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THT Daily: Utley homers again

by Dave Studeman
June 03, 2008

Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Top Minor League Performances

You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/

On This Day at THT: Four years ago, Aaron Gleeman and Craig Burley looked at the best young right fielders of the day. The first choice might surprise you.

Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld

Chase Utley went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer as the Phillies beat the Reds on Monday night. Utley has now homered in five straight and seven of the last eight games, bringing his total to a league-leading 21. His home runs have come in streaks this season, and the latest one has raised his numbers to .320/.403/.680. Awesome.

Casey Blake homered twice, doubled and matched his career high with seven RBI in the Indians' 13-9 win over the Rangers on Monday. Providing Blake with some competition at third base is looking like a better move every day. He has three homers and two doubles in his last three starts. Unfortunately for Andy Marte, the sudden surge guarantees that Blake will be a full-time player for at least the next week or two.

Braves activated RHP John Smoltz from the 15-day disabled list and he pitched last night. Unveiling a new three-quarters motion to relieve the pain in his aching shoulder, Smoltz came on in the ninth with a chance for his first save since 2004. He didn't get it, giving up a two-out, two-run single to Florida’s Jeremy Hermida, but the Braves rallied for a 7-5 victory.

David Ortiz will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist, manager Terry Francona said Monday night. Ortiz's wrist will be immobilized for at least the next month to see if the injury can heal on its own. If the initial course of treatment fails, he may have to undergo season- ending surgery. Coco Crisp and Sean Casey will both get plenty of at-bats until Ortiz returns. Justin Masterson will be recalled to start Tuesday's game against the Rays.

Jake Westbrook, who just returned from a strained intercostal muscle last week, will go back on the disabled list with a sore elbow. Westbrook looked better than ever this spring, but he hasn't had a chance to match expectations since. Jeremy Sowers will eventually be the replacement for Westbrook in the rotation. However, he won't be available to come up and start tomorrow. Greg Harris could be called up to make the spot start.

The Nationals placed Ryan Zimmerman on the disabled list. An MRI exam yesterday on Zimmerman's left shoulder indicated a small labral tear. The Nationals will seek at least three more medical opinions before determining how much time Zimmerman is likely to miss.

Yesterday’s Results
American League
BAL     6  BOS     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIN     6  NYA     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
OAK     3  DET     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAA     4  SEA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
CLE    13  TEX     9    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
ATL     7  FLA     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
PHI     5  CIN     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL     4  ARI     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT     5  STL     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     8  COL     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHN     7  SD      6    (Recap and Boxscore)
SF     10  NYN     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.

First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports:

Today’s Games
National League
 ---------------
 Cincinnati Reds at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM
  (R) Aaron Harang (2-7) vs. (R) Adam Eaton (1-3)
 Houston Astros at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM
  (L) Wandy Rodriguez (1-1) vs. (L) Phil Dumatrait (2-2)
 St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM
  (R) Kyle Lohse (5-2) vs. (L) Odalis Perez (2-4)
 Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 PM
  (R) Burke Badenhop (1-3) vs. (R) Jorge Campillo (2-0)
 Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM
  (L) Randy Johnson (4-1) vs. (R) Seth McClung (2-2)
 Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM
  (R) Jason Marquis (2-3) vs. (L) Wilfredo Ledezma (0-2)
 Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM
  (L) Jeff Francis (1-5) vs. (R) Brad Penny (5-6)
 New York Mets at San Francisco Giants, 10:15 PM
  (R) Pedro Martinez (0-0) vs. (L) Barry Zito (1-8)
 
 American League
 ---------------
 Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM
  (R) Roy Halladay (6-5) vs. (R) Joba Chamberlain (1-2)
 Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM
  (R) Matt Garza (4-1) vs. (R) Justin Masterson (1-0)
 Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM
  (R) Jake Westbrook (1-2) vs. (L) A.J. Murray (1-0)
 Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins, 8:10 PM
  (R) Matt Albers (3-1) vs. (R) Kevin Slowey (2-4)
 Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox, 8:11 PM
  (R) Zack Greinke (5-2) vs. (R) Gavin Floyd (5-3)
 Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM
  (L) Dontrelle Willis (0-0) vs. (L) Dana Eveland (4-4)
 LA Angels of Anaheim at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 PM
  (L) Joe Saunders (8-2) vs. (L) Erik Bedard (4-3)

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
TB      35  22 .614    0.0   32     3    sparkline graph
BOS     35  25 .583    1.5   34     1    sparkline graph
TOR     31  28 .525    5.0   33    -2    sparkline graph
NYA     28  29 .491    7.0   28     0    sparkline graph
BAL     27  29 .482    7.5   27     0    sparkline graph
American League Central     
CHA     30  26 .536    0.0   32    -2    sparkline graph
MIN     30  27 .526    0.5   28     2    sparkline graph
CLE     26  31 .456    4.5   30    -4    sparkline graph
DET     24  33 .421    6.5   27    -3    sparkline graph
KC      23  34 .404    7.5   23     0    sparkline graph
American League West        
LAA     35  24 .593    0.0   30     5    sparkline graph
OAK     31  27 .534    3.5   33    -2    sparkline graph
TEX     29  30 .492    6.0   28     1    sparkline graph
SEA     21  37 .362   13.5   23    -2    sparkline graph


National League East        Pwins  Diff
PHI     34  25 .576    0.0   36    -2    sparkline graph
FLA     31  25 .554    1.5   28     3    sparkline graph
ATL     30  28 .517    3.5   34    -4    sparkline graph
NYN     28  28 .500    4.5   28     0    sparkline graph
WAS     24  34 .414    9.5   23     1    sparkline graph
National League Central     
CHN     37  21 .638    0.0   38    -1    sparkline graph
STL     34  25 .576    3.5   32     2    sparkline graph
HOU     30  28 .517    7.0   28     2    sparkline graph
MIL     30  28 .517    7.0   28     2    sparkline graph
CIN     28  30 .483    9.0   27     1    sparkline graph
PIT     27  30 .474    9.5   26     1    sparkline graph
National League West        
ARI     32  26 .552    0.0   34    -2    sparkline graph
LAN     28  29 .491    3.5   30    -2    sparkline graph
SF      25  33 .431    7.0   25     0    sparkline graph
SD      23  36 .390    9.5   23     0    sparkline graph
COL     20  38 .345   12.0   21    -1    sparkline graph

Game of the Day
John Smoltz, in his return from the DL, couldn’t hold onto the Braves’one-run lead in top of the ninth. But Florida’s Kevin Gregg couldn’t hold onto the Marlins’ lead in the bottom of the ninth, uncorking a wild pitch with runners on second and third. The Braves’ Yunel Escobar put the contest to rest with a two-run homer in the 10th.
FLORIDA (5) VS ATLANTA (7) - FINAL IN 10 INNINGS 

FLORIDA                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
H Ramirez ss            5  0  0  0   0  2   4  .292
J Hermida rf            4  1  2  2   1  1   0  .267
 K Gregg p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 L Kensing p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
J Cantu 3b              4  0  0  1   0  0   1  .266
M Jacobs 1b             4  0  0  0   1  1   0  .252
D Uggla 2b              5  2  2  0   0  1   2  .297
L Gonzalez lf           5  0  2  1   0  1   2  .302
C Ross cf-rf            3  0  0  1   1  0   2  .210
M Treanor c             4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .274
 A Amezaga pr-cf        0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .252
S Olsen p               1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .045
 a-J Jones ph           0  0  0  0   1  0   0  .091
 R Pinto p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 M Lindstrom p          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 J Nelson p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-W Helms ph           1  1  1  0   0  0   0  .242
 M Rabelo c             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .214

Totals                 36  5  8  5   4  7  13

a-walked for S Olsen in the 7th;  b-singled to left for J Nelson in the 
9th.

BATTING: 2B - D Uggla 2 (21, J Reyes 2); M Treanor (5, J Smoltz). 3B - J 
Hermida (2, J Reyes). S - S Olsen. SF - J Cantu. RBI - J Cantu (28), L Gonzalez 
(22), C Ross (21), J Hermida 2 (28). 2-out RBI - L Gonzalez, J Hermida 2. 
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Cantu 1, L Gonzalez 1, H Ramirez 2. 
Team LOB - 7. 
 
FIELDING: E - S Olsen (2, throw). 

ATLANTA                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Y Escobar ss            5  2  3  3   1  0   0  .301
O Infante 2b-lf         4  0  0  0   1  1   2  .250
C Jones 3b              4  0  2  0   1  0   3  .407
M Teixeira 1b           4  1  2  2   1  0   1  .276
J Francoeur rf          4  2  1  1   1  1   4  .256
B McCann c              3  0  0  0   1  0   0  .313
 J Jurrjens pr          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .130
 C Miller c             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .077
G Norton lf             4  0  0  0   0  1   3  .171
 J Smoltz p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 c-J Anderson ph        1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .200
 W Ohman p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
G Blanco cf             5  1  1  0   0  2   1  .273
J Reyes p               2  0  0  0   0  1   1  .000
 M Acosta p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 a-R Gotay ph           1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .229
 R Soriano p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-K Johnson ph-2b      0  1  0  0   2  0   0  .299

Totals                 37  7  9  6   8  7  16

a-struck out swinging for M Acosta in the 7th;  b-intentionally walked for R 
Soriano in the 8th;  c-grounded into fielder's choice to third for J Smoltz in 
the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - G Blanco (5, M Lindstrom). HR - J Francoeur (7, 2nd inning off S 
Olsen 0 on, 0 Out), M Teixeira (9, 5th inning off S Olsen 0 on, 2 Out), Y 
Escobar (5, 10th inning off L Kensing 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - J Francoeur (34), M 
Teixeira 2 (42), Y Escobar 3 (25). 2-out RBI - M Teixeira, Y Escobar. Runners 
left in scoring position, 2 out - G Norton 2, C Jones 2, G Blanco 1, J 
Francoeur 2, J Reyes 1. Team LOB - 12. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - J Anderson (2, 2nd base off K Gregg/M Rabelo). 
 
FIELDING: E - O Infante (2, bobble). 

----------------------------------------------------
    FLORIDA         - 000 200 102 0  --   5
    ATLANTA         - 011 010 011 2  --   7

No outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------

FLORIDA                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
S Olsen                       6       4   3   3   2   4   2   3.72
R Pinto                       1       2   0   0   1   2   0   1.53
M Lindstrom                     2/3   2   1   1   2   1   0   3.05
J Nelson                        1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   2.08
K Gregg (B, 3)                1       0   1   1   2   0   0   2.54
L Kensing (L, 3-1)            0       1   2   2   1   0   1   4.00

ATLANTA                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Reyes                       6       5   3   3   1   4   0   4.78
M Acosta (B, 1)               1       0   0   0   1   1   0   2.73
R Soriano                     1       0   0   0   2   1   0   2.57
J Smoltz (B, 1)               1       3   2   2   0   0   0   2.57
W Ohman (W, 2-0)              1       0   0   0   0   1   0   2.70

J Reyes pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
L Kensing pitched to 2 batters in the 10th.

WP - K Gregg, L Kensing. IBB - M Jacobs (by R Soriano), K Johnson (by M 
Lindstrom). HBP - B McCann (by S Olsen). Pitches-strikes: S Olsen 92-58; R 
Pinto 23-13; M Lindstrom 19-9; J Nelson 3-2; K Gregg 23-10; L Kensing 10-3; J 
Reyes 74-50; M Acosta 18-11; R Soriano 18-8; J Smoltz 12-9; W Ohman 9-7. Ground 
balls-fly balls: S Olsen 9-5; R Pinto 0-1; M Lindstrom 1-0; J Nelson 0-1; K 
Gregg 3-0; L Kensing 0-0; J Reyes 8-6; M Acosta 1-1; R Soriano 0-2; J Smoltz 
0-3; W Ohman 1-1. Batters faced: S Olsen 26; R Pinto 6; M Lindstrom 6; J Nelson 
1; K Gregg 5; L Kensing 2; J Reyes 24; M Acosta 4; R Soriano 5; J Smoltz 6; W 
Ohman 3. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Greg Gibson. 1B--Brian Runge. 2B--Charlie Reliford. 3B--Adrian 
Johnson. 

T--3:01. Att--20,896. 
Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, left 
to right.

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.

image

Yesterday’s Home Runs
The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected “true” distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its "standard" distance, which is corrected for weather conditions. Each homer is also categorized into one of three types: Just Enough (JE) for homers that cleared the fence by ten feet or less, Plenty (PL) for those that were sure home runs but not “blasts,” and No Doubt (ND) for true “blasts”—homers that cleared the fence by at least 20 feet and landed at least 50 feet beyond the fence.
Hitter                Team    Pitcher              Team    True  Stnd.  #  Type
Casey Blake           CLE     Doug Mathis          TEX     401    390   6  JE
Casey Blake           CLE     Doug Mathis          TEX     412    401   5  PL
Jay Bruce             CIN     Kyle Kendrick        PHI     352    358   2  JE
Marlon Byrd           TEX     Aaron Laffey         CLE     422    427   2  PL
Chris Coste           PHI     Bronson Arroyo       CIN     420    415   6  PL
David Dellucci        CLE      Benoit              TEX     411    412   6  JE
Edwin Encarnacion     CIN     Kyle Kendrick        PHI     352    354   9  PL
Andre Ethier          LAD     Greg Reynolds        COL     384    382   5  PL
Pedro Feliz           PHI     Bronson Arroyo       CIN     358    364   8  PL
Prince Fielder        MIL     Doug Staten          ARI     420    411   9  PL
Ben Francisco         CLE     Joaquin Benoit       TEX     387    376   3  JE
Josh Hamilton         TEX     Aaron Laffey         CLE     403    400  16  JE
Brian Horwitz         SF      Oliver Perez         NYM     399    398   1  PL
Matt Kemp             LAD     Jorge De La Rosa     COL     378    376   4  PL
Jeff Kent             LAD     Greg Reynolds        COL     379    378   6  JE
Jose Lopez            SEA     Ervin Santana        LAA     384    382   3  JE
Jeff Mathis           LAA     Jarrod Washburn      SEA     374    362   4  PL
Manny Ramirez         BOS     Jeremy Guthrie       BAL     381    372  12  JE/L
Chris Snyder          ARI     Jeff Suppan          MIL     411    407   5  JE
Chase Utley           PHI     Bronson Arroyo       CIN     396    376  21  JE/L
Randy Winn            SF      Oliver Perez         NYM     395    394   5  PL

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
COL AAA Joseph Koshansky.. 4  3  2  0  1  0  1  5 RBI !
FLA A   Michael Stanton... 4  3  1  0  1  1  0  
PHI A+  Adrian Cardenas... 4  2  1  0  0  3  1  2 SB
DET AAA Brent Clevlen..... 6  3  1  0  1  0  2  5 RBI !
FLA AA  Cameron Maybin.... 5  3  0  1  1  0  0  
DET A+  Garth Iorg........ 4  3  0  1  1  0  1  
CHC AA  Jake Fox.......... 3  2  2  0  0  1  0  
MIL AA  Alcides Escobar... 2  2  1  0  0  2  0  
BOS A+  Jason Place....... 4  3  1  0  0  2  0  
MIL A+  Lorenzo Cain...... 5  2  1  0  1  0  1  
STL A   Peter Kozma....... 4  3  1  1  0  0  0  
COL A   Darin Holcomb..... 5  3  2  0  0  0  0  3 LD

ORG LVL PLAYER            IP  H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
COL A+  Aneury Rodriguez.. 9  2  0  0 10  0  0  
LA  AA  James McDonald.... 7  3  2  2  8  0  1  
TB  A+  David Price....... 7  3  0  0  6  1  0  
STL A   Nicholas Additon.. 5  0  0  0  6  1  0  
CIN AAA Daryl Thompson.... 7  6  1  1  6  0  0  
CHC AA  Jeff Samardzija... 6  3  1  1  5  0  0  
WAN A+  Adrian Alaniz..... 6  4  0  0  5  0  0  
CHC A+  Jose Ceda......... 4  1  1  1  7  1  1  
KC  A+  Edward Cegarra.... 7  3  1  1  3  1  0  
LA  AAA Jonathan Meloan... 6  1  1  1  7  5  0  
SD  AA  William Inman..... 7  4  1  1  5  1  1  
KC  AA  Julio Pimentel.... 7  3  1  1  5  2  1  

Access THT’s stats here…
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