THT Daily: Rockies Edge Diamondbacks, Pedro Hurt

Major League News for August 15

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

Yesterday’s Results
American League
DET     7  BOS     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA     7  LAA     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
CHA    12  KC      2    (Recap and Boxscore)
OAK     5  SEA     4    (Recap and Boxscore)

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

Today’s Games
Visitors                        Home                           Starts (EDT)
MIL - Davis D.* (8-6, 5.02)      PIT - Gorzelanny T.* (2-3, 4.19)   7:05 pm
NYM - Hernandez O. (8-8, 4.91)   PHI - Wolf R.* (0-0, 5.27)         7:05 pm
ATL - Cormier L. (2-3, 6.12)     WAS - Astacio P. (2-2, 5.56)       7:05 pm
DET - Bonderman J. (11-5, 3.76)  BOS - Schilling C. (14-5, 3.89)    7:05 pm
BAL - Bedard E.* (12-8, 3.91)    NYY - Mussina M. (13-5, 3.50)      7:05 pm
TOR - Halladay R. (14-3, 3.23)    TB - Seo J. (1-5, 4.50)           7:15 pm
 KC - Hernandez R. (2-7, 8.15)   CWS - Vazquez J. (11-6, 5.13)      8:05 pm
LAA - Santana E. (12-6, 4.14)    TEX - Padilla V. (12-7, 4.13)      8:05 pm
CHC - Mateo J. (1-0, 2.57)       HOU - Clemens R. (4-4, 2.24)       8:05 pm
CIN - Harang A. (12-7, 3.66)     STL - Carpenter C. (10-6, 3.27)    8:10 pm
CLE - Westbrook J. (9-7, 4.18)   MIN - Santana J.* (13-5, 3.24)     8:10 pm
ARI - Batista M. (10-5, 4.79)    COL - Jennings J. (7-9, 3.44)      9:05 pm
SEA - Pineiro J. (7-10, 5.91)    OAK - Saarloos K. (4-6, 4.89)     10:05 pm
 SF - Morris M. (8-10, 4.75)      SD - Young C. (9-5, 3.84)        10:05 pm
FLA - Sanchez A. (4-2, 4.13)     LAD - Billingsley C. (3-3, 3.52)  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     69  46 .600    0.0   67     2    sparkline graph
BOS     68  49 .581    2.0   64     4    sparkline graph
TOR     63  55 .534    7.5   64    -1    sparkline graph
BAL     51  67 .432   19.5   50     1    sparkline graph
TB      47  71 .398   23.5   47     0    sparkline graph
American League Central     
DET     77  41 .653    0.0   73     4    sparkline graph
CHA     71  46 .607    5.5   69     2    sparkline graph
MIN     68  49 .581    8.5   65     3    sparkline graph
CLE     53  64 .453   23.5   64   -11    sparkline graph
KC      41  78 .345   36.5   42    -1    sparkline graph
American League West        
OAK     66  52 .559    0.0   60     6    sparkline graph
LAA     61  58 .513    5.5   61     0    sparkline graph
TEX     61  58 .513    5.5   63    -2    sparkline graph
SEA     56  62 .475   10.0   58    -2    sparkline graph


National League East        Pwins  Diff
NYN     71  46 .607    0.0   67     4    sparkline graph
PHI     57  60 .487   14.0   59    -2    sparkline graph
ATL     55  62 .470   16.0   59    -4    sparkline graph
FLA     55  63 .466   16.5   57    -2    sparkline graph
WAS     51  67 .432   20.5   52    -1    sparkline graph
National League Central     
STL     62  55 .530    0.0   59     3    sparkline graph
CIN     61  57 .517    1.5   56     5    sparkline graph
HOU     57  61 .483    5.5   58    -1    sparkline graph
MIL     55  63 .466    7.5   51     4    sparkline graph
CHN     50  68 .424   12.5   48     2    sparkline graph
PIT     46  73 .387   17.0   52    -6    sparkline graph
National League West        
LAN     63  56 .529    0.0   65    -2    sparkline graph
SD      60  58 .508    2.5   60     0    sparkline graph
ARI     59  59 .500    3.5   59     0    sparkline graph
COL     58  60 .492    4.5   62    -4    sparkline graph
SF      55  63 .466    7.5   58    -3    sparkline graph

Game of the Day
COL     4  ARI     3    (Recap and Boxscore)

Regular boxscores that we use are unavailable this morning. But the graph below illustrates the late-innings battle between the two teams. Brad Hawpe singles in the winning run (Mr. Jamey Carroll) in the bottom of the ninth.

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

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
ATL AAA James Jurries      DH  4  3  2  0  1  0  0   
BAL A+  Mario Delgado      1B  5  5  2  0  1  0  0  Hitting .571 over last 21 at bats
BOS A-  Zak Farkes         3B  2  2  0  0  1  1  0  .515 OBP during past week
CHW AAA Ruben Rivera       LF  3  3  0  1  1  1  0   
CLE A+  Jordan Brown       LF  5  4  0  0  1  0  0  3 runs scored
COL A-  Matthew Repec      3B  4  4  0  0  0  0  0   
DET A-  Santo De Leon      3B  4  3  1  0  1  0  0   
LAA AAA Adam Pavkovich     PH  2  2  0  0  1  0  0   
SD  A   William Venable    LF  5  3  0  0  2  0  1   
SEA A-  Gavin Dickey       LF  3  2  1  0  1  1  1  3 runs scored
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
ARI A   Adam Howard        8.0  7  1  1  3  0  0   
CLE AAA Rob Bell           8.0  5  1  1  7  1  1   
FLA A+  Jacob Marceaux     7.0  3  2  2  3  0  1   
HOU AA  Chance Douglass    9.0  2  0  0  5  0  0   
KC  AA  Zack Greinke       7.0  5  1  1  7  1  0   
LAA AA  Nick Green         8.0  2  0  0 11  0  0   
PHI A   Ben Pfinsgraff     7.0  3  1  1  8  1  0  1.10 ERA over past month
SD  A   Gregory Burke      8.0  7  2  2  7  0  0   
SF  AAA Jonathan Sanchez   5.2  0  1  1  5  3  0   
STL A+  Jaime Garcia       7.0  5  1  1  4  1  0  

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Frank Thomas was 1-for-3 with a solo home run (25) and two runs scored in Monday’s game against the Mariners.

Jim Thome started the fourth inning of Monday’s game against Kansas City’s Mark Redman (7-7) with a single and then drove him out with a two-run homer later in the inning. The White Sox sent 11 batters to the plate. “We were fortunate to get some pitches to hit and capitalized,” Thome said. “He knows how to pitch. He changes speeds very well. Some of the balls he left in the middle of the plate we hit pretty yard. It worked out.”

Mark Redman, winless in his past four starts, gave up 10 hits and eight runs in 3 2/3 innings in Monday’s start at Chicago White Sox. “I fell behind and they hit some good pitches,” Redman said. “You have to stop the bleeding. You have some hitters’ parks and some pitchers’ parks and you have to adjust to the playing field and make some pitches.”

Jon Garland (13-4), who had an eight-game winning streak snapped in his previous outing against the Yankees, allowed seven hits and a run in seven innings on Monday at Kansas City.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

John Lackey (10-9) lost his third consecutive start, allowing three runs and 11 hits in seven innings at N.Y. Yankees on Monday. “It would be nice if we could get out to a lead and hang onto one,” he said. “I was able to minimize the damage, give our team a chance to win. If you’re going to be a playoff team, you’ve got to figure out ways to win games like that.”

Randy Johnson picked up his 276th win on Monday against the Angels and became only the third major leaguer to reach 4,500 strikeouts, joining Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Roger Clemens (4,552). “I thought his slider was outstanding,” manager Joe Torre said. “He looks like he’s got a little spring in his step. We just want to hold onto it as long as possible.”

Nate Robertson (11-8) entered Monday’s game at Boston with the third-lowest support in the AL, with 3.66 runs per game. He took advantage of the early offense to snap a personal two-game losing streak, allowing three runs on five hits over six innings. “It’s good to pitch well here, knowing you’re going to have a win a big game,” Robertson said. “It’s a big game — one of many we’re going to have over the next three weeks or so.”

Scott Olsen needs one more win to make the Marlins the first team to have three rookies with 10 or more wins since the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers, who had Joe Black, Billy Loes and Ben Wade combine for 39 victories.

Dontrelle Willis (7-10) gave up four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in Monday’s start at L.A. Dodgers, striking out nine and walking five. The two-time All-Star drove in the Marlins’ only run with his second-career triple.

Clay Hensley allowed just one unearned run, four hits and two walks in seven innings on Monday night against San Francisco. Despite the impressive performance and quality start, he took the loss (7-10).

Armando Benitez, who blew his last three save chances, pitched out of a jam in the ninth inning on Monday at San Diego for his 14th in 21 opportunities. With one out and runners on first and second, he got Josh Barfield to hit a fly ball to left field and then struck out pinch-hitter Geoff Blum.

Hennessey (5-2) won in his first start since July 1, allowing two hits in 5 2/3 innings at on Monday. Hennessey, who replaced Jamey Wright in the starting rotation, struck out three and walked one.

Roy Oswalt was hit on the right wrist by Ronny Cedeño’s line drive in the seventh inning on Monday against the Cubs. Oswalt retired two batters to finish the inning, then left the game and was listed as day-to-day. “He’s going to be a little sore,” manager Phil Garner said. “But right now, we’re thinking he’s going to be able to make his next start.”

Willy Taveras beat out an infield bunt single in the bottom of the third inning against the Cubs, as he extended his hitting streak to a career-best 17. He finished 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.

Phil Nevin was 3-for-4 with a home run (19) and three RBI (59) in Monday’s game at Houston.

Ryan Dempster worked a scoreless ninth inning in Monday’s game at Houston, allowing a walk, as he picked up his 12th consecutive save and 24th in 29 chances.

Zambrano (13-5) allowed four hits and struck out five in eight innings on Monday at Houston to improve to 6-1 at Minute Maid Park. “I felt strong the whole game,” said Zambrano, who threw 121 pitches.

Dave Bush (8-9) allowed four runs — three earned — and six hits in five innings on Monday night at Pittsburgh. “A loss is a loss,” Bush said. “The sign of a good team is they find a way to win games like this.”

Victor Santos, who went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained rotator cuff in June and lost his spot in the rotation upon his return in July, was filling in for Shawn Chacon (knee) on Monday against Milwaukee. Santos gave up two runs and four hits in five innings. “I just wanted to go out there and keep the ball down and stay aggressive,” said Santos, who had not won since June 9. “I kept us in the game and we got a ‘W’ out of it. You can’t ask for anything else.”

J.D. Drew, who is still bothered by the sore hand which caused him to a game over the weekend, was out of the lineup for Monday’s game against Colorado.

Mike Piazza left Monday’s game against the Giants in the fifth inning due to a bruised right forearm. He was hit on the arm by a pitch and left the game as a precaution.

Tom Gordon is expected to miss a few days after complaining about a sore shoulder on Monday. He will have an MRI to determine the severity of his injury. “He’ll be all right,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “Two to three days of rest should take care of it.”

Bobby Crosby (strained lower back) might be activated from the 15-day disabled list as soon as Wednesday. He has been on the DL since Aug. 4. “I feel good,” Crosby said. “It’s up to the staff and training staff if they feel I’m ready to go out and play.”

Injured 1B Derrek Lee hit “15 or 20” balls off a tee Monday as he recovers from inflammation in his right wrist. The 2005 NL batting champion has been on the 15-day DL since July 24. “You’ve got to start somewhere,” said Cubs manager Dusty Baker. “All I know is those hand injuries are tough. It takes a while to come back.”

Matt Holliday left Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks due to a bruised wrist. He was clipped on the left wrist by Claudio Vargas with the bases loaded in the third inning for the most difficult RBI you will come across.

RHP Keith Foulke had an MRI exam Monday to make sure there was nothing major causing stiffness in his back. There was no immediate timetable for his return. Foulke, who many hoped would be ready to join the Red Sox last weekend, has thrown five innings in his Triple-A, allowing one run and four hits with five strikeouts.

RHP Wade Miller, on the 60-day DL, will start for Triple-A Iowa against the Astros’ minor league affiliate in nearby Round Rock on Wednesday. Miller, a former Astro, was with the Cubs in Houston, where they opened a three-game series Monday. Miller, who signed a one-year contract with Chicago in January, wants to return to the Cubs next season. “I’ve talked to them and we’ve pretty much had an agreement that this would be more than one year. We’ll see how it goes this year.”

Jermaine Dye left Monday’s game against the Royals in the fourth inning as a precaution. He was hit on the left calf by a pitch from Mark Redman and was taken out with the White Sox already in command.

No. 5 stopgap Jason Bergmann will remain in the rotation for now — especially since RHP Shawn Hill will be shut down, possibly for the season, because of soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow.

Kevin Frandsen was recalled from Triple-A Fresno to replace Jose Vizcaino, who was designated for assignment earlier on Monday.

RHP Shawn Hill will be shut down, possibly for the season, because of soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow. He went on the DL on July 1.

RHP Shawn Chacon pronounced he felt much better Monday and said he would start Saturday. He had been bothered by a sore right knee and had his turn in the rotation taken by Victor Santos on Monday. With Chacon not getting skipped Saturday, Tom Gorzelanny is no longer a two-start pitcher for the week.

Jason Bay was held out of the lineup on Monday against the Brewers due to tightness in his upper left hamstring. He missed his first start since Sept. 4, 2004 – a streak of 307 consecutive games.

Mike Morse was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Monday, as he replaces Richie Sexson (bereavement) on the active roster.

LHP Gustavo Chacin pitched 4 2/3 innings for Class A Dunedin against Vero Beach in his final rehab start. On the 15-day DL since June 10 with a sore elbow, Chacin allowed five runs on six hits while walking four and striking out five. “It doesn’t bother me,” Chacin said of his elbow. “It feels strong, and that is the main part.”

The Seattle Mariners placed Richie Sexson on the bereavement list on Monday and they recalled Mike Morse from Triple-A Tacoma to replace him on the active roster.

LHP Mike Maroth, who had elbow surgery June 2, gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings Monday in his second rehab start for Triple-A Toledo.

Chipper Jones posted his first-career three-homer game (16, 17, 18) in Monday’s start at Washington. He finished 4-for-5 with the three runs scored and five RBI (65), a day after being activated from the 15-day disabled list.

Aaron Rowand was 0-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in Monday’s game against the Mets. He was hit by a pitch for the 17th time this season. That is the second-highest total in team history.

Ryan Howard was 1-for-5 with a run scored in Monday’s game against the Mets, but he also struck out four times for the golden sombrero.

Jimmy Rollins was 3-for-3 with a home run (18), three runs scored, two walks and three RBI (52) in Monday’s game against the Mets. He also chipped in with his 27th stolen base of the season.

Cole Hamels was up for his head-to-head matchup against Pedro Martinez on Monday night against the Mets. He worked eight scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out nine to improve to 5-6 and lower his ERA to 4.50.

Pedro Martinez was blasted for six runs, four hits and a walk in the first inning on Monday night at Philadelphia. He suffered a strained right calf and was unable to return to the mound for the second inning. He said he felt the strain while warming up, but went on to test the injury against the first batter anyway.

Mark Kotsay (back) was unable to start for the eighth consecutive game on Monday night against the Mariners.

SS Khalil Greene was back in the starting lineup after leaving Sunday’s game at Houston after being hit by a pitch from Brandon Backe. Greene, who missed six games recently with a sprained middle finger on his left hand, had X-rays Sunday that were negative. He had an appointment to see team doctors that was canceled when Greene woke up and said his finger felt fine.

Mike Cameron (knee) is in the starting lineup for Monday’s game against San Francisco. He is batting second and starting at center field.

Jose Valverde was recalled from Triple-A Tucson on Monday. He will replaced Greg Aquino (elbow) in the Arizona bullpen.

The Arizona Diamondbacks placed Greg Aquino on the 15-day disabled list on Monday due to a sore right elbow.

The Oakland Athletics optioned Ron Flores to Triple-A Sacramento and activated Joe Kennedy (shoulder) from the 15-day disabled list on Monday.

Caesar Izturis (hamstring) was out of the starting lineup for Monday’s game at N.Y. Yankees, missing his second straight.

Josh Barfield snapped out of a 5-for-44 slump by going 4-for-9 with a double and a homer, two RBI and three runs in the Padres’ back-to-back wins in Houston.

The Pirates on Monday placed outfielder Nate McLouth on the 15-day DL with a sprained left ankle. McLouth, 24, suffered the injury in Pittsburgh’s 7-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. He left in the seventh inning after homering and collecting a season-high three RBI in the contest. To fill McLouth’s spot on the roster, Pittsburgh recalled outfielder Rajai Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Andre Ethier went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Sunday’s loss. That snapped his hitting streak at 16 games.

J.D. Drew was out of the starting lineup again Sunday, but Dodgers manager Grady Little said it had nothing to do with the strained quadriceps muscle that forced him out of the lineup Thursday. “J.D. Drew’s fine,” Little said. “He’s off today because he and Jason Schmidt don’t see eye to eye on what Jason’s throwing and what J.D. likes to hit.”

Choo Freeman struck out as a pinch hitter Sunday and has only one hit, a solo home run Friday, in his past 18 at-bats.

Brad Radke’s right shoulder doesn’t have much left. The 12-year veteran is on the verge of retirement, but he’s still trying to pitch carefully through the pain and keep the Twins in playoff contention. He had a cortisone shot over the All-Star break, but the pain is so prevalent Radke uses his left arm for simple around-the-house activities like pouring milk. He has stopped throwing between starts. His catchers, Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond, have been calling fewer breaking balls to reduce stress on the joint.

Kaz Matsui has batted leadoff for Triple-A Colorado Springs the past two games in order to get more at-bats. Matsui, who likely will get regular at-bats with the Rockies sometime during the final six weeks of the season, went 1-for-3 with an RBI on Sunday and is hitting .292 in 24 games with Colorado Springs. Matsui likely would bat first or second for the Rockies. 2B Jamey Carroll has been the Rockies’ leadoff hitter, but he’s 7-for-36 in his past 11 games, dropping his average 15 points to .303.

Todd Helton went 0-for-3 Sunday and is hitting just .291 (66-for-227) in his career against the Cubs, his lowest mark against any opponent. Helton has struck out in each of the past nine games.

Ryan Spilborghs, who was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday, went 6-for-11 with five RBI and two runs in the weekend series against the Cubs. Spilborghs also recorded the first stolen base of his career in the second inning Sunday.

Yorvit Torrealba recorded a two-out, RBI single in the fifth inning Sunday. He has produced 19 of his 36 RBI with two outs.

Scott Hairston, on being recalled from Triple-A Tucson to replace OF Jeff DaVanon, who was placed on the disabled list with a left ankle sprain: “We’ve got a month and a half left and I want to be a part of it. I said that last year, but I got hurt at the end of the year and I wasn’t able to be a part of this team. Now I’m just trying to do what I can and stay around to help the ballclub reach our goal.”

Mike Bacsik (Triple-A Tucson) leads a group of three players in the Diamondbacks organization who have been selected to play for the U.S. national team in an Olympics qualifying tournament in Cuba later this month. Also participating are RHP Greg Smith and INF/OF Mark Reynolds, both from Double-A Tennessee.

Reds medical director Timothy Kremchek performed arthroscopic surgery on left-hander Brandon Claussen’s left shoulder. He went on the disabled list June 17 after going 3-8 with a 6.19 ERA for the Reds.

The Boston Red Sox recalled lefty Craig Breslow on Monday in an effort to help their overworked and struggling bullpen. Breslow was promoted from Triple-A Pawtucket and catcher Corky Miller was designated for assignment.

Veteran left-hander Kent Mercker will undergo season-ending reconstructive surgery on his left elbow, the Cincinnati Reds said Monday.

Vinny Castilla, a fan favorite in two stints with the Colorado Rockies, agreed to a minor league contract with the team and is expected to join the expanded roster in September. “In the brief history of our franchise, few players have endeared themselves to Rockies fans as much as Vinny,” Rockies president Keli McGregor said Monday.

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