THT Daily: Opposite Day

Major League News for July 4

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
TEX     6  TOR     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Rheinecker: 7 IP, 1 R; DeRosa: 3 RBI, HR
TB      3  BOS     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Wigginton: 2 HR; Kazmir: 9 IP, 0 R
LAA     7  SEA     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Morales: 3-4, 3 RS, HR; Weaver: 7 IP, 1 R
OAK     5  DET     3    (Recap and Boxscore) Payton: 3 RBI, HR; Blanton: 7 IP, 3 R
CLE     5  NYA     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Sowers: 7 IP, 2 R
MIN     6  KC      5    (Recap and Boxscore) Morneau: 3 RBI, HR; Berroa: 3 RBI
BAL     8  CHA     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Bedard: 8 IP, 1 R, 7 K, 1 BB, 2 H

National League
SF      9  COL     6    (Recap and Boxscore) Vizquel: 4-5
ATL     6  STL     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT    11  NYN     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Bay: 3 RBI; Maholm: 6 IP, 1 R
WAS     9  FLA     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Soriano: 2 HR; Guillen: 3 RBI; Astacio: 5 IP, 1 R
MIL     8  CIN     7    (Recap and Boxscore) See below
LAN    10  ARI     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Ethier: 4-5, 2 2B; Lowe: 5 IP, 2 R; Nomar: 3 HBP
HOU     7  CHN     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Berkman: 2 HR, 4 RBI; Clemens: 5 IP, 2 R

Today’s Games

Visitors                         Home                              Time
FLA - Olsen S.* (6-4, 4.26)      WAS - Patterson J. (1-2, 4.41)    1:05
PIT - Duke Z.* (5-7, 4.92)       NYM - Glavine T.* (11-2, 3.34)    1:10
CIN - Arroyo B. (9-4, 2.58)      MIL - Davis D.* (4-5, 4.82)       2:05
CHC - Prior M. (0-3, 9.00)       HOU - Pettitte A.* (6-9, 5.58)    2:05
SD - Hensley C. (5-6, 4.14)      PHI - Hamels C.* (1-4, 5.50)      3:05
BAL - Lopez R. (5-9, 6.32)       CWS - Contreras J. (8-0, 3.54)    4:05
LAA - Santana E. (8-3, 3.92)     SEA - Meche G. (7-4, 3.75)        4:05
BOS - Schilling C. (10-2, 3.54)  TB - Fossum C.* (3-3, 5.03)       4:15
DET - Verlander J. (10-4, 3.13)  OAK - Haren D. (6-6, 3.53)        5:05
NYY - Chacon S. (4-2, 5.68)      CLE - Westbrook J. (6-4, 4.37)    6:05
STL - Carpenter C. (6-4, 2.85)   ATL - Thomson J. (2-6, 4.68)      7:05
SF - Schmidt J. (6-3, 2.73)      COL - Francis J.* (5-7, 4.25)     8:05
TOR - Halladay R. (10-2, 3.22)   TEX - Koronka J.* (6-4, 4.79)     8:05
MIN - Bonser B. (2-1, 4.68)      KC - Gobble J.* (2-1, 3.67)       8:10
ARI - Gonzalez E. (2-1, 4.03)    LAD - Sele A. (4-2, 3.06)         9:10

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     50  30 .625    0.0   46      4      
NYA     46  34 .575    4.0   47     -1      
TOR     46  36 .561    5.0   46      0      
BAL     39  45 .464   13.0   38      1      
TB      36  47 .434   15.5   35      1      
American League Central
DET     56  27 .675    0.0   53      3      
CHA     53  29 .646    2.5   50      3      
MIN     46  35 .568    9.0   44      2      
CLE     38  43 .469   17.0   44     -6      
KC      27  54 .333   28.0   28     -1      
American League West
OAK     43  39 .524    0.0   41      2      
TEX     42  41 .506    1.5   43     -1      
SEA     42  42 .500    2.0   44     -2      
LAA     38  44 .463    5.0   38      0      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     48  34 .585    0.0   46      2      
PHI     37  44 .457   10.5   37      0      
FLA     35  44 .443   11.5   39     -4      
ATL     36  47 .434   12.5   40     -4      
WAS     36  48 .429   13.0   37     -1      
National League Central
STL     44  37 .543    0.0   42      2      
CIN     44  39 .530    1.0   41      3      
HOU     41  42 .494    4.0   39      2      
MIL     41  43 .488    4.5   36      5      
CHN     30  52 .366   14.5   31     -1      
PIT     29  55 .345   16.5   37     -8      
National League West
SD      43  39 .524    0.0   43      0      
SF      43  40 .518    0.5   43      0      
COL     42  40 .512    1.0   42      0      
LAN     42  40 .512    1.0   46     -4      
ARI     40  43 .482    3.5   40      0      

Game of the Day

Milwaukee beat Cincinnati 8-7 in a battle of lousy bullpens. The Brewers’ Derrick Turnbow gave up a go-ahead double to Ken Griffey Jr. in the top of the ninth, but Todd Coffey couldn’t hold the lead (or even record an out) and gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth, including the game-winning hit by Carlos Lee.

Griffey also hit his 554th home run, and Billy Hall was 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored. The win went to Matt Wise, who retired Austin Kearns with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth.

CINCINNATI (7) VS MILWAUKEE (8) - FINAL

CINCINNATI             ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
F Lopez ss              4  1  0  0   1  0   1  .270
A Dunn lf               5  1  3  1   0  2   0  .234
 R Freel pr-lf          0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .299
K Griffey Jr cf         5  1  2  3   0  2   1  .262
R Aurilia 3b-1b         5  0  1  1   0  0   1  .264
S Hatteberg 1b          3  0  1  0   2  1   0  .292
 T Coffey p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
B Phillips 2b           4  1  1  0   1  0   3  .322
A Kearns rf             5  1  2  2   0  0   3  .272
J LaRue c               2  1  0  0   2  0   0  .179
A Harang p              2  0  0  0   0  2   3  .189
 K Mercker p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 J Standridge p         0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 a-J Valentin ph        1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .211
 J Castro 3b            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .318

Totals                 36  7 10  7   6  7  13

a-grounded to first for J Standridge in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - A Dunn (14, D Bush); A Kearns (20, D Bush); K Griffey Jr (10, D 
Turnbow). HR - A Kearns (16, 4th inning off D Bush 1 on, 2 Out), K Griffey Jr 
(18, 7th inning off B Shouse 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - R Aurilia (32), A Kearns 2 
(49), K Griffey Jr 3 (50), A Dunn (54). 2-out RBI - R Aurilia, A Kearns 2, K 
Griffey Jr. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Harang 2, B Phillips 1, 
A Kearns 2. Team LOB - 9. 
 
FIELDING: E - A Kearns (2, throw); F Lopez (14, throw). DP: 3 (R Aurilia-B 
Phillips-S Hatteberg, B Phillips-F Lopez-S Hatteberg, F Lopez-S Hatteberg). 
 
MILWAUKEE              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
R Weeks 2b              5  2  2  0   0  0   1  .276
B Hall ss               5  3  4  1   0  0   0  .273
G Jenkins rf            5  2  2  2   0  1   1  .259
C Lee lf                5  0  2  2   0  0   2  .286
P Fielder 1b            4  1  1  1   0  1   1  .279
C Koskie 3b             3  0  0  0   1  0   0  .263
D Miller c              4  0  2  1   0  2   0  .275
G Gross cf              2  0  2  0   1  0   0  .274
D Bush p                2  0  0  0   0  0   3  .147
 a-J Cirillo ph         1  0  0  0   0  0   3  .327
 B Shouse p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 J Capellan p           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-C Hart ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   1  .311
 D Turnbow p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 M Wise p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000

Totals                 37  8 15  7   2  4  12

a-grounded to second for D Bush in the 6th;  b-grounded to shortstop for J 
Capellan in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - G Jenkins (18, A Harang); D Miller (20, A Harang); B Hall (21, A 
Harang). HR - B Hall (17, 3rd inning off A Harang 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - B Hall 
(40), P Fielder (44), D Miller (28), G Jenkins 2 (47), C Lee 2 (68). 2-out RBI 
- P Fielder, D Miller. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Cirillo 2, D 
Bush 1. GIDP - R Weeks, P Fielder, C Hart. Team LOB - 8. 
 
BASERUNNING: SB - G Jenkins (4, 3rd base off K Mercker/J LaRue). 
 
FIELDING: DP: 1 (P Fielder). 

----------------------------------------------------
    CINCINNATI      - 100 200 103   --   7
    MILWAUKEE       - 001 002 302   --   8

No outs when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------

CINCINNATI                   ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
A Harang                      6      10   5   5   2   3   1   3.65
K Mercker (B, 2)              1       1   1   0   0   0   0   5.57
J Standridge                  1       0   0   0   0   1   0   1.69
T Coffey (L, 3-3; B, 2)       0       4   2   2   0   0   0   2.98

MILWAUKEE                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
D Bush                        6       7   3   3   2   5   1   4.45
B Shouse                      1 1/3   1   1   1   0   2   1   2.70
J Capellan (H, 10)              2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   4.26
D Turnbow (B, 6)                2/3   2   3   3   3   0   0   4.71
M Wise (W, 5-4)                 1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   4.71

A Harang pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
T Coffey pitched to 4 batters in the 9th.

IBB - J LaRue (by D Bush), G Gross (by A Harang). HBP - A Harang (by D Bush); 
G Gross (by J Standridge). Pitches-strikes: A Harang 99-56; K Mercker 14-11; J 
Standridge 8-4; T Coffey 12-10; D Bush 89-54; B Shouse 23-14; J Capellan 4-2; D 
Turnbow 30-12; M Wise 8-3. Ground balls-fly balls: A Harang 6-9; K Mercker 3-0; 
J Standridge 2-0; T Coffey 0-0; D Bush 7-5; B Shouse 1-1; J Capellan 0-2; D 
Turnbow 1-1; M Wise 0-1. Batters faced: A Harang 29; K Mercker 4; J Standridge 
3; T Coffey 4; D Bush 27; B Shouse 5; J Capellan 2; D Turnbow 7; M Wise 2. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Andy Fletcher. 1B--Mike Reilly. 2B--Jeff Kellogg. 3B--Jerry 
Meals. 
T--3:00. Att--31,353. Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, in from right.

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    Stnd
Wigginton, Ty       TB    Beckett, Josh       BOS        425     424
Abercrombie, Reggie FLA   Astacio, Pedro      WAS        426     421
Giles, Marcus       ATL   Reyes, Anthony      STL        438     418
Patterson, Corey    BAL   McCarthy, Brandon   CWS        418     418
Morneau, Justin     MIN   Elarton, Scott      KC         430     412
McLouth, Nate       PIT   Feliciano, Pedro    NYM        425     406
Morales, Kendry     LAA   Hernandez, Felix    SEA        409     400
Renteria, Edgar     ATL   Reyes, Anthony      STL        409     399
Guillen, Jose       WAS   Herges, Matt        FLA        405     399
Soriano, Alfonso    WAS   Nolasco, Ricky      FLA        399     397
Thames, Marcus      DET   Blanton, Joe        OAK        417     396
Dye, Jermaine       CWS   Bedard, Erik        BAL        411     396
Kearns, Austin      CIN   Bush, Dave          MIL        405     396
McCann, Brian       ATL   Reyes, Anthony      STL        403     394
DeRosa, Mark        TEX   Lilly, Ted          TOR        396     394
Paulino, Ronny      PIT   Feliciano, Pedro    NYM        413     392
Tejada, Miguel      BAL   McCarthy, Brandon   CWS        390     389
Pujols, Albert      STL   Smoltz, John        ATL        403     387
Jones, Jacque       CHC   Clemens, Roger      HOU        388     386
Feliz, Pedro        SF    Cortes, David       COL        427     385
Langerhans, Ryan    ATL   Kinney, Josh        STL        390     383
Biggio, Craig       HOU   Marmol, Carlos      CHC        385     383
Hall, Bill          MIL   Harang, Aaron       CIN        388     380
Wigginton, Ty       TB    Beckett, Josh       BOS        380     380
Berkman, Lance      HOU   Marmol, Carlos      CHC        380     378
Branyan, Russell    TB    Beckett, Josh       BOS        374     373
Payton, Jay         OAK   Robertson, Nate     DET        368     371
Griffey Jr., Ken    CIN   Shouse, Brian       MIL        377     369
Mauer, Joe          MIN   Elarton, Scott      KC         380     366
Helton, Todd        COL   Lowry, Noah         SF         389     355
Giambi, Jason       NYY   Sowers, Jeremy      CLE        387     352
Berkman, Lance      HOU   Ohman, Will         CHC        353     351
Hollandsworth, Todd CLE   Wang, Chien-Ming    NYY        373     349
Soriano, Alfonso    WAS   Nolasco, Ricky      FLA        353     347

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
BOS A-  Reid Engel         CF  4  4  0  0  2  1  0   
CIN A   Jay Bruce          RF  4  3  2  0  1  1  1  Hitting .520 over last 25 at bats
DET A+  Nick McIntyre      3B  3  3  1  1  0  1  0  .586 OBP during past week
HOU A-  Jhon Florentino    SS  4  3  1  0  1  0  1   
MIL A+  Brendan Katin      RF  4  3  0  0  1  1  0   
MIN A   Andrew Thompson    2B  6  5  2  1  0  0  1  3 runs scored
NYM A   Jonel Pacheco      LF  4  4  2  0  0  1  0  3 runs scored
SD  A+  Sean Kazmar        2B  4  4  1  0  1  0  0   
SD  A-  David Freese       DH  4  4  2  0  1  1  0  7 RBI
TB  A+  Chris Nowak        1B  6  5  1  1  0  0  0  4 runs scored
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
ATL A+  Jo-Jo Reyes        7.0  7  0  0  6  1  0  1.30 ERA over past month
CHC A-  Jose Pina          6.0  1  0  0  2  1  0   
KC  AA  Zack Greinke       9.0  2  1  1 12  1  0  19 K over last 13 IP
LAA A   Stephen Marek      8.0  4  1  1  2  0  0   
NYY A   Erick Abreu        7.2  3  1  1  6  1  1   
NYY AA  Philip Hughes      4.2  2  0  0  9  2  0   
OAK A-  TJ Franco Jr.      4.2  0  0  0  4  0  0   
PHI A   Zachary Cline      6.0  3  0  0  4  2  0   
PHI A+  Derek Griffith     7.0  4  0  0  6  2  0   
PIT AA  Landon Jacobsen    7.0  2  0  0  3  1  0  

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Chicago White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi had to leave Monday night’s game against Baltimore after colliding with right fielder Jermaine Dye while catching a pop fly in the fifth inning. Iguchi was back pedaling, raised his hand, caught the ball hit by Kevin Millar and then had the back of his legs cut out from under him by the charging Dye. Both players stayed down for several minutes before Iguchi got up and walked gingerly off the field accompanied by a trainer. Dye, who hurt his hand in the collision, remained in the game. Alex Cintron replaced Iguchi, who is expected to miss a couple of games.

Scott Kazmir tossed a complete game two-hit shutout in Monday’s game against the Red Sox, as he continued his dominance against the American League East rivals and looked like an All-Star. “I try to go out with the same feeling every time I go out there, but sometimes you just can’t help it with the atmosphere that’s around playing those teams,” Kazmir said. “It’s a special atmosphere.” He walked just two batters and struck out 10. He threw 120 pitches.

Jered Weaver allowed one earned run and five hits in seven innings at Seattle. He struck out nine batters to improve to 5-0 and lower his ERA to 1.35. “When he got a lead he knew what to do. He put pitches in good zones and made them step up to try and beat him, and we were able to hold it (Monday),” manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s got great mound presence out there and pitched a terrific game.”

Jeremy Sowers (1-1), making his second major league start Monday vs. the Yankees in front of the largest regular-season crowd at Jacobs Field in nearly six years defeated the Yankees for his first major league win. He allowed six hits, struck out four and had one intentional walk.

Thomas Diamond, one of the Rangers’ top pitching prospect DVD Boys (John Danks, Edinson Volquez and Diamond), struck out 12 in six innings in his past start. He walked two.

Oakland’s Rich Harden did not respond well to a throwing session on Sunday and will be shut down for a week.

San Francisco’s Armando Benitez (elbow) was able to return to action at Colorado. He worked a scoreless ninth inning, allowing a hit and striking out one batter, as he picked up his eighth save of the season.

Jose Valverde was optioned to Triple-A Tucson, as the Diamondbacks needed a roster spot for starter Juan Cruz (shoulder).

The Rockies’ Ryan Spilborghs was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs and the team recalled Luis Gonzalez to replace him.

Pedro Martinez will get treatment for his sore hip and throw a light side session before a decision is made on whether he’ll get another start for the New York Mets before the All-Star break. Martinez’s next turn in the rotation would be Saturday’s doubleheader against the Florida Marlins.

The Mets recalled John Maine from Triple-A Norfolk prior to Monday’s game vs. Pittsburgh and optioned Alay Soler to the Tides. Maine made the start for the Mets in place of Pedro Martinez (hip).

The aching pitching arm of Texas Rangers right-hander Kevin Millwood felt a little better Monday. Whether he makes his next scheduled start is up to team management and medical personnel, however. Texas’ No. 1 starter left Sunday night’s game in the fourth inning with a strained right biceps. He complained of feeling “a dull ache” in his arm. That sensation was still there on Monday. “But it’s a little better than it was,” Millwood said. “No real sharp pain or anything, just kind of an uncomfortable feeling.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the MRI on Chris Reitsma’s hand was inconclusive. He feels he might need season-ending surgery after a setback on Saturday when he felt numbness in his throwing hand.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports and MRI on Chipper Jones’ foot revealed a partial tear of the plantar plate and inflammated of his medial collateral ligament. “It feels better than it did [Sunday], which is a good sign,” Jones said. “We needed to get a definitive answer, because I didn’t want to be in a boot for six weeks like last year.”

The Seattle Mariners placed center fielder Jeremy Reed and right-handed reliever Sean Green on the 15-day disabled list. Seattle recalled South Korean outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and right-handed Colombian reliever Emiliano Fruto from Triple-A Tacoma to take the roster spots of Reed and Green.

The Texas Rangers called up right-hander Wes Littleton from Triple-A Oklahoma and sent outfielder Freddy Guzman to the RedHawks.

The St. Louis Cardinals optioned reliever Brad Thompson to Triple-A Memphis and recalled outfielder Chris Duncan.

RHP Dan Miceli went on the disabled list May 5 due to a sore right shoulder. He was moved to the 60-day DL in mid-June and there’s no timetable for his potential return.

The Royals put pitcher Mike Wood on the 15-day disabled list Monday with an inflammation in his back. Manager Buddy Bell said right-hander Luke Hudson will take Wood’s spot in the rotation, becoming the 13th starter used by the Royals before the All-Star break. The Royals recalled right-hander Joe Nelson from Triple-A Omaha, where he was 1-2 with seven saves and a 2.10 ERA.

The Chicago Cubs reinstated left-hander Glendon Rusch from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Angel Guzman to Triple-A Iowa.

Takashi Saito has taken over as the Dodgers’ fill-in closer while Eric Gagne (elbow) works his way back yet again. Danys Baez is stuck in a setup role.

Ryan Klesko (shoulder, neck) might be able to begin a rehab assignment Aug. 1, according to MLB.com, but he would be nothing more than trade bait or insurance for Adrian Gonzalez if healthy. “I’ll get him through waivers,” Padres GM Kevin Towers told the Padres’ official site. “If he goes out on rehab and proves himself healthy, I think some contending clubs will show interest because of what he’s done in the past.”

Padres top prospect Cesar Carrillo remains on the DL at Triple-A Portland and might miss the remainder of the season because of a sore right elbow, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “If we need to be cautious and shut him down, we will,” Grady Fuson, VP of scouting and player development, told the paper. “We could always get him innings later in the (Arizona) Fall League.”

THT Stats

Win Shares is a single, all-in-one stat that allows you to directly compare the contribution of individual players, regardless of their position. Following is a list of all players with at least nine Win Shares above a hypothetical bench player level.

Player       POS    Team      WSAB   Career WS
Pujols       1B     STL         16         201
Beltran      OF     NYN         14         175
Thome        DH     CHA         12         298
Berkman      1B     HOU         12         169
Mauer        C      MIN         12          47
Arroyo       SP     CIN         11          43
Webb         SP     ARI         11          63
Ramirez      OF     BOS         10         326
Santana      SP     MIN         10          94
Abreu        OF     PHI         10         246
Crawford     OF     TB          10          79
Hafner       DH     CLE         10          71
Liriano      SP     MIN         10          13
Wright       3B     NYN         10          53
Granderson   OF     DET         10          22
Lee          OF     MIL          9         139
Zambrano     SP     CHN          9          73
Giambi       1B     NYA          9         275
Johnson      1B     WAS          9          69
Hernandez    C      BAL          9          97
Rolen        3B     STL          9         233
Bonds        OF     SF           9         679
Utley        2B     PHI          9          55
Cabrera      3B     FLA          9          78

Access all of THT’s stats here…