THT Daily: Howard’s Record
Major League News for August 31
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
American League BOS 6 TOR 4 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 6 DET 4 (Recap and Boxscore) TB 5 CHA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 3 KC 1 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 7 BAL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) National League SF 8 ATL 6 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 6 PHI 5 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 5 MIL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 5 FLA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 8 NYN 4 (Recap and Boxscore)
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Starts SF - Lowry N.* (7-7, 3.75) CHC - Hill R.* (3-6, 5.81) 2:20 ATL - Villarreal O. (9-1, 4.17) PHI - Lieber J. (6-9, 5.09) 7:05 ARI - Batista M. (10-5, 4.46) WAS - Traber B.* (3-3, 7.14) 7:05 TOR - Lilly T.* (11-11, 4.78) BOS - Snyder K. (3-3, 6.91) 7:05 MIN - Silva C. (8-12, 6.50) NYY - Lidle C. (2-2, 4.15) 7:05 LAA - Santana E. (13-6, 4.34) DET - Rogers K.* (14-6, 4.02) 7:05 SEA - Meche G. (9-8, 4.56) TB - Shields J. (6-6, 4.59) 7:15 FLA - Sanchez A. (5-2, 3.41) MIL - Capuano C.* (11-8, 3.53) 8:05 NYM - Glavine T.* (12-6, 3.92) HOU - Rodriguez W.* (9-8, 5.46 8:05 PIT - Duke Z.* (8-12, 5.01) STL - Carpenter C. (12-6, 2.96 8:10 CWS - Contreras J. (11-6, 4.25) KC - Hernandez R. (4-8, 6.67) 8:10 CLE - Westbrook J. (11-8, 4.27) TEX - Padilla V. (13-8, 4.16) 8:35 BAL - Bedard E.* (12-9, 3.92) OAK - Blanton J. (14-10, 4.45) 10:05 CIN - Arroyo B. (10-9, 3.52) SD - Hensley C. (8-10, 3.94) 10:05 COL - Jennings J. (7-11, 3.48) LAD - Lowe D. (12-8, 3.75) 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 red 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 NYA 79 53 .598 0.0 77 2BOS 72 62 .537 8.0 69 3
TOR 69 65 .515 11.0 69 0
BAL 60 73 .451 19.5 59 1
TB 53 81 .396 27.0 54 -1
American League Central DET 83 51 .619 0.0 81 2
CHA 78 55 .586 4.5 76 2
MIN 77 55 .583 5.0 74 3
CLE 63 69 .477 19.0 72 -9
KC 49 86 .363 34.5 50 -1
American League West OAK 77 56 .579 0.0 71 6
LAA 70 64 .522 7.5 69 1
TEX 69 66 .511 9.0 71 -2
SEA 63 70 .474 14.0 64 -1
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 82 50 .621 0.0 77 5
PHI 67 66 .504 15.5 68 -1
FLA 65 68 .489 17.5 66 -1
ATL 63 69 .477 19.0 69 -6
WAS 56 77 .421 26.5 56 0
National League Central STL 71 61 .538 0.0 67 4
CIN 67 67 .500 5.0 64 3
HOU 66 68 .493 6.0 68 -2
MIL 62 72 .463 10.0 58 4
CHN 54 79 .406 17.5 54 0
PIT 53 81 .396 19.0 58 -5
National League West LAN 71 62 .534 0.0 72 -1
SD 68 65 .511 3.0 67 1
SF 66 68 .493 5.5 67 -1
ARI 64 69 .481 7.0 64 0
COL 62 71 .466 9.0 67 -5
Wildcard Standings American League CHA 78 55 .586 0.0 MIN 77 55 .583 0.5 BOS 72 62 .537 6.5 LAA 70 64 .522 8.5 TOR 69 65 .515 9.5 National League SD 68 65 .511 0.0 PHI 67 66 .504 1.0 CIN 67 67 .500 1.5 HOU 66 68 .493 2.5 SF 66 68 .493 2.5
Game of the Day
The Nationals showed some late-inning spunk to beat the Phillies 6-5 in ten innings. Down by two runs and looking at their last strike in the bottom of the ninth, Felipe Lopez hit a two-run single to tie things up. The Phillies took the lead on a passed ball in the top of the tenth, but Washington scored two on Brian Schneider’s single and a wild pitch by Aaron Fultz. Philadelphia had been the only National League team that had not lost a game this season in which it had taken a lead into the ninth inning.
The star of the game was Ryan Howard, who homered, singled, was hit by a pitch and walked twice. That left him with 49 home runs for the season, breaking Mike Schmidt’s team record. Howard became only the sixth different player in major league history to take a total of at least 49 home runs into September.
Even more impressive is that Howard drove in 41 runs during August, appropriately the most by any major leaguer in any month since another ferocious-hitting Howard who did his share of damage at Washington’s RFK Stadium — big Frank Howard, that is — drove in 41 runs for the Dodgers in July 1962. (Source: Elias)
PHILADELPHIA (5) VS WASHINGTON (6) - FINAL IN 10 INNINGS PHILADELPHIA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Rollins ss 5 0 3 0 1 0 0 .281 S Victorino cf 5 0 1 0 0 1 4 .286 C Utley 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 .310 R Howard 1b 2 3 2 1 2 0 0 .299 D Dellucci rf-lf 5 0 1 1 0 1 5 .304 P Burrell lf 3 1 1 1 1 0 1 .259 C Roberson rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206 M Lieberthal c 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .254 A Nunez 3b 5 1 2 0 0 0 2 .200 R Wolf p 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .231 a-J Thurston ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250 R Madson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182 b-J Hernandez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .264 G Geary p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 A Rhodes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-J Conine ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .400 A Fultz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 40 5 12 4 4 4 18 a-grounded to pitcher for R Wolf in the 6th; b-fouled out to third for R Madson in the 8th; c-singled to right for A Rhodes in the 10th. BATTING: 2B - P Burrell (22, P Astacio). 3B - D Dellucci (5, P Astacio). HR - R Howard (49, 4th inning off P Astacio 0 on, 1 Out). S - S Victorino. RBI - D Dellucci (36), R Howard (128), P Burrell (83), M Lieberthal (28). 2-out RBI - P Burrell, M Lieberthal. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Thurston 1, D Dellucci 2, S Victorino 2. GIDP - S Victorino. Team LOB - 12. BASERUNNING: SB - J Rollins (31, 2nd base off P Astacio/B Harper). FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Rollins-C Utley-R Howard). WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg A Soriano lf 4 0 0 0 1 2 1 .292 F Lopez ss 5 1 3 2 0 0 1 .276 R Zimmerman 3b 5 1 2 0 0 2 2 .284 N Johnson 1b 4 1 2 0 1 0 2 .288 A Kearns rf 3 0 0 1 1 1 4 .261 M Anderson cf 5 2 3 1 0 2 2 .274 B Harper c 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .318 a-D Ward ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .308 B Schneider c 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 .249 B Castro 2b 5 0 0 0 0 1 3 .244 P Astacio p 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .211 S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-J Vidro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293 J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 C Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-H Mateo ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200 R Wagner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 d-R Church ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .253 Totals 41 6 13 5 3 9 20 a-flied out to center for B Harper in the 6th; b-grounded to first for S Rivera in the 7th; c-grounded to pitcher for C Cordero in the 9th; d-hit for P Astacio in the 10th. BATTING: 2B - F Lopez (22, G Geary); B Schneider (14, A Rhodes). SF - A Kearns. RBI - A Kearns (71), M Anderson (23), F Lopez 2 (43), B Schneider (46). 2-out RBI - M Anderson, F Lopez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - B Harper 1, A Kearns 1, R Zimmerman 1. GIDP - N Johnson. Team LOB - 9. FIELDING: E - F Lopez (24, catch). PB - B Schneider. DP: 1 (N Johnson-F Lopez-N Johnson). ---------------------------------------------------- PHILADELPHIA - 010 102 000 1 -- 5 WASHINGTON - 200 000 002 2 -- 6 Three outs when winning run scored. ---------------------------------------------------- PHILADELPHIA ip h r er bb so hr era R Wolf 5 5 2 2 2 3 0 5.30 R Madson (H, 4) 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 5.54 G Geary (H, 9) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.12 A Rhodes (B, 2) 1 3 2 2 1 2 0 5.19 A Fultz (L, 3-1; B, 2) 2/3 3 2 2 0 1 0 4.96 WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era P Astacio 5 2/3 8 4 4 2 2 1 6.12 S Rivera 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.53 J Rauch 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.27 C Cordero 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.19 R Wagner (W, 2-2) 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 4.41 WP - A Fultz. IBB - R Howard (by C Cordero), A Soriano (by A Rhodes). HBP - R Howard (by S Rivera); M Lieberthal (by R Wagner). Pitches-strikes: R Wolf 95-59; R Madson 22-17; G Geary 16-11; A Rhodes 25-17; A Fultz 19-10; P Astacio 99-62; S Rivera 16-11; J Rauch 20-13; C Cordero 26-15; R Wagner 16-9. Ground balls-fly balls: R Wolf 5-7; R Madson 1-2; G Geary 2-1; A Rhodes 1-0; A Fultz 0-2; P Astacio 8-7; S Rivera 3-1; J Rauch 1-2; C Cordero 2-0; R Wagner 2-0. Batters faced: R Wolf 21; R Madson 7; G Geary 4; A Rhodes 7; A Fultz 6; P Astacio 26; S Rivera 6; J Rauch 4; C Cordero 5; R Wagner 6. UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Dreckman. 1B--Larry Poncino. 2B--Ed Hickox. 3B--Gary Darling. T--3:21. Att--22,221. Weather: 69 degrees, overcast. Wind: 17 mph, in from 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. You can read their daily updates at the Hit Tracker Blog.
Ryan Howard’s record-breaking home run was also the fifth-longest of the year, traveling 474 “standard” feet.
Hitter Pitcher True Dist Std. Dist. HR # Howard, Ryan PHI Astacio, Pedro WAS 443 474 49 Duncan, Chris STL Mitre, Sergio FLA 421 447 15 Ordonez, Magglio DET Johnson, Randy NYY 427 428 18 Amezaga, Alfredo FLA Suppan, Jeff STL 411 427 3 Wright, David NYM Francis, Jeff COL 422 418 24 Rodriguez, Alex NYY Walker, Jamie DET 392 412 27 White, Rondell MIN De La Rosa, Jorge KC 414 409 4 Infante, Omar DET Johnson, Randy NYY 400 401 3 Atkins, Garrett COL Perez, Oliver NYM 410 400 22 Matthews, Gary TEX Cabrera, Daniel BAL 408 397 15 Navarro, Dioner TB Thornton, Matt CWS 376 396 5 Lee, Carlos TEX Cabrera, Daniel BAL 406 395 32 Cora, Alex BOS Halladay, Roy TOR 369 385 1 Lowell, Mike BOS Halladay, Roy TOR 377 384 16 Pierzynski, A.J. CWS Hammel, Jason TB 367 379 13 Markakis, Nick BAL Eaton, Adam TEX 384 373 14 Linden, Todd SF Franklin, Wayne ATL 366 365 2 Teixeira, Mark TEX Chen, Bruce BAL 369 360 24 Fielder, Prince MIL Wheeler, Dan HOU 355 354 24 Biggio, Craig HOU Helling, Rick MIL 352 351 18 German, Esteban KC Santana, Johan MIN 355 350 2 Thames, Marcus DET Johnson, Randy NYY 337 320 24
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 CHC A- Matthew Canepa C 3 3 0 1 0 1 0 CIN A Habelito Hernandez 1B 5 4 0 1 1 0 0 5 RBI CLE A- Matthew McBride C 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 COL A Nelson Robledo C 4 3 0 0 1 1 1 KC AAA Alejandro Prieto SS 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 LA A Eduardo Perez 3B 2 2 1 0 1 2 0 4 RBI LA AAA Eric Riggs 1B 3 2 1 0 1 2 0 MIL AAA Graham Koonce 1B 3 3 1 0 1 2 0 3 runs scored SD AA Colt Morton C 4 3 2 0 1 0 1 SD A- Abraham Aguilar 3B 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes BOS AA Devern Hansack 7.0 1 0 0 12 1 0 CIN AA Josh Hall 9.0 5 1 1 3 3 0 CIN A+ Johnny Cueto 7.0 4 0 0 7 0 0 CLE A- Joshua Tomlin 6.2 4 1 1 9 0 0 FLA A- Kyle Winters 6.0 1 0 0 4 0 0 LAA A+ Karl Gelinas 7.2 4 0 0 3 4 0 PHI A- Darren Byrd 7.0 2 0 0 3 4 0 SD A+ Arturo Lopez 6.0 1 0 0 3 1 0 SF AAA Patrick Misch 9.0 7 2 1 7 0 1 SF A- Kevin Pucetas 6.0 1 1 0 8 1 0 1.07 ERA over past month
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
Left-hander David Wells was traded Thursday from the Boston Red Sox to his hometown San Diego Padres, seeking pitching as they contend for a playoff spot. The Red Sox are to receive a player to be announced or cash.
The Minnesota Twins acquired first baseman Phil Nevin and cash from the Chicago Cubs on Thursday for a player to be named, a deal made on the final day players must be in an organization to be eligible for postseason play.
The Orioles-Rangers game produced yet another home run by Mark Teixeira against Bruce Chen. In 12 career plate appearances against Chen, Teixeira is now 7-for-11 with six home runs, a double and a walk; that’s a slugging percentage of 2.364. (Source: Elias)
The Red Sox obtained RHP Kevin Jarvis from the Arizona Diamondbacks and assigned him to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday.
Houston right-hander Brandon Backe will have a ligament in his right elbow replaced, an operation that could sideline him until 2008. Backe, 3-2 with a 3.77 ERA, has been on the disabled list since Aug. 18 with a sprained elbow. He reinjured the elbow the previous day after missing 86 games with the same injury. Backe made two starts in April, then left his third start in San Francisco after two innings because of soreness in the elbow. He wound up on the 60-day DL and returned on July 22. He finished with eight starts this season.
Jeff Francis struggled on the mound but not at the plate, posting his first career two-hit, two-RBI game in Colorado’s 8-4 win Thursday night. Francis allowed four runs and 10 hits in five innings but helped himself out with his bat, singling home a run in the third and adding a sacrifice fly to deep center field in the fourth.
Dontrelle Willis gave up a run and six hits in seven innings with four Ks in a no-decision on Thursday at St. Louis.
Daniel Cabrera (7-9) struck out seven and walked four in five innings on Thursday in a loss at Texas. The rookie right-hander hadn’t allowed a run his previous two starts, but his streak of 16 scoreless innings ended when Gary Matthews hit a full-count pitch to center field for a home run. Cabrera allowed five runs — four earned — on eight hits.
Adam Eaton (4-4) had a season-high seven strikeouts in five innings in a win on Thursday against Baltimore. He allowed two runs — one earned — on five hits.
Matt Morris won on the road for the first time in six tries, ending a six-game home winning streak for John Smoltz and leading the San Francisco Giants over the Atlanta Braves 8-6 Thursday night. Morris (10-11) had been 0-2 in five road starts since a July 2 victory at San Diego. He gave up five runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Andy Pettitte (13-13) won his second straight start, allowing two runs on five hits with a walk on Thursday against Milwaukee.
Randy Johnson allowed a pair of early home runs to Magglio Ordonez and Omar Infante — the only hits he allowed through eight innings in a win on Thursday against Detroit. Then a leadoff walk in the ninth followed by Marcus Thames’ 24th homer made it close and spoiled Johnson’s day. “I was disappointed about the ninth inning,” he said. “That’s me.” Johnson struck out eight and walked one. Eight quality innings didn’t mean much to him. “I didn’t pitch a quality ninth,” he said.
Alex Rodriguez snapped out of a 1-for-24 slump with three hits, including his 27th home run, backing Randy Johnson and leading the New York Yankees over the Tigers 6-4 Thursday. Rodriguez connected leading off the seventh inning and was called out of the dugout for a curtain call by Yankee fans, who have booed him for much of the season.
Esteban German’s just-barely home run in the sixth inning Thursday was the only score against Johan Santana (16-5), who leads the league with a 2.95 ERA and is 7-0 in the second half. He walked one, gave up five hits and threw 109 pitches. Santana posted his 30th career double-digit strikeout game. This is also his third straight season with 200 strikeouts or more.
Philadelphia Phillies closer Tom Gordon threw two scoreless innings in his first minor league rehab appearance Thursday night since being sidelined by a strained right shoulder. Gordon, who hadn’t pitched since Aug. 12, could rejoin the Phillies soon.
Mark Mulder was put back on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, a day after the St. Louis Cardinals left-hander expressed doubt he will pitch again this season. Mulder allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings Tuesday night against Florida, his second start since coming off the DL from a shoulder injury. He’s 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA after entering the season as the winningest pitcher in the major leagues during the previous five seasons.
Mariano Rivera had an MRI exam on his right forearm before Thursday’s game. The scan showed a mild muscle strain in his right elbow but no structural damage. He went on to earn his 33rd save of the season after the MRI when he closed the door on the Tigers to preserve a 6-4 victory.
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said Thursday he is in good health and expects to return to the lineup Saturday, welcome news for a team reeling from a string of injuries. “My health is fine. The doctors have told me to rest today and practice Friday so I can be ready to return to the playing field on Saturday,” he told radio station Z-101 of his native Dominican Republic.
The Boston Herald reported young Boston pitcher Jon Lester, who left the team with back woes, is being tested for an array of potential internal illnesses, including cancer, after he was detected with enlarged lymph nodes. “There are a lot of personal things going on here that weigh on us a lot more than the losses and wins,” Curt Schilling told the paper in apparent reference to the 22-year-old left-hander, one of Boston’s top prospects.
The Red Sox did receive some good news: OF Wily Mo Pena received a cortisone shot in his troublesome left wrist and could be ready to play in a couple of days. He missed his sixth straight game.
Brewers GM Doug Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he got no calls on Geoff Jenkins, who has a contract that pays him $7 million next year.
The Florida Marlins optioned RHP Randy Messenger to Class-A Jupiter and recalled INF Robert Andino from Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday.
The Twins announced they will recall right-hander Scott Baker and catcher Chris Heintz and purchase the contract of infielder Alexi Casilla before Friday’s game at New York.
The Reds on Thursday recalled infielder Brendan Harris from Louisville and optioned right-handed pitcher Matt Belisle to Class A Sarasota.
Phillies recalled C Carlos Ruiz from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and optioned LHP Matt Smith to Class A Clearwater.
The Dodgers optioned LHP Tim Hamulack to Class A Vero Beach of the FSL and recalled LHP Hong-Chih Kuo from Triple-A Las Vegas of the PCL.
The Athletics recalled 1B Dan Johnson from Triple-A Sacramento of the PCL and sent UTL D’Angelo Jimenez outright to Sacramento, removing him from the 40-man roster.
Alfonso Soriano needs one outfield assist to become the first player to have 40 homers, 30 stolen bases and 20 assists in one season. He would also become the seventh player to record 40 homers and 20 assists in a season; Babe Ruth did it twice.
RHP Logan Kensing will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery Thursday. Manager Joe Girardi believes that since Kensing is a reliever, there’s a chance he could pitch next season.
RHP Brandon Webb and INF Andy Green have left for Lexington, Ky., to attend the funeral of their friend and former University of Kentucky teammate Jon Hooker. Hooker and his new bride Scarlett Parsley were among 49 people killed in a commuter airline crash at the Lexington airport Sunday.
The New York Mets optioned left-hander Dave Williams to Triple-A Norfolk after he earned the win in an 11-3 victory over Colorado on Wednesday night. The Mets called up infielder Anderson Hernandez, who will be eligible for the postseason roster. “This is basically a move to give us flexibility on our playoff roster,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said. “Dave will come back on Tuesday and make the start for us.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers will add three players, including highly touted rookie outfielder Matt Kemp, when active rosters expand from 25 players to 40 on Friday. The Dodgers announced Thursday that Kemp and first baseman James Loney will be recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League, and they were purchasing the contract of catcher Einar Diaz from Las Vegas.
LHP Scott Kazmir, on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder tightness, could return this season. While the Devil Rays remain cautious with their 22-year-old ace, manager Joe Maddon thinks there’s a 60-percent chance that Kazmir will return before the season is over. “It will all be incumbent on him feeling absolutely good,” Maddon said. “(There has to be) no hesitation, no long time to get loose, no feeling of this little thing in my arm, nothing.”
Manager Mike Hargrove said he expects RHP Rafael Soriano to pitch again this season after being hit behind his right ear by a line drive Tuesday night. Soriano sustained a mild concussion and was released from the hospital Wednesday. The Mariners don’t know when Soriano will return, but they won’t put him on the DL because they have a day off Thursday and can expand their roster Friday. “I would think the next time he pitches, it’ll be in the back of his mind somewhere,” Hargrove said.
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