@Giants 2, Dodgers 1: LA is 13-15, but games like this make it seem like they’re 10 games under. A typical effort by Clayton Kershaw (1 run in 7 IP) went for nought as the bats failed time and time and time again to get the timely hit. They parlayed 18 baserunners (11 hits, 7 walks) into a single run, scored by Kershaw himself after he opened the 5th with a double, their only extra-base hit.
(Didn’t have much time for this set, alas.)
Padres 4, @Cubs 2: If it wasn’t for the two pitching changes, you could say the Pads’ 2-out, 4-run rally in the 8th happened quickly: With 2 on already, it went RBI single, pitching change, first-pitch tying passed ball, walk, pitching change, RBI single, steal, RBI single, and at last, the always-defensible frustration plunking of Carlos Quentin.
Nationals 2, @Braves 0: On the heels of his 1-hit, 1-0 shutout of the Reds, Jordan Zimmermann stiffed Atlanta for 8 innings on 2 hits, a single by Justin Upton in the 1st and a double in the 3rd by Paul Maholm. Continue reading
For all you squeaky wheels….
Giants 2, @D-backs 1: “It seems like every time I leave one of those up it’s getting crushed right now,” said J.J. Putz. Well, there’s “up,” and there’s “thigh-high roller in the geographic center of the QuesTec zone.” Good luck getting that pitch past those thighs. Panda’s 15 for 29 with RISP so far.
In Oakland Sunday afternoon, the Orioles screwed up two bunt plays in the 10th and lost, the run scoring on an overthrow at third base. They probably would have lost even if A’s third-base coach Mike Gallego had not been allowed to get so close to his runner, while alerting him to the overthrow, that he stepped on the foul line (which is fair territory) just afterwards, while the play was still on.
Did Gallego violate the rules?
Here’s a unusual list of players, with a healthy dose of HOFers, including some all-time slugging leaders. Plus … some other players.
But there is a common thread that connects only these players, among all those to play their entire careers since 1901.
Hint: think Thomas Wolfe.
Congratulations to Nomar’s Ghost and Richard Chester who teamed up to identify the players on the list as those to play in 20 or more seasons, starting and ending in the same city, but with a different franchise.
@D-backs 3, Rockies 2 (10): Patience at the plate usually pays off, but don’t tell that to the Rockies right now. They drew 7 walks from Arizona starter Wade Miley in his 4.1 innings, including 4 in the opening frame, but didn’t score off him.
A start with 7+ walks in 13 outs or less, but no runs, hadn’t happened in more than 50 years. But we’ll get to that.
This post is for voting and discussion in the seventeenth round of balloting for the Circle of Greats. This round adds those players born in 1954. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
Robin Yount becomes the 16th member of the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats, appearing on an impressive 73% of the ballots, far ahead of anyone else. More on Robin and the voting after the (caped crusader-like) jump. Continue reading
Sanchez, Sanchez everywhere, but that’s not where we start….
@Nationals 1, Reds 0: Jordan Zimmermann used just 91 pitches in his first career shutout, allowing a single in the 3rd and a walk in the 8th, neither man advancing. It’s the first 1-hitter in Washington Nationals history.