Game 2: Devil Rays def. Yankees

It must be a fun life for Kevin Thompson. You get to play maybe once every two weeks. And when you do play, it's against Scott Kazmir on a good day. Or Johan Santana. Go get 'em, bench!

Final Score: Devil Rays 6, Yankees 4
WP: Kazmir (6-6, 4.18 ERA)
LP: Clemens (2-4, 4.20 ERA)

The Positives: Another evening with back-to-back homeruns. Posada and Matsui went yard on two consecutive pitches from Fossum, to bring the Yankees within two late. And whatever it is, chalk it up to the magic of Mariano or what have you, but Vizcaino continues to impress. Is he leading the front running for Torre's 8th inning guy, or is it still Farnsworth by default? This was a weird game in terms of the bullpen with a lot of mix and matching, but Vizcaino did his part. Bruney did let a run score in relief of Clemens, but with the bases loaded? Losing only one run seemed like a victory. Especially given some of Bruney's latest outings.

The Negatives: Imagine my surprise at seeing former Nat Josh Wilson again! Then, imgine my surprise when his 2-run, 2 out triple against Clemens was a big part of the Yankees' downfall in this game. There's a sense of humor to the way life works sometimes. Not a good outing for Clemens tonight. Pettitte was able to get away with a so-so effort last night. Clemens didn't have the same luxury this time.

~~~

In other baseball news: there's a pitcher named Erik Bedard in Baltimore. He's pretty good, if you haven't heard.

Final Score: Orioles 2, White Sox 0
WP: Bedard (8-4, 3.22 ERA)
LP: Buehrle (6-5, 2.98 ERA)

No complete game for Bedard this time around, but he did K seven White Sox batters over seven innings. Tough luck for Buehrle, whose two runs came on solo homeruns to Nick Markakis and Corey Patterson. Chris Ray picked up his 15th save of the season.

At least one of the pitchers duels I pictured materialized.

Final Score: Reds 8, Mets 4
WP: Harang (10-3, 3.70 ERA)
LP: Maine (10-5, 2.91 ERA)

Seven runs scored during Maine's time out there. Only four of them were earned, thanks to two errors from Ruben Gotay. Do we get to blame Valentin's hand for this? Harang had an okay outing, giving up three runs over six innings while striking out eight. Milledge knocked in a solo homerun against Stanton late, but it was too little too late. Especially with Brandon Phillips' 6 RBI night.

And then there was a wild one in Florda, which I'm sure excited the 50 people who showed up to watch! Unless they were Marlins fans. In which case, they were probably just annoyed.

Final Score: Nationals 14, Marlins 10
WP: Rivera (3-2, 3.68 ERA)
LP: Willis (7-8, 4.81 ERA)

Yes, the Nationals scored fourteen runs in one game. That's the highest score the Nats have had since moving to DC in 2005! This means, clearly, that they won't score another run for the remainder of the season. What's wild about it? There wasn't one homerun hit on the DC side. Dmitri Young had big, 4 RBI night. Kearns had a good night too, with 3 RBI. The biggest inning was a 6-run 4th.

But the story of this one was the pitching, or lack thereof. In 4 1/3 IP, Jason Bergmann allowed 8 earned runs, including two 3-run homers and a solo homer. His ERA spiked in this game up to 4.32. Willis, on the other hand, was only charged with 3 earned runs out of an 8-run outing of 3 2/3 IP.

As of the time of this update, the Diamondbacks are up on the Padres 4-2. Not the bounceback outing Maddux was hoping for, who lasted just four innings and gave up three runs in the first.

In other Padres news, Wells is going to appeal his seven game suspension handed down this past week: "They are changing the game of baseball," Wells told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We should all put on skirts and throw underhand. If they're going to do that, call it softball. A seven-game suspension is absolutely crazy. I don't get it. I doubt I ever will."

I suppose women and fans of softball could choose to take offense, but I can't remember the last time anyone took one of Boomer's "controversial" quotes seriously. Sheffield seems to be going in the same direction.

Unfortunately, no longer having to hear about Barry Bonds every five minutes will take a little longer.