And That Happened

If they’re only going to throw four games up at us on a perfectly wonderful May evening, we’re going to have to seriously investigate expansion . . .

Braves 8, Mets 3: As a Braves fan, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Atlanta break things open in the seventh inning. As a baseball fan, seeing Johan Santana get boned by his teammates once again is beyond depressing. The guy has given up four earned runs all year yet here he is at 4-2. He wasn’t exactly unhittable last night, but he certainly deserved a better fate. As for Atlanta, hey, how about Martin Prado batting third! Bobby: it didn’t hurt last night, but please, let’s not make a habit of it, OK? And can someone please get Derek Lowe to some kind of specialist? I understand why he usually looks all sweaty and splotchy — baseball is played in the summer and everything and, like me, he’s a native Michigander who just can’t handle heat — but last night it was in the mid-50s at game time and he looked like he had just run a 10K in Houston in August. He looks like the kind of guy who’s sweaty 97% of his life.

Indians 9, White Sox 4: I had the choice of watching either Lowe vs. Santana in the Mets-Braves game on ESPN or this game on STO. Which do you think I chose? Jhonny Peralta goes 3-5 with 3 RBI. I guess those hits to the opposite field the past couple of games were a good sign, huh? The starters in this one — Carl Pavano and Gavin Floyd — combined for 12 runs on 21 hits in 11 and a third. Pavano wins his third start in a row, by the way, with an ERA of 6.45, which is totally fair in light of all that Santana has dealt with.

Giants 11, Nationals 7: Number 298 for the Unit even though he didn’t pitch particularly well. Facing perhaps the worst starting pitcher in baseball in Daniel Cabrera will do that for you. At this rate, one wonders if Johnson might just notch 300 and call it a career with a nice round number. In other news Ryan Zimmerman extends his streak to 29 in classic style, hitting two homers.

Reds 13, Diamondbacks 5: Willie Tavaras goes 5-5 and the Reds’ offense picks up Bronson Arroyo who has his third cruddy start in four outings.