The Hardball Times

THT Daily: Reds sweep Braves

by Matthew Carruth
July 19, 2007

Major League News for July 19
Today’s Links
Player News
Yesterday’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/

THT Links

Coming soon.

Player News
Player Headlines are courtesy of Rotoworld

Angels optioned RHP Ervin Santana to Triple-A Salt Lake. Mike Napoli replaces him on the roster. Santana gave up 16 runs in his final two starts and was 5-11 with a 6.28 ERA overall. He still has a rather bright future ahead of him, but this is the right move. The Angels will likely call up Joe Saunders to replace him in the rotation.

Derrek Lee has dropped his appeal of a five-game suspension that was handed down following his June 16 fight with Padres pitcher Chris Young. The Cubs have Monday off, so Lee will rest six straight days. The Cubs will go with Daryle Ward and Mark DeRosa at first base for the next five days. Mike Fontenot figures to start at second when DeRosa plays first.

The Twins are calling Torii Hunter day-to-day with a mild left hamstring strain. Hunter's hamstring was bothering him even before he tweaked it Wednesday against the Tigers. The Twins might want to rest him through the weekend in order to get him closer to 100 percent, but we're guessing Hunter will try to make it back in a couple of days.

Scott Rolen left the Cardinals in Florida and returned to St. Louis to have his left shoulder examined by team physician Dr. George Paletta. It's been obvious for some time now that he isn't nearly 100 percent. Rolen could receive a cortisone shot and rejoin the team this weekend. Still, he's not a very good bet for the rest of the year. Brendan Ryan and Aaron Miles will fill in at third base.

Erik Bedard will not pitch Wednesday because of neck stiffness. The plan is for him to face the A's on Friday. Daniel Cabrera will make his second start this year on three days' rest in Bedard's place tonight.

Yesterday’s Results
American League
KC      6  BOS     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA     6  TOR     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Clemens: 6 IP, 1 R; Rios: 4-5
TB      7  LAA     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Kazmir: 7 IP, 1 R
CHA     5  CLE     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Buehrle: 6.1 IP, 1 R
DET     3  MIN     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Ordonez: 2B, HR; Miller: 5 IP, 1 R; Cuddyer: 4-4
OAK     6  TEX     0    (Recap and Boxscore) DiNardo: 7 IP, 0 R
SEA     6  BAL     5    (Recap and Boxscore) Payton: 2B, HR

National League
CIN     5  ATL     4    (Recap and Boxscore) See below
STL     6  FLA     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Wells: 8 IP, 0 R
WAS     7  HOU     6    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHN    12  SF      1    (Recap and Boxscore) K. Hill: 2 2B, 5 RBI; Zambrano: 5 IP, 0 R
ARI     5  MIL     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Capuano: 7 IP, 2 R; Reynolds: GW HR in 8th
COL     5  PIT     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Francis: 7 IP, 2 R
LAN     5  PHI     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
SD      5  NYN     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Gonzalez: 2B, HR; Maddux: 5 IP, 0 R
First Inning's Major and Minor League Daily Reports:
{embed="pageblocks/FirstInning_Team_Lookup"}

Today’s Games
National League
 ---------------
 Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:05 PM
  (R) Livan Hernandez (5-5) vs. (R) Yovani Gallardo (1-1)
 San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 PM
  (R) Matt Morris (7-5) vs. (L) Ted Lilly (9-4)
 Cincinnati Reds at Florida Marlins, 7:05 PM
  (R) Matt Belisle (5-6) vs. (R) Sergio Mitre (4-4)
 Colorado Rockies at Washington Nationals, 7:05 PM
  (R) Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0) vs. (L) Matt Chico (4-6)
 St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves, 7:35 PM
  (L) Mike Maroth (0-2) vs. (R) Tim Hudson (9-5)
 Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres, 10:05 PM
  (L) Cole Hamels (11-4) vs. (R) Chris Young (8-3)
 New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM
  (L) Tom Glavine (8-6) vs. (R) Derek Lowe (8-8)
 
 American League
 ---------------
 LA Angels of Anaheim at Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 12:10 PM
  (R) Kelvim Escobar (10-3) vs. (R) Andrew Sonnanstine (1-4)
 Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees, 1:05 PM
  (R) Dustin McGowan (5-5) vs. (R) Chien-Ming Wang (10-4)
 Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins, 1:10 PM
  (R) Jeremy Bonderman (10-1) vs. (R) Scott Baker (4-3)
 Chicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 PM
  (R) Javier Vazquez (6-5) vs. (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (11-6)
 Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers, 8:35 PM
  (L) CC Sabathia (12-4) vs. (R) Kameron Loe (5-7)

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
BOS     56  38 .596    0.0   56     0    sparkline graph
NYA     48  44 .522    7.0   55    -7    sparkline graph
TOR     45  49 .479   11.0   47    -2    sparkline graph
BAL     42  52 .447   14.0   47    -5    sparkline graph
TB      37  56 .398   18.5   35     2    sparkline graph
American League Central     
DET     56  36 .609    0.0   56     0    sparkline graph
CLE     55  39 .585    2.0   52     3    sparkline graph
MIN     49  45 .521    8.0   51    -2    sparkline graph
CHA     42  51 .452   14.5   40     2    sparkline graph
KC      41  53 .436   16.0   44    -3    sparkline graph
American League West        
LAA     55  38 .591    0.0   51     4    sparkline graph
SEA     53  39 .576    1.5   47     6    sparkline graph
OAK     45  50 .474   11.0   49    -4    sparkline graph
TEX     41  53 .436   14.5   43    -2    sparkline graph


National League East        Pwins  Diff
NYN     52  42 .553    0.0   50     2    sparkline graph
ATL     50  45 .526    2.5   48     2    sparkline graph
PHI     47  47 .500    5.0   47     0    sparkline graph
FLA     45  50 .474    7.5   44     1    sparkline graph
WAS     39  55 .415   13.0   36     3    sparkline graph
National League Central     
MIL     53  41 .564    0.0   51     2    sparkline graph
CHN     49  44 .527    3.5   52    -3    sparkline graph
STL     43  48 .473    8.5   39     4    sparkline graph
PIT     40  54 .426   13.0   39     1    sparkline graph
CIN     40  55 .421   13.5   45    -5    sparkline graph
HOU     40  55 .421   13.5   42    -2    sparkline graph
National League West        
LAN     54  41 .568    0.0   52     2    sparkline graph
SD      52  41 .559    1.0   55    -3    sparkline graph
ARI     50  46 .521    4.5   45     5    sparkline graph
COL     48  46 .511    5.5   47     1    sparkline graph
SF      39  53 .424   13.5   44    -5    sparkline graph

Game of the Day
The Reds finished a three-game sweep of the Braves by pulling off a 15-inning win yesterday, 5-4. The game was a tense pitching duel between John Smoltz and Aaron Harang for the first six innings, then both teams scored twq runs in the last three frames to force extra innings. Adam Dunn hit a key two-run homer in the eighth.

Both teams scored a run in the tenth. The Braves’ Edgar Renteria (who was 4 for 7) scored on a near-home-run-turned-double by Chipper Jones. Two batters later, with runners on first and third and one out, Brandon Phillips made a spectacular leaping grab of a Jeff Francoeur liner to double Jones off third. Four innings later, Phillips was the hero again when he singled home two runs, which were enough to hold off the Braves (who ended the game with pitcher Kyle Davies pinch hitting).
CINCINNATI (5) VS ATLANTA (4) - FINAL IN 15 INNINGS

CINCINNATI             ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
N Hopper cf-lf          7  2  1  0   0  3   2  .269
J Keppinger 2b-3b       6  0  0  0   0  1   2  .200
K Griffey Jr rf         5  2  2  0   2  1   0  .287
A Dunn lf               3  1  1  2   1  2   1  .257
 R Freel cf             3  0  0  0   0  2   4  .238
S Hatteberg 1b          4  0  1  1   3  1   1  .308
E Encarnacion 3b        3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .261
 a-B Phillips ph-2b     4  0  1  2   0  0   3  .283
D Ross c                6  0  0  0   1  1   2  .190
P Lopez ss              6  0  3  0   0  1   1  .211
A Harang p              3  0  1  0   0  2   3  .114
 J Coutlangus p         0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-J Valentin ph        1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .253
 M Stanton p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 D Weathers p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 c-J Conine ph          1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .258
 K Saarloos p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 M Gosling p            1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .000

Totals                 53  5 10  5   7 16  21

a-grounded to shortstop for E Encarnacion in the 9th;  b-grounded to second for 
J Coutlangus in the 9th;  c-grounded to shortstop for D Weathers in the 
11th.

BATTING: 2B - A Harang (1, J Smoltz); P Lopez (1, J Smoltz). HR - A Dunn (26, 
8th inning off R Soriano 1 on, 2 Out). S - J Keppinger. RBI - A Dunn 2 (63), S 
Hatteberg (31), B Phillips 2 (59). 2-out RBI - A Dunn 2, S Hatteberg, B 
Phillips 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Ross 1, A Harang 1, B 
Phillips 1, N Hopper 1. GIDP - B Phillips. Team LOB - 11. 
 
FIELDING: DP: 4 (P Lopez-S Hatteberg, J Keppinger-P Lopez-S Hatteberg, B 
Phillips-J Keppinger, B Phillips-P Lopez-S Hatteberg). 
 
ATLANTA                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
W Harris lf             7  0  1  0   0  3   2  .322
E Renteria ss           7  1  4  0   0  0   2  .328
C Jones 3b              7  0  1  1   0  3   3  .333
A Jones cf              6  2  3  0   1  0   2  .216
B McCann c              6  0  2  0   1  2   4  .269
J Francoeur rf          6  0  3  2   0  1   3  .290
K Johnson 2b            6  1  2  0   1  4   3  .291
J Saltalamacchia 1b     6  0  1  1   1  1   4  .287
J Smoltz p              2  0  0  0   0  2   0  .107
 a-C Woodward ph        0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .225
 R Soriano p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 B Wickman p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-Y Escobar ph         1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .316
 T Yates p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 O Villarreal p         0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 c-M Diaz ph            1  0  1  0   0  0   0  .350
 C Paronto p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 d-S Thorman ph         1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .212
 J Ascanio p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 e-K Davies ph          1  0  0  0   0  1   2  .192

Totals                 57  4 18  4   4 19  26

a-sacrificed to pitcher for J Smoltz in the 7th;  b-struck out swinging for B 
Wickman in the 9th;  c-singled to left for O Villarreal in the 11th;  d-struck 
out swinging for C Paronto in the 13th;  e-struck out swinging for J Ascanio in 
the 15th.

BATTING: 2B - B McCann (21, A Harang); C Jones (20, D Weathers). 3B - K Johnson 
(8, A Harang). S - C Woodward. SF - J Francoeur. RBI - J Saltalamacchia (12), J 
Francoeur 2 (63), C Jones (43). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E 
Renteria 1, S Thorman 1, K Davies 1, J Saltalamacchia 3. GIDP - E Renteria, B 
McCann 2. Team LOB - 14. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - J Francoeur (2, 2nd base off A Harang/D Ross), C Jones (5, 
3rd base off D Weathers/D Ross). 
 
FIELDING: E - K Johnson (7, ground ball). Outfield assists - J Francoeur (P 
Lopez at Home). DP: 1 (E Renteria-K Johnson-J Saltalamacchia). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    CINCINNATI      - 000 000 020 100 002   --   5
    ATLANTA         - 000 000 110 100 001   --   4
----------------------------------------------------

CINCINNATI                   ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
A Harang                      7 2/3  10   2   2   2   8   0   3.63
J Coutlangus                    1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   3.98
M Stanton                     1       0   0   0   0   3   0   5.18
D Weathers (B, 4)             1       2   1   1   1   0   0   3.35
K Saarloos                    2 2/3   4   0   0   0   2   0   5.97
M Gosling (W, 1-0)            2 1/3   2   1   1   1   5   0   4.35

ATLANTA                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Smoltz                      7       5   0   0   2  11   0   2.88
R Soriano (B, 2)              1       1   2   2   1   1   1   3.29
B Wickman                     1       0   0   0   1   0   0   4.36
T Yates                       1       2   1   1   1   1   0   4.61
O Villarreal                  1       0   0   0   0   1   0   3.93
C Paronto                     2       0   0   0   1   0   0   3.72
J Ascanio (L, 0-1)            2       2   2   0   1   2   0   1.80

WP - M Gosling. IBB - K Griffey Jr (by T Yates), B McCann (by D Weathers), S 
Hatteberg (by J Ascanio). Pitches-strikes: A Harang 118-80; J Coutlangus 5-3; M 
Stanton 15-10; D Weathers 18-7; K Saarloos 42-30; M Gosling 38-24; J Smoltz 
93-65; R Soriano 23-14; B Wickman 14-6; T Yates 21-12; O Villarreal 10-8; C 
Paronto 20-9; J Ascanio 40-25. Ground balls-fly balls: A Harang 7-8; J 
Coutlangus 0-0; M Stanton 0-0; D Weathers 0-2; K Saarloos 5-1; M Gosling 1-1; J 
Smoltz 4-5; R Soriano 2-0; B Wickman 2-1; T Yates 2-0; O Villarreal 2-0; C 
Paronto 5-1; J Ascanio 1-3. Batters faced: A Harang 33; J Coutlangus 1; M 
Stanton 3; D Weathers 5; K Saarloos 11; M Gosling 10; J Smoltz 27; R Soriano 5; 
B Wickman 4; T Yates 6; O Villarreal 3; C Paronto 6; J Ascanio 10. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Mark Carlson. 1B--Larry Young. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Ted 
Barrett. 

T--4:31. Att--33,789. 
Weather: 86 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, swirling.

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

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 A+  C. Nelson......... 4  3  2  0  1  0  0  
ARI AA  Justin Upton...... 3  1  0  0  0  2  0  
CIN A   Drew Stubbs....... 4  2  0  1  1  0  2  
TB  AA  Reid Brignac...... 4  3  1  0  0  0  0  
CLE AA  Ryan Goleski...... 4  2  2  0  0  0  1  
HOU A   Maxwell Sapp...... 5  3  1  0  1  0  1  
WAN AAA Kory Casto........ 2  1  0  0  1  2  0  
OAK AA  Richie Robnett.... 4  3  0  0  1  1  0  
BOS AA  Jed Lowrie........ 4  2  2  0  0  1  0  
TOR A   Travis Snider..... 4  2  0  1  0  0  1  
BOS A+  Ryan Khoury....... 5  3  1  0  1  1  0  
OAK AAA Daric Barton...... 4  1  0  1  0  1  0  

ORG LVL PLAYER            IP  H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
LAA AA  Nick Adenhart..... 6  8  3  3  9  2  0  
NYY AA  Philip Hughes..... 4  2  1  1  5  2  0  
COL AA  Franklin Morales.. 8  3  1  1 10  2  0  
OAK A   Trevor Cahill..... 7  2  1  1  5  1  0  12 GB
TB  AAA Mitch Talbot...... 8  2  0  0  6  0  0  
PHI A+  Joshua Outman..... 7  6  2  2 12  1  2  
MIN A+  Jeffrey Manship... 8  5  2  2  8  1  1  
FLA A+  Ryan Tucker....... 7  8  3  3  6  1  0  12 GB
NYY A+  Kevin Whelan...... 5  0  0  0  4  1  0  
ATL A+  Thomas Hanson..... 5  3  1  1  7  2  0  
STL A+  Trey Hearne....... 2  0  0  0  5  0  0  
FLA AA  G. Hernandez...... 6  3  1  1  4  3  0  

Access THT’s stats here…
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Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email.

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