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THT Daily: Phils in Firstby Matthew CarruthSeptember 28, 2007 Major League News for September 28Today’s LinksPlayer News Yesterday’s Results Today’s Games Standings Game of the Day You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/ THT LinksComing soon. Player NewsPlayer Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldKyle Kendrick pitched six innings of three-run ball as the Phillies beat the Braves 6-4 on Thursday to move into a tie for first place in the NL East. The loss eliminated the Braves from contention. Chipper Jones and Mark Teixeira homered off Kendrick, but that accouted for all of the damage and the bullpen was able to hold the lead, even after Jeff Francoeur homered to start the ninth. Ryan Howard passed Adam Dunn for the all-time single-season strikeout record with his first K on Thursday. Howard hit his 44th homer in his first at-bat, but he later fanned twice, putting him up to 197 for the season. Dunn used to have the top two strikeout seasons, with 195 Ks in 2004 and 194 last year. In the post-game celebration after the Yankees clinched a playoff spot Wednesday, Alex Rodriguez, who can opt out of his deal after the season, hinted he wants to stay in New York. "This feels like home. It's hard to believe that I played for another two organizations. So much has happened to me here - adversity, some success - that I feel like anything but New York feels weird for me now," Rodriguez said. Perhaps that was just the champagne talking, but this is the clearest indication yet that A-Rod will remain a Yankee in 2008. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League BAL 8 TOR 5 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 5 BOS 4 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 3 TB 1 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 10 KC 0 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 4 CLE 2 (Recap and Boxscore) National League FLA 6 CHN 4 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 3 NYN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) PHI 6 ATL 4 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 4 CIN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 9 MIL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 8 PIT 0 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 10 LAN 4 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Todd Wellemeyer (3-2) vs. (L) Zach Duke (3-8) Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (R) Tim Redding (3-5) vs. (L) Cole Hamels (14-5) Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (R) Carlos Zambrano (17-13) vs. (R) Bronson Arroyo (9-14) Florida Marlins at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Byung-Hyun Kim (9-8) vs. (L) Oliver Perez (15-9) Atlanta Braves at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (L) Jo-Jo Reyes (1-2) vs. (R) Matt Albers (4-10) San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (R) Greg Maddux (13-11) vs. (R) Ben Sheets (12-5) Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies, 8:05 PM (R) Brandon Webb (17-10) vs. (L) Jeff Francis (17-8) San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:40 PM (R) Kevin Correia (4-6) vs. (L) David Wells (8-9) American League --------------- New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 PM (R) Mike Mussina (11-10) vs. (R) Jon Leicester (2-3) Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Kevin Slowey (4-0) vs. (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-12) Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Andrew Sonnanstine (6-9) vs. (R) Dustin McGowan (11-10) Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (L) CC Sabathia (18-7) vs. (R) Kyle Davies (3-6) Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (L) Kenny Rogers (3-3) vs. (R) Javier Vazquez (14-8) LA Angels of Anaheim at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) John Lackey (18-9) vs. (R) Dan Haren (15-8) Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners, 10:05 PM (R) Edinson Volquez (2-1) vs. (R) Jeff Weaver (7-13) 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 94 65 .591 0.0 100 -6 Game of the DayThe Phillies moved into a first-place tie with the Mets in the National League East, the first time they've been in first all season. The Phils finish the season with three games against the Nationals, while the Mets play their final three games against the Marlins.ATLANTA (4) VS PHILADELPHIA (6) - FINAL
ATLANTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
K Johnson 2b 4 0 0 0 1 2 2 .277
E Renteria ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .332
C Jones 3b 4 1 1 2 0 0 0 .339
M Teixeira 1b 3 1 1 1 1 0 1 .320
B McCann c 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .270
J Francoeur rf 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .292
A Jones cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .222
M Diaz lf 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 .340
J Smoltz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .093
a-S Thorman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .220
R Mahay p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Devine p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-W Harris ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .279
M Acosta p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Ring p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P Moylan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-Y Escobar ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .330
Totals 34 4 10 4 2 3 11
a-grounded to second for J Smoltz in the 5th; b-doubled to deep right for J
Devine in the 7th; c-lined out to third for P Moylan in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - W Harris (20, T Gordon). HR - C Jones (29, 6th inning off K
Kendrick 1 on, 1 Out), M Teixeira (17, 6th inning off K Kendrick 0 on, 1 Out),
J Francoeur (18, 9th inning off B Myers 0 on, 0 Out). S - J Smoltz. RBI - C
Jones 2 (102), M Teixeira (55), J Francoeur (102). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - K Johnson 1, E Renteria 2. GIDP - B McCann, M Diaz, M
Teixeira. Team LOB - 6.
FIELDING: E - J Smoltz (3, throw); M Teixeira (4, ground ball); K Johnson
(14, ground ball). DP: 2 (E Renteria-M Teixeira, M Acosta-E Renteria-M
Teixeira).
PHILADELPHIA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Rollins ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .295
S Victorino rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 .284
C Utley 2b 4 1 0 0 0 2 1 .331
R Howard 1b 4 1 1 2 0 2 0 .265
A Rowand cf 4 1 2 0 0 2 0 .312
P Burrell lf 2 1 1 2 1 1 0 .259
C Roberson pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
M Bourn lf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .274
G Dobbs 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .274
A Nunez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .235
C Ruiz c 3 0 2 0 1 0 2 .259
K Kendrick p 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 .154
a-P LaForest ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .278
T Gordon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Romero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 33 6 9 4 2 13 15
a-grounded to shortstop for K Kendrick in the 6th.
BATTING: 2B - A Rowand (45, J Smoltz); C Ruiz (28, J Smoltz). HR - R Howard
(44, 1st inning off J Smoltz 1 on, 0 Out), P Burrell (30, 3rd inning off J
Smoltz 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - R Howard 2 (130), P Burrell 2 (97). 2-out RBI - P
Burrell 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Victorino 2, C Ruiz 1.
GIDP - P LaForest, S Victorino. Team LOB - 5.
BASERUNNING: SB - J Rollins (38, 2nd base off J Smoltz/B McCann).
FIELDING: E - C Utley (10, throw). DP: 3 (C Utley-J Rollins-R Howard 2, A
Nunez-C Utley-R Howard).
----------------------------------------------------
ATLANTA - 000 003 001 -- 4
PHILADELPHIA - 402 000 00x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------
ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr era
J Smoltz (L, 14-8) 4 7 6 5 0 8 2 3.11
R Mahay 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.39
J Devine 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1.17
M Acosta 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.38
R Ring 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.79
P Moylan 2/3 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.81
PHILADELPHIA ip h r er bb so hr era
K Kendrick (W, 10-4) 6 6 3 3 1 2 2 3.87
T Gordon (H, 13) 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 4.93
J Romero (H, 22) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.34
B Myers (S, 21) 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 4.45
WP - J Smoltz, J Devine. Pitches-strikes: J Smoltz 67-47; R Mahay 16-10; J
Devine 15-6; M Acosta 10-8; R Ring 4-3; P Moylan 17-11; K Kendrick 79-50; T
Gordon 13-8; J Romero 13-8; B Myers 17-12. Ground balls-fly balls: J Smoltz
3-1; R Mahay 0-0; J Devine 3-0; M Acosta 2-0; R Ring 0-1; P Moylan 1-0; K
Kendrick 6-10; T Gordon 2-1; J Romero 3-0; B Myers 1-1. Batters faced: J Smoltz
20; R Mahay 3; J Devine 4; M Acosta 3; R Ring 1; P Moylan 4; K Kendrick 24; T
Gordon 5; J Romero 3; B Myers 5.
UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.
T--2:34. Att--40,589.
Weather: 80 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, out to 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.  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: A September to remember>> <<Previous Article: Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week | |||||
NYA 92 67 .579 2.0 96 -4 
TOR 81 78 .509 13.0 85 -4 
BAL 68 91 .428 26.0 69 -1 
TB 65 94 .409 29.0 65 0 
American League Central
CLE 94 65 .591 0.0 90 4 
DET 87 72 .547 7.0 87 0 
MIN 78 81 .491 16.0 79 -1 
CHA 70 89 .440 24.0 66 4 
KC 68 91 .428 26.0 72 -4 
American League West
LAA 92 67 .579 0.0 88 4 
SEA 85 74 .535 7.0 77 8 
OAK 75 84 .472 17.0 78 -3 
TEX 75 84 .472 17.0 78 -3 
National League East Pwins Diff
NYN 87 72 .547 0.0 85 2 
PHI 87 72 .547 0.0 85 2 
ATL 83 76 .522 4.0 87 -4 
WAS 72 87 .453 15.0 69 3 
FLA 69 90 .434 18.0 70 -1 
National League Central
CHN 83 76 .522 0.0 85 -2 
MIL 81 78 .509 2.0 82 -1 
STL 75 84 .472 8.0 68 7 
CIN 71 88 .447 12.0 73 -2 
HOU 71 88 .447 12.0 71 0 
PIT 68 91 .428 15.0 69 -1 
National League West
ARI 89 70 .560 0.0 78 11 
SD 88 71 .553 1.0 88 0 
COL 87 72 .547 2.0 88 -1 
LAN 80 79 .503 9.0 81 -1 
SF 70 89 .440 19.0 75 -5 
Wildcard Standings
American League
NYA 92 67 .579 0.0
DET 87 72 .547 5.0
SEA 85 74 .535 7.0
TOR 81 78 .509 11.0
MIN 78 81 .491 14.0
National League
SD 88 71 .553 0.0
COL 87 72 .547 1.0
ATL 83 76 .522 5.0
MIL 81 78 .509 7.0
LAN 80 79 .503 8.0