Roy Halladay stole the show, tossing the second perfect game of 2010, but he was far from the only story on the day.
Kendry Morales may be out for three months after breaking his ankle in celebration of his walkoff grand slam.
Clay Buchholz out dueled Zack Greinke. Jay Bruce hit a pair of home runs. Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:
Hitters:
- Lyle Overbay (2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) – With Brett Wallace breathing down his neck, Overbay came up with a big performance when he desperately needed it. He entered the day hitting just .197 with 4 HR and 19 RBI, so at this one day likely doesn’t change anything. If he gets hot, that could change things, but for now the clock is still ticking.
- Kendry Morales (2-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R) – The home run was a game winning grand slam in the bottom of the tenth. Unfortunately, the moment turned into disaster. Morales needed to be carted off the field after injuring his ankle in the celebration. Now comes word that he may be out up to 10-12 weeks as surgery is needed to repair a broken ankle. Ouch… We’ll take a look at possible replacements from the waiver wire later today.
- Ramon Hernandez (4-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) – With Ryan Hanigan breaking his thumb, Hernandez is back in line for full-time AB. It looks like he’s primed to grab hold of that job and run with it, huh? He’s not likely to return to his 20+ HR days, but with regularly playing time he should have value in all two-catcher formats.
- Jay Bruce (3-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R) – He now has RBI in three straight games, with 3 HR over that span. He has the potential to get extremely hot at the plate and send balls flying over the fence at a tremendous rate. This could just be the beginning.
- John Jaso (2-4, 1 RBI) – The interesting note isn’t in his performance, but the fact that he started at DH, batting fifth. The Rays are now finding ways to keep his bat in the lineup and use him in the middle of the order. If you are in a two-catcher format, that’s really all you need to know. He should be owned in all two-catcher formats at this point.
- Seth Smith (3-5, 2 RBI, 1 R) – Are the Rockies going to be able to get this guy out of the lineup? He’s gone 6-15 with 3 HR, 6 RBI and 5 R over his last four games. If you are in a five-outfielder format, roll with him while he’s scorching hot. Unfortunately for Dexter Fowler owners, he needs to be on your bench, as he’s likely the odd man out for now.
- Buster Posey (3-4, 3 RBI) – What were the Giants waiting for? He may not be a home run machine, but the guy can hit and with catcher eligibility, should be owned in all formats. Now that he’s here, he’s likely here to stay.
Pitchers:
- Roy Halladay (9.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 11 K) – We already knew that he was the best pitcher in baseball, but he felt the need to go out and do something extra special. He outpitched Josh Johnson, who was no slouch (7 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K, though he allowed an unearned run). There’s just not much else to say. He’s something special.
- Joba Chamberlain (0.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K) – This was the exclamation point on what was a devastating loss for the Yankees. They led 10-4 at one point, but let it slip away. He had tossed back-to-back shutout appearances, but has now allowed 10 ER over his last 5 innings of work. He has the stuff to be a dominating middle reliever, but unless your league values that type of player he has just no value for fantasy owners.
- Chris Tillman (5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K) – He has a ton of talent and looked pretty good in his 2010 debut. Unfortunately, he pitches for the Orioles, which is certainly going to limit his potential fantasy value moving forward.
- C.J. Wilson (6.0 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K) – The bloom certainly appears to be off the rose, doesn’t it? He’s now given up 17 ER over his last three starts (16 innings). Hopefully you sold high on him when you could. His next start comes against TB, so he certainly should not be in your active lineup.
- Carlos Silva (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 11 K) – Wasn’t the trade that sent Silva to Chicago in exchange for Milton Bradley supposed to be a swap of bad contracts? Silva didn’t get the memo, as he’s now 7-0 with a 3.12 ERA. Did anyone possibly see this one coming? Amazingly, the luck wasn’t that favorable, either, entering with a .281 BABIP and 76.9% strand rate. Still, you have to think a regression is coming, don’t you?
- Brett Anderson (5.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K, W) – He came off the DL and appeared to have not missed a beat. We all know how good he could be, so make sure to get him back active in all formats.
- Clay Buchholz (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K, W) – Zack Greinke just can’t catch a break, can he? He allows 1 ER over 6 innings, yet once again takes a loss, falling to 1-6. Buchholz has now won four consecutive starts, allowing just 4 ER over 27.1 innings. He’s developed into a tremendous option, but with his next start coming in Baltimore, he’s that much better.
- Mat Latos (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K, W) – He continues to roll since getting beaten up by the Marlins back on April 26. Since then he hasn’t allowed more then 2 ER in a start and a grand total of 7 ER over 41 IP. He’s 4-1 over that span and clearly is a solid option in all formats. Unfortunately, his next start comes in Philadelphia against Roy Halladay.
What are your thoughts from yesterday’s games? Which ones caught your eye? And which ones did I miss?
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