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  • The Juice: Bryce Harper’s triple against Halladay keys Nats win, Dodgers roar back

    The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.

    Three years in the making: Bryce Harper hit his third triple of the season already, and he drove in two runs against Roy Halladay to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-2 victory at Philadelphia on Tuesday night. The 19-year-old said in Mark Zuckerman's Nats Insider — in a post titled "Broad Street Beatdown" — that he's actually been scouting Halladay for three years and he couldn't wait to exploit a perceived weakness. Harper's two-run triple put the Nats ahead in the third inning and keyed their sixth straight victory at Citizens Bank Park.

    "I've been watching him for about three years," Harper said. "He throws a first-pitch curveball to so many people, and they just let it get over the plate. So I was just really trying to get something up in that situation and get something going. We had two guys on, and you had to get them in."

    Halladay, who came in with a dominating record against Washington, reflected on what's going wrong in Philly, which has lost four straight and is 21-23 overall.

    Dodger time: The injury riddled Los Angeles Dodgers improved to 30-13 by picking up an unlikely 8-7 victory at Arizona. Ivan DeJesus muscled-up for a two-out, two-run, go-ahead double in the ninth against closer J.J. Putz, and shortstop Dee Gordon hung in there on defense to help turn an acrobatic game-ending double play with runners at the corners in the bottom of the ninth. Arizona squandered a five-run lead in the seventh, and is 11 1/2 games out of first place. The Dodgers are 7-2 without Matt Kemp in the lineup.

    Waino bueno once again: Adam Wainwright tossed his first shutout since August 2010, a 4-0 victory against San Diego, which gave the St. Louis Cardinals' top starter a big sense of relief. Wainwright said he told teammate Jake Westbrook this might be the best feeling he's ever had pitching — which is saying something given Wainwright's accomplishments. Waino missed the 2011 season because of Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery:

    ''All of the emotion came from just knowing it's been over a year since I've done that,'' Wainwright said. ''Mentally, I was so much better.''

    * * *

    You really like me!: Closer Chris Perez apparently made up with Cleveland Indians fans, who cheered him like crazy before and after he picked up the save in a 5-3 victory against the Tigers. Perez has made a couple of rants recently about the lack of fan support at the Indians ballpark, and has wondered why the overall mood in Cleveland isn't better, given that his team's in first place. He's even willing to give away tickets to games to boost attendance. Fans have responded (mostly) kindly and Perez seemed appreciate it on Twitter:

    Wow, I'm truly humbled, honored, and grateful for the reception Cleveland! Huge team win for us tonight. Let's keep it going tomorrow

    * * *

    Quote of the Day: ''I had chills going through my body. It's such a great feeling to see the fans on their feet like that. You know, it really means a lot to have the support of the fans behind us. It's a pretty special feeling.'' — Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz, who allowed two hits and had nine strikeouts in a 4-1 victory against the Red Sox. The O's have won six of eight and at 28-16 sit atop the AL East after finishing last in 2011. Matusz, a top pitcher before injuries came, had a 10.69 ERA and made two trips to the disabled list in '11.

    * * *

    Play of the Day: Get off your butt and do something!

    Oh, he did. Josh Donaldson of the Oakland Athletics does what every Little League third baseman is told not to do — he cut off the shortstop in the hole — but he recovered nicely to throw out Maicer Izturis at first base. The A's made a few terrific defensive plays on the night, but they were dominated on the scoreboard by the Angels 5-0. C.J. Wilson and Ernesto Frieri combined on a one-hitter and Albert Pujols hit his fourth homer, his third deep in seven games.

    * * *

    Three Facts for the Water Cooler:

    • Knuckleball maven R.A. Dickey struck out a career-high 11 in a 3-2 Mets victory against Pittsburgh. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle noted that he also threw only two balls in the dirt over seven innings.

    • Reds closer Aroldis Chapman hit 100 mph (not in his car) three times in 18 pitches, striking out two for the save that preserved a 4-3 victory against the Braves. Brandon Phillips added two homers for Cincy.

    • Marlins right-hander Ricky Nolasco set the Miami Marlins franchise record for career victories, improving to 69-52 to surpass Dontrelle Willis, and the Fish beat the Rockies 7-6. The Marlins are 16-5 in May, though only 22,242 fans showed in their new ballpark, the smallest attendance so far.

    * * *

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  • 10 notable team reps for MLB’s upcoming draft

    The date has really snuck up on us, but the first round of Major League Baseball's amateur draft is set for June 4. The league will again try to make this a television spectacle on MLB Network with all 30 teams being represented in the league's Secaucus, N.J., studios by one or two notable players, coaches or front-office personnel.

    You can find the full list here, but we've taken the liberty at listing 10 of our favorite men who've been enlisted to stand around for the cameras while the actual picks hide under their agents' desks until 10 minutes before the signing deadline on July 13. (Thank the good heavens that it's moved up this year.)

    1. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees: He's the only active player enlisted for duty that night and you have to wonder how he drew the short straw from the Yankees, who have an off-day. Shouldn't Mark Teixeira be the one coming in for makeup work these days?

    2. Ron Karkovice, Chicago White Sox: Some of you may suspect this post is just a poor excuse to get a picture of Ron Karkovice out on Big League Stew. Some of you are 100 percent right.

    3. Roberto Hernandez, Tampa Bay Rays: One of Andrew Friedman's famed value bullpen pickups? Perhaps. But until then, he's just another member of the 1993 AL West-winning Chicago White Sox, who is apparently staying busy. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when the Gene Lamont stories start flying in that green room!

    4. Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals: From starting the 2011 season as the team's closer to serving as the Cards' desk jockey for the 2012 draft. Yep, nothing says good organizational guy like Ryan Franklin. Who knew?

    5. Kent Tekulve, Pittsburgh Pirates: Color me disappointed if Tekulve isn't wearing this T-shirt while making picks and not telling stories about the time he met Rick Santorum between them.

    6. Don Money, Milwaukee Brewers: Love the '82 Crew love, but do you really want a man named "Money" to be the first person reaching out to your new draft pick? Especially under the new collective bargaining agreement, which limits draft spending?

    7. Mike Hargrove, Cleveland Indians: And to think there are some — *coughChrisPerezcough* — who believe it's impossible for those who were at Jacobs Field during the '90s glory days to ever return.

    8. Willie Mays Aikens, Kansas City Royals: No jokes here. After all he's been through, it's nice to see him proudly representing his old franchise on draft day.

    9. Ivan Rodriguez and Jim Sundberg, Texas Rangers: Any truth to the rumor that Sundberg has challenged I-Rod to a table arm wrestling match with winner getting first pick of being announced as the franchise's best catcher at Rangers alumni events? Let's hope so.

    10. Tommy Lasorda, Los Angeles Dodgers: Ron Cey will be there too, just in case Tommy gets too deep into a story about Don Drysdale to answer the phone.

    Want more baseball fun all season long?
    Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!

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