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Brad Penny pitched six scoreless innings Thursday but could be out of Boston soon.
It was supposed to be the night John Smoltz would pitch his final rehab outing for Triple-A Pawtucket, and he figured to pitch well enough to force the team to promote him next week. Meanwhile, in the majors, Brad Penny, with his bloated ERA, faced the Yankees, a team that had been embarrassed this season against their longtime rivals and had ace CC Sabathia on the mound.
It figured to be a tough night for Penny, especially with trade rumors running rampant about his future. Penny, though, pitched well in six scoreless innings, and a late comeback for the Red Sox made it nine straight wins -- eight this season -- against the Yankees. Smoltz's outing was rained out.
The Red Sox recently weren't hiding the fact a healthy Smoltz likely would be activated from the DL to face the Marlins on Tuesday, but Penny hasn't been traded yet, and now he has had his best outing of the season. Smoltz now isn't likely to pitch for Boston on Tuesday. If not Penny, who will Smoltz end up replacing, and when will this happen?
Penny wasn't pitching for his job, despite a 5.85 ERA. He was 5-2 and the Red Sox figured to extract every bit of value out of him they could. Certainly tossing six shutout frames against the Bronx Bombers will help Penny's value on the trade market, but doesn't it seem odd a first-place team would be dealing a starting pitcher who won 16 games in 2006 and 2007 just to make room for someone else?
Penny threw a season-high 117 pitches Thursday, walking one and striking out five, and when he left after six innings he was outdueling Sabathia, who allowed a David Ortiz home run. Manny Delcarmen would blow the lead, but Sabathia gave it all back and took the loss.
If Smoltz pitches well on Friday night, a day later than expected, there might be no keeping him down on the farm. He is, after all, a potential Hall of Famer and the Red Sox have only two starting pitchers secure in their spots, in Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. The question is whether Penny's rotation spot is up for grabs. Tim Wakefield and his famed knuckleball didn't have a great May (6.82 ERA), while Daisuke Matsuzaka has one win in six outings, with a 7.33 ERA and 2.11 WHIP. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Matsuzaka suddenly ends up on the DL with a hamstring problem.
Fantasy owners have pretty much made their choice, as Smoltz is owned in 18.7 percent of ESPN standard leagues, while Penny is at 11.9 percent. Most will argue Smoltz is a wise addition to fantasy rosters at this point, but on a rainy Thursday night in the northeast, it certainly seems like Penny could be as well.
Previous editions: June 11: Verlander dominant again | June 10: Nats tab Strasburg
• The Angels are having tough times in their rotation. On the night Ervin Santana got tagged for six earned runs -- the third time in four starts he's been torched -- the team announced Kelvim Escobar is suffering a lack of stamina in his pitching shoulder and will move him to the bullpen. Escobar allowed two runs in five innings in his first start of the season over the weekend in Detroit. Matt Palmer, 5-0 in seven starts, will return to the rotation, but don't expect his 4.06 ERA to go down. He's 30 and hardly a strikeout pitcher. As for Santana, his ERA is flying high at 7.47 and he certainly doesn't come recommended in fantasy. With John Lackey also having troubles, the Angels are a mess.
• Edwin Jackson had been so efficient during the past month, it's surprising to see him get through only five innings, but that's all he could do Thursday. Jackson allowed only two runs, but four walks got him pulled early. While it wasn't an awful outing, it was probably Jackson's worst in eight starts. Then again, Zack Greinke doesn't seem to be Zack Greinke of old, so fantasy owners should be happy these guys are getting touched up.
• Ryan Dempster pitched well enough to win, allowing one run in seven strong innings, but he was trailing when he left and earned another no-decision. Most fantasy owners seemed to expect Dempster's stats to come down to earth this season, but he has allowed one earned run total in his past three starts, lowering his ERA from 4.99 to 3.87. His wins are down thanks to a lack of run support, but he's on pace for another fine season.
• The Diamondbacks' Chris Young hit a pair of doubles and stole his ninth base, and while he's certainly not on ESPN's most-added list with a .184 batting average, did you know that his average is its highest in nearly a month? Hey, it's a start. Young has drawn seven walks in his past eight games, nearly half his season total, so at least that's a sign of progress. And we know he's got power and can run.
• It took Max Scherzer quite a while to earn his first major league victory, but it seems he likes the feeling. Scherzer shut out the Giants for 7 2/3 innings on three hits to win for the third time in four decisions. Other than a miserable eight-run outing against the Braves to end May, Scherzer has pitched well for the past month, with three scoreless outings. Did I mention he has 69 strikeouts in 67 innings? He should be owned in all leagues, but he isn't.
• The problem with Orioles outfielder/DH Luke Scott used to be hitting lefties. His 14th home run of the season came Thursday off Garrett Olson, meaning half his home runs have come off southpaws! In fact, Raul Ibanez is the only lefty hitter in baseball to have more home runs than Scott off lefties this season. Ibanez hit his eighth (of 21 this season) in extra innings off Ken Takahashi. Scott is legit; he's not Ibanez, but he's hitting all pitchers now, with 10 homers in 17 games and on pace for 47 home runs overall.
• Closer roundup: Huston Street picked up his 12th save, but he didn't make it easy after allowing a three-run home run to Ryan Braun. The men on base weren't his. Street has blown only one save all season. … Bobby Jenks of the White Sox blew his second save, serving up a two-run homer to Curtis Granderson, but Joel Zumaya couldn't get an out in the bottom of the ninth and Jenks "earned" the win. A busy Zumaya has two wins, a loss and a hold since Sunday. … LaTroy Hawkins celebrated what was likely his last day closing for a while by allowing a game-tying Derrek Lee home run in the ninth inning. The Astros won in 13 innings, and Jose Valverde is scheduled to come off his DL stint Friday and return to the closer role immediately. … Arizona's Chad Qualls is still dealing with forearm soreness, but he did close out Thursday's win to get his 13th save. The run he allowed was unearned. It appears he'll avoid a DL stint. … And in Washington, maybe Mike MacDougal isn't really the closer, even though manager Manny Acta said as much over the weekend. MacDougal did throw two innings Wednesday, but when the Nats took the lead Thursday into the ninth, Joe Beimel finished up. It was his first save. Washington's previous save came on May 24.
Ross Gload, Marlins
Of the 23 home runs hit across the majors on Thursday, Gload was the only fellow to hit two. Florida's reserve first baseman had hit one homer and had three extra-base hits all season, and last season in more than 400 plate appearances he slugged a poor .348. Gload doesn't play much, but even if he does, don't expect power like this. Ever.
Javier Vazquez, Braves
Despite bring the NL leader in strikeouts with 105, Vazquez just can't turn his fine pitching into wins. On Thursday, Vazquez fanned 12 Pirates and allowed one run on two hits in eight innings, but still couldn't win. Vazquez has a 3.31 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, but his record is 4-5. You don't pay for wins in fantasy, but everything else for pitchers. Vazquez is worth it.
On a night when 10 of the 14 games were decided by one run, and three went to extra innings, only four starting pitchers earned wins. Arizona's Max Scherzer (right) was the only one of the four (Kevin Millwood, Aaron Cook and Garrett Olson were the others) owned in more than 65 percent of ESPN leagues, at 89.3 percent. There's been only one other day this decade in which, with 10 or more games played, no more than four starters earned wins. That was Sept. 12, 2006, when Mike Mussina, Gil Meche and Runelvys Hernandez got victories.
• Tigers outfielder Clete Thomas hit a game-winning grand slam on Sunday. He batted third on Thursday. And now he's with Triple-A Toledo. Doesn't seem to add up, but Thomas wasn't having a great June, and Marcus Thames was stealing left field playing time. Still, to hit third and get demoted the same day? Middle infielder Donald Kelly was hitting .341 and gets promoted, but probably won't play much.
• Nick Punto came off the DL from his groin injury and the Twins should put him right to work on Friday at shortstop. Punto can run; he has five stolen bases this season. Alexi Casilla, having an awful season, was sent back to Triple-A Rochester.
• Finally, Pat Burrell was activated off the DL by the Rays and poor Matt Joyce was again sent to Triple-A Durham. Burrell should pick up regular at-bats as the designated hitter, and if healthy, he's a sleeper for power. Just check out his 2008. As for Joyce, he was 0-for-15 in the past week, so he can't really complain about the demotion.
• For pitching news, the Astros placed pitcher Felipe Paulino on the DL, a few days after he left Sunday's start in the second inning with a strained right groin. Paulino wasn't pitching well, but as one of the organization's better pitching prospects, he remains someone to watch. Russ Ortiz, who has made five starts this season and has a 3.48 ERA, will keep starting, but please, we beg you, look elsewhere in fantasy.
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AJ Mass: True, if not for the steals, he'd be way down on the list. That is what is keeping him so high in the fantasy rankings, and if HR is what you drafted him for, you're not happy. I see some improvement, but not a lot ... I'd trade him to a team in need of some speed from the OF in exchange for a little more "guaranteed pop."
-- Full chat transcript
Tristan H. Cockcroft: Certainly, Jay, I did. And Rasmus has been a pleasant surprise by my standards. That said, look at his full-year paces: .273 BA, 20 homers, 68 RBIs, 3 steals, 79 runs scored. Also, it's not like a lack of playing time is the issue; he's on track for 500 at-bats. Do those numbers excite you? They're good, but if I was pro-Rasmus in the preseason I'd be quite upset about the lackluster steals production. That's the biggest knock on him right now.
-- Full chat transcript
Friday's fantasy chat schedule:
Stephania Bell, 11 a.m. ET
James Quintong, 3 p.m. ET
• There are rumors the Marlins are shopping center fielder Cody Ross, which could mean Cameron Maybin is on his way back to the bigs. Maybin had two hits and two RBIs Thursday for Triple-A New Orleans, raising his average to .284. However, in 26 games he has one home run, three steals and most disappointing are the seven walks. Also of interest for the Zephyrs: Gaby Sanchez is playing third base, and hitting .330. With Emilio Bonifacio nothing special, Sanchez could be promoted sooner.
• A pair of former Phillies with a good shot to pitch again for the team combined on a six-hitter for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a 2-1 win against Charlotte. Andrew Carpenter raised his mark to 5-0, with a 2.75 ERA with seven strong innings, and Sergio Escalona picked up his first save. Carpenter made one start for the Phillies in May, and is seen as a back-of-the-rotation arm eventually, while Escalona is likely a left-handed specialist.
• Braves wunderkind Tommy Hanson didn't fare so well in his first outing, allowing seven runs to the Brewers, but he figures to do better in Baltimore against the Orioles. Hanson remains available in nearly two-thirds of ESPN leagues, but don't wait too long to get him.
• For more on Thursday's games, check out the Daily Notes.