Tag: San Diego Padres

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San Francisco Giants

The Full Count: Bonds keeps creeping closer


1. 753: Before Thursday’s game, Barry Bonds was in a slump that included no hits since July 6 and no homers since July 3. Then he broke out of his slump in the biggest way possible, with his best game of the season. Bonds smacked two homers, giving him 753 for his career. He also went 3-3 with three runs and six RBIs. Now he is so close to the record, we can start to predict when he might break it. If this is the start of a nice streak for Bonds, then he should hit 756 next week at home against the Braves or Marlins. If he starts to struggle again, it might take until mid-August. Regardless of when the record is broken, it’s impossible to deny it will happen soon after Thursday’s performance. But no matter what happens, the Giants are still awful. They lost 9-8 to the Cubs despite Barry’s effort, putting them at 1-6 since the All Star break. They now have the National League’s worst record at 39-54. The Giants will travel to Milwaukee over the weekend.

2. Chris Young for Cy Young: After San Diego starter Chris Young’s superb 2006 season, many baseball experts said he would not nearly as successful this year. He’s proven them all wrong with a simply unbelievable year. Young pitched seven shutout innings on Thursday, lowering his ERA to a league-leading 1.85. It was Young’s sixth scoreless effort in his last nine starts. He also leads the league in WHIP (1.00), opponent’s batting average (.187), and opponent’s OPS (.531). He has dominated ridiculously at home, with a 0.73 ERA and five earned runs in 62 innings. Though few have heard of him, Chris Young (at this point) absolutely deserves the NL Cy Young.

3. Ace is Out: The Cardinals’ struggles will continue for the foreseeable future, as their ace, Chris Carpenter, will not return to the rotation until mid-2008. That’s because he will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow ligament. Without Carpenter, the St. Louis starters cannot be good enough to carry the team to the playoffs. They will have to wait until 2009 at the earliest to see postseason action again, most likely. Carpenter had 51 wins from 2004-06, ranking third in the majors, according to ESPN.com.

Player of the Day: Barry Bonds, Giants: 3-3, 3 runs, 2 HRs (19, 753), 6 RBIs in a 9-8 loss to the Cubs.

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Cincinnati Reds

The Full Count: Reds win crazy game in Atlanta with crazy fans in the stands


1. The Marathon: The Braves-Reds game went 15 innings and featured crazy back-and-forth scoring. However, the end result was the same for the Reds, who completed a sweep with a wild 5-4 win. The game started out as a pitcher’s duel, with John Smoltz and Aaron Harang churning out great starts. With the Braves up 1-0 entering the eighth, Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer off Rafael Soriano. The Braves quickly tied it back up with a Jeff Francoeur sac fly, and the game went into extras. The teams traded runs in the 10th, but other than that there was no score until the 15th. Brandon Phillips hit a two-RBI single in the top of the inning, and Francoeur then hit an RBI single. But with two men on and one out, the Braves could not convert another run, giving Cincy the win. The sweep for the Reds ties them with Houston for last place in the division. The lucky Braves still are just two games back of New York.

2. The Unlikely Wins Leader: If you were told before the season that Carlos Zambrano would lead the NL in wins, it might not have surprised you. But considering his struggles for the first two months of this season, it is almost shocking that he became the first NL pitcher to win 12 games on Tuesday. Zambrano has now run off nine straight starts with three or fewer runs allowed, and is 7-2 over that stretch. He pitched five shutout innings as the Cubs crushed the Giants 12-1. Zambrano’s 3.69 ERA ranks only 17th in the league, quite odd for a wins leader. However, judging by his success over the past one and a half months, it seems as though his ERA will keep plummeting and Zambrano could be a Cy Young contender.

3. What a Relief: The Padres nearly wasted an excellent start by Greg Maddux, but in the end they won anyway. The 5-4 victory over the Mets gave San Diego a series win, but they are still a game behind Los Angeles. Maddux pitched five scoreless innings and added six strikeouts, but the bullpen proceeded to allow four runs, nearly blowing the game. Then Geoff Blum hit a key RBI single that broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth and won it for the Padres. Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer, breaking a month-long homerless streak for him. David Wright and Carlos Delgado both homered to supply all four runs for the Mets.

Player of the Day: Lenny DiNardo, A’s: 7 innings, three hits, no runs in a 6-0 win over Texas. DiNardo helped the A’s snap their awful nine-game losing streak.

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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: All-Star Game auditions


This isn’t Guys and Dolls, but if yesterday was an audition for All-Star pitchers to prove they’re worthy of starting next Tuesday in the Midsummer Classic, some passed with flying colors, while others just gave up big flys. And lots of them. Yesterday’s winners were Justin Verlander of the Tigers, Josh Beckett of the Red Sox and Jake Peavy of the Padres; while Brad Penny of the Dodgers and C.C. Sabathia of the Indians should have Leyland and LaRussa screaming “Next!” Verlander beat Sabathia head-to-head, going seven strong innings and striking out seven. Sabathia, on the other hand, was brutal, only lasting four innings and giving up three homers. Beckett dominated the D-Rays, but doesn’t everybody? Peavy, though, was a victim (again) of lack of run support, but still had a great outing going seven innings with 6 K. Penny, who has been the best pitcher in the National League, was a nightmare, lasting only four innings while giving up six runs in his worst outing of the year.

Maybe it’s the beer talking, but how pathetic is the NL Central? The Milwaukee Brewers were enjoying the most comfortable division lead outside of New England, but if they don’t improve their play on the road, they could be crying in their drinks come October. After losing three of four to the pathetic (if they improved) Pittsburgh Pirates, the Brewers road record stands at 18-24, worst of all the first place teams. Lucky for them, they’re 30-13 in the house of hops. It was a rough series for the Crew, as Ben Sheets and the staff couldn’t keep Adam LaRoche and Ryan Doumit in the yard. Those modern day Ruth and Gehrig clones combined for five HR and 10 RBI in the series. Even worse, star outfielder Billy Hall sprained his ankle trying to catch one of them. Hall is out indefinitely. Mmmmmmm….beer.

They like us! They really, really like us. As expected, starting pitcher Chris Young of the Padres and reliever Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox won the online voting for final roster spots on the All-Star team. Over the last few years, the race to be Mr. Irrelevant on the squad has taken on a life of its own. According to mlb.com, over 23 million votes were cast for ten players, with Young and Okajima winning with about 4.5 million each. Even more interesting is the campaigning that goes on for a guy who might not even get into the game. Brandon Webb’s hometown of Ashland, KY held “Vote for Brandon Webb” day and in Pittsburgh, the Pirates set up laptops in the PNC Park concourse so fans could cast an online ballot –or 25– for lefty Tom Gorzelanny. In the American league, Red Sox Nation proved again to be the most nerdy (and far reaching, as we’re sure all of Japan clicked on) as they voted a Sox player in for the third time in five years.

Player of the day: Mike Lowell, Red Sox 5 for 6, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R against the Devil Rays

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Chicago Cubs

Derrek Lee and Chris Young both swing and both miss

Were you let down by UFC’s latest disappointing pay-per-view? Well, if you were then maybe you should have saved that $40 you dished out for Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami and tuned into the Cubs vs. Padres game on Saturday to see the fight attempted fight between Derrek Lee and Chris Young.

There really wasn’t all that much action when it came to knuckles pounding skulls but it still lasted longer than the championship bout between Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson.

After Lee got hit by a Young pitch in the fourth inning, things got heated as Lee started swinging for the fences and we’re not talking about the long ball either. Both benches cleared during the fracas and by the time the pile of humanity was separated there were four ejections dished out, including Lee, Young, Padres pitcher Jake Peavy and Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry.

And you thought that the Cubbies would only throw down with their teammates.

Links:

[KSDK.com]: Lee, Young Ejected After Padres, Cubs Fight

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MLB General

The Full Count: It’s all about the pitching


1. 10 wins for Lackey: John Lackey became the majors’ first 10-game winner after another solid start on Wednesday. As the Angels beat the Reds 6-3, Lackey went six innings and allowed just one earned run. He improved to 10-4 on the season with a 2.53 ERA, making him one of the leading candidates to start for the AL in the All Star game. The Angels won their 41st game of the year, tied with the Red Sox for most wins in the majors. Vlad Guerrero broke out of a mini-slump with a 3-5, 4-RBI performance. The Angels will play at Dodger Stadium this weekend in what will be an intriguing showdown between division leaders.

2. West Coast Aces: The Dodgers and Padres are tied for the NL West division lead, and both are helped tremendously by their aces. The Dodgers’ Brad Penny and the Padres’ Jake Peavy have turned into two of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. Both are 8-1 after winning again on Wednesday. Penny allowed one run in seven innings as the Dodgers completed a sweep of the Mets with a 9-1 victory. His 2.18 ERA ranks second in the NL only to Peavy, who has a 1.82 mark. Peavy pitched seven scoreless innings against the Devil Rays and struck out 8. He is now one strikeout behind Cole Hamels for the major league lead. The Padres crushed the D-Rays 9-0, as Tampa starter Edwin Jackson fell to 0-8 with an 8.20 ERA. Jackson is now on pace for an 0-20 record this season.

3. Aces for the Day: Some pitchers that usually aren’t that good pitched very well on Wednesday. Carlos Silva entered a game against the Braves 3-7 with a 4.40 ERA, but he pitched a complete-game shutout. Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals one-hit the Royals in eight innings, lowering his ERA by 0.52. Ian Snell of the Pirates pitched a complete game against the Rangers, allowing just one unearned run. Snell is having a breakout season with a 2.63 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.

Player of the Day: Carlos Silva, Twins: CG, no walks, no runs in a 6-0 win over the Bra

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MLB General

The Full Count: Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman


1. The 500 Club: The 500 homerun club has twenty members (and counting), but the 500 save club just got its first member. Trevor Hoffman, one of the more underrated players in major league history, saved his 500th career game on Wednesday. Hoffman broke the career saves record last year, passing Lee Smith and his 478 saves. His mark compared with Smith’s is the statistical equivalent of 790 homeruns or 6000 strikeouts, but it of course is considered less prestigious and will receive very little attention after today. Hoffman closed out a 5-2 win over the Dodgers, which included a solid start by Greg Maddux as the Padres moved to 1.5 games ahead of Los Angeles. Next up for 500 saves is Mariano Rivera, who is 81 away but has played two fewer years than Hoffman.

2. The Cardinals are back: For the first time this season, the Cardinals are playing like a team that has won the division for three straight years. They’ve won six of their last seven games to move within five games of the once-dominant Brewers. On Wednesday the Cardinals topped the Brewers as Albert Pujols hit a key two-run homerun. Pujols has four homers and eight RBIs in his last eight games. Closer Jason Isringhausen, who sealed the deal for his 14th save of the year, is having a surprisingly good season. Isringhausen has a 1.50 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, unusually great numbers for the closer of a disappointing team. The Cardinals aren’t a playoff-caliber team, but they might make it to October if no one else in their division can.

3. Bat over mouth: Gary Sheffield’s racial comments have gone unpunished by the Tigers or the MLB. Maybe that’s because he’s one of the more dominant sluggers in the game, as he proved Wednesday with a great performance. Sheffield hit two homers to give him 15 on the year, and drove in five runs as the Tigers walloped the Rangers 10-0. It’s no wonder the team hasn’t done anything about his comments, which insulted both black and Latin players. Anyway, the Tigers’ win put them within 2.5 of Cleveland, who lost to Kansas City. Justin Verlander followed up a poor start last week with seven shutout innings and a win. Magglio Ordonez went 2-4 with an RBI and is now the AL leader in batting average in addition to RBIs. With .362 and 54 in those categories, Ordonez has been the best hitter in the majors by a mile.

Player of the Day: Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees: Complete game, five hits, one earned run in a 5-1 win over the White Sox. By the way, Roger Clemens will join Wang on the Yankees’ staff when he makes his debut this Saturday.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Pitching rules the day


1. Duel for the Division: The NL West division lead was at stake when the Dodgers and Padres faced off on Tuesday. The game turned into a pitcher’s duel as Chris Young and Jason Schmidt combined for 13 scoreless innings and four hits allowed. Young has now allowed just five earned runs in his last 47 innings. The first and only run of this contest came in the eighth, when pinch-hitter Russell Branyan of the Padres was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a Marcus Giles single. San Diego’s win sent them a half-game above the Dodgers, though Arizona is still tied with them atop the division. Schmidt’s start for Los Angeles was his first in almost two months, and he came back better than ever.

2. Defense beats Offense: A good pitching staff usually gets the better of a good lineup, as the A’s-Red Sox series has proved once again. For the two nights in a row, Oakland won thanks to fantastic starts by Dan Haren and Lenny DiNardo. DiNardo, who was cut by the Red Sox last year and recently moved from the bullpen, shut out the Red Sox through six innings on Tuesday. He walked six batters, but only gave up two hits in Oakland’s 2-0 win. The A’s now have a capable array of barely-known starters in Haren, DiNardo, Chad Gaudin, Joe Kennedy, and Joe Blanton. Their 3.28 staff ERA is second in the majors only to San Diego’s ridiculous 2.89 mark. For the Red Sox, Dice-K lost despite allowing two runs on seven innings and 129 pitches.

3. Home Field Advantage: Two of the majors’ best teams are fueled by absolute dominance at home. The Indians and Angels have by far the two best home records in the majors, at 20-6 and 24-8 respectively. Both won on Tuesday at home behind complete game performances from their aces. The Indians couldn’t get much offense against the Royals, but they won 1-0 thanks to CC Sabathia‘s shutout. Sabathia improved to 9-1, joining John Lackey as the only pitchers with nine wins this year. The Angels beat the Twins again, this time 5-1, after Kelvim Escobar’s second complete game this year. Escobar has been a breakout star for the Angels, with a 7-3 record and 2.76 ERA. Both of these teams lead their divisions, the Indians by 3.5 games over Detroit and the Angels by 5.5 over Seattle.

Player of the Day: Chase Utley, Phillies: 3-4, HR (11), 3 RBIs in a 4-2 win over the Mets. Utley hit a go-ahead homerun in the 11th as the Phils improved to .500.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Yankees get a baby step


1. Boo Me Now: Alex Rodriguez was ridiculed by the Red Sox fans every at-bat over the weekend. On Sunday, he made them shut up by hitting what proved to be a game-winning homer in a 6-5 victory for the Yankees. A-Rod hit a solo shot off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth, his league-leading 20th big fly of the year. The win gave the Yankees a series victory over Boston, but they are still 12.5 games back and just one game out of last place. The projected pitcher’s duel between Andy Pettitte and Josh Beckett did not occur, as both aces did not pitch their best. Both teams have one more series before starting Interleague play later this week.

2. West Coast Showdown: The weekend did nothing to separate the top teams in the NL West. The Diamondbacks, Padres, and Dodgers remain tied in the league’s most heated divisional battle. The streaky D-backs have won 9 of their last 10 games, including two of three from the Mets over the weekend. Doug Davis pitched 7 2/3 excellent innings in a 4-1 win on Sunday. The Padres won as well, with David Wells picking up the win and Josh Bard driving in four runs. The Dodgers rallied in the seventh and eighth innings to beat the Pirates 5-4. According to ESPN.com, the Dodgers are 27-0 when leading after eight innings. This is a testament to the outstanding play of closer Takashi Saito, who is 16-16 on save chances and has a 1.50 ERA. All three of these teams have an overachieving offense, solid bullpen, and a capable array of starters. Though the NL West race usually doesn’t get much attention, it should this year.

3. MVP Resurgence: The last two National League MVPs, Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols, were very disappointing early on this year. However, both have picked it up in the last week or so, and they will likely return to superstardom as the year goes on. On Sunday, Howard hit his fourth homer in nine games since returning from the DL. He was one of four Phillies to go deep in a crazy 9-8 win over the Giants. Though he is still hitting just .224, Howard is still on pace for 38 homers and 133 RBIs on the year. Pujols, meanwhile, hit two homers to help the Cardinals win 8-6. He had his fifth multi-hit game in his last ten games. Neither Pujols nor Howard are atop the leaderboards like they were last year, but expect that to change very soon.

Player of the Day: Gary Sheffield, Tigers: 2-4, HR (13), 3 runs. Sheffield’s April struggles are now a distant memory thanks to 11 homers and 24 RBIs since May 2.

Stat of the Day: Giants phenom Tim Lincecum has a 9.00 ERA in two starts against the Phillies this year. In his other four starts he is 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Jake Peavy makes his Cy Young case


1. King of the Hill: Jake Peavy faced Rich Hill in a promising pitching matchup on Tuesday. But this one wasn’t close, as Hill continued his recent struggles while Peavy kept his major league leading ERA. Hill allowed five runs in six innings, the third start in a row he’s given up four or more runs. He allowed four homeruns to the Padres, all of them solo. Meanwhile, Peavy gave up just one run to improve to 6-1 with a 1.63 ERA. If the season ended right now, he would win the Cy Young in a landslide. On offense, Adrian Gonzalez hit his 11th homer and Mike Cameron hit two out to triple his season total. The Padres are just a half game back of the Dodgers now.

2. Twin Powers: The Twins’ three best players–Johan Santana, Justin Morneau, and Torii Hunter–all dominated in a 7-1 win over the Rangers. Santana had one of his best starts of the season, with 13 strikeouts and one run allowed in seven innings. He only surrendered a homer to Sammy Sosa, who now has 598 on his career. Morneau powered the offense with two homers, five RBIs, and three hits. With 13 homers, he is now second only to A-Rod in the AL in that category. Torii Hunter also continued his recent hot streak, with another homer and two ribbies. In his last nine games, Hunter has 5 homers and 17 RBIs. The Rangers, followed up back-to-back 14-run outings with 18 strikeouts on offense.

3. Youth over experience: For the second time in six days, Tim Lincecum of the Giants took on Roy Oswalt of the Astros. Last time, both pitchers were even and the game was decided in extras. On Tuesday, Lincecum got the better of the two-time All Star. Lincecum pitched a career-high eight innings and gave up two runs, lowering his ERA to 3.08. After a poor debut, Lincecum has made three straight quality starts. Oswalt gave up four runs in the loss but is still 6-3. Also worth noting for the Giants is how Barry Bonds has completely struggled lately. Since his last homer on May 8, he has no RBIs, just 5 hits, and a .191 slugging percentage. His OPS has fallen from 1.311 to 1.121, though that’s still good enough to lead the NL.

Player of the Day: Kyle Davies, Braves: 8 innings, 1 run, and three RBIs in an 8-1 win over the Mets.

Stat of the Day: After only recording three RBIs in the first 32 games this year, Felipe Lopez of the Nationals has 13 RBIs in his last 13 games, including a 6-RBI effort on Tuesday in a win over Cincinnati.