THT Daily: Pitchers Go On Strike

Major League News for September 11

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

Yesterday’s Results

American League
NYA     9  BAL     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
BOS     9  KC      3    (Recap and Boxscore)
OAK     9  TB      7    (Recap and Boxscore)
CLE     5  CHA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIN    12  DET     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAA     4  TOR     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX     4  SEA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
ATL     2  CHN     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
FLA     3  PHI     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAN     9  NYN     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
CIN     4  PIT     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL     4  HOU     0    (Recap and Boxscore)
ARI     9  STL     7    (Recap and Boxscore)
COL    13  WAS     9    (Recap and Boxscore)
SD     10  SF      2    (Recap and Boxscore)

Today’s Games

Visitors                          Home                               Starts
MIL - Davis D.* (10-9, 4.92)      PIT - Duke Z.* (8-13, 4.78)          7:05
NYM - Williams D.* (5-3, 5.68)    FLA - Sanchez A. (7-2, 2.89)         7:05
CHC - Hill R.* (4-6, 4.83)        ATL - Smoltz J. (12-8, 3.63)         7:05
NYY - Johnson R.* (16-10, 4.76)   BAL - Benson K. (10-10, 4.66)        7:05
HOU - Pettitte A.* (13-13, 4.34)  STL - Carpenter C. (13-6, 2.97)      8:10
OAK - Blanton J. (15-10, 4.66)    MIN - Silva C. (8-13, 6.30)          8:10
WAS - Traber B.* (3-3, 7.36)      ARI - Vargas C. (11-9, 4.90)         9:40
CWS - Contreras J. (12-7, 4.09)   LAA - Lackey J. (11-9, 3.54)        10:05
TOR - Lilly T.* (12-12, 4.63)     SEA - Woods J.* (4-2, 3.99)         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 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     85  56 .603    0.0   83      2      
BOS     76  67 .531   10.0   72      4      
TOR     74  69 .517   12.0   74      0      
BAL     62  80 .437   23.5   61      1      
TB      57  86 .399   29.0   58     -1      
American League Central
DET     86  58 .597    0.0   85      1      
MIN     83  59 .585    2.0   80      3      
CHA     82  61 .573    3.5   81      1      
CLE     68  74 .479   17.0   79     -11     
KC      54  90 .375   32.0   55     -1      
American League West
OAK     82  60 .577    0.0   76      6      
LAA     77  66 .538    5.5   74      3      
TEX     73  71 .507   10.0   75     -2      
SEA     68  74 .479   14.0   69     -1      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     88  54 .620    0.0   83      5      
PHI     72  71 .503   16.5   74     -2      
FLA     72  71 .503   16.5   72      0      
ATL     69  73 .486   19.0   73     -4      
WAS     61  82 .427   27.5   60      1      
National League Central
STL     75  67 .528    0.0   71      4      
CIN     71  72 .497    4.5   69      2      
HOU     70  72 .493    5.0   72     -2      
MIL     65  78 .455   10.5   63      2      
PIT     58  86 .403   18.0   61     -3      
CHN     56  87 .392   19.5   58     -2      
National League West
LAN     76  67 .531    0.0   77     -1      
SD      74  68 .521    1.5   73      1      
SF      72  71 .503    4.0   72      0      
ARI     68  75 .476    8.0   70     -2      
COL     67  76 .469    9.0   72     -5      

Wildcard Standings
American League
MIN     83  59 .585    0.0
CHA     82  61 .573    1.5
LAA     77  66 .538    6.5
BOS     76  67 .531    7.5
TOR     74  69 .517    9.5
National League
SD      74  68 .521    0.0
PHI     72  71 .503    2.5
FLA     72  71 .503    2.5
SF      72  71 .503    2.5
CIN     71  72 .497    3.5

Game of the Day

The Al Central is getting tighter and tighter. Johan Santana and the Twins beat the Tigers yesterday, 12-1, and the White Sox lost to the Indians, 5-2. The Sox had another fine start from Javier Vazquez, who matched C.C. Sabathia for the first seven innings by allowing only two runs.

But the Sox bullpen blew the game in the ninth, allowing a leadoff home run to Victor Martinez and even walking in a run. Tadahito Iguchi accounted for Chicago’s two runs with a two-run, first-inning homer off Sabathia.

The Tigers now lead the Twins by only two games and the White Sox by three and a half. The Tigers’ loss coupled with the Yankees’ win at Baltimore catapulted New York ahead of Detroit in the race for the American League’s best record. The Tigers had owned sole possession of the league’s best mark for the previous 112 days (since May 20).

CLEVELAND (5) VS CHI WHITE SOX (2) - FINAL

CLEVELAND              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
G Sizemore cf           4  1  1  2   1  2   0  .295
J Michaels lf           5  0  2  1   0  0   3  .273
V Martinez c            4  1  1  1   0  1   2  .310
R Garko 1b              4  1  1  0   0  2   2  .315
S Choo rf               2  0  0  0   1  2   0  .280
C Blake dh              4  1  1  1   0  2   1  .293
H Luna ss               4  0  1  0   0  2   1  .253
J Inglett 2b            3  0  0  0   1  1   1  .270
A Marte 3b              2  1  0  0   2  0   0  .225

Totals                 32  5  7  5   5 12  10

BATTING: 3B - G Sizemore (11, J Vazquez). HR - V Martinez (15, 9th inning off B 
McCarthy 0 on, 0 Out). S - S Choo. RBI - G Sizemore 2 (68), J Michaels (54), V 
Martinez (82), C Blake (56). 2-out RBI - G Sizemore. Runners left in scoring 
position, 2 out - J Michaels 2. GIDP - C Blake. Team LOB - 6. 
 
FIELDING: E - C Sabathia (2, catch); J Inglett (2, dropped foul ball). DP: 1 
(C Sabathia-R Garko). 
 
CHI WHITE SOX          ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
P Ozuna lf              4  1  1  0   0  0   0  .327
 R Sweeney lf           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .143
T Iguchi 2b             4  1  2  2   0  1   0  .289
J Dye rf                3  0  1  0   1  0   0  .328
J Thome dh              4  0  0  0   0  3   3  .293
P Konerko 1b            4  0  0  0   0  0   1  .312
J Crede 3b              3  0  0  0   1  1   1  .298
A Pierzynski c          3  0  0  0   0  1   1  .293
J Uribe ss              3  0  0  0   0  2   2  .235
B Anderson cf           3  0  0  0   0  1   0  .229

Totals                 31  2  4  2   2  9   8

BATTING: HR - T Iguchi (15, 1st inning off C Sabathia 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - T 
Iguchi 2 (59). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Thome 1. Team LOB - 
4. 
 
FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Crede-T Iguchi-P Konerko). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    CLEVELAND       - 000 002 003   --   5
    CHI WHITE SOX   - 200 000 000   --   2
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND                    ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
C Sabathia (W, 11-9)          9       4   2   2   2   9   1   3.24

CHI WHITE SOX                ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Vazquez                     7       4   2   2   2  10   0   4.71
B McCarthy (L, 3-7)           1       2   2   2   0   1   1   4.79
N Cotts                         1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   4.59
D Riske                         1/3   1   1   1   0   1   0   3.79
B Logan                       0       0   0   0   1   0   0   6.91
S Tracey                        1/3   0   0   0   2   0   0   4.26

B McCarthy pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.
B Logan pitched to 1 batter in the 9th.

WP - S Tracey. Pitches-strikes: C Sabathia 118-85; J Vazquez 127-81; B 
McCarthy 16-10; N Cotts 2-2; D Riske 6-4; B Logan 7-1; S Tracey 12-4. Ground 
balls-fly balls: C Sabathia 6-11; J Vazquez 3-8; B McCarthy 0-2; N Cotts 1-0; D 
Riske 0-0; B Logan 0-0; S Tracey 0-1. Batters faced: C Sabathia 33; J Vazquez 
26; B McCarthy 5; N Cotts 1; D Riske 2; B Logan 1; S Tracey 3. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Sam Holbrook. 1B--Randy Marsh. 2B--Chris Guccione. 3B--Hunter 
Wendelstedt. 

T--2:51. Att--37,723. 
Weather: 63 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 14 mph, in from left.

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.

On Sept. 10, 2006 Albert Pujols hit his 45th and longest home run of 2006 to date, a 459 foot blast off the Diamondbacks’ Enrique Gonzalez at Chase Field. Pujols’ shot left his bat at 119.4 mph, and landed in the second deck down the left field line (where else, check his homer scatter plot.)

Pujols’ previous longest homer of 2006 was his April 16 blast off Cincinnati’s David Weathers at Busch Stadium, which traveled 455 feet (and which is still holding up as the longest in the history of Busch III). Another well-known Pujols homer, his 9th inning 3-run blast off Houston’s Brad Lidge in Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS, also covered 455 feet.

Hitter                      Pitcher                       True Dist  Std. Dist.  HR #
Pujols, Albert      STL     Gonzalez, Enrique    ARI          459        448      45
Napoli, Mike        LAA     Towers, Josh         TOR          444        436      15
Reyes, Jose         NYM     Stults, Eric         LAD          403        431      19
Iguchi, Tadahito    CWS     Sabathia, C.C.       CLE          420        427      15
Holliday, Matt      COL     Astacio, Pedro       WAS          457        419      28
Hernandez, Ramon    BAL     Villone, Ron         NYY          422        413      18
Martinez, Victor    CLE     McCarthy, Brandon    CWS          398        411      15
Garciaparra, Nomar  LAD     Bannister, Brian     NYM          380        409      17
Baldelli, Rocco     TB      Duchscherer, Justin  OAK          404        403      10
Helton, Todd        COL     Schroder, Chris      WAS          430        401      15
Thomas, Frank       OAK     Seo, Jae             TB           399        398      35
Fasano, Sal         NYY     Penn, Hayden         BAL          411        396       5
Lind, Adam          TOR     Weaver, Jered        LAA          409        396       1
Jeter, Derek        NYY     Penn, Hayden         BAL          408        394      13
Clark, Brady        ARI     Sosa, Jorge          STL          404        394       3
Atkins, Garrett     COL     Schroder, Chris      WAS          424        391      25
Byrnes, Eric        ARI     Sosa, Jorge          STL          398        389      23
Hernandez, Ramon    BAL     Wright, Jaret        NYY          401        387      17
Spiezio, Scott      STL     Pena, Tony           ARI          396        387      12
Graffanino, Tony    MIL     Rodriguez, Wandy     HOU          391        387       6
Chavez, Eric        OAK     Seo, Jae             TB           388        387      18
Cantu, Jorge        TB      Zito, Barry          OAK          385        384      13
Ortiz, David        BOS     Sisco, Andrew        KC           349        383      48
Scutaro, Marco      OAK     Camp, Shawn          TB           372        371       5
Logan, Nook         WAS     Francis, Jeff        COL          399        369       1
Green, Nick         NYY     Penn, Hayden         BAL          373        364       2
Duncan, Chris       STL     Gonzalez, Enrique    ARI          372        363      16
Rivera, Mike        MIL     Sampson, Chris       HOU          365        361       5
Bynum, Freddie      CHC     Cormier, Lance       ATL          356        356       3
Swisher, Nick       OAK     Seo, Jae             TB           344        343      31
Broussard, Ben      SEA     Eaton, Adam          TEX          347        342      20

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Five pitchers posted at least 10 strikeouts Sunday: Dontrelle Willis (12), Johan Santana (11), Lance Cormier (10), Javier Vazquez (10) and Dave Bush (10). It was the first time this season that more than three pitchers had double-digit strikeout performances on the same day, and it was the first day that as many as five pitchers struck out 10 batters since Sept. 6, 1998. (Source: Elias)

When Johan Santana starts at home, the Minnesota Twins are just about a sure thing. His latest gem has them breathing down the Detroit Tigers’ neck in the AL Central. Santana struck out 11 and allowed only two hits in Minnesota’s 12-1 victory over the Tigers on Sunday, pitching into the seventh inning and pulling the Twins within two games of first-place Detroit. The Twins haven’t lost a Santana home start since Aug. 6, 2005, going 22-0 in that span. Santana (18-5) is 15-0 with a 1.92 ERA during that stretch and hasn’t lost a game at all since the All-Star break. Santana is 31-2 over the past four seasons during August, September and October.

Jeremy Bonderman continued his recent struggles with seven runs — six earned — on eight his with six Ks and three walks over 5 2/3 innings in a loss on Sunday at Minnesota.

Brian Giles went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs and the San Diego Padres avoided a three-game sweep with a 10-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday night. Woody Williams (8-5) won for the fourth time in five decisions and had three hits for the first time since doing it twice in 2000 on Sunday at San Francisco. Williams allowed six hits and one run in six-plus innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter for the third time in six starts.

Jered Weaver struck out Troy Glaus with the bases loaded to help preserve his 11th victory, and the Los Angeles Angels took advantage of a first-inning injury to Toronto ace Roy Halladay in a 4-3 victory Sunday over the Blue Jays. Weaver (11-2) threw a career-high 113 pitches over 5 2/3 innings in his first start against Toronto. He allowed three runs and five hits. It was the 14th time in 16 starts this season that the rookie right-hander allowed no more than three runs. Weaver walked three and struck out eight, including Glaus on a called third strike to escape a fifth-inning jam.

Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was knocked out of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning when Garret Anderson lined a single off his pitching elbow. Halladay departed after 16 pitches with two out and runners at first and third. He was replaced by Josh Towers, who pitched for the first time since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday.

Michael Young had three hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning to help the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Sunday, ending their three-game losing streak. Adam Eaton allowed two runs on eight hits with five Ks over six innings in a no-decision on Sunday at Seattle.

Felix Hernandez allowed one run on seven hits with five Ks over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision on Sunday against Texas.

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols had three hits, including his 45th home run, on Sunday at Arizona.

Matt Holliday homered and drove in three runs, and the Colorado Rockies outslugged the Washington Nationals 13-9 Sunday to sweep their season series. Holliday finished 3-for-5 with his 28th home run of the year.

David Ortiz hit his career-high 48th home run to help the Boston Red Sox snap a three-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Julian Tavarez (3-4) allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings on Sunday against Kansas City to win his first decision since moving into Boston’s starting rotation Aug. 31 after making 52 relief appearances.

Derek Jeter extended his career-high hitting streak to 20 games, going 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI to lead the New York Yankees over the Baltimore Orioles 9-4 Sunday. Jeter extended his hitting streak with a double in the first inning. He hit a two-run homer in the third, a run-scoring groundout in the fourth, a sacrifice fly in the sixth and finished with a groundout in the ninth. His 20-game hitting streak is the longest by a Yankee since Bernie Williams’ 21-game run in August 1993.

Baltimore’s Ramon Hernandez (ankle) went 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBI on Sunday against the Yankees. It was his third multihomer game of the season and the sixth of his career.

Jaret Wright allowed three runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings to earn his first win since Aug. 12 on Sunday at Baltimore. He struck out two, walked two and did not permit a runner past first base until Ramon Hernandez homered in the fifth.

Dave Bush pitched a five-hitter and struck out a season-high 10 in his third career shutout, leading the Milwaukee Brewers past the Houston Astros 4-0 on Sunday. Bush walked none and allowed only one runner past second base. He struck out two batters each in the first, third and fifth, and fell one strikeout shy of his career high. He struck out 11 on Oct. 1, 2004, when he tossed a two-hitter for Toronto in a win over the New York Yankees. Bush came to Milwaukee after last season in the deal that sent Lyle Overbay to the Blue Jays.

Eric Stults pitched with unusual poise for a 26-year-old making his first major league start, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a big September boost. Stults limited the New York Mets to two hits in six innings, and Kenny Lofton gave him an early lead with a three-run triple off a shaky Steve Trachsel in the Dodgers’ 9-1 victory Sunday.

Steve Trachsel (14-7) lost his second straight start on Sunday after going 12-1 in an 18-start stretch from May 23 through Aug. 29. Perhaps putting his postseason starting spot in jeopardy, he allowed four runs, five hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings, his ERA rising to a season-high 5.17, in a loss against the Dodgers.

Frank Thomas homered for the fifth consecutive game and drove in three runs to help the AL West-leading Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-7 on Sunday. Thomas has homered in five straight games three times in his career. It was the first since May 24-29, 1994. He tied the franchise record for homers in consecutive games held by George Alusik (1962), Dave Kingman (1986) and Matt Stairs (1998).

Lance Cormier pitched seven solid innings and struck out a career-high 10 to help the Atlanta Braves beat Chicago 2-1 on Sunday, the Cubs’ ninth straight road loss. Cormier (3-4) allowed eight hits and didn’t walk anyone. The only run off the right-hander came on a homer by Freddie Bynum leading off the sixth. Cormier also matched his career best with the seven innings pitched and got his first major league hit, a single in the fifth. He had been 0-for-7.

Bronson Arroyo pitched eight solid innings for his third straight win to help the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Sunday afternoon. Arroyo (13-9) allowed four hits and two runs with no walks and seven strikeouts.

The Rockies placed catcher Yorvit Torrealba on the 60-day DL on Sunday. The move came one day after the team announced Torrealba’s season had ended because of a strained right shoulder. He hit .247 with seven home runs and 43 RBI in 65 games with the Rockies. The Rockies have purchased the contract of catcher Alvin Colina from Double-A Tulsa, where he hit .254 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI in 92 games. Chris Iannetta will take over as the full-time starter for the Rockies.

A final decision on whether Tampa Bay LHP Scott Kazmir (sore left shoulder) will be shut down for the rest of season should come soon. “It’s getting to the point where it will happen,” Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. Kazmir ended his first session of playing catch in two weeks on Friday after nine throws because he felt discomfort in the shoulder.

The White Sox purchased the contract of third baseman Josh Fields from Triple-A Charlotte, returned outfielder Jerry Owens from a minor-league rehab assignment at Charlotte and activated him from the 15-day DL, and recalled right-hander Sean Tracey from the same club. Tracey was 8-9 with a 4.30 ERA in 29 games, including 20 starts, with Charlotte this season. It is his third stint with the White Sox, and he is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA in four games. He drew national attention earlier this season when he failed to hit a batter in retaliation after Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski had been hit with a pitch. Tracey was removed from the game and dressed down in the dugout by manager Ozzie Guillen.

Cliff Floyd got the message Sunday: play now or maybe not at all come October. Floyd has been limited to 85 games and 291 at-bats this season, bothered by chronic pain in his left Achilles’ tendon. He met with Mets manager Willie Randolph for about 20 minutes before New York’s series finale against Los Angeles on Sunday. “Physically, we all know where I stand. Mentally, you have to block all the mess out. If you don’t, then it allows you potentially to not have the confidence or not have whatever it is you need to get it done,” Floyd said. “I have to play. If I’m going to be on the roster and be able to help this team, I have to play. I have to be counted on to go out there.”

The Padres purchased the contract of INF-OF John Knott from Triple-A Portland of the PCL and transferred INF-OF Ryan Klesko (back, shoulder, neck) from the 15-day-DL to the 60-day DL. “When Ryan’s ready to play, we’ll find a spot for him,” GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com. “It’s probably going to be hard this late in the season to get him enough at-bats to tell where he’s at. I don’t know if anyone will know where he’s at ’til spring training. If he didn’t have an injury, I’d like to have him, a veteran player who’s a threat.”

Tigers sent INF Don Kelly outright to Double-A Erie of the Eastern League.

The Royals activated RHP Adam Bernero from the 15-day DL on Sunday.

The M’s transferred RHP Mark Lowe from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL and placed RHP Sean Green on the 60-day DL with a strained right lat muscle.

The Devil Rays released first baseman Travis Lee on Sunday. Lee struggled offensively this season, hitting .224 with 11 homers and 31 RBI in 114 games. “There was no playing time left for him here,” Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We thought it would give him an opportunity to catch on with someone else possibly for these last couple weeks. There was no real plan for him now and in the future with us.” Ty Wigginton and Kevin Witt are expected to get most of the playing time at first base during the rest of the season.

Phillies reliever Arthur Rhodes will undergo an MRI on his left shoulder sometime in the next couple of days, but manager Charlie Manuel said Rhodes’ season is probably over.

Barry Bonds’ future in San Francisco is no more clear now than it was six months ago. Giants owner Peter Magowan vowed Sunday to hold off on a decision about bringing back the 42-year-old slugger until after the season, acknowledging it could be a long process before the sides decide whether to stay together for another season or part ways. Especially considering Bonds has changed his mind so often this year about whether he will retire or return for a 22nd major league season in pursuit of Hank Aaron’s home run record. Or, head to the American League to be a designated hitter. Lately, he has said he plans to play past 2006. He is in the final season of a five-year, $90 million contract. Bonds has repeatedly said he would prefer to finish his career with the Giants in the Bay Area where he grew up, but always notes that it isn’t up to him – typically pointing to the ceiling toward the team’s top brass. Magowan, though, thinks it might be Bonds’ decision in the end. “In some ways, he really is the driver of the process,” Magowan said. “Does he want to play or doesn’t he? Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t. … If you want to show me any one particular quote where he says one thing, I can probably show you another one that says the exact opposite, going back quite a ways on this whole subject.”

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