Baseball Shots Of The Week – April 22, 2013

Filed Under: Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Sports

Atlanta Braves (13-5)Don't overlook on Atlanta's stellar defense when examining reasons for their early-season success. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Braves hit four home runs against the Pirates on Thursday including Justin Upton's Major League-leading ninth home run.

San Francisco Giants (11-7)For all the talk about how Tim Lincecum can't pitch to Buster Posey, the combo combined for Lincecum's best effort of the season. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Mae Louise Allen Mays, the wife of Willie Mays, died on Friday morning after a 16-year bout with Alzheimer's disease. She was 74.

Boston Red Sox (12-6)The Red Sox continue their early-season winning ways. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

John Lackey started his rehab assignment, throwing 3 2/3 shutout innings. Lackey gave up three hits and struck out five. He threw 67 pitches, 45 for strikes.

Oakland Athletics (12-7)On the bright side: Jarrod Parker had his best start of the season. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

The A's have swept the Houston Astros for the second time this season and won't see the team until late May.

Texas Rangers (12-6)Texas has Colby Lewis and Martin Perez returning in time. Still, losing another starter to injury is the last thing they wanted. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images)

Rangers pitcher Matt Harrison is out until after the All-Star break with a herniated disc.

Cincinnati Reds (11-8)Shin-Soo Choo reached base six times in Cincy's Saturday win. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The Reds scored eight runs in the seventh inning against the Marlins to beat them 10-6 and take 3 of 4 games in the series.(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Washington Nationals (10-8)Many felt Anthony Rendon may have been the steal of the 2011 draft. He'll get a chance to prove it now. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Ryan Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

St. Louis Cardinals (10-8)Allen Craig signed a nice extension during the offseason. He's off to a rough start. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

New York Yankees (10-7)Despite a strong stretch the Yankees lost ground to Boston this week. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Derek Jeter suffered a setback in his recovery from a broken ankle. Jeter is now expected to be out past May 1.

Arizona Diamondbacks (10-8)Arizona leads the league in extra-inning wins with three already. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

CF Cody Ross and manager Kirk Gibson were both ejected from Saturday's game in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes.

Los Angeles Dodgers (8-10)A six-game losing streak during the week means the Dodgers slip down the totem pole. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Dodgers top prospect Yasiel Puig was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a sprained left thumb.

Detroit Tigers (9-9)The Tigers own the worst defense in the league, per defensive efficiency, and lately their offense has been slumping. It's not a good combination. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)

Austin Jackson had just his second two-steal game of his career, and the first since his rookie season.

Baltimore Orioles (10-8)Is this the year Jake Arrieta and Chris Tillman break out? Not so far. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Matt Wieters hit a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning to lead the Orioles to a 10-6 win over Tampa Bay Rays.

Colorado Rockies (13-5)An eight-game winning streak pushes the Rockies up the list. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Todd Helton will miss his third straight game with a forearm strain, and could be headed to the DL.

Kansas City Royals (10-7)James Shields and Wade Davis continue to provide the Royals with quality outings. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

Wade Davis threw seven scoreless innings, beating the Braves, 1-0, on Wednesday to end the Braves win streak at 10 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates (10-8)It's hard to know what the future holds for Travis Snider, but his strong play as of late has sparked a previously dormant offense. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Pirates allowed only two hits and shut out the #1 Power Ranking team the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

Tampa Bay Rays (8-10)The Rays' young pitching continues to perform well. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The Rays' top prospect, Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee, tore ligaments in his left knee during a game and will likely be out for the rest of the season.

Toronto Blue Jays (8-11)Toronto had the worst run differential in the American League prior to Houston's implosion on Saturday night. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Jose Bautista returned to the lineup on Friday after a four-game absence with back spasms.

New York Mets (9-8)If the schedule holds true Matt Harvey will face off with Clayton Kershaw after getting the edge over Stephen Strasburg last time out. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Lucas Duda hit two home runs against the Washington Nationals.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (7-10)Even after Saturday's first-inning outbreak, the Angels are still scoring an average amount of runs per game. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Mike Trout hit his first career grand slam in Saturday's game against the Detroit Tigers.

Milwaukee Brewers (9-8)The Brewers won eight-straight, including a three-game sweep over the Giants. (Photo by Tom Lynn/Getty Images)

The Brewers re-signed Francisco Rodriguez to a Minor League contract. That gives the team 30 days to decide whether to add him to the big league bullpen.

Cleveland Indians (7-10)After a bit of a slump the Indians broke out for 19 runs on Saturday. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

The Indians hit four home runs in a game to beat the Houston Astros 5-4 on Sunday.

Philadelphia Phillies (8-11)Roy Halladay's solid effort against the Cardinals is a comforting sight.(Photo by Brian Garfinkel/Getty Images)

Catcher Carlos Ruiz will begin a rehab assignment in Clearwater as he serves a 25-game suspension for using a banned stimulant.

Minnesota Twins (8-7)A weird week for the Twins, as they did not play on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday due to poor weather. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Darin Mastroianni was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a stress reaction in his left ankle, outfielder Oswaldo Arcia was recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

Seattle Mariners (7-12)Hishashi Iwakuma has raced to a good start over his first four outings. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Iwakuma and Mariners shut out Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers after a 14 inning marathon game the day before.

Chicago White Sox (7-11)Adam Dunn and Jeff Keppinger had combined for three walks, 32 strikeouts, and four extra-base hits entering Sunday. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

John Danks will head back to Arizona for at least one more extended spring camp start, before he heads out for a rehab start.

Chicago Cubs (5-12)New addition Julio Borbon should be fine as a reserve outfielder.. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Starlin Castro extend his hitting streak to 13 games on Sunday, which is the longest active streak in the National League.

San Diego Padres (5-12)Everth Cabrera is quietly having a stellar season. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The Padres swept a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier last week.

Houston Astros (5-13)Houston had three starting pitchers last fewer than an inning this week. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Astros sent J.D. Martinez to the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right knee and recalled Fernando Martinez from Triple-A.

Miami Marlins (4-15)Some good news for the Marlins: Top prospects Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna are back in action. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Pitcher John Maine was designated for assignment, Tom Koehler was called up from Triple-A to fill the long relief.