Tag: Texas Rangers

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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: 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.

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Minnesota Vikings

July 31 in Sports History: Korey Stringer tragedy

In 2001: All-Pro offensive tackle Korey Stringer collapsed on the field of the Minnesota Vikings training camp at Mankato State University and was taken to the hospital. Stringer suffered from heatstroke in the 90-plus degree heat. The 335-pound Ohio State grad, one of the most popular players on the team, would die of heart and kidney failure early the next morning at the age of 27. Stringer’s death sent shockwaves through the sports world, and it caused the NFL and its teams to closely review their policies on training in excessive heat and humidity. Stringer was survived by his wife Kelci and three year-old son Kodie. His widow unsuccessfully sued the NFL and the Vikings in 2002.

In 1990: Pitcher Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers notched career victory no. 300 in an 11-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Ryan became the 20th member of the 300 Club, the first since Don Sutton in 1986. Only Roger Clemens has joined the club since, in 2003. Ryan won a total of 324 games as a member of the Mets, Angels, Astros and Rangers. He also holds the career strikeout mark with 5,714, and he threw a major league record seven no-hitters (including two after his 300th win). Despite the fact that his real first name was Lynn, the “Ryan Express” was one of the toughest pitchers ever, lasting 27 years and pummeling a young Robin Ventura after he charged the mound. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.