THT Daily: Reds Close In
Major League News for August 21
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 BAL 6 MIN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Markakis: 3 HR TB 5 TEX 3 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 4 OAK 3 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 4 CHA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 5 CLE 2 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 4 BOS 3 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 6 NYA 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Beltre: GW HR in 9th National League PIT 5 ATL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) FLA 7 WAS 5 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 8 STL 7 (Recap and Boxscore) PHI 6 CHN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 14 HOU 0 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 4 COL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 1 LAN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Peavy over Hendrickson SF 7 ARI 6 (Recap and Boxscore) Bullpens stink: 9 R in last 2 innings
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Starts HOU - Oswalt R. (9-8, 3.24) CIN - Michalak C.* (1-1, 5.91) 12:35 ARI - Gonzalez E. (3-5, 5.14) SF - Schmidt J. (10-7, 3.03) 3:35 WAS - Armas T. (8-8, 4.73) FLA - Olsen S.* (9-7, 4.49) 7:05 MIN - Garza M. (0-2, 11.74) BAL - Lopez R. (9-12, 6.03) 7:05 CWS - Garcia F. (11-8, 4.87) DET - Miner Z. (7-4, 4.15) 7:05 OAK - Loaiza E. (6-7, 5.58) TOR - Chacin G.* (6-2, 5.61) 7:07 STL - Mulder M.* (6-5, 6.09) NYM - Trachsel S. (12-5, 4.79) 7:10 TEX - Millwood K. (12-8, 4.58) TB - Fossum C.* (6-5, 5.06) 7:15 PIT - Snell I. (11-8, 4.51) ATL - Hudson T. (10-10, 4.77) 7:35 PHI - Myers B. (8-6, 4.40) CHC - Guzman A. (0-3, 6.68) 8:05 COL - Kim B. (7-8, 4.94) MIL - Sheets B. (3-5, 5.54) 8:05 CLE - Byrd P. (8-6, 4.55) KC - De La Rosa J.* (1-1, 5.89) 8:10 BOS - Lester J.* (6-2, 4.72) LAA - Escobar K. (9-10, 3.77) 10:05 LAD - Penny B. (13-6, 3.70) SD - Williams W. (6-4, 3.67) 10:05 NYY - Wang C. (14-5, 3.86) SEA - Hernandez F. (10-11, 4.50) 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 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 75 49 .605 0.0 73 2BOS 69 56 .552 6.5 66 3
TOR 67 59 .532 9.0 66 1
BAL 56 69 .448 19.5 56 0
TB 51 75 .405 25.0 51 0
American League Central DET 81 45 .643 0.0 78 3
CHA 73 52 .584 7.5 71 2
MIN 72 52 .581 8.0 69 3
CLE 56 68 .452 24.0 67 -11
KC 46 81 .362 35.5 47 -1
American League West OAK 71 55 .563 0.0 65 6
LAA 67 59 .532 4.0 65 2
TEX 65 62 .512 6.5 68 -3
SEA 57 68 .456 13.5 59 -2
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 76 48 .613 0.0 71 5
PHI 63 62 .504 13.5 65 -2
FLA 59 66 .472 17.5 61 -2
ATL 59 66 .472 17.5 64 -5
WAS 54 72 .429 23.0 55 -1
National League Central STL 66 58 .532 0.0 63 3
CIN 66 60 .524 1.0 62 4
MIL 60 65 .480 6.5 55 5
HOU 59 67 .468 8.0 61 -2
CHN 53 72 .424 13.5 51 2
PIT 48 78 .381 19.0 54 -6
National League West LAN 66 60 .524 0.0 68 -2
SD 64 62 .508 2.0 64 0
ARI 62 64 .492 4.0 62 0
SF 61 65 .484 5.0 63 -2
COL 59 66 .472 6.5 64 -5
Wildcard Standings American League CHA 73 52 .584 0.0 MIN 72 52 .581 0.5 BOS 69 56 .552 4.0 TOR 67 59 .532 6.5 LAA 67 59 .532 6.5 National League CIN 66 60 .524 0.0 SD 64 62 .508 2.0 PHI 63 62 .504 2.5 ARI 62 64 .492 4.0 SF 61 65 .484 5.0
Game of the Day
Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer off Jason Isringhausen in the bottom of the ninth to give the New York Mets a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Before the ninth, the game had been dominated by the two teams’ star first basemen, Albert Pujols and Carlos Delgado, who both hit two home runs, including a grand slam each.
Pujols hit his 37th and 38th home runs, Beltran hit his 36th and Delgado hit his 30th and 31st. According to Elias, it’s the first time in major league history that a game before Sept. 1 featured as many as five home runs that were at least the 30th of the season for the batter.
Coupled with Cincinnati’s 14-0 win over Houston, the Cardinals’ N.L. Central lead is down to one game.
ST LOUIS (7) VS NY METS (8) - FINAL
ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Miles ss 3 2 1 0 2 0 0 .262
C Duncan lf 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 .347
A Pujols 1b 4 2 2 7 0 1 2 .327
S Rolen 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .313
J Encarnacion cf-rf 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 .283
P Wilson rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .266
A Wainwright p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400
R Flores p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-T Perez ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .194
T Johnson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
J Isringhausen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Belliard 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .250
Y Molina c 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 .217
J Weaver p 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .071
S Taguchi cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .268
Totals 32 7 8 7 5 9 9
a-intentionally walked for R Flores in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - C Duncan (8, J Maine); Y Molina (24, J Maine); J Encarnacion (21,
C Bradford). HR - A Pujols 2 (38, 4th inning off J Maine 2 on, 0 Out, 5th
inning off J Maine 3 on, 2 Out). RBI - A Pujols 7 (105). 2-out RBI - A Pujols
4. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Y Molina 1. GIDP - A Pujols, R
Belliard. Team LOB - 3.
BASERUNNING: SB - J Encarnacion (5, 2nd base off G Mota/P Lo Duca).
FIELDING: E - R Belliard (2, ground ball); C Duncan (3, fly ball). PB - Y
Molina.
NY METS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Reyes ss 5 1 0 1 0 0 1 .290
P Lo Duca c 5 2 3 0 0 0 1 .311
C Beltran cf 5 2 1 2 0 0 2 .288
C Delgado 1b 4 2 2 5 0 0 0 .258
D Wright 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .299
M Tucker lf 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 .269
E Chavez rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 3 .296
C Woodward 2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .219
J Maine p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
a-R Ledee ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .206
G Mota p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-J Valentin ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .285
P Feliciano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Bradford p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-J Franco ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .272
A Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 33 8 8 8 3 5 12
a-walked for J Maine in the 5th; b-sacrificed to third for G Mota in the 6th;
c-struck out looking for C Bradford in the 8th.
BATTING: HR - C Delgado 2 (31, 2nd inning off J Weaver 0 on, 0 Out, 5th inning
off J Weaver 3 on, 1 Out), C Beltran (36, 9th inning off J Isringhausen 1 on, 1
Out). S - E Chavez , J Valentin. RBI - C Delgado 5 (85), J Reyes (62), C
Beltran 2 (103). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - P Lo Duca 1, C
Woodward 1, J Franco 1. Team LOB - 6.
FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Tucker (R Belliard at Home). DP: 2 (J Reyes-C
Woodward-C Delgado, D Wright-C Woodward-C Delgado).
----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS - 000 340 000 -- 7
NY METS - 010 041 002 -- 8
One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Weaver 5 5 5 4 2 4 2 5.74
A Wainwright (H, 13) 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 3.14
R Flores (H, 17) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.93
T Johnson (H, 9) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.06
B Looper (H, 14) 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.77
J Isringhausen (L, 4-7; B, 9) 1/3 2 2 2 0 0 1 3.54
NY METS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Maine 5 6 7 7 2 5 2 3.58
G Mota 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
P Feliciano 1/3 0 0 0 2 0 0 2.02
C Bradford 1 2/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.83
A Heilman (W, 3-4) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.87
IBB - T Perez (by C Bradford). HBP - M Tucker (by T Johnson).
Pitches-strikes: J Weaver 94-56; A Wainwright 15-9; R Flores 10-7; T Johnson
2-1; B Looper 4-4; J Isringhausen 7-5; J Maine 82-57; G Mota 21-13; P Feliciano
14-6; C Bradford 13-8; A Heilman 13-8. Ground balls-fly balls: J Weaver 7-4; A
Wainwright 3-0; R Flores 1-2; T Johnson 1-0; B Looper 1-0; J Isringhausen 1-0;
J Maine 5-4; G Mota 1-0; P Feliciano 1-0; C Bradford 4-1; A Heilman 1-0.
Batters faced: J Weaver 24; A Wainwright 5; R Flores 3; T Johnson 2; B Looper
2; J Isringhausen 3; J Maine 22; G Mota 4; P Feliciano 3; C Bradford 5; A
Heilman 3.
UMPIRES: HP--James Hoye. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Tony Randazzo.
T--2:36. Att--49,661.
Weather: 78 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 13 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. You can read their daily updates at the Hit Tracker Blog.
A total of four players had multi-homer games: the Mets’ Carlos Delgado and Cards’ Albert Pujols each hit two home runs in the same game at Shea Stadium, Mariner Adrian Beltre hit home runs in the first and ninth inning (the last a walkoff) against the Yankees at Safeco Field, and the Orioles’ Nick Markakis went deep three times at Camden Yards against the Twins.
Hitter Pitcher True Dist. Std. Dist. HR # Wells, Vernon TOR Halsey, Brad OAK 444 436 29 Delgado, Carlos NYM Weaver, Jeff STL 424 435 31 Johnson, Nick WAS Tankersley, Taylor FLA 436 428 19 Markakis, Nick BAL Silva, Carlos MIN 432 423 9 Pujols, Albert STL Maine, John NYM 429 419 37 Thames, Marcus DET Buehrle, Mark CWS 420 418 22 Pena, Tony ATL Chacon, Shawn PIT 417 416 1 Rodriguez, Alex NYY O'Flaherty, Eric SEA 421 413 26 Markakis, Nick BAL Silva, Carlos MIN 411 410 10 Holliday, Matt COL Turnbow, Derrick MIL 402 406 23 Beltran, Carlos NYM Isringhausen, Jason STL 395 406 36 Dunn, Adam CIN Borkowski, Dave HOU 428 405 38 Abreu, Bobby NYY Baek, Cha Seung SEA 412 405 10 Estrada, Johnny ARI Stanton, Mike SF 399 403 10 Sexson, Richie SEA Karstens, Jeff NYY 406 397 27 Beltre, Adrian SEA Karstens, Jeff NYY 403 397 14 Hatteberg, Scott CIN Hirsh, Jason HOU 413 396 13 Pujols, Albert STL Maine, John NYM 404 396 38 Patterson, Corey BAL Silva, Carlos MIN 393 396 13 Markakis, Nick BAL Silva, Carlos MIN 397 394 11 Ramirez, Hanley FLA Bergmann, Jason WAS 392 389 12 Jacobs, Mike FLA Bergmann, Jason WAS 397 386 16 Kearns, Austin WAS Johnson, Josh FLA 387 383 18 Phillips, BrandonCIN Hirsh, Jason HOU 399 381 13 Roberts, Brian BAL Silva, Carlos MIN 382 377 7 Norton, Greg TB Padilla, Vicente TEX 373 372 11 Beltre, Adrian SEA Villone, Ron NYY 369 369 15 Delgado, Carlos NYM Weaver, Jeff STL 356 368 30 Teahen, Mark KC Lee, Cliff CLE 375 367 16 Lee, Travis TB Mahay, Ron TEX 365 365 11 Rivera, Juan LAA Snyder, Kyle BOS 400 362 21 Ross, David CIN Borkowski, Dave HOU 381 361 16
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 A+ Emilio Bonifacio 2B 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 BAL AA Carlos Duran LF 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 5 RBI BOS A+ Jeffrey Corsaletti LF 5 3 1 0 2 0 0 4 RBI CHW AA Cory Aldridge LF 4 4 1 0 0 1 0 CLE A+ Argenis Reyes 2B 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 CLE AAA Jonathan Van Every CF 4 3 0 0 1 0 1 DET AAA Ryan Ludwick RF 5 3 1 0 2 0 2 .581 OBP during past week FLA A Agustin Septimo SS 5 4 2 1 0 0 0 HOU A+ Billy Hart DH 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 KC AAA Shane Costa RF 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes BOS AA Devern Hansack 7.0 4 0 0 7 0 0 DET A+ Eddie Bonine 8.0 5 2 2 6 1 2 FLA AA Daniel Barone 8.0 4 0 0 5 0 0 KC AAA Andy Van Hekken 8.0 3 1 1 3 0 1 MIL A+ Derek Miller 6.0 1 0 0 10 2 0 17 K over last 12 IP NYY A+ Chase Wright 7.0 5 0 0 5 3 0 0.89 ERA over past month PHI A+ Kyle Kendrick 7.0 5 0 0 2 0 0 PIT A+ Luis Munoz 7.0 3 1 1 7 3 0 PIT AAA Marty McLeary 7.0 6 0 0 7 2 0 SD AA Sean Thompson 7.0 5 0 0 7 1 0
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
The Diamondbacks traded the 33-year-old Shawn Green and slightly more than $6.3 million to the Mets for Triple-A pitcher Evan MacLane, a 23-year-old left-hander.
The Pittsburgh Pirates traded utility infielder Jose Hernandez to the Philadelphia Phillies for cash Tuesday. The 37-year-old Hernandez hit .267 with two homers and 12 RBI in 67 games with the Pirates. He made 10 starts at first base and six at shortstop while also starting at second base, third base and right field.
Nick Markakis had just hit his third home run, and the crowd at Camden Yards stood in appreciation, demanding a curtain call. Markakis was in the process of putting his helmet in the rack when hitting coach Terry Crowley shoved the rookie toward the top of the dugout stairs. Markakis waved his helmet to the fans, who yelled even louder before sitting down in anticipation of his next at-bat. There would be no fourth home run, but Markakis did more than enough to carry the Baltimore Orioles past the Minnesota Twins 6-3 Tuesday night. Markakis homered in the first, third and fifth innings off Carlos Silva (8-11). Seeking to become the 16th player in major league history to hit four in a game, he hit a short fly ball to left in the sixth against Willie Eyre.
Kenny Rogers is proving his 41-year-old arm can still win games late in the summer. Rogers shut down the slumping Chicago White Sox, giving the Detroit Tigers their biggest lead in the AL Central in almost two weeks and guaranteeing their first .500 season in more than a decade. He dominated for seven innings and was backed by Marcus Thames’ solo homer and RBI triple in Detroit’s 4-0 win over the White Sox on Tuesday night, its second straight victory in a possibly pivotal four-game series against the World Series champions.
Mark Buehrle lost again Tuesday, dropping him to 1-7 with an 8.10 ERA over his last 10 starts. That’s the most losses and the second-highest ERA (minimum: 40 innings) for any pitcher since the start of July. (Making things worse for the White Sox: Jose Contreras is one of three players with six losses during that span.) The only pitcher with a higher ERA since July 1 is Joel Pineiro (8.50).
Seattle’s Cha Seung Baek, called up from Triple-A Tacoma before the game, allowed three hits and three runs in five innings on Tuesday against the Yankees. He struck out six and walked three in the no-decision.
Bobby Abreu hit his 200th career home run in Tuesday’s game at Seattle, his second since the Yankees acquired him from Philadelphia on July 30 and his second since June 13. Derek Jeter’s single in the ninth was his 1,532nd, moving him past Lou Gehrig and Bernie Williams into the Yankees career lead.
Anaheim’s Francisco Rodriguez got the last three outs in Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox for his 35th save, retiring Kevin Youkilis on a flyball to the warning track in right field after an intentional walk to David Ortiz.
Kansas City’s Odalis Perez (1-1) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings on Tuesday against the Indians for his first victory as a starter since April 21 when he beat Arizona while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mark Teahen was 4-for-4 with a home run and two doubles in Tuesday’s game against the Indians.
Travis Hafner was 3-for-4 with two doubles in Tuesday’s game at Kansas City to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
Making his Phillies debut, Jamie Moyer got his first victory in five starts, leading Philadelphia to a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. He became the oldest Phillies pitcher to record a victory in franchise history. “He throws under the speed limit, which is as effective sometimes as throwing over the speed limit,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said.
Chicago surprise Ryan O’Malley (1-1) left Tuesday’s game in the fifth inning due to a strained left elbow, and will be re-evaluated Wednesday. “I don’t know, bad luck,” Baker said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
Chris Capuano (11-8) gave up three hits in six scoreless innings in Tuesday’s start at Colorado. He escaped a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the fourth when Yorvit Torrealba popped out, Ryan Spilborghs lined to third baseman David Bell and Luis Gonzalez hit a roller back to mound. “He got himself in trouble. He got himself out of trouble,” Hurdle said. “We weren’t able to capitalize.”
Milwaukee’s Laynce Nix, making his second start in center since being recalled Aug. 18 from Triple-A Nashville, had two hits and three RBI in Tuesday’s game at Colorado.
Pittsburgh’s Shawn Chacon allowed only one run on three hits but walked five in a no-decision on Tuesday at Atlanta. Oscar Villarreal, making his second start for Atlanta after pitching 47 games out of the bullpen, gave up one run and four hits in five innings in a no-decision on Tuesday against the Pirates
Jake Peavy allowed three hits and a walk in seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers in Tuesday’s start, as he picked up the win and improve to 7-12. Peavy struck out seven and walking one. Mark Hendrickson (1-6) gave up one run and five hits in six innings against the Padres on Tuesday, as he was a hard luck loser to San Diego’s Jake Peavy. He struck out four and walked one.
Johnny Estrada homered, doubled twice and singled for Arizona, which lost its third straight game and fifth in six. Estrada’s double to deep right in the sixth gave the Diamondbacks their first run.
Matt Cain allowed just one run, seven hits and a walk in seven strong innings on Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. The bullpen allowed five runs in two innings and blew the win for Cain, who was able to post a quality start and record seven strikeouts.
A.J. Burnett won his fourth straight start to a 4-3 victory Tuesday night against Oakland. Burnett (6-5) allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. “This was a good win for us after last night,” Burnett said
Adam Loewen (4-4) gave up singles to four of the first six batters, then got 21 straight outs before being removed after eight innings and 108 pitches in a win on Tuesday against Minnesota. The rookie left-hander struck out seven and walked none.
Cincinnati right-hander Kyle Lohse gave up four hits in eight innings and had three of his own on Tuesday against Houston, getting his first victory and his biggest ovations since arriving in a July 31 trade with the Twins. Lohse had only four career hits heading into the game. “Everything’s looking up, looking good,” said Lohse, who has a 1.65 ERA in four starts for Cincinnati. “I like it here.”
Outfielder Willy Taveras extended his hitting streak to 25 games on Tuesday, matching the Houston Astros’ record set by Jeff Kent. Taveras hit a grounder to the hole and easily beat shortstop Rich Aurilia’s throw to first base in the third inning against Cincinnati. Kent also hit in 25 games from May 14 to June 11, 2004. It’s the second-longest hitting streak in the NL this season, trailing Chase Utley’s 35 games for Philadelphia. Boston’s Manny Ramirez had a 27-game streak in the AL.
Phillies center fielder Aaron Rowand might miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken ankle in a nasty collision in Monday’s 6-5 win over the Cubs. Rowand was put on the 15-day DL on Tuesday, but is expected to miss four to six weeks, team officials said. Rowand has been outstanding defensively for the Phillies, who are locked in a tight race for the wild card. David Dellucci and Shane Victorino will both be everyday outfielders now, along with veteran Pat Burrell.
Tom Glavine does not need surgery on his troublesome left shoulder and will be able to rejoin the Mets’ rotation in seven to 10 days. Glavine felt coldness in his left ring finger after a start last week, triggering fears that a blood clot might have developed that could end his season — or possibly, his career. An angiogram Monday showed no invasive procedure is needed. “The test showed that the symptoms are caused by an old injury to an artery probably caused by pitching,” the Mets said in a statement Tuesday. “The scar tissue from that old injury occasionally causes blood clots to form in Tom’s finger. The condition is not serious and will be treated with baby aspirin and other medication to help his circulation.”
The Boston Red Sox called up Kason Gabbard from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays reinstated infielder Luis Ordaz from his rehab assignment Tuesday and then designated him for assignment. Ordaz hurt his left knee during spring training and was placed on the 60-day disabled list. He appeared in eight games with Triple-A Durham, going 9-for-26 (.348) with one RBI.
The Philadelphia Phillies optioned Michael Bourn to Triple-A Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday following the acquisition of Jose Hernandez.
The Astros called up right-handed reliever Chris Sampson from Triple-A Round Rock, expecting him to arrive for the final game of the series on Wednesday afternoon. Sampson was optioned to the minors on Aug. 2.
The Houston Astros put right-hander Fernando Nieve on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday following their 14-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Nieve strained his right elbow during his relief appearance Saturday at Milwaukee and hasn’t pitched since. The Astros were hoping he would recover in less than two weeks, but needed immediate help in their bullpen. Nieve went 3-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts and 17 relief appearances.
Mike Thompson was promoted from Triple-A Portland for the fifth time this season on Tuesday. Thompson was recalled on Saturday to start after Clay Hensley was injured. He was optioned back to Portland on Sunday, but remained in San Diego.
Padres right-hander Chan Ho Park received two more units of blood as doctors worked to narrow down the cause of intestinal bleeding that put him back on the 15-day disabled list for the second time in less than a month. “They think they have found the source of the bleeding,” trainer Todd Hutcheson said about an hour before Tuesday night’s game against the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Worrell will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder Wednesday. Worrell, on the 60-day disabled list since July 22 and out since July 1 with a bulging disc in his neck, will have a cleanup procedure in his labrum performed by team doctor Ken Akizuki, trainer Stan Conte said.
The struggling Seattle Mariners juggled their roster again, sending center fielder Adam Jones to Triple-A Tacoma and calling up right-handed pitcher Cha Seung Baek to start Tuesday night against the New York Yankees. Outfielder T.J. Bohn was called up from Tacoma to take Adam Jones’ roster spot on Tuesday.
Nationals purchased the contract of 2B Henry Mateo from Triple-A New Orleans of the PCL. and designated RHP Travis Hughes for assignment. They have 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the minor leagues.
The Phillies recalled OF Michael Bourn from Triple-A Scranton of the IL. Also, they purchased the contract of 2B Joe Thurston from Scranton.
The Athletics optioned LHP Ron Flores to Triple-A Sacramento of the PCL and recalled LHP Brad Halsey from Sacramento.
Cubs placed SS Cesar Izturis (hamstring) on the 15-day DL and purchased the contract of OF Buck Coats from Iowa of the PCL.
3B Miguel Cabrera has been Mr. Clutch for the Marlins all season, but he has turned it up in the second half. Cabrera had batted .395 with runners in scoring position since the All-Star break going into Monday, fourth in the NL.
The Rockies recalled 2B Kazuo Matsui from Triple-A Colorado Springs and designated UTL Jason Smith for assignment.
Javier Lopez was optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket. The southpaw specialist faced just one batter in his two-day stint in the big leagues, walking the only batter he faced. In his place, the team is expected to recall LHP Kason Gabbard from Triple-A. Gabbard can serve as a long man if the team should fail to get innings out of Tuesday’s Red Sox starter, RHP Kyle Snyder.
The Padres optioned RHP Jon Adkins to Triple-A Portland.
Oakland’s Randy Flores was sent to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday. The A’s needed to make room for Brad Halsey, who was recalled to start Tuesday’s game.
Boston’s Alex Gonzalez, who has missed each of the last three games with discomfort in his back, has a grade-one oblique strain that could force him to the disabled list. 2B/SS Dustin Pedroia, who is hitting .306 for Triple-A Pawtucket, was called up in Gonzalez’s place.
2B Dan Uggla, with 19 home runs entering Monday, has the second highest home run total by a rookie second baseman. Joe Gordon hit 24 home runs as a second baseman as a rookie with the New York Yankees in 1938. Gordon finished the season with 25 homers.
RF Moises Alou is expected to miss a few days with a left leg injury. He has a knot behind his knee that is affecting both his calf and hamstring. “I feel better,” he said. The 40-year-old Alou, who believes he can pinch-hit, said it is “embarrassing” to spend so much time on the sidelines but won’t let this season’s frustrations affect his future and whether he plays in 2007. “This is ridiculous the way it’s going for me this year,” he said.
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