THT Daily: Royals Sweep A’s

Major League News for August 17

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
BAL     7  TOR     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA    12  BOS     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYA    14  BOS    11    (Recap and Boxscore)
TB      6  CLE     5    (Recap and Boxscore)
TEX     2  DET     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      7  OAK     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      5  OAK     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIN     7  CHA     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
LAA     3  SEA     0    (Recap and Boxscore)

National League
ATL     6  FLA     1    (Recap and Boxscore)
NYN     6  COL     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
WAS     6  PHI     4    (Recap and Boxscore)
STL    11  CHN     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
PIT     7  CIN     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
MIL     3  HOU     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
SD      8  ARI     2    (Recap and Boxscore)
SF      7  LAN     3    (Recap and Boxscore)

Today’s Games

Visitors                            Home                             Starts
STL - Suppan J. (9-7, 5.00)         CHC - Zambrano C. (13-5, 3.38)      1:20
NYY - Johnson R.* (13-9, 4.92)      BOS - Beckett J. (13-7, 5.02)       1:20
ARI - Vargas C. (9-8, 5.10)         SD - Hensley C. (7-10, 4.19)        4:05
TOR - Marcum S. (1-2, 5.12)         BAL - Cabrera D. (5-8, 5.40)        4:35
ATL - James C.* (5-3, 4.45)         FLA - Nolasco R. (11-7, 4.12)       6:05
PIT - Maholm P.* (5-10, 4.58)       CIN - Milton E.* (8-7, 5.01)        6:10
WAS - Ortiz R. (9-10, 4.88)         PHI - Hamels C.* (5-6, 4.50)        7:05
HOU - Oswalt R. (9-8, 3.24)         MIL - Bush D. (8-9, 4.69)           7:05
TEX - Tejeda R. (1-3, 9.78)         DET - Robertson N.* (11-8, 3.85)    7:05
CWS - Garland J. (13-4, 4.98)       MIN - Radke B. (12-8, 4.43)         7:10
OAK - Zito B.* (12-8, 3.83)         KC - Redman M.* (7-7, 5.93)         7:10
CLE - Sowers J.* (4-3, 3.53)        TB - Corcoran T. (4-4, 3.93)        7:15
COL - Francis J.* (9-9, 3.39)       NYM - Williams D.* (2-3, 7.20)      7:35
LAD - Maddux G. (10-11, 4.20)       SF - Hennessey B. (5-2, 2.71)       9:05
SEA - Washburn J.* (6-11, 4.30)     LAA - Lackey J. (10-9, 3.35)       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     72  48 .600    0.0   70      2      
BOS     69  52 .570    3.5   65      4      
TOR     65  57 .533    8.0   65      0      
BAL     54  68 .443   19.0   53      1      
TB      49  73 .402   24.0   49      0      
American League Central
DET     79  43 .648    0.0   75      4      
CHA     72  49 .595    6.5   70      2      
MIN     71  50 .587    7.5   68      3      
CLE     54  67 .446   24.5   65     -11     
KC      45  79 .363   35.0   46     -1      
American League West
OAK     68  54 .557    0.0   62      6      
LAA     64  59 .520    4.5   63      1      
TEX     63  60 .512    5.5   65     -2      
SEA     56  66 .459   12.0   58     -2      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     73  48 .603    0.0   69      4      
PHI     59  62 .488   14.0   61     -2      
ATL     57  64 .471   16.0   62     -5      
FLA     56  65 .463   17.0   58     -2      
WAS     54  68 .443   19.5   54      0      
National League Central
STL     65  56 .537    0.0   62      3      
CIN     62  60 .508    3.5   58      4      
MIL     58  64 .475    7.5   53      5      
HOU     58  64 .475    7.5   60     -2      
CHN     52  69 .430   13.0   49      3      
PIT     47  75 .385   18.5   54     -7      
National League West
LAN     64  58 .525    0.0   65     -1      
SD      61  61 .500    3.0   61      0      
ARI     61  61 .500    3.0   60      1      
SF      59  63 .484    5.0   61     -2      
COL     59  63 .484    5.0   63     -4      

Wildcard Standings
American League
CHA     72  49 .595    0.0
MIN     71  50 .587    1.0
BOS     69  52 .570    3.0
TOR     65  57 .533    7.5
LAA     64  59 .520    9.0
National League
CIN     62  60 .508    0.0
SD      61  61 .500    1.0
ARI     61  61 .500    1.0
PHI     59  62 .488    2.5
SF      59  63 .484    3.0

Game of the Day

Okay, how many of you predicted that bottom-dwelling Kansas City would sweep a doubleheader from the streaking A’s? The Royals won the opener behind Luke Hudson, 7-1, and the nightcap 5-3 behind a fine effort by Jorge De La Rosa. The key play of the second game was a go-ahead two-run double by Mike Sweeney when KC scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Coming in, the Athletics had won six straight, 13 of 14 and 17 of 20. Oakland had won 12 in a row at Kansas City since May 30, 2003, outscoring the Royals 95-30 in that span. This day, the A’s had only nine hits all day over two games.

OAKLAND (3) VS KANSAS CITY (5) - FINAL (2ND GAME)

OAKLAND                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Kendall c             4  1  2  0   0  0   0  .281
N Swisher 1b            3  0  0  0   1  1   1  .252
M Bradley rf            2  1  0  0   2  1   1  .271
F Thomas dh             4  1  1  2   0  0   4  .262
J Payton cf-lf          3  0  0  1   0  0   0  .286
B Kielty lf             2  0  0  0   1  2   2  .263
 M Kotsay cf            1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .267
M Scutaro ss            4  0  0  0   0  0   1  .241
M Ellis 2b              3  0  0  0   1  1   0  .220
A Perez 3b              3  0  0  0   0  2   2  .091
 E Chavez 3b            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .240

Totals                 29  3  3  3   5  8  11

BATTING: HR - F Thomas (26, 8th inning off A Burgos 1 on, 2 Out). SF - J 
Payton. RBI - J Payton (45), F Thomas 2 (72). 2-out RBI - F Thomas 2. Runners 
left in scoring position, 2 out - B Kielty 2, A Perez 1. Team LOB - 5. 
 
FIELDING: E - E Loaiza (1, throw); M Scutaro (12, throw). DP: 1 (M Scutaro-M 
Ellis-N Swisher). 
 
KANSAS CITY            ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
D DeJesus cf            4  0  1  0   0  1   0  .299
E German 2b             4  1  0  1   0  0   1  .318
 M Grudzielanek 2b      0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .293
M Teahen 3b             4  2  3  0   0  1   0  .288
M Sweeney dh            4  0  1  2   0  0   2  .209
 J Gathright pr-dh      0  1  0  0   0  0   0  .221
E Brown lf              3  0  1  1   0  1   1  .289
R Sanders rf            4  0  2  0   0  1   3  .248
R Shealy 1b             4  0  1  0   0  2   4  .278
J Buck c                3  0  0  0   0  2   3  .238
A Blanco ss             3  1  1  0   0  0   0  .250

Totals                 33  5 10  4   0  8  14

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (19, E Loaiza); R Sanders 2 (22, E Loaiza, C Gaudin); M 
Sweeney (7, H Street). SF - E Brown. RBI - E German (16), M Sweeney 2 (10), E 
Brown (66). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Brown 1, J Buck 1, R 
Shealy 1. GIDP - R Shealy. Team LOB - 5. 
 
BASERUNNING: CS - R Sanders (7, 3rd base by E Loaiza/J Kendall). 
 
FIELDING: E - D DeJesus (3, throw). 

----------------------------------------------------
    OAKLAND         - 000 001 020   --   3
    KANSAS CITY     - 000 000 14x   --   5
----------------------------------------------------

OAKLAND                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
E Loaiza                      6 2/3   5   1   0   0   7   0   5.58
J Duchscherer                   2/3   2   2   2   0   0   0   3.37
H Street (L, 4-4; B, 8)         1/3   2   2   2   0   0   0   3.22
C Gaudin                        1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   2.96

KANSAS CITY                  ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J De La Rosa                  5       2   1   1   4   3   0   5.89
A Burgos (W, 3-5)             3       1   2   2   1   4   1   5.67
J Nelson (S, 2)               1       0   0   0   0   1   0   2.79

J De La Rosa pitched to 3 batters in the 6th.

WP - E Loaiza. BALK - J De La Rosa. Pitches-strikes: E Loaiza 110-75; J 
Duchscherer 16-14; H Street 12-8; C Gaudin 6-4; J De La Rosa 90-48; A Burgos 
45-30; J Nelson 10-8. Ground balls-fly balls: E Loaiza 7-5; J Duchscherer 2-0; 
H Street 0-1; C Gaudin 0-0; J De La Rosa 6-6; A Burgos 2-3; J Nelson 1-1. 
Batters faced: E Loaiza 25; J Duchscherer 4; H Street 3; C Gaudin 2; J De La 
Rosa 21; A Burgos 11; J Nelson 3. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Dan Iassogna. 1B--Mike  Muchlinski. 2B--Dale Scott. 3B--Lance 
Barksdale. 

T--3:04. Att--23,952. 
Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 4 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 Dist   Std. Dist.   HR #
Soriano, Alfonso    WAS     Myers, Brett      PHI        447          440      39
Glaus, Troy         TOR     Benson, Kris      BAL        418          436      32
Pujols, Albert      STL     Aardsma, David    CHC        450          430      36
Hillenbrand, Shea   SF      Penny, Brad       LAD        426          421      15
Chavez, Endy        NYM     Kim, Byung-Hyun   COL        409          420       3
Ramirez, Aramis     CHC     Marquis, Jason    STL        440          419      29
Dye, Jermaine       CWS     Bonser, Boof      MIN        424          419      33
Teixeira, Mark      TEX     Miner, Zach       DET        415          417      19
Young, Dmitri       DET     Millwood, Kevin   TEX        416          415       6
Wilson, Preston     STL     Novoa, Roberto    CHC        433          414      10
Wells, Vernon       TOR     Benson, Kris      BAL        400          414      28
LaRoche, Adam       ATL     Olsen, Scott      FLA        388          413      25
Barrett, Michael    CHC     Marquis, Jason    STL        431          411      15
Hafner, Travis      CLE     Fossum, Casey     TB         411          410      36
Bennett, Gary       STL     Novoa, Roberto    CHC        429          409       1
Finley, Steve       SF      Dessens, Elmer    LAD        384          407       6
Cameron, Mike       SD      Medders, Brandon  ARI        392          400      18
Ortiz, David        BOS     Rivera, Mariano   NYY        389          400      43
Mora, Melvin        BAL     Downs, Scott      TOR        398          399      13
Duncan, Chris       STL     Marmol, Carlos    CHC        421          397      12
Marte, Andy         CLE     Fossum, Casey     TB         396          395       1
Jackson, Conor      ARI     Williams, Woody   SD         373          385      11
Rolen, Scott        STL     Aardsma, David    CHC        403          383      18
Hall, Bill          MIL     Backe, Brandon    HOU        389          382      27
Wilson, Jack        PIT     Bray, Bill        CIN        412          380       8
Napoli, Mike        LAA     Hernandez, Felix  SEA        402          380      13
Encarnacion, Edwin  CIN     Grabow, John      PIT        418          379      14
Vizquel, Omar       SF      Penny, Brad       LAD        348          379       4
Valentin, Javier    CIN     Reames, Britt     PIT        416          378       6
Belliard, Ronnie    STL     Aardsma, David    CHC        399          378       9
Nady, Xavier        PIT     Michalak, Chris   CIN        412          377      15
Thomas, Frank       OAK     Burgos, Ambiorix  KC         382          375      26
Damon, Johnny       NYY     Johnson, Jason    BOS        395          370      19
Zimmerman, Ryan     WAS     Myers, Brett      PHI        379          370      17
Hunter, Torii       MIN     Garcia, Freddy    CWS        370          366      16
Lee, Travis         TB      Sabathia, C.C.    CLE        367          366      10
Atkins, Garrett     COL     Trachsel, Steve   NYM        378          359      20
Lieberthal, Mike    PHI     Rauch, Jon        WAS        364          353       4
Damon, Johnny       NYY     Lester, Jon       BOS        326          325      19
Ramirez, Manny      BOS     Wang, Chien-Ming  NYY        341          323      33

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
ARI A+  Jereme Milons      LF  4  3  0  0  1  1  1   
CHW AAA Pascual Matos       C  4  4  2  0  1  0  0   
DET AAA Ryan Ludwick       LF  4  3  0  0  2  0  1   
FLA A   Jonathan Fulton    3B  2  2  1  0  1  0  0   
KC  A+  Irving Falu        SS  4  4  1  1  0  1  0  .552 OBP during past week
LA  AAA Sergio Garcia      2B  7  5  0  0  1  0  1  5 runs scored
LA  AAA Matt Kemp          CF  7  5  0  0  1  0  0  4 RBI
NYY AAA Mitch Jones        1B  4  3  0  0  2  0  1  4 RBI
OAK A+  Tommy Everidge     1B  5  4  0  0  1  0  0   
SD  AAA Paul McAnulty      1B  4  3  1  0  1  2  0  5 RBI
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
ATL A+  Jo-Jo Reyes        7.0  2  0  0  7  2  0   
CHW AAA Charlie Haeger     9.0  6  1  1  4  3  1   
CLE A-  Erik Stiller       6.0  1  0  0  4  0  0   
COL A+  Franklin Morales   7.0  2  2  2 16  3  0  53 K over last 36 IP
DET AAA Jordan Tata        8.0  3  1  1  3  2  0   
HOU A+  Thomas Fairchild   7.0  3  1  1  4  0  0   
LA  A   Joe Jones          7.2  3  2  1  6  3  0   
MIL A   William Inman      5.2  3  0  0  8  1  0   
PHI A+  Julio De La Cruz   9.0  0  0  0  5  1  0   
PHI A   Carlos Carrasco    7.0  3  0  0  8  3  0  0.89 ERA over past month

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

The Yankees swept two games against the Red Sox, by scores of 12-4 and 14-11. It was the first time in more than 56 years that the Yankees had put at least a dozen runs on the board twice in one day; they last did it in a 14-5 and 12-4 sweep at Cleveland on May 21, 1950. Joe DiMaggio had two homers and drove in eight runs in that doubleheader. (Source: Elias)

Derek Jeter hit a bases-clearing double in New York’s seven-run seventh inning as the Yankees rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 14-11 and complete a sweep of Friday’s day-night doubleheader. Jeter had three hits in the opener but was hitless in the second until lining one down the right-field line against Mike Timlin (5-3) to give New York the lead for good.

Jered Weaver joined Whitey Ford as the only rookies in AL history to win their first nine decisions, holding Seattle to three singles over seven innings in the Los Angeles Angels’ 3-0 victory over the slumping Mariners on Friday night. A lanky 6-foot-7, 205-pounder with a deceptive delivery, good command and a mix of speeds to keep hitters off balance, Weaver became just the fifth pitcher in major league history to begin his career 9-0 as a starter. Keeping most of his pitches low and clipping the corners, Weaver struck out seven and issued just one walk to help deal the Mariners their ninth consecutive loss and tie Ford’s record set with the New York Yankees in 1950.

The wind was blowing out at Wrigley, where a total of eight home runs (including five of the six longest home runs of the day) were hit. St. Louis hit six — each by a different player — in their 11-3 win over the Cubs. According to Elias, it’s only the second time in the history of the Cardinals that six or more players homered in one game.

Jason Schmidt (10-7), facing Los Angeles in back-to-back outings, struck out five and pitched into the eighth Friday night to beat the Dodgers for the first time in seven starts since a victory on July 14, 2005. He received a no-decision against starter Greg Maddux last Sunday at Dodger Stadium. “We’re in the thick of this thing,” Schmidt said. “If we keep doing that, we’re going to rack up a lot of wins the last month and a half.”

Woody Williams gave the San Diego Padres the pitching performance they needed. Williams won his second straight start as the San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak. He allowed four hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked two.

Brewers outfielder Laynce Nix was recalled from Triple-A Nashville Friday. Nix was acquired along with Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench and Julian Cordero from Texas for Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz on July 28.

The Milwaukee Brewers placed right-hander Matt Wise on the 15-day disabled list Friday with ulnar neuritis in his right elbow. The move was made retroactive to August 14. “He threw today and it didn’t feel much better,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said. Wise is 5-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 40 appearances.

David Wright knew the symptoms of his slump. Finding the solution was the tough part. Wright was locked in a 3-for-25 slide, struggling with every at-bat, until he came upon a simple formula to break out of it Friday night. Take your time. “I just tried to slow everything down,” Wright said after delivering a pair of RBI hits in the New York Mets ‘ 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. “I recognized pitches better. When you’re struggling, you’re anxious. I just tried to relax.” It worked. Wright, whose average had sunk to .304 from a season high .336, delivered a two-out RBI double off Byung-Hyun Kim (7-8) in the third to put the Mets in front 1-0. He also singled in a run in the fifth for a 4-3 lead. “You just take a deep breath,” Wright said. “Working deep in the count is my game. When you’re struggling, you want to swing at everything. You want to hit the first pitch you see real hard.”

Melvin Mora went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI on Friday against Toronto.

Tim Hudson pitched 7 2/3 innings, departing after an injury to plate umpire Jerry Layne caused a 13-minute delay, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins 6-1 Friday night. Layne was hurt in the eighth inning when the barrel of a shattered bat hit him in the side of the head. He was moving his arms and talking before being taken off the field on a stretcher loaded onto a cart. Hudson (10-10) threw 96 pitches, allowing one run and four hits.

The Cleveland bullpen blew another game, allowing three runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. The Indians have lost 14 times when ahead after six innings this season and seven when leading into the ninth. The Indians’ Andy Marte went 3-for-4 and hit his first major league homer on Friday at Tampa Bay.

On the other hand, Prince Fielder’s RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth inning beat the Astros 3-2 and gave the Brewers their 10th walkoff victory in 2006, tying the Mets for the most in the major leagues.

Kevin Millwood pitched seven innings to win his second straight start and lift the Texas Rangers over the suddenly skidding Detroit Tigers 2-1 Friday night. Millwood (12-8) allowed only one run and three hits — two to Dmitri Young. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter to win consecutive starts after going 0-3 in his previous four.

Jason Marquis (13-11) got the win on Friday against the Cubs, tying him with Brad Penny, Carlos Zambrano and Brandon Webb for the NL lead in wins. Marquis allowed three runs and three hits in five innings. “I felt pretty good for the most part,” Marquis said. “I wish I could’ve went deeper into the game.”

The New York Mets recalled pitcher Dave Williams from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday night and optioned reliever Heath Bell to the minor league team. Williams will start Saturday night against Colorado, replacing Pedro Martinez, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained calf muscle.

The Los Angeles Dodgers activated right-hander Elmer Dessens from the 15-day disabled list Friday and optioned infielder James Loney to Triple-A Las Vegas. Dessens went on the DL on Aug. 7 with a sprained left ankle, a move retroactive to Aug. 3. He is 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA in four outings – seven innings – with the Dodgers after being acquired July 25 in a trade from Kansas City. Dessens was 5-7 in 43 appearances for the Royals.

The Arizona Diamondbacks recalled outfielder Chris Young from Tucson on Friday and optioned outfielder Scott Hairston to the Triple-A team. Young, who made his major league debut against the San Diego Padres, batted .276 in 100 games with Tucson with 21 homers and 77 RBI.

The Blue Jays recalled C Jason Phillips from Triple-A Syracuse on Friday.

Yankees INF Andy Phillips went on the 15-day DL with a strained left rib cage muscle on Friday. T.J. Beam was recalled from Triple-A Columbus.

Eric Hinske, playing his first game since being traded from Toronto, went 3-for-4 in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Friday against the Yankees.

Washington Nationals second baseman Jose Vidro came off the 15-day disabled list Friday. Vidro has been out with a left hamstring injury since July 17. He went 3-for-11 during a four-game rehab assignment with Class A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg. He’s hitting .300 with 16 doubles, six homers and 33 RBI in 90 games for last-place Washington this season.

The Boston Red Sox activated former closer Keith Foulke from the 15-day disabled list on Friday between games of their doubleheader against the New York Yankees. Foulke, who finished all four games of Boston’s 2004 World Series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, was placed on the DL on June 13 with elbow tendinitis.

The Cardinals optioned RHP Anthony Reyes to Triple-A Memphis Thursday.

Preston Wilson signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, after being released by the Houston Astros earlier this week. Wilson batted .269 with nine home runs and 55 RBI with the Astros, but disappointed them with a lack of power. The Cardinals hope to improve their lineup against left-handed pitching. The team also has concerns about center fielder Jim Edmonds, who missed the last two games because of post-concussion syndrome. Edmonds had been optimistic about playing Friday, but there was no word about the day’s lineup. Wilson was a smash in his first game for the NL Central leaders, hitting one of the Cardinals’ six home runs Friday in an 11-3 romp over the Chicago Cubs.

The Brewers have won nine games since acquiring RHP Francisco Cordero from the Texas Rangers in the Carlos Lee trade and Cordero has saved eight of the games. He has not allowed a run in the eight appearances with a total of 10 innings pitched. “Cordero has been great for us,” general manager Doug Melvin said. “His aggressiveness and poise have been amazing. I don’t know where we would be without him.”

LHP Kent Mercker underwent reconstructive elbow surgery on Thursday, a 2 1/2-hour procedure performed by team medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek.

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