THT Daily: Seven Times Zero is Seven Shutouts
Major League News for September 6
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 1 CHA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) See below MIN 8 TB 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Santana: 8 IP, 0 R, 12 K CLE 7 TOR 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Marte: 4 RBI, Sowers: 7 IP, 2 R SEA 4 DET 3 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 5 NYA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) De La Rosa and Wellemeyer: 9 IP, 0 R LAA 5 BAL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings TEX 5 OAK 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Young: 4 for 5 National League ARI 4 FLA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Vargas: 7 IP, 0 R STL 2 WAS 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Suppan: 7.2 IP, 0 R PIT 6 CHN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Bay: 2 HR, 4 RBI CIN 3 SF 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Arroyo: 9 IP, 0 R, 3 H MIL 9 LAN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Hart: 2 HR, 6 RBI; Davis: IP, 0 R SD 5 COL 4 (Recap and Boxscore)
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Starts SF - Lowry N.* (7-8, 4.00) CIN - Michalak C.* (1-2, 5.57) 12:35 STL - Carpenter C. (13-6, 2.87) WAS - O'Connor M.* (3-7, 5.12) 1:05 SEA - Meche G. (9-8, 4.39) DET - Rogers K.* (15-6, 3.86) 1:05 ATL - Smoltz J. (12-7, 3.60) NYM - Williams D.* (4-3, 6.10) 1:10 BAL - Cabrera D. (7-9, 4.74) LAA - Santana E. (13-7, 4.50) 3:35 TEX - Padilla V. (13-9, 4.35) OAK - Blanton J. (14-10, 4.51) 3:35 ATL - Davies K. (2-4, 7.20) NYM - Perez O.* (2-11, 7.29) 4:30 HOU - Rodriguez W.* (9-8, 5.43) PHI - Mazone B.* (0-0, -) 7:05 ARI - Gonzalez E. (1-2, 6.27) FLA - Sanchez A. (6-2, 3.22) 7:05 CWS - Contreras J. (11-7, 4.23) BOS - Snyder K. (4-3, 5.94) 7:05 CLE - Westbrook J. (12-8, 4.21) TOR - Lilly T.* (11-12, 4.70) 7:07 MIN - Silva C. (8-13, 6.56) TB - Hammel J. (0-2, 6.86) 7:15 PIT - Duke Z.* (8-13, 4.97) CHC - Hill R.* (4-6, 5.23) 8:05 LAD - Lowe D. (13-8, 3.79) MIL - Capuano C.* (11-9, 3.55) 8:05 NYY - Johnson R.* (15-10, 4.94) KC - Hernandez R. (5-8, 6.31) 8:10 COL - Jennings J. (7-12, 3.61) SD - Hensley C. (8-11, 4.05) 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 82 55 .599 0.0 81 1BOS 75 64 .540 8.0 71 4
TOR 72 67 .518 11.0 72 0
BAL 61 77 .442 21.5 60 1
TB 55 84 .396 28.0 56 -1
American League Central DET 85 54 .612 0.0 84 1
MIN 80 57 .584 4.0 76 4
CHA 79 59 .572 5.5 78 1
CLE 66 71 .482 18.0 75 -9
KC 52 88 .371 33.5 53 -1
American League West OAK 79 59 .572 0.0 74 5
LAA 74 65 .532 5.5 72 2
TEX 72 68 .514 8.0 74 -2
SEA 65 73 .471 14.0 66 -1
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 84 52 .618 0.0 79 5
PHI 70 68 .507 15.0 71 -1
FLA 69 69 .500 16.0 69 0
ATL 66 71 .482 18.5 71 -5
WAS 60 78 .435 25.0 59 1
National League Central STL 74 63 .540 0.0 70 4
CIN 69 70 .496 6.0 67 2
HOU 67 71 .486 7.5 69 -2
MIL 64 75 .460 11.0 61 3
PIT 56 83 .403 19.0 60 -4
CHN 55 83 .399 19.5 56 -1
National League West LAN 73 65 .529 0.0 74 -1
SD 72 66 .522 1.0 70 2
SF 69 70 .496 4.5 70 -1
ARI 65 73 .471 8.0 67 -2
COL 63 75 .457 10.0 68 -5
Wildcard Standings American League MIN 80 57 .584 0.0 CHA 79 59 .572 1.5 BOS 75 64 .540 6.0 LAA 74 65 .532 7.0 TOR 72 67 .518 9.0 National League SD 72 66 .522 0.0 PHI 70 68 .507 2.0 FLA 69 69 .500 3.0 CIN 69 70 .496 3.5 SF 69 70 .496 3.5
Game of the Day
The Red Sox beat the White Ones yesterday, 1-0 in the pouring rain in Boston. Kason Gabbard earned his first major league win by pitching seven strong innings, allowing only three hits and no runs. Gabbard is the third pitcher this season whose first major league victory was as a starting pitcher in a 1-0 game, following the Cubs’ Ryan O’Malley and Houston’s Chris Sampson. According to Elias, it has been 11 years since three pitchers got their first major league win as a starting pitcher in a 1-0 game; Philadelphia’s Mike Grace, Cincinnati’s C.J. Nitkowski and Milwaukee’s Steve Sparks did it in 1995.
Javier Vazquez pitched a great game for Chicago, allowing onlye three hits and striking out 11 in eight innings. Boston scored when Trot Nixon doubled with one out in the fourth and came home on Coco Crisp’s single. The game was a blow to the White Sox’s pennant hopes, dropping them further behind the Twins in the wildcard race.
The game marked David Ortiz’s return to action after a week of heart tests. Ace reliever Jonathan Papelbon also received good news when the team announced he has a “tired shoulder,” but not tear or serious injury.
CHI WHITE SOX (0) VS BOSTON (1) - FINAL
CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
P Ozuna lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .340
T Iguchi 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .283
J Crede 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .300
J Thome dh 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .291
P Konerko 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .305
A Pierzynski c 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
B Anderson cf 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .227
a-R Gload ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .323
J Uribe ss 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .235
b-A Cintron ph-ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .272
R Sweeney rf-cf 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 .667
Totals 28 0 4 0 2 7 9
a-grounded to second for B Anderson in the 8th; b-struck out swinging for J
Uribe in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - P Ozuna (9, K Gabbard). S - T Iguchi. GIDP - P Konerko 2. Team
LOB - 4.
BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Youkilis 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .285
M Loretta 2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .293
D Ortiz dh 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .285
M Ramirez lf 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .324
T Nixon rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .294
M Lowell 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .288
C Crisp cf 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 .261
D Mirabelli c 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .182
A Gonzalez ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .265
Totals 27 1 3 1 3 11 7
BATTING: 2B - A Gonzalez (20, J Vazquez); T Nixon (21, J Vazquez). RBI - C
Crisp (29). 2-out RBI - C Crisp. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D
Ortiz 1, A Gonzalez 1. Team LOB - 5.
FIELDING: E - M Lowell (6, ground ball). DP: 3 (M Lowell-M Loretta-K
Youkilis, M Lowell-K Youkilis, A Gonzalez-M Loretta-K Youkilis).
----------------------------------------------------
CHI WHITE SOX - 000 000 000 -- 0
BOSTON - 000 100 00x -- 1
----------------------------------------------------
CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
J Vazquez (L, 11-9) 8 3 1 1 3 11 0 4.80
BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
K Gabbard (W, 1-3) 7 3 0 0 2 6 0 3.93
M Timlin (S, 4) 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.76
WP - K Gabbard. Pitches-strikes: J Vazquez 112-74; K Gabbard 80-54; M Timlin
20-14. Ground balls-fly balls: J Vazquez 2-11; K Gabbard 11-3; M Timlin 2-3.
Batters faced: J Vazquez 30; K Gabbard 24; M Timlin 7.
UMPIRES: HP--Larry Poncino. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Bruce
Dreckman.
T--2:13. Att--35,912.
Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, out to center.
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.
Hitter Pitcher True Dist Std. Dist. HR # Pujols, Albert STL Astacio, Pedro WAS 433 443 44 Quentin, Carlos ARI Willis, Dontrelle FLA 433 427 6 Thomas, Frank OAK Eaton, Adam TEX 417 419 31 Marte, Andy CLE Accardo, Jeremy TOR 413 411 2 Hart, Corey MIL Hendrickson, Mark LAD 416 410 5 Bay, Jason PIT Mateo, Juan CHC 410 407 31 Torrealba, YorvitCOL Young, Chris SD 410 394 7 Brown, Emil KC Mussina, Mike NYY 398 393 13 Atkins, Garrett COL Young, Chris SD 399 387 23 Swisher, Nick OAK Eaton, Adam TEX 389 386 29 DeRosa, Mark TEX Saarloos, Kirk OAK 386 386 13 Piazza, Mike SD Francis, Jeff COL 408 384 20 Hart, Corey MIL Stults, Eric LAD 382 376 6 Bay, Jason PIT Mateo, Juan CHC 379 376 30 Easley, Damian ARI Willis, Dontrelle FLA 367 368 8 Kennedy, Adam LAA Manon, Julio BAL 383 363 3 Molina, Bengie TOR Sowers, Jeremy CLE 364 362 15
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- Brad Miller DH 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 ARI A- Justin Brashear C 4 3 0 0 0 0 1 BOS A- Paul Smyth LF 5 2 0 0 1 0 1 BOS A- Reid Engel CF 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 FLA A- Dustin Kaats LF 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 OAK A- Christian Vitters DH 5 3 1 0 0 0 1 SEA A- Leury Bonilla 3B 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 SF A- Emmanuel Burriss SS 5 2 1 1 0 0 0 SF A- Bradley Boyer 2B 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 STL A- A.J. Van Slyke DH 3 2 1 1 0 0 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CLE A- William Delage 5.0 3 0 0 5 0 0 DET A- Cristhian Martinez 7.0 3 1 1 10 1 1 PIT A- Eric Krebs 5.0 1 0 0 8 2 0
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
There were seven shutouts in the major leagues on Tuesday night. It was the seventh time in major league history that there were seven-or-more shutouts in one day and it was one shy of the record for blankings in a single day. There were eight shutouts on June 4, 1972.
Third baseman Mark Teahen, in the midst of a breakthrough season for the Kansas City Royals, will have shoulder surgery on Friday and miss the rest of the season. The Royals said they had been discussing the possibility with their second-year third baseman for more than a month. “The smart thing to do is shut it down now and make sure I’m ready for spring next year,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s just minimal and I’ll be good and ready to go. Worse-case scenario, this makes sure I’m ready for spring training.
Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon couldn’t understand everything the doctors were telling him, but he knew it was good news. “No tears. That’s huge,” the rookie right-hander said Tuesday night after he was diagnosed with a tired shoulder – technically, a “transient subluxation event” – but not the torn labrum that he feared. “Sublux-something or other,” Papelbon joked. “I tried to pay attention, but I didn’t go to school to be a doctor. All I’m listening for is the word ‘tear.”‘ Papelbon will be out indefinitely, but manager Terry Francona said there was no concern that the injury will linger into the 2007 season. An AL Rookie of the Year candidate with 35 saves in 41 opportunities, Papelbon came out of Friday night’s game against Toronto after feeling pain in his shoulder. Tests showed no major damage, team physician Dr. Thomas Gill said, and Papelbon will rest before trying to strengthen his shoulder. Gill said Papelbon’s shoulder had slipped slightly without becoming dislocated.
Michael Young went 4-for-5 with a triple and scored twice, leading the Texas Rangers over the Oakland Athletics 5-4 Tuesday night.
John Lackey allowed only one run on nine hits with five strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision on Tuesday against Baltimore.
Joel Pineiro (8-11) came on after a long rain delay and worked 3 2/3 innings of perfect relief to help the Mariners to just their second win in 16 road games on Tuesday at Detroit. “I kept the ball down, and they made some great plays behind me,” Pineiro said. “We’ve still got something to play for — spoiling other teams.” Pineiro, who came into a 3-3 game to start the fifth inning after a 1 hour, 23-minute delay, retired all 11 batters he faced. He struck out four.
Toronto ace Roy Halladay got a no-decision despite allowing just one run and five hits in seven innings on Tuesday against the Indians. He struck out a season-high nine. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons replaced him to start the eighth because he had thrown 108 pitches.
Jeremy Sowers (7-3) pitched seven innings for the victory on Tuesday at Toronto, allowing just two runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked none. Sowers is 6-0 with a 1.93 earned run average and two shutouts in nine starts since July 22. Sowers leads all major league pitchers in ERA and shutouts since that date and only Jon Garland (7) has more wins.
Johan Santana was so dominant, even the guy who managed the Devil Rays’ only two hits off him had to feel lucky. “The ball happened to find my bat and find a hole,” Delmon Young said. Santana became the first 17-game winner in the major leagues Tuesday night, allowing two hits over eight scoreless innings as Minnesota beat Tampa Bay 8-0 – the Twins’ 14th win in a row over Tampa Bay. Santana (17-5) struck out 12 and walked one. The left-hander, 8-0 since the All-Star break, retired his first 10 hitters before a double with one out in the fourth by Young.
Jorge De La Rosa (2-2) got his second victory in 15 major league starts, leaving after 5 2/3 innings with a blister on the middle finger of his left hand in a win on Tuesday against the Yankees. He gave up six hits, struck out four and walked two.
Jason Bay homered twice as the Pittsburgh Pirates moved out of last place in the NL Central with a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
The Los Angeles Dodgers lost their third straight following a seven-game winning streak, falling to the Milwaukee Brewers 9-0 Tuesday night as Corey Hart drove in a career-high six runs. Hart, who entered with four homers this year, had a three-run drive in the first off Mark Hendrickson (1-7) and a solo shot in the fifth for his first career multihomer game.
Cla Meredith (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings on Tuesday and is one-third of an inning short of San Diego’s club relief record, set by Mark Davis in 1988. Meredith, a sidearming righty, has not surrendered a run in his last 24 appearances. “He has done an outstanding job,” Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s pitching his heart out. He’s loaded with confidence.”
Claudio Vargas (11-9), who spent the first 6½ years of his professional career in the Marlins’ farm system, struck out six in seven innings, giving up four hits while walking two in a win on Tuesday at Florida.
Dontrelle Willis lost for the first time in four starts, giving up home runs to Carlos Quinten and Damion Easley before leaving in the seventh inning as the Florida Marlins lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 Tuesday night. After Willis (9-11) walked Chris Snyder leading off the seventh, a trainer came to the mound, and Willis left the game. It was not immediately known if Willis was hurt. He gave up five hits and three walks, losing for the first time since Aug. 14.
Albert Pujols hit his 44th home run to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. Pujols’ homer was his fifth in three days — and second in as many at-bats. He pulled a flat 76 mph pitch from Pedro Astacio over the left field fence in the first inning for a solo shot.
Jeff Suppan took a shutout into the eighth inning Tuesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. Suppan made it stand up over 7 2/3 innings, his second scoreless outing in three starts. He blanked the Chicago Cubs for 7 2/3 innings on Aug. 25. Suppan (11-7) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked two as the Cardinals snapped the Nationals’ five-game winning streak.
Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk on Tuesday at Cincinnati, ending his streak of three straight games with a homer. Bonds remains 25 shy of Hank Aaron’s career homer mark, and three away from his NL record.
Bronson Arroyo allowed only three singles in his first career shutout Tuesday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a slump-busting 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He struck out seven and walked only two.
The Braves and Mets were postponed by rain on Tuesday night. Tuesday’s game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday beginning at 1:10 p.m. John Smoltz will start the first game for the Braves against left-hander Dave Williams. Kyle Davies goes in the nightcap against New York’s Oliver Perez.
The Orioles purchased the contract of C Raul Chavez from Double-A Bowie on Monday and transferred LHP Kurt Birkins (elbow) from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.
The Kansas City Royals recalled catcher Paul Phillips from Triple-A Omaha Tuesday and activated right-hander Mike Wood from the 15-day disabled list.
The St. Louis Cardinals recalled pitchers Josh Kinney and Chris Narveson and infielder John Nelson from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.
The San Diego Padres called up four players from Triple-A Portland, including right-handed pitcher Mike Thompson and outfielder Ben Johnson. The Padres also recalled infielder-outfielder Paul McNulty and purchased the contract of outfielder Jack Cust.
The Tigers recalled OF Brent Clevlen from Double-A Erie on Monday.
The Marlins recalled C Paul Hoover, OF Chris Aguila and OF Eric Reed from Triple-A Albuquerque and selected the contract of INF Jason Wood from Albuquerque. Also, they transferred RHP Logan Kensing from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.
The Dodgers recalled OF Delwyn Young and UTL Oscar Robles from Triple-A Las Vegas.
The Blue Jays recalled RHP Francisco Rosario from Triple-A Syracuse and purchased the contract of RHP Josh Towers. Also, they transferred RHP Pete Walker (shoulder) to the 60-day DL. He is out for the season.
The Braves recalled RHP Peter Moylan from Triple-A Richmond on Sunday.
The Phillies recalled UTL Danny Sandoval from Double-A Reading of the EL and sent OF Josh Kroeger outright to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the IL.
The Indians recalled RHP Fausto Carmona, RHP Jeremy Guthrie, OF Franklin Gutierrez, LHP Rafael Perez and RHP Brian Slocum from Triple-A Buffalo of the IL. Also, they purchased the contract of LHP Juan Lara from Buffalo. The Indians also activated RHP Matt Miller (elbow) from the 60-day DL.
The Texas Rangers recalled right-hander Nick Masset and infielder Joaquin Arias from Triple-A Oklahoma on Tuesday, bringing their total September callups to five players.
The slight limp gave it away. Ken Griffey Jr. walked slowly and carefully on Tuesday, a day after he dislocated a toe on his right foot while trying to make a catch. He was out of the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup, and had no guess about when he might be back. Asked if this injury could linger, Griffey said, “It shouldn’t.” He limped off the field, and a doctor popped the toe back into place.
The White Sox recalled RHP Dustin Hermanson from Triple-A Charlotte of the IL and reinstated him from the 15-day DL.
The A’s brought up infielder D’Angelo Jimenez from Triple-A Sacramento, to give them added depth with shortstop Bobby Crosby on the disabled list, and designated right-hander Matt Roney and infielder Mike Rouse for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster.
The Cubs recalled RHP Jae Kuk Ryu and C Jose Reyes from Triple-A Iowa of the PCL. The Cubs also acquired RHP Adam Harben from the Twins to complete an earlier trade.
The recalled RHP Elizardo Ramirez (shoulder) from Triple-A Louisville and placed him on the 60-day DL.
The Oakland Athletics claimed right-hander Jerome Williams off waivers from the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, though he wasn’t scheduled to immediately join the major league roster.
The Nationals made two moves on Tuesday: Felix Rodriguez was activated from the 60-day disabled list, and outfielder Jose Guillen was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.
Boston recalled left-hander Kason Gabbard and right-hander Craig Hansen from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Rookie Mike O’Connor was recalled by the Washington Nationals and is to start Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. O’Connor wasn’t considered one of the Nationals’ top farm prospects at the start of the season, but he pitched well in his first eight starts after being promoted in late April. He then lost four straight decisions before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 30 with a mild left elbow flexor strain. O’Connor’s return means Billy Traber is being dropped from the rotation. Traber is 3-3 with a 7.36 ERA.
The Red Sox on Tuesday acquired minor-league catcher George Kottaras from San Diego to complete the trade that sent pitcher David Wells to the Padres. The Red Sox also designated right-hander Jermaine Van Buren for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
The Yankees recalled pitcher Sean Henn and infielder Andy Cannizaro from Columbus (Triple-A) on Tuesday.
The Cincinnati Reds acquired right-handed pitcher Sun-Woo Kim and cash from the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday for future considerations. Kim, 29, was 0-0 with a 19.29 ERA in six relief appearances for Colorado this season. The Rockies tried unsuccessfully to trade him in June before sending him to their Triple-A Colorado Springs team, where he has been used as a starter. He will take the 40-man roster spot of lefty Michael Gosling, who has been designated for assignment.
The Reds called up RHP Matt Belisle and LHP Chris Michalak from Class-A Sarasota, and INF Ray Olmedo and OF Dewayne Wise from Triple-A Louisville.
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