Pittsburgh 5 – Cincinnati 3

W: James McDonald (3-3), L: Johnny Cueto (2-1), S: Joel Hanrahan (12)
HR: Jay Bruce 2 (10), Ryan Doumit (4)
CS: Brandon Phillips (1)

- Jay Bruce should be sick more often. A day after sitting out with flu-like symptoms, Bruce went yard twice. I'm quite sure I've made known my man-crush on Bruce after his late season tear. After a slow start, he now has eight home runs in his last 21 games.

- Cueto gave up his first earned runs, albeit over only three starts. He owns a 14:6 K:BB ratio over 18.2 innings.

- Quietly, Ryan Doumit has four home runs and should be considered in leagues that start two-catchers. He should receive more playing time going forward.

- I'll admit, I was totally skeptical after James McDonald's start to the season. I think I'm becoming a believer now. He owns a 2.51 ERA over his last five starts (28.2 innings), along with a 27:11 K:BB ratio. Somewhere, Topper and Billgoofnow are happy reading this.

 New York 1- Washington 0

W: Dillon Gee (3-0), Livan Hernandez (3-6), S: Francisco Rodriguez (14)

- I mentioned sometime last year to watch out for Dillon Gee, noting that he set a strikeout record for the Buffalo Bisons. I happened to be at that game which is why. I've also seen Joey Votto, Stephen Strasburg, Aroldis Chapman and Andrew McCutchen here in Buffalo; go out and catch a minor league game when you can.

- I don't get Livan Hernandez. He's the new Jamie Moyer. How on earth does he only have a 3.64 ERA? Seven Ks and only two walks over seven innings?

-Frankie Rodriguez has 14 saves and a 0.79 ERA. Word is his family isn't allowed in the clubhouse and he's now more effective. Truthfully, he's a great sell-high candidate. Beyond the ridiculous numbers is the fact that he's worked himself out of a lot of jams. See what you can get for him if you're good with saves.

Minnesota 11 – Oakland 1

W: Nick Blackburn (3-4), L: Tyson Ross (3-3)
HR: Trevor Plouffe (2), Justin Morneau (2) Rene Rivera (1)
CS: Coco Crisp (5)

- Nick Blackburn turned in a nice outing, lowering his ERA to 3.40. After the batting practice Kevin Slowey threw to Jose Bautista, I'm thinking Blackburn's spot in the rotation is very safe.

- Justin Morneau appears to have turned the corner. He missed the cycle by a triple and is hitting 12-for-31 (.387) over his last eight games.

Seattle 2 – Los Angeles 1

W: David Pauley (2-0), L: Scott Downs (1-1)
HR: Howie Kendrick (7)
SB: Michael Saunders (3)
CS: Howie Kendrick (2), Chone Figgins (5)

- Another Safeco game as the 2-1 score indicates. Make sure you realize when your players (right-handed especially) are in Seattle.

- Dan Haren was the unlucky no-decision guy with eight innings of one-run ball. However, he did yield four walks.

- Doug Fister, like Jason Vargas, pitched great at home with an awesome defense/anemic offense. He gave up one run over eight innings.

St. Louis 4 – Houston 2

W: Kyle McClellan (6-1), L: J.A. Happ (3-5), S: Fernando Salas (5)
HR: Allan "I might qualify at 2nd base" Craig (2)

- Kyle McClellan has reaped the benefits of Dave Duncan. If Scott Kazmir joins the Cardinals next year, I'd use a middle-round pick on him. McClellan is 6-1 now despite a 3.43 ERA.

- Just sayin' - Wilton Lopez should be next in line in Mark Melancon falters…more.

- Carlos Lee went 1-for-3 and is now hitting .353 in 13 May games. Trust me folks, I spend a lot of time looking these stats up.

- Tony De La Russo does not believe in fantasy as his closer mix goes. By now you should realize Fernando Salas is the main man even if someone different closes the game tomorrow.

Chicago 5 – Florida 1

W: Casey Coleman (2-3), L: Chris Volstad (2-3)
HR: Mike Stanton (9)

- I don't trust Casey Coleman as he issued five walks over this outing. A broken clock is right twice a day.

- Mike Stanton had an interesting line going 1-for-4 with a "no-doubt" home run and three strikeouts. He now has a 1.005 OPS with seven homers in the month of May. The sky is the limit for the youngster. Why he's batting sixth in the Marlins' lineup is a mystery to me.

Toronto 3 – Tampa Bay 2

W: Ricky Romero (4-4), L: Wade Davis (4-4), S: Frank Francisco (5)
HR: Juan Rivera (3), B.J. Upton (7) Kelly Shoppach (2)
CS: Rajai Davis (4)

- Wade Davis continues to be wild. He's now given up five home runs in his last five starts (18.0 innings) and has a 9:12 K:BB ratio over that time. Something isn't right…

- Rajai Davis doesn't know how to take a walk but he has nine stolen bases in the month of May.

Colorado 7 – Philadelphia 1

W: Jhoulys Chacin (5-2), L: Kyle Kendrick (3-3)
HR: Jason Giambi 3 (4)

-While the story of this game is Giambi's three dingers, Chacin pitched a gem allowing only one earned run over seven innings, striking out nine.

- Ross Gload started in right field which is puzzling. I'd love to see what John Mayberry could do with regular playing time.

New York 13 – Baltimore 2

W: C. C. Sabathia L: Brad Bergesen (1-5)
HR: Mark Teixeira (10), Eduardo Nunez (1)

- The Orioles ran out three pitchers who by the end of the game had an ERA of at least 5.64. Bergesen's spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy with Brian Matusz set to return soon.

- Jorge Posada started at first base, his first appearance there since 2008.

Chicago 8 – Cleveland 2

W: Gavin Floyd (5-3), L: Fausto Carmona (3-4)
HR: Matt LaPorta (5), Carlos Quentin (9)
CS: Adam Dunn (1 – missed sign?)

- The White Sox finally showed signs of life, ringing up eight runs. Gavin Floyd only struck out three but limited the Indians to one run over seven innings.

- Alexei Ramirez committed his seventh error.

- Going forward, would you rather have Matt LaPorta or Justin Smoak?

Boston 4 – Detroit 3

W: Jonathan Papelbon (2-0), L: Al Alburquerque (0-2)
HR: David Ortiz (8), J.D. Drew (3), Brennan Boesch (3), Miguel Cabrera (8)

- Josh Beckett was the hard-luck loser, throwing six innings of one-run ball. He gave up only five hits – all singles.

- Dan Bard gave up two homers in what was shockingly his first blown save. In contrast, Matt Albers threw a clean inning and lowered his ERA to 1.56.

Kansas City 2 – Texas 1

W: Greg Holland (1-0), L: Darren Oliver (1-5 – a high loss rate for a reliever with a 2.95 ERA)
HR: Chris Davis (3)
CS: Melky Cabrera (1) Alex Gordon (3)

- Given the starting pitchers, thought the Holland that won would have been from Texas.

- Neftali Feliz took the blown save and I'm not too bullish on him going forward. Something doesn't seem right with him and the Rangers should have left him in the bullpen from the get-go. His velocity is down over a mph and his 5.02 K/9 rate is almost a half of what it was last year.

- Elvis Andrus committed his 10th error. I'll give him some slack since I'm guessing he gets to more balls than your average shortstop.

Arizona 2 – Atlanta 1

W:Josh Collmenter (3-0), L: Jair Jurrjens S: J.J. Putz (10)
HR: Chris Young (9)

- Josh Collmenter now has a scoreless innings streak of 21 innings. If you haven't seen him pitch, be sure to watch his next start.

- Jair Jurrjens allowed two runs over 6.2 innings |STAR|raising|STAR| his ERA to 1.80. I'm starting to think this is his break-out season.

- Juan Miranda went 3-for-4 which may put the Paul Goldschmidt call-up on hold…at least for now.

San Francisco 3 – Los Angeles 1

W: Madison Bumgarner (1-6), L: Chad Billingsley (2-4), S: Machine (13 – he owes Nate Schierholtz a beer)
SB: Miguel Tejada (2)

- Bumgarner got his first win of the year, throwing 8.2 innings of one-run ball. He owns a 1.52 ERA over his last five starts.

- Aubrey Huff went 0-for-5 and is now hitting .221. Brandon Belt is hitting .380 at Triple-A Fresno.

San Diego 1 – Milwaukee 0

W: Heath Bell (2-0), L: Marco Estrada (1-2)
SB: Ryan Braun (10), Mark Kotsay (2), Eric Patterson (5), Cameron Maybin (7)

- Am I the only one who didn't realize Ryan Braun was up to 10 swipes? Chris Narveson and Aaron Harang combined to pitch 15.1 shut-out innings. Harang now has a 3.79/5.51, home/away ERA split.

- Out of the 12 total hits in this game, only one – a Prince Fielder double – was for extra bases. Yawn.

Follow me on twitter @KCPayne26. I've got Mucho Macho Man tomorrow to Show, if you've got a pick, let me know. Sorry about rhyme time.