THT Daily: Rising Astros
by Dave StudemanMay 05, 2008
Major League News for May 5
Player 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 News
Player Headlines are courtesy of RotoworldYankees optioned RHP Ian Kennedy to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It sounded like Joe Girardi wanted to keep Kennedy in the rotation -- he even talked about pushing Mike Mussina back a day to keep Kennedy in line next week -- but those higher up were ready for a change. Kei Igawa could get a crack at the open rotation spot, though no one should expect him top be an upgrade. Jeff Marquez might make more sense.
John Bale broke his left hand Friday night after punching a door at the Royals' team hotel in Cleveland. Bale didn't tell the team until late Saturday. "I’m not pleased, obviously," manager Trey Hillman said Sunday. "Players have to think before they do things. They’ve got to think about how it’s going to affect the rest of their team, how it’s going to affect their ability to perform and how it’s going to affect the whole group. I’m hopeful that there’s something salvageable for him." The Kansas City Star speculates he was frustrated with his slow recovery from a fatigued shoulder. He'll likely be out a couple months now. Luke Hochevar and Brett Tomko will benefit as they try to retain their rotation spots.
Yesterday’s Results
American League BOS 7 TB 3 (Recap and Boxscore) NYA 8 SEA 2 (Recap and Boxscore) TOR 4 CHA 3 (Recap and Boxscore) KC 2 CLE 0 (Recap and Boxscore) MIN 7 DET 6 (Recap and Boxscore) LAA 6 BAL 5 (Recap and Boxscore) OAK 3 TEX 1 (Recap and Boxscore) National League ATL 14 CIN 7 (Recap and Boxscore) FLA 10 SD 3 (Recap and Boxscore) PHI 6 SF 5 (Recap and Boxscore) WAS 5 PIT 2 (Recap and Boxscore) HOU 8 MIL 6 (Recap and Boxscore) STL 5 CHN 3 (Recap and Boxscore) NYN 5 ARI 2 (Recap and Boxscore) COL 7 LAN 2 (Recap and Boxscore)You can download a compact version of yesterday's boxscores from Heater Magazine.
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Today’s Games
National League --------------- Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 PM (R) Ryan Dempster (4-0) vs. (R) Johnny Cueto (1-3) St. Louis Cardinals at Colorado Rockies, 8:35 PM (R) Joel Pineiro (2-2) vs. (R) Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2) Philadelphia Phillies at Arizona Diamondbacks, 9:40 PM (L) Jamie Moyer (1-2) vs. (R) Max Scherzer (0-0) New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:10 PM (R) Nelson Figueroa (2-1) vs. (R) Chad Billingsley (1-4) American League --------------- Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 PM (R) Daisuke Matsuzaka (4-0) vs. (R) Jeremy Bonderman (2-2) Chicago White Sox at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 PM (R) Javier Vazquez (3-2) vs. (R) Dustin McGowan (1-2) LA Angels of Anaheim at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 PM (R) Ervin Santana (5-0) vs. (R) Brett Tomko (1-3) Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics, 10:05 PM (L) Garrett Olson (1-0) vs. (L) Dana Eveland (3-2) Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 PM (R) Kevin Millwood (2-2) vs. (L) Jarrod Washburn (1-4)
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 20 13 .606 0.0 18 2BAL 16 15 .516 3.0 15 1
TB 16 15 .516 3.0 16 0
NYA 17 16 .515 3.0 17 0
TOR 15 17 .469 4.5 18 -3
American League Central MIN 16 14 .533 0.0 14 2
CHA 14 15 .483 1.5 17 -3
KC 14 16 .467 2.0 12 2
CLE 14 17 .452 2.5 16 -2
DET 14 18 .438 3.0 15 -1
American League West LAA 20 13 .606 0.0 17 3
OAK 19 14 .576 1.0 21 -2
SEA 13 19 .406 6.5 15 -2
TEX 13 19 .406 6.5 12 1
National League East Pwins Diff PHI 18 14 .563 0.0 17 1
NYN 16 13 .552 0.5 15 1
FLA 17 14 .548 0.5 14 3
ATL 15 15 .500 2.0 19 -4
WAS 14 18 .438 4.0 13 1
National League Central STL 20 12 .625 0.0 19 1
CHN 18 13 .581 1.5 20 -2
MIL 16 15 .516 3.5 15 1
HOU 16 16 .500 4.0 17 -1
PIT 12 19 .387 7.5 13 -1
CIN 12 20 .375 8.0 13 -1
National League West ARI 21 10 .677 0.0 21 0
LAN 17 14 .548 4.0 19 -2
SF 14 18 .438 7.5 12 2
COL 12 19 .387 9.0 12 0
SD 12 20 .375 9.5 11 1
Game of the Day
The Astros are creeping into the National League Central race after beating the Brewers 8-6 in twelve innings and reaching a .500 record for the year. Houston tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the ninth, including a bases-loaded walk to Lance Berkman, and then won it on a Hunter Pence homer in the twelfth. Berkman went 4-5 with a home run and Mike Cameron hit two home runs for the Brewers.Astros 8, Brewers 6 - FINAL
MILWAUKEE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Weeks 2b 5 2 1 0 1 1 2 .197
M Cameron cf 5 2 2 4 1 1 1 .269
R Braun lf 5 0 0 0 1 3 2 .268
P Fielder 1b 5 0 2 0 1 0 2 .257
C Hart rf 6 0 2 1 0 1 1 .310
B Hall 3b 5 1 1 0 1 2 2 .224
C Counsell ss 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 .261
S Torres p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
vb-J Dillon ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .200
M Stetter p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Sheets p 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .071
B Shouse p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
va-G Kapler ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .291
G Mota p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
E Gagne p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Hardy ss 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 .233
J Kendall c 5 1 2 0 0 0 2 .287
Totals 47 6 13 6 6 10 18 ###
HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Bourn cf 5 1 1 0 1 1 1 .202
K Matsui 2b 6 2 2 2 0 1 1 .290
M Tejada ss 5 0 1 0 1 1 2 .349
L Berkman 1b 5 2 4 4 1 0 1 .325
C Lee lf 5 0 0 0 0 1 6 .263
J Valverde p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Byrdak p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .333
H Pence rf 6 1 1 2 0 3 1 .254
T Wigginton 3b 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 .242
J Towles c 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .176
hc-D Erstad ph-lf 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .304
C Sampson p 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .100
D Borkowski p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
ha-J Cruz Jr ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .091
G Geary p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
hb-M Loretta ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .211
W Wright p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Brocail p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
hd-G Blum ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .216
B Ausmus c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206
Totals 48 8 13 8 3 10 16 ###
----------------------------------------------------
MILWAUKEE - 111 300 000 000 -- 6 13 1
HOUSTON - 011 020 002 002 -- 8 13 0
One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------
ha-singled to right center for D Borkowski in the 5th; hb-grounded to pitcher
for G Geary in the 7th; va-struck out swinging for B Shouse in the 8th;
hc-singled to center for J Towles in the 9th; hd-reached on infield single to
second for D Brocail in the 9th; vb-walked for S Torres in the 12th.
BATTING: 2B - B Hall (6, C Sampson); B Sheets (1, C Sampson); J Kendall 2 (10,
C Sampson 2); C Counsell (4, D Borkowski); T Wigginton (1, B Sheets); K Matsui
2 (4, B Sheets 2); L Berkman 2 (11, B Sheets 2). HR - L Berkman (10, 2nd inning
off B Sheets 0 on, 0 Out), M Cameron 2 (3, 3rd inning off C Sampson 0 on, 0
Out, 4th inning off D Borkowski 2 on, 1 Out), H Pence (4, 12th inning off M
Stetter 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - C Hart (14), B Sheets (2), M Cameron 4 (7), L
Berkman 4 (31), K Matsui 2 (10), H Pence 2 (16). 2-out RBI - C Hart, L Berkman
3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Cameron 1, J Kendall 1, C
Counsell 1, R Weeks 1, J Hardy 2, C Lee 4, C Sampson 1. Team LOB - MILWAUKEE
11, HOUSTON 9. BASERUNNING: SB - R Weeks (6, 2nd base off J Valverde/B Ausmus).
FIELDING: E - B Sheets (1, ground ball). Outfield assists - C Hart (J Cruz Jr
at 2nd base), C Lee 2 (P Fielder at 3rd base, B Sheets at Home).
MILWAUKEE ip h r er bb so hr era
B Sheets 6 1/3 7 4 4 0 6 1 2.29
B Shouse (H, 5) 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.48
G Mota (H, 5) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.40
E Gagne (B, 5) 1 2 2 2 3 0 0 6.14
S Torres 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.95
M Stetter (L, 1-1) 1/3 2 2 2 0 1 1 2.08
HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
C Sampson 3 1/3 9 5 5 2 3 1 7.96
D Borkowski 1 2/3 3 1 1 0 0 1 4.40
G Geary 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.93
W Wright 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.27
D Brocail 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 2.55
J Valverde 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 5.29
T Byrdak (W, 1-0) 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0.00
IBB - B Hall (by T Byrdak). Pitches-strikes: B Sheets 112-78; B Shouse 9-6; G
Mota 12-7; E Gagne 35-18; S Torres 20-14; M Stetter 9-6; C Sampson 88-51; D
Borkowski 32-23; G Geary 29-18; W Wright 11-7; D Brocail 20-13; J Valverde
28-22; T Byrdak 30-13. Ground balls-fly balls: B Sheets 5-8; B Shouse 2-0; G
Mota 1-1; E Gagne 2-1; S Torres 1-3; M Stetter 0-0; C Sampson 4-1; D Borkowski
4-1; G Geary 0-4; W Wright 0-2; D Brocail 0-1; J Valverde 2-2; T Byrdak 1-2.
Batters faced: B Sheets 27; B Shouse 2; G Mota 4; E Gagne 8; S Torres 7; M
Stetter 3; C Sampson 19; D Borkowski 8; G Geary 6; W Wright 3; D Brocail 4; J
Valverde 7; T Byrdak 6. IRS - D Borkowski 2. UMPIRES: HP--Phil Cuzzi. 1B--Jim
Wolf. 2B--Ed Montague. 3B--Jerry Layne. T--4:24. Att--38,301. Weather: 76
degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, right 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 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 SD A+ Cedric Hunter..... 6 5 2 0 0 0 1 3 R NYM AA F. Martinez....... 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 ARI AAA Alex Romero....... 4 4 1 0 1 0 0 3 R BAL AA Nolan Reimold..... 4 3 1 1 0 0 0 OAK A+ J. Mitchell....... 3 1 1 0 0 2 1 TB AAA Reid Brignac...... 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 STL AAA Colby Rasmus...... 4 3 1 0 0 0 1 SEA AAA Bryan LaHair...... 5 3 0 1 1 0 1 TEX AA M. Ramirez........ 5 3 1 0 1 0 0 DET A+ Scott Sizemore.... 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 R MIN AA Trevor Plouffe.... 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 SEA AAA Tim Hulett........ 5 2 1 0 1 0 1 ORG LVL PLAYER IP H R ER SO BB HR Notes SF AAA Nick Pereira...... 8 5 0 0 11 0 0 TOR AA Ricky Romero...... 7 7 4 4 6 1 1 KC AA Blake Johnson..... 6 6 0 0 7 0 0 CIN A+ Travis Wood....... 7 3 0 0 4 1 0 PHI AAA J.A. Happ......... 6 5 1 0 5 2 0 NYY A Z. McAllister..... 7 6 0 0 4 1 0 12 GB MIN A Brian Kirwan...... 6 4 1 1 2 0 0 11 OF STL AAA Trey Hearne....... 6 6 3 3 4 2 0 CLE AAA Jason Stanford.... 6 4 0 0 3 1 0 MIN AA Jason Miller...... 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 TOR AAA David Purcey...... 6 5 2 2 6 3 1 STL AA Tyler Herron...... 4 5 3 3 4 1 1
Access THT’s stats here…
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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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