Safe to say that they hold Konerko at third here.

White Sox 10, Royals 7

Moving the Needle: Carlos Quentin doubles in the go-ahead runs, +.660 WPA. Top of the ninth. Down one. Runners at the corners, and two outs. Joakim Soria dealt a fastball belt high and in to Quentin, but he jumped out ahead of it and drove it into the gap. The decision to pinch run Brent Lillibridge for Paul Konerko paid off handsomely, as the little guy chugged around third and beat the throw home. The lead wouldn’t last long, though, as Kila Ka’aihue hit an RBI double of his own in the bottom half. It wasn’t until the 12th that Brent Morel hit a bases loaded single to break the tie. In any case, Quentin also had another double and a homer on the day.

Notables

Juan Pierre: 3 for 6, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB. Notable, because 1) that’s a solid line, 2) he was the dee-freaking-h, and 3) despite the solid line, he still finished the game with -.055 WPA.

Also in this issue: Angels 5, Rays 1 | Pirates 3, Cardinals 1 | Rangers 7, Mariners 3 | Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 4 | Rockies 7, Dodgers 5 | Giants 8, Padres 4 | Indians 8, Red Sox 4 | Tigers 7, Orioles 3 | Phillies 10, Mets 7 | Blue Jays 5, A’s 3 | Reds 12, Astros 4 | Marlins 7, Nationals 4 | Brewers 5, Braves 4

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Blue Jays 7, A’s 6

Moving the Needle: Yunel Escobar turns a one-run deficit into a win with one swing, +.655 WPA. The A’s owned this one early, going up 5-1 after four. But then the Blue Jays took advantage of three A’s errors — two by Kevin Kouzmanoff — en route to a four-run sixth. Two of those runs they scored on outs. The A’s went ahead in the 10th when Josh Willingham led off with a homer, but the Jays answered when Rajai Davis singled and Escobar hit an opposite field liner that cleared the wall. That, my friends, is easily our biggest WPA swing of the evening.

Notables

Brandon McCarthy: 8 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR, 14 GB. Those Kouzmanoff errors really killed his otherwise solid performance. The last time McCarthy went eight was on May 24, 2009, when he pitched a complete game shutout against Houston.

Andy LaRoche: 2 for 3, 1 2B. That’s a quality batting line, sure. But it’s notable because he started at…shortstop. It would have been his first professional innings, majors or minors, at shortstop had the A’s not already played him there for three innings this year.

Also in this issue: Indians 3, Red Sox 1, Twins 5, Yankees 4, Angels 5, Rays 3, Cubs 6, Diamondbacks 5, Reds 8, Astros 2, Marlins 3, Nationals 2, Mets 7, Phillies 1, Padres 3, Giants 1, Rockies 3, Dodgers 0, Royals 7, White SOx 6, Brewers 1, Braves 0, Rangers 3, Mariners 2, Cardinals 3, Pirates 2

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Pirates 4, Cardinals 3

Gone. (Click for larger)

For five innings it didn’t appear that the Pirates had any life. They had just two base runners in that span, and one of them was erased via the double play. All in all, through five the Pirates had hit just three balls in the air. Everything else was a grounder or a strikeout. But then came a sixth inning rally that put them ahead for good. Unsurprisingly, we can attribute it to the Pirates’ crop of young talent.

Moving the Needle: Neil Walker goes opposite field with a go-ahead double, +.301 WPA. Even into the sixth, the Pirates had trouble hitting the ball in the air. The inning started with a Ronny Cedeno single, but it was on a grounder. Pitcher Charlie Morton, who had already walked four to that point, stayed into sacrifice. Such is the plight of the road team in the NL. Jose Tabata followed by drawing the first walk of the game. Then Lohse made his biggest mistake, leaving one up and out over the plate to Walker. He drilled it into the left field corner, scoring both Morton and Tabata and giving the Pirates the lead. They’d need the tack-on runs that followed, as the Cardinals mounted a comeback. But it wasn’t enough.

Notables

Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 4, 1 HR. His two-run blast, which immediately followed Walker’s double, provided the insurance that the Pirates needed. Two of his three hits this season have been long flies.

Kyle Lohse: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR. Outside of the sixth he faced just one over the minimum, thanks to two double play balls. But that sixth inning was enough to hang the L on him.

Joel Hanrahan: 1.1 perfect innings, 2 K. The Pirates — really, Evan Meek — ran into some problems in the eighth, with the Cardinals mounting a rally. Hanrahan came into the game with two outs and a runner on third and struck out Yadier Molina to end the threat. He then got three easy outs in the ninth to end it. He’s off to a fine start, with 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

Also in this issue: Braves 2, Brewers 1, Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 1, Orioles 5, Tigers 1, Yankees 4, Twins 3, Rangers 5, Mariners 4

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Reds over Brewers, 3 games to 0

After their ninth-inning comeback rally on Thursday, the Reds took hold of the series. They got some superb pitching from Travis Wood on Saturday, and then some solid work from Bronson Arroyo on Sunday.

Moving the Needle: Brandon Phillips‘s three-run shot, +.214 WPA. Of course, Ramon Hernandez’s walk-off bomb was the biggest WPA gain of the series, but we covered that one already. Before Sunday’s game was a blowout, the Reds had a 3-2 lead in the fourth, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Randy Wolf, as he does from time to time, put one on a tee for Phillips, who hit a high, arcing bomb to left field, plating three runs and blowing the game open. The only other run the Brewers scored was a Ryan Braun homer. Rickie Weeks also homered. In fact, a lot of other people also homered, all around the league.

Reds 7, Brewers 6
Reds 4, Brewers 2
Reds 12, Brewers 3

Also in this issue: Dodgers over Giants, Braves over Nationals, Padres over Cardinals, Pirates over Cubs, Diamondbacks and Rockies split, Mets over Marlins, Phillies over Astros.

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Bear with me as I figure out a way to acceptably recap a weekend’s worth of games. Suggestions are welcome.

Royals over Angels, 3 games to 1

In the debut of The Morning After we saw the Royals drop the opener to the Angels, 4-2. It seemed like a one-sided affair until the later innings, when Kansas City put some runs on the board and threatened to take the game. While they didn’t come through on Thursday, they did in each of the following three games, taking the series three games to one.

Moving the Needle: Wilson Betemit’s two-run, game-tying double in the bottom of the ninth, +.511 WPA. Twice this weekend the Royals won on walk-off home runs, but neither of them moved the needle to the degree that Wilson Betemit’s double did. In yesterday’s game the Royals entered the bottom of the ninth down 9-7 and, as was the case on Thursday, they brought the tying run to the plate. Actually, it was Fernando Rodney who brought the tying run to the plate, walking three of the first four batters he faced, including Jeff Francoeur– a sign the Royals were destined to win this game. On the first pitch to Betemit, Rodney delivered a fastball up and over the plate. Betemit drove it into the left-center field gap, where Vernon Wells couldn’t come up with a catch, tying the game. The Royals would win in the 13th, when Matt Treanor hit a three-run, walk-off home run.

Angels 4, Royals 2
Royals 2, Angels 1
Royals 5, Angels 4
Royals 12, Angels 9

Also in this issue: Yankees over Tigers, White Sox over Indians, Mariners over A’s, Orioles over Rays, Rangers over Red Sox, Blue Jays over Twins

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Introducing FanGraphs’s workweek recap feature.

Reds 7, Brewers 6

Moving the Needle: Ramon Hernandez’s three-run walk-off home run, +.908 WPA. For a second it appeared as though Jonny Gomes had ended the game with a walk-off grand slam, but it was just a deep sac fly that put the Reds within two runs. Two pitches later Hernandez finished the job with an absolute pea that cleared the right field wall by plenty. Hernandez went 4 for 5 on the day, but the homer was his only run scored and RBIs.

Notables – Cincinnati

Edinson Volquez: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 3 HR. It was better than his last start.

Joey Votto: 1 for 2, 1 HR, 2 BB. In addition to his solo shot, Votto got the Reds on the board in the first with a sac fly. It came with a nice bat flip, but the ball carried only to the wall. His homer came in the seventh, a no-doubter to left off of Kameron Loe, who, as Jack Moore will tell you, probably shouldn’t face any lefties, nevermind one of Votto’s prowess.

Drew Stubbs: 2 for 5, 1 HR. Before Hernandez went opposite field, Stubbs went opposite field. Stubbs hit just one home run in 83 April PA last year. He hit 21 in 500 PA the rest of the way.

Paul Janish: 2 for 4. Freed, finally.

Jay Bruce: 2 for 5. He started 2 for 2, but neither of his singles factored into the scoring. Then in the seventh he struck out after the Reds had closed the gap to 6-3. In the ninth he came up with the bases loaded and struck out on a breaking ball. OBP for the game: .400. WPA for the game: -.111.

Notables – Milwaukee

Yovani Gallardo: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR. This was kind of similar to the line from his Opening Day 2010 start: 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR.

Rickie Weeks: 2 for 5, 1 2B, 1 HR. Not only did Weeks homer to lead off the season, but he added an RBI double down the left field line to give the Brewers a 4-1 lead in the second. He also made a nice shovel pass to first on a slow roller, ending the fifth.

Carlos Gomez: 1 for 4, 1 BB, 1 HR. Gomez saw Weeks’s leadoff homer and raised him, crushing one in the upper deck to give the Brewers the quickest 2-0 lead of the season. Last year it took Gomez 40 PA before he drew his first walk of the season. This year he did it in his fifth.

Ryan Braun: 2 for 3, 1 HR, 2 BB. The only time when Braun reached base and didn’t score was following his two-out walk in the second. His homer, hit so far that Stubbs didn’t even bother chasing it to the wall, put the Brewers up 5-2 in the fifth.

Ron Roenicke: 1 for 2. He came out of the dugout to argue Jay Bruce’s third-inning single, which the umpire says Mark Kotsay trapped. That was not the case. Roenicke was right, but that didn’t erase Bruce from first base. Again he emerged in the ninth, when Casey McGehee missed the tag on Brandon Phillips and then threw late to first, which loaded the bases with none out for Cincinnati. There he was wrong; it was his own player, McGehee, who was to blame. He could have ensured the tag on Phillips, or he could have thrown to second (or even to first if he didn’t think he had enough time).

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