Kuzul

Barry Zito seems to have discovered a dominance over the St. Louis Cardinals recently.The last time Zito took the mound against St. Louis, the San Francisco Giants were in dire straights. Giants fans will remember that game.  It was game five of the 2012 National League Championship Series against the Cardinals where the Giants found themselves trailing St. Louis three games to one. On the road for game five, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Cardinals would beat up on the Giants' lefty who had received so much criticism after signing a seven-year, $126 million contract in 2007.  The Cardinals were the hot team.  The Giants were not.Yet Zito's performance during game five was nothing short of incredible.  He pitched 7.2 innings of shutout baseball against the Cardinals and even contributed at the plate (mercurynews.com).  The Giants then soared after the must-win game, eventually going on to defeat St. Louis ...

Usually there isn’t much hype for the Boston Red Sox’s first game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but with John Farrell making his first appearance in Toronto since he left the Canadian organization, there were plenty of storylines. Aside from Farrell’s return, it marked the first time the Red Sox would face the recently restocked Blue Jays. The Red Sox managed to go on the road and get their third win of the season. Here is my "Three Up, Three Down" for Boston's first game against the Blue Jays.Begin Slideshow

Friday night was the much-anticipated debut of Zack Greinke in Dodger blue, and it went very well.  He pitched 6.1 strong innings, striking out six and allowing just two hits without conceding any walks. Greinke dominated a Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that has some high-end talent in it, led by last year’s third-place finisher in the NL MVP race, Andrew McCutchen, who was held to just one hit. There was some trepidation on the part of the Dodgers heading into the outing because Greinke had been struggling with some elbow inflammation during spring training.  Indeed, he made only 92 pitches, despite the fact that he was cruising through the game. He was as sharp as can be expected in his first start, locating his fastball well and generally staying around the strike zone.  He began the game with his fastball velocity hovering around 91 or 92 and mixed in his mid-70s ...

Mike Minor carried the Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.  Justin Upton hit another home run, and Evan Gattis had three hits in the victory.Minor (1-0), who made waves at the beginning of last season by demanding a spot in the Braves' rotation, got his year off on the right foot with 7.1 innings of solid pitching.  He allowed five hits and one earned run.  Mike could very well find himself as the ace of this staff if he continues to pitch like he did during the second half of 2012.  And although he struck out seven in this game, he doesn't even need a high K rate to be successful.  He just has to keep the ball in the yard.Justin Upton got the crowd going early with a laser shot into the left ...

The Cincinnati Reds clobbered the Washington Nationals 15-0 Friday night to take home their third win of the young MLB season.The Reds sent right-hander Homer Bailey to the mound, while the Nationals starter Dan Haren made his team debut.The Reds spoiled Haren's debut and sent a major statement to the baseball world following their 2-1 series victory over the Angels with Friday's barn-burner over the Nats. OffenseThe offensive attack was a balanced one as 11 different Reds collected hits, including five multi-hit efforts.Four different Reds hit home runs, including two, two-home-run games from Zack Cozart and Todd Frazier.Shin-Soo Choo also contributed a home run, as did Xavier Paul, whose pinch-hit grand slam gave the team a 14-0 lead in the seventh inning.The team totaled six home runs, one shy of their record while playing at Great American Ball Park.The star of the Reds' offensive effort though was Frazier.Frazier logged five at-bats Friday ...

The Braves started off the 2013 season on the right foot with a 7-5 victory over Philadelphia.And the atmosphere at Turner Field was electric. The offseason acquisitions of B.J. and Justin Upton created a buzz around the Braves, and fans were even more excited when they learned Chipper Jones would be throwing out the first pitch. While Atlanta's lineup may be tested throughout the year, Opening Day was all positives. Home runs from Freddie Freeman, Dan Uggla and Justin Upton brought Braves fans to their feet. And how pretty was Justin Upton's swing?Hopefully this will be a sign of plenty more power from the Braves throughout the season.Tim Hudson pitched well until running out of gas in the fifth inning, giving up two runs before being pulled.  We may just have to get used to this situation with Tim, he's already up ...

The Detroit Tigers showed the Minnesota Twins and the rest of the American League what they can expect all season with a 4-2 Opening Day victory.The Tigers got timely hits, manufactured runs, unveiled the closer-by-committee experiment and as expected, got outstanding starting pitching from the ace, Justin Verlander.Led by Prince Fielder, the Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the season's first inning and never looked back.Take a look at my breakdown of the Tigers' season-opening win:Begin Slideshow

A lot of questions confronted the Philadelphia Phillies as they headed into spring training.  Would their aging stars bounce back from long stints on the disabled list and regain their effectiveness?  Would those who had avoided the DL be able to avoid Father Time for one more year?  Would youngsters come up and fill voids left by core players departing?With Opening Day less than two weeks away, the answers to those questions are going to finally start being answered.  Some are already sharpening into focus.This weekend, my girlfriend and I have jetted down from the New York Metro area to Clearwater, Florida, to soak in some spring matchups.  Here are some eyewitness takes on some of the team's biggest issues after Friday's win against the Braves, from the health of men like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley to general news and notes.Begin Slideshow

Thanks to six innings from southpaw Wandy Rodriguez and a home run from Carlos Santana, the Dominicans were able to pull off a 2-0 victory against Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and earn a trip to San Francisco.The game was destined to be a close one from the get-go. A pitcher's duel was in full swing until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Santana cranked a homer to right field off of Puerto Rico's Orlando Roman.The Dominican Republic got some insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning as well, when catcher Francisco Peña's single scored Erick Aybar from third base.The closest Puerto Rico got to scoring a run was when infielder Irving Falu stole second and advanced to third on a Santana throwing error in the third inning. Falu, who replaced an injured Carlos Rivera, was thrown out at home by Aybar when Jesus Feliciano grounded ...

After barely surviving the opening round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the United States is back in action on Tuesday night against Puerto Rico to begin Pool 2 play. The game highlights a three-game schedule for Day 11. Also in action was the Netherlands, facing Japan for seeding purposes one day after upsetting Cuba to earn a spot in the semifinals. The day's other game features Italy and the Dominican Republic in each nation's Pool 2 opener.Here's a recap of all the action on Day 11, which will be updated throughout the day as the results roll in from Miami, where the second-round games are taking place in Team USA's group.  Japan Defeats the Netherlands, 10-6Japan took another positive step in its quest to win a third consecutive World Baseball Classic championship by withstanding a late rally from the Netherlands. The victory secures the top seed out of Pool ...