THT Daily: NL 8, AL 6

Major League News for June 26

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
Interleague
DET     4  STL     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Bonderman: 7 IP, 8 K, 1 R; Ponson: 7.1 IP, 2 R
KC      6  MIL     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Redman: 7 IP, 0 R; Mientkiewicz: 3-3, 3 RBI
MIN     8  CHN     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Radke: 7 IP, 0 R
NYA     2  FLA     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Mussina: 7 IP, 1 R; Willis: 8 IP, 2 R
OAK    10  SF      4    (Recap and Boxscore) Payton: 4-5, 3 RBI; Loaiza: CG, 4 R
SEA     9  SD      4    (Recap and Boxscore) Sexson: 5-5, 2 HR
ARI     9  LAA     7    (Recap and Boxscore) Jackson: 4 for 5
ATL     4  TB      1    (Recap and Boxscore) James: 8 IP, 1 R
CIN     4  CLE     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Ramirez; 6.1 IP, 2 R; Sowers debut
COL     3  TEX     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Kim: 7 IP, 0 R
FLA     5  NYA     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Sanchez debut: 5.2 IP, 0 R
HOU    10  CHA     9    (Recap and Boxscore) 13 innings; See below
NYN     7  TOR     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Reyes: 4 for 5; HR
WAS     9  BAL     5    (Recap and Boxscore) Hernandez: 6 IP, 1 R; Clayton: 3-5, 3 RBI
PHI AT BOS WAS POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN

National League
LAN     7  PIT     4    (Recap and Boxscore) PIT: 10th straight loss

Today’s Games
Visitors                           Home                              Time
PHI - Lidle C. (4-6, 5.00)         BOS - Wakefield T. (5-8, 3.82)    1:05
TB - Shields J. (4-0, 3.00)        FLA - Johnson J. (6-4, 2.01)      7:05
ATL - Hudson T. (6-6, 4.05)        NYY - Johnson R.* (8-6, 5.21)     7:05
HOU - Rodriguez W.* (8-4, 4.45)    DET - Miner Z. (3-1, 2.08)        7:05
MIL - Capuano C.* (8-4, 3.33)      CHC - Maddux G. (7-7, 4.83)       8:05
CLE - Lee C.* (6-5, 4.71)          STL - Marquis J. (9-5, 5.53)      8:10
LAD - Billingsley C. (0-0, 3.48)   MIN - Silva C. (3-8, 6.87)        8:10
COL - Jennings J. (6-6, 4.02)      LAA - Lackey J. (4-5, 3.31)      10:05

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 gray 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     44  28 .611  0.0   40      4      
NYA     42  31 .575  2.5   43     -1      
TOR     41  34 .547  4.5   41      0      
BAL     35  42 .455 11.5   34      1      
TB      33  43 .434 13.0   31      2      
American League Central
DET     51  25 .671  0.0   49      2      
CHA     49  26 .653  1.5   46      3      
MIN     39  35 .527 11.0   37      2      
CLE     33  41 .446 17.0   39     -6      
KC      24  50 .324 26.0   24      0      
American League West
OAK     41  34 .547  0.0   39      2      
TEX     40  36 .526  1.5   40      0      
SEA     38  39 .494  4.0   40     -2      
LAA     34  41 .453  7.0   35     -1      

National League East       Pwins Diff
NYN     47  28 .627  0.0   46      1      
PHI     35  39 .473 11.5   35      0      
FLA     32  40 .444 13.5   36     -4      
WAS     33  44 .429 15.0   35     -2      
ATL     32  44 .421 15.5   35     -3      
National League Central
STL     42  32 .568  0.0   40      2      
CIN     41  35 .539  2.0   38      3      
HOU     38  38 .500  5.0   36      2      
MIL     37  39 .487  6.0   33      4      
CHN     28  46 .378 14.0   28      0      
PIT     26  51 .338 17.5   33     -7      
National League West
LAN     40  35 .533  0.0   44     -4      
SD      39  36 .520  1.0   38      1      
COL     38  37 .507  2.0   38      0      
SF      37  38 .493  3.0   38     -1      
ARI     37  39 .487  3.5   37      0      

Game of the Day

The Astros beat the White Sox, 10-9 in 13 innings. They had a 9-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth, partially thanks to two-run home runs by Mike Lamb and Lance Berkman, but Chicago’s Tadahito Iguchi hit a three-run homer to close the gap to 9-5. Iguchi struck again In the bottom of the ninth, when Brad Lidge loaded the bases and Iguchi hit a grand slam, tying the game 9-9. The Astros won in the 13th on a triple by Adam Everett and a single by Willy Taveras.

According to Elias, Iguchi is the sixth player in the last 25 years (1982-2006) to homer in both the eighth and ninth innings of a game that went to extra innings. All six of those players saw their efforts spoiled with a loss in the 11th inning or later.

HOUSTON (10) VS CHI WHITE SOX (9) - FINAL IN 13 INNINGS 

HOUSTON                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
C Biggio dh             7  1  2  1   0  3   3  .273
M Lamb 1b               5  3  2  2   2  0   1  .333
C Burke 2b              5  2  1  0   2  0   4  .319
L Berkman rf            5  1  1  3   1  1   4  .311
M Ensberg 3b            5  0  1  1   1  1   3  .246
P Wilson lf             4  0  1  2   0  1   2  .283
 E Bruntlett lf         2  0  2  0   0  0   0  .293
B Ausmus c              6  0  0  0   0  0   5  .257
A Everett ss            6  2  3  0   0  0   0  .242
W Taveras cf            4  1  2  1   1  0   1  .267

Totals                 49 10 15 10   7  6  23

BATTING: 2B - P Wilson (10, J Vazquez); A Everett (13, J Vazquez). 3B - W 
Taveras (3, J Vazquez); A Everett (2, B McCarthy). HR - M Lamb (6, 5th inning 
off J Vazquez 1 on, 2 Out), L Berkman (22, 5th inning off J Vazquez 1 on, 2 
Out). S - W Taveras. SF - L Berkman. RBI - P Wilson 2 (41), M Lamb 2 (20), L 
Berkman 3 (68), C Biggio (28), M Ensberg (41), W Taveras (17). 2-out RBI - P 
Wilson 2, M Lamb 2, L Berkman 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - B 
Ausmus 2, L Berkman 1, C Burke 1. GIDP - P Wilson, B Ausmus. Team LOB - 9. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - W Taveras 2 (12, 2nd base off B Jenks/A Pierzynski, 2nd 
base off B McCarthy/A Pierzynski). CS - A Everett (2, 2nd base by J Vazquez). 

FIELDING: E - L Berkman (4, bobble). Outfield assists - W Taveras (P Konerko 
at 3rd base). DP: 1 (W Taveras-M Ensberg). 

CHI WHITE SOX          ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
S Podsednik lf          5  2  2  1   1  1   1  .256
T Iguchi 2b             5  2  2  7   1  0   0  .291
J Thome dh              6  0  0  0   0  4   2  .280
P Konerko 1b            6  1  2  1   0  1   0  .315
J Dye rf                3  0  0  0   0  0   1  .296
 a-R Gload ph-rf        3  0  0  0   0  0   0  .264
A Pierzynski c          6  1  1  0   0  1   0  .321
J Crede 3b              3  0  1  0   0  0   0  .307
 P Ozuna 3b             2  0  1  0   0  0   1  .425
 J Uribe pr-ss          1  0  1  0   0  0   0  .226
R Mackowiak cf          5  1  1  0   0  2   3  .273
A Cintron ss-3b         5  2  2  0   0  1   1  .276

Totals                 50  9 13  9   2 10   9

a-flied out to center for J Dye in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - P Konerko (15, R Oswalt); R Mackowiak (8, R Oswalt). HR - P 
Konerko (19, 7th inning off R Oswalt 0 on, 0 Out), T Iguchi 2 (8, 8th inning 
off R Springer 2 on, 0 Out, 9th inning off B Lidge 3 on, 2 Out). S - R 
Mackowiak. RBI - S Podsednik (29), P Konerko (60), T Iguchi 7 (37). 2-out RBI - 
S Podsednik, T Iguchi 4. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Podsednik 
1, J Thome 1. Team LOB - 5. 
 
FIELDING: DP: 2 (J Crede-T Iguchi-P Konerko, T Iguchi-A Cintron-P Konerko). 

----------------------------------------------------
    HOUSTON         - 200 040 300 000 1  --  10
    CHI WHITE SOX   - 001 000 134 000 0  --   9
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
R Oswalt                      7       5   2   2   1   7   1   3.26
R Springer                    0       3   3   3   0   0   1   4.15
D Wheeler                     1       0   0   0   0   0   0   4.09
B Lidge                       1       3   4   4   1   1   1   5.55
C Qualls                      2 1/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   4.12
T Miller                        1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   4.09
F Nieve (W, 3-3)              1 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   4.61

CHI WHITE SOX                ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Vazquez                     6      10   9   9   2   3   2   5.00
A Montero                     3       1   0   0   1   1   0   5.54
N Cotts                         1/3   1   0   0   1   0   0   3.07
B Jenks                       1 2/3   0   0   0   2   1   0   2.62
B McCarthy (L, 3-4)           2       3   1   1   1   1   0   4.46

J Vazquez pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.
R Springer pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.

WP - A Montero. IBB - M Lamb 2 (by B Jenks, B McCarthy). Pitches-strikes: R 
Oswalt 108-77; R Springer 13-9; D Wheeler 9-6; B Lidge 22-14; C Qualls 30-24; T 
Miller 4-3; F Nieve 25-18; J Vazquez 95-61; A Montero 32-17; N Cotts 9-5; B 
Jenks 17-8; B McCarthy 41-28. Ground balls-fly balls: R Oswalt 4-9; R Springer 
0-0; D Wheeler 1-2; B Lidge 1-1; C Qualls 4-3; T Miller 0-0; F Nieve 3-0; J 
Vazquez 5-9; A Montero 5-3; N Cotts 0-1; B Jenks 3-1; B McCarthy 1-4. Batters 
faced: R Oswalt 26; R Springer 3; D Wheeler 3; B Lidge 7; C Qualls 8; T Miller 
1; F Nieve 5; J Vazquez 29; A Montero 10; N Cotts 3; B Jenks 6; B McCarthy 10. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Angel Hernandez. 1B--Hunter Wendelstedt. 2B--Sam Holbrook. 
3B--Randy Marsh. 

T--4:25. Att--38,516. 
Weather: 69 degrees, clear. Wind: 9 mph, left to right.

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

image

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 #
Cabrera, Miguel     FLA     Chacon, Shawn      NYY          446        447      11
Griffey Jr., Ken    CIN     Sowers, Jeremy     CLE          410        433      13
Berkman, Lance      HOU     Vazquez, Javier    CWS          438        431      22
Garciaparra, Nomar  LAD     Marte, Damaso      PIT          429        431       9
Hunter, Torii       MIN     Howry, Bob         CHC          428        422      11
Overbay, Lyle       TOR     Trachsel, Steve    NYM          413        420      10
Reyes, Jose         NYM     Towers, Josh       TOR          412        417       8
Sexson, Richie      SEA     Thompson, Mike     SD           420        414      13
Konerko, Paul       CWS     Oswalt, Roy        HOU          400        411      19
Valentin, Jose      NYM     Taubenheim, Ty     TOR          402        410       7
Lamb, Mike          HOU     Vazquez, Javier    CWS          421        408       6
Cameron, Mike       SD      Pineiro, Joel      SEA          411        404       8
Iguchi, Tadahito    CWS     Lidge, Brad        HOU          399        403       8
Dunn, Adam          CIN     Sowers, Jeremy     CLE          384        403      24
Randa, Joe          PIT     Penny, Brad        LAD          400        402       2
Finley, Steve       SF      Loaiza, Esteban    OAK          392        401       5
Sexson, Richie      SEA     Embree, Alan       SD           406        396      14
Damon, Johnny       NYY     Willis, Dontrelle  FLA          390        396      11
Byrd, Marlon        WAS     Rleal, Sendy       BAL          391        394       4
Hudson, Orlando     ARI     Escobar, Kelvim    LAA          397        386       5
Morales, Kendry     LAA     Batista, Miguel    ARI          394        385       4
Iguchi, Tadahito    CWS     Springer, Russ     HOU          372        383       7
Pratt, Todd         ATL     Hendrickson, Mark  TB           381        380       2
Conine, Jeff        BAL     Rivera, Saul       WAS          374        376       6
Johnson, Ben        SD      Pineiro, Joel      SEA          375        370       2
Greene, Khalil      SD      Pineiro, Joel      SEA          367        363      10
Molina, Bengie      TOR     Trachsel, Steve    NYM          365        354       6
Beltran, Carlos     NYM     Towers, Josh       TOR          351        339      20
Rodriguez, Luis     MIN     Dempster, Ryan     CHC          339        334       2

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+  Brian Barton       CF  2  2  1  0  1  0  0  .516 OBP during past week
LA  MLB Anthony Hatch      3B  5  4  2  0  1  0  0   
LA  MLB Brian Bormaster    DH  5  4  0  0  1  0  1   
SD  A   William Venable    LF  6  5  0  0  2  1  0   
SEA AA  Jesus Guzman       2B  2  2  0  0  1  1  0   
STL A+  Matt Dryer         DH  6  4  2  0  1  0  1  3 runs scored
STL AAA Brian Daubach      1B  3  2  0  0  2  0  0  4 RBI
TEX A   Brian Valichka      C  4  3  1  0  1  0  0   
TOR A+  David Corrente      C  5  3  0  0  2  1  0   
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
CHC AA  JR Mathes          9.0  4  0  0  4  0  0   
CLE A   Thomas Cowley      7.0  2  0  0  7  0  0   
COL AA  Ubaldo Jimenez     5.0  1  0  0 10  3  0  1 ER allowed over last 32 IP
HOU AAA Chris Baker        7.0  2  1  1  5  3  0   
HOU A   Thomas Fairchild   7.0  5  0  0  6  0  0  0.75 ERA over past month
KC  AA  Junior Herndon     8.0  2  1  1  4  1  0   
MIL AAA Jared Fernandez    9.0  3  0  0  7  0  0   
OAK AAA Shane Komine       7.0  4  0  0  4  1  0   
SD  AA  Sean Thompson      7.0  2  0  0  9  1  0   
STL A   Trey Hearne        7.0  4  1  0  6  1  0 

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

Jeremy Sowers allowed five hits and four runs over five innings, walking one and striking out three in his debut on Sunday against the Reds. Sowers was drafted in the first round by Cincinnati (No. 20 overall) in 2001, but he spurned the Reds’ contract offer to attend Vanderbilt University. He signed with the Indians in 2004 after being the sixth pick overall. The left-hander compiled a 23-5 record and 2.00 ERA in 42 starts in the minors, including a 9-1 mark and 1.39 ERA in 15 starts at Triple-A Buffalo this year.

Needing a pitcher to start the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees, the Florida Marlins called up right-hander Anibal Sanchez from Double-A Carolina to make his first major league start. Sanchez worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, scattering seven hits while walking none and striking out two batters in the win. To make room on the roster, the Marlins optioned right-hander Jeff Fulchino to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Sanchez became the 20th rookie used by the Marlins this season — and the 10th to make his major league debut.

Ken Griffey’s 549th homer broke a tie with Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt and gave him sole possession of 11th place on the career list, 14 behind Reggie Jackson.

The Dodger lineup featured four shortstops on the infield. Nomar Garciaparra (1,024 games), Ramon Martinez (249), Rafael Furcal (846) and Cesar Izturis (559) had played a combined total of 2,678 games at shortstop during their careers entering yesterday’s game.

Although he didn’t get the win, Jeremy Bonderman put together his third straight game going at least seven innings and allowing one run. In the 22 innings pitched, he’s struck out 32 batters and walked just five. He left with the game tied, but the Tigers scored three in the bottom of the eighth to send the Cardinals to their sixth straight loss.

As noted by Baseball Musings, “after giving up six runs in four innings to the New York Mets, a pitcher names Towers owns an ERA of 9.11.” That’s eerie.

Rafael Furcal singled in the first for his 1,000th career hit on Sunday vs. the Pirates. He finished 2-for-4 with two RBI in the game.

Jose Reyes had four hits again, including a leadoff homer to lead the New York Mets to a 7-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. The streaking Reyes went 4-for-5 for the second consecutive game and the third time in five days. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games and is on a 32-for-57 (.561) tear that’s raised his batting average from .246 to .302. “I feel real good right now,” he said. “I made a little change in my swing. A lot of pitchers were throwing me off-speed pitches outside. I tried to pull the ball before. Now I’m staying with it.”

Washington exploited the wildness of Baltimore’s Daniel Cabrera (4-5), who walked five, hit a batter and uncorked a team-record four wild pitches — one shy of the AL mark — in 4 2/3 innings on Sunday. He allowed six runs on five hits.

Barry Bonds left Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics after the second inning with irritation in his left knee.

Byung-Hyun Kim pitched seven outstanding innings in the Colorado Rockies’ 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday. It was the second consecutive start that Kim (5-4) did not allow a run. He went six shutout innings against Oakland last Monday. Kim scattered five hits, struck out seven and walked two in the longest scoreless start of his career.

Jorge Sosa pitched the ninth for his first save this season and the second of his career on Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Chuck James took a one-hitter into the seventh inning of his first major league start Sunday, leading the struggling Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. James finished with eight strikeouts and four walks in eight innings. The 24-year-old left-hander made seven relief appearances for the Braves before going on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring sustained against the New York Mets on May 5. He was activated from the DL on June 7 and optioned to Richmond, where he was 1-0 with a 2.67 ERA before being recalled.

Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur has the most two-out RBI in the Majors with 31.

Following his double in the eighth inning on Saturday, Matt Diaz’s pinch-hitting average (.368) is second in the Majors, behind the Brewers’ Corey Hart (.389).

The Astros sent LHP Philip Barzilla outright to Triple-A Round Rock. The A’s placed RHP Jay Witasick on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 20, with left ankle tendinitis. Florida’s Carlos Martinez (elbow) might not pitch again this season, according to MLB.com. The Phillies transferred RHP Julio Santana from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.

According to MLB.com, the Rangers are still expecting John Wasdin to rejoin the rotation on Friday against the Houston Astros. In a rehab start on Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma, Wasdin threw five scoreless innings.

Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz expects to make his next scheduled start Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

The Braves were hoping that John Thomson would return around July 4 after being sidelined by a blister on his right middle finger, but that is now questionable. “It’s touch and go,” manager Cox said. “It’s hard to say.”

Rangers right-handed pitcher Robinson Tejeda was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma on Sunday, a day after giving up seven runs in three innings. The Rangers purchased the contract of righty Nick Masset from Oklahoma.

The Giants’ Armando Benitez (strained right elbow) was unable to go on Sunday against the Athletics if needed, but he might be able to return on Tuesday against the Rangers. “It showed a little bit of inflammation,” trainer Stan Conte said. “It was a little sore, but it’s much better (Sunday). We’ll wait for the stiffness to go away.”

According to the Contra Costa Times, Mark Ellis (hand) is scheduled to start a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Monday. Barring any setbacks, he might be back as soon as Friday against the Diamondbacks.

Reliever Keith Foulke’s right elbow tendinitis appears to be improving, but he is still far from a return date to playing according to MLB.com. “Foulke is doing much better as far as the range of motion and swelling, but the throwing part is a little slower,” Terry Francona said. “Hopefully Tuesday, we’ll get him out there to play some catch but that’s still not for sure.”

J.J. Hardy, making slow progress in his return from a sprained ankle, probably won’t be ready to return to action until just before or after the All-Star break according to the Brewers.

THT’s Stats

Yesterday we looke at the batters who have created the most runs this year. Today, we’ll look at the pitchers who have have the most Pitching Runs Created. Pitching Runs Created is a stat designed by David Gassko to put pitcher performances on the same level as batters. For instance, Travis Hafner is leading the majors with 69 Runs Created, but the Twins’ Johan Santana is having a bigger year, according to PRC, with 78 Pitching Runs Created.

Here’s a list of the top twenty major league leaders in PRC.

Last          First      Team      PRC
Santana       Johan      MIN        78
Webb          Brandon    ARI        73
Schmidt       Jason      SF         68
Arroyo        Bronson    CIN        68
Zambrano      Carlos     CHN        65
Mussina       Mike       NYA        62
Schilling     Curt       BOS        61
Bonderman     Jeremy     DET        60
Halladay      Roy        TOR        59
Zito          Barry      OAK        59
Martinez      Pedro      NYN        59
Capuano       Chris      MIL        58
Haren         Danny      OAK        57
Kazmir        Scott E    TB         56
Penny         Brad       LAN        55
Contreras     Jose       CHA        53
Glavine       Tom        NYN        53
Lowe          Derek      LAN        53
Rogers        Kenny      DET        52
Oswalt        Roy        HOU        52

Access all of THT’s stats here…

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Dave Studeman was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Follow his sporadic tweets @dastudes.

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