THT Daily: Lofton’s Liner Lifts Los Angeles

Major League News for August 11

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

Yesterday’s Results

American League
CHA     5  NYA     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
CLE    14  LAA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      5  BOS     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
TOR     5  MIN     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX     8  SEA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)

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

Today’s Games

Visitors                         Home                           Starts (EDT)
 KC - Bernero A. (0-0, -)        CLE - Byrd P. (7-6, 4.81)           7:05 pm
STL - Suppan J. (9-6, 4.85)      PIT - Duke Z.* (7-10, 5.35)         7:05 pm
CIN - Lohse K. (0-0, 4.50)       PHI - Lieber J. (4-9, 5.71)         7:05 pm
NYM - Glavine T.* (12-4, 3.96)   WAS - Traber B.* (1-1, 9.00)        7:05 pm
BAL - Loewen A.* (2-3, 5.72)     BOS - Wells D.* (0-2, 8.05)         7:05 pm
LAA - Saunders J.* (3-0, 1.29)   NYY - Lidle C. (1-0, 1.50)          7:05 pm
MIL - Capuano C.* (10-8, 3.87)   ATL - Smoltz J. (9-5, 3.54)         7:35 pm
 SD - Thompson M. (3-3, 4.25)    HOU - Pettitte A.* (10-12, 4.96)    8:05 pm
TOR - Burnett A. (3-5, 4.81)     MIN - Garza M. (0-0, -)             8:10 pm
DET - Verlander J. (14-4, 2.79)  CWS - Contreras J. (10-4, 3.75)     8:35 pm
SEA - Meche G. (9-6, 4.35)       TEX - Wells K. (1-0, 1.80)          8:35 pm
CHC - Hill R.* (2-4, 6.69)       COL - Cook A. (7-10, 3.95)          9:05 pm
FLA - Johnson J. (9-6, 2.85)     ARI - Hernandez L. (9-8, 5.34)      9:40 pm
 TB - Kazmir S.* (10-7, 3.36)    OAK - Haren D. (9-9, 3.67)         10:05 pm
 SF - Lowry N.* (5-7, 4.21)      LAD - Hendrickson M.* (1-4, 4.83)  10:40 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     67  44 .604    0.0   65     2    
BOS     65  48 .575    3.0   62     3    
TOR     61  54 .530    8.0   62    -1    
BAL     51  64 .443   18.0   49     2    
TB      47  68 .409   22.0   47     0    
American League Central     
DET     76  38 .667    0.0   72     4    
CHA     67  46 .593    8.5   65     2    
MIN     67  47 .588    9.0   64     3    
CLE     49  64 .434   26.5   61   -12    
KC      41  73 .360   35.0   42    -1    
American League West        
OAK     62  52 .544    0.0   57     5    
LAA     59  56 .513    3.5   59     0    
TEX     58  58 .500    5.0   61    -3    
SEA     56  58 .491    6.0   57    -1    


National League East        Pwins  Diff
NYN     69  44 .611    0.0   66     3    
PHI     55  58 .487   14.0   56    -1    
FLA     53  61 .465   16.5   55    -2    
ATL     52  61 .460   17.0   57    -5    
WAS     50  64 .439   19.5   51    -1    
National League Central     
STL     62  52 .544    0.0   59     3    
CIN     59  56 .513    3.5   54     5    
HOU     56  58 .491    6.0   57    -1    
MIL     54  60 .474    8.0   49     5    
CHN     48  66 .421   14.0   47     1    
PIT     42  73 .365   20.5   49    -7    
National League West        
LAN     59  56 .513    0.0   63    -4    
ARI     58  56 .509    0.5   57     1    
SD      58  56 .509    0.5   57     1    
COL     55  59 .482    3.5   58    -3    
SF      54  60 .474    4.5   56    -2    

Game of the Day

The Dodgers score first with one run in the bottom of the first. The Rockies respond with one in the top of the second. The Dodgers score one run again in the bottom of the fifth. Rockies answer again in the sixth. Andre Ethier homers in the bottom of the eighth to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead, but the Rockies yet again score in the top of the next inning when Todd Helton triples to deep right and then scores on Jeff Kent’s throwing error. But unfortunately for the Rockies, there’s no fourth chance for them after the bottom of the ninth when Lofton lines a single to left field off of Jose Mesa to score Julio Lugo as the Dodgers win 4 to 3 and move into first place in the NL West.

COLORADO (3) VS LA DODGERS (4) - FINAL

COLORADO               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Carroll 2b            5  0  0  0   0  1   3  .302
T Helton 1b             3  1  1  0   2  1   0  .287
G Atkins 3b             4  0  1  0   1  2   1  .306
M Holliday lf           4  1  1  1   1  1   2  .320
B Hawpe rf              4  0  1  0   1  2   3  .305
Y Torrealba c           3  1  1  0   1  0   4  .261
C Barmes ss             3  0  1  0   1  1   1  .237
C Sullivan cf           4  0  2  1   0  1   4  .269
J Jennings p            2  0  0  0   0  0   3  .146
 a-J Piedra ph          1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .169
 M Corpas p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 R King p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 J Mesa p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
Totals                 33  3  8  2   7 10  22

a-struck out swinging for J Jennings in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - C Sullivan 2 (21, B Tomko, A Sele). 3B - T Helton (3, T Saito). 
HR - M Holliday (21, 2nd inning off C Billingsley 0 on, 0 Out). S - J Jennings. 
RBI - M Holliday (66), C Sullivan (17). 2-out RBI - C Sullivan. Runners left in 
scoring position, 2 out - J Carroll 3, Y Torrealba 2, J Jennings 2. GIDP - B 
Hawpe, M Holliday. Team LOB - 11. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - Y Torrealba (4, 2nd base off A Sele/R Martin). 
 
FIELDING: E - J Carroll (4, ground ball). DP: 1 (J Carroll-T Helton). 

LA DODGERS             ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
R Furcal ss             3  2  2  0   2  1   0  .288
K Lofton cf             4  0  3  2   1  0   0  .309
N Garciaparra 1b        3  0  2  1   0  0   3  .331
J Kent 2b               4  0  0  0   0  2   4  .262
A Ethier lf             4  1  1  1   0  1   1  .346
W Betemit 3b            4  0  1  0   0  0   0  .283
R Martin c              4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .296
J Repko rf              4  0  0  0   0  2   1  .263
C Billingsley p         1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .063
 a-J Drew ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .277
 A Sele p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .208
 J Beimel p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-J Loney ph           1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .262
 B Tomko p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .120
 T Saito p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 c-J Lugo ph            0  1  0  0   1  0   0  .226
Totals                 33  4  9  4   4  7  11

a-grounded to second for C Billingsley in the 5th;  b-grounded to first for J 
Beimel in the 7th;  c-walked for T Saito in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - W Betemit (19, J Jennings). 3B - R Furcal (5, J Jennings). HR - A 
Ethier (11, 8th inning off R King 0 on, 1 Out). SF - N Garciaparra. RBI - K 
Lofton 2 (28), N Garciaparra (58), A Ethier (47). Runners left in scoring 
position, 2 out - N Garciaparra 1, J Kent 1, J Repko 1. GIDP - R Martin. Team 
LOB - 9. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - R Furcal (27, 2nd base off J Jennings/Y Torrealba). 
 
FIELDING: E - J Kent (3, throw). DP: 2 (N Garciaparra-R Furcal-C Billingsley, 
R Furcal-J Kent-N Garciaparra). 

----------------------------------------------------
    COLORADO        - 010 001 001   --   3
    LA DODGERS      - 100 010 011   --   4

One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------

COLORADO                     ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Jennings                    7       6   2   2   3   5   0   3.44
M Corpas                        1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.93
R King                          1/3   1   1   1   0   0   1   4.45
J Mesa (L, 0-5)                 2/3   2   1   1   1   1   0   3.58

LA DODGERS                   ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
C Billingsley                 5       3   1   1   6   3   1   3.52
A Sele (B, 1)                 1 2/3   3   1   1   0   3   0   3.98
J Beimel                        1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   3.50
B Tomko                       1       1   0   0   0   2   0   4.82
T Saito (W, 4-2; B, 1)        1       1   1   1   0   2   0   2.40

WP - A Sele. Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 104-60; M Corpas 5-3; R King 9-5; J 
Mesa 17-8; C Billingsley 96-49; A Sele 36-26; J Beimel 6-2; B Tomko 23-15; T 
Saito 14-9. Ground balls-fly balls: J Jennings 11-5; M Corpas 0-0; R King 1-0; 
J Mesa 1-0; C Billingsley 6-6; A Sele 3-0; J Beimel 1-0; B Tomko 1-0; T Saito 
0-1. Batters faced: J Jennings 30; M Corpas 1; R King 2; J Mesa 5; C 
Billingsley 22; A Sele 9; J Beimel 2; B Tomko 4; T Saito 4. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Angel 
Hernandez. 
EJECTIONS:  COLORADO's King by Wendelstedt (8th). 
T--3:05. Att--48,699. 
Weather: 81 degrees, clear. Wind: 7 mph, left to right.

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
BAL AA  Noah Hall          DH  5  3  0  0  1  0  0   
BOS AA  Jacoby Ellsbury    DH  5  3  0  0  1  1  0   
CHC A+  Joseph Simokaitis  SS  4  3  0  0  1  1  0   
CHC A+  Jemel Spearman     3B  4  3  0  1  0  0  0   
CHW AAA Ruben Rivera       PR  2  2  0  0  1  0  0   
CIN A+  Paul Janish        SS  3  2  1  0  1  1  0   
LAA AAA Mike Eylward       3B  4  3  0  0  1  0  1  .545 OBP during past week
MIL AA  Callix Crabbe      2B  3  3  1  0  0  0  0   
MIN AA  Scott Whitrock     RF  3  2  0  0  1  1  0   
NYM A+  Jesus Flores        C  4  2  0  0  2  0  1   
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
ATL AAA Jason Shiell       7.0  5  1  1  5  1  0   
BAL AAA Hayden Penn        7.0  4  2  1  7  4  0   
CHW AA  Wesley Whisler     8.0  5  1  1  6  1  0   
CIN AA  Logan Ondrusek     4.0  0  0  0  7  3  0  17 K over last 13 IP
CIN A+  Sam Lecure         6.0  1  0  0  3  3  0  1.32 ERA over past month
CLE AA  Adam Miller        9.0  4  0  0 11  1  0   
HOU AA  Troy Patton        6.2  4  1  0  5  2  0   
LA  AAA Joel Hanrahan      6.0  2  0  0  4  3  0   
LAA AA  Jose Arredondo     6.0  2  2  2  7  3  0   
MIL AA  Corey Thurman      6.0  3  1  1  5  2  0 

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Curt Schilling gave up nine doubles and a homer, and the Kansas City Royals rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 Thursday night for a surprising three-game sweep. Schilling allowed five runs on 11 hits and two walks over 7 1/3 innings. He struck out seven in his fifth loss.

Called up this week, Matt Garza will make his debut on Friday night against Toronto. It’s the latest stop on a speedy professional journey that began last summer when the Twins drafted him in the first round out of Fresno State. Garza started the season at Class A Fort Myers, then moved to Double-A New Britain and after that to Triple-A Rochester, dominating each level. In his minor league career, including stints last year in rookie league and low Class A, Garza is 18-8 with a 2.73 ERA and 243 strikeouts in 37 starts. “It’s always fun,” Garza said. “That’s what you basically want to come into. You want to come into something that means something. I just want to have a blast and enjoy every minute of it.”

Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada apologized Thursday for making what appeared to be an obscene gesture toward the stands during Wednesday’s game in Toronto. Tejada made a gesture after swinging through a pitch in the dirt from B.J. Ryan and being thrown out at first in the eighth inning. The Orioles lost the game 4-3. “I want to apologize to everyone, especially to the Orioles fans and the fans in Toronto, for my action in Wednesday’s game,” Tejada said in a statement posted on the Orioles’ Web site. “I was frustrated and should not have let things get to me. I am sorry and hope people will accept that and know that is not the kind of person I am.”

Mike Mussina (13-5) lost his second in a row after winning five consecutive decisions, allowing five runs — three earned — on eight hits in six innings Thursday night against the White Sox. He struck out six and only walked one.

Ted Lilly threw six shutout innings and the Toronto Blue Jays began a 10-game trip with a 5-0 win over the Minnesota Twins Thursday. Lilly (10-10) allowed only three hits and two walks in the win. He struck out three and gave Toronto a big boost in the opener of a four-game series.

Josh Willingham went 4-for-5 with three runs and his 17th home run on Thursday at Washington.

Shin-Soo Choo went 3-for-5 and had three RBI on Thursday against the Angels. He’s now batting .340.

Travis Hafner, who doubled in the fourth to stop an 0-for-15 streak, hit his career-high 34th homer on Thursday against the Angels.

The Minnesota Twins placed outfielder Rondell White on the 15-day disabled list after Thursday night’s game because of a strained left hamstring. The Twins plan to activate outfielder Lew Ford from the disabled list on Friday to take his place.

Ervin Santana bruised the inside of his left knee when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Jason Michaels in the first inning on Thursday and is day to day. He tried to talk manager Mike Scioscia into not removing him. “It was very bad,” Santana said. “I thought it was broken or something. I told Mike I wanted to stay in, but he said, ‘No, no, you’re done.’ It was hit too hard. Tomorrow I know it will hurt, but that’s OK. I’ll be ready for my next start.” Scioscia wasn’t as sure. “It hit about as square as a ball can hit someone,” he said. “There’s no structural damage. It’s a deep bruise. It could have been worse, but it still could be bad. We’re optimistic, but won’t know for a couple days.”

Roger Clemens needed reassurance from catcher Brad Ausmus that he was still the same old Rocket against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night. The seven-time Cy Young winner felt like he was missing his usual sharpness, but still earned his 345th win, allowing one run in six innings in Houston’s 5-2 victory. “I didn’t feel like I had a lot of life,” Clemens said, “and then Brad came out and said it’s as good as ever.” Clemens (4-4) struck out five and allowed four hits, yielding two runs or fewer for the eighth time in 10 starts. His 2.32 ERA since June 22 leads NL starters.

Manny Ramirez singled his first two at-bats Thursday and extended his career-best hitting streak to 25 games, second only to Chase Utley’s 35-gamer in the majors this year.

Mark Teixeira has reached base in 34 straight games, the AL’s longest streak. In 28 games since the All-Star break, Teixeira has 27 walks and only 10 strikeouts. He had 43 walks and 71 strikeouts in the 88 games before that.

Chris Duncan led off the fifth Thursday with a homer added another solo homer in the ninth off Rheal Cormier, his first two-homer game of the season. He was 7-for-14 with three homers in the series.

Mark Prior gave up six runs — five earned — and four hits in three innings, and all four batters he walked scored on Thursday at Milwaukee. He is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA since July 21, when he came off the disabled list after recovering from a strained left oblique muscle. “From the outset, he didn’t have his control. His velocity was pretty good. It’s just a matter of control,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said.

Jim Edmonds’ homer Thursday was his 228th in seven seasons with the Cardinals, tying Ray Lankford for fourth on the club’s list. Edmonds hit 121 with the Angels. Edmonds hit a grand slam in Wednesday night’s loss, and had a solo homer and an RBI single off Bronson Arroyo as part of a three-hit day.

Francisco Cordero worked the ninth inning on Thursday against the Cubs for his fifth save in as many chances since Milwaukee acquired him from Texas on July 28.

David Wright had a pair of doubles Thursday, including the one that scored the go-ahead run. “You have to be confident every at-bat,” Wright said. “You can’t be scared. You have to want to be there. You can’t shy away from it.” He doubled to left against Doug Brocail (2-1) for a 4-3 lead.

The Twins are optimistic, but not totally confident, that injured left-hander Francisco Liriano will return this season. Liriano, 12-3 with a league-leading 2.19 ERA, had a second, enhanced MRI exam Thursday when a shot of dye was injected into his arm for a better reading. The test showed a mild chronic strain of his ulnar collateral ligament, and a clinical exam revealed weakness and stiffness in his shoulder that is causing that soreness in his forearm near his elbow. Team physician Dr. John Steubs said Thursday night that he was “optimistic, but not totally confident” that Liriano would pitch again in 2006. For now, he’ll treat the shoulder and elbow with physical therapy. “I’ll be all right,” Liriano said. “Everything happens for a reason. I’ve just got to be patient.”

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