesday's games, in first place. It's still the Detroit Tigers' division to fumble away. But the Royals, a sexy pick for a sleeper team this season, have showed they may be sticking around longer than usual. They're 14-10 — and that's without Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas hitting well.

10.What is this, 2002? Doesn't it feel weird that with all the pitching talent in the Bay Area, Barry Zito and Bartolo Colon are two guys who had great Aprils? They've each won three games and looked (mostly) sharp doing so. Colon, who is 39, is 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA. He's walked only one batter. Zito, meanwhile, is 3-1 with a 3.29 ERA that is much-needed with Matt Cain struggling. These are two guys who were 23-5 (Zito) and 20-8 (Colon) in 2002.

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Perhaps he wanted to hear an Italian crooner, and not PSY of "Gangnam Style" fame, and that's why Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda seemed underwhelmed by the pop star's appearance Tuesday night. Despite having a front-row vantage, Lasorda did not jump out of his seat when PSY emerged and started dancing to "Gentlemen," his new single. The look on Lasorda's face says ... a lot. It's a generational thing.

What did Lasorda think of PSY's performance? What do you think he thought of it (NSFW)?

Lasorda probably felt more comfortable with the outing by Dodgers rookie left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, who struck out 12 over six innings in a 12-2 victory against the Colorado Rockies. That's the kind of Korean performance art Lasorda can dig. This, not so much:

PSY also got a chance to take some batting practice, and saw the fellas inside of the Dodgers clubhouse.

Just another day in Major League Baseball.

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The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

Tim for the win: With his wife and family watching at Turner Field on Wednesday night, right-hander Tim Hudson put on a show for his 200th career victory. Not only did he allow three hits over seven innings in the Atlanta Braves 8-1 victory, Hudson hit his third career home run — which glanced off the glove of Washington's Bryce Harper and over the fence in right. He also hit a double against Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who put it like this (via the Associated Press:

"It was Hudson's night,'' Gonzalez said. ''Tip your cap.''

The Braves, citing information from the Elias Sports Bureau, said Cleveland's Bob Lemon was the only other pitcher to hit a homer in his 200th win. Lemon's milestone came on Sept. 11, 1956.

Panda power: Apparently, San Francisco Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval comes to the plate at home games to the tune of "The Harlem Shake." Reporter Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News says Kung Fu Panda was singing "Clique" by Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean (?) as he came to the plate in the ninth inning at Chase Field with the Giants down a run to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Teammate Hunter Pence had put a bug in Sandoval's ear in order to relax him. It worked, because Sandoval took closer J.J. Putz deep, over the pool, for a two-run dinger. Giants win 2-1.

Korea for real: Nice night for Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, who struck out 12 over six innings in a 6-2 victory against the Colorado Rockies. He also got a visit from pop giant PSY, Mr. Gangnam Style himself. Ryu also got support from Hanley Ramirez (not Korean, but willing to learn), who hit a home run in his first start of the season after returning from a thumb injury.

MORE SCORES

Indians 14, Phillies 2: Ouch, Roy Halladay. Welcome to Philly (via Cleveland), Delmon Young.

Marlins 2, Mets 1: A disputed call preceded a wild pitch by Brandon Lyon that scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Fish have won three in a row. Mets got hosed.

Padres 13, Cubs 7: But hey, Wrigley Field's finally getting TV.

Brewers 12, Pirates 8: The Bucs will never win at Milwaukee again.

Cardinals 2, Reds 1: All left-hander Jaime Garcia needed was a two-run homer by Matt Holliday.

Yankees 7, Astros 4: Hiroki Kuroda pitches four-hit ball over seven and Travis Hafner had three RBI singles.

Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 7: Edwin Encarnacion went deep twice, including this monstrosity to left that recalls the power of great Twitter clown Jose Canseco.

Tigers 6, Twins 1: Miguel Cabrera hit a home run, and Vance Worley's ERA spiked to 7.22.

Rangers 10, White Sox 6: Offense more than compensates for a mistake Yu Darvish made missing the first-base bag.

Royals 8, Rays 2: James Shields gets better of his former mates.

Athletics 10, Angels 6: Yoenis Cespedes was missed so much.

Orioles 7, Mariners 2: Nate McLouth hit a leadoff home run and it was cake from there.

''It was a fun game. Obviously, it's kind of surreal. No one expects to hit a home run.''

— Tim Hudson

The Cubs announced specific plans to do a "historic renovation" of Wrigley Field. Of course they're historic. Everyone knows the story of Babe Ruth pointing at a giant TV before hitting a home run in the 1933 World Series.

• Hudson is the third active pitcher with 200 victories, including Andy Pettitte and Halladay.

• Darvish had a streak of 18 scoreless innings snapped.

• Milwaukee is 46-7 against the Pirates at Miller Park since 2007, the best record by any team against a division opponent during that stretch, the AP reports.

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Aniballin': The general belief coming into the season was that the Atlanta Braves offense would be all or nothing. The early numbers bare that out, too, as Atlanta entered play on Friday leading MLB in home runs hit (35) with the fifth most strikeouts (185).

Basically, they're hoping for those two or three big swings every night and counting on their own staff to make it stand up. If they run into a pitcher that's locked in it's likely to be a long night at the office. Unfortunately for them, that's exactly what they encountered in Anibal Sanchez on Friday night, as the Tigers right-hander set a new franchise record for a nine-inning game with 17 strikeouts in Detroit's 10-0 victory.

Mickey Lolich previously held that mark for Detroit, striking out 16 batters on two different occasions in 1969. Sanchez managed to squeeze his into eight innings, so he actually left the game with a chance to tie the MLB record of 20 strikeouts set by Roger Clemens and equaled by Kerry Wood (Randy Johnson did it in extra innings). With the game well in hand his pitch count at 122, though, Jim Leyland's decision to pull him was a no-brainer. And Sanchez certainly didn't disagree.

''I don't think too much about strikeouts and records and things like that,'' Sanchez said. ''I prefer getting some zeros.''

As for the Braves, four of their seven losses have come via a shutout. They're also 15-0 when they homer and 0-7 when they don't, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

One-hit wonders: Washington Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmerman enjoyed teammate Gio Gonzalez's one-hit against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night so much that he decided to follow up with one of his own on Friday. Or I suppose you could say the Reds were one-hit on back-to-back days, which would be pretty significant since the last time Cincinnati has had that happen was way back on July 5-6 of the year 1900. It's also only the fourth time it's happened since 1920, with the Houston Astros being the most recent team on Sept. 14-15, 2008.

Always efficient, Zimmerman needed only 91 pitches to complete his second game of the season. He struck out four and moved to 4-1.

The Will To Win: Forgot those fancy schmancy stats, right Hawk? The Chicago White Sox didn't need BABIP on Friday, they simply slugged willed their way back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Rays 5-4 on Friday night behind three home runs from three very unlikely sources. Their names are Tyler Greene, Conor Gillespie and Hector Gimenez, and they all delivered solo shots in support of Jake Peavy.

North and south: The Orioles stayed hot with a 3-0 victory over the A's. Wei-Yin Chen threw eight scoreless innings to give his team seven wins in their last eight games. The A's have lost seven of eight.

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Phillies 4, Mets 0: Kyle Kendrick spins a three-hit shutout.

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4: David Phelps strikes out career-high nine in relief of injured Ivan Nova. New York also loses Francisco Cervelli for six weeks with a broken right hand.

Cubs 4, Marlins 2: A pair of Anthony Rizzo two-run jacks (including this upper decker) gives Chicago a very modest two-game winning streak.

Red Sox 7, Astros 3: Boston officially welcomes Houston to the American League with 17 hits and a 10 strikeout performance from Ryan Dempster.

Indians vs. Royals PPD. (rain): They’ll play one on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Rangers 4, Twins 3: Texas' superior pitching depth continues to shine as Justin Grimm earns a second consecutive victory. He's allowed only three earned runs in 17 innings.

Cardinals 9, Pirates 1: Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate.

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 3: With Carlos Gonzalez slumping, Troy Tulowitzki carries Colorado with bases clearing double.

Padres 2, Giants 1: San Francisco wastes a brilliant performance from Tim Lincecum. Of course they've also bailed him out a time or three.

Dodgers 7, Brewers 5: No win yet for Josh Beckett, but Los Angeles finally wins one of his starts.

Angels 6, Mariners 3: You have to wonder how many major league starts Aaron Harang has left in him. He was gone here before the fourth.

''It's still a nice month having eight homers. At least that's kept him probably sane.''

— That's the Associated Press version of Dale Sveum's postgame comments on Anthony Rizzo. We also have this version from Chicago Sun Times reporter Gordon Wittenmeyer.

Sveum on fact Rizzo has eight homers despite otherwise slow start: "At least that's kept him probably insane." #notatypo

— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) April 27, 2013

Wittenmeyer seems pretty confident with his hearing, so I'll assume his account is accurate. Or maybe I'm just really hoping so.

• The Rangers remain undefeated through eight series this season after clinching a split with Minnesota.

• Josh Beckett remains winless through five starts for the first time since 2002.

• Ryan Howard has 19 RBIs in his last 11 games against the Mets.

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The Kansas City Royals had already taken a 4-3 lead over the Detroit Tigers in the 10th inning Thursday when Alex Gordon came up to bat with the bases loaded. Another run would have been nice, sure. But Gordon gifted the Royals four, hitting his first career grand slam and giving the Royals an 8-3 lead that would later be the final score.

If this extra-inning grand slam thing sound familiar, it's with good reason. It was the third time in eight days that a player hit one. On Wednesday, it was Jordany Valdespin who hit one for the Mets. And don't forget Matt Wieters hitting one for the Orioles last Thursday night. The last time there were three extra-inning grand slams were hit so close together? 2005.

Gordon's grand slam punctuated what had been more of an ace's duel in the beginning. Justin Verlander pitched for the Tigers and threw seven innings of two-run ball, facing James Shields, who pitched eight innings and gave up three runs. Verlander left the game with a thumb injury, a blister apparently. He says it's no big deal and he'll make his next start.

O's pound A's: The Baltimore Orioles proved better cross-country travelers than the Oakland Athletics. Both teams played on the East Coast on Wednesday, but only one team's bats arrived awake in California on Thursday. The O's cranked out 15 hits to rout the A's 10-2. For the Orioles, it was a welcome change of fortune. They had lost 16 of their last 19 games in Oakland.

Ninth inning homer lifts Cubs over Marlins: With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Luis Valbuena of the Chicago Cubs hit a solo home run to secure a 4-3 win over the Miami Marlins. It's one of those moments you dream about as a kid. But Valbuena, actually, had different motivation: "'I didn't want to play extra innings,'' he said. That's one way to prevent them. Luckily Carlos Marmol could close things out for the Cubs and everybody got to go home.

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Mariners 6, Angels 0: Rookie Brandon Maurer and two relievers shut out the Halos.

D-backs 3, Rockies 2: Trevor Cahill and Paul Goldschmidt lead Arizona over Colorado.

White Sox 5, Rays 2: Chris Sale rebounds after two losses to quiet the Rays.

Rangers 2, Twins 1: Rookie Nick Tepesch picks up second win of season, while Ian Kinsler goes 3-for-5.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3: Vernon Wells and Robinson Cano homer to lead the Yanks.

Nationals 8, Reds 1: Gio Gonzalez gets his groove back, allowing one hit over eight innings.

Dodgers 3, Mets 2: Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe get ninth-inning RBIs to carry L.A. after a strong start from Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Red Sox 7, Astros 2: David Ortiz's big day — 3-for-4 with a homer — helps Boston breeze past Houston.

Pirates 6, Phillies 4: Pirates score five runs in the seventh and eighth innings for the comeback win.

If Astros fans “want a villain, it’s me because I made the decision" — Bud Selig, about Houston's move to American League.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons and an umpire enjoy some quiet time together. Oh no, wait, Gibbons is irate about an overturned out call at first base in the seventh inning.

• Seattle Mariners outfielder Carlos Peguero's third-inning homer — on his first at-bat of the season after a Triple-A call-up — is the third longest in Safeco Field history. At 451 feet, it's behind only Barry Bonds (462 in 2006) and Raul Ibanez (460 in 2007).

• Clay Buchholz's 1.19 ERA is lowest by a Red Sox pitcher through his first five starts of a season since 1991, when Roger Clemens had 0.66.

• Austin Jackson snapped a 26-at-bat hitless steak. The longest in the league, and the longest for a Detroit Tiger since 2001. Before the streak, Jackson's batting average was .368. Now it's .277.

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But the Colorado Rockies and star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki have won Throwback Thursday. They reached back into the past and pulled out ... one glorious mullet.

We couldn't help but look at young Tulo — with the pose, the tie, the smile — and see a child star. Face it, the kid was ready for primetime before he was ready for the big leagues. So let's see how he compares to five other young mulleted stars you might remember.

1. Zachery Ty Bryan aka Brad from "Home Improvement"

2. David Faustino aka Bud Bundy from "Married with Children"

3. Danny Cooksey aka Budnick from "Salute Your Shorts"

4. Bryton James aka Little Richie from "Family Matters," with the perm-mullet

5. Here's Tulo again for easy comparison

So who do you think has the most impressive kid mullet? As baseball fans, we'd like to give the nod to Tulowitzki, but Zachery Ty Bryan is the king of kid mullets with Budnick a close second. Feel free to argue below if we've offended your mullet sensibilities.

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Kimbrel Rocked: Considering the last time he allowed more than one earned run in an outing was Sept. 19, 2011, the Atlanta Braves probably felt very comfortable handing the ball to closer Craig Kimbrel with a 5-3 lead even at Coors Field. The comfort didn’t last long, however, as 5-foot-9 (generously listed) Jonathan Herrera laced a one-out double down the right field line and Troy Tulowitzki singled to put runners at the corners.

Kimbrel recovered and overmatched Eric Young Jr. for the second out, but the breakout season of Dexter Fowler continued as he connected and confused left fielder Justin Upton with a slicing liner that smacked off the wall, tying the score at five. Three hard fought innings later, an admittedly nervous Yorvit Torrealba — a catcher by trade, but a first baseman with Todd Helton ailing and Colorado out of players — ended it with a walkoff single scoring another catcher, Wilin Rosario.

''Usually in winter ball I just played first, but I also played once last year when I was with the Toronto Blue Jays,'' he said. ''Still, it's not my position so I was a little bit nervous.''

Helton hasn't played since Friday with a strained forearm and the Rockies may be forced to DL him if he's available again on Thursday. After a doubleheader Tuesday followed by 12 innings Wednesday, they could use a fresh arm in their bullpen. A little bench depth wouldn't hurt either to ensure Torrealba isn't need to dust off his first baseman's mit again.

Papa Grande returns: From his entrance, to his half-dark, half-light goatee, to his postgame celebration, it was as if the eccentric Jose Valverde had never left his role as Detroit Tigers closer. The only thing that was different, from 2012 at least, was the ease with which he secured the save in his 2013. He retired Alex Gordon, Alcides Escobar and Billy Butler in order to lock up the 7-5 victory.

Valdeslam: Matt Kemp's first home run was the story of the first eight and a half innings. That changed, however, after Dodgers left fielder Carl Crawford failed to corral Mike Baxter's sinking liner (remember this?) to start the ninth and David Wright sent it to extras with a two-out single. It didn't last much longer as New York's Jordany Valdespin launched his first career grand slam, walkoff style, to win it 7-3.

Rangers support Yu: A nine-run fourth inning is more offensive support than Yu Darvish has needed through his first five starts put together. Chalk up another six scoreless here with 11 strikeouts as Texas rolls to the 11-3 win.

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Cardinals 4, Nationals 2: Stephen Strasburg losses his fourth straight decision as Redbirds complete sweep of Washington.

Blue Jays 6, Orioles 5 (11 inn): The Orioles 17-game extra inning winning streak comes to a screeching halt thanks largely to Rajai Davis.

Reds 1, Cubs 0: Down go the Cubs, courtesy of Todd Frazier.

White Sox 3, Indians 2: Adam Dunn walked three times, doubling his season total.

Astros 10, Mariners 3: Seattle and Miami are the only teams without a series win this season. Houston has two, both against Seattle.

Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2 (10 inn.): Arizona is totally stealing San Francisco's gimmick with back-to-back extra inning wins at AT&T Park.

Red Sox 6, A's 5: The Sox made bigger news after the game when they sent disgruntled pitcher and serial complainer Alfredo Aceves to timeout in Triple-A Pawtucket.

Pirates 5, Phillies 3: Six one-hit innings from Roy Halladay. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard homer. It's just like old times for the Phillies... except the whole losing to the Pirates thing.

Rays 3, Yankees 0: Alex Cobb dealt eight and one-third scoreless innings to help Tampa Bay secure a 5-1 homestand.

Padres 2, Brewers 1: Carlos Quentin finally hit a baseball harder than he shoulder tackled Zack Greinke. His first home run and seven qualify innings from Edinson Volquez helped end Milwaukee's nine-game winning streak.

''I remember going to the Astrodome and watching games, but this park is something else. 'I wanted to be a professional ballplayer and play at the highest level and being an Astro is just the icing on the cake.''

— Astros rookie and Houston native Robbie Grossman on his major league debut. He doubled twice.

Have you even blown your nose and then... oh, nevermind. I have no idea what Brett Gardner is doing here.

• The Nationals have scored only nine runs in Stephen Strasburg's five starts.

• Jordany Valdespin's walkoff grand slam was the first by a Mets players since Kevin McReynolds on June 25, 1991.

• Manny Machado finally hit the Orioles first triple on Wednesday. That leaves the slugging Braves as the only team without one in 2013.

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Kendrick's no schmendrick: The Los Angeles Angels hope their walk-off party against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night will mean something come pennant race time. Howie Kendrick hit his second home run of the game in the 11th inning to break a tie and power the Angels to a 5-4 victory against Texas. The Angels won in their final at-bat for the second time in three games, improving to 8-11, while the Rangers fell to 13-7. See? It's a swing game! Kendrick also hit a two-run homer earlier. His second big pop also produced the awesome photo you see, taken by Lisa Blumenfeld.

Kendrick's heroics came after Mike Trout made a terrific diving catch of Adrian Beltre's liner to left that would have put the Rangers ahead in the ninth, had it dropped. Beltre bemoaned having to hit against the Angels outfield defense, which includes three guys with center-field credentials: Trout, Peter Bourjos and Josh Hamilton.

"It's not fair. I mean, where am I supposed to hit it?''

Someone suggested over the fence, to which Beltre replied: ''That sounds like a good idea. I'll try that tomorrow.''

Crewsin' for a bruisin': Does anyone remember that the Milwaukee Brewers started the season 2-8? They won their ninth straight, beating the San Diego Padres 6-3 at Petco Park behind a "meh" performance by right-hander Yovani Gallardo and a five-run outburst in the second inning. Yuniesky Betancourt drove in a pair and Jean Segura had three hits. Gallardo walked five, including three straight in the seventh before being removed, but didn't allow any runs after the second inning.

No free passes. OK, one: Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals finally issued a walk, his first after throwing 34 2-3 innings to open the season without allowing a freebie. But that's the only trend the Washington Nationals could buck in a 3-2 Cards victory. The Nats are kind of nasty right now, having dropped to 10-10 after losing eight of 11.

Back-to-back Uptons: Hasn't been done by brothers in 75 seasons. And the Atlanta Braves swept, or shoveled, their way past the Colorado Rockies in a doubleheader.

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Diamondbacks 6, Giants 4 (11 inn.): Oh, this is no honorable way to score a go-ahead run! Gritty, though.

Athletics 13, Red Sox 0 (7 inn.): From afar, it looks like they invoked a mercy rule, but if they did, it was because of the weather in Boston.

Orioles 4, Blue Jays 3: O's win for the 100th consecutive time when leading after seven innings, a streak that dates to August 2011. Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey dealing with back problems right now.

Pirates 2, Phillies 0: The Treatise of Jeff Locke goes like this: Thou shalt not score. Am I mixing up my famous documents here?

Cubs 4, Reds 2 (10 inn.): Where have we heard this before? Cubs blow lead, only to re-take lead only to ... oh, they didn't blow the lead a second time. This time.

Royals at Tigers, ppd. (rain): But Jose Valverde is on the way for the Tigers.

Dodgers 7, Mets 2: Two home runs from Mark Ellis, who has 101 for his career. Between him and Kendrick, L.A. second basemen had four home runs Tuesday night. Is anyone in a home-run pool for two-city, same-position players? Because if so, you've won! Regardless of all that, Clayton Kershaw was not impressed with himself.

Marlins 3-8, Twins 4-5: A long, cold day at Target Field.

Indians at White Sox, ppd. (rain): This space for rent.

Yankees 5, Rays 4: Thanks to Ichiro, who came in batting .220.

Astros 3, Mariners 2: Marwin Gonzalez has three home runs in 16 games after hitting two in 80 during 2012. It's the switch to the AL culture. Bud Norris fact: He allowed eight hits and a run in five innings but got the win because wins are dumb. Justin Maxwell broke his left hand getting hit with a pitch, doggone it.

''I have to see the hand specialist tomorrow, but at least we got the win out of it.'' — Justin Maxwell, a real trooper.

• The Padres have scored six runs in their five-game losing streak.

• The A's started five former Red Sox players: Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, Brandon Moss, Josh Reddick and Bartolo Colon.

• Matt Cain of the Giants has allowed six home runs over his past three starts.

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Tuesday night, in the Braves' 10-2 win over the Colorado Rockies, we got to see the Upton-Upton tater tandem. In the fifth inning B.J. hit a solo home run, his third of the season, and Justin followed with his 11th. Lloyd and Paul Waner were the last to accomplish the feat in Sept. 15, 1938 for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Here are the Upton clips, of course, back-to-back.

The Uptons have now hit home runs in the same game three times this season, including the game where they hit the game-tying and walk-off homers in the same inning. That brings us to the next item on the Upton milestone watch-list: B.J. and Justin can tie Jason and Jeremy Giambi and Vladimir and Wilton Guerrero when they homer again in the same game.

Doing it a fifth time this season — and let's be real, the odds are good that'll happen — will be an MLB first.

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The Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels, heading into this season, were two of the favorites to represent the American League in the World Series. The Angels certainly hadn't been playing like it early on — winning only four of their first 14 games. That all changed, surprisingly enough, when the potent Tigers came to town.

The Angels pulled off a three-game sweep of Detroit this weekend, completing it in dramatic fashion Sunday — with a 13th-inning walk-off homer by Mark Trumbo that won the game 4-3. They almost managed to double their win total, now at 7-10. Success over the Tigers, 9-9 themselves after three straight losses, was a confidence boost for the Halos. Here's what Trumbo said, per MLB.com's William Boor:

"It's pretty well-chronicled that we've been struggling a little bit early on," Trumbo said. "But three wins against a team of this caliber, it's an excellent sign."

[Related: Should Verlander, other aces worry about lost velocity of fastballs?]

The Angels next host the Texas Rangers for three games, the team that sits atop the AL West. Three more wins could erase that sluggish start for Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols & Co.

Boston takes double lumps: After as good a Saturday as the Boston Red Sox could have hoped for — honoring the heroes of their city followed by late-inning heroics to win the game — Sunday was a bit of a bummer.

The Red Sox dropped two games to the Kansas City Royals (the doubleheader made necessary because Friday's game was postponed with the city on lockdown). The Royals won the first game 4-2. Ervin Santana shook off a rough first inning to get the win. The second game went to extra innings, with the Royals winning on a 10th-inning bases-loaded walk. Oops. The final score was 5-4.

Rockies win streak ends at eight: The Colorado Rockies, who could have owned baseball's best record with a win Sunday, fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4. The loss snapped Colorado's win streak at eight. Arizona got two runs in the top of the ninth to win, a Gerardo Parra sac-fly being the go-ahead moment. The Rockies (now
13-5) are tied with the Atlanta Braves for the best record in baseball. The Braves lost 4-2 in Pittsburgh.

Brewers sweep Cubs, own longest win streak: With the Rockies losing, and the hot Milwaukee Brewers continuing their winning ways, the Brew Crew now owns baseball's longest win streak at seven games. Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer, which was the difference-maker in the Brewers' 4-3 win over the Cubs.

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Reds 10, Marlins 6: Reds get eight-run seventh to top Marlins.

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 4: Josh Johnson doesn't get obliterated. J.P. Arencibia, Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie get two hits each. Blue Jays baseball, y'all.

Mets 2, Nationals 0: Led by Gee and Buck — which sounds like a rap group — the Mets blank the Nats. Dillon Gee throws 5 2/3 scoreless and John Buck hits his seventh homer.

Pirates 4, Braves 2: Pirates take three of four from Atlanta, which isn't a typo.

Rays 8, A's 1: Roberto Hernandez gets his first win since the world knew him as Fausto Carmona (September 2011, specifically). Hopefully he got a card or cake.

Giants 5, Padres 0: Barry Zito goes seven scoreless again (third time this season) and Buster Posey hits his first homer of 2013.

Indians 5, Astros 4: Mark Reynolds hits the go-ahead homer in the seventh. He's almost hitting .300, for what that's worth.

[Related: Big contracts and big losses for Los Angeles baseball]

Twins 5, White Sox 3: Adam Dunn, who is not almost hitting .300, homers for the White Sox. Scott Diamond wins for the Twins.

Phillies 7, Cardinals 3: A four-run eighth, including an Erik Kratz homer, pushes the Phils to victory.

Rangers 11, Mariners 3: Aaron Harang gives up eight runs — including a Nelson Cruz grand slam — in 4 2/3 innings. He's all yours, Seattle.

Dodgers 7, Orioles 4: The Dodgers snap their six-game losing streak. Matt Kemp even gets three hits.

@freddiefreeman5 relax guy...I know you brought some of your country girl lotion scent!! #bestsmellingguyintheleague

— Dexter Fowler (@DexterFowler24) April 22, 2013

It was the Phillie Phanatic's birthday on Sunday — we don't know how old, a gentleman never asks — and the Phanatic dressed up like Hugh Hefner. Kids, a dinosaur, some sort of Dolly Parton and Jack Nicholson figures joined him to celebrate. We don't want to see the afterparty.

• Shin-Soo Choo of the Reds was hit by a pitch Sunday for the ninth time this season. He's played in 17 games.

• Since the beginning of 2012, Barry Zito has seven starts in which he pitched more than seven innings and didn't give up a run. That's one more than some dude named Justin Verlander.

• Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association donated $500,000 to The One Fund Boston, to aid relief in last week's attacks.

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Boston Strong: An emotional day at Fenway Park ended on a pair of high notes. The first, of course, was the entire stadium singing along with Neil Diamond as he performed “Sweet Caroline” down the right field line in the middle of the eighth inning. The second, was Daniel Nava’s two-out, three-run homer in the bottom half that gave Boston a 4-2 lead.

Andrew Bailey would come in to lock things down in the ninth, but not before Lorenzo Cain’s solo home run narrowed it down to the eventual final score of 4-3. Clay Buchholz, who tossed eight innings of two-run ball, gets the victory to become the American League’s first four-game winner. A big day for him individually and the team as a whole, but obviously it was much bigger for the city of Boston.

Daniel Nava acknowledged as much after the victory.

''Knowing everything that went into the day for the city, for us to get the win, it came in a special way, special fashion,'' Nava said. ''It made it all that more important.''

David Ortiz, who caused quite a stir with his pregame comments, added.

''I think today was different because we haven't been through what we've been through this past week,'' Ortiz said. ''Driving around and looking around at people's faces, it was a very emotional day here just looking at those guys that were injured by those bombs going off and watching the news nearly every day, it was painful, very painful. Today I could see people opening their chest and letting it go.''

Let it go they did, and it was a lot of fun to watch.

Twice as nice for Bryce: For Bryce Harper, home runs tend to come in twos. That’s what happened on Saturday, when the 20-year-old outfielder delivered his fourth two homer game in just under one full season at the big league level.

The first was a two-run shot off Jeremy Hefner in the third inning. That put Washington on top 3-0. His second, a solo shot of Josh Edgin in the eighth, was the difference maker that gave the Nats their 7-6 win. Washington also needed home runs from Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond to help overcome a rare lousy outing from Gio Gonzalez (four innings, five runs).

Speaking of those phenoms: Mike Trout’s first career grand slam capped a nine-run first inning for the Los Angeles Angels as they rolled over Rick Porcello and the Tigers, 10-0. It was Trout's second hit of the inning — he singled earlier — and second run scored. Peter Bourjos had two singles himself in the first and also scored twice.

Browns outlast Texans: It was a cold December Sunday in Cle... no, wait, my apologizes. Cleveland scored 19. That's way too much for this to be a football score. Let me try again.

It was a pleasant Saturday in Houston, though not so much for Philip Humber and the Astros pitching staff as they surrendered 19 runs to the Cleveland Indians.

I know, that doesn't sounds very believable either, but it happened. Now digest this: Eight of those runs came off Humber in the very first inning before he could record a second out. That's right, he retired one batter just one day before celebrating the one-year anniversary of his perfect game in Seattle. And it's quite possible he pitched his way out of a big league job in the process.

MORE SCORES

Orioles 7, Dodgers 5; Orioles 6, Dodgers 1: Baltimore's clean sweep pushes the Dodgers losing streak to six.

Reds 3, Marlins 2 (13 inn.): Shin-Soo Choo reaches base six times and Brandon Phillips delivers the walkoff sacrifice fly on his own bobblehead day.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3 (11 inn.): A two-run throwing error by reliever Aaron Loup gives New York the edge. Surprisingly, they didn’t homer.

Twins 2, White Sox 1 (10 inn.): The extra inning bonanza continues with Minnesota taking advantage of a throwing error by Alexei Ramirez to plate the winner.

Pirates 3, Braves 1: Pittsburgh's strong starting pitching continues.

Cardinals 5, Phillies 0: Philadelphia managed one hit against Lance Lynn.

Brewers 5, Cubs 1: Milwaukee has quietly won six straight to get back to .500 (8-8).

Rays 1, A's 0: A home run from Matt Joyce and some trickery from Desmond Jennings.

Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 3: Eight in a row for Colorado, who now tie Atlanta for the best record in baseball at 13-4.

Rangers 5, Mariners 0: Another starting pitcher injury presses Derek Lowe into action.

Giants 2, Padres 0: Apparently the offense didn't make it out west.

"It was a complete emotional roller coaster, to where we have a moment of silence for the people that aren't here to a couple seconds later applauding the heroes. And then a baseball game breaks out."
— Jonny Gomes on the atmosphere at Fenway Park on Saturday.

When things aren't going as planned, Rays manager Joe Maddon calls on DJ Fresh for a little inspiration.

• The Giants are 4-0 in Tim Lincecum's four starts this season. It took them 18 Lincecum starts to win four times in 2012.

• The Padres are 1-10 against teams not named the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Speaking of the Dodgers, they've now lost six straight games in April for the first time since 1993.

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[Also: Yankees' Derek Jeter out until after the All-Star break]

Let's set the scene: It's the bottom of the 10th inning at Camden Yards. The Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays are tied 6-6. The bases are full of O's: Nick Markakis, Manny Machado and Adam Jones. Nobody's out and cleanup hitter Matt Wieters is coming up. He's got this, right?

Time for some strategy from the Rays. Manager Joe Maddon calls for a five-man infield, leaving two in the outfield. If the Rays can stop the run at the plate and finish the double-play at first, they might just get out of this. Brandon Gomes delivers the pitch for the Rays ... and none of the strategy and none of the base runners even matter.

Wieters blasts a ball to right field that only fans are going to catch — a walk-off grand slam, the Orioles win 10-6.

Yes, it's more Orioles magic. Thursday makes 17 straight extra-inning games the O's have won, the most since the Pirates won 21 straight in 1959-1960. While we're rattling off dates: The walk-off grand slam was the first for an Oriole since 1999, when Harold Baines did it.

''I felt like it was going to go,'' Wieters said. ''I knew it was going to get a run in, whether it went out or not. I knew the game was going to be over. That was a good feeling.''

On the other side of this one, Rays ace David Price got a no-decision, keeping him winless thus far in 2013. He pitched six innings, gave up five runs and raised his ERA to 6.26. The Rays did get homers from Evan Longoria, Desmond Jennings and James Loney, whose eighth inning blast tied the game at six.

Gattis clutch for the Braves: Both Uptons homered for the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, but it was Evan Gattis who was the difference in the Braves' 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gattis hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning to propel the Braves to victory. They're 13-2 now. That's a league-best record, as is their +47 run differential.

Blue Jays win, but Dickey leaves game: The good news: R.A. Dickey looked back in Cy Young form against the Chicago White Sox. The bad news: He left the game after the sixth inning with soreness in his neck and back. Dickey didn't give up a run in those six innings, though, striking out seven with that dancing knuckler.

''I had a knuckleball tonight where I would have thrown a complete game,'' Dickey said, ''so it was unfortunate that (the injury) acted up on me.''

It's unsure what this means for Dickey's next start. Manager John Gibbons said Dickey's tough and he's "sure" we'll see Dickey five days. Keep an eye on that.

Cingrani, Reds win battle of young guns: Cincinnati Reds prospect Tony Cingrani, making his first big-league start, pitched five innings, striking out eight and giving up only one run to earn his first victory. Opposing Cingrani, 23, was Jose Fernandez, the 20-year-old Miami Marlins pitcher, who was making his third start. He got hit hard for the first time, surrendering five runs in four innings. While the pitchers were an intriguing storyline, it was the Reds offense that got the job done. Todd Frazier hit his fifth home run while Shin-Soo Choo and Zack Cozart each had two hits.

MORE SCORES

• Brewers 7, Giants 2: Yovani Gallardo homers and gets the win in first game since his DUI arrest.

• Mariners 2, Tigers 0: Justin Verlander strikes out 12, but Tigers can't muster any runs against M's starter Hisashi Iwakuma and reliever Carter Capps.

• Cardinals 4, Phillies 3: Carlos Beltran (pictured) hits an eighth inning go-ahead home run, Adam Wainwright improves to 3-1.

• Rockies 11, Mets 3: Colorado's bats were hot, despite 28-degree weather. Rockies get sixth straight win.

• Red Sox 6, Indians 3: Red Sox earn sixth straight win too, and Jon Lester improves to 3-0.

• Cubs 6, Rangers 2: Anthony Rizzo and Alfonso Soriano hit homers in the Cubs' four-run second inning, which was all they'd need.

• Diamondbacks 6, Yankees 2: Not a grand slam, but the D-backs get four in the 12th inning to top the Yankees.

"I didn't enjoy the series much. But I'll never get tired of seeing people I care about."

— Indians manager Terry Francona on getting swept by his ex-team, the Boston Red Sox

Todd Frazier celebrates his home run with Reds bat boy Teddy Kremer, who, as the story goes from C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, asked Frazier to hit a home run before that at-bat. Teddy, who has down syndrom, made a big impact with the team previously and joined the Reds again Thursday.

• The Reds have scored 10 runs in a game four times this season. They scored 10 runs four times all of last season.

• In 22 innings this season, Adam Wainwright has yet to walk a batter.

• The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners combined for 82 strikeouts in their three-game series, a record according to Elias Sports Bureau.

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So, it appeared that everyone in the front office grabbed a shovel, from Dinger the team mascot to team owner Dick Monfort:

Mr. Monfort working the shovel, helping to clear the snow before today's game. #Teamwork #Rockies twitter.com/Rockies/status… — Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 16, 2013

You have to appreciate a hands-on owner like Monfort. My only objection with Dinger is the usual one. Please wear something below the waist for once.

Update: Mets GM Sandy Alderson, a former Marine, also reportedly grabbed a snow shovel to help the clearing effort. I don't think Mr. Met made the trip, though.

Baseball is back! Interact with @AnswerDave, @MikeOz, @Townie813 and @bigleaguestew on Twitter, along with the BLS Facebook page!

Enough snow fell on Coors Field on Monday to make it ankle-deep in white stuff, so the game between the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets was postponed until Tuesday. A split doubleheader is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. and 6:40 p.m., Mountain Time. It was the second straight day inclement weather spoiled a game for the Mets, who also didn't play Sunday at Minnesota. They made the most of it at Coors by frolicking around the ballpark making snowmen, snow angels, snow whatever. They also cleared some turf and played catch.

Relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins — pictured above — was, like, "What? Why can't we just play baseball in the snow?"

Mets media relations guru Jay Horwitz joked on Twitter that, because of the snow storm and the threat of more, Major League Baseball gave approval for the Mets and Rox to play three games in one day:

Because we only come to Colorado once, MLB has given the Mets and Rockies the go-ahead to play a triple header this week.11,4 and 8 times,

— Jay Horwitz (@Jay_HorwitzPR) April 15, 2013

Some people, Ernie Banks being one of them, thought Horwitz was being serious. Such a concept might be fun for about 2 1/2 games, but by the fifth inning of Game 3, everybody would be dragging. Besides, the players' union would never OK a tripleheader. Sticks in the mud, err, snow they are.

Jackie Robinson festivities, with both teams wearing his jersey No. 42, will happen during the first game.

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The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

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The Atlanta Braves, picked by most to finish behind the Washington Nationals in the National League East this season, finished off a weekend sweep of the Nats in convincing fashion — a 9-0 trouncing, coming over Gio Gonzalez.

For the Braves, now 11-1, it was their ninth straight win, making it hard to argue against them as the best team in baseball right now. Justin Upton hit another homer for Atlanta (his league-leading seventh) and Paul Maholm moved to 3-0 with 7 2/3 more scoreless innings, keeping his ERA at 0.00.

''It's early,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said. ''I don't think we're going to play .998 baseball the rest of the way, but it sure is better than 1-11.''

The Braves have swept three straight series (Cubs, Miami and Washington) for the first time since April 2000, when they swept four in a row (Phillies, Pirates, Dodgers, and Padres). Washington has lost seven straight to Atlanta, dating back to last year. The final game of this series was a stark contrast to the other two.

''We should have won the first one. We were right there on the second,'' Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. ''We just got waffled today. I don't put too much stock in it.''

Roy Halladay wins No. 200: Elsewhere in the NL East, Roy Halladay won his 200th game on Sunday, and perhaps more importantly looked more like Roy Halladay than he has in a while. Of course, Halladay's win came at the expense of the Miami Marlins, but a win is a win. Especially for Halladay, who was off to a rough start this season.

Halladay pitched eight innings in the Phillies' 2-1 victory, giving up five hits and lowering his ERA to 7.63. He threw only 87 pitches.

Brewers finally find some offense: The Milwaukee Brewers set a team record by reaching 32 straight scoreless innings during Sunday's game. Then promptly snapped out of it thanks to an eighth inning Ryan Braun home run. The Brewers scored again in the ninth inning to force extra innings with the St. Louis Cardinals. Then Jonathan Lucroy homered in the tenth to give the Brewers the win.

D-backs walk-off against Dodgers: The Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers took a 0-0 game into the bottom of the ninth. Josh Beckett had struck out nine though 8 1/3 innings, before D-backs slugger Paul Goldschmidt came to bat. He singled in Gerardo Parra as the winning run. J.J. Putz got the win in relief of Dbacks starter Trevor Cahill.

MORE SCORES

• Yankees 3, Orioles 0: Hiroki Kuroda pitches a five-hit shutout for Yanks.

• Red Sox 5, Rays 0: Clay Buchholz takes no-hitter into the eighth.

• White Sox 3, Indians 1: Peavy Ks 11 to break White Sox losing streak.

• Pirates 12, Reds 7: Pirates' six-run eighth inning finishes sweep of Cincinnati.

• Royals 3, Blue Jay 2: Alex Gordon gives Royals walk-off win with single.

• Giants 10, Cubs 7: The Giants score three in the tenth inning, including the go-ahead run on a balk.

• Angels 4, Astros 1: Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout homer for the first time in the same game, so of course the Angels are good now.

• Tigers 10, A's 1: Austin Jackson powers Detroit with four hits.

• Mariners 4, Rangers 3: Brandon Maurer, abused by Houston in his last start, gets first career win.

• Rockies 2, Padres 1: Todd Helton's pinch-hit two-run homer is the difference for Colorado.

• Mets vs. Twins: Postponed (snow/rain). Made up scheduled for Aug. 19.

Gio, Chris Sale, and myself need to go and have a good long cry together and then get ready for our next starts.#leftyssticktogether.

— Brett Anderson (@BrettAnderson49) April 14, 2013

With apologies to every MLB pitcher who threw on Sunday, this — by a military amputee before the Red Sox/Rays game — looks like the best pitch of the day.

• Cubs pitchers Edwin Jackson and Michael Bowden threw a combined five wild pitches in the sixth inning Sunday, tying a major league record.

• Joey Votto's home run against the Pirates was his first since June 24, 2012.

• "42," the Jackie Robinson biopic, had the biggest opening weekend ever for a baseball movie. With $27.2 million at the box office, it was the No. 1 movie of the weekend too.

Baseball is back. Don't miss anything.
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The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

The Oakland A's win streak had to end sometime, and that's precisely what it did on Saturday as they fell to the Tigers, 7-3. I'm sure they would have preferred the loss come against anyone other than Detroit and their ace Justin Verlander since that's the same combination that knocked them out in the ALDS last postseason, but that's how it all lined up.

Verlander, who allowed one run over six innings, got plenty of support from his offense in the win. Torri Hunter, Prince Fielder and Jhonny Peralta all homered off Brett Anderson before his fifth inning departure to give the former Cy Young a 5-1 run lead. Oakland never challenged the rest of the afternoon, and Anderson gladly takes responsibility.

''I never really got into a rhythm,'' Anderson said. ''Solo home runs don't usually beat you. The three-run homer was kind of the tip of the iceberg. That's a good lineup. I made some mistakes and they made me pay for them.''

The A's were a little short-handed as well thanks to injuries suffered in Friday night's win. Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes was placed on the 15-day disabled list before the game with a strained muscle in his left hand. Fellow outfielder Coco Crisp is dealing with a strained left groin and continues to be day-to-day.

Harvey carves up Twinkees: New York Mets fans have something to be really, really excited about in starter Matt Harvey. The 24-year-old right-hander was lights out on a 35-degree afternoon in Minnesota, holding the Twins hitless over the first six innings. It wasn't until Justin Morneau's home run leading off the seventh that Harvey so much as flinched, and even then he did all he could to preserve his special afternoon.

''I was blowing it foul, but I knew he hit it pretty well,'' Harvey said. ''If it was going anywhere, it was going out.''

Admirable effort on several levels.

And the same can be said for the Mets offense, which struck for four in the fifth and gave Harvey all he needed in the 4-2 win.

Runs on Sale at Progressive Field: And plenty of them for the Cleveland Indians as they touched up White Sox ace Chris Sale for eight earned runs in four and one-third innings. Mark Reynolds knocked in half of those with one swing in the fifth — his fifth career grand slam. The Indians also received multiple RBIs from Nick Swisher and Yan Gomes as they cruised to the 9-1 victory.

With the loss, the White Sox have now dropped their first five road contests to begin the season.

Angels spring to life: No team needed a win on Saturday more than the Angels. They got it thanks to the Astros doing Astros things and some guy named Albert Pujols.

The ninth inning is where the action was. With two outs and the tying run on first, Mike Trout pulled a grounder down to third that should have ended the game, but clanged off the glove of Matt Dominguez. It was ruled a hit, but more importantly it signified the beginning of the end. A few pitches later, Pujols roped a two-out, two-run walkoff double down the left field line off Jose Veras to secure the 5-4 win. .

MORE SCORES

Red Sox 2, Rays 1: Tampa is done in by Shane Victorino's walkoff infield single.

Giants 3, Cubs 2: Despite Dioner Navarro's second pinch-hit home run in as many days, Cubs fall.

Orioles 5, Yankees 3: No triple plays in this game, but the Orioles did hit three home runs.

Cardinals 8, Brewers 0: St. Louis pitching has thrown three consecutive shutouts and 32 scoreless innings overall.

Pirates 3, Reds 1: Johnny Cueto leaves early with a strained right triceps. He'll be evaluated on Sunday.

Blue Jays 3, Royals 2: R.A. Dickey finally gets in the win column thanks to 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Meanwhile, James Shields goes the distance for Kansas City and allows only two hits. He also loses the game. Sound familiar?

Marlins 2, Phillies 1: Unlike Friday, the Marlins mustered a second run in the regulation to earn the win. Rookie Jose Fernandez looked dominant as well. At least when he wasn't losing to his jacket.

Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 5: Hyun-Jin Ryu can deal on the hill (nine strikeouts over six innings) and he can swing the lumber a little bit, too. The 26-year-old left-hander, who swings righty, collected his first three major league hits to pace the Dodgers attack.

Rangers 3, Mariners 1: After the Astros came to Safeco Field and lit up the scoreboard, Texas and Seattle have combined for eight runs in two games.

Rockies 9, Padres 5: Colorado has won all five meetings with San Diego this season.

“They’re good, I don’t think they’re better than us. They’re a good ballclub, they have talent. They’re hot right now, they only lost one game, but they’re hot. It all evens out.”

Washington Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa comments on the Atlanta Braves, who improved to 10-1 with a 3-1 wins over the Nats. The quote comes in courtesy of Comcast Sports Net's Chase Hughes, who also got some interesting words from Stephen Strasburg.

Great technique by the fan on the bottom right. Exactly how they taught us in grade school.

• The New York Mets have homered in all 11 games this season.

• From Elias, Adam Wainwright is the first pitcher to throw a shutout with 12 or more strikeouts and three hits at plate since Red Ruffing did it with the Yankees back in 1932.

• We referenced James Shields tough luck loss earlier. According to Yahoo!'s Jeff Passan, the last pitcher to throw a complete-game two-hitter and lose was... the very same James Shields in his 15-strikeout game against Baltimore last Oct. 2.

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The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

It seems we've been here before with the Los Angeles Angels. Fairly recently, too, as in just last season. You know how it went. Big offseason in which they came out of nowhere to lock up the prized free agent, optimism reaches fever pitch as opening day approaches, and then they fall directly on their faces once the bell rings.

[Also: Jose Reyes carted off with ugly ankle injury]

In 2012, it was an 8-15 April that proved insurmountable as the Texas Rangers remained ahead and the Oakland A's passed them by. In 2013, it's a 2-8 start thanks to their 5-0 loss to the Astros, which, according to the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin, matches the worst 10-game start in franchise history first achieved during their expansion season in 1961.

The Angels could only muster three hits off Bud Norris in Friday night's loss. The Astros starter fanned five over seven scoreless to secure one of the better starts of his career. Newest addition to their own rotation, Tommy Hanson, allowed five runs (all earned) on eight hits over five innings. In other words, this was a one-sided affair, and the team projected to lose 110 games wasn't on the wrong side.

First round goes to Atlanta: The scorecards favored Washington early, especially after Bryce Harper's first inning two-run homer and another two-spot for the Nationals in the second. But the Braves chipped away late, plating single runs in the seventh and eighth before Ryan Zimmerman's two-out error in the ninth helped them pull even.

It was a tough chance for Zimmerman, who back-handed Justin Upton's chopper down the line cleanly. Given how the play developed, though, Zimmerman would have been better off holding the baseball. Upton had it beat out. There was no play at second or third, but Zimmerman elected to force a throw to second, which sailed into right field.

''Tough play. I think, obviously, first base is out of the question. I'm not going to beat the guy to third. I thought if I turn and make a perfect throw, I had a chance to get the guy bang-bang at second,'' Zimmerman explained.

''We definitely need to learn from our mistakes,'' he added. ''It's the same thing that kind of got us last year, and why we didn't maybe move on, because we couldn't close games out both pitching and defense-wise.''

The Nats still had a chance to close this one, but Ramiro Pena changed that in the tenth when he launched a two-run home run off Craig Stammen. Atlanta's Craig (Kimbrel) then pitched a perfect inning to wrap up the 6-4 victory.

[Also: Carlos Quentin gets eight-game ban for charging Zack Greinke]

Blown saves for everybody: Friday's first game was a doozy, as they so often are at Wrigley Field. Only this time, the Chicago Cubs found themselves on the right side of the scoreboard after their own blown save by new closer Kyuji Fujikawa was matched by San Francisco's Sergio Romo.

As the Giants often do, they bided their time offensively and then struck quickly, posting three runs in the top of the ninth to lead 3-2. A two-out, two-run double by Brandon Belt was the big blow there. Then, in the bottom half, unlikely power source Dioner Navarro tied it with a pinch-hit solo homer, and then three batters later Starlin Castro won it as his walk-off double bounced high off the bricks in center field.

It's the exact opposite of the expected outcome given the recent history of the two teams, but the Cubs will certainly take the 4-3 victory.

MORE SCORES

Indians 1, White Sox 0: Justin Masterson improved to 3-0 and extended his scoreless streak to 19 innings with a complete game masterpiece. His offense made him sweat though, waiting until the ninth to score their lone tally on Nick Swisher's walkoff single.

Yankees 5, Orioles 2: How do you like your triple plays? 4-6-5-6-5-3-4 perhaps?

Pirates 6, Reds 5: Andrew McCutchen's seventh inning home run saves the day as Pittsburgh had blown a 5-1 lead.

Rays vs. Red Sox postponed (rain): A day-night doubleheader is scheduled for June 18.

Phillies 3, Marlins 1 in 10: At 1-9, the Marlins are off to the worst in baseball since Houston and Baltimore were 1-9 in 2010.

Mets 16, Twins 5: John Buck hits his league leading sixth home run (a grand slam) and raises his RBI total to 19. More on Buck's big night to come.

Blue Jays 8, Royals 4: Jose Reyes could be lost up to three months with potentially serious ankle injury.

[Also: Report: A-Rod purchased damning Biogenesis documents]

Cardinals 2, Brewers 0: Kyle Lohse was plenty good enough to win his return to St. Louis. Shelby Miller was just better, allowing only a lead-off single to Norichika Aoki in the first and one HBP over seven scoreless innings.

Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 0: Patrick Corbin outdueled Clayton Kershaw. Seriously.

Mariners 3, Rangers 1: Hisashi Iwakuma gets the best of countryman Yu Darvish, snaps Seattle's three-game skid.

Rockies 7, Padres 5: Dexter Fowler homers twice in Colorado's victory. He's already halfway to his career high with six through ten games.

"The first one I hit, I was like, 'That's way back,' and it barely went out. The second one, I was like, 'I got that one.' But at this park, you never know. But I hit it well."
— Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler on his big night at Petco Park.

Have a pie, Mr. Donaldson: The Oakland A's can't lose, even when they're trailing the defending American League champion Detroit Tigers 3-0. The red hot A's rallied from that deficit, in part due to help from the Tigers, and finally won it in 12 thanks to Josh Donaldson's walkoff home run. They've now won nine in a row, though this one came at a price as Coco Crisp (strained groin) and Yoenis Cespedes (apparent hand injury) were forced out of the day. The former if officially listed as day-to-day.

• No pitcher had ever allowed nine or more runs while lasting one or fewer innings against the New York Mets until Vance Worley did it on Friday night. The good news, I guess, is that only seven were earned.

• John Buck's 19 RBIs are three more than the number of total runs the Miami Marlins have scored through ten games

• In 2012, Mets catchers combined for five home runs. John Buck already has six.

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Our own Mike Oz provided a full account of the incident early Friday — including events that led to and followed Quentin charging the mound after being struck by Greinke's 3-2 pitch during the sixth inning of a game the Dodgers led 2-1.

The collision between the 6-foot-2, 235 pound Quentin and the 6-foot-2, 195 pound Greinke would best be compared to that of a lead blocker and a linebacker meeting in the hole on a football field. Both men lowered their left shoulders and crashed together. Quentin had the size advantage and the momentum, so it's not surprising Greinke got the worst of it.

According to MLB.com's Corey Brock, Quentin does feel remorse for Greinke's injury, but stands by his decision to get physical.

"It's an unfortunate situation," Quentin said. "I do have a lot of remorse that someone did get hurt.

"But I will repeat that I felt I had to protect myself and what happened on that field was a result that could have been avoided."

It turns out there's a little history between Quentin and Greinke that goes back to the 2009 when they were the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals respectively. It doesn't take much for that type of bad blood to reach the surface again, but Quentin should know there was no intent on the pitch. The pitch count and score made that clear. But I guess that's why Quentin insists he was provoked by expletive that apparently escaped Greinke's lips.

"What I saw was an expletive [from Greinke] and then whatever was directed towards me," Quentin said. "I didn't go out there until I was provoked to go out there."

Interesting choice of words. He saw an expletive (read lips, apparently), but what did he hear?

The eight game suspension is equal to the eight games Cleveland Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco received earlier in the day. Of course the length means something entirely different to an everyday position player compared to a starting pitcher who goes every fifth day, but I would not have argued with anything between 8-10 games for Quentin. Regardless of what was said, heard or seen, a little restraint under those circumstances would have saved everybody trouble. But there's nothing anybody can change now.

Well, I shouldn't say that since Quentin is officially appealing the suspension and is in San Diego's lineup Friday night against the Colorado Rockies.

Jeff Passan is reporting that it's a 'near certainty' the appeal will be cleared up in time to ensure Quentin will not be available for San Diego's series in Los Angeles beginning on Monday.

MLB also announced a one-game suspension for Dodgers utilityman Jerry Hairston. He also plans on appealing.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Suspension too long? Not enough? Take our Facebook poll.

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No, you haven't stumble upon a post from 2002 — it's 2013 and we're talking about Barry Zito, who is, statistically speaking, at this very early juncture, one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Did anybody ever think they'd be reading that sentence again? Zito's pitching in recent years had come second to him being a punchline for players paid far too much. We don't want to say "Zito's back" — because he's 35 and as his curveball breaks, so does he — but it's hard to dismiss what he's been doing lately.

Zito was great again on Wednesday, throwing seven shutout innings in the San Francisco Giants' 10-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies. He threw seven scoreless in a 1-0 win against the St. Louis Cardinals in his first start too.

He's carrying around a 0.00 ERA right now and this fun fact: The Giants have won the last 16 games he's started, dating back to last August. Zito himself has gotten the W in his last seven regular season starts, plus two of three postseason games. The other was a no-decision.

Zito was also 2-for-3 at the plate Wednesday with an RBI, to go along with a hit against the Cards. He's hitting .750. A few years ago, if you saw 7-something associated with him, you'd figure it was his ERA.

Back then, the Giants were trying to figure out what to do with Zito — the former AL Cy Young winner they signed to a seven-year, $126 million contract before the 2007 season. He had that 10-17 campaign in 2008 with the 5.15 ERA, then 10-13 (2009), then 9-14 (2010). Bullpen? Minor leagues? Team crooner?

Now he looks Clayton Kershaw-esque. They're both 2-0, both with 0.00 ERAs. OK, fine, that just to enrage the Dodger fans. Zito's strikeout numbers aren't touching Kershaw's. Zito actually, mirrors Paul Maholm of the Atlanta Braves (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.87 WHIP).

This is by no means to suggest that Zito is going to have a Cy Young season. But we seemed to have turned the corner in the "Barry Zito sucks and is a waste of money" conversation.

In 2008, you would have laughed at anybody who told you "In five years Zito will be fine, it's Tim Lincecum the Giants will be worrying about."

Yet, here we are in 2013, and that's come to fruition.

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On a night Boston’s record-setting home sellout streak came to an abrupt end, the Baltimore Orioles brought a 5-3 ninth inning deficit to an equally abrupt end as they rallied for five runs off Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan.

Chris Davis, who opened the season on a historical hot streak, started the rally with a solo home run. Then, after two quick and harmless outs, Hanrahan allowed a single and back-to-back walks. As they say, that’s a recipe for disaster, and sure enough, a wild pitch was uncorked to even the score at five and then 20-year-old Manny Machado pulled one over the Green Monster giving the O’s lead and eventually an 8-5 victory.

''It was a huge win for us,'' Machado said after his first homer of the year. ''To come out with the victory is just going to give us the big boost that we needed to get this show rolling.''

The Orioles were the best in baseball at stealing games late and winning close ones last season. In fact, in games decided by two runs or less, they were 55-23. This year, however, they began 0-4 under those circumstances, and although the three-run win doesn’t exactly fit the criteria, it could be a starting point to get back on track.

Lighting up Francis: The Colorado Rockies were reeled back in by the world champion Giants after their unexpected 5-1 start. Behind Barry Zito’s… two hits and two runs, they pummeled Jeff Francis and company en route to a 10-0 victory and a three-game series sweep. Oh, and I guess Zito didn’t pitch too bad either, hurling seven scoreless with four strikeouts.

Buster Posey was also a big part of the offensive outburst, falling just a home run shy of the cycle. He drove in three.

''I'd miss a pitch and they'd whack it. I'd make a pitch and they'd whack it,'' Francis said.

In total, the Giants collected a season-high 16 hits. A number they may not equal or top very frequently this season. Then again, they do have 15 games remaining with Colorado.

Break up the Astros: Houston's offense broke out for 16 runs and five homers in a win on Tuesday. They carried the momentum over into Wednesday night, connecting for three more homers in an 8-3 win over the Mariners. Rick Ankiel, who had 12 strikeouts in 14 at-bats coming in, hit a two-run shot in the second. Chris Carter and Marwin Gonzalez (of Yu Darvish almost perfect game fame) added blasts later on.

Straight W's for A's: The Oakland A's are flat out raking after dropping their first two games of the season. In the seven games since, the A's have scored 58 runs, which includes their 11-5 victory over the Angels on Wednesday, and have been winners in all seven.

MORE SCORES

Cardinals 10, Reds 0: Jake Westbrook tosses his fourth career shutout — his first since Aug. 9, 2006 in Cleveland.

Blue Jays 8, Tigers 6: J.P. Arencibia’s three-run double capped Toronto’s comeback from a 6-1 deficit.

Rays 2, Rangers 0: Tampa avoids sweep in the coldest day game ever in Texas (39 degrees at first pitch).

Diamondbacks 10, Pirates 2: A.J. Pollacks homer twice, Wade Miley improves to 2-0.

Phillies 7, Mets 3: Five-run first was all the support Kyle Kendrick needed.

Nationals 5, White Sox 2: D.C. traffic can be a pain, right blue? Holding the Nats offense in check can also be a pain, right Gavin Floyd?

Braves 8, Marlins 0: Miami has been shutout a league high four times through nine games. It's not going to get better.

Yankees vs. Indians (Postponed/Rain): No makeup date has been announced.

Brewers vs. Cubs (Postponed/Cold): Day/night doubleheader scheduled for July 30.

Royals 3, Twins 0: Another save for Kelvin Herrera. Make sure he's not available in your fantasy leagues.

Dodgers 4, Padres 3: Carl Crawford homered, tripled, raised his average to .464 and stayed off the disabled list. Big day for him.

'' For me, hitting home runs is not about power 'It's about hitting the ball correctly and your approach at the plate. It's 340 feet down the line. It's not like you need to hit it 600 feet to hit it out. It's more about getting the right pitch and taking the right swing in the right count.''

— Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollack makes hitting sound so easy after cracking a pair of home runs off Jonathan Sanchez.

The Royals are getting better at baseball but still need work on their high fives.

• In the first three innings of their two games in Seattle, the Astros have outscored the Mariners 16-1.

• Jeremy Hefner allowed five first inning runs to the Phillies, which is an improvement over his last start against them where he allowed seven first inning runs.

• With five and one-third shutout innings on Wednesday, Rays left-handed Matt Moore became the first pitcher in franchise history to make three straight scoreless starts in the regular season.

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Albert comes alive: We won't have to worry about another homerless April for Albert Pujols. The Los Angeles Angels slugger muscled up twice in their 8-4 victory over the Rangers, pacing an offensive attack that also received home runs from Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos.

In a historical twist, Pujols was also intentionally walked three times in the game. According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, that makes him the first player in American League history to homer twice and receive three intentional passes in a single game, and the third in MLB history.

His own outburst definitely played a role in the Rangers strategy. As did the struggles of Josh Hamilton, whose 0 for 4 dropped him to 1 for 20 (.050) on the season with 10 strikeouts to boot.

''I think it was a smart move,'' said Hamilton. ''Albert was dominating today, obviously. If I was in their situation, I would have done the same thing.''

Chances are the situation will dictate more of the same on Sunday.

King overthrown and blown over: On a day the Windy City lived up to its unusual nickname (which may or may not have to do with actual wind), the Chicago White Sox put up a four spot on Mariners ace Felix Hernandez and held on tight (literally and figuratively) as Dylan Axelrod and five relievers brought home the 4-3 victory.

The biggest swing of the game for Chicago came in the sixth when Alex Rios connected — on an 0-2 pitch no less — and managed to drive it through the teeth of those strong winds for a two-run homer.

''The way the wind was blowing today, there's no chance you can predict what the ball's going to do or how the wind's going to react,'' Rios said. ''You're just hoping to put good swings on the ball and then hopefully they fall.''

When they fall on the other side of the fence that's always the best. Seattle got a two-run homer of their own from Michael Saunders in the eighth, but that wasn't enough. Addison Reed pitched perfect ninth for his third save.

Royals gonna Royal: Coming off a series opener in which they scored 13 unanswered runs, the Royals had to feel pretty good about their chances to win a road series when they entered the ninth inning on Saturday leading 3-1.

Three Greg Holland walks later, that feeling was all but gone as Philadelphia had loaded the bases with nobody out, but the roller coaster of emotions evened out quickly as Holland then recovered to strikeout Domonic Brown and John Mayberry. That meant the game was going to come down to career pinch-hitter and utilityman Kevin Frandsen.

I'm sure you can guess how this ends. Frandsen laces a double to plate Chase Utley, Ezequiel Carrera and Michael Young as the Phillies flat out steal a 4-3 victory.

Kershaw still spotless: There was no way Clayton Kershaw could top pitching a shutout and hitting a home run like opening day, but he came pretty darn close. The Dodgers Cy Young winner tossed seven innings of two-hit ball and combined with three relievers on a 1-0 shutout of the Pirates.

''My glove was down, my head was down the ball just went right through my legs. Just one of those things.'' — Chris Davis on his error that led to the winning run in Minnesota's 6-5 victory over Baltimore.

Davis also went homerless in four plate appearances but did drive in a run in his fifth straight. He may be somewhat human after all.

MORE SCORES

Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 0 (Poor John Lackey is injured again)

Mets 7, Marlins 3 (New York's offense goes Buck-wild)

Nationals 7, Reds 6 in 11 (Nats bounce back after 15-0 loss on Friday. Reds fan steals show)

Braves 6, Cubs 5 (Upton here, Upton there)

Cardinals 6, Giants 3 (Shelby Miller impressive in season debut)

Tigers 8, Yankees 4 (Four-hit game for Miggy)

Diamondbacks 9, Brewers 2 (D-Backs pound out 16 hits and three homers)

A's 6, Astros 3 (Bartolo Colon wins first start after PED suspension)

Rays 6, Indians 0 (Back-to-back shutout for Tampa)

Rockies 6, Padres 3 (Colorado is 4-1... seriously)

Just Buster Posey and his friends Willie McCovey and Willie Mays. No big deal.

• Through five games, the Dodgers starting shortstops and third basemen are a combined 0 for 33.

• Courtesy of David Cameron, 19 major league teams have scored more runs than the Pirates have hits this season.

• Saturday was the 40th birthday of the designated hitter. How did you celebrate?

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The Colorado Rockies are showing some fight so far this season, both during games and between them.

Right-handed pitchers Edgmer Escalona and Juan Nicasio scuffled during stretching exercises Thursday with fans watching at Coors Field, and needed to be separated from each other by teammates. After taking two of three games from the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, the Rockies used a day off to have a practice that was open to the public.

[Also: Vladimir Guerrero gets a job — with the Long Island Ducks]

Reporter Troy Renck of the Denver Post said teammates Jeff Francis and closer Rafael Betancourt were among the first to break up the fracas, which included Escalona and Nicasio "talking loudly in Spanish" presumably to (or at) each other. Escalona is from Venezuela and Nicasio is from the Dominican Republic.

Save some for the Padres, boys!

Practice soon resumed — with Escalona and Nicasio using different workout partners — and afterward the arguing players were escorted to center field to talk about what happened. Manager Walt Weiss said the argument was over "clubhouse needling," but doesn't expect it to linger, telling Renck and other reporters:

"It was physical. They went after each other. They got on each other's nerves. But it's over with," said Weiss, whose team plays its home opener Friday against the San Diego Padres. "They are actually like brothers. And brothers fight sometimes. I wish it hadn't happened in public, but they are fine."

Neither player will be disciplined, Weiss said.

An auspicious start in the standings is welcome after the Rox lost 98 games in 2012, but a fight four days into the season — and in front of a few hundred people waiting for autographs? Not as much. In the dog days of August, maybe it's a little more reasonable.

But this kind of trouble follows Escalona, who in 2011 served a suspension from his team in the Venezuela winter league for fighting with his manager. He also was suspended in 2012 for doctoring a baseball with a foreign substance during a minor league game at Triple-A. So he's kind of ornery.

[Also: U.S., Japan differ on how to treat young pitching arms]

Nicasio, of course, is coming back from a broken neck, and allowed two runs over six innings in his first start of the season earlier this week.

This is an early test for Weiss, who is in his first season as skipper. If this is soon forgotten, he must have done a good job with it.

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Now it gets Ryu: With 45,431 fans watching at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, plus a live TV audience tuning in from Korea where it was late Wednesday morning, left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu got so-so results in his major league debut. The San Francisco Giants, behind lefty Madison Bumgarner's dominating performance, beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0. Ryu, who cost the Dodgers $36 million plus a $25.7 negotiating fee that went to his league in Korea, allowed three runs — one earned — and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Ryu also had five strikeouts with no walks.

''Their hitters were pretty aggressive in the early part of at-bats,'' Ryu said through a translator. ''I couldn't really get my timing.''

That didn't seem to be a problem for Bumgarner, who struck out six and pitched two-hit ball over eight innings — nearly as good as Clayton Kershaw was for the Dodgers on opening day. Bumgarner also struck out six.

The Giants added to a 1-0 lead with two runs in the seventh thanks in part to a pair of errors by Dodgers shortstop Justin Sellers.

Behold, the power of Troy: Troy Tulowitzki is healthy again — someone knock on wood — and the Colorado Rockies love having him back in the lineup. Tulo hit a home run for the second straight game, helping the Rox to an 8-4 victory at Milwaukee, also the first career win for new manager Walt Weiss. Tulowitzki, who missed four months of the 2012 season because of an injured groin that required surgery, also homered and drove in two on opening day at Miller Park.

M's >> A's: Michael Morse hit two home runs and Hisashi Iwakuma performed like the King for the Seattle Mariners in a 7-1 victory against the Oakland Athletics. Morse, who looks more like Sacha Baron Cohen (above) with every passing moment, clubbed a three-run homer and added a solo shot to help Seattle improve to 2-0. He also made a nice running catch on a Coco Crisp drive to right. Iwakuma struck out seven and allowed no walks as the A's offense struggled for a second straight game (except for Yoenis Cespedes hitting a solo jack). King Felix Hernandez led a shutout effort on opening day, so the M's pitching so far has been pretty tough.

''I wish the outcome could have been better, but I'll just go back and keep fighting. I definitely felt the pressure. It was the first time I felt that in a very long time.'' — Hyun-Jin Ryu

Morse is such a beast.

* * *

MORE SCORES

• Orioles 7, Rays 4 (but Evan Longoria, wow, my goodness)

• Rangers 7, Astros 0 (and almost no hits, thanks to Yu Darvish)

• Indians 4, Blue Jays 1, Crazy Bat Guy 1

• Cardinals 6, D-backs 1

• In nine career at-bats against Arizona right-hander Trevor Cahill, Cards slugger Matt Holliday has three home runs.

• In six starts at Dodger Stadium sunce May 2011, Giants' lefty Madison Bumgarner has a 1.94 ERA.

• R.A. Dickey of the Toronto Blue Jays issued four walks, something that happened twice to the knuckleballer in 33 starts in 2012.

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It’s an interesting group of 30 to be sure. They range in age from 24-38. We have six Cy Young winners in the group and another five or six who stand a better than decent chance to bring that trophy home in the future. Some are making debuts in a new uniform, others are cashing bigger checks in their original threads. Some can look forward to many future opening day starts, while others may struggle to crack another opening day rotation.

[Infographic: MLB opening day team payrolls]

We present a ranking of all 30 opening day starters based on where they currently stand heading into the 2013 season. Also, you can take note of when and where each team will be playing so you can plan your schedule accordingly.

1. Justin Verlander — Detroit Tigers (at Twins, Mon. 4:10 ET) We’re going to issue the no-hitter alert right now just to be safe. He may be $140 million richer, but he's not about to give Minnesota’s lineup any charity.

2. Clayton Kershaw — Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. Giants, Mon. 4:10 ET) Kershaw starts his third straight opener for the Dodgers and his second against San Francisco coming off a World Series championship. He outdueled Tim Lincecum in what was featured as the season opener back in 2011. For some reason, though, this one won't be the season opener. Hmm.

3. Stephen Strasburg — Washington Nationals (vs. Marlins, Mon. 1:05 ET) The Nationals' ace should be raring to go after his early shutdown in 2012. I wouldn’t want to be any one of the Marlins who have to face him. Actually, I just wouldn't want to be a Marlin at all.

4. David Price — Tampa Bay Rays (vs. Orioles, Tue. 3:10 ET) With 100 of his closest friends looking on, Price begins his quest to repeat as American League Cy Young.

5. Felix Hernandez — Seattle Mariners (at Athletics, Mon. 10:05 ET) The King of Seattle also received a significant contract extension this spring and then breezed through Cactus League competition in dominant fashion. Early concerns about his elbow have long since been forgotten.

[Related: Expert predictions for MLB season]

6. Matt Cain — San Francisco Giants (at Dodgers, Mon 4:10 ET) Again, why wasn't this the Sunday night opener? Oh well, it’s still the main event of opening day and would be must-see TV regardless of when it's played.

7. R.A. Dickey — Toronto Blue Jays (vs. Indians, Tues. 7:07 ET): The knuckleball comes to Canada. Will a division championship (or better) come along with it?

8. Jered Weaver — Los Angeles Angels (at Reds, Mon. 4:10 ET) A 20-game winner despite missing five starts with various ailments, Weaver aims to stay healthy and perhaps leapfrog Price and Verlander for his first Cy Young Award.

9. Cole Hamels — Philadelphia Phillies (at Braves, Mon. 7:10 ET) Hamels debuted a new look over the weekend and now readies for his first opening day start. Clearly, he takes that preparation seriously.

10. C.C. Sabathia — New York Yankees (vs. Red Sox, Mon. 1:05 ET) The Yankees' workhorse will be one of the few recognizable names taking the field for Joe Girardi in their opener. His margin for error could be very slim.

11. Chris Sale — Chicago White Sox (vs. Royals, Mon. 4:10 ET) Florida Gulf Coast University’s most famous athlete is going to be the talk of the baseball world, much like his alma mater was in basketball. And he turned only 24 on Saturday.

12. Adam Wainwright — St. Louis Cardinals (at Diamondbacks, Mon. 10:10 ET) The extensions for aces was kind of a thing this spring. Wainwright got one, too, through 2018, which means he should remain a Cardinal for life.

[Related: Nationals start season atop power rankings]

13. James Shields — Kansas City Royals (at White Sox, Mon. 4:10 ET) The Royals finally have their coveted workhorse and ace — and he’s a good one. Lousy spring aside, Shields should be ready to help Kansas City get on track.

14. Johnny Cueto — Cincinnati Reds (vs.Angels, Mon. 4:10 ET) They love Cueto in Taiwan — they just don’t realize it. Matchup with Weaver should be a beauty.

15. Yovani Gallardo — Milwaukee Brewers (vs. Rockies, Mon. 2:10 ET) Gallardo always seems to be on the cusp of reaching elite status but always ends up in that next tier. At 27, there‘s still plenty of time to move up if he improves his consistency.

16. Jon Lester — Boston Red Sox (at Yankees, Mon. 1:05 ET) Lester posted a terrific 0.90 ERA in 20 spring innings and should benefit from facing a weakened Yankees lineup. Somehow, this will still end up a 10-9 game and last well past the four-hour mark.

17. Ian Kennedy — Arizona Diamondbacks (vs. Cardinals, Mon. 10:10 ET) Arizona’s undisputed ace three years running, Kennedy is probably wondering when he can ink his own name on new paper.

18. Tim Hudson — Atlanta Braves (vs. Phillies, Mon. 7:10 ET) Fredi Gonzalez gives the 37-year-old Hudson a nice honor here considering the other talent on Atlanta’s staff. Both Kris Medlen and Mike Minor were in that conversation. Julio Teheran should be next season through 2020.

19. Jeff Samardzija — Chicago Cubs (at Pirates, Mon. 1:35 ET) One of the more gifted all-around athletes in the game, Samardzija seems poised for a true breakout year atop the Cubs' rotation.

20. Brett Anderson — Oakland A’s (vs. Mariners, Mon. 10:05 ET) How good can a healthy Brett Anderson be? Maybe this is the season we find out.

21. Jonathan Niese — New York Mets (vs. Padres, Mon 1:10 ET) Formerly known as Jon in baseball circles, Niese gets the opening day nod after R.A. Dickey’s departure and injuries to Johan Santana and Shawn Marcum.

[Related: Expect a comeback attempt from Johan Santana]

22. Matt Harrison — Texas Rangers (at Astros, Sun. 8:05 ET) Harrison is not as sexy a choice as Yu Darvish, but he’s certainly deserving of the nod as one baseball’s most underrated hurlers. In fact, I probably just underrated him.

23. A.J. Burnett — Pittsburgh Pirates (vs. Cubs, Mon. 1:35 ET) Burnett enjoyed a revival last season in Pittsburgh and hopes it continues in 2013. A handful of matchups against the not-yet-ready to contend Cubs can only help.

24. Jason Hammel — Baltimore Orioles (at Rays, Tues. 3:10 ET) I’m not sure the odds favor Hammel repeating his breakout 2012, but they also didn’t favor him having a breakout season to begin with. Don’t doubt him.

25. Ricky Nolasco — Miami Marlins (at Nationals, Mon. 1:05 ET) Because someone has to do it.

26. Justin Masterson — Cleveland Indians (vs. Blue Jays, Tues. 7:07 ET) Hey, this isn’t Ubaldo Jimenez. What is going on here?

27. Bud Norris — Houston Astros (vs. Rangers, Sun, 8:05 ET) You’re not in the National League Central anymore, Bud.

28. Vance Worley — Minnesota Twins (vs. Tigers, Mon. 4:10 ET) Acquired from the Phillies for Ben Revere, Worley steps right in as the Twins' No. 1. Observation: The Twins could use a little more starting pitching.

29. Jhoulys Chacin — Colorado Rockies (at Brewers, Mon. 2:10 ET) Keeping his focus and staying healthy remain major concerns for Chacin. Oh, and pitching at Coors Field.

30. Edinson Volquez — San Diego Padres (at Mets, Mon. 1:10 ET) He could flirt with a no-hitter or walk six and hit the showers before his first plate appearance of the season. You never know what exactly you’ll get with Volquez, but it’s guaranteed to be something.

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With opening day mere days away, the Big League Stew crew is here to get you up to speed on the baseball season ahead. David Brown and Mike Oz will examine some of the big questions in each division, point out a few critical players and predict the final standings, division award-winners and break-out stars. We finish our preview series with: The National League West.

Home of the bitter-rival San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, the need-a-boost San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies and the gritty re-tooling Arizona Diamondbacks, this is the NL West. It's gonna be a fight between two teams, that's for sure.

BIG QUESTIONS

1. Is this really just the Giants/Dodgers show? We could be nice and lie and say that the Rockies, Padres and the Diamondbacks matter as much in the NL West as the Dodgers and Giants. But we all know the truth. This is one of baseball's best rivalries, amplified by the Giants winning two of the last three World Series and the Dodgers spending all that money to go a World Series of their own. Each side is stacked: Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp vs. Buster Posey, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Hunter Pence. This is the West Coast version of Yankees-Red Sox and this year looks to be one of the best for this storied rivalry.

2. How many days until we tire of hearing the "chemistry vs. money" thing? Negative 10 days? No? Then how about next Thursday? The Dodgers detractors will knock them for not being able to "buy chemistry" all season. Unless they have a Lakers-level implosion, it'll get old fast. It's funny, of course, because the Giants got the same criticism a few years ago from the Padres' Mat Latos when they were piecing together a winner.

3. Can the Rockies keep their ERA under five this year? That's gonna be tough. The Rockies had a league high 5.22 ERA last season, the only team higher than 5.00 and the highest of any team since the Rangers in 2008. You can't place that all on altitude, either. The Rockies pitching staff wasn't great last year and it isn't great this year. Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa, Jeff Francis, Juan Nicasio and Jon Garland — the All-J staff — win points for alliteration, but that doesn't help on the stat sheet.

4. With Chase Headley injured, what do Padres fans have to look forward to? The same thing they will once Headley gets traded. Oh! Went there! But seriously, the Padres have some players to watch, even if they're not going to be contenders in the NL West. Jedd Gyorko is a break-out candidate (see below). Pitcher Tyson Ross (acquired from Oakland this offseason) has looked pretty good this spring. And Yonder Alonso could have a big year.

5. Let's try to talk about the Diamondbacks without using the word "gritty." How's their pitching staff looking? It could be good. Ian Kennedy, Trevor Cahill, Brandon McCarthy and Wade Miley could help the Dbacks surprise some folks. Tyler Skaggs is waiting in Triple-A and Trevor Bauer is ... in Cleveland. But the Dbacks pitchers would have to exceed expectations by a lot to vault Arizona into the Giants' or Dodgers' stratosphere.

* * *

FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Zack Greinke: Of all the acquisitions the big-spending Dodgers have made in the past year, signing Greinke to a $147 million deal might prove to have been the most risky — or most rewarding. Greinke already had elbow issues this spring, but appears to be OK. He's hard to predict. So he could be great, and a daunting complement to Clayton Kershaw. Or he could be a bust.

Tim Lincecum: The Giants don't NEED Lincecum to win. They showed that last year. But it sure would be nice if he returned to winning form. Not even Cy Young form, just being a good third starter.

Jedd Gyorko: Gyorko (pronounced like Jerko) is a heralded Padres prospect who gained the inside track to the starting second base job this spring. Now with Chase Headley hurt, Gyorko could also see time back at third base (his native position).

Paul Goldschmidt: The Diamondbacks aren't the money-spenders in this division, but they wisely locked up their slugger of the future Goldschmidt with a five-year extension. He hit .286/.359/.490 in 2013 with 20 homers. Expectations are now big for 2013. Let's see if he can match them.

Yasiel Puig: For now, watch him in the minors. But Cuban defector Puig — he of the monster spring and Bo Jackson hype — could make a big impact on the Dodgers this year if Carl Crawford doesn't rebound or one of their outfielders goes down to injury. Or if he continues to destroy the ball like he did during spring training.

* * *

PREDICTIONS

Order of Finish
Mike Oz:
Giants
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Rockies
Padres

David Brown:
Dodgers
Giants
Diamondbacks
Padres
Rockies

NL West MVP
Oz: Buster Posey
DB: Clayton Kershaw

NL West Cy Young
Oz: Clayton Kershaw
DB: Clayton Kershaw

NL West Rookie of the Year:
Oz: Jedd Gyorko
DB: Hyun-Jin Ryu

NL West Break-Through Star
Oz: Brandon Belt
DB: Brandon Belt

* * *

Already: AL East | NL East | AL Central | NL Central | AL West

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I'm not sure where Scott Rice will stand on that one when all is said and done, but for now the 31-year-old reliever is just thrilled that he finally — and I do mean finally — received the news he's been waiting for since being drafted in the first round (44th overall) by the Baltimore Orioles in 1999.

After 14 seasons and 480 appearances in the minor leagues, Rice has made an opening day roster and will soon make his major league debut as a member of the New York Mets.

Rice learned the news from Mets manager Terry Collins, who had been impressed with the left-hander's sinking fastball and ability to induce groundballs throughout the spring. He ended it with a 3.18 ERA in 11 innings.

Here's how Rice reacted to the news:

After 14 yrs in the minors, Scott Rice was just informed that he made the team: “It’s been a long road. Now I got to stay up here.” #Mets

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) March 29, 2013

As always, that's easier said than done. But let's take a look at just how long his road has been.

Rice would spend the first eight seasons of his career in the Orioles organization, slowly working his way up from rookie ball to Triple-A Ottawa. Next, he moved on to the Texas Rangers, but could never rise above Double-A. In 2008 he started bouncing back and forth between stints in independent ball and short stays with the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers, before finally latching on with the Mets as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

In total, Rice has donned 19 different uniforms (the Mets will represent No. 20), including those of the Long Island Ducks and Newark Bears. He's logged 805 innings and faced 3,555 hitters. He's posted a 39-55 record to go along with a respectable 4.08 ERA. And perhaps the most impressive number I've found on Rice is that he's only allowed 36 home runs.

Indeed his sinker has proven effective, but now he gets to test to it against the best — and most patient — hitters in the world. A great challenge that will be, but regardless of how well or poorly he responds to it, this is without question one of the cooler stories to come out of spring training and it could prove to one of the better stories of the season if Rice is able to stick around and help stabilize New York's bullpen.

We certainly wish Scott Rice the best as he attempts to do just that. We also acknowledge his perseverance and congratulate him on realizing his dream.

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The Brewers are calling it their “Chance 2 Advance” ticket plan, which is a pretty self-explanatory concept and one that's not completely foreign to sports, but we’ll let them fill you in on what exactly their extensive plan entails.

For just $99, we'll give you a Bernie's Terrace ticket to 9 select Tuesday games at Miller Park. And, on Tuesday, April 30, you'll sit in Bernie's Terrace for the first game of the plan. When the Brewers win, you advance!

Every time the Brewers win, you exchange your Bernie's Terrace ticket for the next game in the plan for just $2 to the next best seating area. You remain in that seat location until the Brewers win the next game in the plan. If the Brewers don't win, you simply exchange your Bernie's Terrace ticket at no cost for a seat in the same section where you last advanced — no backsliding.

If the Brewers win the first 8 games in the plan, the 9th game would enable you the opportunity to sit in the Field Diamond Box!

You could also call this the Bob Uecker ticket plan: From the top row (or thereabouts) to the front row in eight simple steps.

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Then again, the Brewers could go all Colorado Rockies on Sunday’s here and lose every last one of them, leaving fans in the nosebleeds all season. But as Barry Petchesky of Deadspin points out, even if they go 4-4 heading into that ninth and final game, you’ll end up in Miller Park’s loge infield box seats. That’s a $40 value right there, which means you‘re coming out well ahead.

A trip all the way down to field diamond box carries a $100 value.

Worth a shot, right?

It's also worth noting that the Brewers have selected a good mix of games to include in the package. The Rangers, Dodgers and A’s are all in there. As are rivalry games against the Cardinals and Twins, and division matchups with the Reds and Pirates. The Pirates actually appear twice and serve as bookends to the nine-game plan.

The timing of the announcement was pretty good too considering the Brewers just locked up starting pitcher Kyle Lohse on a three-year, $33 million deal. That led to quite an increase in single game ticket sales on Monday — nearly 500 percent over the average — and should have fans eager to give the new plan a shot. Now we'll just have to mark those dates on our calendar so we can track the progress of those fans when their journey through Miller Park commences.

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Big League Stew's Mascot Madness bracket is underway! Check out the matchups below and click on each matchup to head to the BLS Facebook page to vote. Your mascot is counting on you. UPDATE: The polls are closed!

San Diego Chicken Bracket
#1 Phillie Phanatic vs. #8 Dinger

We begin with the heaviest of hitters, the Phanatic. An early favorite to win this whole poll, the Phanatic gets an early draw against Dinger, the giant purple dinosaur who's the mascot of the Colorado Rockies. Will Dinger pull the upset, or will the Phanatic storm right into Round 2? The choice is yours! WINNER: Phillie Phanatic!

#4 Oriole vs. #5 Ace

A classic AL East matchup. Oriole (pronounced "Oreo" if you're actually from Baltimore) is a certifiable icon and possible bracket dark horse, while Ace is a relative newcomer saddled with a rather run-of-the-mill name. Can Ace blank Oriole? Up to you, friends! WINNER: Oriole!

#2 Fredbird vs. #7 Paws

Another classic, Fredbird, makes his tourney debut against Midwest rival Paws. Now, Paws reps a defending American League champ, but Fredbird has history on his side. Who gets the nod? WINNER: PAWS!

#3 Bernie Brewer vs. #6 Screech

You gotta love Bernie Brewer and his slide. Screech, meanwhile, may not be even the most famous mascot in his own ballpark. Should be a walk, but then, you never know exactly how Washington is going to vote. WINNER: BERNIE BREWER!

And that's it for today! Come on back tomorrow morning for the next round!

Jhoulys Chacin, Jeff Francis, Jorge De La Rosa and Juan Nicasio preceded Garland, who was cut by the Seattle Mariners on Saturday after they told him he would not make the team out of spring training. He posted a 2.25 ERA in four Cactus League starts for the M's.

The key to Garland's success is his sinking fastball. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that the Rockies were looking at Garland before Seattle signed him:

The Rockies eyed Garland because of his career 1.31 groundball-to-flyball rate. Rockies scouts had Garland's rate this spring at around 1.7.

That's good, right? Anything to keep a World Series champ from the 2005 Chicago White Sox in the league. If someone out there needs a third baseman, Joe Crede is available.

But the Rockies just want someone to give them dependable innings. And whose first name starts with the same letter as their other starters. Sorry, Drew Pomeranz.

Several major league teams have three starters whose names start with the same letter, and a few even have three that start with a "J." But no rotations are complete like Colorado's. Garland makes them whole.

Garland, 33, did not pitch in 2012; He was recovering from shoulder surgery after making nine starts for the Dodgers the year before. He's got a 4.32 ERA (a little better than league average) in 330 career starts, covering nearly 2,100 innings. His best season, by far, came in 2005 with the White Sox, when he won 18 games with a 3.50 ERA and three shutouts to lead the league. He also pitched well in two postseason games, including Game 3 of the World Series.

Big BLS H/N: @PaulRehrig

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The Colorado Rockies were thrilled to welcome back an all-time fan favorite this winter when Dante Bichette agreed to accept their hitting coach position.

Honestly, given the unique circumstances that go along with playing 81 home games at Coors Field and then having to adjust to 81 games at sea level, I couldn't think of a better hire than a guy who has experienced that environment thoroughly, and probably succeeded in it better than anyone not named Todd Helton.

And that's not to suggest either guy mastered the constant transitions and the mental grind that goes along with it, because no one truly has in the Rockies 20 year history. But the one thing Bichette absolutely did master throughout the prime years of his noteworthy career was the proper maintenance of a truly epic mullet.

With that in mind and the above photo now ingrained in your memory forever, it should come as no surprise that when the Rockies put together their latest batch of always entertaining commercials, one of them featured a now completely bald Bichette putting aside an important lesson in hitting to educate his young disciples on the fundamentals of... you got it... mullet maintenance.

It's a fun little commercial so we hope you enjoy it.

Also, as Bichette says, make sure to use it before you lose it. That's an important life lesson.

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First we had the designated hitter dispute between managers Kirk Gibson and Dusty Baker. Now we have a continuation of the National League East rivalry between the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals that really started to gain steam last season when Cole Hamels decided to send a message to newly-arrived rookie Bryce Harper with a fastball between the numbers.

[Also: After Teixeira injury, where do Yanks go from here?]

Of course Harper ended up extracting his own revenge almost immediately by creating havoc on the base paths and embarrassing Hamels with a clean steal of home, but that really only added to the hard feelings that lingered throughout the year. And those feelings may continue linger throughout the 2013 season based on their dust up during Philadelphia’s 6-3 win on Wednesday.

Nathan Fenno of the Washington Times fills us in:

A mini-kerfuffle unfolded between the Nationals and Phillies on Wednesday after Stephen Strasburg hit Chase Utley’s back ankle with an errant fastball.

“I don’t have any reason to throw at him, do I?” Strasburg said.

Roy Halladay followed up by throwing a pitch behind Tyler Moore, the most experienced player left in the Nationals' lineup after Utley’s ding. Halladay told Philadelphia media he lost his grip on the ball, but delivered the remark with a smile.

“He missed a little inside,” Moore deadpanned. “Maybe it just slipped out of his hand.”

Considering Utley’s recent history of knee and lower leg injuries, it’s certainly understandable why Halladay would feel the need to send a corresponding message. And perhaps it was just as much a message to his own club, because it was Halladay along with Jonathan Papelbon who recently expressed their concerns over the team's leadership.

Either way, we could hear a lot more noise from these teams as the Phillies attempt to claw their way back up the mountain and the Nationals try to hold their ground.

[Also: Team Mexico feels hostility amid Arizona's immigration battle]

Derek Lowe lands in Texas: While it’s only a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers, it’s an opportunity. That’s all Derek Lowe was looking for after going through the entire winter without landing a guaranteed contract. Lowe is scheduled to report to Rangers camp on Thursday, and as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes, there appear to be a couple roles available on the Rangers pitching staff that would suit the veteran sinkerballer perfectly.

He would give the Rangers a legitimate long reliever or middle-innings reliever in the bullpen or, in the event, the Rangers don’t add another starter, he could potentially fill the fifth spot in the rotation early in the year before sliding back to the pen when Colby Lewis is activated.

Lowe struggled mightily in 21 starts with the Cleveland Indians last season, posting a 5.52 ERA. He then moved on to the New York Yankees where he made 17 relief appearances and recorded a 3.04 ERA. That latter looks like the way to go if he hopes to extend his career.

In other Rangers news, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com also reports the team will not be signing free agent right-hander Kyle Lohse. “We are not going to sign Kyle Lohse. I can’t be clearer than that,” a team source was quoted as saying.

Ryan Westmoreland announces retirement: Once a top prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization — Baseball America ranked him No. 21 prospect following the 2009 season — Ryan Westmoreland seemed destined to call Fenway Park his home for a long, long time. That all changed, however, in March of 2010 when he was diagnosed with a cavernous malformation at his brainstem.

The condition required Westmoreland to undergo brain surgery, which put his baseball dreams on hold. To his credit, though, he resumed chasing those dreams once he was physically able in 2011. Unfortunately, a setback in July 2012 required another operation and another lengthy absence.

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

Though he was determined to again overcome and continue working with the Red Sox this spring, Westmoreland realized the physical tasks involved are too much for him to handle. As a result, Westmoreland formally announced his retirement on Wednesday in an email to the media.

"With a clear mind and heart, as well as the unwavering support and friendship of my family, friends, agent(s), doctors, therapists and the Boston Red Sox, I have decided to voluntarily retire as a professional baseball player."Although it is a very difficult decision for me, it has become clear that the neurological damage caused by the most recent cavernous malformation and surgery leaves me with physical challenges that make it impossible to play the game at such a high level.

Westmoreland added that he plans to pursue a career in baseball in a different capacity.

Team USA falls to Rockies: Before anyone panics, there’s a rather large caveat here. While Team USA did technically blow a 7-2 ninth inning lead against the Colorado Rockies, all six runs that scored in the inning actually came against Colorado’s own minor league pitchers who were filling in for Joe Torre’s short-handed staff. In fact, all eight of Colorado’s runs in the games were scored against their own, so feel free to ignore to 8-7 final score altogether.

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Missing for nearly two weeks, the 7-foot sausage costume was dropped off at TJ Ryan's bar in Cedarburg, Wis. on Wednesday night by two men — "one wearing a hoodie pulled tight over his face," reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the paper of record on this case:

[They] lugged the larger-than-life link into the bar just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, plopped him on a bar stool and warned staff, "You did not see anything," said bartender Jen Mohney.

"Like I didn't just see two guys plop a sausage on a bar stool," Mohney said.

Mohney said the two left in less than a minute and she immediately called police.

Hey, beertender: "You did not see anything" is a figure of speech!

Anyway, on Wednesday, The Stew reported that Guido, one of the Brewers' mascots and member of a troupe of five Racing Sausages, was taken from a store room inside a Wisconsin curling club Feb. 16. After a night of barhopping and picture-taking with local residents, the costume went missing.

A reward was issued by a local mustard company for Guido, estimated to be worth $3,000. It does not appear whoever returned the costume wants the reward, possibly because a police investigation continues.

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

The Journal-Sentinel also notes that it was the Italian Sausage that Randall Simon hit with a bat and knocked over 10 years ago. Guido's had a rough life, man.

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The World Baseball Classic is almost here. The tournament starts March 2 and runs through March 19 with 16 teams hoping to rule the baseball world. Since international baseball brings new players and storylines, Big League Stew is helping you get ready this worldly clash with previews of each team.

UNITED STATES

Pool: Pool D, Phoenix

'09 finish: Fourth place, 4-4. Lost in semifinals to Japan.

First game: March 8 vs. Mexico

Biggest star: Ryan Braun. He'll anchor Team USA's outfielder and be one of its top bats. Embattled in controversy recently about PEDs, this will be the former MVP's chance to make headlines for something else this spring.

Notable absences: Where should we start? Team USA is without plenty of top talent, including Justin Verlander, Mike Trout, Buster Posey, Bryce Harper and so on. But there's a big talent pool here, so it's not like our team is without all-stars. Brandon Phillips, Jimmy Rollins, David Wright and Adam Jones should all be big contributors. (Full roster here).

Name you may not know, but should: We know all the guys on Team USA. They're all major leaguers. But probably the least-household name of the bunch is Tim Collins, the young Kansas City Royals reliever who struck out 93 in 69.2 innings in 2012.

Important questions to ask about United States

Can R.A. Dickey baffle the International circuit? The reigning NL Cy Young winner is Team USA's ace. The team will rely on his dancing knuckler being unfamiliar to WBC foes. If he's as spot-on as he was in 2012, it could be tough tournament for some teams.

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

After Dickey, how's the pitching looking? Gio Gonzalez should be solid. After that, things get tricky: Ryan Vogelsong, Derek Holland and Ross Detwiler are good, but not amazing starting pitchers. Team USA has a strong bullpen, though, so if the team can get ahead, its relievers should be able to keep a lead.

Will Giancarlo Stanton slug this team to victory? Lots of eyes are on Stanton this season, the last star standing with the Miami Marlins. The young leather-crusher could start his season in smashing fashion with a strong WBC. He'll be especially important if Mark Teixeira's notoriously slow starts apply to tournament play.

Last and most important: Can Team USA win this thing? Fourth place in 2009 wasn't ideal. The U.S. baseball program could, and should, do better. On paper, this team can hang with the best in the tournament. It's got a strong lineup, good pitching and experience. Now Team USA just has to bring it all together.

PREVIOUS WBC TEAM PREVIEWS: Brazil | Cuba | China | Japan | Netherlands | Chinese Taipei| Korea |Australia | Spain | Dominican Republic | Venezuela

Spring training is here. Stretch out with us.
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After 15 eardrum-assaulting seasons, the Chicago Cubs have mercifully decided to euthanize the practice of having random celebrities sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field. As detailed on the Hall of Very Good, the Cubs will now look to dole out the duties to local Chicago celebrities and former players instead of offering the job to any actor or musician with a new film or album to promote.

The celebrity conductor practice began in 1998 after the death of famous broadcaster/songleader Harry Caray. While the approach was novel at first, it quickly devolved into something much worse as Chicago had to pretend it actually liked natives like Jim Belushi and Richard Marx. Meanwhile, national celebrities on PR tours monopolized the microphone to pitch their wares in the bottom of the seventh inning instead of letting us just watch the game. One often had to wonder if the day's singer could tell a shortstop from a center fielder.

That's not to say we didn't get some great blog material from it. Whether it was Tony Romo's butchering, Stephanie Izard's screeching or Denise Richards' cheat sheet, Big League Stew was always happy to catch the falling clicks from the Wrigley Field broadcast booth. In the interest of doing that one more time, here's a look at the five worst conductors since 1998:

5. Bernie Mac — October 14, 2003

The late comedian was a noted Chicago White Sox fan, but for some reason he was singing the seventh inning stretch during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. He sang "root, root, root for the champions" instead of "for the Cubbies" during his rendition and, well, you know the rest. Mac's name will always be mentioned alongside other scapegoats like Alex Gonzalez, Mark Prior and Dusty Baker when it comes to alternate culprits not named Steve Bartman.

* * *

4. Steve McMichael — August 7, 2001

The Chicago Bears great became the only singer to ever be ejected from Wrigley Field after his song when he threatened home plate umpire Angel Hernandez following a blown call in the sixth inning. Mongo's insistence that he'd "have to speak" with Hernandez after the game whipped already-perturbed Cubs fans into a frenzy and earned him the old heave-ho. Here's a grainy video of the hilarious scene. (And, no, the fact is not lost that the first two people on this list are/were local Chicago celebrities. It's safe to say this new Cubs plan really isn't all that controversy proof.)

* * *

3. Jeff Gordon — May 24, 2005

Yours truly was in the grandstand when the NASCAR champion started off by enthusiastically saying it was great to be at "Wrigley Stadium." I'm told Gordon's off-key rendition of the song followed, but you couldn't hear it over the booing that lasted the entire song. (Yes, I was among those showing my throaty and Old Style-induced displeasure.)

* * *

2. Mike Ditka — July 5, 1998

I was somehow also in attendance for the time Da Coach decided to shout Take Me Out To The Ballgame in the short span of 22 seconds. It was quite a bit of performance art, sure, but it was also the first indicator that this tradition would often turn into a headline maker.

(Still in a choice between the Bears vs. the Assembled Choir of Heavenly Angels, there's really only one answer. It starts with 'D', ends with 'A' and has "ITK" in the middle.)

* * *

1. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne — August 17, 2003

Ozzy Osbourne is the inarguable No. 1 on anyone's list of worst Wrigley singers. If you somehow doubt that, check out one YouTuber's transcription of his rendition.

take me out to the ballgame
takjmejoiaooout to dsaadawfkojieecdraoewsdd
ljjupojupouueaBOOZEshhfs
313strikes ur out jvveesf

Here's what it sounded like from the bleachers that day. It may have been the only time in Wrigley's recorded history that the person on the public address system was more unintelligible than your average person sitting out in right field.

Are you ready for opening day?
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The following story is true, at least as far as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is concerned. Someone has stolen the costume for Guido, the Italian Sausage of the Milwaukee Brewers beloved Racing Sausages, and gone barhopping in Cedarburg, Wis. The theft took place during the town's Winter Festival at a nearby curling club. Yes, a curling club.

[Related: Missing link found: Brewers Racing Italian Sausage returned]

Barhopping, sausage, curling. It's Wisconsin, all right. All that's missing is a fish fry. The Journal-Sentinel has the specifics:

The 7-foot-long weenie was lying unused in a backroom at the Milwaukee Curling Club's new Cedarburg location during a fundraiser on Feb. 16 with beer-tasting and curling, and a witness saw the sausage walk out of the south door about 7:45 p.m., Cedarburg police Detective Jeff Vahsholtz said Wednesday. The Italian walked into TJ Ryan's in Cedarburg an hour later and also made an appearance around midnight at The Roadhouse Bar and Grill.

Guido was getting around! Do you think he used the sausage costume to, you know, find a nice pair of buns for a night?

The costume is valued at $3,000, and a reward of a year's supply of mustard has been offered to whomever returns the costume. Yes, there's a reward! And it's mustard! Nope, you can't make this up.

UPDATE: WTMJ radio in Milwaukee reports that Guido has been found!

There's a catch-22 here (or is it a catch-up-57?) of course.

You return the sausage and get the mustard. But you still need sausage for the mustard. Have they thought this out? On second thought, mustard is not a great condiment for Italian Sausage in the first place. If the Racing Hot Dog or Racing Polish Sausage had been stolen, of course. Red sauce and peppers go with the Italian, sure, but can we really call red sauce and peppers condiments? I draw the sophisticated condiment line at sauerkraut.

Anyway, the cops seem to appreciate the humorous side of this. But with the regular season at Miller Park approaching, they want Guido back now. Suspects are likely to include adventurous college students who might have been casing the curling joint lately. While detectives have been grinding away at their investigation, police have yet to link anyone to the sausage-napping. Puns intended. (No, demanded.)

The Racing Sausages are a staple at Miller Park, not only for cholesterol'd diets but also fans of the race, which also includes a Bratwurst and a Chorizo. As far as we know, those sausages are OK. In case you want to start your own investigation, all of the Racing Sausages bear a resemblance to the Easter Island monuments. Guido wears a white Italian chef's hat and apron, if that helps.

Big BLS H/N: Troy Renck

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With the Academy Awards coming up on Sunday, the challenge posed to us was a simple one: Could we find a movie appearance or mention for all 30 Major League Baseball teams?

A lot of the top teams would be easy. The Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs, for instance, have turned up in a wealth of films. But what about newer teams like the Nationals, Rockies or Diamondbacks? Finding any evidence of those squads, even if it was just via a character wearing a team cap or a radio of play by play in the background, would seem to be much harder.

So we gave it the old college try and it actually turned out to be quite fun. Our exercise can be found below and by no means should it be considered a comprehensive list or a scroll of endorsements. We left a lot of movies out. If you have a movie mention for your team that you like better, let us know in the comments below.

* * *

Atlanta Braves — The Slugger's Wife (1985): It wasn't the best Neil Simon film adaptation to feature baseball — we'll take Charley Lau's appearance in Max Dugan Returns any day, thank you — but it does feature the most appearances by the great old Braves uniforms.

* * *

Miami Marlins — Back to the Future II (1989): Yeah, yeah, it's close enough. The film messed up the mascot, but extra credit for predicting the team's switch from Florida to Miami. (Too bad Biff's sports almanac didn't mention anything about the public funding boondoggle that Jeffrey Loria would foist upon the taxpayers of south Florida.)

* * *

Philadelphia Phillies — Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981): Alan Arkin plays an alcoholic ex-Phillies player who meets Carol Burnett's character, an alcoholic Carmen Miranda impersonator. Dave Brown says it's a "(crap) film." We'll take his word for it.

Honorable mention: Mike Schmidt showing up in Pink Floyd's "The Wall"

* * *

New York Mets — Old Dogs (2009): Don't complain, Mets fans or we'll replace this with a shot of Yankees fan Billy Crystal wearing a Mets cap in City Slickers.

* * *

Washington Nationals — How Do You Know (2010): Everyone knows the Washington Nationals drafted Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg to turn around the fortunes of their franchise. What this movie presupposes is ... maybe they didn't?

* * *

San Diego Padres — The Kid From Left Field (1979): If you think we went ahead with this post just so we could post pictures of Gary Coleman wearing the old mustard and brown McDonalds uniforms, you're 100 percent correct.

* * *

San Francisco Giants — The Fan (1996): "Hey, hey Bobby!" This movie is so bad it can't even be good in a bad way. You know, like Fear? Unfortunately, it accounts for 40 percent of the NL West movie mentions on this list.

* * *

Colorado Rockies — The Fan (1996): Aaron Neville was in this movie. So was Benicio del Toro. So were the Colorado Rockies, who played the Giants' opening day opponent. None of them will ever admit to it.

* * *

Los Angeles Dodgers – The Sandlot (1993): It's a little strange the Dodgers haven't been featured in more movies given their proximity to Hollywood. But their logo being sported by future speedster Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez in this classic film more than makes up for it.

* * *

Arizona Diamondbacks — Nine Innings From Ground Zero (2004): Our aim was to stay away from documentaries or highlight films, but the D-backs film oeuvre is rather thin (despite Oscar showing up to Chase Field on Thursday). However, "Nine Innings," which follows the 2001 World Series in the wake of 9/11, is one of the great baseball documentaries. We can make an exception.

* * *

Pittsburgh Pirates — Angels in the Outfield (1951): Yup, this was the original.

* * *

Chicago Cubs — Rookie of the Year (1993): "Did he just say, 'funky butt-lovin'?" (With an honorable mention to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Love you, Ferris, but "Rookie of the Year" is about the Cubs).

* * *

Milwaukee Brewers — Mr. 3000 (2004): One year after submarining the Cubs' World Series hopes, Mac — a noted Chicago White Sox fan — went north to play for one of the Cubs' biggest rivals.

* * *

Cincinnati Reds — Hustle (2004): Tom Sizemore as Pete Rose. Yes, this happened.

* * *

St. Louis Cardinals — The Pride of St. Louis (1952): They don't make ballplayers like they used to — or movie posters, for that matter.

* * *

Chicago White Sox — My Best Friend's Wedding (1997): How many sports team owners do you know who'd let their daughters marry a sportswriter? Does it change if that sportswriter is Dermot Mulroney?

* * *

Detroit Tigers — Tiger Town (1983): Tiger Town has Ernie Harwell and Roy Scheider. For Love of the Game has Vin Scully ... and Kevin Costner, using the same cardboard delivery in every other film he's in. Advantage: Tiger Town.

* * *

Cleveland Indians — Major League (1989): Duh.

* * *

Kansas City Royals — Moneyball (2011): Can somebody find us a George Brett cameo somewhere? The Royals can't be represented in this post by an uncredited actor playing Jason Grimsley.

* * *

Minnesota Twins — Little Big League (1994): We'll be honest: We've seen "Rookie of the Year" 20 or so times. Little Big League? Zero. Transformers and Go-Bots as far as we're concerned.

* * *

New York Yankees — Pride of the Yankees (1942): What, you thought we were going to list John Goodman's "The Babe?"

* * *

Boston Red Sox — Fear Strikes Out (1957): It's always been strange to us that Jimmy Piersall had a feature-length movie about him made during the middle of his career (he'd play until 1967). But his story was certainly worth it.

* * *

Toronto Blue Jays — Sweet Liberty (1986): Alan Alda's director wears a Blue Jays hat during much of this movie. Yup, that's about all we've got for Toronto.

* * *

Tampa Bay Devil Rays — The Rookie (2002): The Rays have gotten much better at finding diamonds in the rough for their bullpen, but worse at producing storylines for Disney feature films.

* * *

Baltimore Orioles — Dave (1993): Kevin Kline gets his Mike Mussina on.

* * *

Oakland A's — Moneyball (2011): Shhh, no one tell Art Howe.

* * *

Los Angeles Angels — Angels in the Outfield (1994): Joseph Gordon-Levitt vehicle or film chock full of pedophiliac mind control messages? You be the judge!

* * *

Seattle Mariners — The Naked Gun (1989): "Hey look, it's Enrico Palazzo!"

* * *

Texas Rangers — Texas Rangers (2001) Vanderbeek!!! Just kidding, but the Rangers were the opponent in "The Rookie" plus a Josh Hamilton biopic is supposed to hit at some point in the future.

* * *

Houston Astros — Night Game (1989): We saved the most ludicrous for last. In this movie, Roy Scheider is a detective investigating a string of murders that occur every time a certain Astros pitcher named Silvio Baretto wins a night game at the Astrodome. Not to spoil anything, but the killer turns out to be Floyd Epps, a former Astros pitcher who naturally now has a hook for a hand after a minor league bus accident. The trailer is awesome ... as is the tagline.

STRIKE ONE — there's a killer on the loose... STRIKE TWO — you never know where he'll strike next... STRIKE THREE — too late.

* * *

Nagoya Chunichi Dragons — Mr. Baseball (1992): The end.

What's your favorite mention of your baseball team in a movie? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter or the BLS Facebook page.

PHOENIX — Yes, Phoenix. They're calling it "winter training" here, where a freaky storm dusted parts of the area with hail and snow (a combination called graupel) Thursday. The stadium at Salt River Fields, where the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies train in Scottsdale, Ariz., looks like any ballpark at this time of year — in the Midwest.

The weather affected camps in different ways. Most were just rained on and had to conduct primarily indoor activities such as caged batting practice. The Oakland Athletics gave their hitters the day off. Arizona canceled practice altogether. That almost never happens in the Cactus League.

D-backs pitcher Josh Collmenter told Fox TV in Phoenix:

"Never thought I'd see snow in Arizona, especially for spring training. Reminds me of back home in Michigan. I've definitely seen this on a baseball field back there."

Manager Kirk Gibson has pushed back practice Thursday to noon local time (it usually starts about 9 a.m.) to give the snow more time to melt. It's not really cooperating, though. Below, check out more amazing photos from a snowstorm in the middle of the desert:

This was taken early Thursday morning. It was 80 degrees about 36 hours earlier.

* * *

This has to be good luck. Or the end of the world.

* * *

Who's up for some cross-country skiing?

* * *

Whee! Pat O'Connell of the D-backs media relations office takes advantage of the Chicago-like conditions and does some sledding.

* * *

Did we mention it snowed?

* * *

That's art, right there. Kirk Gibson hates it.

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For teams like the Miami Marlins and the Minnesota Twins, this is probably the closest thing they're getting to a World Series win in 2013. Baseball America released its annual list of the game's top 100 prospects on Tuesday.

While Texas Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar grabbed the No. 1 overall spot, in a larger sense the list's winners are the Twins, Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals, who each had six prospects listed. Teams with five prospects: Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox each had only one player make the top 100.

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

People can jump to a lot of conclusions with those numbers (and you probably will in the comments), but this doesn't mean the Giants are going to be horrible in a couple years more than it means the Marlins will be great. It means some teams have more young "talent" than other — talent that could come to fruition, get traded or fizzle out.

Last season, for example, The A's had six players on the list (tied for most) and that paid dividends in the team's improbable postseason run. The San Diego Padres had six players too. Much different result. Remember, they're called prospects for a reason. (Note: Players are listed by team, with their overall rank in parentheses).

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Tyler Skaggs, LHP, (12)
Archie Bradley, RHP, (25)
Adam Eaton, OF, (73)
Didi Gregorius, SS, (80)
Matt Davidson, 3b, (88)

ATLANTA BRAVES
Julio Teheran, RHP, (44)
J.R. Graham, RHP, (93)

BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Dylan Bundy, RHP, (2)
Kevin Gausman, RHP, (26)

BOSTON RED SOX
Xander Bogaerts, SS, (8)
Jackie Bradley, OF, (31)
Matt Barnes, RHP, (40)
Allen Webster, RHP, (49)
Henry Owens, LHP, (91)

CHICAGO CUBS
Javier Baez, SS, (16)
Albert Almora, OF, (33)
Jorge Soler, OF, (34)
Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, (83)

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Courtney Hawkins, OF, (55)

CINCINNATI REDS
Billy Hamilton, OF/SS, (20)
Tony Cingrani, LHP, (82)
Daniel Corcino, RHP, (94)
Robert Stephenson, RHP, (56)

CLEVELAND INDIANS
Trevor Bauer, RHP, (14)
Francisco Lindor, SS, (28)

COLORADO ROCKIES
Nolan Arenado, 3B, (52)
David Dahl, OF, (53)
Trevor Story, SS/3B, (96)

DETROIT TIGERS
Nick Castellanos, OF/3B, (21)
Avisail Garcia, OF, (74)
Bruce Rondon, RHP, (95)

HOUSTON ASTROS
Carlos Correa, SS(13)
Jonathan Singleton, 1B/OF, (27)
George Springer, OF, (37)
Lance McCullers, RHP, (50)
Delino DeShields, 2B, (99)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Kyle Zimmer, RHP, (24)
Bubba Starling, OF, (35)
Yordano Ventura, RHP, (85)

LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Kaleb Cowart, 3B, (60)

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP, (42)
Yasiel Puig, OF, (47)

MIAMI MARLINS
Jose Fernandez, RHP, (5)
Christian Yelich, OF, (15)
Andrew Heaney, LHP, (43)
Jake Marisnick, OF, (64)
Marcell Ozuna, OF, (75)
Justin Nicolino, LHP, (86)

MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Wily Peralta, RHP, (69)

MINNESOTA TWINS
Miguel Sano, 3B, (9)
Byron Buxton, OF, (10)
Alex Meyer, RHP, (59)
Oswaldo Arcia, OF, (41)
Kyle Gibson, RHP, (68)
Aaron Hicks, OF, (72)

NEW YORK METS
Zack Wheeler, RHP, (11)
Travis d'Arnaud, C, (23)
Noah Syndergaard, RHP, (54)

NEW YORK YANKEES
Mason Williams, OF, (32)
Gary Sanchez, C, (57)
Tyler Austin, OF, (77)
Slade Heathcott, OF, (63)

OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Addison Russell, SS, (48)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Jesse Biddle, LHP, (89)
Roman Quinn, SS, (100)

PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Gerrit Cole, RHP, (7)
Jameson Taillon, RHP, (19)
Gregory Polanco, OF, (51)
Alen Hanson, SS, (61)
Luis Heredia, RHP, (78)

SAN DIEGO PADRES
Austin Hedges, S, (58)
Casey Kelly, RHP, (45)
Max Fried, LHP, (46)
Jedd Gyorko, 3B/2B, (71)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Kyle Crick, RHP, (66)

SEATTLE MARINERS
Mike Zunino, C, (17)
Taijuan Walker, RHP, (18)
Danny Hultzen, LHP, (29)
Nick Franklin, SS/2B, (79)
James Paxton, LHP, (87)

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Oscar Taveras, OF, (3)
Shelby Miller, RHP, (6)
Carlos Martinez, RHP, (38)
Trevor Rosenthal, RHP, (39)
Kolten Wong, 2B, (84)
Michael Wacha, RHP, (76)

TAMPA BAY RAYS
Wil Myers, OF/3B, (4)
Chris Archer, RHP, (36)
Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, (62)
Hak-Ju Lee, SS, (90)
Jake Odorizzi, RHP, (92)

TORONTO BLUES JAYS
Aaron Sanchez, RHP, (65)
Marcus Stroman, RHP, (98)

TEXAS RANGERS
Jurickson Profar, SS/2B, (1)
Mike Olt, 3B/1B, (22)
Martin Perez, LHP, (81)
Leonys Martin, OF, (97)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Anthony Rendon, 3B, (30)
Lucas Giolito, RHP, (67)
Brian Goodwin, OF, (70)

Spring training is here. Stretch out with us.
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The Chicago Cubs say the "yelp!" that right-hander Matt Garza let out during his first live batting practice session Sunday was related to a mild strain of the lat muscle on his left side. It had nothing to do with his right elbow, which bothered Garza in 2012 enough to put him out for the final two months of the season. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune was on the scene in Mesa, Ariz.:

Garza threw 20 pitches in what was supposed to be a 40-pitch session. Garza said he thought it was a water cramp.

"The elbow was fine," he said. "Everything on my right side was fine. So I was like 'What the hell?' The ball was coming out of my hand good, I had good control, downward movement. I was happy I threw the ball well. A little frustrated, but it's early."

Sveum said there's no real understanding of what happened.

"They happen from a sneeze and a cough sometimes," he said. "It's one of those things. There's no rhyme or reason to lat pulls and rib cages and all that. No one has figured it out."

He's right, as least as far as the Cubs go. Sammy Sosa pulled a muscle sneezing once. It happens!

Helton apologizes for DUI: Though he declined to be specific, Colorado Rockies slugger Todd Helton said, as quoted by the Denver Post, "I am determined to learn from my mistakes, and I've gotten help" after getting a DUI on Feb. 6.

Renck also writes that several teammates, including Michael Cuddyer, said Helton didn't owe the team an apology because the incident was out of character for him. Manager Walt Weiss said Helton "faced the music" by doing a press conference and talking to teammates, but considered the matter otherwise closed.

It's not the Rockies fault that our society is soft on drunken drivers, but those kind of platitudes don't help. And it's much easier to be forgiving about Helton's transgression because nobody got hurt. But when you consider that Helton drove drunk because he wanted to purchase lottery tickets despite having made about $160 million in his career playing baseball, it makes you wonder even more about his judgment.

Helton says he never thought it could happen to him. Which part? Driving drunk or getting caught?

Jeter expects to be ready for opener: The spring schedule of Derek Jeter will be lighter as he continues to recover from a broken left ankle, yet he expects to be on the field when the New York Yankees open the regular season. The plates and screws inserted into his ankle during surgery probably will remain there forever, but once he starts playing in spring games — in two or three more weeks — neither the aftermath of the surgery or a shortened timeline will prevent him from being ready to go. As quoted by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Jeter said:

"I'm going to have to push myself, but Opening Day has been the goal all along."

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The balls -- which counteract the elevation and lack of humidity in places like Denver and Albuquerque -- have been used by the Rockies since 2002 and were sent down to the Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2012. Albuquerque, elevation 5,300, still isn't as high as Colorado Spring (6,531 at the Sky Sox's stadium), but Dodgers management is hopeful it will bring down ERAs and boost confidence for their young pitchers.

Making the announcement on MLB Network radio, De Jon Watson, the Dodgers' vice president of player development said:

“When our pitchers get hit hard, they end up changing the way that they pitch and we don’t want them to do that. Sure, there have been some guys who have done well there, but it’s a tough place to pitch.”

Think Blue LA adds this interesting tidbit:

Over the past several years, the Dodgers have purposely kept their top pitching prospects away from the thin, dry air of Albuquerque, opting instead to promote them directly from Double-A Chattanooga to the major leagues – most notably Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Paco Rodriguez and several others.

Can't imagine that this will cause the controversy it did in Colorado a couple years back. Plus it sure is nice for the Dodgers to help with their young pitchers' confidence.

The last thing they need is any of their prospects "Breaking Bad" down in Albuquerque. C'mon, you didn't expect a post about the ABQ without a Walter White ref, did you?

BLS H/N: Think Blue LA

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The Colorado Rockies are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, but that's of little use to Michael Cuddyer and the boys, who are coming off a brutal 2012 season in which they led the league in errors, came in last NL West and finished with the third-worst record in the majors. David Nied retrospectives might be one thing, but why would anyone want to look back at the year the Rox brought up the rear?

[Also: Report: Mike Piazza planned revenge on Roger Clemens]

On that note, Cuddyer has come up with his own marketing scheme for the guys in the clubhouse that is decidedly forward-thinking. And kicking. From Troy Renck of the Denver Post:

As the Rockies’ pitchers and catchers (and plenty of position players) prepared for their first work out Tuesday at Salt River Fields, they found purple t-shirts in their locker stalls. They were gifts from veteran outfielder Michael Cuddyer. The front of the shirt reads “Beat Their (Butts)” in big white letters.

“It’s well documented that we struggled last year because too often we beat ourselves. This is a reminder that we need to change that,” Cuddyer said.

Renck notes that the shirts are the "Dry-Fit" kind, which means they ought to be durable and comfortable enough to wear all season. Cuddyer wasn't shopping at the dollar store for these babies.

[Also: Jose Canseco might want to play for the Cleveland Indians ... or be pope]

Cuddyer (or any player) isn't in a position to make good trades or clever draft picks or sound free-agent buys. That's up to the higher-ups with the Rockies (and they've been struggling). The players can only play, and try to approach the season with a clear mind, along with an attitude that's earnest but not too serious. The season is way too long for that.

The Rockies probably aren't going to win the NL West this season, but that's no reason to give up in February. Besides, you can't get to Rocktober if you don't kick their butts from April to September. It all starts with the shirt.

Pitchers and catchers are reporting!
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If you woke up today feeling a little better about life, a little more optimistic about the next few months, it's because spring training is here. You've made it through the saddest time of the year for baseball fans, and now you'll be welcomed with chalk lines, the snap of a fastball in a mitt and the crack of a bat. Go ahead, breathe it all in.

Via Spring Training Online, here are the pitcher-and-catcher reporting dates for each major league team (starting Sunday and continuing through the week). Their first full squad workout date follows in parentheses.

Sunday, Feb. 10
Boston Red Sox (Feb. 15), Chicago Cubs (17), Cleveland Indians (15), Colorado Rockies (17).

Monday, Feb. 11
Arizona Diamondbacks (Feb. 15), Atlanta Braves (15), Cincinnati Reds (16), Detroit Tigers (15), Houston Astros (16), Kansas City Royals (15), Miami Marlins (15), New York Mets (17), Oakland Athletics (17), Pittsburgh Pirates (15).

Tuesday, Feb. 12
Baltimore Orioles (Feb. 16), Chicago White Sox (18), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (16), Los Angeles Dodgers (16), Milwaukee Brewers (16), Minnesota Twins (16), New York Yankees (18), St. Louis Cardinals (16), San Diego Padres (16), San Francisco Giants (16), Seattle Mariners (16), Tampa Bay Rays (17), Texas Rangers (16), Toronto Blue Jays (17), Washington Nationals (16).

Wednesday, Feb. 13
Philadelphia Phillies (Feb. 17).

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In November, the 42-year-old was actually believed to be the preferred choice of Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort and executive vice president Dan O’Dowd to fill their open managerial position.

Giambi had impressed Colorado’s brass with his preparation and leadership during his three plus years in the organization. He ended up taking several players under his wing, including shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, and in the process forged a number of strong relationships with his teammates. This led management to believe his influence at the top would benefit the team’s growth and make for a seamless transition.

Had he landed that job, Giambi was obviously content to call it a career, but then another former Rockies and Oakland A’s star, Walt Weiss, entered the running and ended up impressing enough during the interview process to land the job.

Despite that development, the Rockies held out hope that Giambi would accept the role of hitting coach. He declined, with Dante Bichette eventually getting the nod, and instead elected to seek other playing opportunities. That leads us to Saturday’s news.

According to the Denver Post’s Troy Renck, the 18-year veteran is on his way back to the American League on a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. It's a little-to-no-risk deal for Cleveland since it's not guaranteed. However, if Giambi, hits his way on to the roster, likely as their designated hitter against right-handed pitchers, he’ll earn $750,000.

Having watched most of his plate appearances over the past three seasons, it wouldn‘t surprise me if Giambi put together a strong enough spring to accomplish that. He’s still a powerful man. He still has a good eye and a great approach as his .375 on base percentage with Colorado would indicate, but I’m not sure there's enough left in his tank to produce beyond 150-200 plate appearances.

In fact, despite limited playing time behind the likes of Todd Helton, Michael Cuddyer and Tyler Colvin, Giambi has spent an awful lot of time on the disabled list the past two seasons. And he wasn't catching up to anyone's fastball by September, either. It could be a fun little short-term run though if he comes out swinging, and I'm sure the Indians would be happy to take whatever production they get.

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Wednesday's early morning DUI arrest, however, might just change that. We already watched Helton enter the Horrible Mugshot Hall of Fame and today comes this unfortunate wrinkle to the story: Helton had driven to a gas station to buy ... wait for it ... lottery tickets.

Lottery tickets?!? Really? We're talking about a guy who has made more than $160 million in his career, including a nine-year, $141.5 million contact he signed in 2001.

Not that there are good reasons to drink and drive, but heading to the store for some scratchers when you're already rich? That's just dumb. We expect that from a "Real Housewife" but not from you, Todd.

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

Now might be a good time to re-read Helton's apology, issued Wednesday before the lottery ticket tidbit:

“Last evening I exercised poor judgment and was charged with drinking and driving after driving to a gas station near my house. I am very sorry and embarrassed by my actions. I hold myself to a high standard and take my responsibility as a public figure very seriously. My entire career I have worked to set a positive example for my family and in our community and I fell far short of this standard. I sincerely ask my family, the Colorado Rockies Organization, Major League Baseball and the community to accept my apology."

Here's a statement from the Rockies, also issued Wednesday:

"We were extremely disappointed to learn that Todd was arrested this morning. This type of behavior is taken very seriously by our organization. We know that he clearly understands the seriousness of his poor decision, the harm that could have been inflicted on others and the embarrassment his mistake has caused to himself, his family, the Colorado Rockies organization and to Major League Baseball.

"Todd is taking full accountability for his actions with his family, his fans and the organization. The man we have grown to know has strong values that are grounded in his family and hard work. Todd clearly understands the severity of the situation."

That's fine, but perhaps Helton needs to add: "Sorry for putting other peoples' lives in jeopardy while I tried to win ten bucks or a free ticket."

Pitchers and catchers report any moment.
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According to local news reports, Helton was spotted driving erratically in his black Ford pickup truck. He was taken into custody on charges of DUI and careless driving, booked and jailed in Thornton, then eventually released. (Somewhere in there, he took this unfortunate mugshot that's on par with the Nick Nolte mug.)

For a guy who is pals with Mark Grace -- a two-time DUI offender who recently was handed a four-month jail sentence -- you'd think Helton might have learned something from Grace's mistakes. Apparently not.

Helton, it's even been written, wears No. 17 in tribute to Grace. The DUI thing? Probably not the best Grace attribute to emulate.

In a statement, the Rockies said:

We were extremely disappointed to learn that Todd was arrested this morning. This type of behavior is taken very seriously by our organization. We know that he clearly understands the seriousness of his poor decision, the harm that could have been inflicted on others and the embarrassment his mistake has caused to himself, his family, the Colorado Rockies organization and to Major League Baseball.

Todd is taking full accountability for his actions with his family, his fans and the organization. The man we have grown to know has strong values that are grounded in his family and hard work. Todd clearly understands the severity of the situation.

Helton issued a statement to MLB.com's Thomas Harding:

“Last evening I exercised poor judgment and was charged with drinking and driving after driving to a gas station near my house. I am very sorry and embarrassed by my actions. I hold myself to a high standard and take my responsibility as a public figure very seriously. My entire career I have worked to set a positive example for my family and in our community and I fell far short of this standard. I sincerely ask my family, the Colorado Rockies Organization, Major League Baseball and the community to accept my apology."

Helton, a career .320 hitter and five-time all-star who will turn 40 in August, is recovering from a 2012 season that ended pre-maturely because of a hip injury. He plans to play in 2013, which is likely his final year. Recently, Helton told MLB.com:

"The target date I have in mind is to be out there at the start of the season, and my goal is to get through the dadgum season."

Please, Todd, just don't turn to the sauce to do it.

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Millwood, who turned 38 years old in December, told the Shelby (N.C.) Star that he was "just ready to retire" after agent Scott Boras couldn't hook up a deal with the Atlanta Braves or Tampa Bay Rays, teams that play near his home in Gainesville, Ga.:

“I feel like I can still throw it well and going out on a high note is a big deal,” Millwood said. “I just felt it was time to be closer to home and to be around the kids more often.”

Millwood happened to be in North Carolina to watch two of his nephews play in basketball games for their respective middle school and high school teams in Bessemer, the same ones Millwood played for before getting picked by the Braves in the 11th round of the 1993 draft. An 11th rounder, playing 16 seasons — that's quite accomplished. The Star took note that Millwood's major league career was a record for Gaston County, edging Whitey Lockman by a year.

[More MLB: Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira admits he's overpaid]

When he came up with the Braves and had an awesome second full season — and considering Atlanta's reputation for developing starters — it was easy to envision Millwood making several All-Star teams. That didn't happen, but he had some dominating moments. The no-hitter for the Phillies in '03 was most notable:

Millwood made 443 career starts for seven clubs, finishing with a 4.11 ERA (+106) and 2,083 strikeouts. His best season came with the Atlanta Braves in 1999, when he made the NL All-Star team, finished with a 2.68 ERA (second in the NL) and had 205 strikeouts in 33 starts. He made an unmemorable start in the '99 World Series against the New York Yankees and he led the ERA in 2005 with the Cleveland Indians. Millwood also pitched for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies.

With the Mariners in 2012, he was six innings into another no-no against the Dodgers when he left the game with a groin injury. The Mariners completed the no-no, though.

“It was a cool experience,” said Millwood, who watched his teammates get the final nine outs from the training room. “But it was bittersweet to not be able to finish it out."

Millwood's career earnings were just short of $90 million, so he probably doesn't need to keep pitching for the money, but you have to wonder if an agreeable team might call him in July and see what's up.

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Not even to get the newspaper.

The oft-injured right-hander, who once landed — figuratively — on the disabled list after falling — literally — on his buttocks in a spring training game, has fallen once again, and this time has suffered a pretty significant injury as a result.

According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the fall happened while Pavano was shoveling snow out of the driveway of his Vermont home and the unfortunate result is a ruptured spleen, which will reportedly sideline the 37-year-old for 6 to 8 weeks.

That must have been one nasty and/or awkward fall to result in that type of injury. Wow. And ouch.

Obviously this is a tough break, as it would be for any player this close to spring training, but it's especially so for the unlucky Pavano, who as of this moment remains unsigned. Given the timetable on his recovery, he won't be ready to begin any kind of throwing and conditioning program until mid-March at the earliest. You can probably tack on another 4 to 6 weeks before he'd conceivably be ready to compete or contribute at the big league level, so his chances of signing before opening day likely just hit the ground with him.

Of course Pavano is also coming off a — you guessed it — injury plagued season with the Minnesota Twins that was ultimately cut short due to shoulder issues. He posted a 6.00 ERA in only 63 innings, so it's not like he was in a strong leveraging position or a guaranteed deal was likely to fall in his lap anyway. But it's a huge setback nonetheless.

Then again, the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets were the two teams showing the most interest in Pavano before this news broke. Given their situations, maybe they'll see this as a chance to buy even lower.

Who knows?

But honestly, I think the only question that really needs to be answered right now is simply:

Why is Carl Pavano, or any professional athlete, shoveling snow?

— David Raposa (@falsebinary) January 25, 2013

Why, Carl Pavano? Why?

Also, get well soon.

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