A’s get 3 off Papelbon in 9th, win in 11
July 29, 2009
BOSTON (AP)—The Boston Red Sox retired Jim Rice’s No. 14 on Tuesday night.Then the Oakland Athletics went out and hit like him.
Adam Kennedy(notes) had a career-high five of the A’s season-high 21 hits, and MarkEllis(notes) had four as Oakland rallied from a three-run deficit against JonathanPapelbon(notes) to beat Boston 9-8 in 11 innings.
Ellis—Oakland’s No. 14—also scored four times, including the tying runin the ninth and the go-ahead run in the 11th. Both times he was singled in byRajai Davis(notes).
“They fell in for us. That just happens,” Davis said. “That’s nothingagainst that bullpen. It’s a tough game to be perfect in.”
Boston led 7-4 when Papelbon came in for the ninth, but he walked theleadoff hitter and gave up three hits; he was also hurt by two throwing errorsby shortstop Nick Green(notes). It was still 7-7 with two out in the 11th when Ellisdoubled off Manny Delcarmen(notes) (2-2) and scored on Davis’ single to right.
Series at a Glance Oakland 3 Boston 8 Mon, Jul 27 – Final Oakland 9 Boston 8 Tue, Jul 28 – Final 11th Oakland at Boston Wed, Jul 29 – 7:10 pm ET Oakland at Boston Thu, Jul 30 – 1:35 pm ET
“The odds of pulling that off are slim, and we did it,” said A’s managerBob Geren, whose team came back from a 10-run deficit earlier in the season.“We pulled off some late-inning heroics this year a few times. But tonight wasbig at this ballpark against that team.”
And against a bullpen that hadn’t allowed a run in 25 innings since theAll-Star break.
“It’s tough. What am I going to do? Things like that happen,” saidPapelbon, who blew just his third save in 28 opportunities. “You’ve got to andmove on and get ready for tomorrow.”
Davis scored on Adam Kennedy’s career-high fifth hit to make it 9-7. CraigBreslow(notes) (4-4) pitched a perfect 10th for the win, and Andrew Bailey(notes) earned his12th save despite giving one run back in the 11th.
Delcarmen gave up two runs on three hits, striking out one in 1 2-3 innings.
“He was a little bit fatigued at the end and that’s not his fault,” RedSox manager Terry Francona said. “We got to the ninth with Pap, and a lot ofthings happened to get there, but we feel pretty good about the game when thathappens.”
One night after the slumping Red Sox offense broke out with 14 hits, theclub hung Rice’s No. 14 on the Fenway facade to honor the Hall of Fame slugger.
Boston Red Sox infielders, fro… AP – Jul 29, 12:00 am EDT
Kevin Youkilis(notes) had three hits for Boston, including a two-run to sparkBoston’s five-run third inning. J.D. Drew(notes) had three hits, including a pair ofdoubles; he is 8-for-20 in the homestand following an 0-for-24 slump.
Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) had two of Boston’s 14 hits for his fifth multihit game in arow. He also had an RBI groundout in the 11th to make it 9-8, but Bailey gotDustin Pedroia(notes) on a harmless fly ball to left.
Orlando Cabrera(notes) had three hits as the A’s avoided falling 17 games below.500 for the first time since 1997.
Clay Buchholz(notes), who has been sought after in trade talks, got into trouble inthree of the first four innings. But he left with a 5-2 lead, and Ramon Ramirezgave up one run, Hideki Okajima(notes) another and Papelbon allowed three in the ninth— two earned.
The last-minute outburst rescued Vin Mazzaro(notes) from an eighth loss in his lastnine starts.
Oakland Athletics' Adam Ke… AP – Jul 28, 11:57 pm EDT
Boston led 5-2 after three, 6-2 after six and 7-4 at the end of eightinnings. Papelbon came in to pitch the ninth, but Cust drew a leadoff walk andscored on Tommy Everidge’s first major-league hit—a double high off the GreenMonster.
Ellis reached on an infield single that scored Everidge and took second onGreen’s first throwing error. Ellis stole third and scored on Rajai Davis’infield single; he went all the way to third on another error by Green.
Papelbon struck out Kennedy to end the inning and send the game intoextras.
NOTES: Geren was ejected for yelling something from the dugout in thefive-run third. … The A’s placed INF Daric Barton(notes) on the 15-day disabled listwith a strained left hamstring and recalled Everidge from Triple-A Sacramento.Everidge made his major-league debut. … David Ortiz(notes) is expected to get the dayoff on Wednesday, when the A’s will pitch lefty Brett Anderson(notes). Adam LaRoche(notes)pinch hit for Ortiz in the seventh inning. Ortiz left the ballpark to go to thehospital and be with his daughter according to Francona, who said it wasprecautionary.
Cards rip Dodgers 10-0 behind Wainwright
July 29, 2009
ST. LOUIS (AP)—Adam Wainwright(notes) and Chad Billingsley(notes) matched zeroes for fiveinnings. Wainwright kept going long after the St. Louis Cardinals roughed up the10-game winner.
Wainwright scattered eight hits in eight innings and the Cardinals scoredsix runs in the sixth inning of a 10-0 victory Tuesday night that saddled theDodgers with their first three-game losing streak of the season.
“My main focus was just to keep going and outlast him,” Wainwright said.“Our offense, we’re kind of like the Rams when they won the Super Bowl, thatquick strike offense.
“Even though he was pitching a great game, I knew our offense would get tohim,” he said.
The Dodgers have the majors’ best record at 62-38 and were the last team tolose three in a row, going a franchise-record 99 games before falling in their100th game. That shattered the previous mark of 73 games in June 1965.
Series at a Glance LA Dodgers 1 St. Louis 6 Mon, Jul 27 – Final LA Dodgers 0 St. Louis 10 Tue, Jul 28 – Final LA Dodgers at St. Louis Wed, Jul 29 – 8:15 pm ET LA Dodgers at St. Louis Thu, Jul 30 – 8:15 pm ET
“We’ve won a lot of close games, but to go this long only losing two in arow is pretty unusual,” manager Joe Torre said. “But we have to get ourselvesrighted right now.”
Billingsley (10-6) had a one-hitter through five innings before fallingapart in a game that was delayed 1 hour, 25 minutes at the start due to thethreat of heavy rain that never came. The Dodgers have managed one run on 20hits the first two games of a four-game series and are 2-10 at 4-year-old BuschStadium.
“Everything was going well,” Billingsley said. “Just that sixth inning, Icouldn’t stop the bleeding.”
Ryan Ludwick’s(notes) bases-loaded single keyed the sixth-inning outburst and MarkDeRosa(notes) added a three-run homer in the eighth, his sixth in 14 games. TheCardinals’ revamped lineup has scored 16 runs the last two games without acontribution from Albert Pujols(notes).
Pujols is 1 for 7 with three walks in the series and 10 for 42 (.238) sincethe All-Star break with two homers and two RBIs—both in the first game back—and no other extra-base hits.
The three-game losing streak is Los Angeles’ longest since they droppedeight in a row Aug. 22-29, 2008, and they were shut out for the sixth time.Infielder Mark Loretta(notes) made his second career relief appearance, hitting MattHolliday(notes) with a pitch before getting the last out of the eighth on Ludwick’sflyout to the warning track in left.
Los Angeles Dodgers' Chad … AP – Jul 29, 12:56 am EDT
Wainwright (12-6) scattered eight hits with five strikeouts and one walk,and hit his stride after stranding two runners in the second, third and sixth.He worked six or more innings for the 20th consecutive start and seven or morefor the eighth time in nine outings, and retired the last eight hitters inorder.
Wainwright was 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA in July and the latest victory exceededhis 2008 total, when he was sidelined for 65 games with a finger tendon injury.
Ludwick, who had been the cleanup hitter before the Cardinals acquiredHolliday last week, is 7 for 12 with 17 RBIs with the bases loaded aftergrounding a solid single up the middle on a 1-1 pitch.
“I don’t know if it was the key blow but it was a big hit,” Ludwick said.“I’m just trying to do my job.”
The Cardinals didn’t get a hit until Holliday’s single to left with two outsin the fourth and Billingsley (10-6) needed only 59 pitches to work fiveinnings, before running into big trouble. Billingsley needed 35 pitches to gettwo more outs in the sixth, giving up three hits, walking four and throwing twowild pitches.
Skip Schumaker(notes) walked to start the inning and capped the rally with an RBIsingle that extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Billingsley walked threeothers, including Holliday intentionally to load the bases before Ludwick’ssingle for the game’s first runs.
Yadier Molina(notes) had a two-run single with two outs and Wainwright had an RBIsingle after Brendan Ryan(notes) was walked intentionally.
NOTES: Dodgers RHP Jason Schmidt(notes) (1-1, 7.88 ERA) threw a bullpen sessionTuesday, but manager Joe Torre hasn’t yet decided whether he’d stay in therotation. … Andre Ethier(notes) doubled in the third and is batting .500 (17 for 34)during a nine-game hitting streak. … Holliday was 1 for 3 after becoming thefirst Cardinal to double in his first four games, in statistics dating to 1954.
Astros down Cubs after Oswalt hurts back
July 29, 2009
CHICAGO (AP)—With ace Roy Oswalt’s(notes) status uncertain because of an injury,Miguel Tejada(notes) and the Houston Astros found little joy in their decisive victoryover the rival Cubs.
Geoff Blum(notes) hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and Tejadaconnected and had a season-high five RBIs, helping the Astros overcome an earlyexit for Oswalt because of a strained back to beat Chicago 11-6 on Tuesdaynight.
Jeff Keppinger(notes) had four hits and drove in three runs as the Astros snappedthe Cubs five-game winning streak and ended their own three-game losing streak.
“To lose him (Oswalt) at this point of the year is not a good idea.Everybody is crossing their fingers that he will be OK in a couple of days,”said Tejada.
Oswalt pitched a scoreless first inning then struck out the first twobatters he faced in the second. After throwing a 1-1 pitch to Alfonso Soriano(notes),catcher Ivan Rodriguez(notes) noticed something was wrong with Oswalt and met with himon the mound. He then waved for Astros manager Cecil Cooper and a team trainer.Oswalt has a strained lower back.
Series at a Glance Houston 1 Chi Cubs 5 Mon, Jul 27 – Final 13th Houston 11 Chi Cubs 6 Tue, Jul 28 – Final Houston at Chi Cubs Wed, Jul 29 – 2:20 pm ET Houston at Chi Cubs Thu, Jul 30 – 2:20 pm ET
Moments later, Cooper called left-handed reliever Wesley Wright(notes) to replaceOswalt, who left with the Astros leading 1-0.
Oswalt said he felt pain in his back in the last inning he worked in hislast start against the Cardinals on July 22. He then experienced pain in abullpen session two days later, but still felt he could make Tuesday’ startagainst the Cubs.
“I know I shouldn’t blow it all the way out. It was not to the point that Icould have thrown knuckleballs to make it through one or two innings,” saidOswalt, who is flying to Houston on Wednesday. Oswalt was unsure if he will begetting an MRI on his back.
Oswalt had won his three previous decisions and was 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA inhis last eight starts.
After the game, Wright was rushed to Northwestern Hospital by ambulanceafter experiencing discomfort in an area around his appendix.
Aramis Ramirez(notes) hit a three-run homer for the Cubs, which dropped a half gamebehind St. Louis in the NL Central.
Blum broke a 6-all tie in the seventh with a two-out solo home run off AngelGuzman(notes) (2-2). The Astros added on in the eighth inning. With runners on firstand second, Keppinger hit a two-run triple to center off Cubs reliever AaronHeilman(notes). Then Tejada followed with an RBI single.
Houston Astros relief pitcher … AP – Jul 28, 11:42 pm EDT
Astros reliever Jeff Fulchino(notes) (4-3) pitched three innings to earn the win.He allowed three runs on three hits.
Fulchino stepped up big time for us and you can just go down the list,”Cooper said. “Keppinger and Tejada definitely teamed up. We just gutted it out.This is probably the best win of the year for us.”
Cubs starter Ryan Dempster(notes), who was activated from the disabled list beforethe game, ran into trouble in the third inning. Wright led off with his firstcareer hit, a single to left, Bourn followed with another single and Keppingerhad with an RBI single.
Dempster made a throwing error as the Astros scored another run. Carlos Lee(notes)had a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
Dempster said he felt fine in the bullpen session before the game, but thelayoff between his last start on July 2 clearly showed.
“It looked like it. I felt good going into the game. I felt ready. Justdidn’t do a very good job,” Dempster said.
The first three hitters in the Astros lineup, Bourn, Keppinger and Tejadawere a combined 9 for 14 with eight RBIs and eight runs scored.
“In front of our 3, 4, 5 hitters if we can get on base we’re going to be atough team to reckon with,” Keppinger said.
In the fifth inning with the Cubs trailing 6-3, Kosuke Fukudome(notes) hit abouncer back at Fulchino. The ball bounced inside Fulchino’s jersey. He wasn’table to find it in time and Fukudome reached safely. With one out, Fulchinowalked Lee, then Ramirez hit a three-run shot to left. It was his eighth of theseason.
Dempster allowed six runs—five earned—on nine hits in five innings. Hestruck out three and did not allow a walk.
NOTES: Before the game, the Astros placed reliever LaTroy Hawkins(notes) on the15-day disabled list because of shingles in his back. … After the game,Houston recalled RHP Bud Norris from Triple-A Round Rock. … To make room forDempster, the Cubs optioned RHP Justin Berg(notes) to Triple-A Iowa.
Kazmir outpitches CC, Rays beat Yankees
July 29, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Scott Kazmir(notes) pitched like an All-Star again,shrugging off trade rumors and helping the Tampa Bay Rays slow down thestreaking New York Yankees.
Kazmir outpitched CC Sabathia(notes) to win for the first time in more than twomonths, and the defending AL champions backed the young left-hander with timelyhitting and superb defense in a 6-2 victory Tuesday night.
“People have been wanting more out of him, but he’s been putting himselfback together slowly. What you saw tonight was some really good work,” Raysmanager Joe Maddon said after Kazmir allowed one run and five hits in aseason-high seven-plus innings.
“That’s as good a game as I’ve seen out of him,” Maddon added, “in abouta year.”
An All-Star in 2008, Kazmir struggled late in the year and again early thisseason before spending five weeks on the disabled list recovering from a rightquad strain and working on his pitching mechanics.
Series at a Glance NY Yankees 11 Tampa Bay 4 Mon, Jul 27 – Final NY Yankees 2 Tampa Bay 6 Tue, Jul 28 – Final NY Yankees at Tampa Bay Wed, Jul 29 – 7:08 pm ET
His winless streak covered seven starts, five since being reinstated fromthe DL on June 27.
“I feel like after the (All-Star) break, me thinking about my mechanics—that kind of mental side—was completely out the window,” Kazmir said. “I wasjust concentrating on throwing the ball where I wanted to.”
Evan Longoria(notes) hit a solo homer and Carl Crawford(notes) had an RBI triple offSabathia (10-7), and the Yankees lost for just the second time in 12 games sincethe All-Star break.
The AL East leaders got more bad news when they learned right-handerChien-Ming Wang(notes) will undergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his injuredpitching shoulder.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I feel for him.He’s been through a lot the last 14, 15 months. Hopefully this is will be theend of the surgeries for him and he’ll have the rest of his career be realhealthy. We’ll be there for him and we’ll help him get through this. We’ll gethim back pitching as soon as we can.”
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jason… AP – Jul 28, 10:32 pm EDT
A subject of speculation with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching onFriday, Kazmir (5-6) responded with his strongest performance of the season tonotch his first win since May 9, against Boston.
The 25-year-old left-hander took a four-hitter into the eighth inning andretired 10 of 12 batters he faced after giving up a RBI single to Hideki Matsui(notes)with one out in the fourth. He left the game after allowing a leadoff single toNick Swisher(notes) in the eighth, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of32,304.
“It was a little emotional,” Kazmir said, adding that it did cross hismind that he might have been making his final start for Tampa Bay. “To get theovation that I got was special. I’ll remember that a long time.”
Sabathia, 7-1 lifetime against Tampa Bay before Tuesday, allowed six runsand nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Longoria’s homer put Tampa Bay up 4-1 in the fifth. The Rays chased theYankees ace with two more runs in the sixth on Jason Bartlett’s(notes) RBI infieldsingle and B.J. Upton’s(notes) bloop double that drove in Bartlett from first.
New York Yankees starting pitc… AP – Jul 28, 10:29 pm EDT
“This is horrible. We’re too good of a team for me to not even give us achance. It’s definitely frustrating,” Sabathia said. “We have been playingwell, but you want to continue to keep playing well. These are games in ourdivision that we need to win.”
The victory enabled the third-place Rays to move back within 6 1/2 games of theYankees in the division. New York’s 11-4 win in the series opener on Mondaynight had dropped Tampa Bay a season-high 7 1/2 off the pace.
Kazmir, the losing pitcher last Thursday when the Rays were the victim ofMark Buehrle’s(notes) perfect game in Chicago, walked one and struck out four in aseason-high seven-plus innings. Grant Balfour(notes), Randy Choate(notes) and J.P. Howell(notes)finished, with Choate allowing a run-scoring double to Matsui in the ninth.
NOTES: Sabathia fanned Crawford in the fifth inning for his 1,500th careerstrikeout. … Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura(notes), who had surgery last month to repair apartially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, fielded ground ballsfor the first time since being injured in late May. There’s still no timetablefor him to begin a rehab assignment. … Yankees LF Johnny Damon(notes) retrieved theball he hit for his 200th career homer Monday night after a fan tossed it backonto the field from the right-field stands. He plans to put it on display at hishome, along with the balls he hit for his first and 100th homers. … YankeesLHP Damaso Marte(notes) (left shoulder inflammation) allowed three homers and threehits in 1 2-3 innings of a rehab outing at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Surgery to end season for Yankees’ Wang
July 29, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Yankees starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang(notes) willundergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his injured right shoulderWednesday.
The Yankees made the announcement after Tuesday night’s 6-2 loss to TampaBay.
New York manager Joe Girardi said there is no timetable for when Wang willreturn next season, and that the team will know more about a potential timeframeafter the procedure.
Wang was examined Tuesday by noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. Theright-hander went on the 15-day disabled list July 5 with a strained rightshoulder.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” Girardi said. “I feel for him. He’s beenthrough a lot the last 14, 15 months. Hopefully this is will be the end of thesurgeries for him and he’ll have the rest of his career be real healthy. We’llbe there for him and we’ll help him get through this. We’ll get him backpitching as soon as we can.”
After winning 19 games in 2006 and 2007, Wang missed the final 3 1/2 monthslast season after injuring his right foot while running the bases in Houston.He’s just 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA in 12 games this season, after missing time fromApril 19 to May 21 with a hip injury.
“All you can do is get it fixed, rehab it and move on,” Yankees pitchingcoach Dave Eiland said.
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Giants LHP Johnson out at least 3 weeks
July 29, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—At least Randy Johnson(notes) is able to maintain his sense ofhumor, even as his pitching future this season is in doubt.
The San Francisco Giants’ left-hander learned Tuesday he has a torn rotatorcuff in his left shoulder and won’t be able to throw for at least three weeks.
“Obviously the first thing I thought is that I won’t be able to do myinstructional hitting video,” joked Johnson, who injured himself while battingduring a 7-1 loss to Houston on July 5. “That will be on the back burner for awhile.”
So, too, will be Johnson’s bid to get back in the Giants’ rotation. The303-game winner, who was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, won’t pitchagain in a game until early September, if at all.
Johnson is 8-6 with a 4.81 ERA with the Giants this season but hasn’tpitched since the loss to the Astros.
After undergoing an MRI on Monday—Johnson’s second on the shoulder sinceoriginally injuring it—the Big Unit met with team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki.Surgery was not discussed, according to Johnson, and he will continue to workout with the team while trying to strengthen the muscles in his shoulder.
“There’s a lot of inflammation that’s cleared up,” San Francisco managerBruce Bochy said. “If you really looked at all the pitchers it would showsomething, some tearing there. We’re going to give him three more weeks to letthat heal up.”
Johnson acknowledged this is foreign territory, with no shoulder problems inthe past.
“I’ve overcome a lot of surgeries, three back surgeries, three or four kneesurgeries and I’ve been on the DL and rehabbed so I know what all that’sabout,” Johnson said. “It’s basically one more speed bump in the road of mycareer. The only thing that is different is that it’s something different thanI’ve ever dealt with. I’ve never had any elbow or shoulder issues in mycareer.”
A day before the MRI results were revealed, Johnson told reporters he feltmuch better than he did when he first hurt himself. On Tuesday, he raised hisleft arm straight above his head to reiterate the point.
“There’s been a great deal of improvement in three weeks,” Johnson said.“Now that the inflammation is gone and I have a little bit better range ofmotion and a lot more strength there, we’re now working on isolating some of thesmaller muscles in my shoulder and trying to strengthen those areas up.”
Johnson, who will celebrate his 46th birthday on Sept. 10, is hopeful ofreturning to the Giants’ starting rotation but didn’t rule out pitching out ofthe bullpen, either.
“I came here to win games, that’s my intention still,” he said.“Hopefully I can go out there in some capacity, whether it’s starting orrelieving or whatever. I’d really like to pitch. I don’t know how much more Ican emphasize that. Winning 300 games was great and I knew if I was healthy thatthat was going to be achieved. But I came here to win a lot more games and helpthis team in some capacity to get this organization to the next level.”
Also Tuesday, the Giants placed outfielder Nate Schierholtz(notes) on the 15-daydisabled list with a strained left hip. Schierholtz injured himself whilecrashing into the outfield fence in Atlanta.
“He had the marks of the chain link on his leg,” Bochy said. “He was soreand gradually it just got worse. It’s tough. That’s as nasty a bruise as I’veseen.”
By putting Schierholtz on the DL the Giants didn’t have to make another moveto clear room for first baseman Ryan Garko(notes) on the 25-man roster. Garko wasobtained in a trade from Cleveland on Monday for one of San Francisco’s topminor league pitching prospects.
The loss of Schierholtz coupled with the news of Johnson’s shoulder injurydampened the good mood brought on by Garko’s acquisition. San Francisco wentinto Tuesday one game behind Colorado in the NL wild card race.
“You just have to keep focused on what you can control and that’s going outthere and playing hard,” Bochy said. “Sure, Nate was playing very well and wewere hoping to get Randy back a little bit sooner but you know what? You focusforward, and that’s what we have to do. Nate will be ready in 15 days and we’restill hopeful that Randy, we’ll have him in September somehow.”
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Mets CEO Wilpon: Minaya made mistake
July 28, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—A top New York Mets executive acknowledged Tuesday that generalmanager Omar Minaya made a mistake by singling out a reporter during a bizarrenews conference, and put the GM on notice.
“Ownership is not happy with the direction of the team,” chief operatingofficer Jeff Wilpon said before the game against Colorado.
Minaya held a messy news conference Monday to announce the firing of hislongtime friend and vice president of player development Tony Bernazard. Minayaquestioned the motives of a local beat writer who had written stories criticalof Bernazard—Minaya said the writer had “lobbied” him for a job.
“He was just very angry and got out of his normal mode of dealing with themedia,” Wilpon said. “Going into that press conference, it was to talk aboutTony, talk about letting him go.”
“I can only apologize from the club’s point of view,” Wilpon said.
Wilpon said Minaya remained “visibly shaken” and was not available tocomment.
“I think he really understands he made a very large mistake here. Heapologized to ownership, he apologized to the staff,” Wilpon said. “Omar hastold me he’s remorseful about what he said.”
Bernazard was dismissed after Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News hadwritten stories about the executive’s volatile behavior. Rubin denied that hehad asked Minaya for a job and said he had merely sought career advice.
“I was flabbergasted,” Rubin said Monday. “This was absolutelystartling.”
Wilpon said that Rubin had also asked him for career advice and that he hadput him in touch with some of his contacts in baseball and television. Wilponadded that he often gives advice about careers in baseball and real estate anddoes not believe that Rubin did anything wrong.
The Mets came into the season with expectations of challenging for the NLEast title, but a brutal string of injuries to star players Jose Reyes, CarlosDelgado(notes), Gary Sheffield(notes) and Carlos Beltran(notes) has left manager Jerry Manuelplugging holes for much of the season.
Manuel maintained that the front-office turmoil was not a distraction andsaid that he has not addressed his club about the situation.
“I don’t get involved in that,” Manuel said. “I don’t really have enoughtime to entertain all these things. My job of managing 25 men keeps me busyenough.”
Minaya had come under fire even before the awkward dismissal of Bernazardfor the team’s poor performance this season. Among the chief criticisms is thatMinaya has not done an effective job of building up the minor league system tofill in when players went down with injuries.
The Mets’ two top affiliates—Triple-A Buffalo and Double-A Binghamton—are both struggling. Buffalo owns the worst record in the International Leagueand Binghamton began play Tuesday night last in its division with the EasternLeague’s second-worst record.
“I think our minor leagues are in good shape,” Wilpon said, adding: “Omaris the face of this organization when it comes to the overall direction of theteam.”
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Buehrle perfect into 6th, loses to Twins
July 28, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Still stewing after being beaten by a couple of bloop hits inthe seventh inning of a start that began oh so perfectly, White Sox ace MarkBuehrle(notes) sounded nothing like a pitcher that had just delivered a record-settingperformance.
“It’s just frustrating after a loss,” Buehrle said following Chicago’s 5-3loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night. “It might mean more tomorrow orthe next day once I cool off. But I’m not too happy right now.”
Coming off the 18th perfect game in major league history, Buehrle retiredthe first 17 batters to set a record with 45 outs in a row before the Twinsrallied for the win.
Buehrle (11-4) lost what would have been his second straight perfect gameand his no-hitter with two outs in the sixth. He wound up allowing five runs onfive hits in 6 1-3 innings.
He’ll have to take the record as a consolation prize. He surpassed the markof 41 straight set by San Francisco’s Jim Barr in 1972 and tied by teammateBobby Jenks(notes), a reliever, in 2007.
Series at a Glance Chi White Sox 3 Minnesota 4 Mon, Jul 27 – Final Chi White Sox 3 Minnesota 5 Tue, Jul 28 – Final Chi White Sox at Minnesota Wed, Jul 29 – 8:10 pm ET
“Especially being able to break that here on the turf,” Jenks said. “Thatteam is known for being able to hit the ball on the ground and run. It’s prettyimpressive.”
Nick Punto(notes) had a soft two-run single and Brendan Harris(notes) added an RBI-singlein Minnesota’s four-run seventh inning to move the Twins (51-50) into a tie withthe White Sox for second place in the AL Central.
“I’m not a big fan of broken-bat, bloop singles,” Buehrle said. “It justseems like any time at this place you just know it’s going to happen. You couldbe up 10-0 in the ninth inning and something’s going to happen in that inning.”
That inning was the seventh for Buehrle on Tuesday.
He breezed through the first 5 2-3 innings as he chased history. No pitcherhas ever thrown two perfect games in a row, but the crafty lefty was on track todo just that when he walked Alexi Casilla(notes) on a close call with two outs in thesixth.
“He relies on location and movement,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.“To see him not give up a hit … his whole thing is pitching to contact. Andyou’re going to get bloops. So, to think about it, it’s really amazing that noone blooped one for 45 hitters.”
Minnesota Twins' Nick Punt… AP – Jul 28, 11:36 pm EDT
The bloops started coming at hitter No. 47.
After the walk to Casilla, the Metrodome crowd jumped to its collective feetwith a roar, trying anything it could to rattle the veteran Buehrle.
Did it work?
Denard Span(notes) followed with a single to center field to break up theno-hitter, ending Buehrle’s bid to join Cincinnati’s Johnny VanderMeer in 1938as the only pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a row.
Joe Mauer(notes) hit an RBI double to tie the game 1-all, and Punto’s flair toright field in the seventh ended Buehrle’s night.
As he walked toward the dugout, the Twins crowd roared once more, partly inappreciation for Buehrle’s achievement and partly in celebration that their teamhad finally gotten to the pitcher who has beaten them 23 times in his career.
Buehrle gave a tip of the cap as he left the game, making it an extremelyrare occasion for a member of a division rival to be shown—and return—anyform of respect in the Metrodome.
Minnesota Twins' Jose Mija… AP – Jul 28, 11:32 pm EDT
“It’s just one of those things where you kind of appreciate and sit backand realize how hard it is to throw a no-hitter or a perfect game,” Buehrlesaid. “Because you see today that I made some good pitches and they put them inplay and got base hits off them. It’s just frustrating.”
Jermaine Dye(notes) hit a solo homer off Scott Baker(notes) in sixth inning and GordonBeckham(notes) had a two-run single off Bobby Keppel(notes) in the ninth to make thingsinteresting.
But Joe Nathan(notes) got the final out for his 28th save of the season. Baker gaveup one run on four hits with six strikeouts in six innings. Jose Mijares(notes) (1-2)pitched 1 2-3 innings of scoreless relief for his first career victory.
NOTES: Buehrle’s streak started with an out to his last batter two startsago. … Joe Crede(notes) returned to the lineup at DH for the Twins after missing theprevious six games with an inflamed AC joint in his right shoulder. … In thefinal season indoors, the Twins announced their All-Metrodome team. The rosterincludes manager Tom Kelly; starters Bert Blyleven, Brad Radke(notes), Johan Santana(notes)and Frank Viola; relievers Rick Aguilera and Joe Nathan; C Joe Mauer; 1Bs KentHrbek and Justin Morneau(notes); 2B Chuck Knoblauch; SS Greg Gagne; 3B Gary Gaetti; OFsTom Brunansky, Dan Gladden, Torii Hunter(notes) and Kirby Puckett; DH Paul Molitor.
O’s beat Smoltz, end 11-game Fenway skid
July 27, 2009
BOSTON (AP)—David Hernandez’s(notes) career as a starter is off to an impressivebeginning. John Smoltz’s(notes) could be nearing an end if he doesn’t improve.
The 24-year-old rookie outpitched the 21-year veteran, and the BaltimoreOrioles broke an 11-game losing streak at Fenway Park with a 6-2 win over theBoston Red Sox on Sunday.
Hernandez allowed one run and five hits with two strikeouts and no walks inseven innings. In his previous start, he gave up one run and three hits in sixinnings and retired 16 of his last 17 batters in a 2-1 loss to the New YorkYankees.
Two strong games against two of baseball’s best teams in their home stadiumsby a pitcher who has just seven major league starts, all this season.
“Hernandez is special,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “For him tocome in here after he pitched in Yankee Stadium says a lot about how far he’scome and what he means to our future.”
Hernandez (3-2) had an outstanding fastball and gave up three earned runs orless for his fifth straight start. Smoltz (1-4) has allowed at least five runsin four of his six starts in his first year with Boston following offseasonshoulder surgery and 20 years with Atlanta.
Series at a Glance Baltimore 1 Boston 3 Fri, Jul 24 – Final Baltimore 2 Boston 7 Sat, Jul 25 – Final Baltimore 6 Boston 2 Sun, Jul 26 – Final
“I’d walk away from the game right now if I didn’t think I could do what Ican do,” Smoltz said. “There’s no thought in my head of that right now.”
Nick Markakis(notes), batting cleanup for the first time this season in place ofslumping Aubrey Huff(notes), did the most damage with a sacrifice fly in the firstinning, an RBI double in the third and a solo homer in the fifth that gave theOrioles a 6-0 lead.
“Just making him get the ball over the plate,” Markakis said.
Smoltz did that too much.
“This is going to work,” manager Terry Francona said. “As his results getbetter, I’m sure he’ll feel better. He’s frustrated. He’s been getting beat byfastballs that weren’t locating.”
Smoltz, the only pitcher in major league history with at least 200 wins and150 saves, described himself as “a fighter … not a quitter.”
And he’s gotten positive feedback.
“My fastball, everybody has told me—unless they’re lying—that its goodenough,” Smoltz said, but “I’m getting to the point where I’ve got to put astring of (good) games together.”
He gave up six earned runs and nine hits in five innings and increased hisERA to 7.03. He struck out six and walked one.
The Orioles won at Fenway Park for the first time since July 11, 2008.
“It’s one more negative thing that people can cross off because what we’reall about is being positive,” Trembley said, “understanding that we have youngplayers, showing a lot of perseverance.”
Smoltz was in trouble from the start.
Brian Roberts(notes) led off the game by walking on a nine-pitch at bat and tookthird on Felix Pie’s(notes) single. After Adam Jones(notes) struck out, Markakis hit asacrifice fly.
Melvin Mora(notes) was stranded at third in the second, the only inning in whichSmoltz held the Orioles scoreless. But the right-hander couldn’t escape atwo-out jam in the third.
Roberts started the inning with a single and was forced out at second onPie’s grounder. Pie took second on a groundout by Jones. Then the Orioles scoredthree runs on the next four pitches with RBI doubles by Markakis and NolanReimold(notes) and a run-scoring single by Ty Wigginton(notes).
Pie made it 5-0 with an RBI double in the fourth before Markakis hit his12th homer of the season.
Hernandez, meanwhile, retired Boston’s first nine batters on just 35pitches.
“I was trying to focus on getting out of the first inning quickly becausethat’s been my downfall,” he said. “It was good to have a quick inning. Itsettles you down.”
Jacoby Ellsbury(notes) led off the fourth with a ground ball single that bouncedoff second base and into short left field. Ellsbury stole his 44th base of theyear and took third on a fly out but stayed there when David Ortiz(notes) flied out forthe third out.
The Red Sox finally broke through in the sixth on singles by J.D. Drew(notes) andAdam LaRoche(notes) and a sacrifice fly by Jed Lowrie(notes). Dustin Pedroia(notes) added an RBIdouble in the eighth off Jim Johnson(notes).
NOTES: LaRoche, obtained from Pittsburgh last week, started at first basethe day after homering in his Red Sox debut. Kevin Youkilis(notes) started at third andMike Lowell(notes) got the day off. … Baltimore’s 16-34 road record is the worst inthe AL. … Orioles shortstop Robert Andino(notes) struck out on each of his firstthree at bats and grounded out to the pitcher on his fourth. … Bostonrelievers have held opponents scoreless since the All-Star break, a stretch of22 innings. … Ellsbury stole his 103rd base, breaking a tie for 10th place inRed Sox history with Jimmy Collins and Duffy Lewis.
White Sox avoid 4-game sweep, top Tigers
July 27, 2009
DETROIT (AP)—The Chicago White Sox have more than 60 games to catch up to theDetroit Tigers and defend their AL Central title.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, though, doesn’t want to wait.
Paul Konerko(notes) hit a two-run homer in Chicago’s four-run first, Gordon Beckham(notes)added a solo home run the next inning and the White Sox coasted to a 5-1 winSunday night over the Detroit Tigers and avoided a sweep.
“People didn’t realize how big this game was,” Guillen said. “We didn’tplay well here, and if we lose this one, we’re four games out. Now it is justtwo. That’s big.
“It gives us some momentum mentally.”
Clayton Richard(notes) (4-3) allowed only a run on five hits over eight innings tohelp the White Sox salvage a four-game series that started with them tied atopthe AL Central with Detroit. The Tigers lead Chicago by two games and theMinnesota Twins by four.
Series at a Glance Chi White Sox 1 Detroit 5 Fri, Jul 24 – Final Chi White Sox 3 Detroit 4 Fri, Jul 24 – Final Chi White Sox 3 Detroit 4 Sat, Jul 25 – Final 10th Chi White Sox 5 Detroit 1 Sun, Jul 26 – Final
Richard gave up one run for the second straight game, creating a goodproblem for White Sox general manager Kenny Williams and Guillen.
“The last two outings, the kid has been great,” Guillen said. “He’sgotten to the point where I am going to have to sit down (Monday) with Kenny andsee what we can do.
“Right now, it’s like we have a six-man rotation, and I don’t want that,but he’s been pitching well.”
The Tigers, meanwhile, insist they’re not concerned with their slumpingrookie on the mound.
Rick Porcello(notes) (9-7) gave up five runs and five hits over 5 1-3 innings. Hehas allowed 19 earned runs in his last four starts after giving up 16 earnedruns in the previous 10 outings.
Detroit manager Jim Leyland said the Tigers knew they would have to livewith inconsistent results from the 20-year-old Porcello.
“A hanging breaking ball or giving up a home run, that’s part of the game,this guy is not Bob Feller,” Leyland said.
But Leyland said it was “inexcusable,” to see Porcello not standing onfirst base when shortstop Adam Everett(notes)—who was charged with an error—threwto him to on a potential double play in the first inning.
Henderson likes his plaque. Getty Images – Jul 26, 7:09 pm EDT
That mental mistake was part of Porcello’s rough start.
He loaded the bases with two singles and a walk. Jim Thome(notes) followed with afielder’s choice to drive in the first run and the second one came on Everett’swide throw that might’ve been caught had the pitcher done his job.
Konerko then took advantage of a 3-1 count by sending a pitch 402 feet toleft-center, snapping an 0-for-13 slump and putting the White Sox ahead 4-0 withhis 19th homer.
After Porcello needed 31 pitches to get out of the first inning, Richardretired the Tigers in order with just nine pitches in the home half to set thetone.
Beckham’s solo shot to left was his fourth homer of the year and providedClayton with more than enough support.
“Thank God we had that first inning because after that we didn’t do muchagainst that kid,” Guillen said. “That just shows you that pitching is veryimportant.”
Detroit’s lone run came in the fourth on Ryan Raburn’s(notes) fielder’s choice,scoring Magglio Ordonez(notes), who had two hits.
Henderson delivers his speech. AP – Jul 26, 4:15 pm EDT
“I’m just trying to take advantage of the opportunity,” Richard said afterhis 14th start and 26th appearance. “There’s not much I can do about anythingbut how I pitch. If I’m starting or coming out of the pen, I have to takeadvantage of that chance. Baseball is a fun game, and I’m going to enjoy this.”
The Tigers lost for just the 16th time in 47 home games, but know they needto improve their 21-29 mark on the road heading into trips to Texas andCleveland.
“We talked about that,” Detroit catcher Gerald Laird(notes) acknowledged. “If wecan play better on the road, we’ll be in a better situation.”
NOTES: Richard, a former Michigan quarterback, said he chatted with someformer college friends before the game. … Leyland lashed out attrading-deadline rumors and reports, adding the team isn’t interested in tradingfor Milton Bradley(notes) of the Chicago Cubs. … Tigers RHP Joel Zumaya(notes) (shoulder) isencouraged about his chances to pitch again this season after fearing his yearwas finished. … Detroit had a chance to sweep the White Sox in a four-gameseries at home for the first time since 1988. … Tigers RHP Casey Fien(notes) made hismajor league debut.
