"Blocking the plate was Barajas!"

Impenetrable.

But then came Manny, and with him victory.

Numbers through April:
5th in runs with 136; Cubs lead with 171.
2nd in hits with 278; Cubs lead with 279.
15th in home runs with 24; Phillies lead with 41.
6th in total bases with 416; Diamondbacks lead with 449.
13th in walks with 103; Cardinals lead with 144.
5th in OBP at .353; Cubs lead at .375.
9th in slugging at .422; Diamondbacks lead at .468.

How about the NL, leading the way in all offensive categories! Sox walks should be much higher with the lineup they've got. All in all these numbers look pretty solid considering the injuries and the absence of runs over the last five days or so.

19th in ERA at 4.32; A's lead at 3.22.
10th in hits allowed with 232; Diamondbacks lead with 206.
20th in runs allowed with 130; A's lead with 96.
21st in home runs allowed with 28; White Sox lead with 15.
3rd in strikeouts with 216; Reds lead with 224.
27th in walks allowed with 123; Twins lead with 68.

Hmmmm, third in strikeouts and tenth in hits allowed. Take care of them walks and the scoreless innings will follow. I was crunching some numbers and I feel pretty confident that if the starters continue to go seven or eight innings, allowing one or zero runs, the league rankings will probably improve. Probably.