THT Daily: Royals Sweep A’s
Major League News for August 17
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 7 TOR 2 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 12 BOS 4 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 14 BOS 11 (Recap and Boxscore) TB 6 CLE 5 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 2 DET 1 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 7 OAK 1 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 5 OAK 3 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 7 CHA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 3 SEA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 6 FLA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 6 COL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 6 PHI 4 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 11 CHN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT 7 CIN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 3 HOU 2 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 8 ARI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) SF 7 LAN 3 (Recap and Boxscore)
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Starts STL - Suppan J. (9-7, 5.00) CHC - Zambrano C. (13-5, 3.38) 1:20 NYY - Johnson R.* (13-9, 4.92) BOS - Beckett J. (13-7, 5.02) 1:20 ARI - Vargas C. (9-8, 5.10) SD - Hensley C. (7-10, 4.19) 4:05 TOR - Marcum S. (1-2, 5.12) BAL - Cabrera D. (5-8, 5.40) 4:35 ATL - James C.* (5-3, 4.45) FLA - Nolasco R. (11-7, 4.12) 6:05 PIT - Maholm P.* (5-10, 4.58) CIN - Milton E.* (8-7, 5.01) 6:10 WAS - Ortiz R. (9-10, 4.88) PHI - Hamels C.* (5-6, 4.50) 7:05 HOU - Oswalt R. (9-8, 3.24) MIL - Bush D. (8-9, 4.69) 7:05 TEX - Tejeda R. (1-3, 9.78) DET - Robertson N.* (11-8, 3.85) 7:05 CWS - Garland J. (13-4, 4.98) MIN - Radke B. (12-8, 4.43) 7:10 OAK - Zito B.* (12-8, 3.83) KC - Redman M.* (7-7, 5.93) 7:10 CLE - Sowers J.* (4-3, 3.53) TB - Corcoran T. (4-4, 3.93) 7:15 COL - Francis J.* (9-9, 3.39) NYM - Williams D.* (2-3, 7.20) 7:35 LAD - Maddux G. (10-11, 4.20) SF - Hennessey B. (5-2, 2.71) 9:05 SEA - Washburn J.* (6-11, 4.30) LAA - Lackey J. (10-9, 3.35) 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 72 48 .600 0.0 70 2BOS 69 52 .570 3.5 65 4
TOR 65 57 .533 8.0 65 0
BAL 54 68 .443 19.0 53 1
TB 49 73 .402 24.0 49 0
American League Central DET 79 43 .648 0.0 75 4
CHA 72 49 .595 6.5 70 2
MIN 71 50 .587 7.5 68 3
CLE 54 67 .446 24.5 65 -11
KC 45 79 .363 35.0 46 -1
American League West OAK 68 54 .557 0.0 62 6
LAA 64 59 .520 4.5 63 1
TEX 63 60 .512 5.5 65 -2
SEA 56 66 .459 12.0 58 -2
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 73 48 .603 0.0 69 4
PHI 59 62 .488 14.0 61 -2
ATL 57 64 .471 16.0 62 -5
FLA 56 65 .463 17.0 58 -2
WAS 54 68 .443 19.5 54 0
National League Central STL 65 56 .537 0.0 62 3
CIN 62 60 .508 3.5 58 4
MIL 58 64 .475 7.5 53 5
HOU 58 64 .475 7.5 60 -2
CHN 52 69 .430 13.0 49 3
PIT 47 75 .385 18.5 54 -7
National League West LAN 64 58 .525 0.0 65 -1
SD 61 61 .500 3.0 61 0
ARI 61 61 .500 3.0 60 1
SF 59 63 .484 5.0 61 -2
COL 59 63 .484 5.0 63 -4
Wildcard Standings American League CHA 72 49 .595 0.0 MIN 71 50 .587 1.0 BOS 69 52 .570 3.0 TOR 65 57 .533 7.5 LAA 64 59 .520 9.0 National League CIN 62 60 .508 0.0 SD 61 61 .500 1.0 ARI 61 61 .500 1.0 PHI 59 62 .488 2.5 SF 59 63 .484 3.0
Game of the Day
Okay, how many of you predicted that bottom-dwelling Kansas City would sweep a doubleheader from the streaking A’s? The Royals won the opener behind Luke Hudson, 7-1, and the nightcap 5-3 behind a fine effort by Jorge De La Rosa. The key play of the second game was a go-ahead two-run double by Mike Sweeney when KC scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Coming in, the Athletics had won six straight, 13 of 14 and 17 of 20. Oakland had won 12 in a row at Kansas City since May 30, 2003, outscoring the Royals 95-30 in that span. This day, the A’s had only nine hits all day over two games.
OAKLAND (3) VS KANSAS CITY (5) - FINAL (2ND GAME)
OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Kendall c 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .281
N Swisher 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .252
M Bradley rf 2 1 0 0 2 1 1 .271
F Thomas dh 4 1 1 2 0 0 4 .262
J Payton cf-lf 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 .286
B Kielty lf 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 .263
M Kotsay cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .267
M Scutaro ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .241
M Ellis 2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .220
A Perez 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 .091
E Chavez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240
Totals 29 3 3 3 5 8 11
BATTING: HR - F Thomas (26, 8th inning off A Burgos 1 on, 2 Out). SF - J
Payton. RBI - J Payton (45), F Thomas 2 (72). 2-out RBI - F Thomas 2. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - B Kielty 2, A Perez 1. Team LOB - 5.
FIELDING: E - E Loaiza (1, throw); M Scutaro (12, throw). DP: 1 (M Scutaro-M
Ellis-N Swisher).
KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .299
E German 2b 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 .318
M Grudzielanek 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
M Teahen 3b 4 2 3 0 0 1 0 .288
M Sweeney dh 4 0 1 2 0 0 2 .209
J Gathright pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .221
E Brown lf 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .289
R Sanders rf 4 0 2 0 0 1 3 .248
R Shealy 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 4 .278
J Buck c 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .238
A Blanco ss 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .250
Totals 33 5 10 4 0 8 14
BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (19, E Loaiza); R Sanders 2 (22, E Loaiza, C Gaudin); M
Sweeney (7, H Street). SF - E Brown. RBI - E German (16), M Sweeney 2 (10), E
Brown (66). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Brown 1, J Buck 1, R
Shealy 1. GIDP - R Shealy. Team LOB - 5.
BASERUNNING: CS - R Sanders (7, 3rd base by E Loaiza/J Kendall).
FIELDING: E - D DeJesus (3, throw).
----------------------------------------------------
OAKLAND - 000 001 020 -- 3
KANSAS CITY - 000 000 14x -- 5
----------------------------------------------------
OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
E Loaiza 6 2/3 5 1 0 0 7 0 5.58
J Duchscherer 2/3 2 2 2 0 0 0 3.37
H Street (L, 4-4; B, 8) 1/3 2 2 2 0 0 0 3.22
C Gaudin 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.96
KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
J De La Rosa 5 2 1 1 4 3 0 5.89
A Burgos (W, 3-5) 3 1 2 2 1 4 1 5.67
J Nelson (S, 2) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.79
J De La Rosa pitched to 3 batters in the 6th.
WP - E Loaiza. BALK - J De La Rosa. Pitches-strikes: E Loaiza 110-75; J
Duchscherer 16-14; H Street 12-8; C Gaudin 6-4; J De La Rosa 90-48; A Burgos
45-30; J Nelson 10-8. Ground balls-fly balls: E Loaiza 7-5; J Duchscherer 2-0;
H Street 0-1; C Gaudin 0-0; J De La Rosa 6-6; A Burgos 2-3; J Nelson 1-1.
Batters faced: E Loaiza 25; J Duchscherer 4; H Street 3; C Gaudin 2; J De La
Rosa 21; A Burgos 11; J Nelson 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Dan Iassogna. 1B--Mike Muchlinski. 2B--Dale Scott. 3B--Lance
Barksdale.
T--3:04. Att--23,952.
Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 4 mph, in from 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 # Soriano, Alfonso WAS Myers, Brett PHI 447 440 39 Glaus, Troy TOR Benson, Kris BAL 418 436 32 Pujols, Albert STL Aardsma, David CHC 450 430 36 Hillenbrand, Shea SF Penny, Brad LAD 426 421 15 Chavez, Endy NYM Kim, Byung-Hyun COL 409 420 3 Ramirez, Aramis CHC Marquis, Jason STL 440 419 29 Dye, Jermaine CWS Bonser, Boof MIN 424 419 33 Teixeira, Mark TEX Miner, Zach DET 415 417 19 Young, Dmitri DET Millwood, Kevin TEX 416 415 6 Wilson, Preston STL Novoa, Roberto CHC 433 414 10 Wells, Vernon TOR Benson, Kris BAL 400 414 28 LaRoche, Adam ATL Olsen, Scott FLA 388 413 25 Barrett, Michael CHC Marquis, Jason STL 431 411 15 Hafner, Travis CLE Fossum, Casey TB 411 410 36 Bennett, Gary STL Novoa, Roberto CHC 429 409 1 Finley, Steve SF Dessens, Elmer LAD 384 407 6 Cameron, Mike SD Medders, Brandon ARI 392 400 18 Ortiz, David BOS Rivera, Mariano NYY 389 400 43 Mora, Melvin BAL Downs, Scott TOR 398 399 13 Duncan, Chris STL Marmol, Carlos CHC 421 397 12 Marte, Andy CLE Fossum, Casey TB 396 395 1 Jackson, Conor ARI Williams, Woody SD 373 385 11 Rolen, Scott STL Aardsma, David CHC 403 383 18 Hall, Bill MIL Backe, Brandon HOU 389 382 27 Wilson, Jack PIT Bray, Bill CIN 412 380 8 Napoli, Mike LAA Hernandez, Felix SEA 402 380 13 Encarnacion, Edwin CIN Grabow, John PIT 418 379 14 Vizquel, Omar SF Penny, Brad LAD 348 379 4 Valentin, Javier CIN Reames, Britt PIT 416 378 6 Belliard, Ronnie STL Aardsma, David CHC 399 378 9 Nady, Xavier PIT Michalak, Chris CIN 412 377 15 Thomas, Frank OAK Burgos, Ambiorix KC 382 375 26 Damon, Johnny NYY Johnson, Jason BOS 395 370 19 Zimmerman, Ryan WAS Myers, Brett PHI 379 370 17 Hunter, Torii MIN Garcia, Freddy CWS 370 366 16 Lee, Travis TB Sabathia, C.C. CLE 367 366 10 Atkins, Garrett COL Trachsel, Steve NYM 378 359 20 Lieberthal, Mike PHI Rauch, Jon WAS 364 353 4 Damon, Johnny NYY Lester, Jon BOS 326 325 19 Ramirez, Manny BOS Wang, Chien-Ming NYY 341 323 33
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+ Jereme Milons LF 4 3 0 0 1 1 1 CHW AAA Pascual Matos C 4 4 2 0 1 0 0 DET AAA Ryan Ludwick LF 4 3 0 0 2 0 1 FLA A Jonathan Fulton 3B 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 KC A+ Irving Falu SS 4 4 1 1 0 1 0 .552 OBP during past week LA AAA Sergio Garcia 2B 7 5 0 0 1 0 1 5 runs scored LA AAA Matt Kemp CF 7 5 0 0 1 0 0 4 RBI NYY AAA Mitch Jones 1B 4 3 0 0 2 0 1 4 RBI OAK A+ Tommy Everidge 1B 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 SD AAA Paul McAnulty 1B 4 3 1 0 1 2 0 5 RBI ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes ATL A+ Jo-Jo Reyes 7.0 2 0 0 7 2 0 CHW AAA Charlie Haeger 9.0 6 1 1 4 3 1 CLE A- Erik Stiller 6.0 1 0 0 4 0 0 COL A+ Franklin Morales 7.0 2 2 2 16 3 0 53 K over last 36 IP DET AAA Jordan Tata 8.0 3 1 1 3 2 0 HOU A+ Thomas Fairchild 7.0 3 1 1 4 0 0 LA A Joe Jones 7.2 3 2 1 6 3 0 MIL A William Inman 5.2 3 0 0 8 1 0 PHI A+ Julio De La Cruz 9.0 0 0 0 5 1 0 PHI A Carlos Carrasco 7.0 3 0 0 8 3 0 0.89 ERA over past month
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
The Yankees swept two games against the Red Sox, by scores of 12-4 and 14-11. It was the first time in more than 56 years that the Yankees had put at least a dozen runs on the board twice in one day; they last did it in a 14-5 and 12-4 sweep at Cleveland on May 21, 1950. Joe DiMaggio had two homers and drove in eight runs in that doubleheader. (Source: Elias)
Derek Jeter hit a bases-clearing double in New York’s seven-run seventh inning as the Yankees rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 14-11 and complete a sweep of Friday’s day-night doubleheader. Jeter had three hits in the opener but was hitless in the second until lining one down the right-field line against Mike Timlin (5-3) to give New York the lead for good.
Jered Weaver joined Whitey Ford as the only rookies in AL history to win their first nine decisions, holding Seattle to three singles over seven innings in the Los Angeles Angels’ 3-0 victory over the slumping Mariners on Friday night. A lanky 6-foot-7, 205-pounder with a deceptive delivery, good command and a mix of speeds to keep hitters off balance, Weaver became just the fifth pitcher in major league history to begin his career 9-0 as a starter. Keeping most of his pitches low and clipping the corners, Weaver struck out seven and issued just one walk to help deal the Mariners their ninth consecutive loss and tie Ford’s record set with the New York Yankees in 1950.
The wind was blowing out at Wrigley, where a total of eight home runs (including five of the six longest home runs of the day) were hit. St. Louis hit six — each by a different player — in their 11-3 win over the Cubs. According to Elias, it’s only the second time in the history of the Cardinals that six or more players homered in one game.
Jason Schmidt (10-7), facing Los Angeles in back-to-back outings, struck out five and pitched into the eighth Friday night to beat the Dodgers for the first time in seven starts since a victory on July 14, 2005. He received a no-decision against starter Greg Maddux last Sunday at Dodger Stadium. “We’re in the thick of this thing,” Schmidt said. “If we keep doing that, we’re going to rack up a lot of wins the last month and a half.”
Woody Williams gave the San Diego Padres the pitching performance they needed. Williams won his second straight start as the San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak. He allowed four hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked two.
Brewers outfielder Laynce Nix was recalled from Triple-A Nashville Friday. Nix was acquired along with Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench and Julian Cordero from Texas for Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz on July 28.
The Milwaukee Brewers placed right-hander Matt Wise on the 15-day disabled list Friday with ulnar neuritis in his right elbow. The move was made retroactive to August 14. “He threw today and it didn’t feel much better,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said. Wise is 5-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 40 appearances.
David Wright knew the symptoms of his slump. Finding the solution was the tough part. Wright was locked in a 3-for-25 slide, struggling with every at-bat, until he came upon a simple formula to break out of it Friday night. Take your time. “I just tried to slow everything down,” Wright said after delivering a pair of RBI hits in the New York Mets ‘ 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. “I recognized pitches better. When you’re struggling, you’re anxious. I just tried to relax.” It worked. Wright, whose average had sunk to .304 from a season high .336, delivered a two-out RBI double off Byung-Hyun Kim (7-8) in the third to put the Mets in front 1-0. He also singled in a run in the fifth for a 4-3 lead. “You just take a deep breath,” Wright said. “Working deep in the count is my game. When you’re struggling, you want to swing at everything. You want to hit the first pitch you see real hard.”
Melvin Mora went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI on Friday against Toronto.
Tim Hudson pitched 7 2/3 innings, departing after an injury to plate umpire Jerry Layne caused a 13-minute delay, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins 6-1 Friday night. Layne was hurt in the eighth inning when the barrel of a shattered bat hit him in the side of the head. He was moving his arms and talking before being taken off the field on a stretcher loaded onto a cart. Hudson (10-10) threw 96 pitches, allowing one run and four hits.
The Cleveland bullpen blew another game, allowing three runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. The Indians have lost 14 times when ahead after six innings this season and seven when leading into the ninth. The Indians’ Andy Marte went 3-for-4 and hit his first major league homer on Friday at Tampa Bay.
On the other hand, Prince Fielder’s RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth inning beat the Astros 3-2 and gave the Brewers their 10th walkoff victory in 2006, tying the Mets for the most in the major leagues.
Kevin Millwood pitched seven innings to win his second straight start and lift the Texas Rangers over the suddenly skidding Detroit Tigers 2-1 Friday night. Millwood (12-8) allowed only one run and three hits — two to Dmitri Young. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter to win consecutive starts after going 0-3 in his previous four.
Jason Marquis (13-11) got the win on Friday against the Cubs, tying him with Brad Penny, Carlos Zambrano and Brandon Webb for the NL lead in wins. Marquis allowed three runs and three hits in five innings. “I felt pretty good for the most part,” Marquis said. “I wish I could’ve went deeper into the game.”
The New York Mets recalled pitcher Dave Williams from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday night and optioned reliever Heath Bell to the minor league team. Williams will start Saturday night against Colorado, replacing Pedro Martinez, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained calf muscle.
The Los Angeles Dodgers activated right-hander Elmer Dessens from the 15-day disabled list Friday and optioned infielder James Loney to Triple-A Las Vegas. Dessens went on the DL on Aug. 7 with a sprained left ankle, a move retroactive to Aug. 3. He is 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA in four outings – seven innings – with the Dodgers after being acquired July 25 in a trade from Kansas City. Dessens was 5-7 in 43 appearances for the Royals.
The Arizona Diamondbacks recalled outfielder Chris Young from Tucson on Friday and optioned outfielder Scott Hairston to the Triple-A team. Young, who made his major league debut against the San Diego Padres, batted .276 in 100 games with Tucson with 21 homers and 77 RBI.
The Blue Jays recalled C Jason Phillips from Triple-A Syracuse on Friday.
Yankees INF Andy Phillips went on the 15-day DL with a strained left rib cage muscle on Friday. T.J. Beam was recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
Eric Hinske, playing his first game since being traded from Toronto, went 3-for-4 in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Friday against the Yankees.
Washington Nationals second baseman Jose Vidro came off the 15-day disabled list Friday. Vidro has been out with a left hamstring injury since July 17. He went 3-for-11 during a four-game rehab assignment with Class A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg. He’s hitting .300 with 16 doubles, six homers and 33 RBI in 90 games for last-place Washington this season.
The Boston Red Sox activated former closer Keith Foulke from the 15-day disabled list on Friday between games of their doubleheader against the New York Yankees. Foulke, who finished all four games of Boston’s 2004 World Series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, was placed on the DL on June 13 with elbow tendinitis.
The Cardinals optioned RHP Anthony Reyes to Triple-A Memphis Thursday.
Preston Wilson signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, after being released by the Houston Astros earlier this week. Wilson batted .269 with nine home runs and 55 RBI with the Astros, but disappointed them with a lack of power. The Cardinals hope to improve their lineup against left-handed pitching. The team also has concerns about center fielder Jim Edmonds, who missed the last two games because of post-concussion syndrome. Edmonds had been optimistic about playing Friday, but there was no word about the day’s lineup. Wilson was a smash in his first game for the NL Central leaders, hitting one of the Cardinals’ six home runs Friday in an 11-3 romp over the Chicago Cubs.
The Brewers have won nine games since acquiring RHP Francisco Cordero from the Texas Rangers in the Carlos Lee trade and Cordero has saved eight of the games. He has not allowed a run in the eight appearances with a total of 10 innings pitched. “Cordero has been great for us,” general manager Doug Melvin said. “His aggressiveness and poise have been amazing. I don’t know where we would be without him.”
LHP Kent Mercker underwent reconstructive elbow surgery on Thursday, a 2 1/2-hour procedure performed by team medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek.
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