THT Daily: Clemens Takes the Mound
by Matthew CarruthJune 10, 2007
Major League News for June 10
Player NewsYesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Top Minor League Performances
You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldRoger Clemens won in his 2007 debut by allowing three runs and five hits in six innings against the Pirates. It was just about the best possible opponent for Clemens in his return, as he was facing the team with the worst OBP in the National League. The Pirates did manage to get his pitch count up early, and a two-run double from Jack Wilson in the fourth led to a 3-3 tie. However, Clemens was able to put together quick fifth and sixth innings to finish the day at 106 pitches. He struck out seven and walked two. Unless the Yankees alter their rotation, Clemens' next start will come Friday against the Mets.
Jon Lieber tossed a three-hit shutout and struck out 11 Saturday against the Royals. Lieber walked none, so he faced just three over the minimum. This comes from a guy who gave up 23 hits over 11 2/3 innings in his previous two starts, and the 11 Ks were one more than he had in his previous three outings combined. Lieber's lack of consistency this year has been frustrating, but he should remain a decent enough NL-only starter. He's no longer an option in mixed leagues.
X-rays on Tim Hudson's left leg came back negative after he was hit on the left shin by a comebacker on Saturday. Hudson, who gave up five runs in two-plus innings tonight, is day-to-day with a bruised leg. Odds are that he'll make his next start Thursday against the Cubs.
Astros manager Phil Garner said he's planning to ease Brad Lidge into the closer's role beginning with Sunday's game. An oddly timed announcement, given that Wheeler did a nice job saving Friday's game. Lidge won't necessarily get all of the save chances right away, but the job will eventually belong to him and him alone if he continues to pitch well. "The key phrase here is I'm going to transition [Lidge] back," Garner said. "You may not see it for a few games."
Rangers placed first baseman Mark Teixeira on the disabled list with a strained left quadriceps muscle. So much for that consecutive games streak. The Rangers will go with either Brad Wilkerson or Frank Catalanotto at first base until Teixeira returns. The injury means there will still be plenty of at-bats available for Victor Diaz in the outfield.
Phillies placed RHP Freddy Garcia on the 15-day disabled list because of a right shoulder strain. The Phillies had to know when they acquired him that Garcia was pitching with a damaged shoulder. He's made adjustments in the past to deal with diminished velocity and should have been able to do the same this year, but the results suggest that he's been pitching in real pain lately. The Phillies haven't announced a replacement for the rotation. A Tomo Ohka acquisition would make a lot of sense.
John Smoltz has been scratched from his scheduled start Sunday because of his sore right shoulder. Smoltz revealed today that he received a cortisone shot after his last outing. "When I pitched last time, afterward I was probably more uncomfortable than I thought I was going to be," he said. "I got a shot and it's doing great today but I need more time just to make everything work." Smoltz will start Friday against the Indians. Buddy Carlyle will pitch in his place tomorrow.
Yesterday’s Results
Inter-League COL 3 BAL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings; Guthrie: 8 IP, 2 R; Lopez: 7 IP, 2 R NYA 9 PIT 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Clemens: 6 IP, 3 R HOU 3 CHA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Berkman: 3-5, GW 1B; Garland, Jennings: 7 IP, 1 R DET 8 NYN 7 (Recap and Boxscore) Guillen: 2B, HR, 3 RBI; Polanco: 4-5 PHI 4 KC 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Lieber: 9 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 11 K, 0 BB WAS 3 MIN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) Speigner: 6 IP, 1 R; Zimmerman: 3R HR TEX 4 MIL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) See below TB 7 FLA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) Shields: 7 IP, 2 R CLE 8 CIN 6 (Recap and Boxscore) 11 innings; Sizemore: 2B, HR LAA 9 STL 3 (Recap and Boxscore) Figgins: 4-6 BOS 4 ARI 3 (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings; Varitek: 2B, HR TOR 1 LAN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Marcum: 6.2 IP, 0 R; Lowe: 9 IP, 1 R SEA 6 SD 5 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA: 5 in last 3 innings OAK 6 SF 0 (Recap and Boxscore) Haren: 7 IP, 0 R; Crosby: 3-5, HR National League ATL 9 CHN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Renteria: 2B, HR, 4 RBI; ATL bullpen: 7 IP, 0 R
First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports:
Today’s Games
National League --------------- Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves, 8:05 PM (L) Ted Lilly (4-4) vs. (R) John Smoltz (7-3) Inter-League ------------ Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees, 1:05 PM (R) Shawn Chacon (2-0) vs. (R) Tyler Clippard (3-1) Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Florida Marlins, 1:05 PM (R) Andrew Sonnanstine (0-0) vs. (R) Rick Vanden Hurk (1-1) New York Mets at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 PM (L) Tom Glavine (5-3) vs. (L) Andrew Miller (1-0) Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds, 1:15 PM (L) CC Sabathia (9-1) vs. (R) Aaron Harang (6-2) Colorado Rockies at Baltimore Orioles, 1:35 PM (R) Jason Hirsh (2-6) vs. (L) Erik Bedard (4-3) Houston Astros at Chicago White Sox, 2:05 PM (L) Wandy Rodriguez (3-5) vs. (L) Mark Buehrle (2-3) Philadelphia Phillies at Kansas City Royals, 2:10 PM (L) Jamie Moyer (5-4) vs. (L) Jorge De La Rosa (4-6) Washington Nationals at Minnesota Twins, 2:10 PM (L) Mike Bacsik (1-2) vs. (R) Boof Bonser (4-2) LA Angels of Anaheim at St. Louis Cardinals, 2:15 PM (R) Jered Weaver (5-3) vs. (R) Todd Wellemeyer (1-0) Oakland Athletics at San Francisco Giants, 4:05 PM (L) Lenny DiNardo (2-2) vs. (R) Matt Cain (2-5) Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres, 4:05 PM (R) Felix Hernandez (3-3) vs. (R) Chris Young (6-3) Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Dodgers, 4:10 PM (R) Roy Halladay (5-2) vs. (R) Jason Schmidt (1-2) Boston Red Sox at Arizona Diamondbacks, 4:40 PM (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-4) vs. (L) Randy Johnson (3-2) Milwaukee Brewers at Texas Rangers, 8:35 PM (R) Dave Bush (3-6) vs. (R) Vicente Padilla (2-8)
Standings
The graphics next to each team are called "sparklines.” They depict each team’s performance over the last month. Each "up" bar is a victory and a "down" bar is a loss. There are horizontal lines for home games and red bars represent games decided by two runs or less. "PWins" is short for Projected Wins, based on each team’s Run Differential, and is often a better measure of a team’s true strength. Other team graphs and stats can be found on our Team Page.American League East Pwins Diff BOS 40 21 .656 0.0 39 1NYA 29 31 .483 10.5 34 -5
TOR 29 32 .475 11.0 30 -1
BAL 29 33 .468 11.5 32 -3
TB 27 33 .450 12.5 24 3
American League Central CLE 37 23 .617 0.0 34 3
DET 35 26 .574 2.5 36 -1
MIN 29 31 .483 8.0 30 -1
CHA 26 32 .448 10.0 23 3
KC 23 40 .365 15.5 23 0
American League West LAA 40 23 .635 0.0 38 2
SEA 32 26 .552 5.5 30 2
OAK 33 28 .541 6.0 35 -2
TEX 23 39 .371 16.5 26 -3
National League East Pwins Diff NYN 36 24 .600 0.0 36 0
ATL 34 29 .540 3.5 32 2
PHI 32 30 .516 5.0 31 1
FLA 31 32 .492 6.5 32 -1
WAS 26 36 .419 11.0 24 2
National League Central MIL 33 29 .532 0.0 31 2
CHN 27 33 .450 5.0 33 -6
STL 26 33 .441 5.5 23 3
HOU 26 35 .426 6.5 27 -1
PIT 26 36 .419 7.0 26 0
CIN 24 39 .381 9.5 28 -4
National League West SD 36 25 .590 0.0 38 -2
ARI 36 27 .571 1.0 32 4
LAN 35 27 .565 1.5 33 2
COL 30 32 .484 6.5 27 3
SF 28 33 .459 8.0 33 -5
Game of the Day
Everything was all set for the Brewers. Ben Sheets had pitched seven shutout innings, they had a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth with no one on base and two outs, and ace reliever Francisco Cordero was on the mound. The Rangers then staged what may have been the most remarkable comeback of the season so far by stringing together five singles and a walk for a 4-3 win.MILWAUKEE (3) VS TEXAS (4) - FINAL
MILWAUKEE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Gwynn Jr cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .305
G Gross dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .200
R Braun 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .304
P Fielder 1b 3 1 0 0 1 3 0 .294
C Hart rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .298
G Jenkins lf 3 0 0 1 0 2 3 .275
T Graffanino 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .216
D Miller c 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .230
C Counsell ss 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .239
Totals 32 3 7 3 2 10 10
BATTING: 2B - C Hart (9, B McCarthy); T Graffanino (4, B McCarthy); C Counsell
(6, B McCarthy); R Braun (4, F Francisco). SF - G Jenkins. RBI - C Counsell
(9), G Jenkins (26), T Graffanino (12). 2-out RBI - C Counsell, T Graffanino.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Miller 1, T Graffanino 1, T Gwynn
Jr 1. Team LOB - 5.
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Lofton cf 5 1 2 1 0 0 1 .265
M Byrd rf 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 .377
M Young ss 5 0 2 1 0 1 1 .278
S Sosa dh 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .248
F Catalanotto lf 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .181
I Kinsler 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .235
B Wilkerson 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .250
R Vazquez 3b 3 1 1 0 1 2 2 .310
G Laird c 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .233
Totals 36 4 10 4 3 9 13
BATTING: RBI - G Laird (21), K Lofton (15), M Byrd (5), M Young (33). 2-out RBI
- G Laird, K Lofton, M Byrd, M Young. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
R Vazquez 2, S Sosa 1, I Kinsler 1. Team LOB - 9.
FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Byrd (D Miller at 1st base). DP: 1 (M Byrd-B
Wilkerson-J Benoit).
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MILWAUKEE - 000 010 002 -- 3
TEXAS - 000 000 004 -- 4
Two outs when winning run scored.
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MILWAUKEE ip h r er bb so hr era
B Sheets 7 5 0 0 2 6 0 3.21
D Turnbow (H, 14) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.44
F Cordero (L, 0-1; B, 1) 2/3 5 4 4 1 1 0 1.78
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
B McCarthy 5 4 1 1 0 5 0 5.90
J Benoit 3 1 0 0 0 4 0 3.09
F Francisco (W, 1-0) 1 2 2 2 2 1 0 3.63
IBB - P Fielder (by F Francisco). Pitches-strikes: B Sheets 100-60; D Turnbow
10-8; F Cordero 30-22; B McCarthy 78-52; J Benoit 34-24; F Francisco 22-10.
Ground balls-fly balls: B Sheets 9-6; D Turnbow 0-1; F Cordero 1-0; B McCarthy
3-7; J Benoit 1-3; F Francisco 1-1. Batters faced: B Sheets 28; D Turnbow 3; F
Cordero 8; B McCarthy 19; J Benoit 9; F Francisco 7.
UMPIRES: HP--Ed Hickox. 1B--C.B. Bucknor. 2B--Rob Drake. 3B--Ed Rapuano.
T--2:37. Att--37,882.
Weather: 89 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 15 mph, in from center.The following graph tracks the game's Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs. You can also view live WPA graphs at Fangraphs during any ballgame all season long.
Top Minor League Games
The following list, provided by First Inning, includes the top minor league batting (based on Runs Created) and pitching (based on Game Score) performances from yesterday, with a focus on each team’s top prospects.ORG LVL PLAYER AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO Notes SEA AAA Jeff Clement...... 4 3 1 0 2 0 1 4 RBI TEX AAA Jason Botts....... 3 3 0 0 2 2 0 SEA AAA Adam Jones........ 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 KC AAA Billy Butler...... 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 OAK AAA Daric Barton...... 3 2 2 0 0 1 0 LA AAA James Loney....... 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 COL AAA Joseph Koshansky.. 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 OAK A Matthew Sulentic.. 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 SD A+ Kyle Blanks....... 3 2 1 0 1 3 1 MIL A+ Angel Salome...... 4 4 3 0 0 0 0 LAA AAA Brandon Wood...... 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 ARI AA Carlos Gonzalez... 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes NYM AAA Mike Pelfrey...... 6 3 2 2 7 1 0 TB AAA Jeff Niemann...... 7 6 1 1 5 0 0 13 GB TEX AA Eric Hurley....... 4 3 1 1 7 0 1 CHW A+ Kyle McCulloch.... 7 6 0 0 8 0 0 13 GB CHW AA Gio Gonzalez...... 7 2 1 1 5 3 0 KC AA Luke Hochevar..... 7 10 4 4 5 0 2 BAL A+ Jason Berken...... 7 6 2 2 7 2 0 BAL AAA Garrett Olson..... 6 6 1 1 7 2 0 ARI AAA Yusmeiro Petit.... 7 4 1 1 7 3 1 FLA AA G. Hernandez...... 6 3 2 2 3 2 0 FLA A+ Ryan Tucker....... 6 9 2 2 4 0 0 KC A+ Blake Johnson..... 8 10 3 3 4 1 0
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Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email.