Around The Majors- Wednesday

One city, two tales. One Central and one West tightens, while the others pull away. ATM back on SOS, let's roll.

Tuesday Recap
Cleveland's magic number is 5 as they beat Verlander and Detroit 7-4. Travis Hafner homered and drove in 3, and Joe Borowski earned his 41st save. The Yankees now lead Detroit by 4.5 in the Wild Card race, and only trails Boston by 2.5 in the AL East. New York got 7 shutout innings from Mike Mussina and blasted Baltimore 12-0. Doug Mientkiewicz homered and drove in 4 for the Yanks. Toronto scored 3 in the 8th off of Eric Gagne to beat the Red Sox 4-3. Russ Adams drove in 2 for the Jays, and AJ Burnett struck out 11 in 8 plus innings. The Royals scored 3 in the first to beat the White Sox 3-2. Billy Butler drove in 2 for KC. Carlos Silva pitched 6 solid and Torii Hunter drove in 2 as Minnesota tamed Texas 4-2. John Lackey struck out 10 over 8 innings to earn his 17th win as the Angels edged Tampa Bay 2-1. Chad Gaudin allowed 8 over 4 innings, and Raul Ibanez homered and drove in 5 as Seattle edged Oakland 8-7.
Jeff Francis struck out 10 over 6 plus as Colorado downed the Dodgers 3-1 in the first of a twinbill. In the second game, Todd Helton hit a walkoff 2 run homer in the 9th off of Takashi Saito to beat LA 9-8. Holliday and Spilborghs each drove in 3 for the Rox. Both teams are 4.5 back in the Wild Card. The Mets lost their 5th straight 9-8 to Washington. Ronnie Belliard homered and drove in 3 for the Nats. New York only leads the Phillies by 1.5 in the NL East, the Phils got 3 in the 14th off of Mike Maroth to outlast the Cards 7-4. They're also 1.5 back in the Wild Card race. Jo-Jo Reyes pitched 5 innings for his first ML win as Atlanta edged Florida 4-3. The Cubs have now fallen into a tie for the NL Central lead. Edwin Encarnacion homered and drove in 2 as Aaron Harang bested Carlos Zambrano in the Reds 5-2 win over Chicago. Milwaukee pulled up for the tie, as the got an Estrada grand slam in a 5 run 4th to pound the Astros 9-1. Ben Sheets left after the first inning, keep it here for the latest. Arizona kept their 1 game lead atop the NL West as Micah Owings threw a complete game 2 hit shutout in a 5-0 win over the Giants. Chris Snyder drove in 2 for the Snakes. San Diego kept pace as Khalil Greene drove in 2 in a 5-3 win over Pittsburgh.

News and Notes
- Orioles OF Jay Gibbons talked with officials from the Commissioner's Office to discuss a report he received performance-enhancing steroids and human growth hormone after both substances were banned by baseball. A company that gave HGH to well known athletes and entertainers has paid 10.5 million dollars in penalties and the copmany Specialty Distribution Services Inc., has agreed to cooperate with an ongoing federal investigation.
- Lou Merloni homered and drove in 4 as the Sacramento River Cats beat the Richmond Braves 7-1 in the AAA Bricktown Showdown Championship Game from OKC. This is the 2nd year that the champions of the International and Pacific Coast leagues have competed for the ultimate AAA crown.
- After Monday's poor start, Brian Lawrence was designated for assignment and Dave Williams will take his roster, and possibly his rotation spot.

Wednesday On Tap
In what's probably a must win for the Tigers, Detroit sends Nate Robertson to the hill against CC Sabathia and the Indians. First pitch is at 12:05. JP Howell and Ervin Santana play day at 3:35 in LA. Pelfrey and Chico go in Washington as the Mets try to stop the bleeding. Battle of lefties in Atlanta as Dontrelle Willis battles Chuck James. Andy Pettitte goes for the Yankees as they try to catch the Red Sox. Boston sends Clay Buchholz to Toronto against Jesse Litsch. The Cubs look to regain their outright division lead when they send Ted Lilly to the hill at home against the Reds (8pm ESPN). The Brewers send Dave Bush to Houston. The Phillies look to get closer to a postseason spot as Jaime Moyer faces Adam Wainwright and St Louis. Contreras and Bannister go in KC, Penny and Fogg in Denver, Zito-Davis in Phoenix, and Snell-Young in San Diego.

Fantasy Studs & Duds
Hitting Studs
1) Matt Holliday, OF, COL
2) Frank Thomas, 1B/DH, TOR
3) James Loney, 1B, LAD
4) Aaron Rowand, OF, PHI
5) Rafael Furcal, SS, LAD
Hitting Duds (min 24 AB's)
1) Ken Griffey Jr, OF, CIN
2) Jose Guillen, OF, SEA
3) Kevin Millar, 1B/DH, BAL
4) Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY
5) Hunter Pence, OF, HOU
Pitching Studs
1) Javier Vazquez, SP, CWS
2) Gil Meche, SP, KC
3) Mike Mussina, SP, NYY
4) AJ Burnett, SP, TOR
5) Aaron Harang, SP, CIN
Pitching Duds
1) Paul Maholm, SP, PIT
2) Daniel Cabrera, SP, BAL
3) Scott Olsen, SP, FLA
4) Anthony Reyes, SP, STL
5) Matt Morris, SP, PIT