Someone's still batting comfortably better than .400, a certain Giants reliever would do well never to pick up a bat again, and a certain Red Sox "ace" is still anything but ...
3 UP
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins - He hit a go-ahead grand slam off Jamie Moyer that tracked 438 feet and broke the Marlins Park scoreboard, which is quite new. Sure, he was just 1-for-4 on the night, but his blast was a critical one, and Stanton, despite the slow start, is now hitting .277/.348/.520 on the season. And he broke a scoreboard. With a pitch that didn't crack 80.
David Wright, Mets - Yes, the Mets lost. But Wright went 2-for-4 and is now batting .415 for the year. That is all.
Tyler Greene, Cardinals - When Greene stepped into the box with two out and one on in the eighth, the Cards trailed by one run and risked falling out of first place. So Greene turned on a 101-mph fastball from Andrew Cashner and crushed a home run to center. That turned out to be the margin of victory. Greene ended the night a triple shy of the cycle.
3 DOWN
Yu Darvish, Rangers - How bad was Darvish's outing on Monday? So bad he apologized for it. In 4.0 innings of work, Yu walked six and gave up five runs. His ERA for the season stands at 3.05, but inconsistency has defined him thus far.
Clay Buchholz, Red Sox - He's just … awful. Buchholz, after yet another dismal outing (5.1 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 4 BB) now has an ERA of 7.84. Never mind Albert Pujols, the most disappointing performer of 2012 has been Buchholz.
Santiago Casilla, Giants - Casilla worked 2.0 innings of scoreless relief and lowered his ERA to 1.45. So how could he possibly be one of 3 Down? Because circumstances reduced him to batting in the 14th inning, and this happened …
Full Monday scoreboard with box scores and recaps for all games
New beasts of the East: The Orioles may be in first place, but the Blue Jays and Rays are both presently in playoff position. After Monday night's Toronto win, just a half-game separate these two teams in the standings, and on Tuesday night they'll go at it again. Drew Hutchinson is coming off a strong outing, while Tampa Bay's Matt Moore continues to struggle to live up to the hype. 7:10 pm ET
Pitchers gonna pitch: One should never pass up the chance to watch a skilled knuckleballer. One should also not pass up the chance to watch a guy who's on a roll and who makes hay with an old-school 12-6 curve. That's why you should watch R.A. Dickey of the Mets oppose James McDonald of the Pirates. 7:05 pm ET
Blood feud: Presumably the Nationals' and Phillies' players don't harbor much animosity toward each other, but the fan bases in question certainly seem to. The series opener was a thriller, and Tuesday's offering could be, too, as Roy Halladay opposes Jordan Zimmerman. Every game counts, especially in the NL East, where everyone's a contender. 7:05 pm ET
Full Tuesday schedule with probables
• 42 minus one: Art Silber, owner of the minor-league Potomac Nationals, has long coached first base and worn number 42 to honor Jackie Robinson. Silber, a Brooklyn native, attended Robinson's historic major-league debut and had in mind the goal of becoming the last person to wear number 42. Now, though, Silber is stepping aside as a way to honor Mariano Rivera, who also wore 42 and who may be facing the end of his career. [MiLB.com]
• Nine minus eight: What are the three toughest outs in a game? The last three, right? Probably not. Like many bits of conventional wisdom, this one appears to be false. Joe Posnanski posits that the first three outs of a ballgame are the most challenging for a pitcher.
• Brewers want gold: As you may have heard, baseball is no longer an Olympic sport. The Milwaukee Brewers aren't particularly happy about that. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]
• Tim's trouble: Besides the reduced velocity, what's plaguing Tim Lincecum this season? Will Brinson suggests it might be the big inning.
• The wisdom of crowds: FanGraphs has completed its survey of the radio and TV broadcasts for every team. The rankings might surprise you.
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