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Los Angeles Dodgers

The Full Count: The Dodgers climb to the top of the NL



Brad Penny wins again.

1. The NL’s New Leader: Either the Brewers, Mets, or Padres have held the National League’s best record for most of this season. But now, the Dodgers have the league’s top mark at 53-40. They crushed the Phillies last night 10-3 as Brad Penny improved to 11-1. Penny pitched seven innings, allowing one run and striking out eight. He joined Carlos Zambrano and Cole Hamels as the NL’s only 11-game winners. The Dodgers’ offense pounded Jamie Moyer for 10 runs, including three-run homeruns by Jeff Kent and Matt Kemp. The Dodgers have now won five in a row, but they’re still only a game up on the Padres.

2. Welcome Back: Horacio Ramirez was having a poor season for the Mariners, battling both injuries and ineffectiveness. But in his return off the DL, he looked excellent as the Mariners topped the Orioles. Ramirez allowed two runs in seven innings as Seattle won 4-2. He still has a 5.89 ERA, .317 opponents’ average, and only 15 strikeouts in nine starts. If Ramirez can continue this one good start into a string of good performances this second half, he won’t make the Mariners feel quite as stupid for trading him for stud reliever Rafael Soriano.

3. Playoff Preview?: In a matchup of two teams that could face each other in October, the Padres and Mets started a three-game set on Monday. The Padres won 5-1 behind a strong start from David Wells. Wells gave up on run in six innings in his 7th quality start in his last 11 starts. Michael Barrett powered the Padres with 3 RBIs and 3 hits. Jorge Sosa pitched well in his return from the DL, but he wasn’t supported by the offense or the bullpen. The Mets’ division lead stays at a game and a half as the Braves were pounded by the Reds.

Player of the Day: Kason Gabbard, Red Sox: 9 innings, 3 hits, no runs in a 4-0 win over the Royals.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Chris Young makes his case

There is a possibility that there will be NO SOUP FOR YOU!! Every year there is that one All-Star snub that just baffles everyone. This year’s candidate has to be Padres pitcher Chris Young. Young will probably make the NL team, one way or the other. He can be voted in in the final online voting, which ends at 6 p.m. Eastern today, or he could replace an injured player, such as John Smoltz of the Braves. However, in last nights game against the Marlins, Young made the proverbial statement that he should’ve already freakin’ been there, LaRussa, with another stellar outing. Young went seven innings, allowing no runs while striking out nine. Like the proverbial broken record, he got a no decision for his effort. It was the seventh time Young has carried a shutout into the seventh inning this season, and the fourth in which he got no decision. In 17 starts, Young has allowed only 23 earned runs. Not to get all editorial after your July 4 hangover, but if the game is going to count as far as awarding home field advantage in the World Series, then managers Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland should be able to pick the best team available, and not be hamstrung by the every-team-must-be-represented rule.

Old Man River does it againThe Tigers snapped the Indians six-game winning streak 6-4, with the help of Kenny Rogers. Rogers won his third straight start since coming of the DL and kept the Tigers two games behind Cleveland in the Central and 1.5 games ahead of the Mariners for the Wild Card. Carlos Guillen led the offense by going 3 for 4 with a run-scoring triple. It was Rogers’ sixth straight win going back to last year’s postseason, and he has allowed only four earned runs this year.

I love New York, it’s the rest of the league that’s the problem. The Colorado Rockies became the first team since 1956 to sweep two New York teams in the same season. The Rock gave the Mets an old fashioned Coors enema, pounding out 20 hits and 17 runs and forcing Mets pitchers to throw 233 pitches (including 107 in 4 innings by El Duque Hernandez). The Rockies swept the Yankees three weeks ago, and outscored the Gothams 47-17 overall. Unfortunatley, they have no more games left against New York teams. Bye bye wild card hopes.

Player of the Day: Garrett Atkins, Rockies. 4 for 5, HR, 5 RBI and 2 runs scored in a 17-7 win over the Mets.

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Boston Red Sox

The Full Count: Beckett wins again


1. Winning 11: In one of the more intriguing pitching matchups of the season, Josh Beckett defeated Jake Peavy to retake the major league wins lead. Beckett improved to 11-1 as he went eight innings with two earned runs and eight strikeouts. Peavy had one of his worst starts of the year, with 5 innings and 3 runs allowed. It was his shortest outing of the season, and Peavy’s ERA rose above 2.00 for the first time since April. Beckett, however, became the league’s first 11-game winner, passing John Lackey and CC Sabathia. He’s on pace for a ridiculous 23-2 record this season, aided by the major league’s fifth-best run support for any pitcher. The Red Sox won 4-2, giving them a series win at San Diego as their division lead remains in double-digits (11 games over Toronto).

2. Five games, one run: The Atlanta Braves are on a five-game losing streak thanks to one of the coldest offensive stretches by any team in history. They’ve been shutout four of their last five games, with only a Chipper Jones solo homerun on Saturday saving them from the record books. They got swept by the Tigers at home over the weekend, including a 5-0 loss on Sunday Night Baseball. Tigers rookie starter Andrew Miller dominated the Braves with six shutout innings as Atlanta fell to 38-38. Andruw Jones ended an 0-24 stretch with a base hit, but his average is still the lowest in the NL at .199. For the Tigers, the sweep was their second in a row as they’ve now won seven straight games. This has given them a two-game lead over Cleveland in the NL Central division, thanks mainly to their incredible offense. Detroit has 451 runs this season, 53 more than any other team in the majors. They’ve scored more than 7 runs per game in June, most in the majors, while Atlanta has scored the fewest runs this month. Thankfully for the Braves though, they get to face the Nationals next after a brutal interleague schedule.

3. The Mets are Back: It took the Mets more than three weeks to finally win their first series in June, as the team finally ended a lengthy slump with a sweep of the A’s. The Mets outscored Oakland 20-3 on the series, including a 10-2 win on Sunday. They were back to form on offense and pitching, as John Maine threw seven solid innings and the lineup pounded out 14 hits. They still only lead the Phillies by three games in the division, but they have a chance to increase that lead as they travel to Philly next weekend.

Player of the Day: Dustin McGowan, Blue Jays: 9 innings, one hit, no runs, 7 strikeouts in a win over the Rockies. McGowan took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, but allowed a hit with no outs to Jeff Baker.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Mets’ hot start fading fast


1. Cold at the Wrong Time: The Mets are in the middle of one of their tougher parts to the schedule, and they’ve struggled through it. In June so far they’ve played Arizona, Detroit, Philly, and LA, all teams with winning records, and their record is 2-8 for the month. The Mets started their series against the Dodgers with a 5-3 loss, as Orlando Hernandez had one of his worse starts of the year. The only player that’s been good for the Mets recently is David Wright, who had a four-game homer streak snapped yesterday and has a 13-game hitting streak going. The rest of the team is in a slump, which has allowed the Braves to climb back within two games despite their own struggles. The red-hot Phillies are also only four games back after winning seven of their last ten. The interleague schedule for the Mets doesn’t get any easier, as they travel to Yankee Stadium and then play the Twins and A’s.

2. Surprise Contender: Besides the four elite teams in the American League (the Red Sox, Indians, Angels and Tigers), could anybody guess who has the next best record? Shockingly it’s the Seattle Mariners, who have come out of nowhere with a 34-26 record. Sure, their payroll is over $100 million, but most of that is spent overpaying players like Richie Sexson and Jeff Weaver. The reason why they are winning is an excellent lineup, which has the second-highest batting average in all of baseball and the eighth-most runs scored. Ichiro is tearing it up with a .337 average and is on pace for 232 hits and 46 steals. Catcher Kenji Johjima is batting .330, Raul Ibanez has 41 RBIs, and five players have at least 30 RBIs. Also, their underrated closer, JJ Putz, has been excellent. He has 18 saves in 18 chances, a 1.23 ERA, and a microscopic 0.58 WHIP. The Mariners out-powered Cleveland on Monday in an 8-7 win as Ibanez hit two homers and five RBIs. They are holding off the A’s for second place in the AL West, though Oakland has a winning streak going as well.

3. Bonds finally homers: Barry Bonds came into Monday’s game in a huge slump, with no homers in his last 13 games and one since May 9. He was finally able to reach career homer number 747 though, with a solo shot off Josh Towers of the Blue Jays. Bonds is still struggling though in every area except walks. The nine remaining homers he has to break the record will take him until after the All Star break, unless he heats up. The Giants won 4-3 by the way, with Matt Morris tossing a complete game.

Player of the Day: Carlos Zambrano, Cubs: 8 innings, no earned runs, 8 strikeouts, homerun (2) in a 2-1 win over the Astros.

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MLB General

The Full Count: The most offensive team in the game…


1. Powerhouse: Two years ago, it would have been laughable to think the Tigers’ offense would soon be the best in baseball. Now, that is the reality–and no one else is even close. The Tigers piled on a season-high 15 runs and 21 hits against the Mets–all without their best hitter in the lineup. Magglio Ordonez didn’t play, but it didn’t matter as Detroit roughed up Tom Glavine for 9 earned runs and 11 hits. Gary Sheffield continued to dominate with a 4-5, two RBI outing. Brandon Inge knocked in five RBIs, Ivan Rodriguez had three hits and three runs, and Placido Polanco went 3-6 to increase his average to .348. The 15-7 win over the Mets sent the Tigers to 1.5 games behind Cleveland, while New York dropped to 3-7 its last ten games. The Tigers now have 374 runs this year–a whopping 32 more than the next-best team, the Yankees. They also lead the MLB in hits, batting average, slugging, and OPS. Last year the Tigers were carried by their starting pitching. This year, they are winning because they can flat-out mash.

2. The Yankees are Back: The Yankees’ season may have seemed over when they were 14.5 back in the division. But now they have new life, thanks to a 6-game winning streak as well as recent struggles by the Red Sox. The Yanks started off interleague play with a sweep of the Pirates, including a 13-6 win on Sunday. Alex Rodriguez, who hit two homers, drove in five runs, and scored four times, is now back to his April self. Bobby Abreu went 4-4 with 4 runs and is on a ten-game hitting streak that has raised his average 44 points. Overall, the Yankees outscored the Pirates 27-13 on the series. Their next two series are against tougher teams, the Diamondbacks and the Mets, but both are at home. The Red Sox are still 9.5 games ahead, but they are only 4-6 in June compared with the Yankees’ 8-2 mark. This race could get much more competitive as the year goes on.

3. Early Ejection, Late Win: The first inning of the Cubs-Braves game featured plenty of controversy. The Cubs’ starting pitcher, Ted Lilly, was ejected in the first after hitting Edgar Renteria with a pitch. It didn’t look like he was intentionally throwing at him, but the umpire was convinced. Both dugouts cleared but there was no fighting between the teams. Renteria then elbowed Cubs second baseman Mike Fontenot when he came in with a hard popup slide on a steal attempt. Renteria was not punished for this action, however, even though it seemed much more intentional than Lilly’s pitch. Anyway, the Cubs were able to take the lead, 4-2, through seven innings despite having to overwork their bullpen. But then in the eighth, the Braves scored three runs off Ryan Dempster to pull ahead and eventually win 5-4. It would be interesting to see what would happen if these two teams played again, but their season series is over. The Braves moved up to just 2.5 games behind the Mets.

Players of the Day: CC Sabathia, Indians: 9 innings, three hits, no runs, 6 strikeouts. Aaron Harang, Reds: 7 innings, three hits, no runs, 10 strikeouts. The Reds and Indians had one of the best pitcher’s duels this season, with a 0-0 tie through the first 11 innings. The Reds won in the 12th off Alex Gonzalez’s RBI single.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Curt Schilling knows what he’s doing



What could have been

1. No No-No: Curt Schilling was so close to a no-hitter against Oakland, but he just couldn’t make one final out. Schilling was near-perfect through 8.2 innings, with only one baserunner reaching on an error by Julio Lugo. But when it came time to get his name added to the history books, Schilling shook off his catcher like Nuke LaLoosh and allowed a single to Shannon Stewart. He still pitched a great game, with no runs or walks allowed and just the one hit. He also gave the Red Sox a much-needed win after four straight losses. David Ortiz homered in the first inning for the Red Sox’s only run of the game. They will face the Diamondbacks next in an unusual interleague matchup, while the A’s will take on cross-bay rival San Francisco.

2. Break out the Brooms: The Phillies may be a contender after completing an unlikely sweep of the New York Mets on the road. After winning the first two games of the series 4-2, the Phils won 6-3 in extra innings on Thursday. The Mets had three straight solo homers in the sixth inning by Carlos Delgado, David Wright and Paul Lo Duca, which turned out to be their only runs of the game. The Phillies tied it up in the ninth thanks to Pat Burrell’s homerun, then won it in the tenth with three runs. The pitching matchup between Cole Hamels and John Maine was excellent, as both pitchers threw seven strong innings. However, it was the Mets’ bullpen that failed them in this contest. The Phillies are just five games back of New York now, closer than they’ve been most of the season. The Marlins have also been streaky lately and are 6.5 back themselves.

3. The League’s Worst Starting Rotation: Many teams around the league have pitching problems, but none of them even approach the crappiness of the Rangers’ starters. Everybody in their rotation has an ERA above 6.00. Robinson Tejada has been the `best’ with a 6.28 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. The others have struggled even more. Brandon McCarthy (6.35 ERA), Vicente Padilla (6.45), Kameron Loe (7.40), and Kevin Millwood (7.57) have all wasted an above-average offense and bullpen. Yesterday it was Loe who got shelled, with nine runs allowed in less than three innings to the Tigers. Detroit’s major-league leading offense feasted on Texas during their series, with 25 runs in three games. The Rangers are one of those teams that just needs to rebuild from the ground up.

Player of the Day: Rich Hill, Cubs: 8 innings, three hits, one run, 11 strikeouts in a win over the Braves.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Halladay is dominating again


1. Return to Dominance: Roy Halladay hadn’t pitched since May 10, and he hadn’t pitched like himself since April 30. It didn’t take him long to return to his usual form. Halladay shut out the White Sox in seven innings, allowing six hits and no walks. He struck out seven on the last day of a horrible May for Halladay. In April, he was one of the early Cy Young favorites in the AL. But in May, he allowed 17 combined runs in his first two starts and then underwent an appendectomy that cost him three weeks. Mark Buehrle of the White Sox pitched eight strong innings himself, but he gave up two solo homers to Frank Thomas and Aaron Hill.

2. Still Rollin’: Everything about the Mets, from their starters to their lineup, is clicking right now. On Thursday, Orlando Hernandez delivered a great start in what has been a surprising season for him. El Duque allowed two runs in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.20. He is one of three Mets starters with an ERA below 2.80, which is quite unexpected for a staff that came into the year with numerous question marks. Billy Wagner converted his 31st straight save, his 13th on the year. Wagner is one of the more underrated closers in the majors with a 1.57 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He has been unhittable for the last decade. Though Carlos Beltran struggled in May on offense, David Wright and Carlos Delgado broke out of their April slumps and Jose Reyes continued to be a steal machine (29 and counting). Right now, the Mets are clearly the favorite in the National League, which lacks another truly dominant team at this point.

3. Remember this guy?: Ever since breaking the single-season hits record in 2004, Ichiro has been virtually silent. This year he has returned to being a great contact hitter, with a .336 average and a 230-hit pace. He finished May with a 24-game hit streak that raised his average 76 points. He hasn’t slowed down, either, with 14 steals on the year. On Thursday, Ichiro carried the Mariners by going 3-5 with two RBIs. If he keeps hitting like he is now, Ichiro will definitely start to gain back the attention he lost after two below-average seasons for him.

Player of the Month: Prince Fielder, Brewers: Milwaukee may have slowed down towards the end of the month, but its best player continued to dominate. Fielder had four straight games with a homer to close the month. He led all major-leaguers with 13 homers in May and was tied for first with 28 RBIs. His slugging percentage was .755, which raised his season total to a league-leading .641. Fielder’s breakout is reminiscent of Ryan Howard‘s last year, when Howard hit 13 and 35 in May.

Pitcher of the Month: Jake Peavy, Padres: Many pitchers slowed down in May after dominating in April, but Peavy was not one of them. He went 4-0 with a miniscule 0.79 ERA and 39 strikeouts on the month. Peavy allowed no earned runs in three of his five starts, and the Padres won every time he took the mound in May. He is clearly the National League’s Cy Young favorite at this point in the year.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Smoltz gets his 200th win


1. Bicentennial Man: Future Hall of Famer John Smoltz, pitching against former teammate Tom Glavine, passed an important milestone on Thursday. He pitched nearly flawlessly to lock up win number 200 on his career. Smoltz also became the first player in major league history to record 200 wins and 150 saves. His 7-inning, no-walk performance improved his record to 7-2 on the year with a 2.58 ERA. He’s first in the National League in wins. Glavine pitched well too, with two runs in six innings, but it wasn’t enough as the Braves won 2-1. Glavine is five wins shy of a much bigger milestone: 300. With the way he’s pitching this year (3.39 ERA), he’ll reach that easily. But the focus was on Smoltz, who hasn’t allowed a run in either of his last two starts. With the win the Braves won their third straight series against the Mets this year, and they’re 1.5 games back now of New York.

2. First-place rout: The Tigers and Angels is a matchup of two first place teams, but only one of them looked playoff-caliber on Thursday. The Tigers won in a 12-0 rout, with great offensive and pitching performances. Jeremy Bonderman came off the DL and threw 8 scoreless innings. Carlos Guillen hit two homers and five RBIs. Magglio Ordonez went 4-4 with three RBIs to bring his league-leading total to 45. Gary Sheffield also got in on the action with his 9th homer and three runs. Ervin Santana was the main victim for the Angels, as he allowed 8 runs and his ERA ballooned to 6.00. The Tigers still only lead the Indians by a half-game, while the Angels have a comfortable four game lead over Oakland.

3. Baseball game with a football score: 13-12 sounds more like the score of a Bucs-Seahawks game than a Devil Rays-Mariners contest. But Tampa and Seattle combined for the most runs in the majors this season in a crazy game. Devil Rays pitcher Jae Seo got the win despite allowing 7 runs and 13 hits. The Mariners piled on 18 total hits, with four players collecting more than three hits. But it wasn’t enough as Tampa has 7 players with an RBI and 8 score a run. Seattle reliever Sean White gave up an incredible 7 runs in 0.2 innings.

Player of the Day: Carlos Guillen, Tigers: 2-3, 2 homers, 5 RBIs in a 12-0 rout of the Angels. Guillen continues to be one of the more underrated players in baseball with a .327 average and 35 RBIs on the year.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Ice cold brews here!


1. The Slumping Central: Every NL Central team has a losing record in their last ten games, including ice-cold Milwaukee. The Brewers, who have lost 9 of their last 13 games, fell 5-1 to the Dodgers on Wednesday. Brad Penny shut them out in seven innings to improve to 6-1, while Chris Capuano struggled again for the Brewers. Also, the Astros got swept by the Giants in a series that could have been a great chance to catch up to the Brewers. The Cubs, who were nearly above .500 last week, have dropped three straight and remain in third place. As for the other teams…they’ve been in a slump all year, and nothing has changed.

2. Perez beats the Braves–again: If Oliver Perez pitched against the Braves every start, he’d be unstoppable. In three starts against the Braves this season, Perez is 3-0 with only three runs allowed. Amazingly, he has accounted for all of the Mets’ victories against the Braves this season. Perez pitched seven shutout innings on Wednesday as the Mets won 3-0. David Wright homered for the fourth time in four games. The Braves won their third straight series against the Mets this year, but New York retained their division lead.

3. The Yankees Strike Back: Boston crushed the Yankees in their first two series this season, but New York just took two of three from them at Yankee Stadium. They won 8-3 to finish the series, as Andy Pettitte pitched a gem and Curt Schilling was chased after six innings. Schilling allowed 12 hits and 6 runs in what was easily his worst start of the season. Pettitte, meanwhile, went 7 innings for the fourth start in a row and gave up just one run. Surprisingly, he is now fifth in the AL in ERA with 2.66. In a starting rotation that has seen injuries, numerous rookies, and inconsistency, Pettitte is definitely the strongest link. Roger Clemens will join the rotation sometime next week, though his second minor league start was far from ideal.

Player of the Day: Magglio Ordonez, Tigers: 2 HR, 2 RBIs in an 8-7 win over the Angels for the AL MVP candidate. Ordonez has 12 homers, 42 RBIs, and leads the league in slugging and OPS.

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MLB General

The Full Count: And now back to your regularly scheduled rivalries


1. Another Yankees Starter: The Yankees have started more pitchers this year than any other team in the majors, with 11. Seven of those have been rookies, including Tyler Clippard on Sunday against the Mets. After Clippard’s first three pitches struck out Jose Reyes, it seemed like he would be one of their better pitching experiments this year. And he was. Clippard was efficient in 6 innings, allowing one run, only three hits, and striking out six. He won as the Yankees avoided a sweep in the Subway Series. The Yankees’ offense featured homers from Derek Jeter, A-Rod, and Jorge Posada as they shelled John Maine for five runs. The Yanks are still 10.5 back behind Boston, as the Red Sox took 2 of 3 from the Braves over the weekend.

2. World Series Revenge: The Tigers-Cardinals matchup was a rematch of last year’s World Series, and the result was a complete reversal. The Cards won the series 4-1 last October, but this time around, the Tigers swept struggling St. Louis. Sunday’s 6-3 win for Detroit was highlighted by Justin Verlander’s fourth straight win. Verlander pitched 8 innings, gave up just two runs, and improved to 5-1 on the year. Verlander has quietly been even better than he was last year, with a team-leading 2.68 ERA. Now they are tied with Cleveland atop the AL Central, while St. Louis is in fifth in the NL Central. The Cardinals just cannot find any starting pitching, and their batter have hit a major-league low 20 homers.

3. Interleague Results: The weekend was highlighted by many strong Interleague matchups. Cross-town rivalries included the Yanks-Mets, Cubs-White Sox, Angels-Dodgers, and A’s-Giants. The Cubs took two of three from the White Sox, though the White Sox won 10-6 on Sunday after smashing Carlos Zambrano for seven runs in six innings. The Angels swept the Dodgers by a combined score of 19-4 using some excellent starting pitching. Kelvim Escobar finished the series with an 8-inning shutout performance as the Angels won 4-1. Oakland won the first two games of their series against the Giants, but San Fran won 4-1 on Sunday behind a complete-game outing from Matt Morris. Barry Bonds continued his slump, and he has no homers or RBIs in his last ten games. The next Interleague action will be the second week of June, with some of these same rivalries.

Player of the Day: Mark Teixeira, Rangers: 4-6, 2 HR, 3 RBIs in a 14-1 rout of the Astros. Teixeira has been on fire lately with 6 homers, 20 RBIs, and a .349 average in his last 22 games.

Stat of the Day: Randy Johnson’s 5.2 inning, 10 strikeout game on Sunday was his first career double-digit strikeout game with fewer than 6 innings pitched, according to Elias Sports. Johnson has 28 strikeouts and is 2-0 in his last three starts.