1. The never ending game: The longest game of the year was played right when the two teams involved didn’t want it–the day before the All Star break. The Red Sox and the White Sox battled for a total of 19 innings–the longest game since April 2003. The Red Sox should have had it won it the ninth–Jonathan Papelbon was in and they were leading by one. But then Jermaine Dye homered, his 25th of the year and third in the last two days. That sent the game into extras, and in the 11th, both teams scored two runs. Then it was scoreless again until the 19th inning, when Tadahito Iguchi hit a game-winning RBI single. The White Sox’s win avoided a sweep, and they are only two back of Detroit now. Boston has kept their three-game lead. This was the longest game of the year at 6 hours and 19 minutes. Boston’s Trot Nixon became the first player to go 0-9 since 1991. Teammate Jason Varitek wasn’t much better at 0-8.
2. Another long game: The battle of the Sox wasn’t the only game to go into extras last night. The Astros-Cardinals matchup went into 12 innings–on Sunday Night Baseball. The Astros were down 2 runs in the eighth but battled back with a Chris Burke two-run homer and a Craig Biggio sac fly. So the game went into extras and was scorless until the 12th, when pinch-hitter Aaron Miles hit a two-run single off Houston closer Brad Lidge, whose struggles this year have yet to stop. The Cardinals now have a four-game division lead going into the break. Houston is six games out.
3. AL’s best pitcher?: Roy Halladay has just dominated this season. He picked up his 12th win yesterday against the Royals, becoming the first pitcher in the majors to reach that mark. His solid 7 inning, 1 earned run start lowered his ERA to 2.92 and his WHIP to 1.03. Halladay has now won four starts in a row, and 7 of his last 8 decisions have been victories. His excellent performance this year has earned him a trip to Pittsburgh for the All Star game and has helped out the Blue Jays’ somewhat inconsistent rotation.
4. They’ll welcome the break: The Pittsburgh Pirates are certainly glad the All Star break is here. They have fallen to 30-60 on the year, the worse record in the majors. Their 8-3 loss to the Phillies yesterday gave Philly their first series win in a month. The Pirates have gone 4-20 in their last 24 games and are even worse than the Chicago Cubs. They are five games behind the Cubs and 19.5 games behind the division-leading Cardinals.
5. Leading at the break: The first half of the season is now in the books, and here are some interesting notes from the statistical leaders. David Ortiz, who wasn’t on the leaderboard until recently, is now first in the majors in RBI (87) and homeruns (31). Also, Albert Pujols, despite missing 15 games, is first in homers (29) and second in RBIs (76) in the NL. Adam Dunn (28), Jason Giambi (27), and Travis Hafner (25) rank in the top 10 in homers but won’t be going to the All Star game. Now to the pitchers. Jason Isringhausen is first in the NL in saves (26) despite an underwhelming 3.35 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. Meanwhile, two rookies (Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander) are in the AL’s top five in ERA, but neither will be going to Pittsburgh for the All Star game.
