Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Amos Otis




Mariners 1, Reds 0. Cliff Lee is really good. The lefty pitched a complete game, six-hitter and didn't walk anyone. Again. Lee has walked four batters in 10 starts and hasn't given up a base on balls in 27 2/3 innings. Unfortunately, the Mariners are terrible, so Lee will be not walking batters for someone else in about 41 days.

Padres 3, Orioles 2. If David Hernandez is your closer, you probably stink. I think I'm going to make that into a t-shirt. Julio Lugo, who also has an odor, singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth for Baltimore, but Hernandez loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom half, then quickly allowed the winning runs to score.

Indians 4, Pirates 3. Carlos Santana Watch: 2-for-2, 2 walks. The rookie phenom also ripped an RBI-double in a four-run seventh for the Indians, who had to get a save from the appendage formerly known as Kerry Wood's arm to hold off the Bucs. That's 12 consecutive losses for Pittsburgh. I'm all out of Pittsburgh Pirates jokes.

Marlins 7, Devilrays 4. Rookie Mike Stanton belted his first major league home run-a first-inning grand slam-to lead Florida. According to a number of published reports, Stanton came out for a current call, but I'm sorry, I just don't believe that actually happened.

Curveballs for Jobu - Extra Inning Edition

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Marty Barrett, who scored the winning run in the longest baseball game in history: a 33-inning affair between the Pawtucket Redsox and the Rochester Red Wings.




A number of teams had trouble finishing in nine innings today. Five games went to extra innings, the most extra-inning games in a single day since April 14, 2009 when there were also five.

Reds 5, Nationals 4 (10). Cincy trailed 2-1 before rallying for three in the ninth against Tyler Clippard (Jonny Gomes double, Scott Rolen two-run home run). Washington tied it back up in the bottom half on Mike Morse's two-run, two-out double, but the Reds got a Drew Stubbs single to spoil Luis Atilano bobblehead day (rumor).

Orioles 4, Redsox 3 (11). Juan Samuel is Baltimore's greatest post-Davey Johnson manager. How he got that team to be just one game under .500 in his first three games I'll never know.

Padres 6, Phillies 5 (10). The Pads wasted an outstanding performance by starter Kevin Correia (1 2/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB), but still managed to win it in the 10th on Oscar Salazar's pinch-hit single.

Giants 6, Pirates 5 (10). Freddy Sanchez burned his former team with a sacrifice fly in the 10th for the win. The former batting champion has been fantastic in just under 80 plate appearances, hitting over .370 with an OBP in the mid-400s. When reached for comment, a Pirates fan had this to say:

Dodgers 5, Braves 4 (11). A.J. Ellis got the seventh hit of his career off Jesse Chavez and LA split the four-game series. Dodgers manager Joe Torre went ahead of Bobby Cox, 70-69 in their head-to-head meetings. Torre is 8-2 against Cox in the World Series (unnecessary Yankees World Series mention).


UPDATE - 11:22 p.m.

Make it six. The Cardinals and Brewers have gone to extra innings. We'll have another update shortly.

UPDATE - 11:46 p.m.

Brewers 4, Cardinals 3 (10). Corey Hart's sacrifice fly, (not his third strikeout, breaking MTD's heart), wins it for Milwaukee. This is the first day with six extra inning games since August 24, 2008.

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Off Base Percentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy: Ken Oberkfell




Astros 3, Cubs 1. Carlos Zambrano made his first start since April 20. Not too bad: 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, but Felipe Paulino was much better: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 7 K. The win was the Stros' fourth straight, getting them to within one game of fifth-place Milwaukee in the race for 2nd-Smelliest NL Central team.

Quote of the night

Cubs' play-by-play man Len Kasper: "Lance Berkman told me (second baseman) Jeff Keppinger's personality is similar to Jeff Kent's (personality)."

Color commentator Bob Brenly: "Jeff Kent had a personality?"

Twins 5, Athletics 4 (11). Dallas Braden didn't recognize the 612 (Minneapolis area code) and the Twins made him pay for it, big willie style. Braden gave up four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings and is winless since his perfect game May 9. No word on whether Justin Morneau, a New Westminster, British Columbia native is going to have V3L 0A2 tattooed on his stomach after a 2-for-4, 2 RBI night.

Mets 4, Marlins 3. R.A. Dickey, left for squirrel meat after a miserable 2009 season with Minnesota, has been better-than-terrible for the Mets. The knuckleballer won his third consecutive start, pitching 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball, and also went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate.



Redsox 11, Orioles 0. Clay Buchholz, perhaps the ugliest man on the Boston roster, and that's saying a lot (see: Lackey, John; Youkilis, Kevin; Ortiz, David), pitched a five-hit shut out. Juan Samuel's first game as manager didn't go well, but in all fairness to the rookie skipper, neither will Saturday's game.

Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 6. There is a small sampling of joy in Phoenixville, mighty Ryan Roberts has just singled to center field. The pinch-hitter ripped a base hit off Manuel Corpas to cap a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth and end Arizona's 10-game losing streak. Corpas pitched like he was auditioning for a spot in the Diamondbacks' bullpen: 10 pitches, 1/3 of a inning, 3 H, 2 ER.