Recap
Box Score
Win Probability Graph @ Fangraphs
Highest WPA
Trot Nixon .172
Grady Sizemore .092
Kelly Shoppach .068
Lowest WPA
Josh Barfield -.022
Jhonny Peralta -.021
Victor Martinez -.011
This was a team effort; there were just three players with a negative bearing on today's game, and each of them scored a run.
Paul Byrd gave a perfectly acceptable performance for a starter, scattering eight hits in six innings of work. If Lee's final rehab start goes well, Fausto Carmona will be going back to Buffalo. There's a temptation to want to be rid of the old and ungainly in favor of the young and aesthetic, but remember that in this case Byrd has a track record of being this type of pitcher, in the AL no less. He isn't injured, and he hasn't lost any velocity, not that there was much to lose. And do you really want to be making any kind of important decision based on a month's worth of starts? Decisions like these should usually happen in June or July, not April.
The offense was well-balanced, with production coming from all corners of the lineup. Only Victor Martinez failed to take a walk or get a hit. Trot Nixon and Jhonny Peralta homered, and Casey Blake and Kelly Shoppach reached base thrice.
Next Up: The Orioles come to town. Trachsel vs. Westbrook, 7:05 PM