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YESTERDAY…

Rangers 3, Angels 2: You won’t get a pitching duel very often in Arlington, but last night, we were treated to one between Joe Saunders and Matt Harrison - making his debut in the Majors. The Halos were unfortunately on the short end of this one, as they couldn’t muster up enough offense against the rook. Saunders pitched good enough to get a victory on most nights, but he was outdueled as he went eight innings giving up three runs. Josh Hamilton’s RBI single in the 6th inning, his second of the night and a Major League leading 87th, was the difference in the game.

Braves 9, Dodgers 3: A night after Hiroki Kuroda’s gem, the boys in blue were anything but perfect in an utterly disappointing performance. The offense didn’t deliver once again and Chad Billingsley was uncharacteristically off his game, giving up five earned runs and walking four in just 5.1 innings. Now two games below .500 at 44-46 and a game out of first place, Dodger fans better hope Colletti is on the phones trying to get the big bat that the team so desperately needs.

TODAY…

Angels at Rangers (5:05 p.m., FSW): The Halos had a rough time against a pitcher making his Major League debut last night, so the fact that the Rangers are sending out Michael Ballad, who is also making his Major League debut, may not be such a good thing. Jared Weaver gets the call for the Halos and will try to push his personal record to above .500 for the season.

Dodgers vs. Braves (7:10 p.m., PRIME): Hard luck pitcher Derek Lowe faces Tim Hudson tonight in the rubber game of the series. The boys in blue are a combined 1-4 this season against the Braves and have not scored more than 3 runs in any of those games. With Hudson on the mound, I doubt that stat changes.

NEWSWORTHY…

• Well so much for that great Clipper off-season, as both Corey Maggette and Elton Brand bolt the Clipper Nation. Maggette gets 5-years $50 million from the Warriors, and Brand turns his back on the Clips and heads to Philly for a 5-year $82 million deal. More on Brand below.
• Laker free agent Ronny Turiaf has reportedly agreed to sign with the Golden State Warriors for 4 years, $17 million. If the Lakers don’t match, Turiaf could find himself guarding good buddy Andrew Bynum, who’s making his way back to being that dominant force in the middle again.
• Argentine defender Eduardo Dominguez has joined the LA Galaxy.
• Another top recruit is interested to play basketball at UCLA. What else is new.

COLUMNS…

• Randy Youngman of the O.C. Register explains that Alex Rodriguez, who is going through a widely publicized divorce, is probably kicking himself for not signing with Angels instead of the Yankees. What they say is true: Money can’t buy you happiness.
• SportsHubLA.com Column of the Day: Almost all of Clipper Nation has the same feeling today after learning about Elton Brand’s shocking decision: He turned his back on us. Well, J.A. Adande of espn.com explains that Brand did what most NBA players would do, and that is take more money and have a better chance to win. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Maggette was going to bolt, but Elton Brand seemed like a lock to stay. With Baron Davis on deck, the Clips seemed primed to make some noise this season in the ultra competitive Western Conference. Now every Clipper fan is left wondering what could have been.

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