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THT Daily: Pitching gemsby Dave StudemanMay 07, 2008 Major League News for May 7Player 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 RotoworldLance Berkman went 5-for-5 with two doubles, four runs scored and two steals to lead the Astros to a 6-5 win over the Nationals on Tuesday. Berkman is 9-for-10 in his last two games and is hitting .353/.428/.731 on the season. One wonders where the 17-16 Astros would be without him. He's scored 22 percent of their runs and driven in 21 percent. Also, he's already two-thirds of the way to his career high of nine steals. If we didn't know better, we'd say he bought himself in his fantasy league. Joe Mauer's double ended Gavin Floyd's no-hit bid with one out in the ninth inning Tuesday night, but Floyd improved to 3-1 with 8 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Twins. The lone run was unearned thanks to Carlos Quentin dropping a fly ball in left field. Aside from Mauer, who walked twice in addition to his no-hitter breaking double, Floyd held the Twins to zero hits and one walk over 26 plate appearances, baffling the league's least disciplined lineup with an assortment of big breaking curveballs. His ERA is down to 2.50 despite a 19/18 K/BB ratio and the White Sox's defense has amazingly turned over 85 percent of Floyd's balls in play into outs, which makes him an excellent sell-high candidate. Rafael Furcal was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with a stiff lower back. Chin-Lung Hu replaced him at shortstop versus the Mets. According to trainer Stan Conte, Furcal tweaked his back Monday night, but isn't expected to miss more than a day or two despite a history of back problems. General manager Walt Jocketty said Tuesday that talk of the Reds potentially trading Ken Griffey Jr. is "a bit premature." However, Jocketty didn't rule out trading Griffey. "I have had no trade discussions with him," Jocketty said. "I'm not saying that couldn't happen, but it just hasn't at this point." Griffey is in the final guaranteed season of his contract and the Reds will have to decide between picking up his $16.5 million option for 2009 or buying him out for $4 million. Manager Bruce Bochy announced Tuesday that Barry Zito will rejoin the Giants' rotation by starting Wednesday against the Pirates. Zito was technically demoted to the bullpen following his start on April 27, but never pitched in relief. He's thrown two bullpen sessions during that time and the hope is that essentially skipping one turn in the rotation will make a difference, but don't bet on it. Shifting Zito back into the rotation means that Matt Cain will start Thursday, followed by Pat Misch on Friday and Tim Lincecum on Saturday. Yesterday’s ResultsAmerican League CLE 5 NYA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) TB 5 TOR 4 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 7 MIN 1 (Recap and Boxscore) BOS 5 DET 0 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 5 KC 3 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 4 BAL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) TEX 10 SEA 1 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 5 SD 3 (Recap and Boxscore) FLA 3 MIL 0 (Recap and Boxscore) CHN 3 CIN 0 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 6 WAS 5 (Recap and Boxscore) PIT 12 SF 6 (Recap and Boxscore) ARI 6 PHI 4 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 6 COL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 5 NYN 4 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
Today’s GamesNational League --------------- Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds, 12:35 PM (R) Jon Lieber (2-1) vs. (R) Edinson Volquez (4-1) New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers, 3:10 PM (R) John Maine (3-2) vs. (R) Brad Penny (5-2) San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (L) Pat Misch (0-0) vs. (L) Phil Dumatrait (0-1) Milwaukee Brewers at Florida Marlins, 7:10 PM (R) Dave Bush (0-3) vs. (R) Burke Badenhop (0-2) San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 PM (L) Randy Wolf (2-1) vs. (R) Tim Hudson (4-2) Washington Nationals at Houston Astros, 8:05 PM (L) Odalis Perez (0-3) vs. (R) Roy Oswalt (3-3) St. Louis Cardinals at Colorado Rockies, 8:35 PM (R) Adam Wainwright (3-1) vs. (L) Jeff Francis (0-3) Philadelphia Phillies at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 PM (R) Kyle Kendrick (2-2) vs. (R) Micah Owings (4-1) American League --------------- Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics, 3:35 PM (R) Jeremy Guthrie (1-3) vs. (R) Joe Blanton (2-5) Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Clay Buchholz (2-2) vs. (R) Armando Galarraga (2-1) Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (L) Cliff Lee (5-0) vs. (R) Chien-Ming Wang (6-0) Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Matt Garza (1-0) vs. (R) Shaun Marcum (3-2) LA Angels of Anaheim at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Jered Weaver (2-4) vs. (R) Zack Greinke (3-1) Minnesota Twins at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM (R) Livan Hernandez (4-1) vs. (L) Mark Buehrle (1-3) Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 PM (R) Vicente Padilla (4-2) vs. (L) Erik Bedard (2-1) 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 22 13 .629 0.0 20 2 Game of the DayThe Astros took sole possession of third place in the NL Central by beating the Nationals 6-5. Lance Berkman was the hitting star (5 for 5 with two doubles), but Carlos Lee also had a big day, going 3-4 with two doubles. Lee had the biggest hit of the game: a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to give the Astros the final lead (WPA of .545).Astros 6, Nationals 5 - FINAL
WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez 2b 5 0 0 0 0 4 2 .267
C Guzman ss 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 .305
R Zimmerman 3b 5 0 2 1 0 0 0 .224
N Johnson 1b 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 .220
L Milledge cf 4 0 1 0 0 3 3 .262
A Kearns rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .222
P Lo Duca c 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .213
W Nieves c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .379
W Pena lf 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 .234
W Harris lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
S Hill p 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
J Colome p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
va-A Boone ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .263
S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
vb-R Belliard ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .211
L Ayala p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 34 5 9 5 4 9 9 ###
HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Bourn cf 4 0 0 0 1 1 4 .194
K Matsui 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 .284
M Tejada ss 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .344
L Berkman 1b 5 4 5 1 0 0 0 .353
C Lee lf 4 0 3 3 1 0 1 .279
J Cruz Jr pr-lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091
H Pence rf 4 0 1 1 1 1 4 .254
T Wigginton 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .222
J Towles c 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 .171
S Chacon p 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .231
ha-D Erstad ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .298
D Brocail p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Valverde p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 34 6 12 5 7 4 20 ###
----------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON - 010 020 110 -- 5 9 1
HOUSTON - 011 010 12x -- 6 12 1
----------------------------------------------------
va-homered to left for J Colome in the 7th; ha-grounded to pitcher for S
Chacon in the 7th; vb-struck out swinging for S Rivera in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - C Guzman (9, S Chacon); R Zimmerman (7, S Chacon); L Berkman 2
(13, S Rivera, S Hill); C Lee 2 (11, S Hill, L Ayala); K Matsui (5, S Hill). HR
- N Johnson (5, 2nd inning off S Chacon 0 on, 0 Out), A Boone (2, 7th inning
off S Chacon 0 on, 0 Out), A Kearns (3, 8th inning off D Brocail 0 on, 0 Out).
S - S Hill , S Chacon. RBI - N Johnson (17), C Guzman (15), R Zimmerman (15), A
Boone (5), A Kearns (14), C Lee 3 (20), L Berkman (32), H Pence (17). 2-out RBI
- C Guzman, R Zimmerman, H Pence, C Lee 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - P Lo Duca 1, L Milledge 1, T Wigginton 1, D Erstad 1, M Tejada 1, M Bourn
3, H Pence 1. GIDP - P Lo Duca, H Pence. Team LOB - WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 12.
BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman 2 (6, 2nd base off S Hill/P Lo Duca, 3rd base off S
Rivera/P Lo Duca). FIELDING: E - S Hill (2, throw); T Wigginton (2, throw).
Outfield assists - H Pence (R Zimmerman at Home). DP: (C Guzman-F Lopez-N
Johnson, M Tejada-K Matsui-L Berkman).
WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
S Hill 5 1/3 8 3 3 4 3 0 3.86
J Colome 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.15
S Rivera (B, 2) 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 4.50
L Ayala (L, 1-2; B, 1) 1 3 2 2 0 1 0 4.19
HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
S Chacon 7 8 4 4 4 8 2 3.60
D Brocail (W, 2-0) 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.89
J Valverde (S, 7) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.00
WP - S Chacon. IBB - N Johnson 2 (by S Chacon), J Towles (by S Hill). BALK -
S Rivera. Pitches-strikes: S Hill 107-58; J Colome 14-7; S Rivera 23-9; L Ayala
20-15; S Chacon 115-67; D Brocail 12-9; J Valverde 5-4. Ground balls-fly balls:
S Hill 10-3; J Colome 1-1; S Rivera 1-2; L Ayala 2-0; S Chacon 7-5; D Brocail
0-2; J Valverde 2-1. Batters faced: S Hill 27; J Colome 3; S Rivera 6; L Ayala
6; S Chacon 32; D Brocail 4; J Valverde 3. UMPIRES: HP--Brian Runge.
1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Angel Campos. 3B--Greg Gibson. T--2:58.
Att--30,335. Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, out 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 LAA A+ Howie Kendrick.... 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 3 R CIN AAA Jay Bruce......... 4 2 0 1 0 1 1 COL AAA Ian Stewart....... 4 2 0 0 1 1 1 LA AAA Andy LaRoche...... 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 OAK A+ J. Mitchell....... 4 1 0 0 1 1 0 COL AAA Joseph Koshansky.. 5 3 1 0 0 0 1 MIL A+ Lorenzo Cain...... 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 LAA AAA Kendry Morales.... 6 4 3 0 0 0 0 3 LD BAL A Kieron Pope....... 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 BOS AA Aaron Bates....... 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 7 RBI ! KC AAA Matt Tupman....... 4 2 1 0 1 1 0 3 R MIL AA Mat Gamel......... 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes CLE AA Chuck Lofgren..... 7 4 1 1 7 2 0 NYY AAA Ian Kennedy....... 7 1 0 0 8 0 0 WAN AAA Garrett Mock...... 6 6 1 1 5 0 0 CLE AAA Jeremy Sowers..... 7 3 0 0 2 2 0 BOS A Felix Doubront.... 5 4 2 2 8 1 0 MIN A+ Jeffrey Manship... 6 7 2 2 8 2 0 11 GB TB AA Wade Davis........ 6 3 2 2 6 4 0 OAK AA Vincent Mazzaro... 5 4 2 0 5 2 0 OAK A+ Jared Lansford.... 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 ARI AAA Yusmeiro Petit.... 5 4 0 0 3 0 0 BOS AAA Devern Hansack.... 6 2 1 1 3 1 0 COL AA Brandon Hynick.... 7 7 2 2 6 0 2 Access THT’s stats here…
Dave is the manager of the Baseball Graphs website. and a regular contributor to Heater, a PDF fantasy magazine for the digital age. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail. 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: TUCK! sez: Yet still more Pitchy>> <<Previous Article: Superdupersubs (Part 2: 1941-1970) | |||||
TB 17 15 .531 3.5 17 0 
NYA 17 17 .500 4.5 17 0 
BAL 16 17 .485 5.0 16 0 
TOR 16 18 .471 5.5 19 -3 
American League Central
MIN 16 15 .516 0.0 14 2 
CHA 15 16 .484 1.0 19 -4 
CLE 15 17 .469 1.5 17 -2 
KC 14 18 .438 2.5 12 2 
DET 14 20 .412 3.5 15 -1 
American League West
LAA 22 13 .629 0.0 19 3 
OAK 21 14 .600 1.0 22 -1 
SEA 14 20 .412 7.5 16 -2 
TEX 14 20 .412 7.5 13 1 
National League East Pwins Diff
FLA 18 14 .563 0.0 15 3 
PHI 19 15 .559 0.0 19 0 
ATL 16 15 .516 1.5 20 -4 
NYN 16 15 .516 1.5 15 1 
WAS 14 19 .424 4.5 13 1 
National League Central
STL 22 12 .647 0.0 20 2 
CHN 19 14 .576 2.5 21 -2 
HOU 17 16 .515 4.5 17 0 
MIL 16 16 .500 5.0 15 1 
PIT 13 19 .406 8.0 14 -1 
CIN 13 21 .382 9.0 14 -1 
National League West
ARI 22 11 .667 0.0 21 1 
LAN 19 14 .576 3.0 21 -2 
SF 14 19 .424 8.0 12 2 
COL 12 21 .364 10.0 13 -1 
SD 12 21 .364 10.0 12 0 