Stats & Info: Houston Astros
US Presswire/ESPN Stats & InfoDuring his 16-game hit streak, Josh Hamilton was 25-for-59 with 10 home runs.
The Texas Rangers will travel down I-45 and give Houston Astros fans a look at baseball’s hottest hitter.
Hamilton already has the second-highest career batting average in interleague games, but also comes into this series on a historic tear.
Hamilton’s 16-game hit streak came to an end on Thursday when his day off ended early against Oakland. He pinch-hit and ended up 0-for-2 in a loss to the Athletics, but Hamilton still leads the American League in home runs, RBIs and batting average.
Hamilton’s hitting streak included a week, from May 7-13, that might have been as impressive as any in history.
He hit .467 with nine home runs and 18 RBI and an OPS of 1.963. His week included the 16th four-home run game in baseball history, and his nine home runs for the week matched the combined total hit that week by last season’s nine leading home run hitters: Jose Bautista 3, Curtis Granderson 2, Giancarlo Stanton 2, Dan Uggla 1 and Prince Fielder 1.
Texas and Houston meet each season in home-and-home series in interleague play (competing for the Silver Boot trophy), so the Astros have experienced Hamilton’s bat. Over the past three seasons against Houston pitching, Hamilton is 26-for-65 (.400) with four home runs and 13 RBI.
Sunday’s pitchers lacked the flash or pizzazz of Saturday’s, when the top three vote getters in last year’s AL Cy Young race, and the top two finishers in the NL Cy Young race took the mound.
And there was no Philip Humber coming out of nowhere to pitch a perfect game.
But there were some pretty good pitching performances.
Let’s take a look at some of Sunday’s pitching highlights:
Redbirds soar with Lohse
Winning pitcher Kyle Lohse allowed one run in six innings. He has gone six innings and allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his first four starts this season.
Lohse
The last Cardinals starter to have four games in a row to start the season of at least six innings pitched and one earned run or fewer allowed was Larry Jaster in 1968.
Want to have a good game? Pitch against Pirates starter Erik Bedard. In four starts this season, the Pirates have scored just three runs for Bedard, managing one against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Magic Wandy
Wandy Rodriguez pitched seven scoreless innings, yielding just three hits to shut down the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers and Matt Kemp.
Rodriguez
Rodriguez’s curveball was sharp, netting him 10 outs. He had six strikeouts with the hook on Sunday, matching the total he had with the pitch in his first three starts of the season.
Of the 15 pitches Rodriguez threw Kemp, only two were fastballs. Kemp fouled out on a changeup, flied out on a curve, and then struck out swinging at a curve against Rodriguez. His 10-game hitting streak was snapped.
The 12-0 win marked the Astros largest margin of victory in a shutout win over the Dodgers in franchise history.
All Smyles, but no win
The Elias Sports Bureau confirmed that Drew Smyly is the first Detroit Tigers pitcher ever to start his first three career games and allow one run or fewer in each of them. Smyly got a no-decision in the Tigers loss to the Texas Rangers.
Josh Hamilton homered again for the Rangers, giving him seven in the team's first 16 games. He's the fifth player in Rangers history with that many home runs in that few team games, joining Pete Incaviglia, Alex Rodriguez, Ian Kinsler, and Nelson Cruz.
The Buck (and his team) stops Pujols
Albert Pujols was 0-for-4 and his homerless streak to start the season now sits at 65 at-bats after his Los Angeles Angels lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2.
Pujols was 0-for-11 in the series with three fly outs, three ground outs, three strikeouts, and a lineout. He did reach base once on an error.
Looking ahead to Monday
Bigger names take the mound Monday, with the most attention being paid to Tim Lincecum.
Lincecum
Tim Lincecum will start for the San Francisco Giants against the New York Mets in the second game of Monday’s doubleheader at Citi Field. Lincecum is 0-2 with a 10.54 ERA in his first three starts of the season, but is 3-0 with three earned runs allowed in 28 innings in his last four starts against the Mets.
Lincecum’s fastball velocity has averaged 90.2 miles-per-hour in the first two starts of the season, down two miles-per-hour from his average in 2011. His strike percentage with his fastball is 58 percent. It has consistently been either 63 or 64 percent in each of the three previous seasons.
Hitters have also feasted on Lincecum’s breaking pitches, with 10 hits against them in the first three starts. Last season, in his first three starts, he allowed only two hits with his breaking balls.
And there was no Philip Humber coming out of nowhere to pitch a perfect game.
But there were some pretty good pitching performances.
Let’s take a look at some of Sunday’s pitching highlights:
Redbirds soar with Lohse
Winning pitcher Kyle Lohse allowed one run in six innings. He has gone six innings and allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his first four starts this season.
The last Cardinals starter to have four games in a row to start the season of at least six innings pitched and one earned run or fewer allowed was Larry Jaster in 1968.
Want to have a good game? Pitch against Pirates starter Erik Bedard. In four starts this season, the Pirates have scored just three runs for Bedard, managing one against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Magic Wandy
Wandy Rodriguez pitched seven scoreless innings, yielding just three hits to shut down the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers and Matt Kemp.
Rodriguez’s curveball was sharp, netting him 10 outs. He had six strikeouts with the hook on Sunday, matching the total he had with the pitch in his first three starts of the season.
Of the 15 pitches Rodriguez threw Kemp, only two were fastballs. Kemp fouled out on a changeup, flied out on a curve, and then struck out swinging at a curve against Rodriguez. His 10-game hitting streak was snapped.
The 12-0 win marked the Astros largest margin of victory in a shutout win over the Dodgers in franchise history.
All Smyles, but no win
The Elias Sports Bureau confirmed that Drew Smyly is the first Detroit Tigers pitcher ever to start his first three career games and allow one run or fewer in each of them. Smyly got a no-decision in the Tigers loss to the Texas Rangers.
Josh Hamilton homered again for the Rangers, giving him seven in the team's first 16 games. He's the fifth player in Rangers history with that many home runs in that few team games, joining Pete Incaviglia, Alex Rodriguez, Ian Kinsler, and Nelson Cruz.
The Buck (and his team) stops Pujols
Albert Pujols was 0-for-4 and his homerless streak to start the season now sits at 65 at-bats after his Los Angeles Angels lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2.
Pujols was 0-for-11 in the series with three fly outs, three ground outs, three strikeouts, and a lineout. He did reach base once on an error.
Looking ahead to Monday
Bigger names take the mound Monday, with the most attention being paid to Tim Lincecum.
Tim Lincecum will start for the San Francisco Giants against the New York Mets in the second game of Monday’s doubleheader at Citi Field. Lincecum is 0-2 with a 10.54 ERA in his first three starts of the season, but is 3-0 with three earned runs allowed in 28 innings in his last four starts against the Mets.
Lincecum’s fastball velocity has averaged 90.2 miles-per-hour in the first two starts of the season, down two miles-per-hour from his average in 2011. His strike percentage with his fastball is 58 percent. It has consistently been either 63 or 64 percent in each of the three previous seasons.
Hitters have also feasted on Lincecum’s breaking pitches, with 10 hits against them in the first three starts. Last season, in his first three starts, he allowed only two hits with his breaking balls.
US Presswire/Jeff HanischFrancisco Cordero's 194 saves since 2007 are the most in the majors.
Stats & Information's weekly roundup of notable baseball moves:
Toronto Blue Jays sign pitcher Francisco Cordero to one-year contract
Three notes on the changes related to Cordero’s performance over the last two seasons.
1-- Cordero’s average fastball velocity dropped from 94.3 miles-per-hour in 2010 to 92.6 in 2011. Fastballs and sinkers, which made up more than two-thirds of his pitches in 2010, represented 44 percent of his pitches in 2011.
2-- Cordero’s ground ball rate increased from 42 percent in 2010 to 48 percent in 2011. His opponents’ batting average on ground balls dropped 100 points, from .250 to .150 in that span. That .150 ranked sixth-best in the majors among those who induced at least 75 ground balls in 2011.
3-- Our advanced hit location data shows Cordero’s batting average made the biggest drop on ground balls hit between 15 degrees to the right and 15 degrees to the left of second base (in other words, the middle of the field).
The chart on the right shows the difference, as well as an increase in plays made by Reds shortstops.
--Mark Simon
Blue Jays sign infielder Omar Vizquel
to minor league contract
If Vizquel makes the major-league roster, he will be chasing two milestones, both with the same number -- 3,000.
Vizquel has 2,841 hits, leaving him 159 away from becoming the 29th player with 3,000 hits. Vizquel has 137 hits over the last two seasons.
Vizquel could be the fourth player of Hispanic heritage in the 3,000-hit club, joining Roberto Clemente, Rod Carew, and Rafael Palmeiro.
Another milestone would occur if Vizquel (2,908 games played) plays in 92 games. He would become the ninth player in major league history to play in 3,000 games. Vizquel who turns 45 on April 24, played in 108 and 58 games the last two seasons.
Both the active leader and the No. 2 man in sacrifice bunts signed this week. Vizquel has 255 sacrifices, 111 more than new Phillies free agent signee Juan Pierre.
Thirty players who played in the majors last season were born after Vizquel made his major league debut on April 3, 1989, including Vizquel’s infield mate, Brett Lawrie.
--Zachary Singer/Kevin Gibson
Other moves of note
Quick hits on other signings from the past week-- players who share a theme of being given opportunity despite recent struggles.
New Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jeff Francis is 14-32 in four seasons since starting Game 1 of the 2007 World Series (he was 17-9 that season). His .304 winning percentage is third-worst among the 162 pitchers who have made at least 50 starts in that span.
New Houston Astros pitcher Zach Duke is 40-72 over the last six seasons. His .357 winning percentage is the worst among the 105 pitchers who made at least 100 starts in that span. Duke was 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 2005.
New San Francisco Giants shortstop Ryan Theriot has dealt with injuries and not fared well via advanced defensive metrics over the last two seasons. His -17 Defensive Runs Saved (a stat that measures a shortstop’s effectiveness of turning batted balls into outs and converting double plays) in 1,001 innings are tied for fourth-worst among shortstops in that span.
--Mark Simon
The National League Wild Card race goes to the final day with the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals tied at 89-72. The Braves entered Tuesday with a one game lead in the Wild Card, but lost 7-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Cardinals scored 13 of the game’s final 14 runs against the Houston Astros in a 13-6 win.
In Wednesday’s Wild Card madness, Atlanta’s Tim Hudson gets the call at home against the Phillies (7 ET on ESPN2). Over the last two years, Hudson is 21-9 with a 2.38 ERA at home, including a 2.29 ERA there this season. Last year, Hudson pitched in the final game of the regular season, when the Braves clinched a playoff spot. He allowed four ER in seven IP and got the win over the Phillies.
Chris Carpenter will start for the Cardinals against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, where he has not won since September 3, 2005 (he’s made five starts in Houston since that last win). If both teams are still tied after Wednesday, a one-game tiebreaker would be Thursday at Atlanta.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, since 1995, 13 different teams have clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the postseason, not including regular season playoff games. The biggest September deficit ever overcome by a team that made the postseason was 8½ games by the 1964 Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series. The 2011 Cardinals were 8½ out after games of September 5.
Story to Watch
The Braves were 81-55 through September 1 and seemingly in command of the NL wild card race, with an 8½ game lead over the Cardinals. They were leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 at home on September 2, but blew the game, losing 8-6. That started their collapse.
What’s gone wrong for the Braves and who’s to blame? Well, Atlanta is struggling against left-handed pitching during its September to forget. The team is hitting .231/.263/.332 against left-handed pitching this month. The Phillies will start the right-handed Joe Blanton but lefty Cole Hamels is expected to pitch in relief.
Those who were reliable in the Braves bullpen in the first five months of the season have not been in the final month. Jonny Venters has a 6.08 ERA since August 26. Craig Kimbrel has a 6.75 ERA since September 9.
Key Stats
Chipper Jones has hit a wall. He’s 8-for-41 (.195) in his last 12 games. Brian McCann is hitting .180 in 36 games since coming off the DL in mid-August.
With a win, the Phillies would set a franchise record with their 102nd win of the season.
Story to Watch
The Cardinals looked to be out of the Wild Card race, but have won 15 of 19, including a 3-game sweep of the Braves, to move into a tie for the NL Wild Card lead. What’s gone right for St. Louis?
Albert Pujols has looked like the Albert Pujols we’ve come to expect at this time of the season. He’s hitting .363 (fifth-best in the NL) with five HR and 19 RBI (tied for fifth-most in the NL) in September. Pujols had one of the biggest hits for the Cardinals, a two-run game-tying single with two outs in the ninth inning of the series opener against the Braves, a game the Cardinals would win in extra innings.
Key Stat
Pujols is hitting .300 with 98 RBI. He has never finished a season batting under .300 (he will do so with a 1-for-4 or worse Wednesday if the season ends) or with fewer than 100 RBI.
With their 6-5 come-from-behind win against the Angels Sunday, the New York Yankees increased their lead in the AL East to 3 ½ games in front of the Boston Red Sox. Mariano Rivera picked up his 40th save this season and 599th of his career. He's now one save away from joining Trevor Hoffman as the only players with 600 saves.
Prior to Sunday, the Yankees’ biggest lead in the AL East at the end of any day’s play this season was three games and their largest deficit was also three games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no major-league team has ever gone through an entire season without either leading or trailing in its division (or league before 1969) by more than three games at the end of any day’s play. Since 1900, no other team had done that as far into a season as this year’s Yankees.
After 14 straight wins when Vance Worley has started, the Philadelphia Phillies finally lost Sunday with Worley on the mound, 3-2 to the Brewers. According to Elias, the 14 straight wins matched the longest such single-season streak for a rookie pitcher in the Live Ball era. The 1970 Reds won 14 straight behind Wayne Simpson, as did the 1944 Cardinals behind Ted Wilks.
Finally, in our nation's capital, Ian Desmond, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Zimmerman homered back-to-back-to-back as Washington beat the Astros 8-2. It was the first time the Nationals accomplished that feat since July 2009. Stephen Strasburg lasted just three innings and got another no-decision, the shortest start of his career.
Five teams won in walk-off style Tuesday, tied for the most walk-off wins on a single day this season.
The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in 11 innings on Martin Prado's third career walk-off hit. It’s the second straight night the Braves won via walk-off, their major-league-leading 22nd last-AB win this season. It’s their 10th walk-off win, tied with the Giants for second-most in the bigs (Royals – 11). It's the Giants' eighth walk-off loss, only six teams have more.
The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in 11 innings on Garrett Jones’ second career walk-off HR. It’s the 11th last-AB win for the Pirates this season, only four teams have fewer. For the Cardinals, it’s their 11th walk-off loss this season, tied for the most in the major leagues.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Mark Kotsay's 10th career walk-off hit (second this season, both with the bases loaded). The Brewers have won 18 of their past 20 games for just the second time in franchise history. It’s their 18th final-AB win -- only three teams have more -- and L.A.'s fourth walk-off loss, only three teams have fewer.
The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on a walk-off grand slam from Brian Bogusevic, just his second career home run and first career walk-off hit. The Astros have the fewest wins in baseball, but eight of them have come via the walk-off -- only four teams have more this season. It’s Carlos Marmol’s eighth blown save this season, tied for the major league lead.
And in the night’s final game, the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 14 innings on a Juan Pierre walk-off single, his seventh career walk-off RBI. The White Sox have just four walk-off wins this season, they entered the game tied for last in the majors in that department. It’s the ninth walk-off loss for Cleveland, only four teams have more this season.
The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in 11 innings on Martin Prado's third career walk-off hit. It’s the second straight night the Braves won via walk-off, their major-league-leading 22nd last-AB win this season. It’s their 10th walk-off win, tied with the Giants for second-most in the bigs (Royals – 11). It's the Giants' eighth walk-off loss, only six teams have more.
The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in 11 innings on Garrett Jones’ second career walk-off HR. It’s the 11th last-AB win for the Pirates this season, only four teams have fewer. For the Cardinals, it’s their 11th walk-off loss this season, tied for the most in the major leagues.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Mark Kotsay's 10th career walk-off hit (second this season, both with the bases loaded). The Brewers have won 18 of their past 20 games for just the second time in franchise history. It’s their 18th final-AB win -- only three teams have more -- and L.A.'s fourth walk-off loss, only three teams have fewer.
The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on a walk-off grand slam from Brian Bogusevic, just his second career home run and first career walk-off hit. The Astros have the fewest wins in baseball, but eight of them have come via the walk-off -- only four teams have more this season. It’s Carlos Marmol’s eighth blown save this season, tied for the major league lead.
And in the night’s final game, the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 14 innings on a Juan Pierre walk-off single, his seventh career walk-off RBI. The White Sox have just four walk-off wins this season, they entered the game tied for last in the majors in that department. It’s the ninth walk-off loss for Cleveland, only four teams have more this season.
After their attempt to get Oakland A's pitcher Rich Harden fell through Saturday, the Boston Red Sox acquired Erik Bedard from the Seattle Mariners in a three-team trade involving the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston also received minor league pitcher Josh Fields from Seattle in exchange for outfielders Trayvon Robinson and Chih-Hsien Chiang. This after the Dodgers traded Robinson to the Red Sox for three minor leaguers.
Bedard returns to the AL East where he pitched for Baltimore from 2002 to 2007. He was just 15-14 with a 3.31 ERA with Seattle and missed the entire 2010 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Now he'll be pitching at Fenway Park where he has struggled in the past posting a 6.99 career ERA there. That's the second-worst ERA of any stadium that Bedard has thrown at least 20 innings.
The St. Louis Cardinals also picked up veteran shortstop Rafael Furcal from the Dodgers on Sunday. Like Bedard, Furcal has also been hampered by injuries playing in just 283 out of a possible 486 games from 2008 to 2010. He played in 37 of 106 games this season with the Dodgers. Furcal went 0-1 as a pinch hitter in his Cardinals' debut Sunday.
Also it wasn't Heath Bell, but another Padres reliever Mike Adams who switched teams on Sunday. Adams went to the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor-league pitchers Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland. Adams was just 11-9 with a 2.11 ERA in his career, but 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA this season. He struck out 49 batters while walking just nine.
Meanwhile, Michael Bourn who leads the league with 39 stolen bases was traded from the Houston Astros to the Atlanta Braves for Jordan Schafer and three minor leaguers. Bourn's speed helps the Braves who rank 27th in the league in steals with just 42. The two-time Gold Glove winner hit .303 this season with Houston.
Despite these deals, trading on the final day of the deadline was light compared to the last two years. Also, this was the first season since 1998, Brian Cashman's first year as General Manager, that the Yankees did not make any trades in July.
Among the notable players expected to be traded that were not: Heath Bell, B.J. Upton, Wandy Rodriguez, Hiroki Kuroda (invoked no-trade clause), Josh Willingham, Carlos Pena, Jason Kubel, Denard Span and Drew Storen.
Manager Charlie Manuel and GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. made it sound as though Pence will be playing right field in place of Domonic Brown and that Raul Ibanez would remain in left.
How he helps the Phillies
Entering Friday, Pence was hitting 72 points higher and slugging 74 points higher than Phillies right fielders. He also hits from the right side of the plate and the Phillies as a team have struggled against lefties this season.
Pence also had four Defensive Runs Saved through Thursday, better than Brown (-3) in right field and far better than Ibanez (-15) in left field.
In fact, among qualified major league outfielders, Ibanez has the fewest Defensive Runs Saved this season.
How he doesn’t help the Phillies
Pence is hitting .308 this season but he's been helped by an extraordinarily high Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP). League average BABIP is generally around .300 and his BABIP over the previous three seasons had not been higher since .308.
The only season Pence has hit higher than .282 came in his rookie year when his BABIP was .377. Since he's done it before -- albeit in 108 games -- it's not as if it came out of nowhere, but in his three full seasons, he was right around the league average.
He's slugging .471 but only eight percent of his flyballs are home runs and his Isolated Power (ISO) -- a player's slugging percentage minus batting average -- is just .163 this season; both figures are by far the lowest of his career.
In fact, after posting a .217 mark during his rookie year, Pence’s ISO has decreased every season.
He’s been playing worse as this season has gone on. He’s got just three home runs since the beginning of June and is hitting .186 with no homers and just two RBI over his past 13 games.
A look back at last year's trade deadline
July, 29, 2011
7/29/11
9:40
AM ET
By Justin Havens | ESPN.com
With two days before the July 31 trade deadline, it's worth taking a look back at what happened in the week leading up to last year's deadline.
• There were 25 trades made last year from July 25-31, and more than half (13) took place on the day of the deadline.
• The two most notable players who were dealt were starting pitchers Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt, and both improved considerably with their new teams.
OswaltAfter being traded from Arizona to the Angels, Haren’s ERA went from 4.60 to 2.87, and his WHIP dropped from 1.35 to 1.16. Oswalt was 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA with the Houston Astros before being shipped to the Phillies. In Philadelphia, Oswalt went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA and a WHIP under one (0.90).
• 13 of the 25 trades made in the final week of July involved at least one playoff team.
• Eight of those 25 trades involved a major-league reliever. In six of those deals, the team acquiring a reliever ultimately made the playoffs.
• Many of the 25 trades were minor. The eventual American League champion Texas Rangers dealt catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Red Sox and traded for Jorge Cantu and Cristian Guzman. Cantu was 0-for-8 in the postseason and Guzman did not even make the Rangers' playoff roster.
• There were 25 trades made last year from July 25-31, and more than half (13) took place on the day of the deadline.
• The two most notable players who were dealt were starting pitchers Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt, and both improved considerably with their new teams.
• 13 of the 25 trades made in the final week of July involved at least one playoff team.
• Eight of those 25 trades involved a major-league reliever. In six of those deals, the team acquiring a reliever ultimately made the playoffs.
• Many of the 25 trades were minor. The eventual American League champion Texas Rangers dealt catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Red Sox and traded for Jorge Cantu and Cristian Guzman. Cantu was 0-for-8 in the postseason and Guzman did not even make the Rangers' playoff roster.
The Seattle Mariners scored eight runs Sunday but lost to the Boston Red Sox 12-8. The Mariners have lost a team-record 15 straight games, which is tied for the second-longest single-season streak by any team in the Wild Card Era (since 1995).
It's the most runs the Mariners have scored in a game since June 5, in a 9-6 win over Tampa Bay, and the first time all season they've scored at least seven runs and lost the game.
The Red Sox have won nine straight home games (a season high) and seven of their past eight games overall. They improve to 16-3 in July, the best record in baseball this month.
The San Diego Padres lost their 10th straight game to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, the second-longest losing streak by the Padres to the Phillies in team history -- they lost 11 straight meetings from 2004-06.
According to Elias, it's the longest current losing streak by a major league team against a single opponent.
The win for the Phillies means that they've gone 42 consecutive games without losing two in a row, assuring them of reaching 43 straight games Monday. According to Elias, that sets a franchise record -- they went 42 straight games without losing two in a row from April 14 to June 3, 1976.
Elias tells us that it also means the Phillies have won nine consecutive series of three or more games, which ties a franchise record. They last won nine straight series of at least three games in 1995.
Elsewhere around MLB:
• The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 5-4 in 10 innings, leaving the Astros with a 33-68 record. It marks the first time they've been 35 games under .500 since September 6, 1975.
The win means the Cubs have won three in a row for the first time all season -- they were 0-9 when going for their third straight win before Sunday.
• The Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 behind a home run from rookie Mike Trout, the team's first-round draft pick out of high school in 2009. Trout -- at 19 years, 351 days -- is the third-youngest Angel to hit his first career home run and the youngest player to homer in the majors since Justin Upton (19 years, 347 days) hit his first on August 7, 2007.
• Mariano Rivera got his 25th save when the New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 7-5. It's his 15th season with 25 saves, the most in major league history, one more than all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman.
• Tim Wakefield struck out four in Boston's win over Seattle, his 2,000th strikeout with the Red Sox. He trails only Roger Clemens on the franchise's all-time list.
It's the most runs the Mariners have scored in a game since June 5, in a 9-6 win over Tampa Bay, and the first time all season they've scored at least seven runs and lost the game.
The Red Sox have won nine straight home games (a season high) and seven of their past eight games overall. They improve to 16-3 in July, the best record in baseball this month.
The San Diego Padres lost their 10th straight game to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, the second-longest losing streak by the Padres to the Phillies in team history -- they lost 11 straight meetings from 2004-06.
According to Elias, it's the longest current losing streak by a major league team against a single opponent.
The win for the Phillies means that they've gone 42 consecutive games without losing two in a row, assuring them of reaching 43 straight games Monday. According to Elias, that sets a franchise record -- they went 42 straight games without losing two in a row from April 14 to June 3, 1976.
Elias tells us that it also means the Phillies have won nine consecutive series of three or more games, which ties a franchise record. They last won nine straight series of at least three games in 1995.
Elsewhere around MLB:
• The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 5-4 in 10 innings, leaving the Astros with a 33-68 record. It marks the first time they've been 35 games under .500 since September 6, 1975.
The win means the Cubs have won three in a row for the first time all season -- they were 0-9 when going for their third straight win before Sunday.
• The Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 behind a home run from rookie Mike Trout, the team's first-round draft pick out of high school in 2009. Trout -- at 19 years, 351 days -- is the third-youngest Angel to hit his first career home run and the youngest player to homer in the majors since Justin Upton (19 years, 347 days) hit his first on August 7, 2007.
• Mariano Rivera got his 25th save when the New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 7-5. It's his 15th season with 25 saves, the most in major league history, one more than all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman.
• Tim Wakefield struck out four in Boston's win over Seattle, his 2,000th strikeout with the Red Sox. He trails only Roger Clemens on the franchise's all-time list.
The Twins and Athletics entered the weekend looking to snap matching 11-game losing streaks against their opponents, the Tigers and Yankees. Those were the two longest active streaks for any major-league team against an opponent, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
And both emerged as winners on Saturday afternoon, with the A’s slipping past the Yankees, 4-3, and the Twins beating the Tigers, 4-1.
The Athletics losing streak vs the Yankees was their longest against the team since a 14-game streak from 1956-57. The Twins losing streak vs the Tigers was their longest against Detroit in the history of the franchise.
For the A’s, Josh Willingham and Hideki Matsui homered to lead the offense. It was Willingham’s first career homer versus the Yankees, and Matsui’s fourth against his former team.
The Twins were led by a strong pitching performance from Scott Baker, who tossed five scoreless innings in his first outing since coming off the disabled list. Baker shut down the Tigers’ left-handed bats, who were 1-for-12 with five strikeouts against him.
Joe Nathan came on for the ninth and notched his seventh save this season and 253rd in his career, which is one shy of the Twins record set by Rick Aguilera.
Around the diamond
• The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 8-6, extending their win streak over them to nine games, which is now tied for the longest current win streak against an opponent in the majors.
Chase Utley hit two homers for his 19th multi-homer game, matching Rogers Hornsby for the fifth-most by a second baseman in the Live Ball Era (since 1920).
Chad Qualls entered the game in the seventh inning with a 4-3 lead and imploded, allowing five runs and three homers while getting just one out.
Qualls became the seventh reliever in the Live Ball Era to give up three-or-more homers and at least five runs while pitching one-third of an inning or fewer, and the first since Chris Spurling on July 18, 2005 vs. White Sox.
• The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 5-1, as Houston dropped to an MLB-worst 33-67. Prior to this week, the franchise hadn’t been 34 games under .500 since September 27, 1975, when they were 63-97 following 5-1 loss to the Dodgers.
The Cubs, who won the first two games of the series, will go for their first three-game win streak this season on Sunday. The last Cubs team to go this long into the season without a three-game win streak was the 1966 squad. They didn’t win three in a row until the 108th game, according to Elias.
Shields hasn't just been piling up innings, but he's also been keeping players off the bases. In each of the starts he's allowed five hits or fewer, just the fourth pitcher since 2000 to compile such a streak.
Two of the previous three -- Roy Halladay in 2003 and Randy Johnson in 2000 -- went on to win the Cy Young award. You have to go back to Greg Maddux in 1998 for the last time a starter did so in four consecutive outings.
This is already Shields' sixth complete game this season, which sets the record for most in a season in franchise history. He is only the sixth pitcher with six complete game victories in his team's first 76 games in the last 20 seasons.
The list is rather impressive with Pat Hentgen in 1997, Randy Johnson in 1994 and John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and David Cone in 1992.
Shields continued to dominate with his changeup, relying on it as an out pitch even more than usual. He recorded 18 of his 27 outs with the pitch.
Astros hitters were 0-for-17 with five strikeouts and a double play on at-bats ending with a Shields changeup.
Just three of his 30 two-strike pitches were fastballs, his lowest in a start in over two years. As a result, all nine of his strikeouts were with his offspeed pitches. All 24 of Shields' strikeouts over his stretch of three consecutive complete games have been with offspeed pitches.
While the Astros were outdueled by Shields, Houston's staff did complete an extremely rare feat. The Astros had three pitchers pitch Friday, all with the last name Rodriguez (Wandy, Fernando, Aneury). Our good friends at Elias passed along this gem. This was the first game in the modern era (since 1900) that a trio of teammates with the same surname pitched in the same game.
Elsewhere around the diamond:
• Jon Lester became the latest pitcher to go for his 10th victory only to come up short as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox. According to Elias, excluding 1981 (strike delayed season), the last time that the Majors didn't have a 10-game winner until at least June 25 was in 1950. Four pitchers earned their tenth wins of the season on June 28 that year (Art Houtteman, Bob Lemon, Preacher Roe, and Johnny Sain).
-- Dan Braunstein contributed to this report
April showers have brought May flowers for Jay Bruce.
BruceThe Cincinnati Reds slugger Sunday hit his National League-leading 15th home run of the season and his 11th homer in May, which ties Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays for the most during the month this season.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 11 home runs in May are the most by a Reds player in a single calendar month since Adam Dunn hit 12 in July 2008.
Bruce ended the month of April struggling with four home runs, 11 RBI and a .237 batting average, which ranked 135th in MLB among players with at least 75 plate appearances.
This month has seen a completely different story. He’s hitting .330 with 11 HR and 29 RBI. In his previous two years in May, Bruce had just a .239 batting average with 12 homers and 30 RBI over 57 games.
So what’s been the difference? According to Inside Edge, Bruce is getting aggressive and taking advantage of fastballs. In the month of April, Bruce had a slugging percentage of .364 on at-bats that ended on the first pitch. That is up to .778 this month.
On at-bats that ended on the fastball, Bruce hit .254 during the month of April. That was below the MLB average of .285 in the situation. This month, he’s increased that to .344 and his slugging percentage is at .889.
But Bruce wasn’t the only “Jay” that had a strong Sunday.
• The Toronto Blue Jays scored 13 runs, including a six-run first inning as they clubbed the White Sox 13-4.
• Ricky Romero got the win for the Blue Jays as he allowed two runs over seven innings. According to Baseball Reference, his nickname is “RR Cool Jay”, like the rapper and entertainer “LL Cool J.”
• J.A. Happ (pronounced “Jay") did not allow a hit until the fifth inning for the Houston Astros. He also hit his first career home run.
• Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals had three hits, but he was left stranded in scoring position in the eighth inning as the potential go-ahead run.
• J.J. Hardy of the Baltimore Orioles had a pair of hits, including a double.
• Jay Gibbons of the Los Angeles Dodgers had three hits. He entered Sunday with a .190 batting average and eight total hits for the season.
• Jon Jay of the St. Louis Cardinals and John Jaso of the Tampa Bay Rays each hit their eighth career home run. Alphabetically, those two are next to each other on the active player list. It was the first time they've gone deep on the same day.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 11 home runs in May are the most by a Reds player in a single calendar month since Adam Dunn hit 12 in July 2008.
Bruce ended the month of April struggling with four home runs, 11 RBI and a .237 batting average, which ranked 135th in MLB among players with at least 75 plate appearances.
This month has seen a completely different story. He’s hitting .330 with 11 HR and 29 RBI. In his previous two years in May, Bruce had just a .239 batting average with 12 homers and 30 RBI over 57 games.
So what’s been the difference? According to Inside Edge, Bruce is getting aggressive and taking advantage of fastballs. In the month of April, Bruce had a slugging percentage of .364 on at-bats that ended on the first pitch. That is up to .778 this month.
On at-bats that ended on the fastball, Bruce hit .254 during the month of April. That was below the MLB average of .285 in the situation. This month, he’s increased that to .344 and his slugging percentage is at .889.
But Bruce wasn’t the only “Jay” that had a strong Sunday.
• The Toronto Blue Jays scored 13 runs, including a six-run first inning as they clubbed the White Sox 13-4.
• Ricky Romero got the win for the Blue Jays as he allowed two runs over seven innings. According to Baseball Reference, his nickname is “RR Cool Jay”, like the rapper and entertainer “LL Cool J.”
• J.A. Happ (pronounced “Jay") did not allow a hit until the fifth inning for the Houston Astros. He also hit his first career home run.
• Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals had three hits, but he was left stranded in scoring position in the eighth inning as the potential go-ahead run.
• J.J. Hardy of the Baltimore Orioles had a pair of hits, including a double.
• Jay Gibbons of the Los Angeles Dodgers had three hits. He entered Sunday with a .190 batting average and eight total hits for the season.
• Jon Jay of the St. Louis Cardinals and John Jaso of the Tampa Bay Rays each hit their eighth career home run. Alphabetically, those two are next to each other on the active player list. It was the first time they've gone deep on the same day.
Tuesday was a day and night full of statistical oddities across the major leagues, especially in the National League Central.
• The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5, but did it in unusual fashion. The Reds scored their first five runs without recording an RBI, the result of three Cubs errors. The Reds ended the game with just two RBI, the first time a team has scored seven or more runs with two or fewer RBI in the past 25 seasons, and just the third time in the past 50 years.
• In defeat, the Cubs allowed seven runs, all of which were unearned runs.
They're just the fifth team since 2000 to allow seven runs or more, with none of them earned. Oddly enough, the Reds have been involved in the past three such instances -- winning two of those games.
• Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena hit another home run, his fifth of the season, and all five have come in the last 12 games.
During his rough 2010 season, Pena hit just .120 in the month of May, more than 100 points lower than he hit in April. This season, Pena has reversed that trend.
• Pena’s home run came in the first inning off Reds starter Edinson Volquez, who allowed three runs in the first frame. Of the 31 runs he’s allowed this season, 17 have come in the first inning. That's tied with Javier Vazquez for the most in the major leagues.
Volquez's ERA is 17.00 in the first inning and just 2.97 the rest of the game.
• Brian McCann came off the bench and provided all the offense for the Atlanta Braves in their win over the Houston Astros.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, McCann became the second player in major league history to hit a game-tying pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning and a walk-off home run in extra innings.
It was first done by Jeff Heath of the Boston Braves on August 27, 1949 against the Reds.
• Mark Melancon blew a save for the Astros, the team’s 11th of the season, the most in the National League. The Houston bullpen is last in the NL in ERA and saves.
According to Elias, the Astros have the worst save percentage through a team's first 16 opportunities in a season in the divisional era.
• Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 in the St. Louis Cardinals win over the Philadelphia Phillies, but has not hit a home run in his past 84 at-bats, the longest such streak of his career.
• The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5, but did it in unusual fashion. The Reds scored their first five runs without recording an RBI, the result of three Cubs errors. The Reds ended the game with just two RBI, the first time a team has scored seven or more runs with two or fewer RBI in the past 25 seasons, and just the third time in the past 50 years.
• In defeat, the Cubs allowed seven runs, all of which were unearned runs.
They're just the fifth team since 2000 to allow seven runs or more, with none of them earned. Oddly enough, the Reds have been involved in the past three such instances -- winning two of those games.
• Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena hit another home run, his fifth of the season, and all five have come in the last 12 games.
During his rough 2010 season, Pena hit just .120 in the month of May, more than 100 points lower than he hit in April. This season, Pena has reversed that trend.
• Pena’s home run came in the first inning off Reds starter Edinson Volquez, who allowed three runs in the first frame. Of the 31 runs he’s allowed this season, 17 have come in the first inning. That's tied with Javier Vazquez for the most in the major leagues.
Volquez's ERA is 17.00 in the first inning and just 2.97 the rest of the game.
• Brian McCann came off the bench and provided all the offense for the Atlanta Braves in their win over the Houston Astros.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, McCann became the second player in major league history to hit a game-tying pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning and a walk-off home run in extra innings.
It was first done by Jeff Heath of the Boston Braves on August 27, 1949 against the Reds.
• Mark Melancon blew a save for the Astros, the team’s 11th of the season, the most in the National League. The Houston bullpen is last in the NL in ERA and saves.
According to Elias, the Astros have the worst save percentage through a team's first 16 opportunities in a season in the divisional era.
• Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 in the St. Louis Cardinals win over the Philadelphia Phillies, but has not hit a home run in his past 84 at-bats, the longest such streak of his career.
Enter Sandman
RiveraMariano Rivera continues to add to his Hall of Fame legacy. At 41 years old Rivera has not lost a single step, leading the majors with 13 saves. In 18 appearances this season, Rivera has allowed a run just twice, and boasts a miniscule 0.45 WHIP at Yankee Stadium in 2011. His 1.53 ERA this year is also bringing down his career number of 2.22, good for tops among all pitchers with 1,000 innings in the Live Ball era (since 1920).
This season, Rivera has nine saves in which he did not allow a baserunner, a statistic Stats & Info has coined as a "Game Over" save. Rivera has three more than the next-highest pitcher in the Game Over saves index.
Rivera is allowing just five percent of batters faced to score, seven percent clear of the league average according to Inside Edge. As usual, his cutter has been doing most of the damage. He relies on his trademark pitch over 90 percent of the time with two strikes against a batter this season, and in those situations hitters are posting just a .194 average.
He’s also working on his 11th season with an ERA below 2.00, which would tie the mark set by the great Walter Johnson according to baseball-reference.com. Rivera is also just four shy of reaching 1,000 games for his career, something only 14 pitchers in baseball history can claim.
Dis-Astros
No aspect of the Astros is particularly great this season, but the bullpen is certainly one of the glaring weaknesses. Houston has just five saves through Thursday, tied for the fewest in baseball. In contrast, the team already has nine blown saves. Astros relievers are also allowing a .300 batting average, by far the highest in the majors.
Brandon Lyon, now on the 15-day DL, has really struggled in relief this season. He has a WHIP over 2.10, and before going on the disabled list Lyon had allowed at least one earned run in four of his past five appearances. He has been extremely ineffective against lefties this year, allowing a .563 batting average and an OPS of 1.526.
Change of Pace
MadsonRyan Madson of the Philadelphia Phillies has dominated in his newfound role as closer. Between May 7 and Thursday, Madson has three saves in as many appearances and has given up just two hits and no walks. Madson has just a 0.60 ERA this season, and in his last three outings his changeup has been key. Against the pitch, hitters are swinging and missing a staggering 62.5 percent of the time.
This season, Rivera has nine saves in which he did not allow a baserunner, a statistic Stats & Info has coined as a "Game Over" save. Rivera has three more than the next-highest pitcher in the Game Over saves index.
Rivera is allowing just five percent of batters faced to score, seven percent clear of the league average according to Inside Edge. As usual, his cutter has been doing most of the damage. He relies on his trademark pitch over 90 percent of the time with two strikes against a batter this season, and in those situations hitters are posting just a .194 average.
He’s also working on his 11th season with an ERA below 2.00, which would tie the mark set by the great Walter Johnson according to baseball-reference.com. Rivera is also just four shy of reaching 1,000 games for his career, something only 14 pitchers in baseball history can claim.
Dis-Astros
No aspect of the Astros is particularly great this season, but the bullpen is certainly one of the glaring weaknesses. Houston has just five saves through Thursday, tied for the fewest in baseball. In contrast, the team already has nine blown saves. Astros relievers are also allowing a .300 batting average, by far the highest in the majors.
Brandon Lyon, now on the 15-day DL, has really struggled in relief this season. He has a WHIP over 2.10, and before going on the disabled list Lyon had allowed at least one earned run in four of his past five appearances. He has been extremely ineffective against lefties this year, allowing a .563 batting average and an OPS of 1.526.
Change of Pace
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