Diamond Rundown – Edition Sixteen

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the sixteenth week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

The Natural:  American League All-Star Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers shattered the previous first round Home Run Derby record by slamming 28 home runs — four more than Bobby Abreu in 2005 — with many hitting areas of Yankee Stadium never touched by a baseball.  Few will even remember that Minnesota’s Justin Morneau, not Hamilton, won the contest.

They Were Due:  Think the National League was due to win an All-Star Game since they had not won since 1996?  Think again!  Before Michael Young’s walk-off sacrifice fly in the 15^th which scored Justin Morneau ahead of Corey Hart’s throw, the American League was 0-9-1 in extra inning games in All-Star Game history. 

According to Elias:  Dubbed “The Uggla-est Performance Ever” by Mike Greenberg of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, Dan Uggla’s All-Star appearance was far from All-Star caliber.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Uggla was the first player in the history of baseball — regular, post-season or exhibition — to make three errors, strike out three times and ground into a double play in the same game.

Hurricane Jamie:  Philadelphia’s Jamie Moyer went to 10-0 in 10 starts against the Marlins on Friday.  The Phillies beat the Marlins 4-2 behind Moyer’s six innings of four hit, two run ball.

Snapped Squared:  In Friday’s Minnesota-Texas game, Ian Kinsler’s Major League high 25 game hitting streak ended and the Rangers were shut out for the first time in 2008.  It was the first time the Rangers were shut out since August 19, 2007.  The last time they were shut out was by the same team — the Twins — in the same park — The Metrodome. 

Back-to-Back:  Milwaukee’s CC Sabathia threw his second consecutive complete game on Friday.  Behind Sabathia’s four hit, one run complete game performance, the Brewers beat the Giants 9-1.  Since jumping to the National League, Sabathia is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA.

Indecision:  Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees started his seventh no decision in nine starts despite leaving with a 2-1 lead after pitching six innings.  Chamberlain gave up one run on six hits and a walk with eight strike outs.  The Yankees beat the Athletics 4-3 in the 12^th inning when Jose Molina was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded on Saturday.

Making A Splash:  Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder hit his 20^th homer of the season in the seventh inning on Saturday.  It was the 100^th of Fielder’s career but first to land in McCovey Cove beyond the wall in right field.  The Brewers beat the Giants 8-5.

Notable Quotable I:  “I really disagree with what they did.  We’ll stop trying to score runs when they stop trying.  Maybe in 1922 you wouldn’t do that because nobody could hit a home run.  But in the year 2008, people can hit home runs.  You see how they came back, once again in baseball, for me, there are moments when people definitely mentally move at a glacier pace and they really have to get beyond it.  It stunk.”  Rays manager Joe Maddon who felt the Blue Jays intentionally threw at Dioner Navarro in the eighth inning after he bunted for a hit in his previous at-bat with Tampa Bay up 5-0.  Umpire Mike DiMuro must have agreed because he immediately tossed Brandon League of the Blue Jays for hitting Navarro.  The Rays won 6-4.

Club Cub:  Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano hit his second home run of the season and 14^th of his career in their 4-1 loss to the Astros on Saturday.  The only run of the game was Zambrano’s homer, a record for Cubs’ pitchers.

Mr. Milestone:  On Saturday, Jeff Kent of the Dodgers homered in the ninth in a loss to the Diamondbacks for his 1,500^th career RBI.  It was also Kent’s 10^th home run of the season to give him at least 10 home runs in 17 seasons which is the longest such streak amongst active players.

The Comebacks:  The Marlins cut Philadelphia’s NL East lead to just ½ game with their 27^th comeback win and 9^th walk-off win on Jorge Cantu’s RBI single in the 11^th to beat the Phillies 3-2 on Sunday.

Triple Threat:  Jose Reyes of the Mets hit the 63^rd triple of his career in their 7-5 win in 10 innings over the Reds on Sunday.  Reyes became the franchise leader in triples surpassing Mookie Wilson in the Mets’ Record Book.

Five Spot:  The Nationals thrashed the Braves 15-6 on Sunday behind five RBI from Willie Harris, five hits by Jesus Flores and five runs scored by Austin Kearns.

Never On Sunday:  Guess who lost on Sunday!  The Orioles dropped another one on Sunday, their 15^th consecutive Sunday loss.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, their 5-1 loss to the Tigers on Sunday is the longest specific day losing streak since the Diamondbacks lost 15 in a row on Saturday in 2004.

Notable Quotable II:  “Probably the best third baseman I’ve ever seen.”  Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston when asked about the team’s third baseman Scott Rolen and his play in the field.

Road Reversal:  Chicago’s Ryan Dempster pitched eight shutout innings to pick up his first road win since June 2, 2006 in St. Louis in the Cubs 9-0 win over the Astros on Sunday.  Dempster pushed his record to 11-4 and just 1-3 on the road this season.

Perfect Timing:  Taylor Teagarden of the Rangers picked a good time for his first Major League home run.  With Minnesota’s Scott Baker 10 outs away from a perfect game in a 0-0 tie, Teagarden hit the first homer of his career which became the only run of the game.  The Rangers beat the Twins 1-0 on Sunday.

Numbers Game
9:  St. Louis’s Kyle Lohse won his ninth consecutive decision with a 4-3 win over the Padres on Thursday.  The nine consecutive win streak is the longest in team history since Chris Carpenter won 13 straight decisions in 2005.
39:  On Saturday, Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins stole his 25^th base in 25 tries this season and extended his stolen base streak to 39 dating back to last season.
100:  Colorado’s Brian Fuentes struck out the side en route to his 15^th save of the season and 100^th of his career in their 5-3 win over the Pirates.
1000:  John Lackey of the Angels recorded his 1000^th career strikeout in the fourth inning when he struck out Boston’s Kevin Youkilis.  More importantly, Lackey picked up his seventh win of the season as the Angels won 11-3 over the Red Sox on Friday.
1134:  Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey Jr. hit an RBI double in the third inning on Saturday to notch his 1,133^rd extra-base hit of his career which tied Tris Speaker for 11^th on the All-Time Extra Base Hit List.  On Sunday,  Griffey hit another double to move past Speaker and just six behind Ty Cobb at #10.
1596:  Detroit’s Gary Sheffield hit a two-run homer on Thursday in their 6-5 win over the Orioles which pushed Sheffield’s career RBI total to 1,596.  The two RBI pushed Sheffield past Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt for 31^st on the All-Time RBI List.
2000:  Jim Thome of the White Sox notched two hits in Sunday’s 8-7 loss to the Royals to push his career hits total to 2,000.

Grand Slams
Raul Ibanez, Seattle vs. Cleveland (7/18)
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay vs. Toronto (7/19)
Aaron Miles, St. Louis vs. San Diego (7/20)

Walk-Off Archive
Single:  Jorge Cantu, Florida vs. Philadelphia (7/20) 
Double:  Hunter Pence, Houston vs. Chicago Cubs (7/18)
Triple:  None 
Home Run:  Luke Scott, Baltimore vs. Detroit (7/19); Aaron Miles, St. Louis vs. San Diego (7/20)
Hit By Pitch:  Jose Molina, NY Yankees vs. Oakland (7/19) 
Sacrifice Fly:  Michael Young, AL All-Stars vs. NL All-Stars (7/15)