THT Daily: The Action is in the National

Major League News for September 27

Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Player News
Stats

Yesterday’s Results
American League
BOS     5  TB      1    (Recap and Boxscore) Ortiz: HR (54), 3 RBI; Schilling: 7 IP, 1 R
NYA     5  BAL     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Lidle: 6.2 IP, 3 R
CLE     6  CHA     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Garko: 2B, HR, 5 RBI; Sabathia: 8 IP, 0 R, 11 K
DET     4  TOR     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Bonderman: 6 IP, 1 R
MIN     3  KC      2    (Recap and Boxscore) Santana: 8 IP, 2 R; Perez: 6 IP, 2 R
TEX     5  LAA     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Tejeda: 6.2 IP, 1 R
OAK    12  SEA     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Harden continues comeback: 5 IP, 0 R

National League
ATL    12  NYN     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Andruw: 40th HR; Renteria: 4 RBI; Smoltz: 8 IP, 0 R
CIN     5  FLA     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Ross: 2 HR; CIN: 2.5 games out
WAS     4  PHI     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Zimmerman: 3 RBI (103 for season)
CHN    14  MIL     6    (Recap and Boxscore) Blanco: 4 RBI
HOU     7  PIT     4    (Recap and Boxscore) HOU: 12 singles; Pettitte: 6.2 IP, 3 R
SD      7  STL     5    (Recap and Boxscore) See below
LAN    11  COL     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Martin: 4 RBI; Maddux: 6 IP, 3 R
SF      4  ARI     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Alou: GW HR in 9th; Morris: 7 IP, 2 R; Webb: 8 IP, 2 R

Today’s Games
Visitors                         Home                             Starts
ARI - Vargas C. (11-10, 4.86)    SF - Sanchez J.* (3-0, 5.29)       3:35
CWS - McCarthy B. (3-7, 4.88)    CLE - Carmona F. (1-9, 5.64)       7:05
HOU - Hirsh J. (3-4, 5.83)       PIT - Chacon S. (2-3, 5.09)        7:05
CIN - Michalak C.* (2-3, 4.50)   FLA - Sanchez A. (9-3, 2.80)       7:05
PHI - Hamels C.* (9-8, 4.06)     WAS - Astacio P. (5-5, 6.12)       7:05
TB - Corcoran T. (4-9, 4.73)     BOS - Beckett J. (16-10, 4.82)     7:05
BAL - Benson K. (11-11, 4.49)    NYY - Wang C. (18-6, 3.57)         7:05
TOR - Lilly T.* (14-13, 4.41)    DET - Robertson N.* (13-12, 3.66)  7:05
NYM - Martinez P. (9-7, 4.08)    ATL - Hudson T. (12-12, 4.96)      7:35
MIL - Bush D. (12-11, 4.54)      CHC - Hill R.* (6-7, 4.29)         8:05
SD - Young C. (11-5, 3.55)       STL - Reyes A. (5-7, 4.92)         8:10
KC - Redman M.* (10-10, 5.83)    MIN - Silva C. (10-14, 5.95)       8:10
LAD - Lowe D. (15-8, 3.57)       COL - Cook A. (9-14, 4.11)         8:35
TEX - Eaton A. (7-4, 4.80)       LAA - Weaver J. (11-2, 2.32)      10:05
OAK - Zito B.* (16-9, 3.89)      SEA - Meche G. (11-8, 4.48)       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     95  62 .605    0.0   93      2      
BOS     84  74 .532   11.5   79      5      
TOR     83  74 .529   12.0   84     -1      
BAL     68  89 .433   27.0   67      1      
TB      60  97 .382   35.0   62     -2      
American League Central
DET     95  62 .605    0.0   95      0      
MIN     94  63 .599    1.0   91      3      
CHA     87  71 .551    8.5   86      1      
CLE     74  83 .471   21.0   86     -12     
KC      58  99 .369   37.0   58      0      
American League West
OAK     91  66 .580    0.0   84      7      
LAA     85  72 .541    6.0   81      4      
TEX     79  79 .500   12.5   84     -5      
SEA     76  82 .481   15.5   75      1      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     93  64 .592    0.0   88      5      
PHI     82  75 .522   11.0   82      0      
FLA     76  81 .484   17.0   78     -2      
ATL     76  81 .484   17.0   81     -5      
WAS     70  87 .446   23.0   68      2      
National League Central
STL     80  76 .513    0.0   80      0      
HOU     79  78 .503    1.5   80     -1      
CIN     78  79 .497    2.5   74      4      
MIL     73  84 .465    7.5   68      5      
PIT     65  92 .414   15.5   68     -3      
CHN     64  94 .405   17.0   67     -3      
National League West
SD      85  72 .541    0.0   83      2      
LAN     83  74 .529    2.0   84     -1      
SF      76  81 .484    9.0   75      1      
COL     74  83 .471   11.0   79     -5      
ARI     74  83 .471   11.0   78     -4      

Wildcard Standings
American League
MIN     94  63 .599    0.0
CHA     87  71 .551    7.5
LAA     85  72 .541    9.0
BOS     84  74 .532   10.5
TOR     83  74 .529   11.0
National League
LAN     83  74 .529    0.0
PHI     82  75 .522    1.0
HOU     79  78 .503    4.0
CIN     78  79 .497    5.0
FLA     76  81 .484    7.0

Game of the Day

Not even Chris Carpenter, the ace of the Cardinals’ staff, could stop the Redbirds’ spiraling descent. St. Louis lost their seventh game in a row, 7-5 to San Diego, and they now hold a scant one-and-a-half game lead in the NL Central over Houston (who beat the Pirates 7-4). One week ago, that lead was seven games. The Cardinals’ seven straight losses are one short of the major league record for consecutive losses by a first-place team in September (the Angels lost eight in a row in 1995).

The Padres scored four runs in the seventh inning, capped by Mike Cameron’s two-run double, as they maintained their two-game lead in the NL West over the Dodgers. Ronnie Belliard hit two home runs for St. Louis.

SAN DIEGO (7) VS ST LOUIS (5) - FINAL

SAN DIEGO              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
D Roberts lf            5  3  2  0   0  0   1  .294
B Giles rf              5  1  1  1   0  1   2  .267
 B Johnson pr-rf        0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .250
A Gonzalez 1b           4  1  2  1   1  0   0  .301
J Bard c                4  1  3  2   0  1   1  .332
 R Bowen pr-c           0  1  0  0   1  0   0  .233
R Branyan 3b            3  0  1  0   1  1   3  .293
 M Alexander 3b         1  0  0  0   0  0   3  .176
M Cameron cf            4  0  2  3   0  1   1  .270
G Blum ss               5  0  2  0   0  1   2  .255
J Barfield 2b           5  0  1  0   0  1   6  .284
W Williams p            2  0  0  0   0  1   0  .176
 a-R Klesko ph          1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 C Meredith p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-T Sledge ph          1  0  1  0   0  0   0  .250
 S Linebrink p          0  0  0  0   0  0   0 1.000
 T Hoffman p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000

Totals                 40  7 15  7   3  7  19

a-lined out to first for W Williams in the 7th;  b-singled to right for C 
Meredith in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - D Roberts (18, C Carpenter); B Giles (36, C Carpenter); J Bard 
(17, C Carpenter); M Cameron (34, C Carpenter). SF - M Cameron. RBI - B Giles 
(79), M Cameron 3 (79), J Bard 2 (39), A Gonzalez (80). 2-out RBI - M Cameron 
2, A Gonzalez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Alexander 2, G Blum 
1, J Barfield 3. GIDP - J Barfield. Team LOB - 10. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - D Roberts (46, 2nd base off A Wainwright/G Bennett). 
 
FIELDING: E - J Bard (3, throw); R Branyan (3, ground ball). DP: 1 (J 
Barfield-G Blum-A Gonzalez). 
 
ST LOUIS               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
A Miles ss              5  0  1  0   0  0   1  .268
C Duncan lf             4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .300
 S Taguchi lf           1  0  1  0   0  0   0  .269
A Pujols 1b             3  1  2  0   2  0   1  .330
J Encarnacion rf        4  1  0  0   1  0   2  .276
S Rolen 3b              4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .294
J Edmonds cf            5  1  2  2   0  2   2  .264
R Belliard 2b           4  2  2  3   1  2   2  .243
Y Molina c              3  0  1  0   0  0   3  .217
 a-J Rodriguez ph       1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .307
 A Wainwright p         0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .500
 R Flores p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 J Hancock p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
C Carpenter p           3  0  0  0   0  0   4  .127
 G Bennett c            1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .226

Totals                 38  5 10  5   4  6  19

a-grounded into fielder's choice to first for Y Molina in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - A Pujols (32, W Williams); S Taguchi (19, S Linebrink). HR - R 
Belliard 2 (5, 2nd inning off W Williams 0 on, 1 Out, 4th inning off W Williams 
1 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Belliard 3 (22), J Edmonds 2 (70). Runners left in 
scoring position, 2 out - C Carpenter 2, S Rolen 1, R Belliard 1, J Encarnacion 
1, A Pujols 1. GIDP - C Duncan. Team LOB - 11. 
 
FIELDING: DP: 1 (A Miles-R Belliard-A Pujols). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    SAN DIEGO       - 100 100 410   --   7
    ST LOUIS        - 010 220 000   --   5
----------------------------------------------------

SAN DIEGO                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
W Williams (W, 11-5)          6       7   5   3   4   2   2   3.57
C Meredith (H, 15)            1       1   0   0   0   1   0   0.72
S Linebrink (H, 33)           1       1   0   0   0   1   0   3.45
T Hoffman (S, 44)             1       1   0   0   0   2   0   1.92

ST LOUIS                     ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
C Carpenter (L, 15-8)         7      12   6   6   2   6   0   3.09
A Wainwright                    2/3   3   1   1   0   0   0   3.21
R Flores                        1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   5.40
J Hancock                     1       0   0   0   0   1   0   3.91

WP - C Carpenter, W Williams. IBB - R Belliard (by W Williams). HBP - S Rolen 
(by W Williams). Pitches-strikes: W Williams 107-61; C Meredith 12-9; S 
Linebrink 16-11; T Hoffman 18-11; C Carpenter 122-75; A Wainwright 20-12; R 
Flores 10-5; J Hancock 14-10. Ground balls-fly balls: W Williams 11-7; C 
Meredith 2-0; S Linebrink 1-1; T Hoffman 0-1; C Carpenter 9-6; A Wainwright 
2-0; R Flores 1-0; J Hancock 1-1. Batters faced: W Williams 31; C Meredith 4; S 
Linebrink 4; T Hoffman 4; C Carpenter 34; A Wainwright 5; R Flores 2; J Hancock 
3. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Bill Miller. 1B--Eric Cooper. 2B--Gerry Davis. 3B--Brian Gorman. 

T--3:02. Att--40,443. 
Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, out to center.

The following graph tracks the game’s Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs.

image

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 #
Beltre, Adrian      SEA     Saarloos, Kirk     OAK           435         437      22
Hernandez, Ramon    BAL     Lidle, Corey       NYY           420         427      21
Quentin, Carlos     ARI     Morris, Matt       SF            426         421       9
Cano, Robinson      NYY     Penn, Hayden       BAL           413         421      14
Diaz, Matt          ATL     Perez, Oliver      NYM           407         412       7
Ibanez, Raul        SEA     Saarloos, Kirk     OAK           411         411      32
Rivera, Juan        LAA     Mahay, Ron         TEX           407         411      23
Anderson, Marlon    LAD     Field, Nate        COL           444         409      11
Bautista, Jose      PIT     Pettitte, Andy     HOU           423         402      16
Ross, David         CIN     Willis, Dontrelle  FLA           404         402      21
Bay, Jason          PIT     Pettitte, Andy     HOU           423         399      35
Gibbons, Jay        BAL     Lidle, Corey       NYY           404         399      13
Ross, David         CIN     Willis, Dontrelle  FLA           403         399      20
Teixeira, Mark      TEX     Escobar, Kelvim    LAA           388         397      30
Belliard, Ronnie    STL     Williams, Woody    SD            414         395      13
Garciaparra, Nomar  LAD     Jennings, Jason    COL           425         394      20
Swisher, Nick       OAK     Woods, Jake        SEA           392         391      34
Jones, Andruw       ATL     Perez, Oliver      NYM           386         391      40
Mabry, John         CHC     Gonzalez, Geremi   MIL           379         391       5
Jones, Jacque       CHC     Villanueva, Carlos MIL           385         390      27
Hall, Bill          MIL     Marshall, Sean     CHC           392         386      33
Bradley, Milton     OAK     Woods, Jake        SEA           385         384      14
Abreu, Bobby        NYY     Lopez, Rodrigo     BAL           386         378      14
Ford, Lew           MIN     Perez, Odalis      KC            382         378       4
Aybar, Willy        ATL     Perez, Oliver      NYM           365         375       4
Atkins, Garrett     COL     Maddux, Greg       LAD           395         373      28
Hawpe, Brad         COL     Stults, Eric       LAD           396         370      21
Ortiz, David        BOS     Hammel, Jason      TB            400         369      54
Belliard, Ronnie    STL     Williams, Woody    SD            388         368      12
Alou, Moises        SF      Lyon, Brandon      ARI           378         367      22
Graffanino, Tony    MIL     Ryu, Jae Kuk       CHC           371         363       7
Garko, Ryan         CLE     Vazquez, Javier    CWS           340         356       7
Patterson, Corey    BAL     Lidle, Corey       NYY           357         349      16

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Ryan Zimmerman drove in three runs for the Nats, raising his season total to 107, the most by a rookie since Albert Pujols drove in 130 in 2001. Ryan Howard drove in one run for the Phillies, but that’s all it took to set a new National League record for sophomores (146). Chuck Klein had 145 runs batted in in 1929. (Source: Elias)

Chase Utley’s shot down the right-field line that was ruled foul — but replays showed should have been called fair — was a key part of Philadelphia’s 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night, though the Phillies had other reasons to be disappointed in themselves, too.

Ryan Garko drove in five runs in the Indians’ 6-0 victory over the White Sox, raising his total for the month of September to 22 runs batted in. Garko, the Indians’ full-time cleanup hitter since Travis Hafner was injured, ranks fifth in the AL in RBI this month behind Frank Thomas (30), Torii Hunter (27), Robinson Cano (25), and Bobby Abreu (25).

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

Javier Vazquez struck out 12 batters but allowed six runs over seven innings in Chicago’s 6-0 loss to the Indians, a microcosm of Vazquez’s month. In five starts during September, Vazquez struck out 50 batters, but posted an 0-3 record. Only three other pitchers during the live-ball era recorded 50 strikeouts in a month without earning a victory. The others were Pedro Martinez (0-1, 55 SO in May 2006), Kerry Wood (0-3, 55 SO in August 2002), and Randy Johnson (0-2, 59 SO in September 1992). (Source: Elias)

Johan Santana all but wrapped up the unofficial Triple Crown for pitchers with his victory over the Royals on Wednesday night. Santana leads the majors in wins (19), ERA (2.77), and strikeouts (245). Only one pitcher has led the majors in all three categories in the same season since Sandy Koufax retired following the 1966 season: Dwight Gooden in 1985. Koufax did so three times over his last four seasons.

Moises Alou hit a game-winning home run in the ninth inning of the Giants’ 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks. It was Alou’s fifth walk-off homer in the last five seasons, to tie for the second most in the NL during that time behind Albert Pujols (7).

When Dusty Baker called for Jae-Kuk Ryu to pitch the ninth inning of the Cubs’ 14-6 win over the Brewers, it marked Chicago’s 522nd pitching change of the season, a new major league record. The previous mark was set by Felipe Alou’s Giants in 2004.

Since July 2, the Cubs (35-43) have a better record than the White Sox (34-44).

Placido Polanco drove in three runs in the Tigers’ 4-3 win over the Blue Jays, for a total of five RBI in two games after missing five weeks with a separated left shoulder.

On Monday, the Reds signed SS Juan Castro to a two-year contract extension.

THT Stats

Access all of THT’s stats here…

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Dave Studeman was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Follow his sporadic tweets @dastudes.

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