THT Daily: NL East tightens
by THT StaffJuly 08, 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/ and an archive at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/thtdaily_index/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld |
| Kuroda was almost perfect last night. (Icon/SMI) |
Hiroki Kuroda took a perfect game into the eighth inning Monday before settling for a one-hit, complete-game shutout over the Braves. Kuroda cruised through 21 outs on just 65 pitches, but Mark Teixeira led off the eighth inning with a sharp double down the right field line. Kuroda got out of the jam with no damage done and finished off the 3-0 win, totaling six strikeouts and zero walks while needing only 91 pitches. Blake DeWitt made an outstanding play to preserve the perfect game and then Angel Berroa made an even better play for the 26th out. Kuroda has now allowed zero runs in three of his last four starts, although he had an ugly outing against the Padres and a stint on the disabled list mixed in. With the brilliant effort, he improved to 5-6 with a 3.39 ERA.
Braves recalled OF Jeff Francoeur from Double-A Mississippi. Francoeur lasted three games in Mississippi, where he went 7-for-13 with a triple and two RBI. It's unlikely that one weekend away from the big leagues cured all that ails him, but it certainly could have helped the 24-year-old. Francoeur picked to go to Double-A because he credits manager Phillip Wellman, who used to be the hitting coach, with changing his career during one night of work three years ago. Hopefully the time in the minors gave him at least something to build off of.
Brewers acquired LHP C.C. Sabathia from the Indians for minor league OF Matt LaPorta, LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson and a player to be named. Sabathia will switch to the National League, where he's gone 12-6 with a 3.74 ERA and 167/59 K/BB ratio in 190 interleague innings. He got off to a tough start this season, but has posted a 2.16 ERA with a K/BB K/BB ratio in his last 104 1/3 innings. The Brewers should provide him with improved run support and thus more wins. He's expected to start on Tuesday against the Rockies in Milwaukee.
The New York Daily News reports that Ryan Church will get additional tests on his head in New York on Monday, and that "his season seems in question." Church was pulled from Saturday's game with migraines, and said Sunday that he's been experiencing the headaches since he was in the ninth grade. It was said the headaches were unrelated to the two concussions he's suffered this year, but he left the ballpark without talking to reporters on Sunday and the Daily News has learned he was headed to New York to see doctors.
Yesterday’s Results
Game recaps provided by Craig Calcaterra of ShysterballRed Sox 1, Twins 0: This was one of those games which people who don't really like baseball simply don't get. I had it on as Mrs. Shyster messed with her laptop, moving money to offshore accounts or IMing firemen or whatever the hell it is she does when I'm watching baseball. She'd look up occasionally, notice that no one has scored yet, and wonder aloud how I could devote so much mental energy to such a boring game (she did mention that Scott Baker looked like he was 14 years-old once, and that almost passes for analysis). Of course I was digging it because I like pitching and good defense and bunts and timely hitting and all of the good fundamentals which were on display here.
Royals 7, Rays 4: Give Carl Crawford a point for honesty, but not before deducting ten for lollygagging:
Carl Crawford started in center for the first time since June 18, 2006, and his lack of hustle helped the Royals take a 3-2 edge when Gload singled up the middle in the third. Crawford failed to charge the ball and Teahen scored from first, never slowing down en route to the plate.In other news, Mark Grudzielanek sat out due to "body soreness." Call me crazy, but I get the feeling that these wraparound series lend themselves to flat play and less-than-optimal motivation. After a whole career of thinking of Sunday as the end of a series, these Monday conclusions have to feel to the players like they were held over at an airport overnight.
"I think I got a little lackadaisical," Crawford said. "I didn't think he was running. Then I looked up ... and it was too late by then. It was just a bad effort on my part. I probably could have gotten to the ball a little quicker. I was doing my normal thing that I do in left, and forgot I was in center. You've got to be a little more aggressive in center."
Pirates 10, Astros 7: The things you do the day after a 17-inning game: Runelvys Hernandez: 4 IP, 13 H, 10 ER.
Mets 10, Phillies 9: The Mets' bullpen (3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R) did everything it could to blow the first decent Pedro Martinez start in nearly a month, but it seems that they have failed at failing as well.
Angels 9, Rangers 6: Josh Hamilton's OPS by month: April (.982); May (.977); June (.813); July (.703). What's up? If I had to guess I'd say fatigue. After his famous exile from baseball, Hamilton had 50 at bats in 2006 and 238 in 2007 (both in the Majors and in AAA). We're not yet to the break in 2008, and he already has 350, a bit less than half of which have come in the furnace that is the Ballpark at Arlington. Simply put, the man hasn't been worked this hard -- in this kind of heat -- since he was a teenager in the Sally League, and his body might need a break.
Rockies 4, Brewers 3: Wait, I thought the Brewers weren't going to lose anymore now that they have traded for Sabathia. Have I been misled?
Dodgers 3, Braves 0: Hiroki Kuroda comes one Mark Teixeira double away from a perfecto. The game story -- and a few Braves sites I've seen this morning -- want to blame the fact that Atlanta played 17 innings yesterday and then hopped a cross-country flight, but the Braves players quoted said that Kuroda was simply dealing.
A's 4 Mariners 3
Marlins 3, Padres 1
Sorry for the short shrift on the last two, but I got squeezed by my kids this morning, who don't realize that there will one day come a time when people won't let them sleep as late as they want to.
You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
| First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports: |
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Today’s Games
National League --------------- St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 PM (R) Joel Pineiro (2-4) vs. (L) Cole Hamels (9-5) Houston Astros at Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 PM (R) Brandon Backe (5-9) vs. (R) Ian Snell (3-7) Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals, 7:10 PM (R) Brandon Webb (12-4) vs. (L) Odalis Perez (2-5) San Francisco Giants at New York Mets, 7:10 PM (R) Tim Lincecum (10-1) vs. (R) Mike Pelfrey (6-6) Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 PM (R) Aaron Harang (3-10) vs. (R) Ryan Dempster (9-3) Colorado Rockies at Milwaukee Brewers, 8:05 PM (L) Mark Redman (2-3) vs. (L) C.C. Sabathia (0-0) Florida Marlins at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM (L) Andrew Miller (5-7) vs. (L) Randy Wolf (5-8) Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Jair Jurrjens (8-4) vs. (R) Chad Billingsley (8-7) American League --------------- Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM (R) Nick Blackburn (7-4) vs. (L) Jon Lester (7-3) Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees, 7:05 PM (L) Scott Kazmir (7-3) vs. (L) Andy Pettitte (9-6) Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (L) Jeremy Sowers (0-4) vs. (R) Justin Verlander (5-9) Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Daniel Cabrera (6-4) vs. (R) Dustin McGowan (6-7) LA Angels of Anaheim at Texas Rangers, 8:05 PM (L) Joe Saunders (12-4) vs. (L) Matt Harrison (0-0) Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Jose Contreras (7-6) vs. (R) Kyle Davies (3-1) Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (R) Carlos Silva (4-10) vs. (R) Justin Duchscherer (9-5)
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 55 33 .625 0.0 52 3BOS 53 39 .576 4.0 54 -1
NYA 47 42 .528 8.5 47 0
BAL 44 43 .506 10.5 44 0
TOR 42 47 .472 13.5 46 -4
American League Central CHA 51 37 .580 0.0 54 -3
MIN 50 39 .562 1.5 47 3
DET 44 44 .500 7.0 44 0
KC 40 50 .444 12.0 38 2
CLE 37 51 .420 14.0 43 -6
American League West LAA 54 35 .607 0.0 47 7
OAK 48 41 .539 6.0 51 -3
TEX 46 44 .511 8.5 43 3
SEA 35 54 .393 19.0 38 -3
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 48 42 .533 0.0 53 -5
FLA 46 43 .517 1.5 43 3
NYN 45 44 .506 2.5 46 -1
ATL 42 48 .467 6.0 48 -6
WAS 34 56 .378 14.0 32 2
National League Central CHN 53 36 .596 0.0 55 -2
STL 50 40 .556 3.5 47 3
MIL 49 40 .551 4.0 46 3
CIN 43 47 .478 10.5 39 4
PIT 41 47 .466 11.5 39 2
HOU 41 49 .456 12.5 41 0
National League West ARI 44 45 .494 0.0 45 -1
LAN 44 45 .494 0.0 46 -2
SF 39 50 .438 5.0 40 -1
COL 38 52 .422 6.5 38 0
SD 35 55 .389 9.5 35 0
Game of the Day
Red Sox 1, Twins 0 - FINAL
MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Gomez cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .266
A Casilla 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .318
J Mauer c 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .325
J Morneau 1b 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 .310
J Kubel dh 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 .267
va-C Monroe ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .217
D Young lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 7 .286
B Buscher 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .314
N Punto ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .287
D Span rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .294
Totals 31 0 6 0 4 6 15 ###
BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Ellsbury lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .268
D Pedroia 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .311
J Drew rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .299
M Ramirez dh 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .281
M Lowell 3b 2 0 1 0 2 1 2 .299
K Youkilis 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .308
C Crisp cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 .259
J Varitek c 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .215
J Lugo ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .264
Totals 31 1 7 1 3 7 16 ###
----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 000 000 000 -- 0 6 0
BOSTON - 000 000 01x -- 1 7 0
----------------------------------------------------
va-fouled out to first for J Kubel in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - J Morneau (18, D Matsuzaka); M Lowell (21, S Baker); D Pedroia
(26, B Bass). 3B - N Punto (2, D Matsuzaka). RBI - M Ramirez (54). Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - J Kubel 1, D Young 4, D Span 1, C Crisp 1, J
Varitek 2, K Youkilis 1. GIDP - C Gomez. Team LOB - MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 9.
FIELDING: DP: (J Lugo-D Pedroia-K Youkilis, K Youkilis).
MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
S Baker 7 5 0 0 2 7 0 3.32
B Bass (L, 3-3) 1/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 4.58
J Crain 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.75
BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 7 1/3 6 0 0 3 5 0 2.84
H Okajima (W, 2-2) 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.87
J Papelbon (S, 26) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.33
HBP - D Young (by D Matsuzaka). Pitches-strikes: S Baker 94-61; B Bass 14-6;
J Crain 9-5; D Matsuzaka 108-71; H Okajima 12-6; J Papelbon 9-8. Ground
balls-fly balls: S Baker 3-11; B Bass 1-0; J Crain 1-1; D Matsuzaka 6-10; H
Okajima 1-1; J Papelbon 1-1. Batters faced: S Baker 28; B Bass 4; J Crain 2; D
Matsuzaka 30; H Okajima 3; J Papelbon 3. UMPIRES: HP--Greg Gibson. 1B--Sam
Holbrook. 2B--Scott Barry. 3B--Charlie Reliford. T--2:43. Att--37,912.
Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 12 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.
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 Wes Bankston OAK Jarrod Washburn SEA 403 403 1 PL Pat Burrell PHI Pedro Martinez NYM 352 344 22 JE Jorge Cantu FLA Greg Maddux SD 395 387 16 PL Ryan Doumit PIT Runelvys Hernandez HOU 395 401 11 ND Prince Fielder MIL Taylor Buchholz COL 409 379 17 JE/L Nomar Garciaparra LAD Jorge Campillo ATL 373 372 2 PL Chase Headley SD Ricky Nolasco FLA 411 395 5 PL Matt Holliday COL Carlos Villanueva MIL 400 389 14 JE Ryan Howard PHI Tony Armas NYM 350 343 24 JE Geoff Jenkins PHI Aaron Heilman NYM 407 393 7 PL Carlos Lee HOU Phil Dumatrait PIT 414 407 20 PL Nate McLouth PIT Runelvys Hernandez HOU 0 0 16 0 Richie Sexson SEA Dana Eveland OAK 375 375 11 JE Chase Utley PHI Pedro Martinez NYM 348 335 25 JE/L David Wright NYM Steve Swindle PHI 400 386 17 JE/L
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 BAL AAA Scott Moore....... 4 4 2 0 1 1 0 4 RBI CLE A+ Beau Mills........ 5 4 2 0 1 0 1 5 RBI ! LAA AA C. Pettit......... 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 7 RBI ! PIT A+ Jamie Romak....... 4 2 0 0 2 0 1 STL AAA J. Hoffpauir...... 3 3 1 0 0 2 0 COL AA Eric Young........ 4 2 1 0 0 2 0 STL A Brett Wallace..... 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 3 R TOR A John Tolisano..... 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 5 RBI ! SF AAA Nate Schierholtz.. 6 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 R SF AAA Travis Ishikawa... 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 STL AAA Nick Stavinoha.... 6 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 LD MIL AA Angel Salome...... 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes ATL AA K. Medlen......... 7 4 3 3 10 1 0 ARI A+ Wes Roemer........ 8 3 2 2 6 0 0 ATL A Jeffrey Locke..... 7 3 0 0 6 0 0 CIN AAA Homer Bailey...... 6 6 4 4 8 0 0 CLE A K. De La Cruz..... 5 4 1 1 7 0 0 KC AA Blake Wood........ 7 6 1 1 5 0 0 STL AA Adam Ottavino..... 6 5 0 0 8 3 0 MIL A+ Zach Braddock..... 6 3 2 2 8 2 1 PHI AAA Brett Myers....... 7 7 3 2 6 2 0 CHC AA Donald Veal....... 6 4 1 1 9 3 1 TEX AAA Tommy Hunter...... 9 6 2 2 3 0 1 16 GB TB AAA Jeff Niemann...... 6 6 4 3 7 3 0
Access THT’s stats here…
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