THT Daily: Young Arrives
Major League News for August 29
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 CLE 6 TOR 4 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 9 BOS 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Classic Big Hurt: 3 BB, HR SEA 2 LAA 0 (Recap and Boxscore) See below National League FLA 4 MIL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Johnson: 8.2 IP, 2 R NYN 8 PHI 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Howard: 47th HR PIT 11 CHN 6 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 7 SD 4 (Recap and Boxscore) Branyan: 2 HR; Byrnes: 2 2B, HR LAN 6 CIN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN: 4th straight loss
Today’s Games
Visitors Home Starts CHC - Zambrano C. (14-5, 3.31) PIT - Maholm P.* (6-10, 4.82) 7:05 PHI - Myers B. (9-6, 4.23) WAS - Armas T. (8-9, 5.05) 7:05 DET - Robertson N.* (11-10, 4.10) NYY - Wang C. (15-5, 3.81) 7:05 TOR - Chacin G.* (6-3, 6.32) CLE - Sabathia C.* (9-8, 3.30) 7:05 SF - Schmidt J. (10-7, 3.23) ATL - Hudson T. (10-10, 4.82) 7:35 TB - Fossum C.* (6-5, 4.91) CWS - Garcia F. (12-8, 4.99) 8:05 BAL - Lopez R. (9-13, 6.03) TEX - Millwood K. (12-9, 4.73) 8:05 MIL - Ohka T. (4-3, 4.42) HOU - Oswalt R. (10-8, 3.23) 8:05 FLA - Olsen S.* (10-7, 4.42) STL - Mulder M.* (6-6, 6.77) 8:10 KC - Redman M.* (7-8, 5.85) MIN - Garza M. (1-2, 6.59) 8:10 NYM - Trachsel S. (13-5, 5.00) COL - Kim B. (7-9, 5.18) 9:05 SD - Young C. (9-5, 3.77) ARI - Gonzalez E. (3-5, 5.32) 9:40 BOS - Beckett J. (14-8, 5.21) OAK - Saarloos K. (6-6, 4.66) 10:05 LAA - Weaver J. (9-1, 1.92) SEA - Washburn J.* (7-12, 4.37) 10:05 CIN - Milton E.* (8-7, 5.22) LAD - Hendrickson M.* (1-6, 4.79) 10:10
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 77 52 .597 0.0 75 2BOS 71 60 .542 7.0 68 3
TOR 69 62 .527 9.0 68 1
BAL 59 71 .454 18.5 57 2
TB 52 79 .397 26.0 53 -1
American League Central DET 82 49 .626 0.0 80 2
MIN 76 53 .589 5.0 73 3
CHA 76 54 .585 5.5 75 1
CLE 61 69 .469 20.5 71 -10
KC 47 85 .356 35.5 49 -2
American League West OAK 75 56 .573 0.0 69 6
LAA 69 63 .523 6.5 68 1
TEX 67 65 .508 8.5 69 -2
SEA 62 69 .473 13.0 63 -1
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 80 49 .620 0.0 75 5
PHI 65 65 .500 15.5 65 0
FLA 64 66 .492 16.5 64 0
ATL 61 68 .473 19.0 67 -6
WAS 55 75 .423 25.5 55 0
National League Central STL 69 60 .535 0.0 66 3
CIN 67 65 .508 3.5 64 3
HOU 63 68 .481 7.0 65 -2
MIL 62 69 .473 8.0 58 4
CHN 54 77 .412 16.0 53 1
PIT 51 81 .386 19.5 56 -5
National League West LAN 69 62 .527 0.0 70 -1
SD 66 65 .504 3.0 66 0
SF 65 66 .496 4.0 66 -1
ARI 64 67 .489 5.0 64 0
COL 61 69 .469 7.5 66 -5
Wildcard Standings American League MIN 76 53 .589 0.0 CHA 76 54 .585 0.5 BOS 71 60 .542 6.0 TOR 69 62 .527 8.0 LAA 69 63 .523 8.5 National League CIN 67 65 .508 0.0 SD 66 65 .504 0.5 PHI 65 65 .500 1.0 SF 65 66 .496 1.5 FLA 64 66 .492 2.0
Game of the Day
It was a classic pitching duel in Seattle, where the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez beat Kelvim Escobar and the Angels, 2-0. Both pitchers threw complete games and neither one walked a batter. Seattle had lost twenty straight games to its AL West rivals, the longest intradivision losing streak since division play began in 1969.
It was the first career shutout for the twenty-year-old Hernandez. In the last 15 years, there’s been only one other shutout by a pitcher before his 21st birthday, and that was by Kerry Wood, his one-hit, 20-strikeout, 0-walk game against the Astros on May 6, 1998.
LA ANGELS (0) VS SEATTLE (2) - FINAL
LA ANGELS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Figgins cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
M Izturis 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .310
O Cabrera ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .288
V Guerrero rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .326
G Anderson dh 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .275
J Rivera lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .298
H Kendrick 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .317
A Kennedy 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .264
J Molina c 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .258
Totals 31 0 5 0 0 4 5
BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - O Cabrera 1. GIDP - J
Rivera. Team LOB - 4.
FIELDING: Outfield assists - J Rivera (I Suzuki at 2nd base).
SEATTLE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
I Suzuki cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .319
C Snelling rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .357
A Beltre 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .266
R Ibanez lf 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .282
R Sexson 1b 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 .239
B Broussard dh 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .292
K Johjima c 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 .294
J Lopez 2b 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .278
W Bloomquist ss 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .241
Y Betancourt ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .301
Totals 30 2 7 2 0 9 8
BATTING: 2B - R Sexson (26, K Escobar). RBI - R Sexson (88), K Johjima (57).
2-out RBI - K Johjima. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Lopez 1.
Team LOB - 4.
FIELDING: E - J Lopez (11, throw). DP: 1 (J Lopez-W Bloomquist-R Sexson).
----------------------------------------------------
LA ANGELS - 000 000 000 -- 0
SEATTLE - 000 200 00x -- 2
----------------------------------------------------
LA ANGELS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Escobar (L, 9-12) 8 7 2 2 0 9 0 3.79
SEATTLE ip h r er bb so hr era
F Hernandez (W, 11-12) 9 5 0 0 0 4 0 4.54
Pitches-strikes: K Escobar 106-71; F Hernandez 95-70. Ground balls-fly balls:
K Escobar 5-9; F Hernandez 17-6. Batters faced: K Escobar 30; F Hernandez 31.
UMPIRES: HP--Chuck Meriwether. 1B--Phil Cuzzi. 2B--Jerry Crawford. 3B--Brian
Onora.
T--1:51. Att--28,748.
Weather: 76 degrees, clear. Wind: 6 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.
Russell Branyan hit two homers for the Padres, including a 427 footer to left-center field and a huge 471 foot blast to right field. Branyan’s second homer left the bat at 119.4 mph, and picked up 14 feet from the warm, thin air inside Chase Field.
Hitter Pitcher True Dist Std. Dist. HR # Uggla, Dan FLA Capellan, Jose MIL 440 459 20 Branyan, Russell SD Julio, Jorge ARI 471 457 14 Thomas, Frank OAK Foulke, Keith BOS 421 437 28 Howard, Ryan PHI Mota, Guillermo NYM 421 436 47 Burrell, Pat PHI Maine, John NYM 396 428 24 Hall, Bill MIL Johnson, Josh FLA 408 422 30 Branyan, Russell SD Webb, Brandon ARI 427 415 13 Phillips, Brandon CIN Tomko, Brett LAD 429 411 14 Estrada, Johnny ARI Williams, Woody SD 414 402 11 Pierre, Juan CHC Snell, Ian PIT 384 386 2 Martin, Russell LAD Michalak, Chris CIN 397 385 8 Sizemore, Grady CLE Burnett, A.J. TOR 402 374 20 Byrnes, Eric ARI Williams, Woody SD 382 372 20 Melhuse, Adam OAK Foulke, Keith BOS 376 372 4 Swisher, Nick OAK Foulke, Keith BOS 372 363 28 Bay, Jason PIT Guzman, Angel CHC 347 351 29
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 BOS AA Brandon Moss RF 4 4 0 1 0 1 0 .609 OBP during past week BOS A- Kristopher Negron SS 5 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 runs scored CHW A Francisco Hernandez C 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 CLE AAA Jason Cooper LF 4 3 1 0 1 0 1 COL A Cole Garner LF 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 LA AAA Delwyn Young RF 4 3 3 0 0 1 0 5 RBI NYM A Will Vogl CF 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 NYY A+ Reegie Corona SS 5 3 1 0 1 0 0 4 RBI PHI A+ Gregory Golson CF 4 4 1 1 1 0 0 SD AA Drew Macias CF 4 3 0 1 1 0 1 3 runs scored ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes BOS AA Thomas Hottovy 7.0 1 0 0 7 2 0 CHC AAA Jae Kuk Ryu 8.0 5 1 1 7 2 1 CIN AA Homer Bailey 6.0 2 0 0 8 0 0 1.44 ERA over past month DET A Sendy Vasquez 6.0 3 1 1 9 0 1 PIT A- Patrick Bresnehan 6.0 3 0 0 8 1 0 0 ER allowed over last 25 IP SF A Kelvin Pichardo 6.0 3 0 0 6 2 0 TB AA Mitch Talbot 7.2 7 0 0 7 1 0 TEX AAA Derek Lee 9.0 2 0 0 3 3 0 TEX AA Luis Mendoza 7.0 2 1 1 5 1 0
Player News
Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.
Jose Reyes hit his 16th triple of the season Monday after hitting 17 three-baggers last season. Reyes is the first player to have more than 15 triples in consecutive seasons since the Yankees’ Snuffy Stirnweiss had 16 in 1944 and 22 in 1945.
Ryan Howard hit his 47th home run of the season, tying the second-highest total in a player’s “sophomore” year. Ralph Kiner hit 51 in 1947, his second season, and Eddie Mathews had 47 in 1953, his sophomore year. (Source: Elias)
Esteban Loaiza threw seven scoreless innings against the Red Sox, and over his last four starts he’s allowed only one earned run in 30 2/3 innings, for a 0.29 ERA. No other pitcher has allowed as few as one earned run in as many as 30 innings over four starts this season.
Loaiza’s run may remind some of Cory Lidle’s season for the A’s in 2002. Loaiza had a 6.41 ERA in 87 innings before his hot streak began. Lidle had a 5.15 ERA in 113 2/3 innings in 2002, then did not allow an earned run in 38 innings over next five starts, and only one earned run in 45 2/3 innings over his next six starts. (Source: Elias)
Brad Penny (14-7) tied a career-high for victories after overcoming early control problems in Monday’s start against the Reds. He allowed a run and four hits over five innings.
Brandon Webb scattered six hits over 7 1/3 innings and helped the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 7-4 Monday night. Webb (14-5) tied Carlos Zambrano of Chicago for most victories in the National League.
Ben Sheets (4-6) gave up three runs — one earned — and six hits in seven innings with six strikeouts in Monday’s start at Florida.
Freddy Sanchez had three hits in Monday’s game against the Cubs to raise his NL-leading batting average to .349. “Everyone was getting good at bats, putting good wood on the ball,” Sanchez said. “It was good to see everyone hitting the ball well. It was one of those nights where everyone was getting good at bats.”
Grady Sizemore was 3-for-5 with two doubles (46), a home run (20) and an RBI (59) in Monday’s game against the Blue Jays. “If he’s not the best all-around player in the league, he’s near the top,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “He’s just a great all-around player who works as hard as anyone we have. One thing people don’t see is his mental toughness. And just the way he plays the game, and the effect it has on his teammates. I’ll take him over anybody.”
Boston purchased the contract of first baseman Carlos Pena from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Jon Lester’s (back) roster spot. Also, they transferred Adam Stern to the 60-day DL with a hamstring injury.
When the Red Sox get back to Boston, catcher Jason Varitek and right fielder Trot Nixon both will be close to rejoining the team. Varitek had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Aug. 3, while Nixon has been on the 15-day DL since July 31 with a strained right biceps.
The Red Sox placed rookie LHP Jon Lester on the 15-day DL Monday and sent him back to Boston for further evaluation of his troublesome back. Lester, one of four rookies on the Red Sox pitching staff, originally was slated to start Monday’s series opener at Oakland, but Kason Gabbard took his place in the rotation. Lester almost didn’t take the mound Wednesday night against the Angels in Anaheim, where he beat Kelvim Escobar and threw 96 pitches over five innings. “He came out of that start the other day with his back grabbing at him,” manager Terry Francona said. “We just kind of felt we’d send him back to Boston and get him thoroughly checked. He’s a big part of our future. We’ve asked a lot of him already. We’re a little concerned.”
Diamondbacks outfielder Jeff DaVanon will have season-ending surgery to repair a split tendon in his left ankle. DaVanon was injured sliding into second base against Houston on Aug. 5 and went on the 15-day DL with what initially was thought to be a sprained ankle. When the injury didn’t improve as expected, tests revealed the tendon injury. DaVanon went to Los Angeles on Monday for a second opinion that confirmed surgery was necessary.
Seattle purchased the contract of Jon Huber from Triple-A Tacoma and Huber was in uniform for Monday’s game. The 25-year-old right-hander split this season between Double-A San Antonio and Tacoma.
Mariners right-hander Julio Mateo will miss the rest of the season after breaking his left hand before Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. While lifting weights in the Mariners clubhouse, Mateo had a 35-pound weight slip and pin his hand between the weight and the rack. He broke the fourth metacarpal and was placed on the 60-day DL. Mateo’s hand will be placed into a splint for the next few days and be put into a permanent cast Friday. “He’s a big part of the reason the bullpen has pitched as well as it has this season,” manager Mike Hargrove said. “When he’s pitched, he’s pitched when the game has been on the line and in tough situations.”
The Devil Rays recalled top prospect Delmon Young from Triple-A Durham and placed DH Jonny Gomes on the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury on Monday night. Young, the first player selected in the 2003 amateur draft, served a 50-game suspension this season after throwing a bat at an umpire during a minor league game. After returning to Durham’s lineup in June, he hit .318 with eight homers and 57 RBI.
The Cubs activated first baseman Derrek Lee from the 15-day disabled list Monday, and he was in the lineup against the Pirates. To make room for Lee, the Cubs optioned infielder Buck Coats to Triple-A Iowa.
The Blue Jays recalled 2B Russ Adams from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday.
The Orioles released non-roster OF Tony Alvarez.
Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano has a pair of broken ribs, the result of a car accident several weeks ago he initially didn’t tell the team about. New York GM Brian Cashman said Monday that Pavano has made three rehab starts with the rib injury. He disclosed it to the team Saturday after feeling discomfort in his most recent minor-league outing. “Of course I’m angry,” Cashman said, adding that “it’s extremely frustrating” and “it’s extremely disappointing.” Cashman still hopes Pavano would be able to pitch in the major leagues this season. Pavano is to have another medical checkup Tuesday. “We have had players play with this issue before,” he said.
Reds catcher Javier Valentin agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2007, with a club option for one more season. Valentin and Jason LaRue shared the catching duties last season. Valentin became the top pinch hitter after David Ross developed into the No. 1 catcher this season.
The Reds sent right-hander Mike Burns to the Red Sox on Monday, getting right-hander Tim Bausher and cash in a swap of relievers. Bausher, 27, went 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA in two starts and 35 relief appearances at Triple-A Pawtucket. He was invited to Boston’s camp last spring, and was assigned to the minors March 14.
Nationals outfielder Alex Escobar will have right shoulder surgery in the next week to 10 days and will miss the rest of the season. Escobar had an MRI exam Monday and was checked by a club doctor, who determined the player has a tear in the labrum, something often associated with a dislocation. Escobar was hurt on a headfirst slide into first base in the ninth inning Friday night at Atlanta. Trying to avoid getting doubled off, Escobar scrambled and went awkwardly into the bag, jamming his right arm.
The Pirates designated right-hander Britt Reames for assignment after he gave up five runs and five hits in 1 2/3 innings of a 13-1 loss Sunday to Houston. They have 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the minor leagues.
Tom Gorzelanny, who isn’t likely to pitch again this season, was placed on the 15-day DL on Monday. Gorzelanny tried throwing over the weekend, but was skipped over for a third consecutive start because of the sore elbow.
Pirates closer Mike Gonzalez was placed on the 15-day DL Monday with left elbow tendinitis. Gonzalez (3-4, 2.17 ERA) is 24-for-24 in save opportunities this season — the only pitcher in the majors with no blown saves in so many chances. He has converted 28 save opportunities in a row dating to August 2004, but had elbow discomfort after pitching on three consecutive days last week. Salomon Torres, Damaso Marte and John Grabow figure to share save opportunities at this point.
Mets right-hander Pedro Martinez (right calf) left for Florida on Monday morning to begin his rehabilitation at the team’s minor league complex in Port St. Lucie.
John Maine (4-3) pitched 6 1/3 solid innings against the Phillies Monday. He allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks. He was supposed to pitch Sunday, but was pushed back a day when the finale of the three-game set was rained out. “That doesn’t bother me,” Maine said. “You’ve still got to go out there and pitch and warm up the same. You just make the adjustment.”
The Phillies sent INF Danny Sandoval to Double-A Reading to make room for Jeff Conine on the roster Monday.
The Astros recalled utility infielder Eric Bruntlett and catcher Humberto Quintero from Round Rock on Monday and optioned catcher J.R. House and pitcher Chris Sampson to the Triple-A affiliate.
The Bergen County Record reports that Tom Glavine (circulation problem in left hand) felt fine one day after throwing a bullpen session Saturday.
The Astros recalled utility infielder Eric Bruntlett and catcher Humberto Quintero from Round Rock on Monday and optioned catcher J.R. House and pitcher Chris Sampson to the Triple-A affiliate.
The Bergen County Record reports that Guillermo Mota threw two perfect innings, with two strikeouts, against the Phillies Saturday. “He’s got good stuff,” manager Willie Randolph said. “He looks like he’s getting back to where he was (three) years ago when he was setting up for (Eric) Gagne” with the Dodgers.
OF Jermaine Dye has a career-high 38 homers, tying Magglio Ordonez (2002) for the highest total by a right fielder in team history.
Since he was acquired from the Rangers, Francisco Cordero has saved or won 11 of the Brewers’ 14 victories.
SS Bill Hall leads the major leagues with 21 home runs as a shortstop. Hall has hit a career-high 29 homers this season. Robin Yount holds the franchise record for homers at shortstop with 29 in 1982.
C Michael Barrett is batting .325 (110-for-338) as a catcher this season. Rick Wilkins holds the single-season franchise record for batting average by a catcher (.300), which was set in 1993.
Miguel Cabrera is batting .419 (13-for-31) with three home runs, five doubles and 10 RBI in his last eight games.
Los Angeles’ Vladimir Guerrero is hitting .436 (24-for-55) with 15 RBI during a season-high 14-game hitting streak.
Ken Griffey Jr. is batting .400 (18-for-45) during a 12-game hitting streak. He is 8-for-22 with three homers, a triple and a double during his career against Brad Penny, whom he faces Monday against Los Angeles.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that Armando Benitez was available to pitch Sunday after getting over mild elbow irritation and a cold from Saturday. “Everything is fine,” Benitez said.
The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports that Frank Francisco (Tommy John surgery) pitched two scoreless innings for Double-A Frisco on Saturday. He allowed two hits and struck out three. “(Velocity) was good,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Not the 96-97 (mph) he was throwing here, but good.”
The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports that Brad Wilkerson (torn rotator cuff) is getting his rehab going and he hopes to be healthy for next year. “We’re getting pretty aggressive with the rehab,” said Wilkerson. He thinks he’ll be able to start his full off-season strength and conditioning program by Nov. 1, if not before.
LF Luis Gonzalez keeps climbing past some hollowed company on the career doubles list. With his 541st against the Dodgers on Sunday, Gonzo tied Rogers Hornsby for 22nd. He is one behind Harry Heilman and two behind Tony Gwynn.
LHP Les Walrond was the eighth rookie starter for the Cubs this season. He gave up five earned runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings against the Cardinals. Rookies have started 56 games, the second-most in the majors behind Florida’s 72, and entered the game 14-26 with a 5.58 ERA.
SS Ronny Cedeno is considered the team’s 2B of the future, and will move back to that position when SS Cesar Izturis returns from the DL. Izturis went on the DL Aug. 22 with a strained right hamstring.
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