THT Daily: NL West action
by Dave StudemanSeptember 13, 2009
Major League News for September 13
Player News
Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
You can always find the most recent THT Daily at http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/content/thtdaily/
Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldThe Pirates have shut Ross Ohlendorf down for the rest of the season.
Ohlendorf entered his 6 1/3-inning Saturday start with 163 1/3 frames under his belt, over 30 innings more than his previous career high. "It's gonna be tough," manager John Russell said after the game. "He's fun to watch. You talk to him, and he'll tell you there's a lot he wants to accomplish." He'll finish the 2009 season with an 11-10 record, 4.03 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.
Brian Bannister (shoulder) has been shut down for the rest of the season.
Bannister headed to New York earlier this week for a second opinion on his fatigued right arm, and was told to take the rest of the season off. He should be fine by the start of spring training 2010. "No surgery is necessary," he said, "and I will begin a stretching and strengthening program (Sunday)."
Casey McGehee went 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI, leading his Brewers over the Diamondbacks 9-2 on Saturday night.
McGehee continues to draw playing time over Mat Gamel, and for good reason. He's hitting .306/.367/.522 this season with 15 home runs and 57 RBI, and deserves mention in the NL Rookie of the Year race.
Dave Bush tossed seven innings of one-run ball on Saturday evening to help the Brewers defeat the Diamondbacks.
Bush carved up the D'Backs, striking out 11 and walking none in an out-of-nowhere prefromance. He's just 4-7 this season with a disappointing 5.85 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, but has risen to the occasion in consecutive starts and may be a guy to target down the stretch.
Tim Lincecum (back) tossed a successful bullpen session Saturday and is still aiming to return Monday against the Rockies.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy will announce Sunday whether Lincecum will draw the Monday start. "The Freak" was scratched from a start last Tuesday with back discomfort, but reported feeling "normal" after a game of catch Friday and his bullpen session went off without a hitch Saturday. All signs are good for the potential NL Cy Young Award winner.
Ryan Madson blew his sixth save of the season Saturday after allowing a David Wright two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning.
What do the Phillies do now? Madson was named the Phillies' temporary closer just a few days ago, but has allowed three earned runs in his last two innings of work. Perhaps Brett Myers will be trusted next time Philadelphia holds a lead in the ninth inning. He should be added in most leagues.
Brian McCann hit a go-ahead two-run double in the top of the ninth inning Saturday as the Braves topped the Cardinals 7-6.
McCann is finding a groove. He went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI Thursday night, 1-for-3 with a run scored Friday night, and turned in a 3-for-5 performance Saturday. The catcher has upped his batting average to .281 for the season, and currently has 34 doubles, 18 home runs and 79 RBI in 430 at-bats.
David Wright finished 3-for-5 with two dingers and six RBI as the Mets rallied for a 10-9 victory over the Phillies on Saturday afternoon.
Wright played the hero with a two-run go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth. But the Mets wouldn't have been in the position for victory were it not for his two-run shot, and David Murphy's RBI single in the eighth. It was an impressive show of late-innings offense by a team headed for October anonymity. Wright is batting .318 this season with 10 dingers and 66 RBI in 466 at-bats.
John Smoltz will not make his scheduled start against the Marlins on Monday due to shoulder tendinitis.
Smoltz is expected to miss just one start, with Todd Wellemeyer taking his turn in the rotation. Smoltz is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in four starts since joining the Cardinals.
Yesterday’s Results
For the full scoop regarding yesterday's games, read "And That Happened" at Shysterball.American League BOS 9 TB 1 (Recap and Boxscore) BAL 7 NYA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) CLE 13 KC 6 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 8 DET 6 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 4 MIN 2 (Recap and Boxscore) CHA 4 LAA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) SEA 8 TEX 3 (Recap and Boxscore) National League FLA 11 WAS 3 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 10 PHI 9 (Recap and Boxscore) CIN 7 CHN 5 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 4 PIT 2 (Recap and Boxscore) ATL 7 STL 6 (Recap and Boxscore) MIL 9 ARI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) SD 3 COL 2 (Recap and Boxscore) LAN 9 SF 1 (Recap and Boxscore)Check out Fangraphs' scoreboard to see all the games in action.
Today’s Games
Rays (72-69) @ RedSox (82-58), 12:00pm
Matt Garza (25, RHP) vs. Clay Buchholz (24, RHP)
Mariners (73-69) @ Rangers (79-61), 2nd Game
Felix Hernandez (23, RHP) vs. Derek Holland (22, LHP)
Blue Jays (65-77) @ Tigers (75-66), 1:05pm
Ricky Romero (24, LHP) vs. Rick Porcello (20, RHP)
Royals (56-86) @ Indians (61-80), 1:05pm
Kyle Davies (25, RHP) vs. Carlos Carrasco (22, RHP)
Orioles (58-83) @ Yankees (91-52), 1:05pm
Jeremy Guthrie (30, RHP) vs. C.C. Sabathia (28, LHP)
Mariners (73-69) @ Rangers (79-61), 1:35pm
Doug Fister (25, RHP) vs. Tommy Hunter (22, RHP)
Athletics (64-77) @ Twins (70-72), 2:10pm
Gio Gonzalez (23, LHP) vs. Brian Duensing (26, LHP)
WhiteSox (71-72) @ Angels (85-56), 3:35pm
Mark Buehrle (30, LHP) vs. Scott Kazmir (25, LHP)
Rays (72-69) @ RedSox (82-58), 5:00pm
James Shields (27, RHP) vs. Jon Lester (25, LHP)
Mets (63-79) @ Phillies (80-60), 1:05pm
John Maine (28, RHP) vs. Kyle Kendrick (24, RHP)
Nationals (49-93) @ Marlins (76-66), 1:10pm
John Lannan (24, LHP) vs. Chris Volstad (22, RHP)
Pirates (54-86) @ Astros (70-72), 2:05pm
Paul Maholm (27, LHP) vs. Felipe Paulino (25, RHP)
Braves (74-68) @ Cardinals (84-59), 2:15pm
Javier Vazquez (32, RHP) vs. Chris Carpenter (34, RHP)
Reds (64-78) @ Cubs (72-68), 2:20pm
Homer Bailey (23, RHP) vs. Ted Lilly (33, LHP)
Dodgers (85-58) @ Giants (76-66), 4:05pm
Chad Billingsley (24, RHP) vs. Brad Penny (31, RHP)
Rockies (82-61) @ Padres (64-79), 4:05pm
Jason Marquis (30, RHP) vs. Clayton Richard (25, LHP)
Brewers (68-73) @ D'backs (62-81), 4:10pm
Chris Narveson (27, LHP) vs. Max Scherzer (24, RHP)
Mets (63-79) @ Phillies (80-60), 8:05pm
Tim Redding (31, RHP) vs. Pedro Martinez (37, RHP)
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 NYA 91 52 .636 0.0 85 6BOS 82 58 .586 7.5 81 1
TB 72 69 .511 18.0 76 -4
TOR 65 77 .458 25.5 72 -7
BAL 58 83 .411 32.0 62 -4
American League Central DET 75 66 .532 0.0 72 3
CHA 71 72 .497 5.0 71 0
MIN 70 72 .493 5.5 71 -1
CLE 61 80 .433 14.0 66 -5
KC 56 86 .394 19.5 56 0
American League West LAA 85 56 .603 0.0 80 5
TEX 79 61 .564 5.5 77 2
SEA 73 69 .514 12.5 65 8
OAK 64 77 .454 21.0 68 -4
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 80 60 .571 0.0 79 1
FLA 76 66 .535 5.0 73 3
ATL 74 68 .521 7.0 78 -4
NYN 63 79 .444 18.0 63 0
WAS 49 93 .345 32.0 58 -9
National League Central STL 84 59 .587 0.0 82 2
CHN 72 68 .514 10.5 73 -1
HOU 70 72 .493 13.5 63 7
MIL 68 73 .482 15.0 68 0
CIN 64 78 .451 19.5 61 3
PIT 54 86 .386 28.5 59 -5
National League West LAN 85 58 .594 0.0 88 -3
COL 82 61 .573 3.0 81 1
SF 76 66 .535 8.5 74 2
SD 64 79 .448 21.0 57 7
ARI 62 81 .434 23.0 66 -4
Wildcard Standings American League BOS 82 58 .586 0.0 TEX 79 61 .564 3.0 SEA 73 69 .514 10.0 TB 72 69 .511 10.5 CHA 71 72 .497 12.5 National League COL 82 61 .573 0.0 SF 76 66 .535 5.5 FLA 76 66 .535 5.5 ATL 74 68 .521 7.5 CHN 72 68 .514 8.5
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Dave was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.
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