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Brandon Morrow has been dominant this season but is in a bit of trouble once again after leaving his start after nine pitches on Monday night.

The Toronto Blue Jays ace was not able to record an out against the Washington Nationals and was removed from the game after suffering a strained oblique. According to Shi Davidi of sportsnet.ca, the Jays’ general manager Alex Anthopoulos now expects that Morrow will land on the DL due to the injury:

Morrow getting more exams around 430. AA expects him to go on DL, wants to wait for tests first.

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) June 12, 2012

At this point it would take a minor miracle for Morrow to not have to miss at least two weeks. Earlier today, Mike Cormack of sportsnet.ca tweeted,

#bluejays Farrell on Morrow injury: “it’s probably substantial.” No timeframe given. Morrow was in “considerable pain.”

— Mike Cormack (@MikeCormack) June 12, 2012

Morrow is 7-4 after receiving the hard loss luck on Monday night after only throwing nine pitches. He has three shutouts already this season and has struck out 67 batters in 77.2 innings.

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It appears that this might yet again be the year of the pitcher, or in the Seattle Mariners’ case, pitchers.

Kevin Millwood and the Mariners’ bullpen did something that had only been done nine times before Friday night in MLB history.

Millwood removed himself from the game due to a groin injury after the sixth inning, but the rest of the staff took the reigns and continued to shut down the Los Angeles Dodgers en route to a 1-0 victory.

Charlie Furbush pitched to two batters and struck out one of them. Stephen Pryor, who was credited with the win, recorded one out but walked two batters before leaving Lucas Luetge to record another out.

Then Brandon League took the mound with runners on second and third. He was able to pitch out of the jam with a looping out to left field and a strikeout to end the eighth inning.

Tom Wilhelmsen recorded the save in the no-hitter in a one-two-three ninth inning. Dee Gordon made the first out of the inning on a slow grounder to shortstop Brendan Ryan. It was a play that could have been called either way, but on this night, the Mariners got the call.

Don Mattingly and Gordon argued the call but to no avail. Multiple angles showed that the play could have gone either way.

There are very few no-hitters without controversy, and this one will have this play as the source of controversy.

Millwood struck out six batters in his six innings of work before leaving the game to the bullpen.

It is the Mariners’ third no-hitter in franchise history and the first combined no-no. The no-hitter comes just one week after Johan Santana threw his no-hitter for the Mets. 

According to the SportingNews.com, the most no-hitters in one season occurred in 1990 and 1991 when there were seven in each season.

How many more no-no’s might we see before this season is over?

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Stephen Strasburg allowed the Boston Red Sox to put two runs on the board in the second inning to take an early lead over the Washington Nationals on Friday night at Fenway Park.

Bryce Harper wasted no time taking part in the rally in the next half-inning that allowed the Nationals to take a 3-2 lead, a lead that they would never give back.

After a Danny Espinosa walk, Harper doubled to set up Ryan Zimmerman with runners on second and third. Zimmerman delivered with a single that plated Espinosa. Harper and Zimmerman would later score on an Ian Desmond double, giving the Nats the 3-2 lead.

In the next inning, Harper did it again when he smashed a two-run home run to right-center field, next to the 420-foot marker. It was an historic home run, as Harper became only the fourth visiting teenager to ever hit a home run at Fenway Park, joining Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Mickey Mantle and Al Kaline. 

Harper also finished the night with three hits, joining only Ken Griffey, Jr., and Kaline as the only visiting teenagers to have three hits at Fenway in the last 72 years, according to ESPN.com.

The closest the Red Sox came to getting back in the game was in the sixth inning. Strasburg started the inning with another strikeout but then allowed Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez to reach base with hits. David Ortiz then walked to load the bases. That is when Strasburg showed everyone why he is one the best pitchers in baseball.

Strasburg mowed down Jarrod Saltalamacchia and then got Kevin Youkilis on a borderline pitch to end the inning. He froze Youkilis and it led to Youkilis being ejected.

That was all for Strasburg on the night, and when everything settled his final line read 13 strikeouts in six innings. He allowed four hits and two earned runs while throwing a career-high 119 pitches.

The Nationals went into Fenway Park, won 7-4 and showed why they are one of the best teams in baseball. Strasburg’s dominance and Harper’s explosive bat can lead them a long way this season.

Furthermore, the win proved that they are able to contend with any team, whether a National League foe or a talented AL East team.

Strasburg is now 7-1 with a 2.41 ERA, while Harper raised his batting average to .288 with his three hits in five at-bats. 

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Josh Willingham hit 29 home runs for the Oakland A’s in 2011. Tuesday night he hit a walk-off home run for the Minnesota Twins that defeated the A’s.

It was a pitchers duel for most of the night but in the seventh inning, the Oakland A’s looked like they might pull off the victory after they broke through for a run and followed it up in the eighth inning with another run.

The Twins were shut out for eight innings and broke out in the ninth to defeat the A’s 3-2.

Brian Fuentes came in to close the game for Oakland and allowed a single to the first batter he faced. He walked the next batter, Denard Span, but was then able to get two outs before he had to face Willingham.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and trailing 2-0, Willingham smashed a three-run walk-off home run to hand the A’s their seventh straight loss.

The A’s are reeling and are now 7-14 since losing Yoenis Cespedes on May 7 to a strained hand muscle.

The A’s are hoping that their slugger can return soon and if all goes well he will be penciled in the lineup on Friday.

Oakland will finish their series up in Minnesota on Wednesday before having an off day on Thursday. Their road trip continues to Kansas City on Friday, hopefully with Cespedes’ present, it will provide a boost this team desperately needs.

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The task of catching the Texas Rangers has just become more difficult for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as they were forced to place Jered Weaver on the 15-day disabled list.

The move happens less than 24 hours after Weaver was forced to leave the game against the New York Yankees.

Paul Severino of MLB Network tweeted the news on Tuesday, 

#Angels have placed Jered Weaver on the 15-day DL with lower back strain with spasms.

— Paul Severino (@SeverinoMLB) May 29, 2012

 

The Angels have called up Garrett Richards from Triple-A Salt Lake in the corresponding move and he will likely start in place of Weaver.

Initially many felt the injury was to his leg, but after the game trainers hinted that it involved his back. Now we know he has suffered a strain and is experiencing spasms in his lower back.

Anaheim will have a difficult time filling the void left by Weaver, especially considering that Roy Oswalt agreed to terms with the Rangers earlier on Tuesday, according to Ken Rosenthal.

The Angels were just beginning to make waves in the AL West as they are winners of seven straight games. It will be interesting to see if they are able to continue their hot streak as they try to keep things close with the division leading Rangers.

Weaver brought a 6-1 record and a 2.61 ERA into Monday’s game before his departure.

There is no timetable on his return at this moment.

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The magic continues this season for the New York Mets.

The Mets have watched Johan Santana pitch great all season long, but Santana has had issue with run support and had only one win to show for his efforts just past the quarter mark of the 2012 season.

Santana made sure that there would be no variables—such as a lack of run support or a blown lead by the bullpen—that would cost him the game against the San Diego Padres on Saturday.

Santana pitched a masterful four-hit shutout while striking out seven and not issuing a walk. The four hits were all singles.

The shutout was his first since August 12, 2010, and his first since coming back from his 2010 shoulder surgery.

It was his 14th career complete game and ninth shutout of his career.

“Any time you pitch a complete game, it’s a good feeling. It’s not easy to do,” Santana said after the game.

Santana is pivotal to the Mets’ success as the season progresses. If New York wants to remain competitive for the NL East crown, he will have to step up and stay healthy.

The southpaw is clearly on track in 2012 and feels healthy. 

With the win, the Mets remarkably find themselves in second place in the NL East, sitting 2.5 games behind the surprising Washington Nationals. 

The Mets finish up their series with the Padres on Sunday before welcoming the last place Philadelphia Phillies to Citi Field for a three-game set beginning Monday, May 28.

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The Washington Nationals called up Chien-Ming Wang earlier this week with intentions of using him out of the bullpen and keeping him on a starter’s schedule.

Although he is not starting games right now for the Nats, he was able to record his first win of the year in his first game that he has pitched in this season.

After taking over for Ross Detwiler in the fifth inning, Wang pitched three innings of one-run ball and was on the winning end of the decision. 

The Nationals scored four runs in the first and held off the Atlanta Braves as they chipped away the rest of the game. 

Leading 4-3 in the seventh, the Nats broke out for three more runs to give them some breathing room.

They held on to win the game 7-4 to keep their division foes at bay in the NL East and give Wang his first win of the season.

Wang can certainly be valuable to this team down the road. 

If Stephen Strasburg truly does get shut down around 160 innings, then Wang can fill in for him or if the man he took over for on Friday, Detwiler, struggles, then it will be Wang who gets the call to replace him in the rotation.

The Nats are lucky to have a quality arm coming out of the pen right now to eat up innings and pick up their starters.

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The Washington Nationals are being cautious with Ryan Zimmerman since his DL stint earlier this season.

Zimmerman was originally in the lineup on Tuesday but was scratched after manager Davey Johnson forced him to sit according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.

Ryan Zimmerman dealing w some soreness in the same area of his shoulder, AC joint. Davey forced him to sit. Will play tom. Team offday Thurs

— Amanda Comak (@acomak) May 23, 2012

This soreness gives the Nats and their fans a bit of a reason to be concerned.

It does not look like another trip to the DL will be in order, but a season of soreness might be. Zimmerman is going to have to find a way to work through the pain and try to have a productive season.

Since his return from the DL, Zimmerman is hitting .273 with one home run in 55 at-bats. His average is actually better since his return, as he is hitting only .248 over the entire season. The soreness is clearly causing his performance to suffer considering he is a career .288 hitter.

The Nationals will hold their breath as the season continues but hopefully this is something that he can work through and get back to the hitter that the Nats expect him to be.

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The Washington Nationals bullpen appears to be in trouble and Chien-Ming Wang is on his way to the MLB to provide some help.

The Nats have been without Drew Storen all season and Adam Kilgore has reported that they will now be without reliever Ryan Mattheus:

Nats announce they placed Ryan Mattheus on the DL and activated Chien-Ming Wang.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) May 22, 2012

Mattheus has a partial tear of plantar fascia and is now on the 15-day DL. Mattheus has six holds this season and has a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings to go along with 13 strikeouts.

The Nats will send Wang to the bullpen to provide depth and support to the depleted pen. Brad Lidge is still on the DL and Henry Rodriguez continues to struggles, so the Nats will take any help they can get.

The Nationals went to set-up man Tyler Clippard to finish the game and record his first save on Tuesday night.

The addition of Wang will help the Nats and provide some depth out of the bullpen.

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The Washington Nationals have a problem when it comes to their starting pitching.

They have too many worthy starters. It is certainly a decent problem to have for any major league ballclub.

With Chien-Ming Wang looming in the minors and his rehab stint nearing its end, the Nats are going to have to decide which of their overachieving starters will have to take the fall and move to the bullpen. 

Manager Davey Johnson shed some light on the topic on Saturday.

Amanda Comak, the Nationals beat writer for the Washington Times tweeted, 

Davey said today that he will most likely put Chien-Ming Wang in the bullpen when he’s ready to return to the active roster. #nats

— Amanda Comak (@acomak) May 19, 2012

The move will allow for Ross Detwiler (3-2, 2.75 ERA) to remain in the rotation for the Nats. Comak also reported that Wang will “work out of the bullpen on a starter’s schedule,” and that the Nats “would be mindful of his time to warm up.”

The abundance of starting pitching will allow the Nats the option to shut down Stephen Strasburg later in the year when he approaches the highly anticipated 160 innings mark. 

Whether or not Wang waits around in the bullpen until that point in the season will be determined as the summer progresses. 

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