The Pennant Race - 8/25

Walk-off home runs affected a couple of pennant races yesterday. With the Dodgers having already lost to the Phillies, 5-0, the Diamondbacks had a chance to increase their lead in the NL West. But Padres' outfielder Jody Gerut had something else in mind: a 2-out, 2-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to give San Diego a 4-2 win. The game featured a good duel between starters Jake Peavy and Dan Haren.

Meanwhile, over in the AL, the Twins led the Mariners 2-1 in the ninth inning, but faced with a first and third and no-out situation, they elected to play for the double play. They got it when Jeff Clement bounced into a 6-4-3 twin killing. That sent the game into extra innings where Adrian Beltre decided it in the eleventh inning with a 2-run home run off of Jesse Crain.

While the Diamondbacks remained three games ahead of LA, the Twins fell into second place in the AL Central, one game behind Chicago. That's because the White Sox split a pair of 4-3 games. The first was the completion of a game suspended nearly four months ago in Chicago. The Orioles and White Sox were tied 3-3 when the game was stopped on April 28 in the 11th inning. It would take three more innings yesterday before the Orioles' Luis Montanez knocked in the go-ahead run.

In the regularly scheduled game, Jim Thome's sixth inning home run snapped a 3-3 tie and the White Sox held on to the 4-3 lead. Thome's home run was number 535, putting him one behind Mickey Mantle on the all-time HR list.

The Mets maintained their half-game advantage over the Phillies behind another dominant performance from Mike Pelfrey. The right-hander became the first Mets pitcher to throw consecutive complete games since 1995. Pelfrey is 10-2, 2.90 since the managerial change at Shea. He got plenty of offensive support in the 9-1 Mets win last night as Carlos Delgado hit a pair of 3-run home runs. Since July 1st, Delgado has 14 home runs and 45 RBI in 49 games.

Brett Myers tossed seven shutout innings in the Phillies' 5-0 win over the Dodgers. Myers is 4-1, 1.24 over his last six starts. Last year's NL MVP, Jimmy Rollins, is trying to get his game back in gear and last night helped his cause. A double, triple, walk, two RBI, and a run scored. Manny Ramirez has hit his first LA mud slide- he's in a 5-24 skid.

The Cubs blasted the Pirates 12-3 behind a 3-run blast from Aramis Ramirez and four RBI by Kosuke Fukudome. Ramirez has three home runs and 10 RBI in his last three games. Ted Lilly won his 13th game, beating Jeff Karstens, who looked more like his real self (3 IP, 5 ER). The Brewers were idle, so the Cubs' lead was increased to 5 games.


Other News

The Indians have been out of the race for a long time, but kudos to them for not giving up their season. Their 4-3, 10 inning win over Detroit last night was their eighth straight. Grady Sizmore homered twice in the game, making him only the second Indians player, along with Joe Carter, to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. He has an excellent chance to join Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Alfonso Soriano as the only members of the 40-40 club.

The Twins got some bullpen help yesterday, acquiring lefty reliever Eddie Guardado from the Rangers for minor leaguer Mike Hamburger. There was no side of fries.

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The Pennant Race - 8/22

There wasn't too much action in MLB yesterday, but some races were impacted. The Mets increased their lead over the Phillies to 2.5 games, behind some clutch hits from the still-hot Carlos Delgado. The first baseman went 5-5 with 3 RBI including the game winner in the bottom of the ninth. The Mets topped the Braves, 5-4.

Meanwhile, the Nats broke their 12 game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Phillies. Washington was down 3-2 when they struck for a pair of runs in the eighth inning.

The Marlins fell 6 back in the East after losing to the Giants in the bottom of the ninth for the second straight game, this time on a wild pitch.

The Cubs upped their lead over the Brewers to 5.5 games in the NL Central with a 3-2 win over the Reds. Carlos Zambrano hit his fourth home run of the year and picked up his 13th win. Zambrano, who also managed to break a tooth during the game, now has 16 career home runs.

Brandon Webb's major league-leading 19th win kept the Diamondbacks 2 games ahead of the Dodgers. Arizona won 4-1 as Connor Jackson drove in 2 runs. LA beat Colorado 3-1 as James Loney homered and drove in 2 runs, and Derek Lowe picked up his 10th win.

Denard Span's 12th inning single gave the Twins a 2-1 win over the Angels and moved them back to within a half-game of the idle White Sox in the AL Central. Starters Scott Baker and John Lackey each allowed one run in eight innings pitched.

Big game last night for Cleveland's Grady Sizemore. Two singles, a 3-run triple, and a 3-run home run; 7 RBI in all.

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Interleague Weekend Recap

This past weekend we had the second set of interleague games in the 2008 battle of the AL vs. the NL.

Red Sox vs. Reds

This was the first time the Red Sox were playing in Cincinnati since the 1975 World Series. The Reds rubbed that in a little by having their World Series trophy on hand and showing highlights. But the Red Sox would take 2 of 3 this time around. Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn homered on Friday to help lead the Reds to their sole victory of the weekend, 3-1. Kevin Youkilis and Coco Crisp hit back to back home runs to take Saturday's contest 6-4 in 10 innings after Jon Papelbon allowed a game tying home run in the 9th to Edwin Encarnacion. No such trouble on Sunday as Crisp homered again, drove in 4 and Josh Beckett dominated in a 9-0 win. AL:2 NL:1

Rangers vs. Mets

The Willie Randolph death watch continued, but the Mets took 2 of 3 to help their skipper keep his job for now. The Mets won the opener on the dominant performance of Oliver Perez, who also drove in 2 runs in the 7-1 win. Saturday's game was rained out, so the two teams split a twinbill on Sunday. The Mets 8th and 9th inning rallies fell short in game 1 as the Rangers hung on 8-7. Robinson Cancel's pinch-hit 2-run single snapped a 2-2 tie in the 6th to give the Mets the nightcap, 4-2, and a series win. AL:1 NL:2

Cubs vs. Blue Jays

The Blue Jays took the opener on Friday 3-2 behind the pitching of A.J. Burnett and back to back home runs by Matt Stairs and Scott Rolen. Then Burnett told the press how he wouldn't mind playing for the Cubs and listed all of his friends on the team. We think there's a good chance J. P. Ricciardi will send him somewhere. Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly pitched the Cubs to wins in the latter two games of the series, 6-2 and 7-4. Reed Johnson got some revenge against his old team with a 3-run home run off former mate Roy Halladay in Saturday's game. AL:1 NL:2

Marlins vs. Rays

The battle of Florida went to the Rays, who took 2 of 3 at the Trop. Eric Hinske and Dionner Navarro drove in 2 runs each to win the opener 7-3, which also marked the return of closer Troy Percival. Luis Tiant threw out the first pitch on Saturday and watched Matt Garza dominate in a 4-1 Rays win. No fisticuffs with Navarro this time either. Ricky Nolasco came within one out of his first career complete game as the Marlins salvaged the finale of the series, 9-3. Nolasco struck out 12 in throwing 132 pitches. Wes Helms and Mike Jacobs hit 3-run HRs. AL:2 NL:1


Braves vs. Angels

Despite a rash of injuries to their starting rotation and freak injury to Chipper Jones, the Braves took the first 2 games of the series before the Angels salvaged the finale last night. Jo Jo Reyes beat John Garland on Friday, 5-2, with the help of that household name Gregor Blanco, who drove in 3 runs. Charlie Morton won his first major league game in defeating Ervin Santana and the Angels 9-4. Mark Texeira drove in 3 and Brandon Jones hit his first major league home run. Joe Saunders became the fifth 10-game winner when he lead the Angels to a 2-0 win. Casey Kotchman's home run accounted for all the runs. AL:1 NL:2


Dodgers vs. Tigers

Look out the Detroit Tigers are on the move. The Tigers built off their 3-game sweep of the White Sox with a 3-game sweep of the Dodgers. Armando Galarraga got things going on Friday by throwing 7 innings in the Tigers 5-0 win. Marcus Thomes and Magglio Ordonez homered. Thames and Miguel Cabrera went deep on Saturday as the Tigers outscored LA 12-7. Brad Penny was tagged for 7 runs in 3-plus innings. Nate Robertson tossed 6 shutout innings as the Tigers held on in the finale 5-4. Thames homered for the 3rd straight game and Brandon Inge went yard too. AL:3 NL:0


Pirates vs. Orioles

The O's took 2 of 3, starting with a 9-6 win on Friday after trailing 6-1. The Orioles honored members of the 1979 team, including former Yankees Scott McGregor and Grant Jackson, that beat the Pirates in the World Series after being down 3 games to 1. The Orioles trailed 7-6 in the 9th inning on Saturday after Adam Laroche hit a 2-run home run off closer George Sherrill. But Oscar Salazar hit his first major league home run since 2002 to tie it and Ramon Hernandez singled in the game winner. The O's came from behind yet again on Sunday, tying it in the 9th on Brian Roberts 2-run home run, but LaRoche's RBI single gave the Pirates a 5-4 win in 10. AL:2 NL:1


Padres vs. Indians

The Indians outlasted the Padres and the rain in a 9-5 win on Friday. Grady Sizemore homered twice in the game, 5 hours apart. The Padres took the middle game of the series with an 8-3 win in 10 innings. Tony Clark drew a bases loaded walk to break the 3-3 tie and then Kevin Kouzmanoff put the game away with a grand slam. The Padres won their threw back uglies. The Indians took the rubber game of the series behind a dominant performance by C.C. Sabathia (8 IP 10 K). Ben Francisco hit an early 3-run HR off of Greg Maddux, who dropped to 3-5. AL:2 NL:1


Twins vs. Brewers

The Twins scored 19 runs in the first two games. Friday night was a big game for Twins starter Kevin Slowey. 8 innings of 5-hit ball for the win and 2 hits and 2 RBI at the plate in a 10-2 win. Russell Branyan homered off of Joe Nathan in the bottom of the 9th to tie Saturday's game at 4-4, but the Twins struck for 5 runs in the 9th, 4 of them coming home on Michael Cuddyer's triple. It was 4, because Cuddyer scored too on Mike Cameron's throwing error. Cameron helped make up for it with a 2-run home run in the series finale as the Brewers got a good performance from Seth McClung and the bullpen in a 4-2 win. AL:2 NL:1


A's vs. Giants

The battle of the bay wasn't much of a contest as the A's swept the 3-game series at Pac Bell Park. The A's pitching dominated the series, allowing just 4 runs. Omar Vizquel accounted for the only Giants run in the opener by stealing home. Greg Smith and three relievers allowed just 5 hits and Jack Cust drove home 2 runs in a 5-1 A's win. Rich Harden topped Smith's performance with 6 innings of 1-hit, 9 strikeout ball in a 4-0 win on Saturday. Matt Cain struck out 11 in taking a tough loss. The A's finished things off yesterday with a 5-3 win lead by a strong start from Dana Eveland and Eric Chavez's 3-hit 2 RBI day. AL:3 NL:0


Rockies vs. White Sox

The suddenly struggling White Sox, coming off a 3-game sweep by the Tigers, thought they had turned things around when they rallied for a 5-4 win on Friday. Juan Uribe delivered the game winning 2-run single in the 7th. But four Rockies pitchers limited the Chisox to 3 hits on Saturday and both runs scored on White Sox errors in a 2-0 Rockies win. The Rocks took the series with a 5-3 win on Sunday as Aaron Cook won his 10th game. The White Sox had a chance in the 9th against closer Brian Fuentes when they loaded the bases with 2 outs. Joe Crede hit a pop up to shallow left that left fielder Matt Holliday and shortstop Carlos Quintanilla converged on. The ball went in and out of Holliday's glove, but the quick thinking outfielder caught the ball with his bare hand to end the game. AL:1 NL:2


Nationals vs. Mariners

This is the series that ultimately helped end Bill Bavasi's tenure as GM of the Mariners. The Nationals swept the M's in Seattle with tennis like scores- 7-6, 5-2, 6-2. AL:0 NL:3

Royals vs. Diamondbacks

A surprise here as the Royals took 2 of 3 including a 12-3 pasting in game 2. The Diamondbacks only win came on Chad Tracy's walk off home run to break a scoreless tie in the 10th inning of game 1. David DeJesus hit a grand slam and drove in 5 to take the finale 8-3. AL:2 NL:1

Final tally - AL: 22 NL: 17

In the lone intraleague series the Cardinals took 2 of 3 from the Phillies despite losing 20-2 on Friday.

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Yankees Go Down Easi-Lee

For once a hyped pitching match up panned out. Unfortunately, for the Yankees they came out on the wrong end of 3-0 decision to the Cleveland Indians. While Chien-Ming Wang was solid, allowing 3 runs over 7 innings, he was outdone by Cliff Lee who dominated the Yankees en route to upping his record to 6-0.

Wang got into immediate trouble in the 1st inning, walking lead off man Grady Sizemore. Ben Francisco's single put runners on the corners with no one out, but then Wang bared down. Tuesday's hero David Dellucci bounced into a force out with Sizemore remaining at 3rd Base. Victor Martinez came through with sacrifice fly before Wang retired Jhonny Peralta on an inning ending fly out.

The Yankees could only manage a bloop single by Hideki Matsui, which extended his hitting streak to 16 games, through the first 4 innings. Lee struck out four as he retired the Yankees in order in 3 of those 4 innings. Meanwhile the Indians added tack on runs in the 4th and 5th.

Peralta singled up the middle with 1-out in the 4th and came around from 2nd two batters later on Casey Blake's single to right. Peralta's head first hook slide helped evade the throw home from Bobby Abreu in right.

In the 5th, Andy Marte lead off with a single and Wang walked Sizemore for the second time. Wang struck out Francisco, but Dellucci bit the Yankees on the behind again with a lined RBI single to center. Sizemore killed the chance for a bigger inning when he was thrown by Jose Molina trying to steal 3rd Base.

The Yankees only had a couple of real chances to get to Lee. They put two men on in the 5th on singles by Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano, but Lee struck out Morgan Ensberg and retired Molina on a deep fly to right. A 2-out single by Abreu and a double by Shelley Duncan in the 6th brought the tying run to the plate again, but Lee struck out Matsui swinging to get out of trouble.

The Yankees had just one base runner over the final 2 innings as Rafael Betancourt closed things out for the second straight night.

News and Notes

His hitting may have gone cold, but Jose Molina's defense is always top-notch. He threw out Ben Francisco attempting to steal 2nd Base for the second night in a row and nailed Grady Sizemore trying to nab 3rd Base this evening. Molina also made the play of the game in the 9th inning. Travis Hafner hit a dribbler in front of the plate with the bases loaded and just 1 out. Molina hopped out, grabbed the ball, and in one quick motion, stepped on home plate and fired to 1st to record the double play.

Chien-Ming Wang suffered his first regular season loss since September 15, 2007. His last 3 losses have all been against the Indians (1 regular season, 2 playoff games).

Kyle Farnsworth's scoreless appearance in the 8th lowered his ERA to 3.18, the lowest it has been since April 7.

May 7, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Cleveland	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0		3	7	0
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	7	0

Cleveland	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Sizemore, CF	2	1	0	0	2	1	0	.265
Francisco, RF	4	0	2	0	0	2	2	.357
Gutierrez, RF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.245
Dellucci, LF	4	0	1	1	0	0	3	.273
Martinez, DH	3	0	0	1	0	0	2	.337
Peralta, SS	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.229
Cabrera, 2B	2	0	0	0	2	0	1	.187
Blake, 1B	3	0	1	1	0	0	1	.206
Shoppach, C	3	0	0	0	1	0	2	.256
Marte, 3B	3	1	1	0	0	1	1	.105
a-Hafner, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.209
Carroll, 3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.225
Totals	29	3	7	3	5	4	16
a-Grounded into a double play for Marte in the 9th.
BATTING TB: Francisco 2; Dellucci; Peralta 2; Blake; Marte. RBI: Martinez (11), Blake (20), Dellucci (13). 2-out RBI: Blake. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Marte; Shoppach; Martinez. S: Blake. SF: Martinez. GIDP: Hafner. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING CS: Francisco (2, 2nd base by Farnsworth/Molina), Sizemore (2, 3rd base by Wang/Molina).

Cleveland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Lee (W, 6-0)	7.0	6	0	0	0	7	0	0.81
Perez (H, 4)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3.86
Betancourt (S, 4)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5.52

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.273
Jeter, SS	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.300
Abreu, RF	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	.305
Duncan, S, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.192
Matsui, DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.339
Cabrera, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.279
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.160
Ensberg, 3B	3	0	1	0	0	1	2	.226
Molina, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.219
Totals	34	0	7	0	0	8	10
BATTING 2B: Duncan, S (2, Lee), Abreu (5, Perez). TB: Abreu 3; Duncan, S 2; Matsui; Cabrera; Cano; Ensberg. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Molina; Matsui 2; Duncan, S. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING Outfield assists: Abreu (Francisco at 2nd base). DP: (Molina-Duncan, S).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Wang (L, 6-1)	7.0	5	3	3	3	4	0	3.12
Farnsworth	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.18
Albaladejo	1.0	1	0	0	2	0	0	4.76

Pitches-strikes: Lee 103-76, Perez 10-9, Betancourt 22-15, Wang 99-65, Farnsworth 12-5, Albaladejo 20-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lee 8-6, Perez 1-1, Betancourt 1-2, Wang 7-9, Farnsworth 0-2, Albaladejo 3-0.
Batters faced: Lee 27, Perez 4, Betancourt 3, Wang 28, Farnsworth 3, Albaladejo 5.
Umpires: HP: Brian Gorman. 1B: Scott Barry. 2B: Sam Holbrook. 3B: Gerry Davis.
Weather: 65 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 15 mph, R to L.
T: 3:04.
Att: 50,199.

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