Not a misprint
The winning pitcher Thursday night for Baltimore? Adam Eaton struck out nine and walked nobody in 7 2/3 innings, giving up two runs against the White Sox.
"We said before the game we were going to throw the fastball and throw it a lot," said catcher Chad Moeller. "Try and utilize his cutter and primarily try to pitch with those two pitches. I think it almost shocked them, based on some of the swings."
Earlier this week, Eaton got a public vote of confidence from Orioles manager Dave Trembley after getting shelled in his first two outings. Easy for Trembley, since the Phillies are on the hook for almost all of Eaton's $9 million contract.
"Dave is an optimist, and I think we all are," Eaton said. "I think if you play baseball and you are not an optimist, you are one miserable person."
Burrell watch
The loser of last year's World Series still is struggling even more than the winner. Tampa Bay remained in last place after the Rays dropped seven of their last 10 going into last night's game in Oakland. Pat the Bat raised his average from .200 to .265 since April 15, but going into last night's game, Burrell hadn't managed an extra-base hit since April 13.
Columnist Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune wrote this week: "I thought Burrell might struggle a bit as he adjusts to a full-time DH role, and he has. That's always a concern when you take a guy used to playing every inning and reduce his workload to basically four at-bats per night.
That's it?
The Boston and New York papers seemed to agree that the No. 1 storyline going into the weekend series between the Red Sox and Yankees was the first Fenway appearance of Mark Teixeira, who chose the Yankees over the Red Sox.
Yawn
A .222 hitter shows up and that's the big deal? We prefer Joba Chamberlain and his tendency to throw at Red Sox hitters, prompting Big Papi to tell the Boston Globe: "This is a guy, as good as he is, the next step for him will be to earn respect from everybody in the league." David Ortiz added: "He's not a bad guy, but when things like that happen, people get the wrong idea."
Noteworthy
All-star closer Joakim Soria will be out of the Kansas City Royals lineup at least three days with a sore right shoulder. . . . The Boston Red Sox have activated outfielder Jonathan Van Every from the 15-day disabled list. . . . Adam Miller, the top pitching prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization, will likely undergo career-threatening surgery on his right middle finger next week. . . . Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer, sidelined by a balky lower back, began a rehabilitation assignment with Single-A Fort Myers and remained on schedule to return to the Twins on May 1. . . . Alberto Callaspo homered to lead off the second inning for the Kansas City Royals, ending the longest stretch - 441 at-bats - without a home run in the majors. . . . The Blue Jays called up lefthander Brian Burres from Triple-A Las Vegas to start today. Burres replaces rookie Ricky Romero, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a strained muscle in his right side.
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com.
