MLB

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu told the media that he thought Ken Griffey Jr. was starting to get his groove back. Last night was the perfect indication that he was right.

Ken Griffey Jr. slammed a pinch-hit home run in the eighth to tie the game at three. It was a classic shot by Junior that sent the Safeco crowd into a frenzy. He hit it seven-rows deep over the right-centerfield wall on the first pitch off D'Backs reliever Tony Pena

There’s one thing the Phillies loss did last night, it made it easy to find my car.

When Jack Taschner replaced Antonio Bastardo after seven innings of five-hit, four-run baseball, it didn’t take long for the reliever to clear the stands.

On this Father's Day weekend, all of our thoughts turn to our dads, the shapers of so much in our lives. The lucky ones will get to hug their dads and perhaps share a silly card.

Others like me, whose fathers have passed on, can only cling to the memories of Father's Days past.

For all of us, fathers have played an instrumental role in or lives, guiding us in our growing up years and instilling important values along the way. 

Marcus Thames is "country strong." He showed that Friday night, clubbing two home runs, leading the Tigers to a 10-4 rain-shortened victory over Milwaukee.

After Armando Galarraga yielded a three-run bomb to Prince Fielder in the first, it was Thames who responded with a two-run shot off Braden Looper in the bottom of the inning to get the Tigers back into the game.

Filed:June 19th, 2009

Ryan Theriot is mauled by teammates after his game-winning single (Cubbie Nation)

Click here for the photo gallery of Friday's game.

Steven Tolleson, I'm willing to bet Twins fans have ever even heard the name.  In fact he is so unheard of that Getty Images doesn't even have a photo of the guy.  However, while looking through the Twins stat lines for their minor league affiliates one day I came across an impressive line attached to this name.  The killer part is, he's a shortstop. 

When Randy Johnson got back-to-back strikeouts of Michael Young and Andruw Jones to get out of the first inning, you couldn't help but to feel optimistic about the what lied in store, if you are a San Francisco Giants fan.

After Aaron Rowand led off the home half of the first inning with his seventh home run of the season, you could just feel that it was the Giant's night. 

Before the first pitch, any analytical baseball mind would have predicted a tough evening for the Giants. 

Kenshin Kawakami quietly won the match-up between the former Japanese aces at Fenway Park on Friday night, leading the Braves to an 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.

It was quiet from Kawakami's perspective as he recorded his first four outs of the game on strikeouts of Dustin Pedroia, J. D. Drew, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz.

It was anything but quiet while Daisuke Matsuzaka was on the mound.

In the summer leading up to the 2007 Major League Baseball season, the Boston Red Sox put 50 million dollars on the table just to speak to a pitcher from Japan. Reports of a pitch known as the "gyro" ball infatuated every baseball fan from coast to coast.

The deal was completed and Daisuke "Dice-K" Matsuzaka was brought to the Red Sox with open arms from The Nation.

His first season went by looking very average and not close to worth the money.  He went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA.