Sliding Shorts Fantasy Notebook 5/5

Notes of interest from MLB's Cinco de Mayo slate of games ...

Johnny Cueto rebounded nicely Monday night (6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 8 K). Hopefully he's figured things out after a pair of rough starts ... Rough start for Cueto's counterpart on Monday night. Converted reliever Ryan Dempster suffered what you might call a "tough-luck loss" (6 IP, 5 R, 0 ER, 7 K) ... Meanwhile, rookie catcher Geovany Soto continues to tear the cover off the ball (3-3 vs. CIN, .352 avg.) ... Boston ace Daisuke Matsuzaka walked a career-high 8 batters vs. Detroit (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER), picked up 5th win against no losses ... Sox teammate Mike Lowell gave Dice-K all the run support he'd need when he launched his 1st homer of the year, a 2-run shot in the 2nd inning ... Toronto SP Dustin McGowan shut down the White Sox, who have scored just 5 runs in their last 4 games (all losses) ... Angels SP Ervin Santana joined teammate Joe Saunders at 6-0; Santana shutout the Royals Monday night, lowering his season ERA to 2.02 ... Willy Taveras picked up his league-leading 14th stolen base, but the slumping Rockies lost to the Cardinals, who now boast a 2 game lead in the NL Central ... Speaking of the NL Central, Brewers GM Doug Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Monday that he's still committed to Eric Gagne as his closer (Gagne has blown 5 saves in 14 chances this season) ... Max Scherzer's first major league start was slightly underwhelming, although not completely disappointing (4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 5 K vs. Phi); Only 2 walks Monday night; Scherzer's on the right track ... Staying on the west coast, mixed results Monday night for the Mariners' recent call-ups. 0-for-3 with a run scored for C/DH Jeff Clement, who saw his season average drop to .176; meanwhile outfielder Wladimir Balentien (pronounced BAL-en-TEEN) launched his 2nd homer of the year ... Orioles OF Nick Markakis continues to struggle (0-for4 vs. Oak); he's 6-for-40 over his last 10 games, dropping his season average to .263