THT Daily: Cubs Win!  Cubs Win!

Major League News for September 15

Yesterday’s Results
Today’s Games
Standings
Game of the Day
Yesterday’s Home Runs
Player News
Stats

Yesterday’s Results

American League
BOS     6  BAL     5    (Recap and Boxscore) BOS bullpen: 5.1 IP, 0 R
NYA     7  TB      4    (Recap and Boxscore) Baldelli: 3B, 2 HR; Rasner: 4 IP, 0 R in relief
MIN     9  CLE     4    (Recap and Boxscore) Hunter: 4 RBI, White: 2 2B, HR
KC     10  SEA     8    (Recap and Boxscore) Shealy: 2 HR, 5 RBI
LAA     2  TEX     1    (Recap and Boxscore) Both bullpens: 9 IP, 0 R

National League
ATL     4  PHI     1    (Recap and Boxscore) James: 7 IP, 0 R, 7 K
CHN     6  LAN     5    (Recap and Boxscore) See below
SD      4  CIN     2    (Recap and Boxscore) SD now half game out of first
SF      5  COL     0    (Recap and Boxscore) Cain: 8 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 7 K

Today’s Games

Visitors                          Home                                 Starts
CIN - Arroyo B. (13-9, 3.29)      CHC - Mateo J. (1-3, 4.75)             2:20
MIN - Santana J.* (18-5, 2.75)    CLE - Carmona F. (1-9, 6.24)           7:05
NYM - Martinez P. (9-5, 3.84)     PIT - Maholm P.* (7-10, 4.90)          7:05
MIL - Ohka T. (4-5, 4.83)         WAS - Ortiz R. (10-13, 5.19)           7:05
BOS - Beckett J. (14-10, 5.09)    NYY - Karstens J. (1-1, 4.08)          7:05
BAL - Penn H. (0-2, 36.82)        DET - Bonderman J. (11-8, 4.18)        7:05
TB - Seo J. (1-6, 4.65)           TOR - Halladay R. (16-5, 3.21)         7:07
FLA - Willis D.* (10-11, 3.75)    ATL - Cormier L. (3-4, 4.80)           7:35
PHI - Myers B. (10-6, 4.05)       HOU - Clemens R. (6-4, 2.27)           8:05
SF - Schmidt J. (11-8, 3.45)      STL - Suppan J. (11-7, 4.25)           8:10
SEA - Cruceta F. (0-0, 6.75)      KC - Hudson L. (7-5, 5.25)             8:10
LAA - Weaver J. (11-2, 2.30)      TEX - Tejeda R. (4-3, 5.22)            8:35
COL - Kim B. (8-10, 5.37)         ARI - Webb B. (15-6, 3.00)             9:40
CWS - Garland J. (17-4, 4.28)     OAK - Loaiza E. (9-8, 4.95)           10:05
SD - Wells D.* (0-0, 4.09)        LAD - Maddux G. (12-13, 4.38)         10:40

Standings

The graphics next to each team are called “sparklines.” They depict each team’s performance over the last month. Each “up” bar is a victory and a “down” bar is a loss. There are horizontal lines for home games and red bars represent games decided by two runs or less. “PWins” is short for Projected Wins, based on each team’s Run Differential, and is often a better measure of a team’s true strength. Other team graphs and stats can be found on our Team Page.

American League East        Pwins  Diff
NYA     89  56 .614    0.0   87      2      
BOS     78  68 .534   11.5   73      5      
TOR     76  70 .521   13.5   77     -1      
BAL     63  83 .432   26.5   63      0      
TB      57  89 .390   32.5   58     -1      
American League Central
DET     87  59 .596    0.0   86      1      
MIN     86  60 .589    1.0   83      3      
CHA     84  62 .575    3.0   83      1      
CLE     68  77 .469   18.5   79     -11     
KC      57  90 .388   30.5   57      0      
American League West
OAK     83  62 .572    0.0   77      6      
LAA     79  68 .537    5.0   76      3      
TEX     74  73 .503   10.0   78     -4      
SEA     69  77 .473   14.5   69      0      

National League East         Pwins Diff
NYN     90  55 .621    0.0   84      6      
PHI     74  72 .507   16.5   75     -1      
FLA     73  73 .500   17.5   74     -1      
ATL     70  76 .479   20.5   75     -5      
WAS     63  83 .432   27.5   62      1      
National League Central
STL     77  68 .531    0.0   73      4      
CIN     72  74 .493    5.5   70      2      
HOU     71  74 .490    6.0   73     -2      
MIL     66  80 .452   11.5   64      2      
PIT     60  87 .408   18.0   63     -3      
CHN     59  88 .401   19.0   60     -1      
National League West
LAN     77  69 .527    0.0   79     -2      
SD      76  69 .524    0.5   76      0      
SF      74  72 .507    3.0   74      0      
ARI     69  77 .473    8.0   72     -3      
COL     68  78 .466    9.0   73     -5      

Wildcard Standings
American League
MIN     86  60 .589    0.0
CHA     84  62 .575    2.0
LAA     79  68 .537    7.5
BOS     78  68 .534    8.0
TOR     76  70 .521   10.0
National League
SD      76  69 .524    0.0
PHI     74  72 .507    2.5
SF      74  72 .507    2.5
FLA     73  73 .500    3.5
CIN     72  74 .493    4.5

Game of the Day

The Cubs tallied four runs in the seventh inning to beat the Dodgers, 6-5. The big blow was Aramis Ramirez’s three-run homer off Brett Tomko. Ramirez now has 100 RBI’s for the season. He had only 25 through the end of May (57th in the league at the time), but his 75 RBI’s since June 1 are tied for fifth-most in the NL. The Cubs may regret that player option they gave him.

The Dodgers return home after a series in which they lost twice by blowing leads at Wrigley Field. Los Angeles begins a key four-game series Friday with second-place San Diego, which beat the Reds 4-2 yesterday.

LA DODGERS (5) VS CHICAGO CUBS (6) - FINAL

LA DODGERS             ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
R Furcal ss             4  0  0  0   0  2   2  .296
K Lofton cf             4  1  1  0   0  0   0  .302
N Garciaparra 1b        4  1  1  0   0  0   0  .308
J Drew rf               2  2  1  3   2  0   0  .276
J Kent 2b               4  0  0  0   0  1   2  .277
W Betemit 3b            2  0  0  0   1  1   1  .270
 b-O Saenz ph           1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .289
 R Martinez 3b          0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .284
M Anderson lf           2  1  1  2   2  0   0  .281
R Martin c              4  0  0  0   0  0   3  .288
H Kuo p                 1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .000
 a-J Lugo ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .220
 B Tomko p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .120
 J Broxton p            0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 c-A Ethier ph          1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .320

Totals                 30  5  4  5   5  7   9

a-grounded to third for H Kuo in the 7th;  b-struck out swinging for W Betemit 
in the 8th;  c-struck out swinging for J Broxton in the 9th.

BATTING: HR - M Anderson (7, 2nd inning off W Miller 1 on, 2 Out), J Drew (16, 
6th inning off C Marmol 2 on, 0 Out). S - H Kuo. RBI - M Anderson 2 (28), J 
Drew 3 (85). 2-out RBI - M Anderson 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out 
- R Furcal 2. Team LOB - 4. 
 
CHICAGO CUBS           ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
J Pierre cf             4  1  2  0   0  1   0  .289
R Theriot 2b            4  1  2  1   0  0   0  .310
 C Izturis ss           0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .249
A Ramirez 3b            4  2  2  3   0  1   1  .285
D Lee 1b                4  0  1  0   0  0   1  .287
M Murton lf             4  1  1  0   0  1   1  .299
A Pagan rf              4  0  1  2   0  1   1  .265
H Blanco c              4  0  1  0   0  1   1  .267
R Cedeno ss-2b          3  1  1  0   0  1   3  .246
W Miller p              1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .000
 a-F Bynum ph           1  0  0  0   0  1   0  .258
 C Marmol p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .261
 S Eyre p               0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 b-J Jones ph           1  0  0  0   0  1   1  .283
 M Wuertz p             0  0  0  0   0  0   0  .000
 W Ohman p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0 1.000
 B Howry p              0  0  0  0   0  0   0 1.000

Totals                 34  6 11  6   0  9   9

a-struck out swinging for W Miller in the 5th;  b-struck out looking for S Eyre 
in the 7th.

BATTING: 3B - A Pagan (2, H Kuo). HR - A Ramirez (33, 7th inning off B Tomko 2 
on, 2 Out). RBI - A Pagan 2 (17), R Theriot (11), A Ramirez 3 (100). 2-out RBI 
- R Theriot, A Ramirez 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Cedeno 1. 
Team LOB - 4. 
 
BASERUNNING: CS - J Pierre (19, 2nd base by H Kuo). 
 
----------------------------------------------------
    LA DODGERS      - 020 003 000   --   5
    CHICAGO CUBS    - 000 200 40x   --   6
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS                   ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
H Kuo                         6       7   2   2   0   6   0   4.25
B Tomko (L, 8-7; B, 3)        1       4   4   4   0   1   1   5.00
J Broxton                     1       0   0   0   0   2   0   2.55

CHICAGO CUBS                 ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
W Miller                      5       1   2   2   3   3   1   6.75
C Marmol                        1/3   3   3   3   0   0   1   5.68
S Eyre (W, 1-2)               1 2/3   0   0   0   1   2   0   2.95
M Wuertz (H, 6)                 2/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   3.00
W Ohman (H, 9)                  1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   4.23
B Howry (S, 5)                1       0   0   0   0   1   0   3.28

Pitches-strikes: H Kuo 93-65; B Tomko 25-18; J Broxton 10-7; W Miller 81-49; 
C Marmol 11-6; S Eyre 26-17; M Wuertz 17-9; W Ohman 5-3; B Howry 16-11. Ground 
balls-fly balls: H Kuo 6-5; B Tomko 1-1; J Broxton 0-1; W Miller 6-6; C Marmol 
0-1; S Eyre 2-1; M Wuertz 0-2; W Ohman 0-0; B Howry 1-1. Batters faced: H Kuo 
24; B Tomko 7; J Broxton 3; W Miller 19; C Marmol 4; S Eyre 6; M Wuertz 3; W 
Ohman 1; B Howry 3. 
 
UMPIRES: HP--Jim Wolf. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Tony Randazzo. 

T--2:39. Att--31,361. 
Weather: 70 degrees, sunny. Wind: 12 mph, in from center.

The following graph tracks the game’s Win Probability, courtesy of Fan Graphs.

Yesterday’s Home Runs

The following stats are provided by Hit Tracker, which logs the projected distance of each home run (if it were to land uninterrupted at field level) and its “standard” distance, which is corrected for weather conditions. You can read their daily updates at the Hit Tracker Blog.

Hitter                    Pitcher                    True Dist Std. Dist.  HR #
White, Rondell     MIN    Cabrera, Fernando  CLE        414        439       7
Baldelli, Rocco    TB     Karstens, Jeff     NYY        421        437      13
Jones, Andruw      ATL    Moyer, Jamie       PHI        439        427      34
Marte, Andy        CLE    Crain, Jesse       MIN        404        427       3
Ramirez, Aramis    CHC    Tomko, Brett       LAD        401        426      33
Molina, Jose       LAA    Volquez, Edinson   TEX        436        425       4
Hunter, Torii      MIN    Cabrera, Fernando  CLE        405        423      25
Shealy, Ryan       KC     Washburn, Jarrod   SEA        423        413       5
Drew, J.D.         LAD    Marmol, Carlos     CHC        376        402      16
Matsui, Hideki     NYY    Shields, James     TB         401        401       6
Prado, Martin      ATL    Moyer, Jamie       PHI        396        398       1
Anderson, Marlon   LAD    Miller, Wade       CHC        374        387       7
Baldelli, Rocco    TB     Karstens, Jeff     NYY        365        386      12
Shealy, Ryan       KC     Fruto, Emiliano    SEA        401        382       6
Suzuki, Ichiro     SEA    Perez, Odalis      KC         375        375       8
Beltre, Adrian     SEA    Nelson, Joe        KC         357        333      18

Player News

Player news items are provided by CBS SportsLine.com.

Francisco Liriano and the Minnesota Twins are somewhat relieved, yet mostly mystifed over the rookie left-hander’s latest test results. “The MRI came back exactly the same as the previous one,” Twins general manager Gerry Ryan said Thursday. “He has a ligament strain, but there is no structural damage. That’s the good news. Now we have to find out why he’s having pain. We’re not going to mess around with his future.” Ryan said the Twins will take an ultra-conservative approach with Liriano, who made only 28 pitches Wednesday against Oakland in his first start in more than a month – then walked off the mound, saying he heard a pop in his elbow.

The Arizona Diamondbacks told left fielder Luis Gonzalez they will not bring him back next season. “Obviously, this is a very difficult day for the organization,” general manager Josh Byrnes said during a news conference. “Gonzo’s done about everything you can in this market as a player and as a person. “Change isn’t easy, but we feel very good about the cast that will continue to wear the uniform.” Byrnes, managing partner Jeff Moorad and assistant general manager Peter Woodfork informed Gonzalez and his representatives of the club’s decision during a breakfast meeting. Moorad used to be Gonzalez’s agent, and he negotiated the player’s current contract. Byrnes said Eric Byrnes, who has played center field this year, would become the team’s everyday left fielder next season. Chris Young, who was recently promoted from Triple-A Tucson, will take over in center. Another rookie, Carlos Quentin, is penciled in for right field.

Matt Cain allowed two hits in eight superb innings to win his fourth straight start, and the San Francisco Giants gained ground in the NL West race with a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. Cain (13-9), their dominant rookie right-hander, made it easy with another standout performance. Cain retired 10 of Colorado’s first 11 hitters, then retired 13 straight after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning. He had seven strikeouts and never tired in a 118-pitch outing, beating the Rockies for the third time this season. Cain has allowed no more than one run in each of his last six starts. In the last 50 seasons only one other rookie pitcher had a streak of at least that length. Fernando Valenzuela surrendered one or no runs in seven consecutive starts in 1981.

With light rain falling and showers in the forecast, Yankees manager Joe Torre scratched starter Chien-Ming Wang and picked rookie Jeff Karstens to pitch on Thursday against Tampa Bay. Karstens pitched five innings, giving up four runs, six hits and a walk for a no-decision.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 23 games on Thursday against Tampa Bay. Jeter’s hitting streak is the longest by a Yankees player since Don Mattingly’s 24-game string in 1986.

Hideki Matsui lined his first home run since missing more than 100 games because of a broken left wrist on Thursday against Tampa Bay.

Mike Cameron’s two-run single on a 3-2 pitch broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning and ignited the Padres to a 4-2 win over the Reds. Clay Hensley (9-11) struck out a career-high seven batters and retired 14 in a row over one stretch in a win on Thursday at Cincinnati. The right-hander gave up a pair of runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Trevor Hoffman struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 474th career save on Thursday at Cincinnati, leaving him four shy of Lee Smith’s record. Hoffman has converted 38 of his 42 chances this season, a big reason why the Padres are still in playoff contention.

Jarrod Washburn had a 1.49 ERA, best in the majors among active pitchers with at least six starts, and a 4-0 record in six previous career starts in Kauffman Stadium. It went up to 2.66 after Thursday night’s outing, in which he gave up six runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings in a loss.

Los Angeles Angels starter Kelvim Escobar left Thursday night’s game at Texas with a sore left knee. Escobar allowed one run and two hits over four innings with three walks and two strikeouts. He was replaced by Hector Carrasco at the start of the fifth inning.

Rocco Baldelli homered twice and tripled for the Devil Rays on Thursday against the Yankees.

Twins OF Rondell White hit his seventh home run of the season on Thursday as the Twins beat the Indians 9-4. His homer came in the eighth after Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer.White also had two more hits in the game and finished with two RBI.

Indians SP Cliff Lee pitched only four innings on Thursday and had a pitch count of 102, but got a no-decision as the Indians lost 9-4 to the Twins. Despite the high pitch count, Lee only surrended one run, five hits, walked two and struck out three.

The Indians used nine pitchers in their 9-4 loss to Minnesota, one shy of the major-league record for a nine-inning game (10 by the Orioles on Sept. 12, 2004, against the Yankees). Cleveland’s hurlers threw 218 pitches, the third-most in any nine-inning American League game this season. (Source: Elias)

Minnesota SP Boof Bonser pitched 5 2/3 innings, gave up three runs, five hits and struck out six on Thursday. The Twins beat the Indians 9-4 but Bonser got a no-decision.

Phillies LHP Randy Wolf is likely to start on three days rest Sunday at Houston after throwing just 52 pitches and leaving with a 5-0 deficit after two full innings Wednesday against Atlanta.

Devil Rays starter James Shields left before the sixth because of cramping in his right hamstring on Thursday against the Yankees. Shields pitched five innings, giving up four runs, six hits and a walk.

Braves RP Bob Wickman recorded his 14th save for the Braves in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Phillies. It was his 29th save on the season (15 with the Indians).

Atlanta SP Chuck James pitched seven shutout innings as the Atlanta Braves beat Philadelphia 4-1 on Thursday. James (10-3) allowed five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. The rookie left-hander has won four straight starts and is 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last eight games.

Kris Benson intends to talk the Baltimore Orioles’ front office during the offseason before making a decision on returning to the team in 2007. Benson was traded from the New York Mets in January. Because he has at least five years of major league experience and was dealt in the middle of a multiyear pact, he has the right to request a trade during the upcoming offseason. The right-hander signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract with New York before the 2005 season. The deal also included a $7.5 million club option for 2008. “As far as my future with the team, right now I’m returning,” Benson said Thursday. “As far as any other turn of events, that’s just going to have to wait until the offseason.”

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Carlos Zambrano (back) could return soon, although he’s not expected to pitch this weekend. “He just had his first bullpen [throwing session Thursday],” manager Dusty Baker said. “You can’t not pick up a ball for 10 days and all of a sudden just go pitch. It’s not fair to him, especially if he’s already worried about his back and potentially worried about his shoulder.”

Chicago’s Wade Miller, in his second start of the season after off-season shoulder surgery, allowed two runs on one hit and three walks in a no-decision on Thursday against the Dodgers.

The Atlanta Braves put third baseman Chipper Jones on the 15-day disabled list Thursday night so their insurance company will pay a portion of his $13.6 million salary. Jones hasn’t played since sustaining another strain to his oblique muscle on his left side Sept. 3. The move was made retroactive to Sept. 4.

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