Saturday, June 30, 2007

Huff Hits for Cycle; Mets Sweep Phillies; Ramirez Crushes Brewers

American League LA Angels 9 Baltimore 7 - Aubrey Huff (right) hit for the cycle, scored 3 times and drove in 3 runs, but it wasn't enough to keep the Angels from beating up on Baltimore's inefficient bullpen. Trailing 7-5, the Angels scored one in the 7th, one in the 8th and two in the 9th inning on Howie Kendrick's 2-run blast. Toronto 3 Seattle 5 - Jarrod Washburn improved to 7-6 and J.J. Putz picked up his 23rd save as the Mariners won their 6th straight and trail LA by 5 games in the NL West. With their current run, the Mariners also closed to within contention for the wild card, trailing Detroit by just 2 games. Chi White Sox 1 Kansas City 8 - Brian Bannister shut down the Sox on 4 hits over 6 1/3, allowing just one earned as the Royals won their 5th straight, ensuring them of their first winning record in any month since 2003. Chicago is only one game ahead of the last place Royals. Tampa Bay 1 Cleveland 2 - Ben Francisco walloped his first major league home run - in just his 6th at-bat - in the bottom of the 9th, moving the Indians back into first place in the AL Central. Other AL Scores Minnesota 11 Detroit 1 - J. Santana, (W, 9-6) 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Oakland 1 NY Yankees 2 Texas 1 Boston 2 - Boston, 10 1/2 ahead of Toronto in AL East National League NY Mets 6 Philadelphia 5 NY Mets 5 Philadelphia 2 - The Mets sent their message loud and clear in Philly, taking both ends of a double-header to send the Phillies back to 3rd place in the NL East, 5 games back. The Mets lead Atlanta by 4. Milwaukee 5 Chi Cubs 6 - The streaking Cubs - winners of 7 straight - got a walk-off 2-run homer from Aramis Ramirez (right) to pull to within 6 1/2 of the 1st place Brewers. The two teams play two more this weekend in Chicago. Arizona 4 San Francisco 3, 10 innings - Barry Bonds tied the game in the 8th inning with his 750th career home run to pull to within 5 of Hank Aaron's all-time mark, but rookie catcher Miguel Montero stole the show with his 10th inning solo homer which won the game and kept Arizona in 2nd place, 1/2 back of San Diego. San Diego 7 LA Dodgers 6 - The Padres took over 1st place with their 3rd straight win. San Diego leads Arizona by 1/2 and the Dodgers by a game in the wild, wild NL West. Colorado 8 Houston 9 - Closer Brian Fuentes blew his 4th straight save opportunity and the Rockies lost their 8th straight when Mark Loretta ended a wild affair with a 2-run homer with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th. Other NL Scores Atlanta 12 Florida 3 - J. Francoeur, 4-5, 3 runs; C. Jones, 2-3, 4 RBI Washington 2 Pittsburgh 3 St. Louis 4 Cincinnati 2 - Reds, 30-50, worst record in majors

Friday, June 29, 2007

Numbers Game: Thomas: 500, Biggio: 3002

Editor's Note: It's rare that milestones are reached in baseball, but this season is seeing it's air share of big ones. Seeing two reached in one night is especially pleasing for the fans (and the reporters). On Thursday, Frank Thomas belted his 500th home run and Craig Biggio got his 3000th hit. Both players have been mainstays in the game for most of the past two decades and both are deserving of Hall of Fame inclusion when their brilliant careers are complete. Congratulations to them both. American League Toronto 5 Minnesota 8 - Frank Thomas (right) became the 21st player in major league history to hit 500 home runs with a 3-run job in the 1st inning off Twins' starter, Carlos Silva, and also doubled in another run for 4 RBI. Despite the historic feat, the Twins rallied to win and Thomas was ejected in the 9th for arguing balls and strikes. Torii Hunter homered twice for Minny, a solo shot in the 4th and a 2-run dinger in the 5th, which broke a 5-5 tie and gave the Twins the lead for good. Hunter has 17 homers and 62 RBI on the season. Texas 2 Detroit 5 - Kenny Rogers picked up his 2nd win in as many starts, keeping the Tigers 1/2-game ahead of Cleveland in the AL Central. Rogers allowed a single run on 4 hits over 7 innings, walking 1 and striking out 3. Other AL Scores Oakland 3 Cleveland 4 - P. Byrd, W (7-3) Chi White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 1 - J. Vazquez, W (4-5) 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K NY Yankees 8 Baltimore 6 - suspended, to be resumed on July 27 with NY batting in the top of the eighth, 2 out, D. Jeter on 2nd. National League Colorado 4 Houston 8, 11 innings - Craig Biggio (right) didn't waste any time getting his 3000th hit before the home crowd at Houston. After sitting out 2 of 3 games in Milwaukee (though he did pinch hit on the 27th) Biggio rapped out 3 singles in his first four trips to the plate, the 3rd one besides being #3000, also drove in a run to tie the game at 1. Biggio picked up another single in the 9th but was forced out at 2nd on Hunter Pence's grounder. In the 11th, after Troy Tulowitzki's solo homer put Colorado up 5-4 in the top of the inning, Biggio singled with 2 outs and moved to 3rd on Pence's double. After Lance Berkman was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Carlos Lee took Brian Fuentes out of the yard to finish a perfect night for Houston. Biggio finished the night 5-6 with 3002 hits, and Houston got the win. It was Fuentes' third straight blown save and the Rockies' 7th straight loss. Cincinnati 7 Philadelphia 8, 10 innings - Jimmy Rollins doubled, tripled and singled twice in 6 at-bats, his final single in the 11th driving in the winning run in a wild win for Philadelphia. Chase Utley belted a pair of 2-run homers in Philly's 14-hit attack. With the Mets and Braves idle, Philadelphia took over sole possession of second place in the NL East, 3 back of New York. Pittsburgh 7 Florida 9 - The Marlins banged out 15 hits and Scott Olson fanned 10 in 6 innings while allowing 5 runs on 7 hits, avoiding the sweep in the finale of their 3-game series with the Pirates. Other NL Scores LA Dodgers 9 Arizona 5 - Dodgers tied w/San Diego for 1st in NL West, Arizona 1/2 back

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Glavine Records Win #297; Bedard Blanks Yanks

American League Boston 1 Seattle 2, 11 innings - Jose Lopez doubled with one out in the bottom of the 11th sending Ichiro Suzuki around from first with the winning run as the Mariners outlasted Boston. Seattle has won 5 straight to close to within 5 games of the Angels in the AL West. LA has lost 3 straight. NY Yankees 0 Baltimore 4 - Erik Bedard (right) outdueled Roger Clemens, blanking the pinstripers on 2 hits over 7 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. Bedard, 6-4, struck out 8, increasing his MLB-leading total to 129. Aubrey Huff's 3-run homer off Clemens in the 6th was the big blow for the O's. Kansas City 1 LA Angels 0 - Kansas City doesn't get many ace pitching performances, but some of the better ones come from Jorge De La Rosa (5-9), who scattered 10 hits over 6 innings to lead the Royals over the Angels and complete the unlikely 3-game sweep at LA.
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Oakland 13 Cleveland 7 - The A's rapped out 18 hits and abused rookie Fausto Carmona, who didn't record an out in the 2nd inning before being lifted. The A's loaded up for 8 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks against the starter and cruised from there. Jack Cust led the assault with a 3-run homer in the 1st, adding 2 more RBI later. Other AL Scores Chi White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 3 Toronto 5 Minnesota 4 - Blue Jays, 39-38, trail Boston by 9 games National League St. Louis 0 NY Mets 2, 6 innings - Tom Glavine (right) got win #297 with a little help from the weather. Glavine allowed just an infield single by Scott Rolen before rain stopped play and eventually ended the game after the Mets batted in the bottom of the 6th. Glavine (7-5) walked 2 and struck out one. Colorado 4 Chi Cubs 6 - The Cubs won their 6th straight and Carlos Zambrano improved to 9-6, allowing 2 runs over 6 innings while fanning 8. The Cubs' win streak coincides with a Rockies losing skein of the same length. Chicago has a firm grasp on 2nd place in the NL Central, trailing Milwaukee by 7 1/2. The Rockies dropped 6 1/2 back of co-leaders San Diego and Arizona in the West. LA Dodgers 0 Arizona 2 - Brandon Webb gave up 7 hits and walked 5, but managed to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard for 7 innings. Three Arizona relievers finished the job, with Jose Valverde throwing a perfect final 1 1/3 for his 25th save. Arizona remained tied with the Padres atop the NL West with the Dodgers 1/2-game back. Other NL Scores Houston 3 Milwaukee 6, 11 innings - D. Miller, GW 3-run HR (1) San Diego 4 San Francisco 2 - G. Maddux, W (7-4) Cincinnati 9 Philadelphia 6 - A. Dunn, HR (22); R. Howard, HR (18) Pittsburgh 7 Florida 5, 10 innings Washington 0 Atlanta 13 - Y. Escobar, 4-5, 4 R, 1 RBI

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Cleveland's 5 in 9th dumps A's; Ruiz Powers Phils

American League Oakland 5 Cleveland 8 - Cleveland scored 5 in the bottom of the ninth to beat the A's and reclaim a share of first place in the AL Central. The game ended abruptly when Kelly Shoppach launched his 4th home run of the season into the left field stands, scoring himself and two other Indians. NY Yankees 2 Baltimore 3 - Scott Proctor walked Ramon Hernandez, forcing in Corey Patterson with the winning run with one out in the ninth, giving Baltimore a series-opening win against the struggling Yankees. While the O's may be somewhat rudderless, the Yankees are finding new ways to lose. New York is now 11 behind Boston, and also trail Toronto by a game in the AL East, and are 8 games out of the nearest wild card spot. Other AL Scores Chi White Sox 6 Tampa Bay 1 - WP: J. Garland (5-5) Texas 9 Detroit 6 - B Wilkerson, 3-run HR (9) Boston 7 Seattle 8 - J.J. Putz, S (22) Kansas City 12 LA Angels 4 - Angels lead Seattle by 6 in AL West Toronto 1 Minnesota 2, 12 innings - Twins bullpen, no hits final 15 batters National League Cincinnati 4 Philadelphia 11 - Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz (right) had a memorable night, cracking a pair of doubles as part of a 3-4, 4 RBI effort, and stealing home for an extra Phillies run. Rookie Ruiz is batting .277 on the season. With the win, Philly crept to within 2 1/2 games of the Mets in the AL East. Houston 5 Milwaukee 11 - If he gets ample playing time, Ryan Braun could be this season's AL Rookie of the Year. In just 29 games, Braun is batting .342, with 6 homers and 23 RBI. On Tuesday, Braun was 3-4 with a 2-run homer, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Milwaukee also got a grand slam from catcher Johnny Estrada to remain 7 1/2 clear of the Cubs in the NL Central. LA Dodgers 6 Arizona 5, 10 innings - The Dodgers weren't expecting it, but they're certainly happy with the result as rookie Tony Abreu hit his first major league home run to give the Dodgers the extra-innings win and a 1/2-game lead in the wild NL West. Arizona and San Diego are tied for 2nd. San Diego 3 San Francisco 2, 10 innings - Another rookie delivered a game-winning homer, as Kevin Kouzmanoff ripped his 6th of the season over the center field wall. Barry Bonds walked 3 times and failed to homer for the 4th straight game. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 3 Florida 2 St. Louis 5 NY Mets 3, 11 innings - B. Ryan - 1st MLB HR, 11th inning Washington 2 Atlanta 6 Colorado 5 Chi Cubs 8 - Rockies have lost 5 straight

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Penny Gets 10th; Sabathia Goes Distance for 11th

National League St. Louis 1 NY Mets 2, 11 innings - The New York Mets got only 3 hits off Mike Maroth and two Cardinal relievers, but two of them were home runs, the last a blast by Shawn Green to end the game with nobody out in the 11th. Maroth, recently acquired by the Cardinals from Detroit to shore up a dismal pitching staff, pitched more than well enough to win, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks over 7 1/3 innings. The only run came on a Carlos Gomez solo shot in the 5th. Reliever Aaron Heilman picked up his 6th win against 3 losses, all in relief. Heilman won for the first time since May 25. He posted 4 wins in May. With Philly idle, the Mets assumed a 3 1/2-game lead in the NL East. LA Dodgers 8 Arizona 1 - Dodger starter Brad Penny (right) became the National League's first 10-game winner with another superior effort Monday night. Facing the D-Backs, who only yesterday took sole possession of first place in the NL West, Penny (10-1) dominated, allowing just 4 hits and 2 walks over 8 innings. The only run for Arizona came in the 4th, when Chris B. Young doubled home Conor Jackson who had singled off Penny with two outs. Jackson had 2 of the 4 hits allowed by Penny and singled in the ninth off reliever Jonathan Broxton to finish 3-4. With San Diego losing at San Fran, the Dodgers took over 2nd place, just 1/2 behind Arizona. The two teams continue their series with the 2nd of 2nd of 4, tonight. Colorado 9 Chi Cubs 10 - Leading 8-3 entering the ninth, the fun was just beginning for the Cubs and Rockies. Colorado scored 6 times in the top of the inning off relievers Scott Eyre and Bob Howry to take a 9-8 lead, but the Cubbies struck back with a pair in the final at-bat, on Alfonso Soriano's clutch 2-out single off closer Brian Fuentes, plating both the tying and winning runs. It was Fuentes' 4th blown save and 2nd straight, even though Monday's two runs were unearned as 2nd baseman Kazuo Matsui committed his first error of the season on what should have been the game's final out. Other NL Scores Washington 1 Atlanta 4 - Atl., more runs in last 5 games combined Houston 1 Milwaukee 6 - B. Sheets (W, 9-3); P. Fielder, HR (27, leads NL) San Diego 3 San Francisco 4, 11 innings - P. Feliz singles home B. Bonds with game-winner American League Oakland 2 Cleveland 5 - C.C. Sabathia (right) joined Josh Beckett as the only pitchers in the majors with 11 wins, as he went the full 9 innings and got Cleveland back to within a game of the AL Central-leading Tigers. Sabathia scattered nine hits, 4 of them in the 2nd inning when the A's scored their only runs of the game. Between the 2nd and 6th inning, Sabathia (11-2) put down 13 straight Oakland batters, including striking out the side in the 3rd. He finished with 8 Ks, boosting his season total to 108. Sabathia didn't walk a batter. He has issued only 17 free passes all season. Other AL Scores Texas 8 Detroit 3 - M. Byrd, 2-5, 3 RBI (19), .379 ba (39-103) Toronto 8 Minnesota 5 - Jays 10 games back of Boston in AL East Kansas City 5 LA Angels 3 - Angels, 10-3 at home in June Boston 4 Seattle 9 - Jeff Weaver (2-6), 2nd straight win Chi White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 4 - Sox, 3-7 on road in June Interleague Scoreboard (6/8 - 6/24 Final): Total: AL: 107 NL: 90 Best records (AL): California Angels (11-4), Detroit Tigers (11-4), Boston Red Sox (10-5) Worst records (AL): Chicago White Sox (3-12), Baltimore Orioles (4-11) Best records (NL): Colorado Rockies (9-6), Chicago Cubs (6-3) Worst records (NL): Atlanta Braves (3-9) San Diego Padres (4-8), San Francisco Giants (4-8), Pittsburgh Pirates (5-10)

Monday, June 25, 2007

Griffey Blasts 2, Passes McGwire; Biggio Closes In

American League Ken Griffey Jr., possibly the best outfielder of his era, tied and then passed Mark McGwire on the career home run list with a pair of homers - numbers 583 and 584 - for sole possession of 7th place all-time. Griffey bombed Seattle starter Miguel Batista in the 1st and 5th innings, though his effort was all the Reds could muster, losing 3-2 to the Mariners. Cincinnati 2 Seattle 3 Griffey's next target isn't far off. He's only two homers behind Frank Robinson at 586, and then it's on to 600. At 37, "The Kid" still has plenty of pop in his bat, with 21 homers already this season. With 600 in sight, Griffey (right) will be chasing Texas slugger Sammy Sosa, who has 601. Ahead of both Sosa and Griffey is Willie Mays with 660. It's conceivable that both players could reach Mays' mark, which is 4th all time. After that, time, and avoidance of injuries, will tell. Houston 12 Texas 9, 10 innings - The countdown to 3000 got into high gear for Craig Biggio as he stroked a pair of singles and a tie-breaking double to get the Astros over the Rangers on Sunday. The three hits gave Biggio 2996, and with a full slate of games this week, he'll likely reach the mark either on the road at Milwaukee (June 25, 26, 27) or at home against the Rockies (June 28, 29, 30). Batting in the #2 spot, right behind Biggio,
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rookie Hunter Pence went 4-6, scored 4 times and drove in a run with his 8th home run. Pence, a 2004 2nd round draft pick of the Astros, is near league leader Matt Holliday (.355) with a .353 batting average. Pence is just shy of being a qualified leader. His 207 at bats through 50 games, left him 23 short of the needed 230. Now that he's a regular in center field Pence should soon show up in the mix. Toronto 5 Colorado 0 - Nobody, not even the Toronto coaches, saw this coming. Dustin McGowan (4-3) tossed a no-hitter through eight innings, finally surrendering a single to lead off the ninth to Colorado's Jeff Baker. Undaunted, McGowan finished off the Rockies with a 1-hitter, issuing just 1 walk while striking out 7. The strong pitching performance helped the Blue Jays sweep the previously red-hot Rockies in the 3-game series and move into 2nd place in the AL East, 11 games back of Boston. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 9 LA Dodgers 4 - Dodgers drop 2 of 3 at TB Chi Cubs 3 Chi White Sox 0 - Sox swept by Cubs, score 2 runs in 3 games LA Angels 4 Pittsburgh 3, 10 innings - Angels sweep, have won 7 of 8 National League Detroit 5 Atlanta 0 - The Tigers, already boasting the top batting average in the majors at .293, showed the Braves that they have a bit of pitching as well. as Andrew Miller and Chad Durbin combined for a 6-hit shutout on Sunday. Miller (3-1) worked the first 6 innings, with Durbin going the final 3 for his first save. Sweeping the series, the Tigers allowed just one run - Chipper Jones' solo homer on Saturday - over the three game span. The Braves have now been shut out in four of their last five games. Their hitters might as well be using fly swatters. Detroit opened up a 2-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. NY Mets 10 Oakland 2 - As the Braves struggled, the Mets pounded out another win and maintained their 3-game edge on surging Philadelphia. John Maine improved to 8-4 and Jose Valentin led the 14-hit assault with a 3-4 effort and 3 RBI, including his 3rd home run of the season. Boston 4 San Diego 2 - Josh Beckett (right) outgunned the Padres' Jake Peavy and became the first 11-game winner in the majors, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits over 8 innings. Beckett (11-1) struck out 8. Arizona 8 Baltimore 3 - With both the Padres and Dodgers losing, the Arizona Diamondbacks took their turn at first place in the NL West, taking 2 of 3 from the rapidly-disintegrating Orioles. With just a 1-game edge on San Diego and 1 1/2 on the Dodgers, the D-Backs open a 4-game home series against LA on Monday. Other NL Scores Minnesota 7 Florida 4 - J. Mauer, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI Washington 3 Cleveland 1 - J. Simontacchi (W, 5-5) 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Kansas City 4 Milwaukee 3, 11 innings Philadelphia 5 St. Louis 1 - S. Victorino, 3-run double in 8th San Francisco 7 NY Yankees 2 - Yankees, 36-37, 3rd in AL East Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11 Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4 Thursday (6/21): AL: 3, NL: 2 Friday (6/22): AL: 7, NL: 7 Saturday (6/23): AL: 8, NL: 6 Sunday (6/24): AL: 8, NL: 6 Total: AL: 107 NL: 90 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Big Hurt Close to 500; Atlanta Scores, Loses Again

American League Chi Cubs 2 Chi White Sox 1 - The White Sox still can't find anyone they can beat, even with a solid pitching performance like the one they got on Saturday from Javier Vazquez (7 1/3, 5 hits, 1 earned, 8 Ks). The Cubs pushed a run across on a perfectly-executed squeeze play by Ryan Theriot (the squeezor) and Angel Pagan (the squeezee) in the top of the 9th of closer Bobby Jenks, who was doing anything but closing in this one. The Sox are deep in the throes of an horrific losing streak, dropping their 4th straight and 21 of their last 26. Ouch! Their dismal play has left them 13 1/2 games behind AL Central leader, Detroit. In those 21 losses, the Sox have scored 2 runs or less 8 times, though they were last shutout on May 31 by Toronto. LA Angels 10 Pittsburgh 1 - The LA Angles just continue to roll towards the NL West title, winning their 3rd straight and 8th of their last 10. LA improved to 28-10 at home, as Kelvim Escobar (9-3, right) gave up just one earned run off 5 hits while striking out 4 and Vladimir Guerrero boosted his All-Star credentials with a 3-5 effort, including 14th home run - a 2-run shot in the 8th. Vlad has 68 RBI, tied for 2nd in the AL with Magglio Ordonez. The Halos now lead both Oakland and Seattle by 8 games. Toronto 11 Colorado 6 - The Colorado Rockies swept the Yankees, but can't seem to find a way to beat another AL East squad - the Blue Jays - who beat them for the second time in as many days on Saturday. Frank Thomas went 4-4, including a 2-run, 1st-inning home run, driving in four runs total on the day. It was Big Hurt's 11th dinger of the season and career #498. The Rockies and Jays complete their series this afternoon, with Toronto looking for the sweep. Other AL Scores Texas 7 Houston 2 - M. Young, 2-4 4 RBI Tampa Bay 4 LA Dodgers 3 - Dodgers trail Az., SD, by 1/2-gm. Seattle 9 Cincinnati 1 - R. Ibanez, GS HR (6); R. Sexson, 2 HR (14) National League Detroit 2 Atlanta 1 - The Braves finally pushed a run across on Chipper Jones' 4th inning solo homer, but it was all they could muster off Detroit starter Justin Verlander (9-2), who powered through 7 innings, striking out 11, while surrendering only 4 hits. It was the first run for Atlanta in 4 games, having been shut out twice by Boston (4-0 and 11-0) and Friday by the Tigers with Kenny Rogers on the mound for 6 innings (5-0). The Braves' 4th straight loss dropped them 3 1/2 back of the Mets in the NL East while the Tigers retained their 1-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. Milwaukee 7 Kansas City 1 - The Brewers won their 5th straight and 9th of their last 10, continuing to lead the Cubs and Cardinals by 8 1/2 in the NL Central. The efficient Brewers turned 8 hits and 3 walks into 7 runs for the win, their 7th in 11 recent tries against AL teams. Minnesota 11 Florida 1 - Justin Morneau remained in the hospital after a collision with Florida catcher Miguel Olivo on Friday, but the Twins didn't miss a beat, trouncing the Marlins with the help of Jason Kubel's 3-3, 3 run, 2 RBI performance. Catcher Joe Mauer cracked a pair of doubles and drove in 3, in support of starter Carlos Silva (5-8), who allowed just one earned on 4 hits over 7 innings. San Diego 6 Boston 1 - Chris Young struck out 11 and allowed just 1 hit in 7 scoreless innings of work as the Padres evened their series with Boston at 1-each with the rubber game this afternoon. Khalil Greene rapped a pair of solo home runs to lead the San Diego offense as the Padres picked up a share of 1st place in the NL West as the Dodgers lost and Arizona won. Other NL Scores Cleveland 4 Washington 3 - V. Martinez, 3-run 9th inning HR (14) Arizona 7 Baltimore 4 - J. Valverde, S (24) NY Mets 1 Oakland 0 - D. Wright, 9th inning RBI double St. Louis 8 Philadelphia 3 NY Yankees 5 San Francisco 6, 13 innings - A. Rodriguez, 4-6, solo HR (28, leads majors) Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11 Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4 Thursday (6/21): AL: 3, NL: 2 Friday (6/22): AL: 7, NL: 7 Saturday (6/23): AL: 8, NL: 6 Total: AL: 99 NL: 84 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Tigers Regain 1st; Brewers Running Away in NL Central

American League LA Dodgers 6 Tampa Bay 3 - The Dodgers took a narrow 1/2-game lead over Arizona and San Diego in the NL West as Derek Lowe improved to 8-6 and Takashi Saito picked up his 20th save. Chi Cubs 5 Chi White Sox 1 - Carlos Zambrano (8-6) delivered another stellar performance, striking out 12 while allowing just 3 hits and one earned runs over 8 innings. The Cubs, however, still trail Milwaukee by 8 1/2 games in the NL Central and are still well under the .500 mark at 33-39. The Cubs are better than their flagging cross-town rivals, who have won just 4 times in their last 19 games. And these guys won the world series just a few years ago... Cincinnati 16 Seattle 1 - Catcher David Ross (right) socked a pair of homers - #s 10, 11 - scored three times and drove in 5 runs as the Reds thumped slumping Seattle, only 3 or 4 games behind the Angels in the AL West not long ago, have recently dropped 7 of their last 9 and fallen 8 games back. Other AL Scores Toronto 9 Colorado 8, 10 innings - Rockies score 2 in top 10th, Blue Jays plate 3 in bottom frame. Texas 11 Houston 3 - S. Sosa, 2-3, HR (13), 4 RBI (57) LA Angels 5 Pittsburgh 4, 11 innings National League Milwaukee 11 Kansas City 6 - The Milwaukee Brewers are making the best of a bad division, winning their 4th straight and 8th of their last 10 to lead the feeble NL Central by 8 1/2 games over the Cubs and Cardinals. The Brewers (42-31) are the only team in the division over .500, and on Friday, showed why they are among the elite in the National League, getting game performances from 2 unheralded regulars, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun (left and right). Hart, batting in the leadoff spot, went 3-5 with a 3-run homer, 4 RBI and scored 3 times while Braun, batting 3rd, was 4-4, with a double, solo home run, stolen base, 2 runs and 3 RBI. Detroit 5 Atlanta 0 - Kenny Rogers returned from the DL and shut out the Braves over 6 innings to get his first win of 2007 and boost the Tigers into first place in the AL Central as Cleveland lost at Washington. Rogers was dazzling, giving up just 2 hits, while striking out 5. Detroit scored all of their runs in a decisive 6th inning, capped by Carlos Guillen's 2-run double, just in time to give Rogers the lead and the W. NY Mets 9 Oakland 1 - It took over a month, but Tom Glavine finally got win #296 and has the vaunted 300 plateau in sight. Glavine worked 8 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 earned, while striking out 5. The Mets stayed ahead of the Phillies, who continue in pursuit, just 2 games out and now in 2nd place, 1/2 ahead of the Braves in the NL East. Philadelphia 6 St. Louis 0 - Jamie Moyer (7-5) scattered 7 hits over 6 innings and the Phillies scored 5 of their 6 runs in the 3rd innings to move to within 2 games of the Mets in the NL East. Anthony Reyes took the loss for the Cards. He is 0-9. Other NL Scores Washington 4 Cleveland 1 Florida 5 Minnesota 4 - Marlins, 4 1/2 back in NL East Baltimore 7 Arizona 1 Boston 2 San Diego 1 - D. Matsuzaka (W, 9-5), 9 K; J. Papelbon, S (17) NY Yankees 7 San Francisco 3 - B. Bonds, HR (749) Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11 Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4 Thursday (6/21): AL: 3, NL: 2 Friday (6/22): AL: 7, NL: 7 Total: AL: 91 NL: 78 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Punchless Pirates; Rockies Tighten NL West with Sweep of Yankees

American League Seattle 3 Pittsburgh 0 - The Pirates, who haven't scored in 20 innings, went to the clubhouse scoreless for the second straight game as Felix Hernandez (4-4, right) shut them out on 6 hits over 8 innings and closer J.J. Putz finished the job for his 20th save. It was the 8th time this season, most in MLB, that the Pirates have been shut out. Hernandez struck out 9 and walked just one. Other AL Scores LA Dodgers 8 Toronto 4 - J. Kent, 2-5, HR (10) Texas 6 Chicago Cubs 5 - Cubs have lost 4 of last 5 National League Baltimore 6 San Diego 3 - The most compelling race in baseball is probably in the NL West. While the Padres were busily dripping two straight to the teetering Orioles, the Dodgers and Rockies were gaining. The current standings in the division have the Padres and Diamondbacks tied for first, with LA 1/2 back and the Rockies 3 1/2 behind. San Francisco, losers of 7 straight are 11 behind and not a factor. San Diego, which has arguably the best pitching staff in the majors - lowest staff ERA and WHIP at 3.05 and 1.19 respectively - is also saddled with the meekest offense in the league. The Padres are dead last in the NL with a .247 team batting average and near the bottom in most other offensive categories. Their top hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, is hitting .295 with 14 homers and 51 RBI. He leads the team in all three categories with Kahlil Greene and Mike Cameron providing most of the punch after that. It should be interesting to see if the Padres make any moves to pick up a potent bat via the trade route and also whether their pitching can sustain itself through the season, especially against high-powered divisional foe, Colorado. Colorado 4 NY Yankees 3 - The Rockies completed the 3-game sweep of the Yankees, and the surprise is not so much that they did it - they were at home for the series - but that nobody saw it coming. The Yankees have had their ups and downs, but the Rockies have been en fuego since May 21, going 17-7 coming into the Yankees' series. Make that 20-7 now, and 7 of their last 8 as the Rockies head to Toronto for 3 games, their final interleague series of the season. Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11 Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4 Thursday (6/21): AL: 3, NL: 2 Total: AL: 91 NL: 78 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Sosa Jams #600; Ordonez Leads AL at .383

American League Toronto 12 LA Dodgers 1 - Frank Thomas smashed his 10th home run of the season (and 497th of his career) - a 2nd inning grand slam, Greg Zaun chipped in with a single, double, homer, 3 runs and 3 RBI in 3 at-bats, and Roy Halladay worked the Dodgers over, allowing just 6 hits and 1 earned run. After LA had handed the Blue Jays a 10-1 knuckling on Tuesday, Toronto came back with a pretty good beat down of their own. Halladay improved to 8-2. Texas 7 Chi Cubs 3 - It was just another home run for Sammy Sosa (right), but this one was especially sweet, coming against his former team and elevating him into an elite club with only Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays as the other members. Sosa's 600th career home run came in Texas' half of the 5th inning and the solo shot put the Rangers up 5-1, and they coasted from there. It was Sosa's only hit of the night in 4 at-bats. Sosa spent all of 2006 out of baseball, some speculating that he was purging his body of steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs as baseball began cracking down on the use of banned substances by players. With #600 under his belt, Sosa need only look behind him as Ken Griffey Jr. is quickly approaching the same plateau. Griffey, a year younger at 37, has 582 lifetime homers, already has 19 this season and is on pace to crack his own 600th sometime in August or September. Griffey has never been associated with steroids or any other foul play, and for good reason - he didn't need them. Seattle 7 Pittsburgh 0 - Enigmatic Jeff Weaver got his first win of the season (1-6), shutting out the Pirates with a commanding complete game performance, in which he allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Despite the blanking, the up-and-down Weaver still sports an 8.56 ERA. The Mariners snapped a 6-game losing streak and have fallen into 3rd place in the AL West, 7 1/2 behind the Angels and 1 1/2 behind Oakland. Other AL Scores Florida 5 Chi White Sox 4 - Sox, 5-19 last 24 Oakland 5 Cincinnati 3 - D. Haren (W, 9-2) Cleveland 10 Philadelphia 6 - Indians remain tied for 1st in NL Cent. LA Angels 8 Houston 4 - V. Guerrero, HR (13), 3 RBI (66) Seattle 7 Pittsburgh 0 National League Arizona 7 Tampa Bay 4 - The Diamondbacks climbed to within a 1/2 game of San Diego in the NL West as Eric Brynes went 4-5 with a homer, double, two singles, 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. The D-Backs get a day off Thursday, then host Baltimore for 3 games before a 4-game showdown with the LA Dodgers, June 25-28. Detroit 8 Washington 4 - Who's hot? The Tigers are, winners of 4 straight and 10 of their last 14. The win at Washington kept them tied for 1st place in the AL Central with Cleveland. Magglio Ordonez (right) continued his stellar all-around play with a 3-4 effort last night, scoring twice and driving in a run - his 67th. Ordonez leads the majors with a .383 batting average. Maggs has an 8-game hitting streak, during which he's 16-29 (.552). Jeremy Bonderman pitched 5 innings for his 8th win without a loss. Other NL Scores Milwaukee 7 San Francisco 5 - B. Hall, GS HR (8), 5 RBI Baltimore 7 San Diego 1 - O's snap 9-game losing streak Colorado 6 NY Yankees 1 - M. Holliday HR (13), 3 RBI (57) Minnesota 6 NY Mets 2 - 2nd straight for Twins over Mets Boston 11 Atlanta 0 - J. Tavarez (W, 5-4) 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K St. Louis 7 Kansas City 6, 14 innings - R. Ludwick GW HR (4) Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11 Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4 Total: AL: 88 NL: 76 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Santana, Penny, Peavy, Beckett All Winners; Phils Have Howard Power

American League LA Dodgers 10 Toronto 1 - Brad Penny improved to 9-1 with another dominating performance, allowing 6 hits and 1 earned over 7 innings for his 4th win in a row. Luis Gonzalez drove in 4 with a double and a pair of singles to lead the Dodgers attack. LA remained 1 1/2 behind the Padres in the turbulent NL West. Philadelphia 9 Cleveland 6 - Ryan Howard (right) smashed his 16th home run, singled twice, scored 3 times and drive in 4 runs in 5 trips to the plate, leading the Phiilies over Cleveland. The win left the Phillies just 2 games behind the Mets in the NL East, while Cleveland's loss allowed Detroit to claim a share of first place with the Indians in the AL Central. Howard, who started out slowly and spent some time on the DL, has 5 home runs and 10 RBI over his last 9 games. Other AL Scores Pittsburgh 5 Seattle 3 - Seattle loses 6th straight Houston 9 LA Angels 5 - C. Lee, HR (12), 4 RBI (59, tied for NL lead) Florida 7 Chi White Sox 5 - Chicago, 3-7 last 10 Chi Cubs 5 Texas 4 - Cubs trail Brewers by 7 in NL Central National League Detroit 15 Washington 1 - The Tigers finally caught the Indians in the AL Central and they made sure everybody in baseball noticed, banging out 17 hits in a road rout of one of the worst squads in the majors. Six different Tigers had 2 hits or more and 7 different players had extra base hits. Magglio Ordonez (right) went 3-3, scoring 3 times and driving in 2 and Sean Casey knocked a double and a 3-run homer in 4 at-bats, accounting for 4 RBI. The Tigers and Indians are all even at 41-29. Boston 4 Atlanta 0 - Josh Beckett became the AL's 2nd 10-game winner - joining the Angels' John Lackey - and the Red Sox extended their lead in the AL East to 9 1/2 games over the Yankees. Beckett (10-1) worked 6 innings and didn't return after a rain delay, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks for the win. Colorado 3 NY Yankees 1 - The Rockies continued to stay in the NL West hunt, 5 1/2 behind San Diego, and set the Yankees back in their chase of Boston. Rockies' starter Josh Fogg (3-4) outdueled Mike Mussina, giving up 4 hits and one run over his 7 innings of work. Minnesota 9 NY Mets 0 - Johan Santana (7-6) twirled a 4-hit shutout, silencing the Mets' bats. Santana pitched perhaps his best game of the season, not allowing a walk, though he struck out only 1 batter. Despite the unimpressive record, Santana is still among the elite pitchers in the majors with a 2.91 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 102 innings. The loss tightened the race in the NL East, as the Phillies trail by just 2 games, 1/2 behind Atlanta. Minnesota is 5 1/2 back in the AL Central. Arizona 10 Tampa Bay 8, 10 innings - Down 8-2 after 5 frames, the Diamondbacks kept chipping away, scoring 2 runs in the 6th, 7th and 9th and ending it on a 2-run shot by rookie centerfielder Chris B. Young, who finished the night 3-6, with a pair of RBI and 2 runs scored. The D-Backs kept pace in the NL West, 1 1/2 behind San Diego Other NL Scores Milwaukee 6 San Francisco 2 St. Louis 5 Kansas City 1 Cincinnati 5 Oakland 2 - K. Griffey Jr., HR (19) San Diego 12 Baltimore 6 - J. Peavy, W, 9-1; K. Greene, 4-5, 3 RBI Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Monday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11 Total: AL: 78 NL: 72 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Maine Slows Minny; Figgins' 6th Hit Grounds Astros

American League Sam Perlozzo was fired on Monday by the Orioles, becoming the first manager casualty of the season. Bullpen coach Dave Trembley, who has served as a minor league manager in the organization, will be the interim manager. Former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi is being rumored to be on the short list for a full-time replacement. Under Perlozzo, the O's were 29-40, in last place in the AL East, 15 1/2 behind the Boston Red Sox. LA Angels 10 Houston 9 - The series between the LA Angels and Houston Astros has already produced plenty of fireworks. Chone Figgins (right) went 6 for 6, his last hit - a triple - driving in the game's winning run. Figgins, who also stole a base, scored once and drove in 3. He is 36-for-79 (.456) over his last 17 games and the perfect night raised his batting average from .258 to .284. Not a bad night. Houston's Mark Loretta was 4-5 with 3 RBI and teammate Craig Biggio went 1-6 to get within 10 of 3000. The Angels simply won't slow down. So far in June they are 12-4 and Monday's win was their 3rd straight. They began the season 6-9, ending a 6-game losing streak on April 18. Since then, they've gone 39-17 (.696) and lead the AL West by 6 games over the A's, and have the best home record in baseball at 25-9. Cleveland 10 Philadelphia 1 - The Indians rocked Philly starter Cole Hamels (8-3) for 6 runs on 8 hits over 5 innings and retained their slim one game lead over Detroit in the AL Central. Kelly Shoppach, batting 9th, clubbed a 3-run homer off Hamels and added a run-scoring double in the 6th inning, finishing his night 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI. The Phillies dropped to 3 back of the NL East-leading Mets. Other AL Scores Chi White Sox 10 Florida 6 - J. Thome, HR (9), 3 RBI (27) Oakland 6 Cincinnati 1 - J. Blanton (W, 7-4) 8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K National League NY Mets 8 Minnesota 1 - The Mets banged out 15 hits and John Maine (7-4) shut down the Twins on 5 hits over 7 1/3 innings, giving up just one earned run. The Mets stayed 1 1/2 clear of the Braves in the NL East. Detroit 9 Washington 8 - The Tigers nearly blew an 8-run lead as closer Todd Jones allowed 5 hits and 3 runs before finally getting the last out with runners on the corners. Carlos Guillen singled, doubled and hit a solo homer in 4 at-bats, scoring twice and driving in 3 runs for the Tigers. Detroit remained a game behind Cleveland in the AL Central race. Atlanta 9 Boston 4 - It was another Schilling shelling in Atlanta as the Braves roughed up starter Curt Schilling for 10 hits and 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings.
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It was the second straight tough outing for Schilling (6-4), who pitched a 1-hitter on June 7, but allowed 5 earned on 9 hits over 5 innings vs. Colorado in his next outing, June 13. Catcher Brian McCann doubled home a run in the 4th and smacked a 3-run homer in the 5th, ending the night for Schilling. Coco Crisp went 4-4 for the Red Sox, with a pair of solo homers. Other NL Scores Tampa Bay 10 Arizona 2 - D-Backs trail Padres by 1 1/2 in NL West Milwaukee 5 San Francisco 4 - P. Fielder, HR (26), F. Cordero, S (26) Kansas City 5 St. Louis 3 Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Total: AL: 75 NL: 61 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Morneau Walks Off Milwaukee; Gonzalez Paces Padres

American League Cleveland 5 Atlanta 2 - With a win on Sunday, the Atlanta Braves could have drawn to within 1/2-game of the Mets, but Fausto Carmona and the Cleveland Indians had other ideas. Carmona blanked the Braves until the top of the 8th, when they touched him for a couple of runs, but by then it was too late. Cleveland had already scored all of their runs in the 5th and 6th innings. Carmona improved to 8-2, and Joe Borowski picked up his 20th save in the 9th. Cleveland remained a game ahead of Detroit in the AL Central as the Tigers were winners on Sunday as well. Minnesota 10 Milwaukee 9 - Justin Morneau (right) homered with no outs in the bottom of the 9th to seal a key win for the Twins, keeping them within striking distance of the Tigers and Indians, 5 1/2 off Cleveland's pace. Morneau doubled earlier, scored 3 times and drove in 3 in 3 at-bats. Lou Ford singled and doubled, driving in 4 runs to lead the attack. The home run by Morneau was his 20th of the season. Arizona 6 Baltimore 4 - Arizona completed the 3-game sweep at Baltimore and moved past the Dodgers into 2nd place in the NL West, a game back of San Diego. Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder hit solo home runs for the Diamondbacks, and starter Brandon Webb picked up his 7th win against 3 losses. With interleague play continuing this week, the Diamondbacks return home for a lengthy home stand, hosting Tampa Bay and Baltimore before 4 games with the Dodgers next week. Boston 9 San Francisco 5 - The Red Sox completed the sweep of the Giants at Fenway Park and remain 8 1/2 better than the Yankees in the AL East. Barry Bonds hit home run 748 to move within 7 of tying Hank Aaron's career mark. NY Yankees 8 NY Mets 2 - Alex Rodriguez socked his MLB-best 27th home run and added 3 RBI to give him 73, as the Yankees took 2 of 3 from the visiting Mets and won for the 11th time in their last 12 days. Rodriguez is on a breathtaking pace that would give him 63 homers and 174 RBI, that would rank as one of the greatest single seasons ever. St. Louis 10 Oakland 6 - Ryan Ludwick hit a go-ahead 3-run homer in the 7th, added a 2-run single in the 8th, scored 3 times and drove in 5 as the Cardinals scored in double-digits for the second straight game. The Cards hammered Oakland 15-6 on Saturday and took 2 of 3 with Sunday's win. Once again, St. Louis is tied for 2nd in the NL Central with the Cubs. Both teams trail Milwaukee by 6 1/2 games. The A's fell further behind the Angles in the AL West. They are now 6 games back. Other AL Scores Washington 4 Toronto 2 Kansas City 5 Florida 4 National League San Diego 11 Chi Cubs 3 - Adrian Gonzalez (right) doubled 3 times and hit a solo home run in 5 at-bats, scoring 4 runs and driving in 3, Mike Cameron blasted a pair of homers, scored 3 times and drove in 3, and Khalil Greene knocked a 3-run home and drove in another run with a single as the middle of the Padres' lineup accounted for 10 of San Diego's runs. Greg Maddux improved to 6-3 with 6 innings of work and the Padres remained a game better than Arizona and 1 1/2 to the good on the Dodgers in the NL West Detroit 7 Philadelphia 4 - Magglio Ordonez went 2-3 and drove in 3 runs and Justin Verlander improved to 8-2 as the Tigers kept pace, 1 game behind Cleveland, in the AL Central. Ordonez is batting .371, tops in the majors, with 64 RBI, 2nd behind the Yankees Alex Rodriguez. Houston 10 Seattle 3 - Mike Lamb smacked a 1st inning grand slam and doubled in another run in the 3rd inning to lead the Astros to a sweep of the visiting Mariners, who dropped to 7 games behind the LA Angels in the AL West. The Astros are 8 back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 8 Chi White Sox 7 Tampa Bay 7 Colorado 4 Texas 11 Cincinnati 4 - A. Dunn, 3-4, 2 HR (19), 3 RBI (46) LA Angels 10 LA Dodgers 4 - Angels take 2 of 3, lead AL West by 6 games Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5

Sunday, June 17, 2007

NL East a Real Race; Rockies on the Rise

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League Atlanta 6 Cleveland 2 - Edgar Renteria (right) went 5 for 5 with a double, his 10th home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, and John Smoltz won his 8th game against just 2 losses, limiting the Indians to 7 hits and 2 earned over 6 innings. Smoltz struck out seven and didn't walk a batter as the Braves closed to within 1 1/2 of the stumbling Mets. Philadelphia and Florida were also winners and trail New York by 2 and 5 1/2 respectively. Suddenly the NL East has turned into a pennant race. Cleveland maintained a slim 1-game lead over the Tigers, who also lost, at Philly. NY Yankees 11 NY Mets 8 - While the everyone else in the NL East except Washington was beating up on AL opponents, Tom Glavine and the Mets were being pounded up in the Bronx. Glavine, stuck on 295 wins for nearly a month, lost his 4th straight, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks over 4 innings. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez both blasted 2-run homers off Glavine, for A-Rod, his MLB-best 26th. Rodriguez went 2-4 and scored 3 times while Jeter finished the game 4-5, with a pair of RBI and 2 scores. Both players also stole a base, as did Miguel Cairo. Jose Reyes swiped a pair, giving him 37, tops in the majors. The Yankees kept pace with Boston, 8 1/2 ahead. Boston 1 San Francisco 0 - Daisuke Matusaka pitched his best game of the season against the impotent San Francisco Giants, allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings, fanning 8. Manny Ramirez provided the only score with his 9th home run of the season in the 4th. Bonds watch is back on again. Barry Bonds went 0-3 and failed to homer for the 4th straight game. He has hit just 2 over his last 31 games, stretching back to May 8. Bonds needs 9 to break Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 and should average one per 10 games if he plans on breaking the mark this season. In 2006, Bonds hit 4 in June, 3 in July, 5 in August and 7 in September, so he has history on his side, though the time between Barry Bombs has lengthened as 2006 turned into 2007. He'll be 43 in July and time is gnawing away at his steroid-riddle body every day. St. Louis 15 Oakland 6 - The Cardinals put up 10 runs in the 5th inning, capped off by Chris Duncan's grand slam as St. Louis swamped the A's in Oakland. So Taguchi went 4-6, drove in 3 runs and scored a pair. The A's dropped another game further behind the Angels in the AL West, now 5 back as the Angels beat the Dodgers. Other AL Scores Toronto 7 Washington 3 Arizona 8 Baltimore 4 - O's 7 straight losses Florida 9 Kansas City 8 - M. Cabrera, 2 HR (16), 4 RBI (51); M. Olivo, 5-5 Milwaukee 5 Minnesota 2 - Brewers win 4th straight, lead NL Central by 6 1/2 National League San Diego 1 Chi Cubs 0 - Carlos Zambrano took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, but ended up on the losing side of the ledger, giving up a 9th inning homer to the Padres' Russell Branyan. The game was interrupted by a bench-clearing brawl which started when Padres' starter Chris Young plunked Derrek Lee and began throwing punches in the 4th inning. Lee and Young were ejected along with Jake Peavy and San Diego hitting coach Gerald Perry. The fight was a no-decision, but the Padres won the war and took over 1st place in the NL West by 1/2-game over the Dodgers and 1 ahead of Arizona. Colorado 10 Tampa Bay 5 - The Rockies won their 4th straight and 8th of their last 10, creeping to within 4 1/2 of the NL West lead. Right fielder Brad Hawpe set the tone in the first inning with his 11th home run - a grand slam. Hawpe later singled and scored an additional run for the Rockies. Philadelphia 6 Detroit 3 - Jamie Moyer improved to 6-5 and the Phillies gained on the Mets winning for the 4th time in their last five games. The Phillies trail NY by 2 games. LA Angels 3 LA Dodgers 0 - Jered Weaver blanked the Dodgers over 5 1/3 innings and the Angels' bullpen finished the job. Francisco Rodriguez (right) picked up his 22nd save, fanning all three batters faced in the 9th inning. The Angels lead the AL West by 5 games with a 43-26 record, second best in the majors (Boston, 43-24). Weaver improved to 6-3. The best in the West series' rubber game is this afternoon. Other NL Scores Chi White Sox 6 Pittsburgh 1 Houston 9 Seattle 4 Cincinnati 8 Texas 4 - K. Griffey Jr., 2 HR (16), 3 RBI (43) Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Pedroia Leads BoSox; Pudge, Tigers Flatten Phillies

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League NY Mets 2 NY Yankees 0 - Two streaks ended last night in New York. The Mets stopped their losing streak at 5 and ended the Yankees' winning streak at 9 straight as Oliver Perez outdueled Roger Clemens. Perez worked 7 1/3, allowing just 5 hits and 3 walks while fanning 6. Clemens struck out 8 over his 6 1/3 innings, but gave up the game's only runs on an RBI single in the 3rd by Jose Reyes and Reyes' 3rd home run of the season in the 5th. The speedy shortstop finished the night 3-3 and added 3 more stolen bases to his major league leading total. He now has 35. The Mets attempted 7 steals and were successful on 5 of them. Boston 10 San Francisco 2 - Usually, it's David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez getting the headlines in a big Boston win, but on Friday, it was rookie 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia (right) who stole the spotlight. Pedroia went 5-5, with a double and his 3rd home run of the season, amassing 5 RBI and scoring twice. The Giants, mired in the NL West cellar, again were let down by their ace, Barry Zito (6-7), who allowed 6 earned runs on 5 hits and 4 walks over 5 1/3 innings. Boston's win, coupled with the Yankees' loss put the Red Sox' lead back at 8 1/2 games. Milwaukee 11 Minnesota 3 - The Brewers won their 3rd straight to remain 5 1/2 clear of the Cubs in the NL Central. Prince Fielder clubbed his 24th home run, drove in 2 and scored 3 times. Fielder leads the NL in homers and his 53 RBI are just one behind Houston's Carlos Lee. Oakland 14 St. Louis 3 - Danny Haren (8-2) won his 8th straight after starting the season with a pair of losses. Haren worked 7 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, striking out 8. The dependable righty has not lost a decision since April 7. All 9 starters for the A's had at least one hit in overwhelming the Cardinals, who dropped to 28-36, 7 1/2 games behind Milwaukee. Oakland trails the Angels by 4 games in the AL West. Other AL Scores Arizona 7 Baltimore 3 - O. Hudson, PH HR (7), 3 RBI Atlanta 5 Cleveland 4 Toronto 7 Washington 2 - R. Halladay (W, 7-2) Kansas City 6 Florida 2 National League Detroit 12 Philadelphia 8 - Jimmy Rollins (left) hit two home runs and Ryan Howard added his 14th for the Phillies, but it was the Tigers' Ivan Rodriguez (right) who broke the game open with a three-run shot in the 5th inning. Pudge's 7th of the season made the score 7-1, and the Tigers added 4 more in the 6th - two on a Rodriguez RBI single - and another run in the 7th to overwhelm their hosts. With Cleveland losing to Atlanta, the Tigers closed to within a game of the first-place Indians, while the Phillies fell 1/2 back of Atlanta and 3 behind the NL East-leading Mets. The two teams go at it again on Saturday and conclude the short series on Sunday in Philadelphia. Texas 7 Cincinnati 6 - Sammy Sosa changed the game with a 5th inning grand slam - his 11th of the season and 599th of his career - that quickly turned a 4-3 Reds lead into a 7-4 Rangers' advantage. In the bottom half of the inning, Adam Dunn launched a 2-run shot - his 16th - to complete the scoring as two of the weakest bullpens kept both teams off the scoreboard for the remaining 4 innings. Colorado 12 Tampa Bay 2 - Matt Holliday doubled twice, singled, scored a run and drove in 4 in 5 at-bats to lead Colorado to their 3rd straight win and keep pace in the ultra-competitive NL West. Holliday's .358 batting average leads the National League and his 52 RBI are the 4th best in the league.
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The Rockies' schedule may be working in their favor short term, as they handle the Devil Rays while the Dodgers battle the Angels and San Diego toughs it out with the Cubs this weekend. Colorado is 5 games behind Los Angeles. LA Dodgers 2 LA Angels 1 - The Dodgers got a win from their cross-town rivals thanks to another strong performance from starter Derek Lowe who shut out the Angels for 6 innings, finally surrendering the lone run in the 7th. Lowe (7-6) struck out 11 while allowing just 4 hits. Other NL Scores Chi Cubs 4 San Diego 1 - T. Lilly (W, 5-4) 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Pittsburgh 4 Chi White Sox 2 Houston 5 Seattle 1 - C. Biggio, 3-5, needs 12 more for 3000 hits Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8

Friday, June 15, 2007

Beckett Beaten; Yanks 9 Straight; Royals Explode

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League Colorado 7 Boston 1 - Rockies' third baseman Garrett Atkins went 3-5, and his grand slam home run in the 3rd inning sent Boston ace Josh Beckett to an early departure and his first loss of the season. Beckett (9-1) survived only through 5, allowing 6 earned runs on 10 hits and a walk. He recorded only one strikeout as it was obvious he didn't have his usual best stuff. The Rockies ended their series at Boston ahead, 2 games to 1 and reached the .500 mark for the first time since April 13. They continue to chase the Padres, Dodgers and Diamondbacks. Currently, the Rockies are 5 1/2 behind San Diego. NY Yankees 7 Arizona 1 - Boston's loss was New York's gain, as the Yankees won their 9th straight and have closed the gap on the Red Sox to 7 1/2 games in the AL East. Alex Rodriguez had a pair of singles and a double, scored twice and drove in 2 to increase his MLB-leading RBI total to 68. Yankees' starter Andy Pettitte allowed just 4 hits and one earned run to even his record at 4-4. Kansas City 17 St. Louis 8 - Mark Teahen (right) singled and tripled twice in 5 at-bats, drove in 5 runs and scored a run in another Kansas City outburst. The Royals collected 15 hits and 7 walks off 7 different Cardinals' pitchers. Starter Kip Wells (2-11) lasted only 1 1/3 inning, allowing 6 earned runs on 3 hits and 4 walks. The Royals matched their high run total from just three games ago, when they blew out the Phillies, 17-5. It's the 6th time this season Kansas City has put up double digits. San Diego 7 Tampa Bay 1 - Rookie Justin Germano improved to 5-0, blanking the Devil Rays on 3 hits over 6 innings. Germano walked just one batter and struck out 4, lowering his WHIP to 0.93 and his ERA to 2.36. The rookie complements an already robust pitching staff. The Padres lead the majors with a 2.94 staff ERA and the NL West by 1/2 game over Los Angeles. Other AL Scores Minnesota 3 Atlanta 2 - Braves fall to 3rd in NL East, 1/2 behind Philly Milwaukee 6 Detroit 5 - Brewers take 2 of 3 at Detroit, Tigers fall 2 behind Cleveland Washington 3 Baltimore 1 National League Oakland 6 Houston 5, 11 innings - Jason Kendall singled home Bubba Crosby with the winning run to cap a 3-5 night at the plate for the A's 8th win in their last 10 games.
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Oakland moved into a tie with Seattle for 2nd place in the AL West, 5 back of the LA Angels. Craig Biggio had a pinch-hit single for career hit #2985. Texas 6 Pittsburgh 0 - Kameron Loe (2-6) blanked the Pirates on 5 hits over 8 innings as Texas avoided the sweep in Pittsburgh. Other NL Scores LA Angels 9 Cincinnati 7 - K. Griffey Jr., 2-run HR (16) Chi Cubs 5 Seattle 4 Cleveland 3 Florida 2 Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Phillies Tie for 2nd Place; Yankees Win 8th in Row

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. National League Philadelphia 8 Chi White Sox 4 - Just after the Phillies took a 4-3 lead in the 7th inning, Aaron Rowand broke the game open with a pinch hit grand slam to send the reeling White Sox to their 10th loss in their last 12 outings. The Phillies won for the 9th time in their last 12 games, sweeping the White Sox in their 3-game series in Philly. With Atlanta and the Mets both losing on Wednesday, the Phils are now tied with the Braves, 2 games behind NY in the NL East. After starting out the 2007 campaign a woeful 4-11, the Phillies have gone 31-20 since and are now contending for post-season position. With no offensive shortage - Philadelphia leads the NL in runs (334), RBI (321), and are third in home runs with 74, sporting a .263 batting average (5th) - the Phillies rank 2nd worst in ERA (4.66). Only St. Louis trails them in that category at 4.81. If the Phillies can continue playing well, they'll have another shot at the Mets, hosting them for 4 games June 29 - July 1. The Phillies swept the Mets in New York just a week ago and are now poised to make a run for the top spot in the division. LA Dodgers 9 NY Mets 1 - Helping the Phillies' push are the LA Dodgers, who completed the 3-game sweep on Wednesday with another masterwork from ace Brad Penny (right), who improved to 8-1, allowing 1 earned run on 7 hits over 7 innings. Penny didn't walk a batter and struck out 7. While the Dodgers have won 3 straight to remain tied with San Diego atop the NL West, the Mets have hit a rough patch, losing 5 straight and 10 of their last 12. Adding to the mid-season intrigue, the Mets get a day off before heading to the Bronx for a 3-game series with the red-hot Yankees beginning Friday. Other NL Scores LA Angels 6 Cincinnati 3 - V. Guerrero, 3-5, 5 RBI (58) Chi Cubs 3 Seattle 2 Toronto 7 San Francisco 4 - Giants take 2 of 3 from Blue Jays Cleveland 7 Florida 3 Oakland 7 Houston 3 Pittsburgh 8 Texas 1 - I. Snell (W, 6-4) 9 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K American League Milwaukee 3 Detroit 2 - The Brewers, winners of just their 4th game in the past 10, though still maintain a 5 1/2-game lead over the Cubs and Cardinals in the NL Central, and if either of the teams chasing them catch fire, could see their lead evaporate rather quickly. The Tigers' loss dropped them a game back of Cleveland in the AL Central race. Francisco Cordero picked up his 23rd save, which leads the majors. NY Yankees 7 Arizona 2 - The Yankees won their 8th straight and swept their 3-game series with Arizona. Alex Rodriguez whacked a 2-run homer - his MLB-best 25th - and added an RBI single to give him 66, also the best in the majors. Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui also homered as the Yanks cut the Red Sox lead to 8 1/2 in the AL East. Colorado 12 Boston 2 - It was a Shilling shelling in Beantown, as the Rockies lit up Boston's pitching. Starter Curt Schilling lasted just 5 innings, giving up 9 hits and 5 earned runs. Matt Holliday went 3-4 and scored 3 times and Todd Helton drove in 4 runs. The Rockies have gone 14-6 since May 21, but haven't made up much ground on the trokia of San Diego, Arizona and LA atop the NL West.
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They are 5 1/2 back, but have sent the Giants into the division cellar. The Giants are 7 1/2 out. San Diego 9 Tampa Bay 0 - Jake Peavy stopped the D-Rays on 3 hits over 7 innings to keep the Padres tied with the Dodgers. Peavy matches Brad Penny at 8-1 and his 8 Ks left him one behind league leader Cole Hamels' 104 strikeouts. Minnesota 6 Atlanta 0 - Pitching fanatics take note: Carlos Silva rewrote the definition of "scattering" with his 8 hit shutout of visiting Atlanta. Silva allowed leadoff hits in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th innings. The key was that Silva didn't walk a batter or allow an extra base hit or stolen base. Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter backed their starter with back-to-back homers. The Twins remain a threat in the AL Central, just 5 1/2 behind Cleveland. Other AL Scores Washington 9 Baltimore 6, 11 innings - F. Lopez GW triple St. Louis 7 Kansas City 3 - A. Wainwright, (W, 5-5) 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Verlander No-Hits Brewers; Utley Draws Phillies to within 3 of Mets

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League Detroit 4 Milwaukee 0 - Justin Verlander (right) tossed the second ho-hitter of the season Tuesday in Detroit, victimizing the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers with an exceptional arsenal of pitches and pulling the Tigers into a tie for first place with the Cleveland Indians. Verlander boosted his record to 7-2, working the 9 frames on 112 pitches, striking out 12 while issuing 4 free passes. The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning on Brandon Inge's 11th homer of the season and added a pair of runs in the 6th and one more in the 7th. Meanwhile, Verlander stymied and mystified the Brewers. Kansas City 8 St. Louis 1 - In this Midwestern border war series, the Royals won the first skirmish, scoring 5 times in the opening inning, twice more in the 2nd and added another run in the 3rd. Mark Teahen singled, doubled and tripled in 5 at-bats, driving in 2 runs and scoring a pair. Other AL Scores Boston 2 Colorado 1 - Boston 9 1/2-gm. lead in AL East NY Yankees 4 Arizona 1 - Yankees win 7th straight Washington 7 Baltimore 4 Tampa Bay 11 San Diego 4 - C. Pena, 2-4, 5 RBI, GS HR (14) Minnesota 7 Atlanta 3 - T. Hunter, double, SB (10), 2 RBI (51) National League Florida 3 Cleveland 0 - Scott Olsen evened his record at 5-5, blanking the Indians on 3 hits over 7 innings. Olsen didn't walk a batter and struck out 6, while battery-mate Miguel Olivo drove in all 3 Florida runs with a bases-loaded double in the 7th inning. Rookie sensation Fausto Carmona took the loss. He is 7-2. Philadelphia 7 Chicago White Sox 3 - Chase Utley (right) walked and scored in the 1st inning, knocked a 2-run homer in the 2nd, singled in another pair of runs in the 4th and added a single to lead the Phillies to their 2nd straight win over the flagging White Sox and 6th in their last 8 games. With the Mets and Braves both losing, Philly has crept to within a game of Atlanta and 3 games of the division-leading Mets. Other NL Scores LA Dodgers 4 NY Mets 1 - Dodgers, Padres, D-Backs tied for 1st in NL West Pittsburgh 7 Texas 5 - J. Bautista, 3-5, 2 RBI, SB San Francisco 3 Toronto 2 Houston 5 Oakland 4, 11 innings Cincinnati 5 LA Angels 3 - Reds won 5 of last 6 Seattle 5 Chicago Cubs 3, 13 innings - Mariners win 5th straight Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Bonds Rakes #747; Ibanez Paces Seattle to 8-7 Win

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. National League San Francisco 4 Toronto 3 - Barry Bonds ended a streak of 12 games without a home run with a 2-run blast on Monday, progressing to within 8 of Hank Aaron's all-time mark (755) with his 747th career bomb. It was Bonds' 13th homer of the season, but only his 2nd since May 8. In his relentless pursuit of immortality, Bonds is feeling more and more human as he approaches the age of 43 (July 24). After knocking 8 round-trippers in April, he hit only 4 in May and has 1 thus far in June. With less than 100 games left on the Giants' 2007 schedule, Barry will have to do better than one job per 13 games to catch and pass Hammerin' Hank. Chicago Cubs 2 Houston 1 - Carlos Zambrano threw 3-hit ball over 8 innings and didn't allow an earned run as the Cubs moved into a tie for 2nd place in the NL Central with St. Louis, 5 1/2 behind division-leading Milwaukee. Zambrano (7-5) got his work in, tossing 128 pitches and striking out 9. He also hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning. Houston has lost 16 of their last 21. LA Dodgers 5 NY Mets 3 - Dodger starter Randy Wolf (8-4), who spent his entire career with the Phillies before heading to LA this season, knows how to beat the Mets. Wolf was 8-4 lifetime against the NL East leaders and got through 6 innings by scattering 9 hits for 3 earned runs. After that, the Dodger bullpen did their job, setting down the Mets in order over the final three innings. Closer Takashi Saito picked up his 17th save. The Mets' lead is down to just 2 games, while LA moved to within 1 of San Diego and Arizona in the West. Philadelphia 3 Chicago White Sox 0 - Adam Eaton improved to 7-4 with 7 innings of shutout ball over the struggling Sox. Eaton dispersed 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5 to get the Phillies to within 4 games of the Mets in the NL East. The visiting White Sox are 3-13 since May 26, and have fallen out of contention in the AL Central. At 27-33, they are 9 games off the pace set by the Cleveland Indians. American League Seattle 8 Cleveland 7 - All Raul Ibanez needed to hit for the cycle was a single, but he'll probably settle for his 4-5, 2 home run, double and triple performance of Monday night. Ibanez drove in 5 runs, including the game winner with a double in the 9th, to get the surprising Mariners to within 4 games of the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels. It was an all-around exciting night for Ibanez in the field and on the basepaths. He was charged with an error on a bobble, but recovered later to throw out David Dellucci at the plate with the potential go-ahead run in the 8th, then was himself thrown out at home in the 9th by Trot Nixon. Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2

Monday, June 11, 2007

A-Rod Bombs Pittsburgh; Pujols Answers Angels

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League NY Yankees 13 Pittsburgh 6 - The Yankees won their 6th straight, pounding the visiting Pirates in the series finale to pull within 9 1/2 of the Red Sox in the AL East. Alex Rodriguez (right) knocked his 23rd and 24th homers of the season, scored 4 times and drove in 5 runs to give him a MLB-leading 63. Bobby Abreu went 4-4, also scored 4 times and drove in 3 runs. Colorado 6 Baltimore 1 - Ryan Spilborghs, a part-timer with only 40 at-bats this season, drove in all 6 of Colorado's runs with a solo shot in the 4th, a 2-run single in the 5th and a 3-run bomb in the 7th inning. Milwaukee 9 Texas 6, 12 innings - The Brewers banged out 22 hits, Prince Fielder whacked his NL-leading 23rd home run and Geoff Jenkins raked a 3-run shot - his 11th - in the 12th to avoid the sweep at Texas. Milwaukee leads the Cardinals by 5 1/2 in the NL Central. Detroit 15 NY Mets 7 - Gary Sheffield went 4-5 with his 17th home run, Ivan Rodriguez has 2 doubles, a triple, drove in a pair and scored 3 times, and Brandon Inge has a pair of singles and a 2-run homer for 5 RBI as the Tigers took 2 of 3 from the visiting Mets. New York starter Tom Glavine was pounded for 11 hits and 9 earned runs over 4 1/3 innings. The Tigers clawed to within 1 1/2 of Cleveland in the AL Central while the Mets held onto a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL East. Kansas City 17 Philadelphia 5 - The Royals scored in every inning except the 5th, blowing out the visiting Phillies and posting their biggest score of the season. Mark Grudzielanek had a single, double and homer in 5 at-bats, driving in 5 runs and scoring twice. Other AL Scores Chicago White Sox 6 Houston 3 - White Sox, 3-7 last 10 Minnesota 6 Washington 3 - T. Hunter, 3-4, 3 R National League St. Louis 9 LA Angels 6 - After his Cardinals lost two straight to the Angels, Albert Pujols (right) broke out the whuppin' stick on Sunday, mashing a 2-run and a 3-run homer to lead the Cardinals over LA and avoid the series sweep. Pujols, off to a relatively slow start this season, is creeping up on the leaders with a .299 batting average, 15 homers and 40 RBI. Don't look now, but the Cardinals are just 5 1/2 behind Central leader Milwaukee. Oakland 2 San Francisco 0 - Lenny DiNardo, Santiago Casilla and Alan Embree combined for a 5-hit shutout of the punchless Giants. DiNardo started and surrendered 4 hits over the first 6, innings, then Santiago hurled a perfect 7th and 8th for the W, with Embree getting the save in the 9th. Marco Scutaro got the A's first run in the 8th with his 3rd home run, and Shannon Stewart singled home Mark Kotsay in the 9th with an insurance run. The fast-fading Giants haven't scored in two games, have lost 3 straight, 7 of their last 9 and rank 11th of 16 NL teams in batting average (.254), RBI (251) and home runs (51).
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Barry Bonds went 0-3 and hasn't homered in his last 12 games. His current homer drought follows a 14-game skein interrupted by career homer #746 on May 15. Over his last 27 games, Bonds has 1 home run, 5 RBI and a .213 (16-75) batting average. Is this an extended slump or is it finally over for Barry? Toronto 11 LA Dodgers 5 - Troy Glaus singled, doubled, hit a solo homer, drove in 2 and scored 3 times in 4 at-bats as the Blue Jays avoided the sweep at LA. The NL West remains tight, with Arizona and San Diego leading the Dodgers by 1 1/2. Other NL Scores Seattle 4 San Diego 3 Tampa Bay 9 Florida 4 - B. Harris, 2-5, HR (6), 5 RBI Cincinnati 1 Cleveland 0, 12 innings Arizona 5 Boston 1 - R. Johnson (W, 4-2), 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K Atlanta 5 Chicago Cubs 4 - Braves, 2 1/2 behind NY in NL East Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Rocket Returns; Lieber Blanks Royals; Haren Wins 7th Straight

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League NY Yankees 9 Pittsburgh 3 - The Yankees welcomed the return of Roger Clemens and won their 5th straight. The Rocket wasn't exactly dominant, but he was good enough to win, lasting 6 innings while giving up 5 hits, 2 walks and 3 earned runs. Clemens threw 108 pitches and stuck out 6. The Yankees didn't pick up any ground on the Red Sox, but did take over sole possession of 2nd place, 10 1/2 back, as the Orioles lost. Philadelphia 4 Kansas City 0 - Jon Lieber twirled a complete-game 3-hitter and stuck out 11 Royals as the Phillies continued to close in on the Braves and Mets in the AL East. Lieber (right) won for only the 3rd time against 4 losses, but has pitched well enough to win a number of times this season. Note to fantasy players, Lieber is 129-119 with a 3-1 strikeout-walk ratio lifetime. The Phillies are 5 behind New York and trail Atlanta by just 1 1/2. Washington 3 Minnesota 1 - Washington probably isn't going anywhere this season, but Minnesota has definitely gone south in June. The Twins lost for the 6th time in their last 7 games, scoring just 11 runs in the losses. Starter Johan Santana took another tough loss, surrendering just 2 earned runs over 7 innings. Other AL Scores Houston 3 Chicago White Sox 2 - Sox' 5th straight loss Colorado 3 Baltimore 2, 10 innings Detroit 8 NY Mets 7 - J. Bonderman (W, 6-0); C. Guillen, HR (8), 3 RBI Texas 4 Milwaukee 3 - Rangers score 4 in bottom of 9th National League Oakland 6 San Francisco 0 - Oakland hammered former teammate Barry Zito for the second time this season and Dan Haren (right) won his 7th straight decision with a masterful performance, shutting out the Giants on 5 hits over 7 innings. Zito (6-6) lasted only 4 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 9 hits. In a previous meeting between the two Bay Area teams (May 18), Zito gave up 7 earned runs on 6 hits and 7 walks and was also lifted after 4 innings. Haren (7-2) struck out 6 without walking a batter, lowering his ERA to a major league-best 1.58 and his WHIP to 0.86. The A's kept pace with Seattle and the first place LA Angels in the AL West. The Mariners trail LA by 5 1/2 games. Oakland is 6 back. Cleveland 8 Cincinnati 6, Final 11 innings - Grady Sizemore singled, doubled, homered and scored 3 times, including the final run of the game, as the Indians rallied past the Reds. The Indians are being dogged by the Detroit Tigers, who also won on Saturday and remain 2 1/2 back.
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The top two teams in the AL Central are separating themselves from the remainder of the division as Minnesota (-8), Chicago (-10) and Kansas City (-15 1/2) all lost. Atlanta 9 Chicago Cubs 5 - Edgar Renteria slugged a 2-run homer (9) in the 4th inning and added a single and double in 5 at-bats, driving in 4 and scoring twice as the Braves got one back from the visiting Cubs. Chicago won the first two games of the series, which concludes this afternoon in Atlanta. The Braves remain 3 12 behind the Mets in the East. Chicago is 5 back of Milwaukee in the Central. LA Angels 9 St. Louis 3 - The Angels are 12-3 over their last 15 games and 5-0 in interleague play this season, having previously swept the Dodgers back in May. With two straight at St. Louis, the Angels can complete the sweep Sunday afternoon. Toronto 1 LA Dodgers 0 - Derek Lowe pitched all 9 innings and only allowed 4 hits, but one of them was a 6th-inning Matt Stairs solo homer. Shaun Marcum (3-2) and a pair of relievers blanked the Dodgers and evened the series - which concludes today - at a game apiece. Other NL Scores Tampa Bay 7 Florida 2 - J. Shields (W, 6-0), 9 Ks Boston 4 Arizona 3, 10 innings - D. Ortiz scores on M. Lowell sac fly in 10th Seattle 6 San Diego 5 - Padres lead D-Backs and Dodgers by 1, 1 1/2 in NL West Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Sosa Blanks Bengals; Drew Bombs D-Backs; Soriano, 3 Solos

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League NY Mets 3 Detroit 0 - The Mets kept a tight hold on 1st place in the NL East as Jorge Sosa (right) blanked the Tigers on 4 hits and 2 walks over 8 innings, fanning 5. Sosa improved to 6-1, with a 2.64 ERA. The Mets are 4 1/2 clear of Atlanta - losers of 4 straight - in the division, 19-7 on the road (easily the best in the majors) and 3-1 against the American League. Washington 8 Minnesota 5 - Christian Guzman doubled, singled three times, scored 3 runs and had an RBI in 5 at-bats to lead the Nationals to a win at Minnesota to even their interleague record at 2-2. Guzman is batting .339, but, with only 121 at-bats, does not yet qualify as a league leader. He would be 2nd behind the Rockies' Matt Holliday. Houston 5 Chi White Sox 2 - Craig Biggio cracked a solo homer - his 4th of the season and 285th of his career - for hit #2980. Biggio, batting only .227 should reach the 3000-hit mark just prior to the All-Star break (July 9-12). Other AL Scores NY Yankees 5 Pittsburgh 4, 10 innings - D. Jeter, GW RBI Baltimore 4 Colorado 2 Kansas City 8 Philadelphia 4 - F. Garcia (L, 1-5) 1 2/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER Texas 9 Milwaukee 6 - 4th loss in last 6, 1-3 vs. AL, P. Fielder HR (22) National League Chicago Cubs 9 Atlanta 1 - Maybe it's time to put Alfonso Soriano (right) in the #3 or 4 spot in the Cubs' batting order. The leadoff hitter smacked three home runs (10) and a single in 5 at-bats to lead the Cubs to their 3rd straight game and close to within 5 games of the struggling Milwaukee Brewers. With Milwaukee and St. Louis both losing on Friday, Chicago took over sole possession of 2nd place in the NL Central. The Cubs have two more at Atlanta before playing a single game at Houston, then moving on to interleague play, hosting the Seattle Mariners beginning Tuesday. Boston 10 Arizona 3 - Josh Beckett got his 9th win without a loss, allowing just 2 earned runs on 5 hits over 8 innings with 8 Ks, and J.D. Drew (right) went off the charts with a pair of 3 run homers and a run-scoring double for a 7 RBI night. An equal-opportunity masher, Drew victimized starter Doug Davis (4-7) with one blast, while reserving the other for reliever Edgar Gonzalez. Both Arizona pitchers allowed 5 earned in 4 innings. The Sox stayed 10 1/2 clear of the Yankees and O's in the AL East. With the Padres losing, the Diamondbacks remained a game out of first with the Dodgers 1 1/2 back. Florida 14 Tampa Bay 8 - The Florida Marlins may not make the playoffs, but they have some real juice in their bats.
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The Marlins are tied for the NL team RBI lead with Philly at 294, having added 14 on Friday. Jeremy Hermida totaled 4 with a grand slam home run, Josh Willingham added 3 with a pair of singles and a triple in 5 at-bats. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez drove in just 1 run, but stroked 4 singles in 5 at-bats, stole a base and scored 3 times. Other NL Scores Cincinnati 4 Cleveland 3 - K. Griffey Jr. HR (14) LA Angels 10 St. Louis 6 - Angels, 17 hits; 8-2 last 10 Seattle 6 San Diego 5, 11 innings - R. Ibanez, 4-6, GW HR (2) Oakland 5 San Francisco 3, 10 innings - Giants, last place LA Dodgers 4 Toronto 3 - O. Saenz, GW HR (3)

Friday, June 8, 2007

Schilling Takes No-Hitter into 9th; Tulowitzki Stars for Rockies

American League Boston 1 Oakland 0 - Curt Schilling (right) came within one out of his first no-hitter, surrendering a 2-out, 9th inning single to Shannon Stewart to come oh-so-close. Schilling calmly retired the next batter, Mark Ellis, to finish with a 1-hitter, ending Boston's 4-game losing streak. Schilling was just two batters from a perfect game, as he didn't walk anyone, and, other than Stewart, the only Oakland player to make it to first base was Dan Johnson, who reached on shortstop Julio Lugo's fielding error with two outs in the 5th. Schilling opened the game by retiring the first 14 batters and ended by putting down 12 straight before Stewart's spoiler. Staked to an early lead on David Ortiz' solo homer in the first inning, Schilling made the game's only run stand up, throwing 100 pitches to improve to 6-2. Cleveland 8 Kansas City 3 - The Indians remained 2 1/2 in front of Detroit in the AL Central as Fausto Carmona won his 7th straight, working 7 innings against the Royals. Carmona (7-1) allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and a single earned run, striking out 5. NY Yankees 10 Chicago White Sox 3 - Alex Rodriguez smoked a grand slam home run - his major league-leading 22nd - regaining the RBI lead at 56, helping the Yankees to their third straight over the White Sox. The Yankees opened the 4-game series in Chicago with a loss on Monday, but stormed back in their desperate chase of 1st-place Boston. They still trail the Red Sox by 10 1/2. Other AL Scores Detroit 11 Texas 4 - G. Sheffield, HR (16), Tigers take 2 of 3 at Texas Tampa Bay 5 Toronto 3 National League San Diego 6 LA Dodgers 5 - The Padres finally took sole possession of 1st place in the NL West, but it didn't come easy, scoring 5 times in the bottom of the ninth to steal a win from the Dodgers, completing a three-game sweep. With their 8th win in the last 10, the Padres shook loose from equally hot Arizona, who lost in extra innings to the Giants. Reliever Jonathan Broxton could not close out the Padres, as he retired only one batter in the 9th, giving up 4 hits and two walks, the second one forcing in the winning run. The Padres sent their ace, Jake Peavy, to the mound on Thursday, but LA touched him for 6 hits and 4 earned runs over 6 2/3. It was Peavy's second straight start without a decision. He remains at 7-1. San Francisco 5 Arizona 4, 11 innings - Omar Vizquel singled home Pedro Feliz with the winning run in the 11th as the Giants avoided the sweep at Arizona and knocked the Diamondbacks out of first place. The Giants had Barry Bonds back in the lineup on Thursday but he failed to homer for his 9th straight game and remains 9 homers short of Hank Aaron's lifetime mark of 755. Bonds has hit just one home run since May 8. The Giants are in last place in the NL West, 8 back. Colorado 7 Houston 6 - Rookie Troy Tulowitzki (right) knocked a two run homer, doubled and singled in the game winner in the bottom of the 9th as the Rockies took 2 of 3 from the visiting Astros. In 4 at-bats, Tulowitzki scored twice and drove in 3 runs. Matt Holliday went 4-5 and leads the NL with a .361 batting average. Philadelphia 6 NY Mets 3, 10 innings - The Phillies completed their 3-game sweep of the Mets, pulling to within 5 games of first place in the NL East. Philly also closed the gap on 2nd-place Atlanta to 1 1/2 games as the Braves lost to the Cubs, 2-1. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 3 Washington 2 Chicago Cubs 2 Atlanta 1 - R. Hill (W, 5-4), 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 11 K Cincinnati 5 St. Louis 1 - A. Dunn, HR (15); K. Griffey Jr., HR (13)

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Hoffman Earns 500th Save; Sheffield, Verlander Lead Tigers to10-0 Win

American League Detroit 10 Texas 0 - Justin Verlander turned in his best performance of the year, blanking the Rangers on 5 hits over 7 innings. Verlander (6-2) walked 2 and struck out 6, lowering his ERA to a very respectable 3.12 while moving the Tigers to 2 within 2 1/2 of the Indians (Kansas City 4 Cleveland 3) in the AL Central. Gary Sheffield (right) provided more than adequate offense with a pair of home runs - his 14th and 15th - and 5 RBI as part of a 3-4 night. Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez added back-to-back solo smacks in the 5th. Magglio Ordonez upped his major league-leading RBI total to 54 with a run-scoring single in the 6th. Texas starter Kevin Millwood was rocked once again, giving up 9 hits and 7 runs in just 3 2/3rds innings. Millwood is 2-5 with a 7.57 ERA. Minnesota 8 LA Angels 5 - After losing the first two games of their series in Anaheim, the Twins salvaged a win in the finale, preventing Angels' starter John Lackey (9-3) from becoming the first in the majors to record 10 wins. Minnesota scored a pair in the 4th on Michael Cuddyer's 8th home run and added 4 more in the 5th on Nick Punto's 3 run shot - his 1st - and a run-scoring single by Justin Morneau. Lackey allowed 7 hits in 7 innings. Only 4 of the 6 runs were earned. The Angles remained 5 1/2 ahead of Seattle, losers to Baltimore - Baltimore 9 Seattle 5 - and Oakland, who beat the visiting Red Sox for the 3rd straight day - Oakland 3 Boston 2. Boston has one more shot at the A's this afternoon. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 6 Toronto 2 NY Yankees 5 Chicago White Sox 1 - A. Rodriguez, 2-4, 2 RBI (52) National League San Diego 5 LA Dodgers 2 - The San Diego Padres beat the Dodgers for the second straight day and celebrated Trevor Hoffman's 500th career save afterward. Hoffman,(right) already the career leader in saves (he passed Lee Smith's 478 last September) now has his own exclusive club as the only major leaguer with 500 saves. Saving a win at home against division rival Los Angeles in a tight early-season race was especially rewarding for Hoffman, who notched his 18th of the year. The Padres remain tied with Arizona for the NL West lead. The Dodgers are 1 1/2 back. Arizona 1 San Francisco 0... Meanwhile, in Phoenix, Brandon Webb won his 3rd straight, improving to 6-3 with a 7-inning blanking of the visiting Giants. Webb allowed 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 7, and closer Jose Valverde worked the 9th inning for his 21st save. Arizona scored the only run of the game on Chris Young's 7th inning home run (8). The Giants were without Barry Bonds for the second straight game as he sat out with painful shin splints. Bonds is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday. Philadelphia 4 NY Mets 2 - In the Spring, Jimmy Rollins said the Phillies were the "team to beat" in the NL East and last night he made sure the Mets are taking him seriously.
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Rollins smacked a 3-run homer in the 7th inning to erase a 2-0 NY lead and send the Phillies to their second straight win over the 1st-place Mets. In addition to his 10th round-tripper of the season, Rollins stroked a pair of singles and stole 2nd base twice. Philly moved to within 6 games of the Mets and are just 2 1/2 behind 2nd place Atlanta. The 3-game series concludes tonight at Shea with the Phillies looking for a sweep. Chicago Cubs 6 Milwaukee 2 - Milwaukee's lead in the NL Central continues to shrink. The Cubs helped St. Louis close to within 5 games as rookie Felix Pie went 3-5 and touched up Brewers' starter Jeff Suppan for a 3-run homer in the 2nd inning. Pie also scored twice on errors by J.J. Hardy in the 1st and Prince Fielder in the 9th. St. Louis 6 Cincinnati 4 - The Cardinals have won 3 straight and are looking for a 3-game sweep of the visiting Reds tonight. Other NL Scores Florida 7 Atlanta 4 - Marlins, 5 SB, win 3 of 4 at Atlanta Washington 6 Pittsburgh 5 Colorado 8 Houston 7

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Sabathia Slings Shutout for 9th Win; Utley Drives Phils Past Mets

American League Toronto 12 Tampa Bay 11 - The Blue Jays batted around in the bottom of the ninth, but Aaron Hill was happy just taking a couple of walks. Hill opened the inning with a free pass and ended the game on ball four with the bases loaded, forcing in Matt Stairs with the winning run. The Jays scored 6 times to spoil the night for Tampa Bay's bullpen. Fur Devil Ray pitchers allowed four doubles and four walks in a sure-to-be textbook example of how not to close out a road game. There were offensive stars on both teams. For Tampa, B.J. Upton went 4-6 with a double, home run, 3 scores and 2 RBI and Carl Crawford singled, doubled, homered, stole a base, scored 4 times and drove in 3 runs in 6 at-bats. Toronto rookie Adam Lind had a game he'll not soon forget, going 3-4 with a 6th inning 3-run homer, a double to plate the first run in the ninth, 2 runs scored and 5 RBI. Toronto, already in 2nd place in the AL East, picked up a game on Boston and now trail the Red Sox by 9 games. Cleveland 1 Kansas City 0 - C.C. Sabathia (9-1, right) turned in another stellar performance for the 1st-place Indians on Tuesday night, blanking the Royals on 5 hits without issuing a walk while striking out 8 in the complete game win. The surprise of the night was at the very bottom of the order, as Franklin Gutierrez - playing in only his 8th game of the season - delivered the game's only run with a solo bomb in the 3rd inning over hard luck loser Jorge De La Rosa, who certainly pitched well enough to win, allowing just 5 hits over 7 1/3 innings. LA Angels 5 Minnesota 1 - Kelvim Escobar Shut down the Minnesota batters on 3 hits getting the complete game home win, allowing Torii Hunter's 13th homer in the 5th for the only run pushed across by the visiting Twins. It was Escobar's 2nd complete game of the season. He is 7-3 and a major reason the Angels are 5 1/2 clear of the Mariners in the AL West. Other AL Scores Seattle 5 Baltimore 4 Oakland 2 Boston 0 - 5 A's pitchers combine for 3-hit shutout NY Yankees 7 Chicago White Sox 3 - A. Rodriguez, 3-5, 2B, HR (21), 3 RBI (50) Texas 7 Detroit 4 - V. Diaz, GS HR (8); M. Young 4-4 National League Philadelphia 4 NY Mets 2, 11 innings - Chase Utley (right) homered in the top of the 11th inning and the Phillies added another run to take the first of 3 games at Shea. Utley went 3-4 and drove in 3 runs. The Phillies are 7 games behind NY and 3 1/2 back of Atlanta in the NL East standings. The win got them to .500 again, at 29-29. Jose Reyes swiped his league-leading 31st base. San Diego 1 LA Dodgers 0 - Marcus Giles singled home Russell Branyan with the game's only run as the Padres took a slim 1/2-game lead over LA in the NL West. Arizona also won, staying even with the Padres. The Dodgers and Padres play two more Wednesday and Thursday in San Diego. Other NL Scores Atlanta 3 Florida 1 Florida 5 Atlanta 1 - Braves trail Mets by 3 1/2 Pittsburgh 7 Washington 6 - X. Nady, 1-2, 4 RBI Milwaukee 7 Chicago Cubs 5 - Brewers stay 6 games clear of St. Louis in Central St. Louis 4 Cincinnati 3 - Cardinals have won 5 of last 6 Houston 4 Colorado 1 Arizona 4 San Francisco 3, 10 innings - C. Young, GW HR (7)