THT Daily: NL 8, AL 6
Major League News for June 26
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 DET 4 STL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Bonderman: 7 IP, 8 K, 1 R; Ponson: 7.1 IP, 2 R KC 6 MIL 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Redman: 7 IP, 0 R; Mientkiewicz: 3-3, 3 RBI MIN 8 CHN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Radke: 7 IP, 0 R NYA 2 FLA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Mussina: 7 IP, 1 R; Willis: 8 IP, 2 R OAK 10 SF 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Payton: 4-5, 3 RBI; Loaiza: CG, 4 R SEA 9 SD 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Sexson: 5-5, 2 HR ARI 9 LAA 7 (Recap and Boxscore) Jackson: 4 for 5 ATL 4 TB 1 (Recap and Boxscore) James: 8 IP, 1 R CIN 4 CLE 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Ramirez; 6.1 IP, 2 R; Sowers debut COL 3 TEX 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Kim: 7 IP, 0 R FLA 5 NYA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Sanchez debut: 5.2 IP, 0 R HOU 10 CHA 9 (Recap and Boxscore) 13 innings; See below NYN 7 TOR 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Reyes: 4 for 5; HR WAS 9 BAL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Hernandez: 6 IP, 1 R; Clayton: 3-5, 3 RBI PHI AT BOS WAS POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN National League LAN 7 PIT 4 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT: 10th straight loss
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Time PHI - Lidle C. (4-6, 5.00) BOS - Wakefield T. (5-8, 3.82) 1:05 TB - Shields J. (4-0, 3.00) FLA - Johnson J. (6-4, 2.01) 7:05 ATL - Hudson T. (6-6, 4.05) NYY - Johnson R.* (8-6, 5.21) 7:05 HOU - Rodriguez W.* (8-4, 4.45) DET - Miner Z. (3-1, 2.08) 7:05 MIL - Capuano C.* (8-4, 3.33) CHC - Maddux G. (7-7, 4.83) 8:05 CLE - Lee C.* (6-5, 4.71) STL - Marquis J. (9-5, 5.53) 8:10 LAD - Billingsley C. (0-0, 3.48) MIN - Silva C. (3-8, 6.87) 8:10 COL - Jennings J. (6-6, 4.02) LAA - Lackey J. (4-5, 3.31) 10:05
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 44 28 .611 0.0 40 4NYA 42 31 .575 2.5 43 -1
TOR 41 34 .547 4.5 41 0
BAL 35 42 .455 11.5 34 1
TB 33 43 .434 13.0 31 2
American League Central DET 51 25 .671 0.0 49 2
CHA 49 26 .653 1.5 46 3
MIN 39 35 .527 11.0 37 2
CLE 33 41 .446 17.0 39 -6
KC 24 50 .324 26.0 24 0
American League West OAK 41 34 .547 0.0 39 2
TEX 40 36 .526 1.5 40 0
SEA 38 39 .494 4.0 40 -2
LAA 34 41 .453 7.0 35 -1
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 47 28 .627 0.0 46 1
PHI 35 39 .473 11.5 35 0
FLA 32 40 .444 13.5 36 -4
WAS 33 44 .429 15.0 35 -2
ATL 32 44 .421 15.5 35 -3
National League Central STL 42 32 .568 0.0 40 2
CIN 41 35 .539 2.0 38 3
HOU 38 38 .500 5.0 36 2
MIL 37 39 .487 6.0 33 4
CHN 28 46 .378 14.0 28 0
PIT 26 51 .338 17.5 33 -7
National League West LAN 40 35 .533 0.0 44 -4
SD 39 36 .520 1.0 38 1
COL 38 37 .507 2.0 38 0
SF 37 38 .493 3.0 38 -1
ARI 37 39 .487 3.5 37 0
Game of the Day
The Astros beat the White Sox, 10-9 in 13 innings. They had a 9-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth, partially thanks to two-run home runs by Mike Lamb and Lance Berkman, but Chicago’s Tadahito Iguchi hit a three-run homer to close the gap to 9-5. Iguchi struck again In the bottom of the ninth, when Brad Lidge loaded the bases and Iguchi hit a grand slam, tying the game 9-9. The Astros won in the 13th on a triple by Adam Everett and a single by Willy Taveras.
According to Elias, Iguchi is the sixth player in the last 25 years (1982-2006) to homer in both the eighth and ninth innings of a game that went to extra innings. All six of those players saw their efforts spoiled with a loss in the 11th inning or later.
HOUSTON (10) VS CHI WHITE SOX (9) - FINAL IN 13 INNINGS
HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio dh 7 1 2 1 0 3 3 .273
M Lamb 1b 5 3 2 2 2 0 1 .333
C Burke 2b 5 2 1 0 2 0 4 .319
L Berkman rf 5 1 1 3 1 1 4 .311
M Ensberg 3b 5 0 1 1 1 1 3 .246
P Wilson lf 4 0 1 2 0 1 2 .283
E Bruntlett lf 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .293
B Ausmus c 6 0 0 0 0 0 5 .257
A Everett ss 6 2 3 0 0 0 0 .242
W Taveras cf 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .267
Totals 49 10 15 10 7 6 23
BATTING: 2B - P Wilson (10, J Vazquez); A Everett (13, J Vazquez). 3B - W
Taveras (3, J Vazquez); A Everett (2, B McCarthy). HR - M Lamb (6, 5th inning
off J Vazquez 1 on, 2 Out), L Berkman (22, 5th inning off J Vazquez 1 on, 2
Out). S - W Taveras. SF - L Berkman. RBI - P Wilson 2 (41), M Lamb 2 (20), L
Berkman 3 (68), C Biggio (28), M Ensberg (41), W Taveras (17). 2-out RBI - P
Wilson 2, M Lamb 2, L Berkman 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - B
Ausmus 2, L Berkman 1, C Burke 1. GIDP - P Wilson, B Ausmus. Team LOB - 9.
BASERUNNING: SB - W Taveras 2 (12, 2nd base off B Jenks/A Pierzynski, 2nd
base off B McCarthy/A Pierzynski). CS - A Everett (2, 2nd base by J Vazquez).
FIELDING: E - L Berkman (4, bobble). Outfield assists - W Taveras (P Konerko
at 3rd base). DP: 1 (W Taveras-M Ensberg).
CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Podsednik lf 5 2 2 1 1 1 1 .256
T Iguchi 2b 5 2 2 7 1 0 0 .291
J Thome dh 6 0 0 0 0 4 2 .280
P Konerko 1b 6 1 2 1 0 1 0 .315
J Dye rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .296
a-R Gload ph-rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264
A Pierzynski c 6 1 1 0 0 1 0 .321
J Crede 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .307
P Ozuna 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .425
J Uribe pr-ss 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .226
R Mackowiak cf 5 1 1 0 0 2 3 .273
A Cintron ss-3b 5 2 2 0 0 1 1 .276
Totals 50 9 13 9 2 10 9
a-flied out to center for J Dye in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - P Konerko (15, R Oswalt); R Mackowiak (8, R Oswalt). HR - P
Konerko (19, 7th inning off R Oswalt 0 on, 0 Out), T Iguchi 2 (8, 8th inning
off R Springer 2 on, 0 Out, 9th inning off B Lidge 3 on, 2 Out). S - R
Mackowiak. RBI - S Podsednik (29), P Konerko (60), T Iguchi 7 (37). 2-out RBI -
S Podsednik, T Iguchi 4. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Podsednik
1, J Thome 1. Team LOB - 5.
FIELDING: DP: 2 (J Crede-T Iguchi-P Konerko, T Iguchi-A Cintron-P Konerko).
----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 200 040 300 000 1 -- 10
CHI WHITE SOX - 001 000 134 000 0 -- 9
----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
R Oswalt 7 5 2 2 1 7 1 3.26
R Springer 0 3 3 3 0 0 1 4.15
D Wheeler 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.09
B Lidge 1 3 4 4 1 1 1 5.55
C Qualls 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.12
T Miller 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.09
F Nieve (W, 3-3) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.61
CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Vazquez 6 10 9 9 2 3 2 5.00
A Montero 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 5.54
N Cotts 1/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.07
B Jenks 1 2/3 0 0 0 2 1 0 2.62
B McCarthy (L, 3-4) 2 3 1 1 1 1 0 4.46
J Vazquez pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.
R Springer pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.
WP - A Montero. IBB - M Lamb 2 (by B Jenks, B McCarthy). Pitches-strikes: R
Oswalt 108-77; R Springer 13-9; D Wheeler 9-6; B Lidge 22-14; C Qualls 30-24; T
Miller 4-3; F Nieve 25-18; J Vazquez 95-61; A Montero 32-17; N Cotts 9-5; B
Jenks 17-8; B McCarthy 41-28. Ground balls-fly balls: R Oswalt 4-9; R Springer
0-0; D Wheeler 1-2; B Lidge 1-1; C Qualls 4-3; T Miller 0-0; F Nieve 3-0; J
Vazquez 5-9; A Montero 5-3; N Cotts 0-1; B Jenks 3-1; B McCarthy 1-4. Batters
faced: R Oswalt 26; R Springer 3; D Wheeler 3; B Lidge 7; C Qualls 8; T Miller
1; F Nieve 5; J Vazquez 29; A Montero 10; N Cotts 3; B Jenks 6; B McCarthy 10.
UMPIRES: HP--Angel Hernandez. 1B--Hunter Wendelstedt. 2B--Sam Holbrook.
3B--Randy Marsh.
T--4:25. Att--38,516.
Weather: 69 degrees, clear. Wind: 9 mph, left to right.
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 # Cabrera, Miguel FLA Chacon, Shawn NYY 446 447 11 Griffey Jr., Ken CIN Sowers, Jeremy CLE 410 433 13 Berkman, Lance HOU Vazquez, Javier CWS 438 431 22 Garciaparra, Nomar LAD Marte, Damaso PIT 429 431 9 Hunter, Torii MIN Howry, Bob CHC 428 422 11 Overbay, Lyle TOR Trachsel, Steve NYM 413 420 10 Reyes, Jose NYM Towers, Josh TOR 412 417 8 Sexson, Richie SEA Thompson, Mike SD 420 414 13 Konerko, Paul CWS Oswalt, Roy HOU 400 411 19 Valentin, Jose NYM Taubenheim, Ty TOR 402 410 7 Lamb, Mike HOU Vazquez, Javier CWS 421 408 6 Cameron, Mike SD Pineiro, Joel SEA 411 404 8 Iguchi, Tadahito CWS Lidge, Brad HOU 399 403 8 Dunn, Adam CIN Sowers, Jeremy CLE 384 403 24 Randa, Joe PIT Penny, Brad LAD 400 402 2 Finley, Steve SF Loaiza, Esteban OAK 392 401 5 Sexson, Richie SEA Embree, Alan SD 406 396 14 Damon, Johnny NYY Willis, Dontrelle FLA 390 396 11 Byrd, Marlon WAS Rleal, Sendy BAL 391 394 4 Hudson, Orlando ARI Escobar, Kelvim LAA 397 386 5 Morales, Kendry LAA Batista, Miguel ARI 394 385 4 Iguchi, Tadahito CWS Springer, Russ HOU 372 383 7 Pratt, Todd ATL Hendrickson, Mark TB 381 380 2 Conine, Jeff BAL Rivera, Saul WAS 374 376 6 Johnson, Ben SD Pineiro, Joel SEA 375 370 2 Greene, Khalil SD Pineiro, Joel SEA 367 363 10 Molina, Bengie TOR Trachsel, Steve NYM 365 354 6 Beltran, Carlos NYM Towers, Josh TOR 351 339 20 Rodriguez, Luis MIN Dempster, Ryan CHC 339 334 2
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 CLE A+ Brian Barton CF 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 .516 OBP during past week LA MLB Anthony Hatch 3B 5 4 2 0 1 0 0 LA MLB Brian Bormaster DH 5 4 0 0 1 0 1 SD A William Venable LF 6 5 0 0 2 1 0 SEA AA Jesus Guzman 2B 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 STL A+ Matt Dryer DH 6 4 2 0 1 0 1 3 runs scored STL AAA Brian Daubach 1B 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 RBI TEX A Brian Valichka C 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 TOR A+ David Corrente C 5 3 0 0 2 1 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CHC AA JR Mathes 9.0 4 0 0 4 0 0 CLE A Thomas Cowley 7.0 2 0 0 7 0 0 COL AA Ubaldo Jimenez 5.0 1 0 0 10 3 0 1 ER allowed over last 32 IP HOU AAA Chris Baker 7.0 2 1 1 5 3 0 HOU A Thomas Fairchild 7.0 5 0 0 6 0 0 0.75 ERA over past month KC AA Junior Herndon 8.0 2 1 1 4 1 0 MIL AAA Jared Fernandez 9.0 3 0 0 7 0 0 OAK AAA Shane Komine 7.0 4 0 0 4 1 0 SD AA Sean Thompson 7.0 2 0 0 9 1 0 STL A Trey Hearne 7.0 4 1 0 6 1 0
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
Jeremy Sowers allowed five hits and four runs over five innings, walking one and striking out three in his debut on Sunday against the Reds. Sowers was drafted in the first round by Cincinnati (No. 20 overall) in 2001, but he spurned the Reds’ contract offer to attend Vanderbilt University. He signed with the Indians in 2004 after being the sixth pick overall. The left-hander compiled a 23-5 record and 2.00 ERA in 42 starts in the minors, including a 9-1 mark and 1.39 ERA in 15 starts at Triple-A Buffalo this year.
Needing a pitcher to start the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees, the Florida Marlins called up right-hander Anibal Sanchez from Double-A Carolina to make his first major league start. Sanchez worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, scattering seven hits while walking none and striking out two batters in the win. To make room on the roster, the Marlins optioned right-hander Jeff Fulchino to Triple-A Albuquerque.
Sanchez became the 20th rookie used by the Marlins this season — and the 10th to make his major league debut.
Ken Griffey’s 549th homer broke a tie with Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt and gave him sole possession of 11th place on the career list, 14 behind Reggie Jackson.
The Dodger lineup featured four shortstops on the infield. Nomar Garciaparra (1,024 games), Ramon Martinez (249), Rafael Furcal (846) and Cesar Izturis (559) had played a combined total of 2,678 games at shortstop during their careers entering yesterday’s game.
Although he didn’t get the win, Jeremy Bonderman put together his third straight game going at least seven innings and allowing one run. In the 22 innings pitched, he’s struck out 32 batters and walked just five. He left with the game tied, but the Tigers scored three in the bottom of the eighth to send the Cardinals to their sixth straight loss.
As noted by Baseball Musings, “after giving up six runs in four innings to the New York Mets, a pitcher names Towers owns an ERA of 9.11.” That’s eerie.
Rafael Furcal singled in the first for his 1,000th career hit on Sunday vs. the Pirates. He finished 2-for-4 with two RBI in the game.
Jose Reyes had four hits again, including a leadoff homer to lead the New York Mets to a 7-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. The streaking Reyes went 4-for-5 for the second consecutive game and the third time in five days. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games and is on a 32-for-57 (.561) tear that’s raised his batting average from .246 to .302. “I feel real good right now,” he said. “I made a little change in my swing. A lot of pitchers were throwing me off-speed pitches outside. I tried to pull the ball before. Now I’m staying with it.”
Washington exploited the wildness of Baltimore’s Daniel Cabrera (4-5), who walked five, hit a batter and uncorked a team-record four wild pitches — one shy of the AL mark — in 4 2/3 innings on Sunday. He allowed six runs on five hits.
Barry Bonds left Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics after the second inning with irritation in his left knee.
Byung-Hyun Kim pitched seven outstanding innings in the Colorado Rockies’ 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday. It was the second consecutive start that Kim (5-4) did not allow a run. He went six shutout innings against Oakland last Monday. Kim scattered five hits, struck out seven and walked two in the longest scoreless start of his career.
Jorge Sosa pitched the ninth for his first save this season and the second of his career on Sunday at Tampa Bay.
Chuck James took a one-hitter into the seventh inning of his first major league start Sunday, leading the struggling Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. James finished with eight strikeouts and four walks in eight innings. The 24-year-old left-hander made seven relief appearances for the Braves before going on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring sustained against the New York Mets on May 5. He was activated from the DL on June 7 and optioned to Richmond, where he was 1-0 with a 2.67 ERA before being recalled.
Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur has the most two-out RBI in the Majors with 31.
Following his double in the eighth inning on Saturday, Matt Diaz’s pinch-hitting average (.368) is second in the Majors, behind the Brewers’ Corey Hart (.389).
The Astros sent LHP Philip Barzilla outright to Triple-A Round Rock. The A’s placed RHP Jay Witasick on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 20, with left ankle tendinitis. Florida’s Carlos Martinez (elbow) might not pitch again this season, according to MLB.com. The Phillies transferred RHP Julio Santana from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.
According to MLB.com, the Rangers are still expecting John Wasdin to rejoin the rotation on Friday against the Houston Astros. In a rehab start on Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma, Wasdin threw five scoreless innings.
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz expects to make his next scheduled start Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
The Braves were hoping that John Thomson would return around July 4 after being sidelined by a blister on his right middle finger, but that is now questionable. “It’s touch and go,” manager Cox said. “It’s hard to say.”
Rangers right-handed pitcher Robinson Tejeda was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma on Sunday, a day after giving up seven runs in three innings. The Rangers purchased the contract of righty Nick Masset from Oklahoma.
The Giants’ Armando Benitez (strained right elbow) was unable to go on Sunday against the Athletics if needed, but he might be able to return on Tuesday against the Rangers. “It showed a little bit of inflammation,” trainer Stan Conte said. “It was a little sore, but it’s much better (Sunday). We’ll wait for the stiffness to go away.”
According to the Contra Costa Times, Mark Ellis (hand) is scheduled to start a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Monday. Barring any setbacks, he might be back as soon as Friday against the Diamondbacks.
Reliever Keith Foulke’s right elbow tendinitis appears to be improving, but he is still far from a return date to playing according to MLB.com. “Foulke is doing much better as far as the range of motion and swelling, but the throwing part is a little slower,” Terry Francona said. “Hopefully Tuesday, we’ll get him out there to play some catch but that’s still not for sure.”
J.J. Hardy, making slow progress in his return from a sprained ankle, probably won’t be ready to return to action until just before or after the All-Star break according to the Brewers.
THT’s Stats
Yesterday we looke at the batters who have created the most runs this year. Today, we’ll look at the pitchers who have have the most Pitching Runs Created. Pitching Runs Created is a stat designed by David Gassko to put pitcher performances on the same level as batters. For instance, Travis Hafner is leading the majors with 69 Runs Created, but the Twins’ Johan Santana is having a bigger year, according to PRC, with 78 Pitching Runs Created.
Here’s a list of the top twenty major league leaders in PRC.
Last First Team PRC Santana Johan MIN 78 Webb Brandon ARI 73 Schmidt Jason SF 68 Arroyo Bronson CIN 68 Zambrano Carlos CHN 65 Mussina Mike NYA 62 Schilling Curt BOS 61 Bonderman Jeremy DET 60 Halladay Roy TOR 59 Zito Barry OAK 59 Martinez Pedro NYN 59 Capuano Chris MIL 58 Haren Danny OAK 57 Kazmir Scott E TB 56 Penny Brad LAN 55 Contreras Jose CHA 53 Glavine Tom NYN 53 Lowe Derek LAN 53 Rogers Kenny DET 52 Oswalt Roy HOU 52
Access all of THT’s stats here…