Belated happy 82nd birthday, Willie! May 6 is otherwise a dull day in MLB birthday history: no one else had more than Dick Wakefield’s 56 HRs, 315 RBI or 334 Runs, Walton Cruise’s 644 hits or 49 SB, or Mike McCormick’s 748 games (the ’40s OF, not the pitcher). Gerardo Parra and Jose Altuve, you have something to shoot for.

To the games we go!

@Padres 5, Marlins 0: The longest and best game of Andrew Cashner‘s stop-and-start career gave the Padres a 9-3 stretch and dug them out of the cellar for the first time since game 3. Each side had just 5 hits, but Miami added to its misadventure log with this PU/E-2 that scored Everth Cabrera from 2nd base in the 1st inning, then failed to cash a man from 3rd with 1 out in their next raps, and went downhill from there. SD rook Jedd Gyorko knocked his 3rd HR, all in the last 6 games; Nick Hundley‘s nifty slide beat a strong throw from Marcell Ozuna; Dale Thayer induced a DP to maintain Cashner’s goose egg; and the Pads moved to 14-12 against [not-Colorado].

• Cashner has been in pro ball since 2008, but has just 347 innings, with a season high of 111.
• 5th shutout loss for the Fish, tied for the MLB lead; they were the leading blank-eteers last year with 17.
• Marcell Ozuna‘s career-starting hit streak died at 6 games, 2 shy of the club record.

Phillies 6, @Giants 2: You had to figure Cliff Lee would shake his little slump here. In 6 regular-season starts against the Jints, he’s now 5-0 with an 0.88 ERA, 0.71 WHIP (5 of the 6 in that park) — and the game he didn’t win, he went 10 scoreless.

• Michael Young is batting .333, but with (now) 10 GDPs in 24 chances (42%) — the NL rate is 12%. So even though he has solid “clutch” splits, his season WPA is in the red
• First rough game for Madison Bumgarner , but SF’s 11th SP outing with 5+ runs. They had 29 last year.
• Get on up [HUNH!] … splash on down with Do-MON-ic Brown!

White Sox 2, @Royals 1 (11): Pity James Shields (8 scoreless, 2 hits). But if you don’t like a game-winning HR by a guy who came in to pinch-run (and botched his assignment ), you don’t like baseball! (Or you might be a KC fan.) No walks in 11 IP by the ChiSox — a team first since 1977 . Chris Sale’s 4th straight start of 7 IP and 2 ER or less.

• We rag on his bat, but Frenchy plays a sweet corner .
• Is it fishing season yet? Catch and release , boys.
• The ChiSox made how many outs on the bases ?

Blue Jays 8, @Rays 7: Speaking of substitutes who failed in the initial instance … J.P. Arencibia‘s last-ditch dinger, a laser-pointer off Fernando Rodney‘s fastball, completed Toronto’s comeback from a touchdown deficit. It’s the biggest rally of the year, the Jays’ largest since 2007, and perhaps their biggest win of the year. Arencibia had popped out as a PH in the 6th, but still wound up with the 2nd-highest WPA this year for a player who entered in the pinch.

Tampa tattooed Mark Buehrle in a 7-run 3rd, but Toronto chipped and chopped — 3 here, 2 there. Joe Maddon summoned his closer with 1 away in a nettlesome 8th, and Rodney just preserved the lead against the big boppers, despite a run cued up on a replacement’s E-6. But Rodney made his own trouble in the 9th, walking leadoff man Adam Lind (who still hasn’t homered). A pinch-steal + overthrow put the tying run on 3rd with no outs. Rodney almost escaped — strikeout, groundout, 2 strikes — but he misplaced the 2-strike pitch, and J.P.’s always ready for a fastball, inner half.

• Rodney’s walked 9 in 10.2 IP (15 BB all last year), served 2 HRs and blown 2 saves to match his 2012 totals, and yielded 6 ER (5 last season).
• Rays have allowed 41 runs in their last 6 games (with just 1 QS), raising their season average from 3.88 to 4.45.
• Despite the bombshell 3rd, Buehrle lasted 6, retiring 11 of his last 12 batters.

Braves 7, @Reds 4: How potent is Atlanta’s lineup if Andrelton Simmons has truly “powered up”? Sunday was his first game ever with 2 extra-base hits (doubles), now Monday he slugs 2 HRs. He had 5 prior HRs in 296 PAs, and 6 in 1,042 in the minors.

• Evan Gattis in LF now, with the regulars back at C and 1B … this could be interesting. He did play 37 games there last year with just 1 error, but not a lot of plays made.
• Great reaction play by Simmons (h/t to bstar) … but isn’t that a balk by Luis Avilan? His foot lands at least 8-10″ in front of the rubber, with no definitive step towards 1st base. Rule 8.05(c) comment: “A pitcher is to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base….” (emphasis added; see overhead view at 0:27 of the clip).
• Reds righty Alfredo Simon delivered the year’s first “six up, six fanned” performance, throwing downhill from his 6′ 6″ height. It’s the first time he’s gotten more than 4 outs without a baserunner.
• Just for fun: At bat, Atlanta pitchers have a 33% K rate — the same as their CFs and 2Bs combined. B.J. Upton went right to the brink of his first 5-K game, but he walked on a full count.

@Cubs 9, Rangers 2: Scott Feldman followed his 12-K, 3-hit CG by blanking his former friends on 2 singles through 7, but a hand cramp stole the chance to go for his first shutout. Anthony Rizzo drove in 4 with a HR and a double, his 9th of each.

• Feldman plated the first of a 5-run 4th, their biggest inning this year, matching their prior total for the 4th stanza. (Their Southside neighbors are still looking for a 5-run inning.)
• Derek Lowe has known the pinnacle (winning the ’04 WS and ALCS finales), and now he’s mopping up. It’s still the big leagues, though, and another chance to go all the way.

@Indians 7, Athletics 3: Asdrubal Cabrera continued his climb from a brutal start with a pair of HRs as Cleveland got back over .500. His surge coincides with his shift to the #3 spot, where he’s 16 for 46 with 12 RBI (8 for 57 hitting 2nd). Second

• straight winning start for Ubaldo Jimenez , a first since last May; he went 4-16 between the “streaks.”

• AL-best 10th HR for Mark Reynolds (sans doute!), now batting an even .300. His K rate is down to 23% — practically normal, and 10 points below his prior average . He’s gone 38 straight games without whiffing 3 times, a career best.
• Sign of the times: Through roughly 30 games, we had 14 hitters with 8 HRs or more, but the leaders had 12 and 10.
• Did you pick the AL Central as this year’s strongest division? They began the day 9 games over .500, tied for #1 with the AL East.
• John Jaso led off as DH and drew 2 walks. He’s walked in 20% of career PAs as a DH (50/254), but just 11% while catching (92/831). His BA is about the same for each.
• Just for fun: Carlos Santana‘s OPS is 1.129. Manny ’00 holds the club record of 1.154, edging Belle’s 1.152 in ’94.

@Red Sox 6, Twins 5 (11): A 2-out infield hit by Jarrod Saltalamacchia, on an 0-2 pitch, started something that ended in Boston’s longest win since 2011; they were 0-5 last year in games of 11+ innings. The Twins led 3-0, then the BoSox built a picket fence from the 4th through 8th and brought a 5-4 lead into the 9th. But Joel Hanrahan was back on the big stage, and Brian Dozier panned the act. Hanrahan gave a 2-out walk, then left with a forearm thingy. Think he has any chance left to make friends with the Fenway faithful?

• For a struggling hitter on a new team, there’s no balm like a 4-hit binge with a tying HR and a walk-off cherry on top. Drew’s still hitting just .225, but some hi-lev success has him battling Napoli for the team’s WPA lead (.805-.800).
• First HR and 2 singles for Shane Victorino . Remember when he had a little pop? Vic slugged .491 in 2011, with 60 XBH. This year, a dinger and 2 doubles in 25 hits.
• Dustin Pedroia spoiled a few before launching a go-ahead HR , his first (and Boston’s first from the #3 hole). That stopped a career-high 48-game tater famine. Ten pitches ties the longest HR-AB this year.
• Papi got his’n.

D-backs 9, @Dodgers 2 : Carl Crawford’s solo HR nearly offset the 2 runs from his misplay on Trevor Cahill ‘s “triple.” Chris Capuano was knocked out with no outs in the 5th by back-to-back HRs from Goldschmidt and Cody Ross (his first? ), and the Snakes dealt LA a 5th straight bummer. Capuano was effective last year, but his stuff is right on the edge, and he’s been killed in 2 starts this year. Arizona is 13-6 in Dodger Stadium since 2011 began.

• Goldschmidt (5-1-4-3) is slashing .316/.411/.530. The only “3-4-5’s” for Arizona were by Luis Gonzalez (1999/’01/’03).
• First career extra-base hit for Cahill, who was 9 for 88 … unless the scorer comes to his senses. Crawford was charged with a 2-base error later on.
• Cahill is still just 25, and working on his 5th straight qualifying season. Brett Anderson broke in with Cahill at the same age in 2009 and seemed the better prospect by paper measures, but he’s totaled just 260 IP since. Health is all.
• Matt Reynolds worked a 3-man 8th when it was still a game. Reynolds (16.1 IP) and James Russell of CHC (13.0) are the only ones left with no runs charged and 10+ IP. Reynolds had a hellacious HR rate the last 2 years even by Colo standards, but AZ must have seen something; they gave up a decent AAA prospect.
• Someone tell this Dutchman it’s not supposed to be that easy!
• Sign of pressing: Matt Kemp thrown out trying for a double with the play right in front of him.
• Turnstiles slowing? LA averaged 47,000 for their first 12 home games, but 36,000 for the last 4.
• May 27-30, Dodgers-Angels play a split 4-game set. I’m feeling a visitors’ sweep.