If You Only Read One Thing…

Pitching dominated the 4^th of July across the MLB, as there were 13 pitchers that picked up a quality start. It was more of the same for Zack Grienke, as he has now reached 27.2 straight innings without allowing a run to score, as the Dodgers beat the Mets 4-3. David Price was great against a tough Toronto lineup with seven strikeouts over seven innings of one-run ball, and Clay Bucholz pitched a complete game, allowing one earned runn and striking out eight to pick up his seventh win on the year (fourth in a row). Felix Hernandez was the tough luck loser on Saturday, as he allowed just two runs in seven innings, although he did allow 10 hits. The loss drops Hernandez to 10-5 on the year, with his ERA falling below 3.00 and is now at 106 strikeouts on the year.

Just As We Expected…

The Dodgers are blessed with what is undoubtedly the best one-two combination in the league with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Grienke. The only problem is, it has been difficult to tell lately who the true number one is in Los Angeles. It is now at the point where it is to be expected that Grienke is going to throw a shutout and strike out a good number of hitters, and give the Dodgers a tremendous opportunity to win. He has gone 27.2 straight scoreless innings for the Dodgers, with his last earned run coming on June 13^th against the Padres. If he keeps this streak going after his next start, it will be over a month since the last run that he has allowed.

But We Didn’t See This Coming…

Clayton Richard was acquired by the Chicago Cubs on Friday from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and pitched on the 4^th of July at Wrigley Field where he would have a mighty fine outing. Richard would last 6.1 innings, give up eight hits and two runs, striking out four to pick up the win for the Cubs. I’m sure the Cubs got more out of him than they may have ever expected, considering how desperate they were to find a starter that could possibly give them a chance to win to replace Tsuyoshi Wada in their rotation. Richard will likely get another chance for the Cubs, with his next start likely coming on July 10^th against the White Sox.

Save Chances…

Glen Perkins, Tyler Clippard, David Robertson, Mark Melancon, Trevor Rosenthal all picked up a save Saturday. J.P. Howell also picked up the save, getting just the final out of the game on a night when Kenley Jansen got some time off to rest.