THT Daily: AL 6, NL 2
Major League News for June 23
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Player News
Stats
Yesterday’s Results
Interleague CHA 1 STL 0 (Recap and Boxscore) See below KC 15 PIT 7 (Recap and Boxscore) KC: 15 R on 13 H, 7 BB MIN 4 HOU 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Liriano beats Clemens TB 4 ARI 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Kazmir: 7.2 IP, 8 K, 1 R TEX 5 SD 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Rheinecker: 5.1 IP, 11 H, 2 R TOR 3 ATL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) ATL: 10th straight loss FLA 8 BAL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings, Crazy comeback LAN 4 SEA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Lowe: 9 IP, 2 R National League NYN 6 CIN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Wright: 2 HR; Pedro: 6 IP, 2 R
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Time CIN - Harang A. (7-5, 3.92) CLE - Westbrook J. (6-3, 4.35) 7:05 PHI - Madson R. (7-4, 5.79) BOS - Beckett J. (8-3, 5.09) 7:05 FLA - Moehler B. (5-5, 6.29) NYY - Wang C. (7-3, 4.07) 7:05 WAS - Patterson J. (1-0, 3.86) BAL - Lopez R. (4-8, 6.85) 7:05 STL - Carpenter C. (6-3, 2.46) DET - Verlander J. (8-4, 3.21) 7:05 NYM - Glavine T.* (10-2, 3.48) TOR - Janssen C. (5-5, 4.50) 7:07 ATL - Smoltz J. (4-5, 3.78) TB - Fossum C.* (2-3, 5.45) 7:15 CHC - Marmol C. (1-1, 2.81) MIN - Santana J.* (7-4, 2.87) 8:10 MIL - Bush D. (4-6, 4.81) KC - Keppel B. (0-3, 3.64) 8:10 HOU - Pettitte A.* (6-7, 5.44) CWS - Contreras J. (7-0, 2.96) 8:35 TEX - Koronka J.* (5-4, 5.00) COL - Francis J.* (5-6, 4.13) 9:05 LAA - Santana E. (7-3, 4.10) ARI - Gonzalez E. (2-0, 3.67) 9:40 SEA - Meche G. (7-4, 4.10) SD - Peavy J. (4-8, 4.81) 10:05 OAK - Blanton J. (7-6, 4.79) SF - Schmidt J. (6-3, 2.84) 10:15 PIT - Perez O.* (2-9, 6.10) LAD - Tomko B. (5-6, 5.45) 10:40
Standings
The graphics next to each team are called “sparklines.” They depict each team’s performance over the last month. Each “up” bar is a victory and a “down” bar is a loss. There are horizontal lines for home games and gray bars represent games decided by two runs or less. Other team graphs and stats can be found on our Team Page.
American League East BOS 42 28 .600 0.0NYA 40 30 .571 2.0
TOR 40 32 .556 3.0
BAL 33 41 .446 11.0
TB 32 41 .438 11.5
American League Central DET 48 25 .658 0.0
CHA 47 25 .653 0.5
MIN 36 35 .507 11.0
CLE 32 39 .451 15.0
KC 22 49 .310 25.0
American League West OAK 39 33 .542 0.0
TEX 39 34 .534 0.5
SEA 36 38 .486 4.0
LAA 32 40 .444 7.0
National League East NYN 45 27 .625 0.0
PHI 35 37 .486 10.0
FLA 31 38 .449 12.5
WAS 32 42 .432 14.0
ATL 30 43 .411 15.5
National League Central STL 42 29 .592 0.0
CIN 39 34 .534 4.0
HOU 37 36 .507 6.0
MIL 36 37 .493 7.0
CHN 28 43 .394 14.0
PIT 26 48 .351 17.5
National League West SD 38 34 .528 0.0
LAN 37 35 .514 1.0
SF 36 36 .500 2.0
COL 36 36 .500 2.0
ARI 36 37 .493 2.5
Game of the Day
There were several excellent games yesterday, such as Clemens’ return to Houston and Florida’s amazing comeback against the Orioles, but yesterday’s Game of the Day is the one I went to. It was one of the best games I have ever personally witnessed.
Jim Thome broke up Anthony Reyes’s no-hitter with a home run in the seventh, and the White Sox beat the Cardinals 1-0. Reyes pitched all eight innings for the Cards, and the only other batter to reach base against the rookie was Jermaine Dye, who wound up on third when he hit a ball that almost cleared the fence. So Taguchi got his glove on the ball but dropped it when he ran into the wall, and the the official scorer ruled it an error.
The game featured several outstanding fielding plays, including a tremendous catch by Dye on a Hector Luna flyball, and Bobby Jenks finished the game with 100 mile per hour heat. I thought Freddy Garcia actually pitched a better game than Reyes; Reyes was tagged for several hard-hit line drives and flyballs (Paul Konerko hit two very hard smashes) but every one was an “at em” ball.
Albert Pujols also returned to the Cardinals for the first time since being injured, an unexpected occurrence. An audible “gasp” ran through the stands when his name was announced in the starting lineup. Sadly for Cardinal fans, Prince Albert got good wood on the ball only once, a flyout to the warning track in left in his first at bat.
As for me, I actually caught one of those shirts they throw into the stands and gave it to my wife for attending the game with me. I’m such a romantic…
ST LOUIS (0) VS CHI WHITE SOX (1) - FINAL
ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Eckstein ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .317
S Taguchi cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .279
A Pujols 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .302
S Rolen 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .335
J Encarnacion rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .288
T Perez dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .278
H Luna lf 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .314
Y Molina c 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .207
A Miles 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .275
Totals 31 0 4 0 1 3 9
BATTING: 2B - D Eckstein (11, F Garcia). Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - A Pujols 1, S Taguchi 1, Y Molina 1, H Luna 1. Team LOB - 5.
BASERUNNING: SB - J Encarnacion (2, 2nd base off F Garcia/A Pierzynski).
FIELDING: E - S Taguchi (4, fly ball).
CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Podsednik lf 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .249
T Iguchi 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292
J Thome dh 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 .288
P Konerko 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .321
J Dye rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .301
A Pierzynski c 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .322
J Crede 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .303
R Mackowiak cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
J Uribe ss 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .225
Totals 26 1 1 1 0 6 2
BATTING: HR - J Thome (24, 7th inning off An Reyes 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - J Thome
(60). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Crede 1. Team LOB - 1.
FIELDING: E - F Garcia (1, throw).
----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 000 000 000 -- 0
CHI WHITE SOX - 000 000 10x -- 1
----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
An Reyes (L, 1-1) 8 1 1 1 0 6 1 1.80
CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
F Garcia (W, 9-4) 8 4 0 0 1 2 0 4.66
B Jenks (S, 21) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.84
Pitches-strikes: An Reyes 90-67; F Garcia 99-69; B Jenks 10-7. Ground
balls-fly balls: An Reyes 6-12; F Garcia 10-12; B Jenks 2-0. Batters faced: An
Reyes 26; F Garcia 29; B Jenks 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Larry Young. 1B--Chad Fairchild. 2B--Mike Everitt. 3B--Alfonso
Marquez.
T--2:00. Att--39,509.
Weather: 77 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, in from center.
The following graph tracks the game’s Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs.
Yesterday’s Home Runs
The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its “standard” distance, which is corrected for weather conditions.
Hitter Pitcher True Dist Stnd Dist HR# Buck, John KC Maholm, Paul PIT 441 440 5 Thome, Jim CWS Reyes, Anthony STL 428 440 24 Morneau, Justin MIN Springer, Russ HOU 439 436 18 Ibanez, Raul SEA Lowe, Derek LAD 410 402 14 Hernandez, Ramon BAL Olsen, Scott FLA 412 398 12 Wright, David NYM Milton, Eric CIN 408 395 16 Helms, Wes FLA Ray, Chris BAL 398 385 5 Wright, David NYM Milton, Eric CIN 379 385 17 Huff, Aubrey TB Gonzalez, Edgar G ARI 380 379 4 Betancourt, Yuniesky SEA Lowe, Derek LAD 386 379 4 Estrada, Johnny ARI Kazmir, Scott TB 365 364 6 Borchard, Joe FLA Ray, Chris BAL 371 363 6 Lane, Jason HOU Liriano, Francisco MIN 357 355 11 Hernandez, Ramon BAL Olsen, Scott FLA 357 341 11
Player News
The following player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
Former Red Sox pitcher Paxton Crawford said he used steroids during his professional years and that his drug use was well known in the clubhourse. Crawford also said that numerous players in the Boston system used performance-enhancing drugs in 2000 and 2001. “It was just everywhere,” he told the Boston Globe. Crawford’s story will be told in this week’s ESPN the Magazine.
Roger Clemens was upstaged by a rookie almost half his age. Francisco Liriano, Minnesota’s 22-year-old phenom, pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Twins to a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros in Clemens’ much-anticipated debut. Liriano (7-1) gave up just four hits in eight innings and didn’t allow a run until Jason Lane’s two-run homer in the eighth, helping the Twins to their ninth win in 10 games and their fourth straight series victory.
Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki went hitless in four at-bats on Thursday vs. the Dodgers to end his 20-game hitting streak. He entered with eight hits in 17 lifetime at-bats against Derek Lowe
Cesar Izturis got three hits and scored twice in his first start since last August.
Thanks to another bullpen meltdown, the Atlanta Braves have lost 10 consecutive games for the first time in 18 years. Horacio Ramirez held Toronto to one run in 6 2/3 innings, but the bullpen blew an eighth-inning lead as Toronto rallied for a 3-2 win Thursday night. Ramirez made his first start since June 11, when he was hit on his head by Lance Berkman’s line drive, knocking the left-hander out of the game. Toronto, which leads the major leagues with its .331 batting average against left-handers, managed only seven hits off Ramirez. He walked six batters and had five strikeouts.
Toronto welcomed back starter A.J. Burnett, who was pitching for the first time since April 21. He gave up only five hits and two runs in six innings at Atlanta. Burnett, who struck out seven, showed no signs of the soreness in his right elbow that caused him to go on the disabled list on April 22.
The Marlins trailed 5-1 in the ninth Thursday before coming back against Baltimore closer Chris Ray, who was 18-for-18 in save situations this season. Ray allowed two runs on two hits in only 2/3 of an inning. Ray came in with one out and runners on the corners in the ninth. After Josh Willingham hit a sacrifice fly, Joe Borchard hit a two-run pinch-hit home run and Wes Helms tied it with a pinch-hit homer.
Refusing to be walked, Miguel Cabrera reached across the plate and hit an intentional ball from Todd Williams for a 10th-inning RBI single, helping the Marlins rally past the Baltimore Orioles 8-5. With the score tied at 5 in the 10th, Hanley Ramirez led off with an infield hit against Williams (1-3). Ramirez took second on a groundout, bringing Cabrera to the plate. With catcher Ramon Hernandez standing upright and calling for an intentional walk, Cabrera stepped into the soft, outside pitch and drove it to center, scoring Ramirez with the go-ahead run on a swing more likely to be seen in the movies than the major leagues.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jon Lieber allowed one run over three innings Thursday night in his first minor league rehabilitation start since being sidelined last month by a strained left groin.
To make room for Albert Pujols, the Cardinals sent Chris Duncan to Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals also put struggling left-hander Mark Mulder on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder strain.
Chicago White Sox pitcher David Riske was suspended three games by the commissioner’s office for intentionally throwing at St. Louis’ Chris Duncan this week. Riske’s suspension was scheduled to start with Thursday night’s home game against the Cardinals, unless the reliever appeals.
David Wright hit a pair of two-run homers as the New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 Thursday. Wright’s two homers gave him 202 RBI for his career, 60 this season.
Gary Matthews Jr. finished 2-for-4 Thursday against the Padres and is hitting .422 (38-for-90) over the past 20 games. John Rheinecker (3-1) allowed 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings, but the Padres managed only two runs against him in a win on Thursday vs. San Diego.
Arizona’s Edgar Gonzalez, recalled from Triple-A Tucson before Thursday’s game at Tampa Bay, allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings in the loss. He struck out six and walked none. The Diamondbacks optioned RHP Casey Daigle to Tucson.
The Rangers’ Michael Young got the go-ahead hit and the Texas Rangers beat the San Diego Padres 5-3 to avoid a series sweep and a losing homestand. Young finished 2-for-4 with two RBI in the game.
The Marlins activated OF Josh Willingham off the 15-day DL and optioned OF Chris Aguila to Triple-A Albuquerque.
Brewers RHP Allan Simpson has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. The Blue Jays optioned RHP Francisco Rosario to Triple-A Syracuse of the IL.
Reds RHP Todd Coffey, anointed the closer two weeks ago by manager Jerry Narron, will be part of a closer’s committee in Cincinnati, possibly appearing in the seventh or the eighth inning as he was doing in April and pitching so well. That means some games will be finished by Kent Mercker, Chris Hammond or David Weathers. “To get Coffey more work, I’m going to mix and match with those four guys,” Narron said. “Coffey pitched so well for us early in the season coming into games in the seventh and eighth innings, and those innings are just as important as far as putting up zeros as is the ninth. Games are won and lost in the seventh or eighth, too.”
Nationals RHP Ramon Ortiz was given permission to leave the club because of an illness in his family. Ortiz is scheduled to start Saturday against the Orioles, but LHP Mike O’Connor has been instructed to prepare in case he’s needed. O’Connor, who would be going on regular rest, would look forward to pitching at Camden Yards since he grew up in suburban Baltimore and was an Orioles fan as a child.
Mets INF Julio Franco is tied with Philadelphia OF David Dellucci for the major league lead with 11 pinch hits.
Mets LF Cliff Floyd is eligible to come off the disabled list Thursday, but GM Omar Minaya doesn’t believe his sprained left ankle will be healed enough to let him be reinstated. “The chances are not good,” Minaya said.
San Diego right-hander Woody Williams began his rehabilitation assignment without allowing a hit in three innings of a Single-A game and is on target to rejoin the Padres by July 1. Williams, on the disabled list since May 13 because of a strained left calf, struck out five and walked one for Lake Elsinore against Rancho Cucamonga in a California League game Wednesday night. “He said the calf felt good. There’s a little stiffness in the elbow,” Padres manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday.
Braves manager Bobby Cox has moved Jorge Sosa to the bullpen, making him Atlanta’s closer for the time being. Kenny Ray, who was in the role for a short time, will now work in middle relief. Chris Reitsma (hand) will also work in middle relief. He is currently on the 15-day DL.
The Mariners are the first team ever to win their first eight interleague games in a season.
THT’s Stats
Batters like to hit line drives, because they fall for hits 75% of the time. Easier said than done, of course, but here’s a list of the twenty major league players who have hit the greatest proportion of line drives (as a percent of all their batted balls). The major league average is 19%. I’ve also included each batter’s Batting Average on Balls in Play (not including strikeouts or home runs) for comparison. You can see, for instance, that Aaron Boone seems to be getting much less out of his line drives than most other batters.
Last First Team LD% BABIP Sullivan Cory COL 30% .343 Sanchez Freddy PIT 30% .371 Boone Aaron CLE 27% .307 Loretta Mark BOS 27% .333 Mauer Joe MIN 27% .407 Youkilis Kevin E BOS 27% .380 Garciaparra Nomar LAN 26% .355 Michaels Jason CLE 26% .330 Abreu Bobby PHI 26% .349 Johnson Nick WAS 26% .328 Pierzynski A.J. CHA 26% .354 Kennedy Adam LAA 25% .313 Granderson Curtis DET 25% .374 Roberts Brian BAL 25% .353 Lowell Mike BOS 25% .317 Rowand Aaron PHI 25% .304 Jeter Derek NYA 24% .399 Clark Brady MIL 24% .314 Young Michael TEX 24% .361 Atkins Garrett COL 24% .326
Access all of THT’s stats here…