Indians hang on thanks to Giambi

    

     42-year-old Jason Giambi is hoping for one last run into the playoffs. Yesterday he kept that hope alive with a titanic walk off shot to keep the Cleveland Indians one game ahead of the Texas Rangers for the American League's second wild card spot. Not bad for an old guy.

Yu Darvish should get around 275 punchouts in 2013

     Earlier this season, I extrapolated Yu Darvish's strikeout numbers and estimated he could get over 375 strikeouts this season based solely on his numbers. Now using the same process, this number comes out to around 275. If he had not missed time on the DL, he would have a good shot at 300 strikeouts, but for now I would expect 265-275 strikeouts, which is still enormous for today.


<<< I had to put this GIF up.

Darvish almost gets no-no

     Yu Darvish allowed one hit over 8 innings and struck out a career high 15 against the Astros. Darvish walked one and his only hit was a home run. Closer Joe Nathan picked up his 35th save of the year.

Darvish strikes out 14 D-backs

     

     Yu Darvish struck out 14 through 7 shutout innings. In his last 4 starts, Darvish has 35 strikeouts and a 2.13 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP.

     Darvish has a major league leading 186 strikeouts in just 21 starts. His 2.66 ERA is fifth in the AL, and his 1.02 WHIP is third. In my opinion, only Felix Hernandez and Bartolo Colon are having seasons as good as Yu (or me).

Matt Garza to start for Rangers against Yanks

image from ESPN

     

     The new Rangers starting pitcher Matt Garza will start today against the New York Yankees. Garza, 29, has a 3.17 ERA this season, as well as a solid 6-1 record.

     The Rangers are looking to improve upon an already Top 5 pitching staff in the American League, with a team ERA of 3.74.

MLB Power Rankings - May 27th

1. Texas Rangers
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Atlanta Braves
4. New York Yankees
5. Cincinnati Reds 
6. Cleveland Indians
7. Pittsburgh Pirates
8. Boston Red Sox
9. Arizona Diamondbacks
10. Washington Nationals

The streaking Braves have moved up a few spots, while the Rangers and Cardinals remain at the top.

Cardboard Sports Blog

MLB Power Rankings - May 19th

1. Texas Rangers
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. San Francisco Giants
4. New York Yankees
5. Cincinnati Reds 
6. Baltimore Orioles
7. Detroit Tigers
8. Atlanta Braves
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Washington Nationals

Texas is still at the top of the Cardboard MLB Power Rankings for this week.

Cardboard Sports Blog