Category: MLB (Page 166 of 448)

      Phillies take Game 1 vs. Rockies thanks to Lee’s gem

      October 7, 2009 /

      Phillies’ starter Cliff Lee went the distance on Wednesday in Game 1 of Philadelphia’s 5-1 victory over the Rockies in the NLDS. Lee had a shutout heading into the ninth, but Troy Tulowitzki broke it up with a two-out double to score Colorado’s lone run.

      Lee, making his postseason debut, allowed six hits in going the distance. He retired 16 consecutive batters until Garrett Atkins hit a two-out double in the seventh inning. He even became the first pitcher in Phillies history to steal a base in the postseason when he stole second base in the third inning.

      Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez cruised through four innings before he struggled with his command.

      Jimenez walked Jayson Werth to lead off the fifth inning. Raul Ibanez then ripped a 3-1 changeup into the right-field corner to score Werth to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Pedro Feliz’s fielder’s choice advanced Raul Ibanez to third, and Carlos Ruiz worked an eight-pitch at-bat, hitting a 3-2 slider for a single to give the Phils a 2-0 lead.

      Jimenez finally got out of the inning, but not until he threw 35 pitches.

      After getting to just one three-ball count in the first four innings, Jimenez had four in the fifth.

      Jimenez’s problems continued in the sixth as he allowed a single to Utley, a double to Ryan Howard and a triple to Werth to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. Rockies manager Jim Tracy pulled Jimenez for left-hander Joe Beimel to face Ibanez, who singled to right to score Werth to make it 5-0.

      What a great addition the Phillies made at the trade deadline by acquiring Lee. He struggled a bit heading into the postseason, but he was incredible today. He has been well worth the compensation that Philadelphia had to part with to acquire him from Cleveland.

      Out of all the postseason teams, only the Twins had a worse road record (38-43) than the Rockies (41-40). So it’s no surprise to see Colorado struggle in Philadelphia to start this series.

      It’ll be interesting to see how Cole Hamels fairs tomorrow after posting a lackluster regular season in which he finished 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA. In his final outing before the playoffs, he lasted just three innings, giving up three runs and walking two in a loss. The Phillies need their former ace to give them a 2-0 advantage before this series shifts to Colorado on Saturday, where the Rockies have been practically lights out.

      MLB

      Jorge Posada not pleased as Yankees head into ALDS

      October 7, 2009 /

      According to a report by the New York Daily News, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is slightly miffed that Jose Molina will catch A.J. Burnett on Friday when the Bombers’ take on the Twins in the ALDS.

      “If A.J. is comfortable with Molina there’s not much I can do,” Posada said Tuesday after a workout at the Stadium, where he gave terse answers on the subject. “I just hope they go out there and win the game. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

      Joe Girardi told Posada Sunday of his decision to start Molina on Friday.

      “That was a decision that I made,” Girardi said. “As a manager you have to make some tough decisions. That was a very tough one.”
      Girardi decided that the comfort level of Burnett, who went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA in his first season in pinstripes, was more important than Posada’s bat.

      “When a pitcher and a catcher get in a rhythm, you hate to break it up,” Girardi said. “That is kind of the feeling that we have going now. Jorge is our number one catcher. But in this situation, we just are going to choose to catch Molina.”

      You can’t fault Posada for being a little miffed given that he has nearly 100 playoff games under his belt behind the dish. But Molina has caught six of Burnett’s last seven starts and in those games A.J. is 3-1 and has held opponents to a .221 batting average. So of course Molina is going to start, especially considering the mini feud Posada and Burnett got into early in the season.

      Posada is doing the right thing though. He’s showing his displeasure with the decision, but he’s not causing a distraction by creating waves. He needs to concentrate on not allowing CC Sabathia fail in another postseason and let Molina deal with Burnett.

      MLB

      Twins beat Tigers, will play Yankees in ALDS

      October 6, 2009 /

      Thanks to Alexi Casilla’s walk-off RBI single in the 12 inning on Tuesday night, the Twins won the AL Central by beating the Tigers 6-5 in a one-game playoff. Minnesota will now take on the Yankees tomorrow night in Game 1 of the ALDS.

      It would be one to remember. The Twins overcame a 3-0 deficit, thanks to Orlando Cabrera’s two-run homer in the seventh that gave them a 4-3 lead, only to have the contest tied at 4 in the eighth inning on a Magglio Ordonez leadoff homer.

      Still knotted at 4 heading into the ninth, the Tigers appeared like they would take a lead after putting runners on first and third with no outs against Joe Nathan. But Nathan froze Placido Polanco on a called third strike and then got Ordonez to line into an inning-ending double play, as Cabrera made the throw to first base to catch Curtis Granderson off the bag.

      Nick Punto drew a 10-pitch walk to lead off the ninth and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Cabrera grounded out, thanks to a diving stop by third baseman Brandon Inge. Rodney then intentionally walked Joe Mauer to get to Gomez, who entered the game in the eighth as a defensive replacement for Jason Kubel, and Gomez grounded out.

      The clubs exchanged runs in the 10th inning. Jesse Crain struck Aubrey Huff with a pitch, and Inge hit an RBI double to put Detroit up a run, 5-4. But Michael Cuddyer tripled to lead off the bottom of the frame and scored on Matt Tolbert’s single up the middle to knot the contest again. The Twins had the winning run on third with one out, but Punto flied out to left field and Casilla was thrown out at home as he tried to slide around catcher Gerald Laird’s tag.

      What a wild finish to the season. I know the Twins bring a lot to the table with their offense led by Joe Mauer, but the Yankees must be somewhat breathing a sigh of relief for not having to face Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson and Rick Porcello in a best of seven.

      It’ll be interesting to see if the Yankees overlook yet another opponent in the first round of the postseason like they’ve done in previous years. As previously noted, the Twins have one of the better offenses in the American League and CC Sabathia hasn’t necessarily been lights out in the playoffs over his career.

      Let the games begin.

      MLB

      Report: Miguel Cabrera involved in “spat” with wife

      October 5, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Detroit Free Press, Tigers’ slugger Miguel Cabrera was involved in a spat with his wife early Sunday morning. Police have determined that he and his wife were guilty since they were both aggressors in the argument.

      So this isn’t a story then, right? Both he and his wife are guilty – done deal. Well, not exactly.

      Apparently the crux of the argument was that Miggie was out drinking late the night before and the fight took place around 6:00 a.m., only hours before one of the Tigers’ most important games of the 2009 season. (Detroit battled with the Twins for the AL Central crown throughout the weekend and will now have a one-game playoff on Tuesday to determine the winner.)

      Cabrera arrived at Comerica Park on Saturday with visible abrasions on his face. He told FoxSports.com his dog had done it. Cabrera, 26, is married with a daughter.

      “No comment,” Cabrera said Sunday morning, when asked about the marks on his face. “I’m looking right now for a win today.”
      Have you told your teammates what happened?

      “No.”

      Then Cabrera said: “After the game. Right now, I won’t talk before the game. I’ve got to get ready for the game. Please … please. Thank you.”

      After the Tigers’ 5-3 victory, Cabrera declined comment again. He went 0-for-3, finishing the White Sox series 0-for-11.
      Hey, loved ones fight – you can’t hold that against Cabrera. But the fact that he was out drinking late the night before a huge game raises some eyebrows about his dedication.

      Then again, Cabrera leads the Tigers in home runs (33), RBI (101), runs scored (95) and OPS (.936), so nobody can question his production. Plus, there’s no guarantee that drinking the night before a game will ultimately hold a player back on the field. (It’s been well documented that Babe Ruth hit the sauce hard in his day and I believe he still put up some decent numbers.)

      But if Cabrera goes 0-for-4 in Detroit’s one-game playoff against Minnesota on Tuesday and the Tigers fail to win the AL Central, the media will ultimately tie this incident into his failures on the field. Hopefully for his sake, the Tigs win and this will all blow over. But if not, Cabrera will face some stiff questions.

      MLB

      Dodgers come alive in seventh, clinch division

      October 4, 2009 /

      Dodgers

      On Saturday night, it took three things for the Dodgers to beat the Rockies and finally clinch the NL West. 1) A spectacular pitching performance from the 21 year-old Clayton Kershaw, who threw six scoreless innings on 10 strikeouts and three hits. 2) Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa’s groin injury in the fourth. De La Rosa pitched three hitless innings before the Rockies middle relief came in and struggled. 3) The seventh-inning rally from the Dodgers. After hits from Casey Blake, Ronnie Belliard, Mark Loretta, Juan Pierre, and Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers had scored five, breaking the game wide open.

      The Dodgers unleashed their pent-up frustration in a five-run seventh inning that matched their entire offensive output from the previous five days, the five-hit, two-walk outburst lifting them to a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night that secured their second title in a row.

      For the last six days, the magic number for the Dodgers to win the division was at one.

      The Dodgers lost five consecutive games over that span. The Rockies won six.

      Ending the game was closer Jonathan Broxton, who had a chance to seal the division title in Pittsburgh six days ago, only to blow a three-run lead.

      “In Pittsburgh, it didn’t go the way I wanted,” Broxton said. “It felt like a while to get here. The champagne traveled a lot. It probably has more miles on it than any other champagne.”

      Obviously, the Dodgers hardly “clinched” anything. That word implies an interim of relaxation. The Yankees “clinched” their division and secured home field advantage some time ago. It took 161 games for the Dodgers to solidify their role in the playoffs. While they finish the season with the National League’s best record, the Dodgers are by no means its hottest team. Until last night, they had lost five straight. Fortunately for them, the Cardinals (their NLDS opponents) and the Phillies are both in similar skids. The Rockies, however, are tearing it up, winning six of their last seven.

      Hats off to Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who took over midseason and completely turned this team around. The Rockies are thriving off the same type of momentum that took them from the wild card spot to the World Series in 2007.

      Despite the Dodgers recent struggles, they did have to overcome a fair amount of obstacles, including Manny Ramirez’s 50-game suspension, Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin’s hitting woes, Hiroki Kuroda’s various injuries, and Chad Billingsley’s second-half meltdown. Really, it came down to Ned Colletti’s preseason and midseason acquisitions. Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf, George Sherrill, Ronnie Belliard, Vicente Padilla, and Jon Garland turned it on when it mattered most. Notice how I didn’t mention the Twenty Million Dollar Man. Devotion transcends past drug use out here in L.A. and Manny Ramirez has received a season-long pass. Who knows if his bat will come alive in the playoffs. Nevertheless, it won’t matter. The best teams are going to advance, and that’s the end of it.

      MLB

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