It was aces galore around Major League baseball on Wednesday. If you had Wednesday's starting pitchers as a poker hand in a high stakes game against the Devil, you'd say confidently, “I bet my soul on this hand.” Unfortunately, he'd pull a royal flush out of his goat ass and you'd burn for eternity. What a rube you are, trusting the Devil. Matter of fact, I've got a bridge to sell you. It's the London Bridge and it's in Arizona for some reason.
There were many exciting match-ups Wednesday; Halladay/Johnson, Santana/Strasburg, Verlander/Shields, Lester/Romero, Lincecum/Guthrie, Sabathia/Arrieta. How'd your favorite ace fair?
The best match-up of the night was Roy Halladay versus Josh Johnson. The NL East old guard versus the flashy upstart with the big free agent acquisitions, new ballpark and pro-dictatorship manager. Roy Halladay was good. Surprising, right? He got the win with 7 IP, 3K and 1 ER. Josh Johnson was not good. 6 ER in only 3 and 2/3 IP. Sad trombone.
Stephen Strasburg went 6 IP with 0 ER and 9K earning a win for the Nationals against the Mets. Johan Santana went 5 IP with 1 ER and 8 K in the losing effort. Blame this one on the Mets listless bats and bullpen.
Have Justin Verlander on your team? Tweet your disdain to Jim Leyland, who left Verlander in one inning too long, turning an 8 IP, 1 hit, 7 K potential shutout into a 4 ER day and a 4-2 loss for Detroit. Just kidding, Jim Leyland doesn't have a Twitter account. It's funny to imagine him in a cloud of Marlboro Reds smoke, staring at a typewriter, wondering how to “follow” Justin Bieber, though.
Jon Lester threw 116 pitches in a complete game, 3 ER, 6 K loss, because the Red Sox have apparently decided all baseball seasons begin in May and end in August. Ricky Romero went 8.1 IP with 1 ER and 5 K for the Blue Jays, before giving way to new closer Sergio Santos, who stranded the two runners he inherited and recorded his first save of the season.
Is Tim Lincecum jealous of Matt Cain's extension? He only lasted 2.1 IP against the Rockies, giving up 6 ER. Maybe it was just one of those days though, since the Rockies went on to win 17-8. It was a good day to own Rockies hitters. Carlos Gonzalez was the best of them, with 3 hits, 4 runs and 4 RBI. Oddly, the Rockies scored 17 runs, without hitting any home runs.
CC Sabathia went 6 IP with 4 ER and 8 K, failing to earn a decision. The Yankees did get the win in the tenth inning, thanks to Nick Swisher's 2 run HR and Mariano's 2nd save of the season.
Some other notable happenings. Peter Bourjous hit an inside the park home run, when Josh Willingham misplayed his wall ball. The last unbeaten team, the Diamondbacks, lost to the Padres. The last winless team, the Twins, got on the plus side of the ledger, beating the Angels 6-5. Alex Gordon finally got a hit, 2 actually. The A's beat the Royals when Jonathon Broxton hit Jonny Gomes with the bases loaded in the 12th inning. Gomes took a game winning HBP last season too. He learned clutch hitting from Homer Simpson. Buster Posey was out of the starting lineup with shingles. What the hell is that, like leprosy or something? Gross. Bruce Bochy sent him in to pinch hit but he should have sent him to Molokai instead.
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Written by Ryan Coombs exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Follow Ryan on Twitter @RMCoombs.
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