ESPN.com presents tmi-mlb http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb 60 en-us Wed, 16 May 2012 12:59:27 webmaster@espn.go.com http://assets.espn.go.com/i/espn/teamlogos/lrg/trans/espn_dotcom_black.gif 110 110 (The Tampa Bay Rays host the Boston Red Sox, Wednesday at 7 ET on ESPN.) The American League’s most methodical starting pitchers will oppose each other in St. Petersburg: the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson and Boston’s Clay Buchholz. This season, Hellickson has averaged 24.4 seconds between pitches, second in the American League among starters behind Buchholz, who averages more than 25 seconds between pitches. In fact, Boston’s starting pitchers haven’t been shy about taking their time on the mound.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43717/buchholz-benefits-from-great-run-support Wed, 16 May 2012 11:47:20 EDT 43717 Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty ImagesAfter dropping his first six starts of the season, Ervin Santana has turned the corner and won his last two games.Earlier this season, Ervin Santana couldn’t get any run support. Against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, he took matters into his own hands. Santana started the season by losing his first six starts. His 5.59 ERA in that span didn’t help, but the Los Angeles Angels offense made picking up wins impossible.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43710/angels-flip-script-in-shutout-of-athletics Wed, 16 May 2012 00:50:32 EDT 43710 AP Photo/Chris Carlson Matt Kemp was just the third player to bat .400 with 10+ HR and 25+ RBI in April, joining Larry Walker in 1997 and Tony Perez in 1970. The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring after Monday night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Kemp's absence will certainly be felt offensively. Kemp saw his MLB-leading active streak of 399 games played come to an end Monday, and while his production decreased this month, his early-season performance was impressive.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43674/kemps-impact-will-be-missed-by-dodgers Tue, 15 May 2012 15:02:13 EDT 43674 Jim Rogash/Getty ImagesJon Lester tossed his second complete game of the season as the Red Sox won their season-high fourth straight home game.Jon Lester narrowly missed out on tossing his first shutout since 2008, but he did manage his second complete game of the year as the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 6-1. The win was the fourth straight at home for the Red Sox after starting the season with a 4-11 record at Fenway Park. It’s their longest home winning streak since taking nine in a row last July.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43649/working-hard-helps-lester-down-mariners Tue, 15 May 2012 00:14:27 EDT 43649 Jeff Hanisch/US PresswireRyan Dempster brings a 1.02 ERA to St. Louis on "Monday Night Baseball," where he's looking to pick up his first win of the season.The major league leader in ERA takes the hill Monday when Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs visit the St. Louis Cardinals (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET). Dempster has allowed just four earned runs in five starts -- a 1.02 ERA -- but is 0-1. The Cubs have lost all of Dempster's starts, scoring a total of eight runs in the five games.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43627/sliders-key-on-monday-night-baseball Sun, 13 May 2012 22:36:05 EDT 43627 Getty ImagesJered Weaver is looking to improve to 6-0 for the second-straight season, but Josh Hamilton and the Texas Rangers stand in his way.Hammer time comes to Sunday Night Baseball (8 ET, ESPN) as Josh Hamilton and the Texas Rangers host the Los Angeles Angels in the rubber match of their three-game series. Hamilton has already had quite a week, with nine home runs and 15 RBI in six games. With a home run on Sunday, he can become the first player with 19 home runs in his team’s first 35 games of a season.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43622/weaver-looks-to-slow-hamilton-rangers Sun, 13 May 2012 14:58:19 EDT 43622 AP Photo/Tony GutierrezJosh Hamilton tied an MLB record with his 18th homer in the Rangers' 34th game Saturday.Josh Hamilton homered for the ninth time in his past six games Saturday, sending C.J. Wilson’s 80 mph curveball into the right-field seats in the sixth inning of the Texas Rangers' 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. One key to Hamilton’s power surge has been his ability hit breaking balls out of the yard. After Saturday, Hamilton now has seven home runs on breaking balls this season, already his most in any season since joining the Rangers in 2008.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43613/breaking-down-hamilton%e2%80%99s-homer-barrage Sat, 12 May 2012 22:31:14 EDT 43613 Chris Chambers/Getty Images Andrew Luck was the first of eight offensive players drafted by the Colts. It generally takes a few years to properly judge an NFL draft class since picks need time to develop. There are some though who hope their team’s draft provides a quick fix to a position or to an entire unit. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case. Five teams used at least 75 percent of their draft picks on one side of the ball in this year’s draft.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43600/little-payoff-from-unbalanced-draft-classes Sat, 12 May 2012 17:23:04 EDT 43600 Kevin Jairaj/US PresswireRookie Yu Darvish and the Rangers will get their first look at Albert Pujols in an Angels uniform.The American League West was supposed to be a two-team race between the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels. However, not only are the Angels in last place in the West, but they are seven games behind the first-place Rangers. The series begins Friday with C.J. Wilson making his return to Texas after signing the largest free agent contract by a starting pitcher in the offseason.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43581/darvishs-curveball-is-almost-unhittable Fri, 11 May 2012 15:16:43 EDT 43581 The Memphis Grizzlies face elimination Friday (ESPN, 9 ET) in Game 6 of their NBA playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, but the Grizzlies might be convinced that they’re the better team and should force this series back to Memphis for a Game 7. The Grizzlies have outscored L.A. 478-465, and the Clippers have been in the lead only 82 of the 254 total minutes in this series. And that was before injuries to Clippers stars Blake Griffin and Chris Paul made them game-time decisions for this matchup.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/tmi-mlb/post/_/id/43557/grizzlies-dominate-stats-but-not-series Fri, 11 May 2012 13:52:23 EDT 43557