1. 30 Rocked: 30 is a nice round number, and that's where Andre Ethier's hitting streak ended on Saturday. Ethier went 0-for-4 in the Dodgers' 4-2 loss to the Mets, finishing one game short of tying Willie Davis' team record.
"I compare this to a bad breakup," he said. "It was a fun little ride."
Once again, 30 games is too high a hurdle for a streaking hitter to clear. Ethier joins Ryan Zimmerman (2009), Moises Alou (2007) and Willy Taveras (2006) in the "Couldn't Get to 31" club. Chase Utley was the last to extend a hitting streak past 30 games, reaching 35 in 2006.
2. Horseshoes and hand grenades: Justin Verlander almost had some company in Saturday's no-hitter headlines. The Brewers' Yovani Gallardo (who some dude picked to win the NL Cy Young Award) took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Cardinals before Daniel Descalso led off the frame with a single.�Gallardo also had a slim 1-0 margin to protect until the Brew Crew tacked on three insurance runs in the top of the ninth for a 4-0 win.
3. Feats of Fontenot: In what was probably the game of the night, Mike Fontenot's ninth-inning heroics led the Giants to their second straight walkoff win over the Rockies. In the top of the inning, Fontenot made a leaping catch on a Seth Smith line drive up the middle. And in the bottom of the ninth, he ended the game with a sacrifice fly to deep right field that scored Aaron Rowand for a 3-2 victory. With the win, the Giants are now two games behind the Rockies for first place in the NL West.
4. Squeezing out a win: Is there a more exciting play in baseball than a squeeze? The tension is further heightened when the other team knows it's coming. With the Rangers and Yankees tied 5-5 in the sixth inning, Ron Washington called for a squeeze, a play Julio Borbon had been itching to make. Joe Girardi even visited the mound beforehand to prepare his defense for it.
But with Mitch Moreland running home, Borbon laid down a bunt to the pitcher and the Rangers took the lead. Michael Young added a RBI single later in the inning (and homered earlier in the game), as Texas went on to win 7-5.
5. Is it the crab cakes? Appealing his two-game suspension for arguing with an umpire on Wednesday paid immediate dividends for B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays. MLB handed down the penalty (and $1,500 fine) on Saturday, but Upton immediately filed an appeal. He didn't want to miss out on hitting in Baltimore. Upton looked like the smart one after going 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in the Rays' 8-2 win over the Orioles.
For his career, Upton has a .291 average with nine homers and 27 RBIs at Camden Yards.
6. Kendrick kruises: Julio Teheran made his major league debut for the Braves, who needed a spot start after playing a doubleheader on Wednesday. But the Phillies knocked the rookie around for three runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings. Kyle Kendrick filled in for Roy Oswalt, who went on the DL Friday, and pitched five scoreless innings. Four others Phillies relievers pitched one shutout inning apiece, as Philadelphia won 3-0.
7. Fear the Hosmer: In just his second big league game, the Royals' Eric Hosmer was intentionally walked in the ninth inning as the Athletics preferred to pitch to Mike Aviles with the winning run on third base. Aviles made Bob Geren pay for the decision with a fly ball to left that was just deep enough for the speedy Jarrod Dyson to score on, and the Royals got a 4-3 walkoff win.
8. Halo losing luster: Jered Weaver lost his second straight game for the Angels, after winning his first six starts this season. Weaver also failed to record a strikeout for the first time since 2007 (spanning 120 appearances), as the Indians touched him up for four runs and seven hits over six innings. Making just his second major league start, Alex White allowed three runs over six innings, as the Indians won, 4-3.
9. Woe is Moseley: If Dustin Moseley is pitching, the San Diego Padres aren't scoring any runs. For the fourth time in his seven starts this season, the Padres were shutout in a game Moseley started, losing 6-0 to the Diamondbacks.
Actually, it's even worse than that. In only two of Moseley's outings has the Padres' lineup scored while he was still in the game. Overall, Moseley is receiving only 1.03 runs of support per start. Did he take the big locker in the clubhouse when he wasn't supposed to?
Photos via AP and Getty Images
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