Baseball

Jeff Karstens started his career as a Pittsburgh Pirate with six innings of shutout ball and a 3-0 victory against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field in August 2008. Last night, he did much of the same with a two-run 6.2 inning quality start against Milwaukee that ended in a 7-3 Pirates victory.

In Miller Park.

For the fourth time this season, Livan Hernandez put the Nationals on his back and carried them late into the game.

By doing that, he gave them a chance to earn a victory.

With early run support, Washington was able to do just that as they defeated the Cubs 3-1 and nipped a one game losing streak in the bud.

Throughout baseball, the aces of pitching staff's are called stoppers.

They are the pitchers who managers, general managers and fans feel comfortable putting in every fifth day to make sure that no losing streak gets out of control.

Looking at the image with this article, you see that Marcus Thames has great hitting mechanics. Hips opening for power, a stiff front leg, elbow tucked near the hip to keep the swing short and the bat rotating through the zone.

A good hitter who, on occasion, can really mash left handed pitching.

San Francisco Giants right fielder Nate Schierholtz had a tough Spring Training and fellow Giants outfielder John Bowker had a fabulous Spring.

But why should anyone care?

Spring Training means absolutely nothing and numerous Giants are currently verifying what should be an obvious notion.

Tim Lincecum had an ERA approaching seven during the exhibition season, while Todd Wellemeyer finished with an ERA in the mid-two's.

But did Lincecum lose his No. 1 spot in the rotation? No.

Did Wellemeyer move up in the rotation? No.

We’re putting our 162-game journey on hold Tuesday night, and instead Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight  is covering parts of several games. Here’s everything you need to know from last night’s action around the league:

Roy Halladay who?

The Boston Red Sox entered this season with one of, if not the best starting rotation in the major leagues.

The trio atop their pitching staff—Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey—was, on paper, deemed one of the best in baseball, possibly only second to the New York Yankees' three-headed monster of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte.

But the three Red Sox aces have done little to deserve their reputation around the league, combining to go 3-3 with an abysmal 6.18 ERA in the early going, which is a big reason for Boston’s struggles.

There comes a point during a long baseball season that a particular game proves to be the turning point of a season. Last June that proved to be the case on the wrong side for the Mets when Luis Castillo stumbled and dropped a Alex Rodriguez pop up in a 9-8 loss to the Yankees.

Even though 2009 was lost, that one moment began a total spiral out of control that left the Mets as a franchise twisting in the wind.

Fast forward to 2010.

David Wright became the youngest ever New York Met to reach 1,000 hits on Tuesday night when he lined an RBI single to right field off the Dodgers Ramon Troncoso in the fifth inning of the second half of a twi-night doubleheader.

Wright, who is 27 years and 127 days old, is the eighth Met with 1,000 career hits. He is also the fastest player to reach the milestone in a Mets jersey, recording the historic feat in his 868th career game.

After putting the finishing touches on a sweep of the Dodgers in a twi-night double-header on Tuesday night, the Mets (12-9) see themselves tied with the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

The Mets have taken eight of nine games on this current home stand, thanks to solid pitching, timely hitting, and even better pitching.

There are a lot of reasons to like this team. 

They have speed, they have defense, and surprisingly, they have pitching!  The starting rotation and bullpen have both pitched well beyond anyone's wildest expectations thus far.