THT Daily: Hall of Fame Day

Major League News for July 31

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

Yesterday’s Results

American League
OAK     6  TOR     5    (Recap and Boxscore) Bradley: GW HR; Each team scored 3 in 9th
TEX    15  KC      2    (Recap and Boxscore) Young: 4-6, HR; Kinsler: 3-3, HR; DeRosa: 4-5; 4 RBI
NYA     4  TB      2    (Recap and Boxscore) Damon: 3-4, 2 HR; Mussina: 7 IP, 2 R
SEA     7  CLE     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Pineiro: 7 IP, 3 R; Lee: 7.2 IP, 3 R; SEA: 4 in 9th
MIN     6  DET     4    (Recap and Boxscore) See below
BAL     8  CHA     7    (Recap and Boxscore) BAL: 2 in 9th off Jenks; Dye: 5 RBI
LAA    10  BOS     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Isturiz: 2 2B

National League
PIT     2  SF      1    (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings; Duke, Morris: 6 IP, 0 R
COL     3  SD      1    (Recap and Boxscore) Jennings: 7 IP, 1 R
CHN     6  STL     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Zambrano: 6 IP, 2 R
PHI     9  FLA     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Howard: 3-4, HR; Utley: 2-4, HR; Madson: 6 IP, 2 R
PHI    11  FLA     5    (Recap and Boxscore) Howard: 5 BB; Lieberthal: 5 RBI; Willingham: 2 HR
NYN    10  ATL     6    (Recap and Boxscore) Beltran: 2 HR, 5 RBI; Delgado: 4-5, HR
LAN     4  WAS     3    (Recap and Boxscore) LAN sweeps WAS
MIL     4  CIN     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Sheets: 8 IP, 10 K, 2 R; Mench: 3-4, HR; Cordero: S
ARI     7  HOU     6    (Recap and Boxscore) Clemens: 7 IP, 1 R; ARI: 6 R in last 2 innings

Today’s Games

Visitors                         Home                            Time
FLA - Johnson J. (8-5, 2.60)     PHI - Lieber J. (4-7, 5.52)      1:05
CLE - Byrd P. (7-6, 4.71)        BOS - Wells D.* (0-1, 8.64)      7:05
SEA - Meche G. (9-5, 4.19)       BAL - Loewen A.* (1-2, 6.50)     7:05
DET - Rogers K.* (11-4, 4.45)    TB - Fossum C.* (4-4, 5.22)      7:15
ARI - Webb B. (11-4, 2.64)       CHC - Prior M. (0-4, 6.60)       8:05
TEX - Rheinecker J.* (4-4, 5.06) MIN - Silva C. (6-9, 6.84)       8:10
CWS - Contreras J. (9-3, 3.52)   KC - Hernandez R. (2-5, 6.80)    8:10
MIL - Bush D. (6-8, 4.95)        COL - Cook A. (6-9, 3.88)        9:05
OAK - Haren D. (7-9, 3.89)       LAA - Santana E. (11-4, 4.25)   10:05
WAS - Astacio P. (1-1, 5.06)     SF - Lowry N.* (5-6, 4.16)      10:15

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     62  41 .602    0.0   57      5      
NYA     61  41 .598    0.5   58      3      
TOR     57  48 .543    6.0   58     -1      
BAL     48  58 .453   15.5   46      2      
TB      43  62 .410   20.0   43      0      
American League Central
DET     70  34 .673    0.0   66      4      
CHA     61  42 .592    8.5   59      2      
MIN     60  43 .583    9.5   57      3      
CLE     45  58 .437   24.5   54     -9      
KC      37  67 .356   33.0   39     -2      
American League West
OAK     55  50 .524    0.0   52      3      
LAA     54  50 .519    0.5   54      0      
TEX     52  53 .495    3.0   54     -2      
SEA     51  53 .490    3.5   53     -2      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     63  41 .606    0.0   61      2      
PHI     49  54 .476   13.5   50     -1      
FLA     48  56 .462   15.0   50     -2      
ATL     48  56 .462   15.0   53     -5      
WAS     46  59 .438   17.5   46      0      
National League Central
STL     58  46 .558    0.0   54      4      
CIN     55  50 .524    3.5   51      4      
MIL     50  55 .476    8.5   46      4      
HOU     49  56 .467    9.5   50     -1      
CHN     43  61 .413   15.0   43      0      
PIT     40  66 .377   19.0   47     -7      
National League West
SD      55  50 .524    0.0   54      1      
ARI     53  51 .510    1.5   51      2      
SF      51  54 .486    4.0   52     -1      
COL     50  54 .481    4.5   53     -3      
LAN     50  55 .476    5.0   54     -4      

Game of the Day

There were many dramatic games yesterday: Milton Bradley’s game-winning home run after the Blue Jays had scored three in the top of the ninth to take the lead; the Pirates scored one in the ninth and one in the tenth to beat the Giants, 2-1; the Orioles scored two in the bottom of the ninth and beat the White Sox 8-7; and the Diamondbacks scored six in the last two innings as they overcame the Astros and Roger Clemens, 7-6.

But the game of the day honors goes to Minnesota’s victory over Detroit thanks to a bizarre six-run rally in the eighth against a dominant Jeremy Bonderman. Instead of describing the eighth, I’ll just send you to this description.

DETROIT (4) VS MINNESOTA (6) - FINAL

DETROIT                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
P Polanco 2b            5  0  3  2   0  0   3  .299
M Thames lf             3  0  0  0   0  0   4  .272
 a-C Granderson ph-cf   2  0  0  0   0  0   2  .284
C Monroe dh             3  1  1  0   1  1   2  .265
 b-D Young ph-dh        1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .235
M Ordonez rf            5  1  2  1   0  0   3  .300
C Guillen ss            4  0  1  0   1  1   2  .297
B Inge 3b               4  0  0  0   0  1   5  .246
C Shelton 1b            4  0  2  1   1  1   3  .277
V Wilson c              5  0  2  0   0  1   4  .291
B Clevlen cf-lf         3  2  2  0   1  1   2  .667

Totals                 39  4 13  4   4  6  31

a-grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop for M Thames in the 6th;  
b-popped out to second for C Monroe in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - P Polanco (17, J Santana); B Clevlen (1, J Santana); C Monroe 
(23, J Santana); M Ordonez 2 (21, J Nathan, J Santana). RBI - P Polanco 2 (40), 
M Ordonez (75), C Shelton (45). 2-out RBI - C Shelton. Runners left in scoring 
position, 2 out - M Thames 2, V Wilson 1, M Ordonez 1, B Inge 2, C Shelton 1. 
Team LOB - 13. 
 
BASERUNNING: CS - V Wilson (4, 3rd base by J Santana/M Redmond). 
 
FIELDING: E - B Inge (13, throw); M Ordonez (5, bobble); C Guillen (18, 
throw); C Shelton (5, ground ball). Outfield assists - B Clevlen (L Castillo at 
Home). DP: 1 (B Clevlen-V Wilson). 
 
MINNESOTA              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
L Castillo 2b           3  0  1  1   1  0   0  .280
N Punto 3b              4  0  0  0   0  3   3  .308
J Mauer dh              3  1  0  0   1  0   2  .368
M Cuddyer rf            4  0  1  2   0  1   1  .265
J Morneau 1b            4  1  1  0   0  3   1  .316
R White lf              1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .224
 J Rabe lf              1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .444
 a-J Kubel ph-lf        1  1  0  0   0  0   1  .273
M Redmond c             3  1  1  1   0  0   0  .333
J Tyner cf              3  1  1  0   0  0   0  .355
J Bartlett ss           3  1  1  0   0  1   0  .328

Totals                 30  6  6  4   2  9   8

a-reached on error for J Rabe in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - M Redmond (9, J Bonderman). 3B - M Cuddyer (4, J Bonderman). RBI 
- M Redmond (15), L Castillo (37), M Cuddyer 2 (65). 2-out RBI - M Cuddyer 2. 
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Cuddyer 1, J Morneau 1. Team LOB - 2. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - L Castillo (14, 2nd base off J Bonderman/V Wilson). 
 
FIELDING: E - J Rabe 2 (2, throw 2). 

----------------------------------------------------
    DETROIT         - 001 011 001   --   4
    MINNESOTA       - 000 000 06x   --   6
----------------------------------------------------

DETROIT                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Bonderman (L, 11-5)         7 2/3   6   6   3   2   8   0   3.65
J Walker                        1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   1.11

MINNESOTA                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Santana                     5 1/3   9   3   3   4   2   0   3.11
J Crain                       1 2/3   1   0   0   0   2   0   4.29
D Reyes                         2/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   1.27
P Neshek (W, 1-0)               1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   1.74
J Nathan (S, 22)              1       2   1   1   0   2   0   1.60

IBB - J Mauer (by J Bonderman). BALK - J Bonderman. HBP - B Inge (by J 
Crain). Pitches-strikes: J Bonderman 116-75; J Walker 5-3; J Santana 105-61; J 
Crain 21-14; D Reyes 13-7; P Neshek 5-5; J Nathan 16-11. Ground balls-fly 
balls: J Bonderman 6-8; J Walker 0-0; J Santana 8-5; J Crain 1-2; D Reyes 1-1; 
P Neshek 0-1; J Nathan 1-0. Batters faced: J Bonderman 31; J Walker 1; J 
Santana 28; J Crain 7; D Reyes 3; P Neshek 1; J Nathan 5. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Tim Mcclelland. 1B--Fieldin Culbreth. 2B--Bill Welke. 3B--Marty 
Foster. 

T--3:04. Att--43,204. 
Weather: INDOORS

The following graph tracks the game’s Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs.

Yesterday’s Home Runs

The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its “standard” distance, which is corrected for weather conditions.

Hitter                    Pitcher                      True Dist  Std. Dist.  HR #
Guerrero, Vladimir LAA    Schilling, Curt     BOS          476        467      21
Delgado, Carlos    NYM    James, Chuck        ATL          418        420      26
Dye, Jermaine      CWS    Williams, Todd      BAL          433        419      28
Brown, Emil        KC     Koronka, John       TEX          411        418       7
Beltran, Carlos    NYM    Shiell, Jason       ATL          412        416      32
Bradley, Milton    OAK    Ryan, B.J.          TOR          416        410       6
Damon, Johnny      NYY    Shields, James      TB           393        407      12
Sexson, Richie     SEA    Lee, Cliff          CLE          408        404      22
Castillo, Jose     PIT    Benitez, Armando    SF           414        402      12
Konerko, Paul      CWS    Chen, Bruce         BAL          400        395      26
Young, Michael     TEX    Redman, Mark        KC           408        394       9
Cedeno, Ronny      CHC    Carpenter, Chris    STL          391        393       3
Mench, Kevin       MIL    Harang, Aaron       CIN          394        387      13
Damon, Johnny      NYY    Shields, James      TB           375        386      13
Howard, Ryan       PHI    Pinto, Renyel       FLA          397        382      35
Byrnes, Eric       ARI    Qualls, Chad        HOU          383        382      14
Cruz, Jose         LAD    Ortiz, Ramon        WAS          406        379       5
Drew, J.D.         LAD    Ortiz, Ramon        WAS          403        377      11
Cabrera, Orlando   LAA    Schilling, Curt     BOS          382        377       8
Ethier, Andre      LAD    Ortiz, Ramon        WAS          411        376      10
Aurilia, Rich      CIN    Turnbow, Derrick    MIL          383        376      14
Rivera, Juan       LAA    Schilling, Curt     BOS          377        373      16
Willingham, Josh   FLA    Fultz, Aaron        PHI          369        373      13
Jackson, Conor     ARI    Lidge, Brad         HOU          373        372      10
Willingham, Josh   FLA    Fultz, Aaron        PHI          370        371      14
Lieberthal, Mike   PHI    Sanchez, Anibal     FLA          367        369       2
Olivo, Miguel      FLA    Wolf, Randy         PHI          365        369      11
Linden, Todd       SF     Capps, Matt         PIT          364        369       1
Kinsler, Ian       TEX    Redman, Mark        KC           376        367       8
Johnson, Reed      TOR    Komine, Shane       OAK          364        366       7
Burrell, Pat       PHI    Moehler, Brian      FLA          361        365      22
Griffey Jr., Ken   CIN    Sheets, Ben         MIL          369        363      21
Holliday, Matt     COL    Thompson, Mike      SD           387        354      19
Gibbons, Jay       BAL    Vazquez, Javier     CWS          347        354      11
Beltran, Carlos    NYM    James, Chuck        ATL          371        352      31
Rollins, Jimmy     PHI    Moehler, Brian      FLA          369        351      12
Willingham, Josh   FLA    Madson, Ryan        PHI          364        348      15
Utley, Chase       PHI    Messenger, Randy    FLA          364        347      21

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.

ORG LVL PLAYER            POS AB  H 2B 3B HR BB SO  Notes
CLE A   P.J. Hiser         RF  4  4  2  1  1  1  0   
CLE AA  Brian Barton       LF  4  3  1  0  1  0  1  .565 OBP during past week
COL AAA Carlos Rivera      1B  7  5  1  0  0  1  1   
COL AAA Jeff Salazar       CF  5  3  1  0  1  3  1   
FLA AAA Tom Wilson         1B  3  3  2  0  0  2  0   
PIT A+  Neil Walker        DH  5  4  1  0  2  1  0  4 RBI
PIT A+  John Suomi          C  5  4  2  0  0  0  0  3 runs scored
STL AAA Derek Wathan       2B  5  3  0  0  2  0  0  3 runs scored
TB  A+  Reid Brignac       SS  4  4  1  0  1  1  0  6 RBI
TEX AA  Kevin Mahar        CF  4  2  0  0  2  1  0  4 RBI
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
ATL AAA Kevin Barry        6.0  2  0  0  4  4  0   
CHW AA  Wesley Whisler     7.0  3  1  1  3  3  1   
COL MLB Jeff Karstens      7.0  4  1  0  7  3  0   
DET AAA Chad Durbin        8.0  3  1  1  4  1  0   
LA  MLB Kristian Bell      6.0  1  0  0  4  4  0   
NYM AA  Miguel Perez       6.0  4  0  0  6  1  0   
SD  AAA Dewon Brazelton    7.0  4  1  1  4  2  0   
SD  AA  Jack Cassel        7.0  5  1  0  2  1  0   
SEA AA  Travis Chick       7.1  2  0  0  5  3  0   

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Reliever Bruce Sutter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesteday in Cooperstown, NY, along with 17 Negro League and pre-Negro League leaders: 12 players and five executives. Among them, the first woman ever to have a plaque hung in the Hall — Effa Manley, the co-owner and business manager of the Newark Eagles. You can read more coverage of the Hall of Fame ceremonies on the MLB website.

The New York Yankees acquired All-Star right fielder Bobby Abreu and starting pitcher Cory Lidle from the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday for four minor league prospects. The Phillies get left-hander Matt Smith and Class-A shortstop C.J. Henry – a first-round draft pick in 2005. They also landed rookie league catcher Jesus Sanchez and right-hander Carlos Monasteries.

The Baltimore Orioles were on the brink of losing yet another close game to the Chicago White Sox when the unimaginable happened: Down by a run in the ninth inning, they rallied to beat All-Star closer Bobby Jenks. Javy Lopez’s bases-loaded single capped a two-run ninth, and the Orioles averted a three-game sweep with an 8-7 victory Sunday.

Huston Street blew a save on Sunday against Toronto, which kept Shane Komine from a victory over 13-game winner Roy Halladay in his major league debut. Komine pitched six impressive innings, delivering exactly the kind of outing Oakland had hoped for from the 25-year-old right-hander, who won his last six starts for Triple-A Sacramento before being promoted. The rookie had about 50 family members and friends in the stands to support him, with some flying in from his native Hawaii for the game. His parents, younger brother, and fiancee attended after learning Wednesday that Komine would pitch for Oakland.

Milton Bradley hit a three-run shot for his first career walkoff home run after Toronto rallied in the top of the ninth, lifting the Oakland Athletics to a 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday. Bradley sent a 2-1 pitch from closer B.J. Ryan (1-1) over the center-field wall for his sixth homer to give him four RBI. He was mobbed at home plate after rounding the bases.

Randy Wolf made his first start in more than a year Sunday vs. Florida after having surgery on his left arm. He labored in his first start since June 11, 2005, throwing 97 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. “I had butterflies, but I felt fine out there,” Wolf said. “I wanted to be aggressive, but I was probably nibbling too much. My command was not that great.” He retired his first two batters, then walked two and gave up a run-scoring single to Josh Willingham. Wolf allowed three hits, walked five and struck out four.

Chase Utley hit safely in both games Sunday, extending his hitting streak to 31 games.

Carlos Beltran’s second-inning homer in the Mets’ 10-6 win at Atlanta was his third grand slam of the season, all during July, tying the major-league record for the most in a calendar month.

With the trade of Ronnie Belliard to the Cardinals for Hector Luna, Joe Inglett, Aaron Boone and Luna could split time at second base. Andy Marte figures to get a full-time look at third.

The Texas Rangers acquired catcher Miguel Ojeda from the Colorado Rockies for cash on Sunday and assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma.

The Texas Rangers traded right-handed reliever Bryan Corey to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday for minor league pitcher Luis Mendoza. Corey was designated for assignment Tuesday when the Rangers activated starting pitcher Adam Eaton from the disabled list. Corey was 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 16 appearances for Texas after his contract was purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma on June 9.

The Los Angeles Angels placed Bartolo Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner, on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with tendinitis in his right triceps. Right-handed reliever Greg Jones was added to the roster to replace Colon.

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed first baseman Nomar Garciaparra on the 15-day disabled list Sunday because of a strained ligament in his right knee. The move was made retroactive to July 25, one day after Garciaparra was injured trying to make a tag play at second base on a bloop double by San Diego’s Josh Barfield

The Red Sox transferred RHP Matt Clement from the 15-day to the 60-day DL on Sunday. On on the 15-day DL since June 15 with a shoulder strain, threw 60 to 65 pitches on a side session and felt no pain Saturday. “He’ll do it again Monday,” Boston manager Terry Francona said.

The Devil Rays placed All-Star pitcher Scott Kazmir and infielder Ty Wigginton on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. Kazmir went on the DL, retroactive to July 24, with soreness in his left shoulder. The Devil Rays also recalled left-hander J.P. Howell from Triple-A Durham. Howell will start Tuesday against Detroit in Kazmir’s place.

The Brewers placed 2B Rickie Weeks on the 15-day DL with a right wrist tendon injury. Tony Graffanino will be the everyday 2B in his absence, which could be until late August at this point … or longer if the Brewers fall out of the race.

The Blue Jays activated RHP Ty Taubenheim from the 15-day DL and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse.

Nationals rookie LHP Mike O’Connor, who allowed a career-high seven runs and five walks over four-plus innings in Saturday’s 7-5 loss, was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans — partly because the Nationals won’t need a fifth starter again until Aug. 12.

The Colorado Rockies activated catcher Danny Ardoin from the 15-day disabled list Sunday and optioned catcher J.D Closser to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Ardoin, Colorado’s opening day starter, went on the disabled list on May 26 after straining his knee the day before in a collision at the plate with Jose Cruz Jr. of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mike Thompson was called up to start for right-hander Chan Ho Park, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with abdominal pain, on Sunday at Colorado.

The Baltimore Orioles shuffled their bullpen staff Sunday, activating left-hander Tim Byrdak from the 60-day disabled list and recalling Eddy Rodriguez from Triple-A Ottawa after placing LaTroy Hawkins on the bereavement list.

Outfielder Michael Bourn and right-hander Scott Mathieson were recalled from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

The Reds designated OF Dewayne Wise for assignment Saturday. They have 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the minor leagues.

The Diamondbacks activated OF Scott Hairston from 15-day DL and optioned him to Triple-A Tucson.

The Blue Jays purchased the contract of 2B Ryan Roberts. “He’s got some pop in his bat, and he’s a solid little defender,” manager John Gibbons told MLB.com.

The Marlins optioned LHP Jason Vargas to Triple-A Albuquerque and recalled LHP Renyel Pinto from Triple-A on Saturday night. The Rangers optioned OF Freddy Guzman to Oklahoma on Friday. The A’s optioned LHP Randy Keisler to Sacramento instead of LHP Ron Flores.

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