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THT Daily: First Interleague Dayby Matthew CarruthMay 19, 2007 Major League News for May 19Player 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 NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldRoger Clemens allowed one run on three hits over four innings Friday in his start for Single-A Tampa. He struck out two. A solo homer from Erik Lis in the first accounted for the only damage. Clemens threw 58 pitches and got better as the game went on. There was no on-screen radar gun, but his velocity seemed to be OK as he concentrated mostly on his fastball. Clemens will make at least one more start in the minors. He could make his return to the majors May 28 against the Blue Jays or June 2 versus the Red Sox. Hank Blalock was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and will undergo surgery on Monday that will cost him 10-12 weeks. It's the same nerve compression that Kenny Rogers had in 2001. Travis Matcalf will be called up from Double-A to replace Blalock on the roster. He'll battle Matt Kata and Jerry Hairston Jr. for playing time. Kata figures to be the favorite for at-bats for now, so he's worth picking up in AL-only leagues. The Rangers could enter the market for a third baseman, with Morgan Ensberg a possibility for them. Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com. Nationals SP Jason Bergmann went on the 15-day disabled list with a swollen pitching elbow Friday, meaning four-fifths of the team's opening day rotation is sidelined by injury. The Nationals said they plan to select left-hander Mike Bacsik's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday so he can start that night's game against the Baltimore Orioles. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club moved right-handed reliever Luis Ayala, who missed all of 2006 after elbow surgery, from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list. Rangers RP Eric Gagne locked down his second save of the season during Friday's 7-4 win over the Astros. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, while walking one and striking out two. Gagne's last save came on April 13, but he recently returned to the mound from the 15-day DL on May 10. The World Series rematch was a mismatch. This time, the Tigers came out on top. Andrew Miller pitched six scoreless innings in his first major league start and Detroit scored nine runs in the fifth inning of a 14-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. That was more than enough support for Miller, the sixth pick overall in the June draft last year. Miller (1-0) allowed four hits and three walks while striking out two. He started in place of Jeremy Bonderman, on the disabled list with a blister on his right middle finger, after making eight appearances last year in relief. Brett Myers has solidified the closer's spot for the Philadelphia Phillies. Myers escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning and the Phillies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 Friday night. A month ago, the decision to move Myers to the bullpen and replace him with Jon Lieber was intensely scrutinized in Philadelphia. After all, Myers was the opening day starter and had just signed a $25.75 million, three-year contract. However, Myers has an 0.96 ERA with one blown save in 16 relief appearances. Myers worked the ninth, retiring Alex Rios on a grounder with the bases loaded for his fifth save. He did allow a hit and two walks before working out of trouble. He also had two strikeouts. Twins RP Jesse Crain will miss the rest of the season with a right shoulder injury. Crain was examined by team doctors Thursday, one day after he allowed six unearned runs in a 15-7 loss in Cleveland. A follow-up exam by a specialist in New York on Friday confirmed that Crain has a torn labrum and rotator cuff, leaving him unavailable for at least eight months. New York Mets team orthopedist Dr. David Altcheck recommended that the 25-year-old Crain undergo surgery. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said the exam confirmed the team's diagnosis. Friday's game between the Braves and Red Sox was postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday. Braves SP Anthony Lerew will oppose Daisuke Matsuzaka in the first game of the doubleheader. Braves SP John Smoltz is set to oppose Devern Hansack in the nightcap. Yesterday’s ResultsInter-League FLA 8 TB 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 9 CIN 4 (Recap and Boxscore) DET 14 STL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 9 LAN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 15 SF 3 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 8 SEA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 3 NYA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) PHI 5 TOR 3 (Recap and Boxscore) BAL 5 WAS 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 6 CHA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 7 HOU 4 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 8 MIL 1 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 5 COL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) National League PIT 11 ARI 5 (Recap and Boxscore) Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Arizona Diamondbacks at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Micah Owings (2-1) vs. (L) Tom Gorzelanny (5-2) Inter-League ------------ Atlanta Braves at Boston Red Sox, 1:05 PM (R) Anthony Lerew (0-1) vs. (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-2) Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs, 3:55 PM (R) Javier Vazquez (2-2) vs. (R) Jason Marquis (5-1) New York Yankees at New York Mets, 3:55 PM (R) Darrell Rasner (1-2) vs. (L) Tom Glavine (4-1) Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Indians, 7:05 PM (R) Matt Belisle (3-3) vs. (L) Jeremy Sowers (0-3) Baltimore Orioles at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM (R) Jeremy Guthrie (2-1) vs. (L) Mike Bacsik (0-0) Texas Rangers at Houston Astros, 7:05 PM (L) John Koronka (0-0) vs. (L) Wandy Rodriguez (1-3) Toronto Blue Jays at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (R) Shaun Marcum (1-2) vs. (L) Jamie Moyer (4-2) Minnesota Twins at Milwaukee Brewers, 7:05 PM (R) Scott Baker (0-0) vs. (R) Dave Bush (3-3) St. Louis Cardinals at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Anthony Reyes (0-6) vs. (L) Nate Robertson (3-3) Florida Marlins at Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7:10 PM (L) Dontrelle Willis (5-3) vs. (R) Jae Seo (2-3) Atlanta Braves at Boston Red Sox, 7:35 PM (R) John Smoltz (5-2) vs. (R) Devern Hansack (0-0) Kansas City Royals at Colorado Rockies, 8:05 PM (R) Gil Meche (3-1) vs. (R) Taylor Buchholz (1-2) San Francisco Giants at Oakland Athletics, 9:05 PM (R) Matt Cain (2-3) vs. (R) Danny Haren (3-2) Los Angeles Dodgers at LA Angels of Anaheim, 9:05 PM (L) Mark Hendrickson (2-0) vs. (R) Jered Weaver (2-3) San Diego Padres at Seattle Mariners, 10:05 PM (R) Greg Maddux (3-2) vs. (L) Horacio Ramirez (3-2) StandingsThe 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 28 12 .700 0.0 28 0 Game of the DayFor all of the interleague hype, it was that "natural rivalry" between Kansas City and Colorado that provided the most drama of the day. The Royals were losing 2-0 heading into the eighth, when a double, two singles and an Emil Brown home run put KC on top for good, 5-2. The comeback ruined a great start by the Rockies’ Jeff Francis, who pitched 7.1 innings and only gave up one run.KC and Colorado had a combined total of just 22 wins heading into the game, the lowest of any interleague matchup. KANSAS CITY (5) VS COLORADO (2) - FINAL
KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 5 0 1 0 0 2 2 .274
M Grudzielanek 2b 4 1 1 0 1 1 1 .250
M Teahen rf 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 .293
M Sweeney 1b 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .260
A Berroa pr-3b-ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
a-S Costa ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .200
R Shealy 1b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .148
E Brown lf 5 1 3 3 0 1 2 .222
J Buck c 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .293
A Gordon 3b-1b-3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .167
T Pena Jr ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .245
B Duckworth p 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000
J Soria p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J De La Rosa p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
E German 3b-ss 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .290
Totals 39 5 13 5 2 6 17
a-singled to right for A Berroa in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - M Sweeney (7, J Francis); E German (6, J Francis). HR - E Brown
(1, 8th inning off M Corpas 2 on, 1 Out). RBI - M Teahen (20), S Costa (2), E
Brown 3 (12). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E German 1, E Brown 1,
J Buck 1, T Pena Jr 1. GIDP - M Grudzielanek, T Pena Jr. Team LOB - 9.
FIELDING: DP: 2 (J De La Rosa-T Pena Jr-M Sweeney, A Gordon-M Grudzielanek-R
Shealy).
COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
W Taveras cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
T Tulowitzki ss 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .262
M Holliday lf 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .351
T Helton 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .350
G Atkins 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .240
J Baker rf 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .246
B Hawpe rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .271
Y Torrealba c 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .242
J Carroll 2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .172
a-S Finley ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .177
J Francis p 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 .125
M Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Clarke p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Martin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 32 2 8 2 2 2 12
a-grounded to second for J Carroll in the 9th.
BATTING: 3B - J Baker (2, J De La Rosa). S - W Taveras. RBI - M Holliday (32),
J Baker (5). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Finley 1, M Holliday
1, J Francis 2. GIDP - T Helton, M Holliday. Team LOB - 6.
BASERUNNING: SB - J Carroll (2, 2nd base off B Duckworth/J Buck).
FIELDING: E - G Atkins (6, throw). DP: 2 (T Tulowitzki-J Carroll-T Helton, T
Tulowitzki-T Helton).
----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 000 000 050 -- 5
COLORADO - 100 000 100 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
J De La Rosa 6 1/3 6 2 2 0 2 0 3.59
B Duckworth (W, 1-3) 1 2/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.42
J Soria (S, 9) 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.54
COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era
J Francis 7 1/3 7 1 1 0 6 0 4.60
M Corpas (L, 0-2; B, 2) 1/3 5 4 4 1 0 1 3.10
D Clarke 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
T Martin 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 6.43
IBB - J Carroll (by B Duckworth). BALK - J De La Rosa. Pitches-strikes: J De
La Rosa 74-52; B Duckworth 19-9; J Soria 22-11; J Francis 74-49; M Corpas
26-18; D Clarke 4-2; T Martin 17-8. Ground balls-fly balls: J De La Rosa 7-10;
B Duckworth 3-2; J Soria 1-2; J Francis 8-8; M Corpas 1-0; D Clarke 1-0; T
Martin 2-1. Batters faced: J De La Rosa 24; B Duckworth 6; J Soria 5; J Francis
28; M Corpas 7; D Clarke 1; T Martin 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Fieldin Culbreth. 1B--Paul Schrieber. 2B--Marty Foster. 3B--Tim
Mcclelland.
T--2:40. Att--22,399.
Weather: 69 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 12 mph, right to left.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 GamesThe 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 SD A+ Chad Huffman...... 5 5 1 0 2 2 0 5 RBI ! SD A+ Kyle Blanks....... 7 6 2 0 1 0 0 6 R KC AAA Billy Butler...... 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 LAA AAA Brandon Wood...... 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 CIN A+ Jay Bruce......... 4 2 1 0 0 0 2 LAA AAA Howie Kendrick.... 5 1 0 0 1 0 2 4 RBI TOR A Travis Snider..... 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 3 R TEX AAA Jason Botts....... 4 3 1 0 1 1 0 5 RBI ! SD A+ Matt Antonelli.... 8 6 2 0 0 0 0 5 R SD A+ Craig Cooper...... 7 2 0 0 2 1 1 3 R TOR AAA Curtis Thigpen.... 4 3 2 0 0 1 0 ARI AAA James D'Antona.... 6 3 1 0 1 0 1 6 RBI ! ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes KC AA Luke Hochevar..... 5 6 5 5 6 2 0 TEX AA Eric Hurley....... 6 5 3 3 7 3 1 BOS AA Michael Bowden.... 5 2 1 1 5 2 0 OAK AAA Jason Windsor..... 6 6 2 2 7 3 0 CHW A+ Kyle McCulloch.... 6 5 3 0 7 3 0 ARI AAA Dustin Nippert.... 4 2 0 0 6 0 0 MIN AA Kyle Waldrop...... 7 5 2 1 2 0 0 17 GB MIN AA Jose Mijares...... 2 1 0 0 4 0 0 NYM AAA Mike Pelfrey...... 6 7 1 1 3 2 0 12 GB MIN A+ Yohan Pino........ 5 4 2 2 5 1 1 COL AA Juan Morillo...... 2 0 0 0 4 1 0 SEA AA Justin Thomas..... 6 8 4 4 5 2 0 Access THT’s stats here…
Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email. Do you have a general question or comment for one of THT's writers? Send it in to our weekly mailbag We also welcome unsolicited op-ed pieces of approximately 500 words for consideration. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and consistency of style. Please include your whole name and location to be considered. If you have a comment about this specific article, please email the writer. Next Article: THT Daily: Interleague Day Two>> <<Previous Article: Autopsy of a Losing Skid | |||
BAL 19 23 .452 10.0 20 -1 
NYA 18 22 .450 10.0 22 -4 
TB 18 23 .439 10.5 15 3 
TOR 18 23 .439 10.5 19 -1 
American League Central
CLE 25 14 .641 0.0 23 2 
DET 25 16 .610 1.0 23 2 
CHA 20 18 .526 4.5 17 3 
MIN 19 22 .463 7.0 21 -2 
KC 16 27 .372 11.0 17 -1 
American League West
LAA 25 18 .581 0.0 25 0 
OAK 21 20 .512 3.0 25 -4 
SEA 18 19 .486 4.0 16 2 
TEX 16 26 .381 8.5 18 -2 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 27 14 .659 0.0 26 1 
ATL 25 16 .610 2.0 23 2 
PHI 21 21 .500 6.5 23 -2 
FLA 19 23 .452 8.5 19 0 
WAS 15 27 .357 12.5 14 1 
National League Central
MIL 26 16 .619 0.0 23 3 
HOU 20 21 .488 5.5 21 -1 
CHN 19 21 .475 6.0 23 -4 
PIT 19 22 .463 6.5 18 1 
STL 16 23 .410 8.5 13 3 
CIN 16 26 .381 10.0 20 -4 
National League West
LAN 25 17 .595 0.0 24 1 
SD 23 19 .548 2.0 25 -2 
ARI 22 21 .512 3.5 20 2 
SF 20 21 .488 4.5 21 -1 
COL 17 25 .405 8.0 16 1 