THT Daily: Mets Clinch NL East Title

Major League News for September 19

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

Yesterday’s Results

American League
BAL     4  TB      1    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA     7  TOR     6    (Recap and Boxscore)
DET     8  CHA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
CLE     7  OAK     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX     8  SEA     1    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
NYN     4  FLA     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHN    11  PHI     6    (Recap and Boxscore)
ATL     6  WAS     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
HOU     5  CIN     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL     4  STL     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
COL    20  SF      8    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN    11  SD     10    (Recap and Boxscore)

Today’s Games

Visitors                          Home                         Starts (EDT)
CHC - Miller W. (0-1, 6.75)       PHI - Moyer J.* (2-2, 4.32)       7:05 pm
ATL - James C.* (10-3, 3.33)      WAS - Perez B. (0-0, 1.59)        7:05 pm
MIN - Garza M. (1-5, 5.50)        BOS - Wakefield T. (7-9, 4.19)    7:05 pm
NYY - Karstens J. (1-1, 4.08)     TOR - Marcum S. (2-4, 5.43)       7:07 pm
FLA - Olsen S.* (12-8, 3.98)      NYM - Glavine T.* (13-6, 3.99)    7:10 pm
BAL - Loewen A.* (5-5, 5.31)       TB - Hammel J. (0-3, 6.53)       7:15 pm
DET - Verlander J. (16-8, 3.42)   CWS - Garcia F. (14-9, 4.82)      8:05 pm
SEA - Washburn J.* (8-14, 4.58)   TEX - Volquez E. (1-5, 6.15)      8:05 pm
STL - Weaver J. (3-4, 5.48)       MIL - Sheets B. (5-6, 4.08)       8:05 pm
CIN - Harang A. (13-11, 3.88)     HOU - Pettitte A.* (13-13, 4.37)  8:05 pm
LAA - Saunders J.* (5-3, 4.66)     KC - De La Rosa J.* (3-2, 5.30)  8:10 pm
 SF - Cain M. (13-9, 3.75)        COL - Jennings J. (8-12, 3.61)    8:35 pm
CLE - Lee C.* (12-10, 4.47)       OAK - Saarloos K. (7-7, 4.70)    10:05 pm
ARI - Hernandez L. (12-12, 4.98)   SD - Hensley C. (9-11, 3.83)    10:05 pm
PIT - Snell I. (13-10, 4.78)      LAD - Kuo H.* (1-4, 4.25)        10:10 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     91  59 .607    0.0   89     2    
BOS     81  69 .540   10.0   76     5    
TOR     79  71 .527   12.0   79     0    
BAL     65  85 .433   26.0   64     1    
TB      57  93 .380   34.0   59    -2    
American League Central     
DET     90  60 .600    0.0   89     1    
MIN     88  61 .591    1.5   85     3    
CHA     84  66 .560    6.0   84     0    
CLE     70  79 .470   19.5   81   -11    
KC      58  92 .387   32.0   58     0    
American League West        
OAK     86  63 .577    0.0   79     7    
LAA     80  70 .533    6.5   76     4    
TEX     77  74 .510   10.0   81    -4    
SEA     71  79 .473   15.5   71     0    


National League East        Pwins  Diff
NYN     91  58 .611    0.0   86     5    
PHI     77  73 .513   14.5   78    -1    
FLA     74  76 .493   17.5   75    -1    
ATL     73  77 .487   18.5   77    -4    
WAS     65  85 .433   26.5   64     1    
National League Central     
STL     79  69 .534    0.0   76     3    
CIN     73  77 .487    7.0   71     2    
HOU     72  77 .483    7.5   74    -2    
MIL     68  82 .453   12.0   65     3    
PIT     63  87 .420   17.0   65    -2    
CHN     62  89 .411   18.5   63    -1    
National League West        
LAN     79  71 .527    0.0   80    -1    
SD      78  71 .523    0.5   78     0    
SF      74  75 .497    4.5   73     1    
ARI     71  78 .477    7.5   73    -2    
COL     70  80 .467    9.0   76    -6    

Wildcard Standings
American League
MIN     88  61 .591    0.0
CHA     84  66 .560    4.5

National League
SD      78  71 .523    0.0
PHI     77  73 .513    1.5
SF      74  75 .497    4.0
FLA     74  76 .493    4.5

Celebration of the Day

Beer, wine, cigars, fireworks, part of the dugout on fire, and Carlos Delgado wearing a lamp shade on his head? Sounds like a party to me! Which is what happened (well, minus the fire and the lamp shade) after this game because, for the first time since 1988, the Mets have won the NL East title!

Jose Valentin hits two homers, and Steve Trachsel, Guillermo Mota, Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner combine for a four-hit, one-walk shutout over the Marlins.

 FLORIDA (0) VS NY METS (4) - FINAL

FLORIDA                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
H Ramirez ss            4  0  0  0   0  2   0  .288
D Uggla 2b              4  0  0  0   0  1   0  .292
M Cabrera 3b            3  0  1  0   1  0   0  .340
J Willingham lf         4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .280
M Jacobs 1b             3  0  1  0   0  1   1  .259
C Ross rf               3  0  0  0   0  0   2  .250
A Amezaga cf            3  0  0  0   0  0   2  .264
M Olivo c               3  0  1  0   0  0   0  .263
B Moehler p             1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .069
 a-J Wood ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .500
 R Pinto p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 R Messenger p          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-J Borchard ph        1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .224
 C Resop p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
Totals                 30  0  4  0   1  4   8

a-flied out to right for B Moehler in the 6th;  b-grounded to shortstop for R 
Messenger in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Willingham (28, S Trachsel). Runners left in scoring position, 
2 out - A Amezaga 1, M Jacobs 1. GIDP - J Borchard. Team LOB - 4. 
 
FIELDING: E - B Moehler (1, throw); M Cabrera (16, ground ball). DP: 1 (D 
Uggla-H Ramirez-M Jacobs). 

NY METS                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Reyes ss              4  0  2  0   0  1   1  .299
P Lo Duca c             4  0  0  0   0  0   2  .312
C Beltran cf            3  1  1  0   1  1   0  .277
C Delgado 1b            4  0  0  0   0  1   1  .264
D Wright 3b             4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .308
C Floyd lf              4  0  1  1   0  1   2  .241
S Green rf              2  1  0  0   0  0   2  .278
J Valentin 2b           3  2  2  3   0  1   0  .276
S Trachsel p            2  0  1  0   0  1   0  .125
 G Mota p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 a-R Ledee ph           1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .200
 A Heilman p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 B Wagner p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
Totals                 31  4  8  4   1  6   9

a-grounded to shortstop for G Mota in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - C Beltran (38, B Moehler). HR - J Valentin 2 (17, 3rd inning off 
B Moehler 1 on, 0 Out, 5th inning off B Moehler 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - J Valentin 
3 (58), C Floyd (42). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Floyd 1. GIDP 
- S Green. Team LOB - 5. 
 
BASERUNNING: CS - J Reyes (17, 3rd base by B Moehler/M Olivo). 
 
FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Delgado-J Reyes-C Delgado). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    FLORIDA         - 000 000 000   --   0
    NY METS         - 002 011 00x   --   4
----------------------------------------------------

FLORIDA                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
B Moehler (L, 7-9)            5       5   3   3   0   4   2   6.09
R Pinto                       1       1   1   0   1   1   0   3.75
R Messenger                   1       1   0   0   0   1   0   6.45
C Resop                       1       1   0   0   0   0   0   3.12

NY METS                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
S Trachsel (W, 15-7)          6 1/3   3   0   0   1   3   0   4.96
G Mota (H, 2)                   2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.67
A Heilman                     1       1   0   0   0   1   0   3.69
B Wagner                      1       0   0   0   0   0   0   2.11

HBP - S Green (by B Moehler). Pitches-strikes: B Moehler 66-44; R Pinto 
21-13; R Messenger 15-12; C Resop 15-9; S Trachsel 96-65; G Mota 6-5; A Heilman 
13-10; B Wagner 11-5. Ground balls-fly balls: B Moehler 6-4; R Pinto 3-0; R 
Messenger 1-1; C Resop 2-1; S Trachsel 8-8; G Mota 0-2; A Heilman 2-0; B Wagner 
0-3. Batters faced: B Moehler 20; R Pinto 5; R Messenger 4; C Resop 4; S 
Trachsel 23; G Mota 2; A Heilman 3; B Wagner 3. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Dana Demuth. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Paul Schrieber. 3B--Doug 
Eddings. 

T--2:29. Att--46,729. 
Weather: 73 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 13 mph, right to left.

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

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Brewers OF Laynce Nix (hamstring) did not play Monday night.

RF Alex Rios pinch hit Monday night, going 0-for-1, so he should be ready to return to the starting lineup soon.

Cubs OF John Mabry (wrist) was able to play Monday night as a defensive replacement.

SS Cesar Izturis continued to sit out Monday night with a tight hamstring.

Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki went 0-for-4 Monday night. He was dealing with a leg problem after being beaned Sunday night.

Royce Clayton has a bone bruise and would be out a few days. He left Sunday’s game and did not play Monday night.

SS David Eckstein pinch hit in the seventh for Josh Hancock and lined out Monday. It was his first appearance since Aug. 18 for St. Louis. He was activated Sept. 15 from the 15-day DL with a strained left oblique muscle.

Cardinals OF Jim Edmonds (concussion) wasn’t able to return Monday.

OF Gabe Gross rejoined the team Monday. He left Saturday to attend the funeral of his great-grandmother in Montgomery, Ala.

Manager Buck Showalter said he expects C Rod Barajas (back) to make his first start since Sept. 9 on Tuesday.

Ray Durham (knee) was able to play and hit a two-run homer, his 24th, Monday night.

3B Chipper Jones, who was put on the 15-day DL on Sunday, could be back as soon as Tuesday, the first day he is eligible to return. Jones was placed on the DL, retroactive to Sept. 4, so the Braves’ insurance company would pay that portion of his $13.6 million salary.

RHP Edwin Jackson, who was hit on the back of the head by a line drive Saturday, still is experiencing headaches. He could resume pitching within a few days. “I don’t think it’s a prolonged thing,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I just think it’s a day or two.”

1B Nomar Garciaparra, who strained his left quad Friday night, was back in the starting lineup after missing two starts. “It’s a little bit of a gamble,” manager Grady Little said. “There’s a possibility he could blow it up. He wanted to play yesterday. We held him out one game. We feel like he can play effectively, he feels like he can play effectively. That’s why he’s going to play.”

Closer Mariano Rivera, sidelined by a muscle strain near his right elbow, is scheduled for another bullpen session Tuesday and could be pitching in games by Friday. “He’s getting a little antsy right now. He’s been in a lot more playful mood lately than he was for 10 days or so,” manager Joe Torre said. Kyle Farnsworth will remain the probable closer for the Yankees until Rivera returns to the closer’s role.

1B Paul Konerko returned to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game with a stiff lower back. Konerko, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome were 4-for-28 in the Oakland series. Thome went 0-for-9 with four walks. The White Sox won two of three at Anaheim before the Oakland debacle. “Oakland pitched well and even Anaheim pitched well,” Thome said. “Sometimes you have those periods where one or two guys don’t swing the bat well.

RHP Rich Harden is the probable starter for Thursday in the series finale against the Indians, which will be his first appearance since June 4. He went on the DL for a second time this season the following day with a strained ligament in his right elbow.

The Giants want RHP Brian Wilson to pitch in winter ball and become a closer. “He has the good fastball and slider,” manager Felipe Alou said. “But he’s weird and off beat. I saw him downtown (Monday) and he asked me when he had to be at the ballpark.”

RHP Chad Billingsley threw 30 pitches from the mound Monday after getting in some work in the bullpen. Billingsley, hampered by a strained oblique muscle, lasted only one inning Saturday night in his first start since Aug. 27, allowing three runs and throwing 40 pitches. “It looked like he threw all right,” manager Grady Little said, adding current plans call for Billingsley to start Thursday night against Pittsburgh.

Roger Clemens threw a short bullpen Monday and pronounced himself ready for his Wednesday start. Clemens has been slowed by a right groin strain recently. “I was fine (Monday) and I was fine when I threw my regular bullpen (Sunday),” Clemens said.

Yankees CF Johnny Damon was ejected from Monday night’s game against the Blue Jays by home-plate umpire Bill Miller for arguing a called strike on teammate Hideki Matsui. In the fifth inning, Miller ruled Matsui went around on a checked swing for strike three. Damon argued with Miller from the on-deck circle and was then thrown out of the game. It was the first time Damon was ejected this season. Aaron Guiel replaced Damon.

Tigers 2B Placido Polanco said Monday he hopes to play this weekend at Kansas City, contradicting his assessment a day earlier when he stated he was finished for the season because of a separated left shoulder. “I was very confused yesterday,” Polanco said. “I said it because I was really frustrated about a lot of things. We had just lost the game that we should have won, I’m not able to do anything and my arm is extremely hurting.” Neifi Perez started at second base Monday night.

Roy Oswalt pitched 6 2/3 innings to continue his mastery of Cincinnati, leading the Astros over the Reds 5-3 Monday night. Oswalt (14-8) allowed two runs and eight hits to improve his career record to 17-1 against Cincinnati. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter before departing with muscle spasms in his neck. Oswalt, who is 5-0 with a no-decision in his last six starts, had just given up a pinch-hit home run to Ray Olmedo and a single to Ryan Freel in the seventh when he called team officials to the mound before leaving the game.

Devil Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir won’t pitch again this season because of a left shoulder injury. He made 41 throws Monday in his first session of playing catch in 10 days. “He felt so good that he felt that he doesn’t have to pitch to prove to himself he’s going to be fine next spring,” manager Joe Maddon said.

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