Baseball

He also walked twice. Now on a four-game home run streak, Cabrera is 9-for-15 (.600) with five walks, a double, six homers, 13 RBI and nine runs during that stretch. He's first in the AL in batting average (.391), second in homers (14), and first in RBI (55), runs (39), slugging percentage (.701) and OPS (1.168). He's only eighth in walks (25) at the moment, but he'll be gifted plenty more of those as teams realize it's an awful idea to throw Cabrera a hittable pitch at the moment.

Hanson has been away from the team since early May due to the death of his step-brother, and he's now in extended spring training trying to regain his stamina. It sounds like Halos fans will have to deal with Joe Blanton for a while longer.

Arencibia delivered an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth, a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth and an RBI ground out in the eighth. While the 27-year-old backstop is only hitting .230 with a .244 on-base percentage, he has 11 home runs to go along with 24 RBI. He's on pace to set career-highs in both categories.

Middlebrooks struck out the inning before, but it's not clear if he tweaked something during that at-bat or earlier. It's not clear at this point how serious the ailment is. The Red Sox should provide an update after the game.

General manager Ruben Amaro described the strain as "very mild," so, all things considered, it's pretty good news for the Phils. Amaro is hopeful that Utley will be ready when his two weeks are up, but it's possible he could be out as long as four weeks. Freddy Galvis will function as the primary second baseman while Utley is out. The team will make a corresponding move prior to Friday's game.

Weaver didn't make any minor league rehab starts, but he pitched a few times in extended spring training, including on Wednesday when he struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He seems likely to start either next Monday or Tuesday against the Dodgers, putting him in line for a two-start week.

Gausman will make his major league debut Thursday night against the Orioles. The 22-year-old has only made 13 starts in the minors, but owns an impressive 3.23 ERA and 62/6 K/BB ratio in 61 1/3 innings. With his ability to miss bats and pound the strike zone, he's well worth owning in mixed leagues.