THT Daily: Seven Times Zero is Seven Shutouts

Major League News for September 6

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
BOS     1  CHA     0    (Recap and Boxscore) See below
MIN     8  TB      0    (Recap and Boxscore) Santana: 8 IP, 0 R, 12 K
CLE     7  TOR     2    (Recap and Boxscore) Marte: 4 RBI, Sowers: 7 IP, 2 R
SEA     4  DET     3    (Recap and Boxscore)
KC      5  NYA     0    (Recap and Boxscore) De La Rosa and Wellemeyer: 9 IP, 0 R
LAA     5  BAL     2    (Recap and Boxscore) 10 innings
TEX     5  OAK     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Young: 4 for 5

National League
ARI     4  FLA     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Vargas: 7 IP, 0 R
STL     2  WAS     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Suppan: 7.2 IP, 0 R
PIT     6  CHN     5    (Recap and Boxscore) Bay: 2 HR, 4 RBI
CIN     3  SF      0    (Recap and Boxscore) Arroyo: 9 IP, 0 R, 3 H
MIL     9  LAN     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Hart: 2 HR, 6 RBI; Davis: IP, 0 R
SD      5  COL     4    (Recap and Boxscore)

Today’s Games

Visitors                         Home                              Starts
SF - Lowry N.* (7-8, 4.00)       CIN - Michalak C.* (1-2, 5.57)     12:35
STL - Carpenter C. (13-6, 2.87)  WAS - O'Connor M.* (3-7, 5.12)      1:05
SEA - Meche G. (9-8, 4.39)       DET - Rogers K.* (15-6, 3.86)       1:05
ATL - Smoltz J. (12-7, 3.60)     NYM - Williams D.* (4-3, 6.10)      1:10
BAL - Cabrera D. (7-9, 4.74)     LAA - Santana E. (13-7, 4.50)       3:35
TEX - Padilla V. (13-9, 4.35)    OAK - Blanton J. (14-10, 4.51)      3:35
ATL - Davies K. (2-4, 7.20)      NYM - Perez O.* (2-11, 7.29)        4:30
HOU - Rodriguez W.* (9-8, 5.43)  PHI - Mazone B.* (0-0, -)           7:05
ARI - Gonzalez E. (1-2, 6.27)    FLA - Sanchez A. (6-2, 3.22)        7:05
CWS - Contreras J. (11-7, 4.23)  BOS - Snyder K. (4-3, 5.94)         7:05
CLE - Westbrook J. (12-8, 4.21)  TOR - Lilly T.* (11-12, 4.70)       7:07
MIN - Silva C. (8-13, 6.56)      TB - Hammel J. (0-2, 6.86)          7:15
PIT - Duke Z.* (8-13, 4.97)      CHC - Hill R.* (4-6, 5.23)          8:05
LAD - Lowe D. (13-8, 3.79)       MIL - Capuano C.* (11-9, 3.55)      8:05
NYY - Johnson R.* (15-10, 4.94)  KC - Hernandez R. (5-8, 6.31)       8:10
COL - Jennings J. (7-12, 3.61)   SD - Hensley C. (8-11, 4.05)       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     82  55 .599    0.0   81      1      
BOS     75  64 .540    8.0   71      4      
TOR     72  67 .518   11.0   72      0      
BAL     61  77 .442   21.5   60      1      
TB      55  84 .396   28.0   56     -1      
American League Central
DET     85  54 .612    0.0   84      1      
MIN     80  57 .584    4.0   76      4      
CHA     79  59 .572    5.5   78      1      
CLE     66  71 .482   18.0   75     -9      
KC      52  88 .371   33.5   53     -1      
American League West
OAK     79  59 .572    0.0   74      5      
LAA     74  65 .532    5.5   72      2      
TEX     72  68 .514    8.0   74     -2      
SEA     65  73 .471   14.0   66     -1      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     84  52 .618    0.0   79      5      
PHI     70  68 .507   15.0   71     -1      
FLA     69  69 .500   16.0   69      0      
ATL     66  71 .482   18.5   71     -5      
WAS     60  78 .435   25.0   59      1      
National League Central
STL     74  63 .540    0.0   70      4      
CIN     69  70 .496    6.0   67      2      
HOU     67  71 .486    7.5   69     -2      
MIL     64  75 .460   11.0   61      3      
PIT     56  83 .403   19.0   60     -4      
CHN     55  83 .399   19.5   56     -1      
National League West
LAN     73  65 .529    0.0   74     -1      
SD      72  66 .522    1.0   70      2      
SF      69  70 .496    4.5   70     -1      
ARI     65  73 .471    8.0   67     -2      
COL     63  75 .457   10.0   68     -5      

Wildcard Standings
American League
MIN     80  57 .584    0.0
CHA     79  59 .572    1.5
BOS     75  64 .540    6.0
LAA     74  65 .532    7.0
TOR     72  67 .518    9.0
National League
SD      72  66 .522    0.0
PHI     70  68 .507    2.0
FLA     69  69 .500    3.0
CIN     69  70 .496    3.5
SF      69  70 .496    3.5

Game of the Day

The Red Sox beat the White Ones yesterday, 1-0 in the pouring rain in Boston. Kason Gabbard earned his first major league win by pitching seven strong innings, allowing only three hits and no runs. Gabbard is the third pitcher this season whose first major league victory was as a starting pitcher in a 1-0 game, following the Cubs’ Ryan O’Malley and Houston’s Chris Sampson. According to Elias, it has been 11 years since three pitchers got their first major league win as a starting pitcher in a 1-0 game; Philadelphia’s Mike Grace, Cincinnati’s C.J. Nitkowski and Milwaukee’s Steve Sparks did it in 1995.

Javier Vazquez pitched a great game for Chicago, allowing onlye three hits and striking out 11 in eight innings. Boston scored when Trot Nixon doubled with one out in the fourth and came home on Coco Crisp’s single. The game was a blow to the White Sox’s pennant hopes, dropping them further behind the Twins in the wildcard race.

The game marked David Ortiz’s return to action after a week of heart tests. Ace reliever Jonathan Papelbon also received good news when the team announced he has a “tired shoulder,” but not tear or serious injury.

CHI WHITE SOX (0) VS BOSTON (1) - FINAL

CHI WHITE SOX          ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
P Ozuna lf              4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .340
T Iguchi 2b             3  0  1  0   0  0   0  .283
J Crede 3b              4  0  0  0   0  0   3  .300
J Thome dh              2  0  0  0   2  0   0  .291
P Konerko 1b            3  0  0  0   0  1   4  .305
A Pierzynski c          3  0  0  0   0  0   0  .291
B Anderson cf           2  0  0  0   0  2   0  .227
 a-R Gload ph-rf        1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .323
J Uribe ss              2  0  0  0   0  2   0  .235
 b-A Cintron ph-ss      1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .272
R Sweeney rf-cf         3  0  2  0   0  1   0  .667

Totals                 28  0  4  0   2  7   9

a-grounded to second for B Anderson in the 8th;  b-struck out swinging for J 
Uribe in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - P Ozuna (9, K Gabbard). S - T Iguchi. GIDP - P Konerko 2. Team 
LOB - 4. 
 
BOSTON                 ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
K Youkilis 1b           4  0  0  0   0  2   1  .285
M Loretta 2b            3  0  0  0   1  1   0  .293
D Ortiz dh              3  0  0  0   1  2   2  .285
M Ramirez lf            3  0  0  0   0  2   1  .324
T Nixon rf              3  1  1  0   0  0   0  .294
M Lowell 3b             3  0  0  0   0  2   1  .288
C Crisp cf              3  0  1  1   0  1   0  .261
D Mirabelli c           2  0  0  0   1  0   0  .182
A Gonzalez ss           3  0  1  0   0  1   2  .265

Totals                 27  1  3  1   3 11   7

BATTING: 2B - A Gonzalez (20, J Vazquez); T Nixon (21, J Vazquez). RBI - C 
Crisp (29). 2-out RBI - C Crisp. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D 
Ortiz 1, A Gonzalez 1. Team LOB - 5. 
 
FIELDING: E - M Lowell (6, ground ball). DP: 3 (M Lowell-M Loretta-K 
Youkilis, M Lowell-K Youkilis, A Gonzalez-M Loretta-K Youkilis). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    CHI WHITE SOX   - 000 000 000   --   0
    BOSTON          - 000 100 00x   --   1
----------------------------------------------------

CHI WHITE SOX                ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Vazquez (L, 11-9)           8       3   1   1   3  11   0   4.80

BOSTON                       ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
K Gabbard (W, 1-3)            7       3   0   0   2   6   0   3.93
M Timlin (S, 4)               2       1   0   0   0   1   0   3.76

WP - K Gabbard. Pitches-strikes: J Vazquez 112-74; K Gabbard 80-54; M Timlin 
20-14. Ground balls-fly balls: J Vazquez 2-11; K Gabbard 11-3; M Timlin 2-3. 
Batters faced: J Vazquez 30; K Gabbard 24; M Timlin 7. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Larry Poncino. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Bruce 
Dreckman. 

T--2:13. Att--35,912. 
Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 5 mph, out to center.

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.

Hitter                 Pitcher                     True Dist  Std. Dist.  HR #
Pujols, Albert   STL   Astacio, Pedro     WAS         433        443      44
Quentin, Carlos  ARI   Willis, Dontrelle  FLA         433        427       6
Thomas, Frank    OAK   Eaton, Adam        TEX         417        419      31
Marte, Andy      CLE   Accardo, Jeremy    TOR         413        411       2
Hart, Corey      MIL   Hendrickson, Mark  LAD         416        410       5
Bay, Jason       PIT   Mateo, Juan        CHC         410        407      31
Torrealba, YorvitCOL   Young, Chris       SD          410        394       7
Brown, Emil      KC    Mussina, Mike      NYY         398        393      13
Atkins, Garrett  COL   Young, Chris       SD          399        387      23
Swisher, Nick    OAK   Eaton, Adam        TEX         389        386      29
DeRosa, Mark     TEX   Saarloos, Kirk     OAK         386        386      13
Piazza, Mike     SD    Francis, Jeff      COL         408        384      20
Hart, Corey      MIL   Stults, Eric       LAD         382        376       6
Bay, Jason       PIT   Mateo, Juan        CHC         379        376      30
Easley, Damian   ARI   Willis, Dontrelle  FLA         367        368       8
Kennedy, Adam    LAA   Manon, Julio       BAL         383        363       3
Molina, Bengie   TOR   Sowers, Jeremy     CLE         364        362      15

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-  Brad Miller        DH  4  2  1  0  1  0  0   
ARI A-  Justin Brashear     C  4  3  0  0  0  0  1   
BOS A-  Paul Smyth         LF  5  2  0  0  1  0  1   
BOS A-  Reid Engel         CF  4  3  0  0  1  1  0   
FLA A-  Dustin Kaats       LF  3  2  0  0  1  0  1   
OAK A-  Christian Vitters  DH  5  3  1  0  0  0  1   
SEA A-  Leury Bonilla      3B  4  2  0  0  1  0  0   
SF  A-  Emmanuel Burriss   SS  5  2  1  1  0  0  0   
SF  A-  Bradley Boyer      2B  4  2  0  1  0  0  0   
STL A-  A.J. Van Slyke     DH  3  2  1  1  0  0  1   
 
ORG LVL PLAYER             IP   H  R ER SO BB HR  Notes
CLE A-  William Delage     5.0  3  0  0  5  0  0   
DET A-  Cristhian Martinez 7.0  3  1  1 10  1  1   
PIT A-  Eric Krebs         5.0  1  0  0  8  2  0   

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

There were seven shutouts in the major leagues on Tuesday night. It was the seventh time in major league history that there were seven-or-more shutouts in one day and it was one shy of the record for blankings in a single day. There were eight shutouts on June 4, 1972.

Third baseman Mark Teahen, in the midst of a breakthrough season for the Kansas City Royals, will have shoulder surgery on Friday and miss the rest of the season. The Royals said they had been discussing the possibility with their second-year third baseman for more than a month. “The smart thing to do is shut it down now and make sure I’m ready for spring next year,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s just minimal and I’ll be good and ready to go. Worse-case scenario, this makes sure I’m ready for spring training.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon couldn’t understand everything the doctors were telling him, but he knew it was good news. “No tears. That’s huge,” the rookie right-hander said Tuesday night after he was diagnosed with a tired shoulder – technically, a “transient subluxation event” – but not the torn labrum that he feared. “Sublux-something or other,” Papelbon joked. “I tried to pay attention, but I didn’t go to school to be a doctor. All I’m listening for is the word ‘tear.”‘ Papelbon will be out indefinitely, but manager Terry Francona said there was no concern that the injury will linger into the 2007 season. An AL Rookie of the Year candidate with 35 saves in 41 opportunities, Papelbon came out of Friday night’s game against Toronto after feeling pain in his shoulder. Tests showed no major damage, team physician Dr. Thomas Gill said, and Papelbon will rest before trying to strengthen his shoulder. Gill said Papelbon’s shoulder had slipped slightly without becoming dislocated.

Michael Young went 4-for-5 with a triple and scored twice, leading the Texas Rangers over the Oakland Athletics 5-4 Tuesday night.

John Lackey allowed only one run on nine hits with five strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision on Tuesday against Baltimore.

Joel Pineiro (8-11) came on after a long rain delay and worked 3 2/3 innings of perfect relief to help the Mariners to just their second win in 16 road games on Tuesday at Detroit. “I kept the ball down, and they made some great plays behind me,” Pineiro said. “We’ve still got something to play for — spoiling other teams.” Pineiro, who came into a 3-3 game to start the fifth inning after a 1 hour, 23-minute delay, retired all 11 batters he faced. He struck out four.

Toronto ace Roy Halladay got a no-decision despite allowing just one run and five hits in seven innings on Tuesday against the Indians. He struck out a season-high nine. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons replaced him to start the eighth because he had thrown 108 pitches.

Jeremy Sowers (7-3) pitched seven innings for the victory on Tuesday at Toronto, allowing just two runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked none. Sowers is 6-0 with a 1.93 earned run average and two shutouts in nine starts since July 22. Sowers leads all major league pitchers in ERA and shutouts since that date and only Jon Garland (7) has more wins.

Johan Santana was so dominant, even the guy who managed the Devil Rays’ only two hits off him had to feel lucky. “The ball happened to find my bat and find a hole,” Delmon Young said. Santana became the first 17-game winner in the major leagues Tuesday night, allowing two hits over eight scoreless innings as Minnesota beat Tampa Bay 8-0 – the Twins’ 14th win in a row over Tampa Bay. Santana (17-5) struck out 12 and walked one. The left-hander, 8-0 since the All-Star break, retired his first 10 hitters before a double with one out in the fourth by Young.

Jorge De La Rosa (2-2) got his second victory in 15 major league starts, leaving after 5 2/3 innings with a blister on the middle finger of his left hand in a win on Tuesday against the Yankees. He gave up six hits, struck out four and walked two.

Jason Bay homered twice as the Pittsburgh Pirates moved out of last place in the NL Central with a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost their third straight following a seven-game winning streak, falling to the Milwaukee Brewers 9-0 Tuesday night as Corey Hart drove in a career-high six runs. Hart, who entered with four homers this year, had a three-run drive in the first off Mark Hendrickson (1-7) and a solo shot in the fifth for his first career multihomer game.

Cla Meredith (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings on Tuesday and is one-third of an inning short of San Diego’s club relief record, set by Mark Davis in 1988. Meredith, a sidearming righty, has not surrendered a run in his last 24 appearances. “He has done an outstanding job,” Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s pitching his heart out. He’s loaded with confidence.”

Claudio Vargas (11-9), who spent the first 6½ years of his professional career in the Marlins’ farm system, struck out six in seven innings, giving up four hits while walking two in a win on Tuesday at Florida.

Dontrelle Willis lost for the first time in four starts, giving up home runs to Carlos Quinten and Damion Easley before leaving in the seventh inning as the Florida Marlins lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 Tuesday night. After Willis (9-11) walked Chris Snyder leading off the seventh, a trainer came to the mound, and Willis left the game. It was not immediately known if Willis was hurt. He gave up five hits and three walks, losing for the first time since Aug. 14.

Albert Pujols hit his 44th home run to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. Pujols’ homer was his fifth in three days — and second in as many at-bats. He pulled a flat 76 mph pitch from Pedro Astacio over the left field fence in the first inning for a solo shot.

Jeff Suppan took a shutout into the eighth inning Tuesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. Suppan made it stand up over 7 2/3 innings, his second scoreless outing in three starts. He blanked the Chicago Cubs for 7 2/3 innings on Aug. 25. Suppan (11-7) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked two as the Cardinals snapped the Nationals’ five-game winning streak.

Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk on Tuesday at Cincinnati, ending his streak of three straight games with a homer. Bonds remains 25 shy of Hank Aaron’s career homer mark, and three away from his NL record.

Bronson Arroyo allowed only three singles in his first career shutout Tuesday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a slump-busting 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He struck out seven and walked only two.

The Braves and Mets were postponed by rain on Tuesday night. Tuesday’s game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday beginning at 1:10 p.m. John Smoltz will start the first game for the Braves against left-hander Dave Williams. Kyle Davies goes in the nightcap against New York’s Oliver Perez.

The Orioles purchased the contract of C Raul Chavez from Double-A Bowie on Monday and transferred LHP Kurt Birkins (elbow) from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.

The Kansas City Royals recalled catcher Paul Phillips from Triple-A Omaha Tuesday and activated right-hander Mike Wood from the 15-day disabled list.

The St. Louis Cardinals recalled pitchers Josh Kinney and Chris Narveson and infielder John Nelson from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.

The San Diego Padres called up four players from Triple-A Portland, including right-handed pitcher Mike Thompson and outfielder Ben Johnson. The Padres also recalled infielder-outfielder Paul McNulty and purchased the contract of outfielder Jack Cust.

The Tigers recalled OF Brent Clevlen from Double-A Erie on Monday.

The Marlins recalled C Paul Hoover, OF Chris Aguila and OF Eric Reed from Triple-A Albuquerque and selected the contract of INF Jason Wood from Albuquerque. Also, they transferred RHP Logan Kensing from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

The Dodgers recalled OF Delwyn Young and UTL Oscar Robles from Triple-A Las Vegas.

The Blue Jays recalled RHP Francisco Rosario from Triple-A Syracuse and purchased the contract of RHP Josh Towers. Also, they transferred RHP Pete Walker (shoulder) to the 60-day DL. He is out for the season.

The Braves recalled RHP Peter Moylan from Triple-A Richmond on Sunday.

The Phillies recalled UTL Danny Sandoval from Double-A Reading of the EL and sent OF Josh Kroeger outright to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the IL.

The Indians recalled RHP Fausto Carmona, RHP Jeremy Guthrie, OF Franklin Gutierrez, LHP Rafael Perez and RHP Brian Slocum from Triple-A Buffalo of the IL. Also, they purchased the contract of LHP Juan Lara from Buffalo. The Indians also activated RHP Matt Miller (elbow) from the 60-day DL.

The Texas Rangers recalled right-hander Nick Masset and infielder Joaquin Arias from Triple-A Oklahoma on Tuesday, bringing their total September callups to five players.

The slight limp gave it away. Ken Griffey Jr. walked slowly and carefully on Tuesday, a day after he dislocated a toe on his right foot while trying to make a catch. He was out of the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup, and had no guess about when he might be back. Asked if this injury could linger, Griffey said, “It shouldn’t.” He limped off the field, and a doctor popped the toe back into place.

The White Sox recalled RHP Dustin Hermanson from Triple-A Charlotte of the IL and reinstated him from the 15-day DL.

The A’s brought up infielder D’Angelo Jimenez from Triple-A Sacramento, to give them added depth with shortstop Bobby Crosby on the disabled list, and designated right-hander Matt Roney and infielder Mike Rouse for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster.

The Cubs recalled RHP Jae Kuk Ryu and C Jose Reyes from Triple-A Iowa of the PCL. The Cubs also acquired RHP Adam Harben from the Twins to complete an earlier trade.

The recalled RHP Elizardo Ramirez (shoulder) from Triple-A Louisville and placed him on the 60-day DL.

The Oakland Athletics claimed right-hander Jerome Williams off waivers from the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, though he wasn’t scheduled to immediately join the major league roster.

The Nationals made two moves on Tuesday: Felix Rodriguez was activated from the 60-day disabled list, and outfielder Jose Guillen was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

Boston recalled left-hander Kason Gabbard and right-hander Craig Hansen from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Rookie Mike O’Connor was recalled by the Washington Nationals and is to start Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. O’Connor wasn’t considered one of the Nationals’ top farm prospects at the start of the season, but he pitched well in his first eight starts after being promoted in late April. He then lost four straight decisions before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 30 with a mild left elbow flexor strain. O’Connor’s return means Billy Traber is being dropped from the rotation. Traber is 3-3 with a 7.36 ERA.

The Red Sox on Tuesday acquired minor-league catcher George Kottaras from San Diego to complete the trade that sent pitcher David Wells to the Padres. The Red Sox also designated right-hander Jermaine Van Buren for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

The Yankees recalled pitcher Sean Henn and infielder Andy Cannizaro from Columbus (Triple-A) on Tuesday.

The Cincinnati Reds acquired right-handed pitcher Sun-Woo Kim and cash from the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday for future considerations. Kim, 29, was 0-0 with a 19.29 ERA in six relief appearances for Colorado this season. The Rockies tried unsuccessfully to trade him in June before sending him to their Triple-A Colorado Springs team, where he has been used as a starter. He will take the 40-man roster spot of lefty Michael Gosling, who has been designated for assignment.

The Reds called up RHP Matt Belisle and LHP Chris Michalak from Class-A Sarasota, and INF Ray Olmedo and OF Dewayne Wise from Triple-A Louisville.

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