Players of the Day for Satuday, May 29, 2010
American League
Kendry Morales smacked a game-ending grand slam as the
Angels beat the Mariners in 10 innings, 5-1, but what happened during the celebration at home plate was surely nothing to cheer about.
After Bobby Abreu tied the game with his 6th homer of the season in the bottom of the 8th, the Angles loaded the bases with one out in the 10th on a double, an intentional walk and a error by former Angel, Chone Figgins. Morales drove a Brandon League offering to the deepest part of the ballpark, clearing the wall in dead center field.
As teammates mobbed him at home plate, Morales leaped and landed awkwardly on his left ankle, resulting in a lower leg fracture and a trip to the DL. After a solid start to the season, with 11 home runs and 39 RBI, he is expected to have surgery on Sunday and will likely miss at least the next two months.
The best Angels' power hitter, Morales' loss will be a blow to the struggling Angels, who are still under .500, at 24-27, and trail the division-leading A's by 3 1/2 games. Texas is in second place, just 1/2 game out.
National League
Having just been shut out three straight game by the Mets and getting just enough offense to beat Florida in the first of their four-game series Thursday, 3-2,
Roy Halladay knew he'd have to be sharp to keep his team in the game and in first place in the NL East.
Not only was Halladay sharp, he was perfect, tossing the 20th perfect game in major league history and second this season as the
Phils squeaked past Florida, 1-0.
Working the corners of the plate, Halladay threw 115 pitches, of which only 72 were strikes, but he fanned 11 Marlins, got eight on ground outs and another eight on fly balls. The win was Halladay's 7th against just three losses, his fifth complete game and third shutout of the season. The second no-hitter in the National League this season (Ubaldo Jimenez of Colorado had the first, back on April 17 at Atlanta) and third in the majors this season (Oakland's Dallas Braden threw a perfect game against Tampa on May 9 in Oakland).
The last time a Phillies' pitcher threw a perfect game was back on June 21, 1964, when now-Seantor Jim Bunning turned the trick against the NY Mets, who were in their third year of existence after expansion.
Will Halladay follow Bunning into politics when he retires? That won't be known for some time, as Halladay, just 33, should have another 7-10 years ahead of him. At 155-79, Halladay is currently tied for 5th place among active pitchers in career wins with Kevin Millwood. Ahead of him are teammate Jamie Moyer (263), 14 years his senior; Andy Pettitte at 235; Time Wakefield with 190; and Livan Hernandez, who has 160.
With the Braves also winning on Saturday, the Phillies maintained their 1 1/2 game lead in the division and look for the sweep over the Marlins Sunday afternoon.
Kendry Morales smacked a game-ending grand slam as the Angels beat the Mariners in 10 innings, 5-1, but what happened during the celebration at home plate was surely nothing to cheer about.
After Bobby Abreu tied the game with his 6th homer of the season in the bottom of the 8th, the Angles loaded the bases with one out in the 10th on a double, an intentional walk and a error by former Angel, Chone Figgins. Morales drove a Brandon League offering to the deepest part of the ballpark, clearing the wall in dead center field.
As teammates mobbed him at home plate, Morales leaped and landed awkwardly on his left ankle, resulting in a lower leg fracture and a trip to the DL. After a solid start to the season, with 11 home runs and 39 RBI, he is expected to have surgery on Sunday and will likely miss at least the next two months.
The best Angels' power hitter, Morales' loss will be a blow to the struggling Angels, who are still under .500, at 24-27, and trail the division-leading A's by 3 1/2 games. Texas is in second place, just 1/2 game out.
National League
Having just been shut out three straight game by the Mets and getting just enough offense to beat Florida in the first of their four-game series Thursday, 3-2, Roy Halladay knew he'd have to be sharp to keep his team in the game and in first place in the NL East.
Not only was Halladay sharp, he was perfect, tossing the 20th perfect game in major league history and second this season as the Phils squeaked past Florida, 1-0.
Working the corners of the plate, Halladay threw 115 pitches, of which only 72 were strikes, but he fanned 11 Marlins, got eight on ground outs and another eight on fly balls. The win was Halladay's 7th against just three losses, his fifth complete game and third shutout of the season. The second no-hitter in the National League this season (Ubaldo Jimenez of Colorado had the first, back on April 17 at Atlanta) and third in the majors this season (Oakland's Dallas Braden threw a perfect game against Tampa on May 9 in Oakland).
The last time a Phillies' pitcher threw a perfect game was back on June 21, 1964, when now-Seantor Jim Bunning turned the trick against the NY Mets, who were in their third year of existence after expansion.
Will Halladay follow Bunning into politics when he retires? That won't be known for some time, as Halladay, just 33, should have another 7-10 years ahead of him. At 155-79, Halladay is currently tied for 5th place among active pitchers in career wins with Kevin Millwood. Ahead of him are teammate Jamie Moyer (263), 14 years his senior; Andy Pettitte at 235; Time Wakefield with 190; and Livan Hernandez, who has 160.
With the Braves also winning on Saturday, the Phillies maintained their 1 1/2 game lead in the division and look for the sweep over the Marlins Sunday afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment