Today’s stroll has a pitcher piling up wins with shoddy peripherals, a mid-market team that wasted $7 million-plus on an unnecessary free agent, a second baseman batting cleanup, a pitcher who hates Chicago and lots more.

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia had three hits, a double, home run and five RBIs as the team’s cleanup hitter.  When batting fourth in the lineup, Pedroia is 9-for-14 (.643) with four runs, six RBIs, two walks and two steals.  Who needs Manny Ramirez?

Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona gave up three runs in 5.2 innings and picked up his eighth win of the season.  Carmona is now 3-0 since I called him a fluke on the Fantasy Face Off.  But he’s also posted a 1.47 WHIP and a 1.25 SO/BB ratio in that span.  I’m willing to take my chances that those peripherals will hold up and not produce that record, or anything close to it, in the long haul.  Royals pitcher Brian Bannister has a 1.47 WHIP and his record this season is 7-14 and he has a 5.75 ERA.

Angels outfielder Torii Hunter had three hits, two doubles, a run, three RBIs, a walk and a stolen base.  And he didn’t even crash into a wall on defense.  Hunter was given a day off on Sunday after he collided with the wall on back-to-back days.

Blue Jays designated hitter Jose Bautista had four hits, a double, homer, two runs and two RBIs.  After starting his career in Toronto 0-for-12, Bautista is 7-for-12 in his last three games.  Sometimes it takes a little while to shake off that Pirates stench.

Pirates pitcher Ian Snell gave up one earned run in six innings and upped his record on the season to 6-10.  Snell has been pitching much better recently, as this was his fourth quality start in his past five games.  The only time he didn’t post a QS was versus the Cubs in his last outing.  In fact, if Snell just didn’t pitch against a Chicago team this year, his numbers would be much better.  He’s 0-2 in four games against teams from the Windy City with a 9.50 ERA in 18 innings pitched.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels hurled 7.1 innings of scoreless ball to pick up his 12^th win of the season.  Since suffering back-to-back losses at the beginning of August, Hamels is 3-0 in his last five starts with a 1.49 ERA.  The Phillies will adjust their pitching schedule to get Hamels to face the Mets in the upcoming series in Shea Stadium.  He’ll go on short rest to pitch the finale on Sunday night.

Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson had four hits, two doubles, two runs, four RBIs and a walk.  Johnson was a last-minute addition to the lineup after Atlanta scratched Chipper Jones with an injured knee suffered during fielding practice.  It was a good game to be in the starting lineup, as the two teams combined for 36 hits.  The only starter on either team not to register a hit was Hanley Ramirez, who went 0-for-2 with four walks.

Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina allowed two runs in six innings and fanned eight batters to win his 17^th game of the season.  Mussina looked finished last year as he recorded an 11-10 record with a 5.15 ERA as a 38-year old.  Instead he’s putting up an outstanding season for a greybeard and has a shot to add a 20-win season to his resume which would be a nice thing for a guy who in the voters’ minds is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate.

Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran had two hits, a homer, two runs, three RBIs and a walk.  Not a bad night for a guy who was questionable after a home plate collision with an umpire the night before.  That was his fifth home run in his last nine games and he’s batting .400 (14-35) in that time span.  Some people are upset with Beltran because he’s not matching his career year of 2006.  But he has a 122 OPS+ despite his July struggles and he remains one of the top defensive center fielders in the game.

Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton had three hits and three RBIs.  Hamilton had his worst month of the season in August with a .243/.333/.456 line.  Usually we think of pitchers hitting the wall after entering unchartered territory but it looks like that might have happened to Hamilton, too.  And it’s a double whammy playing in the Texas heat.  But he’s still on target for 36 HRs and 141 RBIs.

Astros closer Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two to pick up his 39^th save of the season.  With five wins, Valverde has been involved in 44 of the team’s 73 wins.  He’s not a very good pitcher, not all closers get to keep their job when their ERA sits at 6.92 at the end of April, but he’s been getting the job done.  He’s given up just one run in his last 18 appearances, a span of 17.2 innings.

Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta had two hits, a run, RBI and a walk.  The Rockies signed Yorvit Torrealba to a two-year $7.25 million deal prior to the 2008 season and that really looks like money wasted now (not that it didn’t at the time, too).  Catchers who slug .500 don’t grow on trees and Iannetta would join Brian McCann and Geovanny Soto as the only backstops with a .500-plus slugging percentage if he had enough at-bats to qualify.  But at least he’s no longer losing time to a guy with a career .392 slugging percentage and a lifetime 79 OPS+ mark.

Royals designated hitter Billy Butler had three hits, a home run and four RBIs.  It was the 10^th homer of the season for Butler and I certainly expected more from him in that category this season.  But it’s tough to put up 20+ home runs when your flyball rate is 36.1 percent and your HR/FB rate is 7.5 percent.

Cardinals infielder Felipe Lopez had two hits, two runs, an RBI and a walk.  He also played first base in the game.  When you think of great first baseman for the Cardinals in the past 30 years you immediately think of guys like Keith Hernandez, Jack Clark, Mark McGwire, Albert Pujols and yes F-Lop.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier had three hits, a triple, home run, four runs and a walk.  He reached base safely his first four times up and the last time, needing a double for the cycle, he grounded out.  It would be mean of me to point out that it was the first plate appearance of the night versus a lefty, wouldn’t it?  Especially after pointing out his splits in Monday’s edition of this series.