THT Daily: AL 8, NL 5
Major League News for June 28
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Top Minor League Performances
Player News
Stats
Yesterday’s Results
Interleague BOS 9 NYN 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Lester: 5 IP, 2 R CHA 4 PIT 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Buehrle: 7 IP, 2 R CLE 3 STL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Sabathia: 8 IP, 1 R DET 4 HOU 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Robertson: 7 IP, 0 R; Clemens: 6.1 IP, 2 R KC 9 CIN 8 (Recap and Boxscore) Brown: 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI MIN 9 LAN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Mauer: 5-5, batting .389; Liriano: 7 IP, 2 R SEA 11 ARI 7 (Recap and Boxscore) Johjima: 2 HR, 5 RBI; Beltre, Tracy, Byrnes: 2 2B TOR 6 WAS 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Burnett: 9 IP, 0 R, 7 K; Hill: 3 RBI ATL 5 NYA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Ramirez: 8 IP, 1 R COL 12 LAA 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Holliday: 3 2B; Cook: 7 IP, 3 R FLA 8 TB 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Olivo: 2 HR, 5 RBI SD 3 OAK 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Young: 6 IP, 0 R SF 5 TEX 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Winn: 4-5, 3 RBI, Morris: 8 IP, 0 ER PHI AT BAL WAS POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN National League MIL 8 CHN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL: 4 in 9th; Zambrano: 8 IP, 4 R; hit HR
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Time ATL - Smoltz J. (4-5, 3.89) NYY - Wang C. (8-3, 4.14) 1:05 HOU - Pettitte A.* (6-8, 5.75) DET - Verlander J. (9-4, 3.39) 1:05 LAD - Perez O.* (4-2, 6.33) MIN - Santana J.* (8-4, 2.75) 1:10 PHI - Hamels C.* (1-3, 4.41) BAL - Bedard E.* (7-6, 5.09) 1:35 MIL - Bush D. (5-6, 4.64) CHC - Marmol C. (1-2, 4.98) 2:20 CWS - Garcia F. (9-4, 4.66) PIT - Maholm P.* (2-6, 4.90) 7:05 TB - Fossum C.* (2-3, 5.25) FLA - Olsen S.* (6-3, 4.60) 7:05 NYM - Martinez P. (7-3, 3.01) BOS - Beckett J. (9-3, 4.84) 7:05 PHI - Mathieson S. (0-1, 4.22) BAL - Benson K. (8-5, 4.06) 7:05 WAS - Hill S. (1-2, 4.26) TOR - Lilly T.* (7-7, 4.15) 7:07 KC - Elarton S. (3-8, 4.87) CIN - Harang A. (8-5, 3.59) 7:10 CLE - Westbrook J. (6-4, 4.36) STL - Carpenter C. (6-4, 2.97) 8:10 SEA - Hernandez F. (7-7, 5.10) ARI - Gonzalez E. (0-1, 6.00) 9:40 COL - Francis J.* (5-7, 4.37) LAA - Santana E. (8-3, 4.03) 10:05 OAK - Blanton J. (7-6, 4.67) SD - Hensley C. (4-6, 4.38) 10:05 TEX - Rheinecker J.* (3-1, 3.57) SF - Lowry N.* (2-5, 4.23) 10:15
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. “PWins” is short for Projected Wins, based on each team’s Run Differential, and is often a better measure of a team’s true strength.
Other team graphs and stats can be found on our Team Page.
American League East Pwins Diff BOS 46 28 .622 0.0 42 4NYA 43 32 .573 3.5 44 -1
TOR 42 34 .553 5.0 42 0
BAL 35 42 .455 12.5 34 1
TB 33 45 .423 15.0 31 2
American League Central DET 53 25 .679 0.0 51 2
CHA 50 26 .658 2.0 47 3
MIN 41 35 .539 11.0 40 1
CLE 35 41 .461 17.0 41 -6
KC 25 50 .333 26.5 25 0
American League West OAK 41 35 .539 0.0 39 2
TEX 40 37 .519 1.5 40 0
SEA 39 39 .500 3.0 41 -2
LAA 35 42 .455 6.5 35 0
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 47 29 .618 0.0 46 1
PHI 35 40 .467 11.5 35 0
FLA 34 40 .459 12.0 38 -4
WAS 33 45 .423 15.0 34 -1
ATL 33 45 .423 15.0 36 -3
National League Central STL 42 34 .553 0.0 40 2
CIN 41 36 .532 1.5 38 3
MIL 39 39 .500 4.0 34 5
HOU 38 40 .487 5.0 36 2
CHN 28 48 .368 14.0 28 0
PIT 26 52 .333 17.0 33 -7
National League West SD 40 36 .526 0.0 39 1
LAN 40 37 .519 0.5 43 -3
COL 39 38 .506 1.5 39 0
SF 38 38 .500 2.0 39 -1
ARI 37 40 .481 3.5 37 0
Game of the Day
The Royals beat the Reds 9-8, thanks to a two-run, two-out pinch hit home run by Matt Stairs in the ninth inning. The game featured the major leagues’ two worst bullpens and one its most homerific ballparks, and the action followed the script. Starter Eric Milton gave up three home runs, the Reds added two of their own, Todd Coffey relinguished the Stairs home run, and the Royals’ bullpen allowed three runs in the last two innings before finishing the game.
KANSAS CITY (9) VS CINCINNATI (8) - FINAL
KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 3 1 1 1 2 0 2 .279
M Grudzielanek 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .286
R Sanders rf 3 1 0 0 2 1 1 .246
E Brown lf 4 3 3 4 0 0 1 .283
T Graffanino 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250
E Dessens p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Affeldt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-M Stairs ph 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .257
A Burgos p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Mientkiewicz 1b 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 .271
A Berroa ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .245
J Buck c 4 1 2 1 0 2 2 .257
M Wood p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Wellemeyer p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
a-E German ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .330
A Sisco p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Teahen 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .242
Totals 35 9 10 9 5 5 11
a-walked for T Wellemeyer in the 7th; b-homered to right center for J Affeldt
in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - T Graffanino (11, E Milton); E Brown 2 (20, T Coffey, E Milton).
HR - E Brown (6, 2nd inning off E Milton 0 on, 0 Out), J Buck (6, 5th inning
off E Milton 0 on, 2 Out), D Dejesus (3, 6th inning off E Milton 0 on, 0 Out),
M Stairs (7, 9th inning off T Coffey 1 on, 2 Out). S - M Grudzielanek. SF - E
Brown. RBI - E Brown 4 (37), J Buck (22), D DeJesus (12), D Mientkiewicz (30),
M Stairs 2 (29). 2-out RBI - J Buck, M Stairs 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - T Graffanino 1, J Buck 2, D DeJesus 1. GIDP - R Sanders. Team
LOB - 6.
FIELDING: E - R Sanders (2, bobble).
CINCINNATI ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 .264
A Dunn lf 4 1 2 1 1 2 1 .226
K Griffey Jr cf 4 1 1 2 1 0 2 .259
R Aurilia 3b 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .267
S Hatteberg 1b 5 2 2 2 0 0 3 .290
A Kearns rf 4 1 2 1 1 2 0 .272
B Phillips 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 .308
D Ross c 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .320
E Milton p 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .174
J Standridge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
E Yan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-R Freel ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .301
K Mercker p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-J Valentin ph 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .210
Q McCracken pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .184
T Coffey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 40 8 13 8 3 5 9
a-flied out to right for E Yan in the 7th; b-grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop for K Mercker in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - E Milton (2, M Wood); R Aurilia (13, M Wood). HR - K Griffey Jr
(14, 3rd inning off M Wood 1 on, 2 Out), S Hatteberg (5, 9th inning off A
Burgos 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - A Dunn (46), K Griffey Jr 2 (43), S Hatteberg 2
(20), A Kearns (44), D Ross (26), J Valentin (10). 2-out RBI - A Dunn, K
Griffey Jr 2, S Hatteberg, A Kearns. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
S Hatteberg 2, K Griffey Jr 1. Team LOB - 8.
FIELDING: E - B Phillips (6, ground ball). DP: 1 (R Aurilia-B Phillips-S
Hatteberg).
----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 010 014 102 -- 9
CINCINNATI - 005 000 021 -- 8
----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
M Wood 3 2/3 7 5 4 1 1 1 4.87
T Wellemeyer 2 1/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 1.50
A Sisco (H, 4) 2/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 7.44
E Dessens (B, 4) 2/3 4 2 2 0 0 0 4.07
J Affeldt (W, 3-5) 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.99
A Burgos (S, 13) 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 6.56
CINCINNATI ip h r er bb so hr era
E Milton 5 1/3 7 6 6 2 3 3 5.14
J Standridge 2/3 0 1 1 2 1 0 3.86
E Yan 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.22
K Mercker 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6.00
T Coffey (L, 3-2) 1 2 2 2 0 1 1 2.61
J Standridge pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
WP - E Dessens. IBB - R Sanders (by E Yan). Pitches-strikes: M Wood 58-38; T
Wellemeyer 25-17; A Sisco 23-12; E Dessens 21-13; J Affeldt 17-9; A Burgos
14-9; E Milton 81-51; J Standridge 23-10; E Yan 14-9; K Mercker 12-7; T Coffey
14-10. Ground balls-fly balls: M Wood 6-4; T Wellemeyer 2-2; A Sisco 1-1; E
Dessens 2-0; J Affeldt 1-1; A Burgos 1-1; E Milton 6-7; J Standridge 1-0; E Yan
1-2; K Mercker 2-2; T Coffey 1-1. Batters faced: M Wood 19; T Wellemeyer 7; A
Sisco 4; E Dessens 6; J Affeldt 3; A Burgos 4; E Milton 24; J Standridge 4; E
Yan 4; K Mercker 5; T Coffey 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Larry Poncino. 1B--Rob Drake. 2B--Ed Hickox. 3B--Chad
Fairchild.
T--3:07. Att--21,420.
Weather: 79 degrees, overcast. Wind: 10 mph, right to left.
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 Std. Dist. HR # Overbay, Lyle TOR Ortiz, Ramon WAS 451 450 11 Branyan, Russell TB Nolasco, Ricky FLA 428 433 9 Green, Shawn ARI Washburn, Jarrod SEA 444 430 8 Griffey Jr., Ken CIN Wood, Mike KC 428 429 14 Gomez, Alexis DET Nieve, Fernando HOU 426 428 1 Norton, Greg TB Nolasco, Ricky FLA 419 425 4 Ramirez, Aramis CHC Capellan, Jose MIL 412 421 14 Belliard, Ronnie CLE Reyes, Anthony STL 422 420 5 Huff, Aubrey TB Nolasco, Ricky FLA 422 419 5 Stairs, Matt KC Coffey, Todd CIN 417 419 7 Brown, Emil KC Milton, Eric CIN 438 417 6 Kent, Jeff LAD Liriano, FranciscoMIN 418 411 9 Cabrera, Miguel FLA Kazmir, Scott TB 424 409 12 Johjima, Kenji SEA Lyon, Brandon ARI 417 405 10 Olivo, Miguel FLA Jackson, Edwin TB 417 404 8 Hatteberg, Scott CIN Burgos, Ambiorix KC 406 402 5 Buck, John KC Milton, Eric CIN 409 400 6 LaRoche, Adam ATL Villone, Ron NYY 382 396 12 Hawpe, Brad COL Weaver, Jeff LAA 393 395 14 Gonzalez, Luis ARI Washburn, Jarrod SEA 404 393 6 Garciaparra, Nomar LAD Liriano, FranciscoMIN 399 393 10 Beltran, Carlos NYM Tavarez, Julian BOS 416 388 21 Cabrera, Melky NYY Sosa, Jorge ATL 370 387 2 Quinlan, Robb LAA King, Ray COL 382 385 3 Olivo, Miguel FLA Kazmir, Scott TB 400 384 7 Lee, Carlos MIL Zambrano, Carlos CHC 382 384 25 DeJesus, David KC Milton, Eric CIN 381 383 3 Barajas, Rod TEX Worrell, Tim SF 373 376 6 Zambrano, Carlos CHC Jackson, Zach MIL 374 372 2 Gonzalez, Alex BOS Soler, Alay NYM 397 364 4 Wilson, Craig PIT Buehrle, Mark CWS 350 364 12 Johjima, Kenji SEA Webb, Brandon ARI 372 362 9 Winn, Randy SF Millwood, Kevin TEX 390 361 8 Lugo, Julio TB Herges, Matt FLA 369 356 8 Hill, Aaron TOR Ortiz, Ramon WAS 351 350 2 Marrero, Eli NYM Hansen, Craig BOS 366 345 5 Delgado, Carlos NYM Lester, Jon BOS 380 342 21 Lowell, Mike BOS Soler, Alay NYM 362 327 9
Top Minor League Games
The following list, provided by First Inning, includes the top minor league batting (based on Runs Created) and pitching (based on Game Score) performances from yesterday.
ORG LVL PLAYER POS AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO Notes ARI AAA Carlos Quentin RF 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 BAL AAA Eli Whiteside C 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 BOS AAA Adam Stern LF 5 4 0 0 2 0 0 4 RBI BOS A Jay Johnson RF 7 5 1 0 0 0 2 .520 OBP during past week CHW AA Cory Aldridge LF 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 DET A- Casper Wells RF 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 HOU AA Hunter Pence RF 3 3 0 0 1 2 0 MIL A Michael Bell SS 4 3 0 0 1 0 1 NYY A- Tony Roth 3B 4 3 0 1 0 1 1 SEA AA Michael Wilson LF 3 3 1 0 1 1 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes ARI AA Ross Ohlendorf 7.0 4 0 0 4 0 0 CIN AA Homer Bailey 6.0 0 0 0 6 2 0 CIN AAA Chris Michalak 8.0 5 0 0 2 0 0 1.15 ERA over past month DET A- Matt O'Brien 7.0 2 0 0 7 1 0 HOU AAA Jared Gothreaux 7.0 5 1 1 9 0 1 KC A Carlos Rosa 7.0 1 0 0 8 2 0 LAA A Nick Adenhart 8.0 3 0 0 6 3 0 MIL AA Corey Thurman 7.0 3 1 1 8 1 0 NYY A- Rolando Japa 6.0 0 1 0 4 2 0 SEA AA Ryan Feierabend 8.0 3 1 1 11 0 1 19 K over last 15 IP
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
The Devil Rays traded pitcher Mark Hendrickson and catcher Toby Hall to the Dodgers for pitcher Jae Seo, minor-league catcher Dioner Navarro and a player to be named. Hendrickson was 4-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 13 starts. The 32-year-old lefty held opponents to a .241 batting average. Hall hit .231 with eight home runs and 23 RBI for the last-place Devil Rays. He has thrown out 35 percent of would-be basestealers in his career. “Mark will add some depth to our starting rotation as we head into the second half of the season,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. “Toby is an experienced catcher who will serve us well both behind the plate and off the bench.” Seo, traded from the New York Mets to the Dodgers in the offseason, was 2-4 with a 5.78 ERA. The righty is 24-26 with a 4.13 ERA lifetime.
A.J. Burnett picked up his first American League win in Tuesday’s game against the Nationals and he did it in style. He allowed six hits and no walks in a complete game shutout, striking out seven batters in the win.
Roger Clemens allowed just two runs — one earned — and three hits in 6 1/3 innings to take another tough loss despite pitching really well. He walked two batters and struck out three, as he got a big hand from the Tiger fans upon departing.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers will take a leave of absence from the team through the All-Star break to focus on personal matters following his arrest on assault charges against his wife. Myers was arrested Friday and charged with hitting his wife in the face on a street not far from Fenway Park where the Phillies played the Red Sox. He was freed after his wife posted $200 bail and faces a court date of Aug. 4.
For the Giants, Omar Vizquel (back) was out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Rangers, as he was given a night off to rest his back. Armando Benitez (elbow) was unavailable, as Jeremy Accardo came on in the top of the ninth inning with two outs for his second save of the season. And Moises Alou (back) remained sidelined, as he was still not ready to start. He was unable to come on and serve as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning.
The Marlins’ Dan Uggla (hamstring) was sidelined again on Tuesday against the Devil Rays. Earlier, manager Joe Girardi said a trip to the 15-day disabled list is a possibility.
The Cubs’ official website reports Freddie Bynum (arm) is out at least four weeks due to a blood clot in his right arm. He is taking blood thinning medication to avoid a more serious medical issue. Phil Nevin will be the beneficiary of semi-regular playing time in the outfield with Bynum out.
David Wells (knee) is expected to join the Red Sox in Tampa Bay next week according to the team.
Duaner Sanchez (pinched nerve) was able to pitch in Tuesday’s loss at Boston. He allowed a run off three hits in an inning of work.
The Cubs’ Tony Womack (back) was sent to Triple-A Iowa due to a special clause in his contract which allows them an extra roster spot without having to place him on the 15-day disabled list. “He had a special clause in his contract where he could go down without being off the roster and he’s available to come back,” manager Dusty Baker.
The Cubs’ Scott Williamson (elbow) was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. He will work in middle relief. David Aardsma was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. “We didn’t want to send him down either,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He’s been throwing good, but somebody had to go when Williamson came off the disabled list and they both do kind of the same job.”
Also for the Cubs, Geovany Soto was recalled from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, as Henry Blanco has been battling a sore neck. However, the veteran was able to go on Tuesday.
The Toronto Blue Jays activated right-hander Pete Walker from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday and outrighted right-hander Josh Towers to Triple-A Syracuse for a second time.
The Pirates announced that Oliver Perez will be moved out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen. Ryan Vogelsong was also designated for assignment. The team has 10 days to either trade, release or outright him to Triple-A if he passes through waivers. The Pirates recalled Jonah Bayliss from Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Brett Tomko on the 15-day disabled list. The move is retroactive to Saturday when Tomko suffered a left oblique strain against Pittsburgh, and left after five scoreless innings.
Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Cano, the leading vote getter at his position for the AL All-Star team, was put on the DL retroactive to Monday. New York called up infielder Nick Green from Triple-A Columbus to take his roster spot.
With an off day Thursday, the Indians will keep Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia on regular rest and skip phenom LHP Jeremy Sowers.
The Washington Nationals came to terms with their top draft choice, high school outfielder Chris Marrero of Miami. Marrero, who will turn 18 on Sunday, agreed to a signing bonus of $1.625 million after the Nationals selected him with the 15th pick in the draft. Last Friday, the Nationals gave a $1.425 million bonus to right-handed pitcher Colton Willems, another Florida high school prospect and first round pick.
Angel Howie Kendrick is hitting an impressive .390 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI for Triple-A Salt Lake. He also has eight steals for the Bees.
A recent 1-for-20 slump dropped Atlanta’s top prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s batting average to .202 for Double-A Mississippi entering Monday night. “Mechanically, he’s sound,” Mississippi Braves hitting coach Phillip Wellman told the Clarion Ledger. “If you rule out mechanical problems, then it’s something above his shoulders. Right now, he lacks confidence.”
Pittsburgh RHP Matt Capps leads all rookies with 38 relief appearances, putting him on pace to pitch in 80 games this season. The Pirates’ rookie record for games pitched is 72 by Rich Loiselle in 1997.
THT’s Stats
Most people know that, among the most common batting stats, OBP and SLG are the two best stats for evaluating hitters. It can be hard to find the pitching equivalent of OBP and SLG, however. Most fantasy players refer to WHIP (Walks and Hits Per Inning Pitched), which is just OBP in a different format. But a pitcher’s slugging average allowed isn’t easily available.
Look no longer. Here are the top twenty major league leaders in Slugging Percentage Allowed (along with each pitcher’s ERA and WHIP, to give you the full picture).
Last First Team SLGA ERA WHIP Martinez Pedro NYN .327 3.01 0.94 Lackey John LAA .327 3.31 1.11 Lowe Derek LAN .333 3.49 1.23 Contreras Jose CHA .339 3.15 1.09 Schmidt Jason SF .341 2.82 1.10 Zambrano Carlos CHN .350 2.95 1.24 Bonderman Jeremy DET .353 3.65 1.16 Penny Brad LAN .358 3.06 1.21 Wang Chien-Ming NYA .358 4.14 1.29 Halladay Roy TOR .359 3.07 1.05 Zito Barry OAK .362 3.46 1.32 Young Chris SD .366 2.97 1.09 Hendrickson Mark TB .369 3.81 1.28 Santana Johan MIN .371 2.75 0.98 Mussina Mike NYA .372 3.28 1.08 Wakefield Tim BOS .376 3.86 1.24 Westbrook Jake CLE .376 4.36 1.28 Arroyo Bronson CIN .378 2.58 1.12 Capuano Chris MIL .380 3.10 1.16 Santana Ervin R LAA .380 4.03 1.21
Access all of THT’s stats here…