THT Daily: Liriano Out For Season

Major League News for September 14

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

Yesterday’s Results
American League
BAL     4  BOS     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA     8  TB      4    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      6  CLE     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX    11  DET     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
OAK     1  MIN     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHA     9  LAA     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
TOR    10  SEA     0    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
PHI     7  ATL     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
PHI     6  ATL     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYN     7  FLA     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     6  CHN     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
SD     10  CIN     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT     6  MIL     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL     2  PIT     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
HOU     5  STL     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
ARI     4  WAS     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
COL     9  SF      8    (Recap and Boxscore)

Today’s Games
Visitors                         Home                       Starts (EDT)
 SD - Hensley C. (8-11, 3.87)    CIN - Harang A. (13-10, 3.83)  12:35 pm 
LAD - Kuo H.* (1-4, 4.46)        CHC - Miller W. (0-1, 12.00)    2:20 pm 
COL - Cook A. (9-13, 4.14)        SF - Cain M. (12-9, 3.94)      3:35 pm 
MIN - Bonser B. (5-5, 4.50)      CLE - Lee C.* (12-10, 4.53)     7:05 pm 
 TB - Shields J. (6-7, 4.71)     NYY - Wang C. (17-5, 3.60)      7:05 pm 
BOS - DiNardo L.* (1-2, 7.42)    BAL - Loewen A.* (5-5, 5.32)    7:05 pm 
PHI - Moyer J.* (2-1, 3.95)      ATL - James C.* (9-3, 3.57)     7:35 pm 
LAA - Escobar K. (10-13, 3.57)   TEX - Volquez E. (1-4, 6.75)    8:05 pm 
SEA - Washburn J.* (8-13, 4.39)   KC - Perez O.* (1-3, 5.48)     8:10 pm 

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     88  56 .611    0.0   86     2    sparkline graph
BOS     77  68 .531   11.5   73     4    sparkline graph
TOR     76  70 .521   13.0   77    -1    sparkline graph
BAL     63  82 .434   25.5   63     0    sparkline graph
TB      57  88 .393   31.5   58    -1    sparkline graph
American League Central     
DET     87  59 .596    0.0   86     1    sparkline graph
MIN     85  60 .586    1.5   82     3    sparkline graph
CHA     84  62 .575    3.0   83     1    sparkline graph
CLE     68  76 .472   18.0   79   -11    sparkline graph
KC      56  90 .384   31.0   56     0    sparkline graph
American League West        
OAK     83  62 .572    0.0   77     6    sparkline graph
LAA     78  68 .534    5.5   75     3    sparkline graph
TEX     74  72 .507    9.5   77    -3    sparkline graph
SEA     69  76 .476   14.0   69     0    sparkline graph


National League East        Pwins  Diff
NYN     90  55 .621    0.0   84     6    sparkline graph
PHI     74  71 .510   16.0   75    -1    sparkline graph
FLA     73  73 .500   17.5   74    -1    sparkline graph
ATL     69  76 .476   21.0   74    -5    sparkline graph
WAS     63  83 .432   27.5   62     1    sparkline graph
National League Central     
STL     77  68 .531    0.0   73     4    sparkline graph
CIN     72  73 .497    5.0   69     3    sparkline graph
HOU     71  74 .490    6.0   73    -2    sparkline graph
MIL     66  80 .452   11.5   64     2    sparkline graph
PIT     60  87 .408   18.0   63    -3    sparkline graph
CHN     58  88 .397   19.5   60    -2    sparkline graph
National League West        
LAN     77  68 .531    0.0   78    -1    sparkline graph
SD      75  69 .521    1.5   75     0    sparkline graph
SF      73  72 .503    4.0   73     0    sparkline graph
ARI     69  77 .473    8.5   72    -3    sparkline graph
COL     68  77 .469    9.0   73    -5    sparkline graph

Wildcard Standings
American League
MIN     85  60 .586    0.0
CHA     84  62 .575    1.5

National League
SD      75  69 .521    0.0
PHI     74  71 .510    1,5
SF      73  72 .503    2.5
FLA     73  73 .500    3.0
CIN     72  73 .497    3.5
HOU     71  74 .490    4.5

Game of the Day

Francisco Liriano left the game with elbow problems, is out for the rest of the season, and will perhaps have Tommy John surgery in the future. But I bet you already knew that.

As for the actual game itself, Oakland’s Danny Haren struck out 7 in 8 IP, allowing only 1 walk, 3 hits, and no runs. The only run scored occurred soon after a controversial call when Twins’s Luis Castillo tagged Milton Bradley before he hit second base on a steal attempt, but umpire Randy Marsh called Bradley safe. Inevitably (in the eyes of many Minnesota fans, I suppose), Bradley then scored on a ground-rule double by Jay Payton.

OAKLAND (1) VS MINNESOTA (0) - FINAL

OAKLAND                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Kendall c             4  0  2  0   0  1   2  .296
M Ellis 2b              4  0  0  0   0  2   4  .244
M Bradley rf            4  1  2  0   0  0   0  .275
F Thomas dh             4  0  1  0   0  1   2  .280
J Payton cf             4  0  1  1   0  1   1  .300
E Chavez 3b             4  0  0  0   0  0   2  .243
N Swisher 1b-lf         3  0  1  0   1  1   0  .255
B Kielty lf             1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .272
 D Johnson 1b           3  0  1  0   0  1   0  .235
M Scutaro ss            4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .247
Totals                 35  1  9  1   1  8  14

BATTING: 2B - J Payton (27, M Garza); F Thomas (9, M Garza). RBI - J Payton 
(54). 2-out RBI - J Payton. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Ellis 
2, J Kendall 1, E Chavez 2. GIDP - F Thomas. Team LOB - 8. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - M Bradley (7, 2nd base off M Garza/M Redmond). 
 
FIELDING: Outfield assists - M Bradley (J Morneau at 2nd base). 

MINNESOTA              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
L Castillo 2b           4  0  0  0   0  0   0  .291
N Punto 3b              4  0  0  0   0  2   0  .296
M Redmond c             4  0  1  0   0  0   0  .331
M Cuddyer rf            3  0  1  0   0  1   1  .277
J Morneau 1b            2  0  1  0   1  0   1  .325
T Hunter cf             3  0  0  0   0  2   2  .272
J Rabe lf               2  0  0  0   0  1   1  .286
 a-J Mauer ph           1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .348
 L Ford lf              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .220
J Tyner dh              3  0  0  0   0  0   0  .314
J Bartlett ss           3  0  0  0   0  1   0  .327
Totals                 29  0  3  0   1  7   5

a-lined out to left for J Rabe in the 8th.

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Hunter 1. Team LOB - 3. 
 
FIELDING: E - N Punto (12, throw). DP: 1 (J Bartlett-L Castillo-J Morneau). 

----------------------------------------------------
    OAKLAND         - 000 001 000   --   1
    MINNESOTA       - 000 000 000   --   0
----------------------------------------------------

OAKLAND                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
D Haren (W, 14-11)            8       3   0   0   1   7   0   3.79
H Street (S, 32)              1       0   0   0   0   0   0   3.06

MINNESOTA                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
F Liriano                     2       1   0   0   0   2   0   2.16
M Garza (L, 1-5)              5 2/3   8   1   1   1   4   0   5.50
D Reyes                       1       0   0   0   0   2   0   0.99
J Rincon                        1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   2.96

F Liriano pitched to 1 batter in the 3rd.

Pitches-strikes: D Haren 101-74; H Street 14-8; F Liriano 29-20; M Garza 
92-63; D Reyes 15-10; J Rincon 2-2. Ground balls-fly balls: D Haren 6-10; H 
Street 1-2; F Liriano 3-1; M Garza 7-6; D Reyes 1-0; J Rincon 0-1. Batters 
faced: D Haren 27; H Street 3; F Liriano 7; M Garza 25; D Reyes 3; J Rincon 1. 

UMPIRES: HP--Mike Everitt. 1B--Tom Hallion. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Alfonso 
Marquez. 

T--2:38. Att--18,902. 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. You can read their daily updates at the Hit Tracker Blog.

Hitter                  Pitcher                True Dist.  Std. Dist.  HR #
Rodriguez, Alex  NYY    Hammel, Jason  TB         453         435       33
LaRoche, Adam  ATL      Lieber, Jon  PHI          428         432       31
Snyder, Chris  ARI      Armas, Tony  WAS          440         429        6
McCann, Brian  ATL      Lieber, Jon  PHI          416         422       20
Matthews, Gary  TEX     Maroth, Mike  DET         422         420       17
Jenkins, Geoff  MIL     Chacon, Shawn  PIT        404         414       12
Doumit, Ryan  PIT       Sheets, Ben  MIL          396         414        5
Drew, Stephen  ARI      Armas, Tony  WAS          419         409        4
Brown, Emil  KC         Betancourt, Rafael  CLE   411         409       14
Rollins, Jimmy  PHI     Hudson, Tim  ATL          407         408       20
Davies, Kyle  ATL       Wolf, Randy  PHI          418         404        1
Berkman, Lance  HOU     Hancock, Josh  STL        425         403       40
Lee, Carlos  TEX        Verlander, Justin  DET    406         403       33
Lee, Carlos  TEX        Grilli, Jason  DET        399         398       34
Fielder, Prince  MIL    Chacon, Shawn  PIT        384         398       25
Zaun, Gregg  TOR        Baek, Cha Seung  SEA      388         392       10
Millar, Kevin  BAL      Wakefield, Tim  BOS       397         386       13
Hudson, Orlando  ARI    Armas, Tony  WAS          395         386       15
Stairs, Matt  TEX       Maroth, Mike  DET         386         383       11
Piazza, Mike  SD        Shackelford, Brian  CIN   393         380       22
Furcal, Rafael  LAD     Guzman, Angel  CHC        397         379       12
Jackson, Conor  ARI     Armas, Tony  WAS          387         377       13
Sizemore, Grady  CLE    De La Rosa, Jorge  KC     357         371       24
Cano, Robinson  NYY     Hammel, Jason  TB         372         370       10
Baldelli, Rocco  TB     Lidle, Corey  NYY         393         366       11
Crawford, Carl  TB      Lidle, Corey  NYY         364         363       17
Blum, Geoff  SD         Lohse, Kyle  CIN          365         358        4
Ruiz, Carlos  PHI       Hudson, Tim  ATL          366         355        3
Young, Michael  TEX     Grilli, Jason  DET        353         351       14
Zaun, Gregg  TOR        Jimenez, Cesar  SEA       338         341       11
Willingham, Josh  FLA   Glavine, Tom  NYM         349         334       25

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Gary Matthews Jr. walked into the clubhouse and his Texas teammates were waiting. Matthews received a drenching of a celebratory beer bath after hitting for the cycle Wednesday night and leading the Rangers over the Detroit Tigers 11-3. Matthews did it in order, too. He led off the game with a single, doubled in the second inning, tripled in the fourth and hit a 418-foot homer leading off the sixth. The All-Star center fielder also walked in the eighth. “It’s special,” Matthews said. “Everything lined up tonight. To go out and have days like this is really just the icing on the cake.”

Francisco Liriano has heard plenty about Cy Young during a spectacular rookie season. Now that he is out for the rest of the season, another pitcher might be entering the conversation — Tommy John. Liriano’s highly anticipated return to the Minnesota rotation came to a sudden halt because of elbow problems Wednesday and Dan Haren pitched eight shutout innings, leading the Oakland Athletics over the Twins 1-0. “Obviously he won’t be pitching again,” manager Barry Bonds hit one ball over the fence and another almost through it, yet the San Francisco Giants lost ground in the playoff races, falling to the Colorado Rockies 9-8 Wednesday night. Bonds hit his 732nd career home run and 24th this season leading off the ninth, pulling the slugger within 23 of tying home run king Hank Aaron’s record 755. Bonds connected against Brian Fuentes for the second time.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 22 games on Wednesday against Tampa Bay, the longest run by a Yankees player since current batting coach Don Mattingly had a 24-game string in 1986.

Jake Peavy continued his domination of Cincinnati hitters to help the San Diego Padres beat the Reds 10-0 on Wednesday night. Peavy (9-14) is 4-0 in six career starts against Cincinnati. In his only previous start against the Reds this year, he pitched a two-hitter in the Padres’ 7-1 victory Sept. 2 in San Diego. He allowed three hits over six innings on Wednesday.

Freddy Sanchez got three hits and raised his NL-leading batting average to .342, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader.

Brad Penny became the first 16-game winner in the National League to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0 on Wednesday night. Penny (16-8) cruised for the easy victory. He pitched seven scoreless inning, scattering seven hits. He struck out six without allowing a walk.

Cubs reliever Glendon Rusch was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung and will miss the rest of the season. A team trainer said the condition was not life threatening. Rusch was sent to Northwestern Memorial Hospital during Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He is out of danger,” Cubs trainer Mark O’Neal said. O’Neal said the clot could have been life threatening if it not been diagnosed in time. “This was caught early and obviously we are very thankful that we didn’t sit on it and that he was evaluated last night,” said O’Neal. Rusch will be in the hospital for at least two days and will be on blood-thinning medication from three-to-six months. The size of the clot and where it came from is still being determined.

Houston Astros left-hander Andy Pettitte had a cortisone injection in his elbow on Wednesday, a day after leaving a game in the third inning. Pettitte returned to Houston a day ahead of the team to be with his father, who was undergoing a surgical procedure. He also underwent an MRI exam that team doctors said revealed tendinitis in the elbow. “We’re hopefully that he’ll make his next start this weekend,” general manager Tim Purpura said. “But we’re going to take it day by day.” Pettitte, 13-13 with a 4.37 ERA in 195 2-3 innings, is scheduled to pitch next on Sunday against the Phillies.

San Francisco closer Armando Benitez is done for the season because of inflammation in his right knee. The Giants planned to place the right-hander on the 60-day disabled list Thursday, after the club said Tuesday it hoped he could come back before the end of the year. Benitez returned to Miami on Wednesday to begin physical therapy. Benitez had been unable to pitch for eight straight games because of sore knees. By making the move now, the Giants hope he will be ready by spring training. “We were kind of on the fence which way to go,” trainer Stan Conte said. “He won’t be back this year. We’re optimistic for him regaining strength and getting the knee calmed down.”

Mariners reliever Rafael Soriano will not pitch again this season, the result of being hit in the head by Vladimir Guerrero’s line drive two weeks ago. Soriano’s third C-T scan was deemed normal on Wednesday by Dr. Rich Ellenbogen, chief of neurosurgery at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, and Dr. Stan Herring. Herring is a Seattle Seahawks team physician who specializes in head trauma injuries. Soriano still has minor headaches and is unable to perform physical activity. The right-hander will be monitored the remainder of the season by the Mariners’ medical staff. Soriano sustained a mild concussion after being hit just below and behind his right ear in an Aug. 29 game against the Los Angeles Angels. Soriano tried to protect himself but couldn’t get his glove up in time. The sound of the ball hitting Soriano was audible throughout the stadium, and the ball caromed to near the Angels dugout. He was on the ground for several minutes as the Mariners’ training staff and medics rushed to the mound.

Noah Lowry lost his second straight start on Wednesday against Colorado, going only 4 1/3 innings after lasting just five innings in his previous outing.

Jason Jennings (8-12) ended a seven-start winless stretch in which he had dropped his last three decisions since beating the Padres on July 30 with a victory on Wednesday at San Francisco. He also reached the 200-innings mark for the second time in his career — a feat accomplished only eight other times in franchise history. Jennings, who had four straight no-decisions against San Francisco since beating the Giants on June 5, 2004, at Coors Field, allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, struck out three and walked two.

Tony Armas (8-11) failed to make it four innings for the seventh time in 14 starts on Wednesday in a loss at Arizona. He allowed four runs and six hits in 3 1/3, striking out two and walking three.

Leave it to an ex-National to finally give the Arizona Diamondbacks a victory over Washington. Livan Hernandez blanked his former teammates for seven innings and four Arizona players hit solo home runs to help the Diamondbacks beat the Nationals 4-2 on Wednesday. Hernandez retired 21 of 22 batters from the first to the eighth before giving up a pair of runs on Robert Fick’s pinch-hit double. “Boy he was something,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. In the teams’ final meeting, Arizona beat Washington for the only time this season. The Nationals came from behind to beat the Diamondbacks in the other five contests. “They tried to come back in the eighth again today,” Hernandez said. “That’s not an easy lineup. They’ve got a good team. They’re going to be good next year.”

Adam LaRoche (hamstring) returned to action in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Wednesday vs. Philadelphia and hit his 31st homer. He was 2-for-4 in the game.

Tim Hudson allowed five runs on nine hits with four walks and six Ks over five innings in a loss on Wednesday in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Phillies.

Jon Lieber won the game that completed a doubleheader sweep, then joined his teammates in pointing toward Philadelphia’s comeback in the opener. “Just watching those guys battle back the way they did in the first game after being down like they were, that’s huge,” Lieber said. Lieber (8-9) has four wins and three no-decisions since his last loss on Aug. 5. He pitched 7 1/3 innings and allowed eight hits and two runs. He struck out two with no walks. “I definitely feel I’m a much better pitcher than I was in April or May,” Lieber said. “It’s exciting. One reason I signed here is to help this ballclub get into the playoffs.”

Tom Glavine allowed six hits and four runs in six innings with six Ks in a no-decision on Wednesday against Florida.

Scott Olsen allowed three runs on six hits over eight innings for Florida in a no-decision on Wednesday against the Mets.

The Rangers roughed up Justin Verlander for 10 hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings on Wednesday. It was his shortest outing since April 13 when he went 2 2/3 against the White Sox. “Justin wasn’t good tonight. He didn’t have his good stuff and his command wasn’t there,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Kevin Millwood (15-10) gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings with six Ks for a win on Wednesday at Detroit.

Cory Lidle lasted only four-plus innings and failed to qualify for a win on Wednesday against Tampa Bay. He gave up four runs and nine hits, which couldn’t have helped his dwindling chances to earn a playoff start.

Jason Hammel allowed six runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings in his sixth big league start in a loss on Wednesday against the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez hit a long homer and the New York Yankees beat the overmatched Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8-4 Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory. Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two RBI as New York trimmed the magic number for clinching its ninth consecutive AL East title to seven.

Phillies starter Randy Wolf had the shortest of his nine starts in his return from Tommy John surgery on Wednesday at Atlanta. He gave up gave up six hits and five runs, four earned, in two innings, but four relievers combined for seven shutout innings.

Tom Gordon pitched the ninth inning for his 29th save in 33 chances on Wednesday at Atlanta.

Kyle Davies hit his first career homer but also had a short outing, giving up three hits and three runs in 2 2/3 innings on Wednesday against the Phillies. Davies called the loss “real tough.”

Mike Stanton could be in line to be the Giants; closer going forward with the news that Armando Benitez is done for the season because of inflammation in his right knee. Stanton has been pitching the ninth inning in Benitez’s place, converting saves in five of his last eight outings.

San Francisco will purchase the contract of right-hander Billy Sadler from Triple-A Fresno. The Giants expect the pitcher to be in town for Thursday’s afternoon game, the series finale against the Colorado Rockies.

Cubs starter Angel Guzman (0-6), who has yet to win a game in the majors, gave up five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings in a loss on Wednesday against the Dodgers.

Eric Milton, who left Tuesday night’s game after five innings with stiffness in his left elbow, got a cortisone shot Wednesday. He is expected to take his regular turn Sunday.

Ken Griffey Jr. was out of the Reds’ lineup for the seventh straight game on Wednesday night against the Padres due to a dislocated toe.

Reds starter Kyle Lohse (2-3) allowed seven runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings on Wednesday against San Diego.

Jake Westbrook allowed four runs and 11 hits over six innings on Wednesday against Kansas City.

Jorge De La Rosa pitched five solid innings to help Kansas City beat the Cleveland Indians 6-2 Wednesday night as the Royals gained their first road series sweep in more than three years. De La Rosa (3-2) allowed two runs on four hits and three walks in his first start in eight days.

Manny Ramirez missed a third straight game with a sore right knee on Wednesday, but the Red Sox aren’t ready to shut him down for the season. “I guess we could get to a point where the trainers say that it is the right thing to do, but I have not heard them say that yet,” manager Terry Francona said.

Erik Bedard pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the Baltimore Orioles spoiled the return of Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield by beating the Red Sox 4-0 Wednesday night. Making his first appearance since July 17, Wakefield (7-9) yielded four runs on 10 hits in five innings. He was activated from the disabled list before the game after being sidelined nearly two months with a stress fracture in his rib cage.

Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 12th save in as many chances since being acquired by the Brewers July 28 on Wednesday at Pittsburgh.

Ben Sheets kept getting better and better, and pretty soon he was approaching perfection. Sheets retired the first 18 batters before Chris Duffy led off the seventh inning with a single, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Wednesday to split a doubleheader. “Things were going good. I ain’t going to lie. It definitely crossed my mind,” Sheets said. “If it’s your day, it’s going to be your day, no matter what you do. I had a good day,” he said. Sheets (5-6) gave up two hits and struck out 10 in eight innings. He did not walk a batter. One pitch after Duffy singled, Sheets picked him off first base. “We got into the seventh inning and I started thinking, ‘He’s got a real shot at a no-hitter here with his stuff,'” Brewers manager Ned Yost said. “The first inning, the first couple of hitters he was just OK. And then all of a sudden, it just clicked for him and he started getting stronger and stronger and stronger. He just had really good stuff today: Good breaking ball, real good fastball, really good changeup, spotting well.”

Cha Seung Baek (3-1) allowed five runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings for a loss on Wednesday for a loss against Toronto.

A.J. Burnett and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 10-0 Wednesday. Burnett (8-7) allowed six hits in eight innings. He struck out a season-high 11, walked two and hit a batter. Burnett didn’t allow a batter to reach third base until there were two outs in the seventh. Justin Speier finished the combined shutout.

Joe Saunders allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks over 3 1/3 innings in a loss on Wednesday against the White Sox.

Given a big lead, Freddy Garcia could afford to simply throw strikes. Unhittable strikes, mostly. Garcia pitched perfect ball until Adam Kennedy singled with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-0 Wednesday. “I knew I had a no-hitter going, but I was trying not to think about it and keep making my pitches,” Garcia said. Garcia improved to 14-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 24 regular-season career starts against the Angels. He also had a complete-game victory against them in Game 4 of last year’s AL Championship Series. The Angels have scored just one run in 24 innings this year against the two-time All-Star.

After his six-game homer streak ended on Tuesday, A’s DH Frank Thomas went 1-for-4 with a double on Wednesday.

Dan Haren pitched eight shutout innings Wednesday to lead the Oakland Athletics over the Twins 1-0. Haren struck out seven and allowed three hits.

Lance Berkman hit his 40th home run, helping the Houston Astros bounce back from a dispiriting loss to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Wednesday. Berkman was 0-for-8 in the first two games of the series with five strikeouts before going 3-for-4 with a walk in the finale. He was a triple shy of the cycle.

Jason Marquis (14-15) pitched on three days’ rest for the eighth time in his career and lasted only 10 batters in a loss on Wednesday against Houston. He allowed four runs on five hits with two walks in only one inning.

Roy Oswalt pitched shutout ball into the ninth inning, helping the Houston Astros bounce back from a dispiriting loss to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Wednesday. Oswalt gave up one run on seven hits in 8 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

Chris Capuano allowed six runs on nine hits with four walks over 5 2/3 innings in a loss on Wednesday at Pittsburgh.

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