Frogs in the MLB: Phillies love Arrieta, Carp gets 100 homers, and Holaday fights for his spot

Jake Arrieta (P/Philadelphia Phillies) - Arrieta pitched on April 19 at home against Pittsburgh. He had a fantastic outing, pitching 7 innings and allowing no runs on just 1 hit. He struck out 10 while walking just 2 batters. The Phillies won 7-0.

On April 25, the Phillies were home against the Diamondbacks. Over 7 innings, he allowed 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, while walking 2 and striking out 2. The Phillies won 5-3.

On April 30, Arrieta had a much more difficult day, with a short 3 ²⁄₃ innings pitched on the road at Miami. He allowed 6 runs on 8 hits, while walking 2 and striking out 2. The Phillies lost 8-4, which is Arrieta’s first loss of the season. But Phillies fans are still firm believers that they got the best of the free agents this season

And it seems like the whole city of Chicago is beginning to rethink the whole Darvish thing....

Can you blame them?

Arrieta currently has an ERA of 3.49 with a WHIP of 1.16. You can see his full stats here. Arrieta will pitch Sunday against the Nationals in Washington.

Matt Carpenter (1B/St. Louis Cardinals) - Unfortuntely, we didn’t have a Frogs in the MLB update last week (you can blame my 4-year-old with marbles in the bathtub), so doing an update on every game that Carpenter played in for the last two weeks would make this article unbearably long. So here are the highlights from the last two week’s worth of games.

Carpenter has continued to struggle at the plate this season. He got a hit against Finny and the Reds on April 20, but nothing more. The Cardinals won 4-2. The series continued April 21, when Carpenter hit a double in the bottom of the 5th, but he still couldn’t get home. The Cardinals squeaked by with a 4-3 win. To finish the series on April 22, Carpenter walked in the bottom of the 3rd and was batted in on Dexter Fowler’s infield single to the pitcher. The Cardinals won 9-2.

On April 24, the Cardinals were home against the Mets. Carpenter walked twice and scored once, which wasn’t enough for the Cardinals to get the win. The lost 6-5.

While Carp didn’t see much luck against the Mets or Pirates last week, he had a great game against the White Sox on May 1 at home. He hit a double in the bottom of the 7th, with the Cardinals down 2-1. He advanced on a wild pitch but was tagged out at home on a fielder’s choice by Marcell Ozuna, so the Cards remained down by 1. Then in the bottom of the 9th, Carpenter lead the inning with a home run, tying the game 2-2. Ozuna doubled to deep right and was brought in by Yadier Molina to win the game 3-2. That also happened to be Carpenter’s 100th home run of his career. Congrats, Carp!

Carpenter currently has 12 runs and 15 hits, with 3 home runs and 11 RBIs on the season. He has an average of .167. You can see his full stats here. The Cardinals will host Chicago tomorrow.

Andrew Cashner (P/Baltimore Orioles) -

Cashner was home vs Cleveland on April 22. He allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, including 1 home run through 6 innings. He struck out 7 while walking 2. Unfortunately, the Orioles kept up their tradition of zero offense, so they lost 7-3.

On April 28, Cashner faced Detroit and struggled. He lasted 4 innings, allowing 7 runs (6 earned) on 7 hits, including 1 home run. He struck out 4 and walked 3 in a 9-5 Orioles loss.

Cashner currently has a 4.76 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. You can see his full stats here.

Brandon Finnegan (P/Cincinnati Reds) - Finny started against the Cardinals on April 20, in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in just innings. He struck out 2 while walking 4. It was a rough day for the Reds, who were handed a 4-2 loss. This was Finnegan’s second loss of the season.

On April 25, the Reds were home against Atlanta. Finnegan pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits, including 1 home run. He struck out 4 and walked 1. This was his longest outing so far this season. Unfortunately, the Reds lost a close 5-4 game, but it was a no-decision for Finny, keeping his 0-2 record.

On April 30, the Reds were home against the Brewers. Finnegan had a much stronger 5-inning performance, allowing just 3 runs on 5 hits, including 2 home runs. He walked 3 while striking out 2. The Reds lost 6-5 in another no-decision for Finnegan.

Finnegan currently has a much-improved 7.27 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. He’ll pitch Sunday, as the Reds host the Marlins.

Bryan Holaday (C/Miami Marlins) - Holaday has seen a little less time with the Marlins lately. But he continues to take advantage of every opportunity on the field.

On April 20, Holaday was a pinch hitter in the top of the 9th. He reached on an infield single, but didn’t get any further before the inning (and game) ended. The Marlins lost 8-0.

On April 21, Holaday had zero luck at the plate. But in the bottom of the 6th, he caught Jonathan Villar stealing.

Then in the bottom of the 8th, Derek Dietrich missed a fly ball, but Holaday tagged out Eric Thames at home, keeping the score tied at 5-5. The Marlins eventually lost 6-5, but at least they can’t blame it on Holaday!

On April 29, the Marlins were home against Colorado. Holaday started at catcher, and the Marlins were up 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th. Holaday walked and came home in dramatic fashion on a sac fly by Starlin Castro, making it 3-0. The Marlins would hold onto that score and get the win.

Holaday currently has 3 runs and 6 hits, with 2 RBIs. His AVG is .171. You can see his full stats here. Miami will visit Cincinnati tomorrow.