Never mind the Royal Wedding, the big news story of today is who will win Performance of the Week award?
Contenders
We can go back to last Sunday for two excellent pitching performances. Roy Halladay (surprise, surprise) was simply dominating against the San Diego Padres, striking out 14 batters as the Phillies won 3-1. Doc gave up a run in the ninth inning and was taken out of the game with one out remaining, giving him some room for improvement in his next start tomorrow against the New York Mets. The Rays’ James Shields went the full nine innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing just four hits and two walks in a complete game shut-out.
There were two more complete game shut-outs pitched on Monday. Jered Weaver and Ian Kennedy both went the distance while striking out ten, but Kennedy’s achievement was slightly more impressive because:
- he gave up three hits to Weaver’s seven
- Weaver’s performance came against the A’s, so bitterness compels me to downgrade him
- Kennedy also became a father for the first time on the previous day.
The Florida Marlins’ Chris Coghlan had a good day at the plate on Monday, going deep twice in a 3-for-4 performance. Adam Lind, Jack Hannahan, Wilson Ramos, David Ross and Todd Helton all got a pair of homers on Tuesday, while Lance Berkman continued the trend in a satisfying night back in Houston yesterday, going 4-for-5 with 5 RBIs. Â
My pickÂ
But topping all of the above was Ben Zobrist’s performance yesterday against the Minnesota Twins. The Rays and Twins played a double-header and Zobrist took full advantage of the playing time. He went a combined 7-for-10, launching a homer in each game, scoring five runs and and driving in ten, including an eight-RBI showing in the first game (live on ESPN America).
And to cap it all off, he summed up his day in an unassuming manner, joking that “this must be what it’s like to feel like Sam Fuld”.