Cain Delivers With Arm and Bat

'I didn't know,' says player Eugenio Velez of spelling snafu

(NEWSER) - Outfielder Eugenio Velez made his season debut yesterday when his San Francicso Giants took on and beat the Houston Astros. That’s right—Velez played the whole game blissfully unaware that his jersey pegged him as a player from some mythical, misspelled version of the City by the Bay. “I didn’t know,” he tells the AP . “Increible!” And that’s not misspelled—it’s Spanish for “incredible.” More»

Rays at the head of the class—Rockies, Marlins at the back

(NEWSER) - Report card time! Here’s how the rambunctious kids of MLB are doing so far, in Yahoo Sports’ Steven Henson’s estimation. A students—Rays, Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, White Sox Particular kudos go to the Rays, the poor kid who went to the head of the class. B students—Cardinals, Brewers, Twins, Phillies, Yankees, Athletics, Marlins, Orioles The Cardinals have a slight edge in the wildcard race. The Yankees, meanwhile, barely scrape together a B. More»

(NEWSER) - Lance Berkman splashed his major league-leading 15th home run into McCovey Cove, breaking a ninth-inning tie and helping the Houston Astros rally past the San Francisco Giants 8-7 last night. Houston came back from a 6-0 deficit to take three of four from the Giants, its first series win at San Francisco since a three-game sweep in September 2001. More»

(NEWSER) - For Barry Zito, a no-decision became a positive thing _ a sign of progress. Lance Berkman is too much for any pitcher to handle right now. Hunter Pence hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh, Berkman had a tying two-run homer off Zito and the surging Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 on Monday night for their fourth straight victory. More»

Bay equalizes, LaRoche smacks go-ahead single in 5-4 win

(NEWSER) - Adam LaRoche hit a go-ahead single in a three-run seventh inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 for a three-game sweep. Pittsburgh has won 13 of its last 15 games against San Francisco and swept three-game series from the Giants in three straight seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. More»