{"id":415,"date":"2008-04-28T03:53:09","date_gmt":"2008-04-28T10:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/28\/diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-four\/"},"modified":"2008-04-28T09:27:38","modified_gmt":"2008-04-28T16:27:38","slug":"diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/28\/diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamond Rundown \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edition Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the fourth week of the \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 major league baseball season.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

First Time For Everything<\/u>: The Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Chan Ho Park<\/strong> picked up a 3 inning save in the Dodgers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 9-3 win on Monday. It was the 34 year-old pitcher’s first career save in 330 appearances.<\/p>\n

The Bourn Supremecy<\/u>: Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Michael Bourn <\/strong>extended his stolen base streak to 13 with 2 steals against San Diego on Monday. A groin injury would ground the speedy Bourn for most of the week but he is perfect on the basepaths so far.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable I<\/u>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your ace is back.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Roy Oswalt <\/strong>to manager Cecil Cooper <\/strong>a few days before his 7 inning, 6 hit win against the Padres on Monday. Oswalt improved to 2-3 and lowered his ERA to 6.00 in the Astros\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 10-3 win.<\/p>\n

Streakin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/u>: Philadelphia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chase Utley <\/strong>hit a home run in the fifth inning to extend his home run streak to 5 consecutive games on Monday. However, the key play was the defensive play he made to kill a bases loaded rally in the third. The diving stop and double play with the Rockies up 3-0 in the third turned the game around and the Phillies went on to win 9-5.<\/p>\n

Rewarded?<\/u>: Milwaukee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Gabe Gross <\/strong>scored the winning run in the 12th<\/sup> on Tuesday in the Brewers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 9-8 win over the Cardinals. After going 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored, 2 doubles, 2 walks and a stolen base, Gross found out he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays.<\/p>\n

Snap, Crackle, Pop!<\/u>: On Tuesday, Pittsburgh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Nate McLouth <\/strong>lost his 19-game hitting streak despite walking twice. Then, he proceeded to go 0-for-14 before finally getting a hit on Saturday. He finished off the week by helping the Pirates beat the Phillies with 2 home runs in the 5-1 win.<\/p>\n

Welcome Back<\/u>: Seattle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s J. J. Putz<\/strong> earned a save in his first appearance after returning from the disabled list in the Mariners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 4-2 win over the Orioles on Tuesday. In addition to the save, Putz earned a shaving cream pie to the face from fellow reliever Mark Lowe<\/strong> who hid in Putz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s locker to deliver the facial.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable II<\/u>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be honest with you. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how I did it. I had a fever for the last 3 days.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Atlanta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jeff Bennett <\/strong>after pitching 6 innings in the Braves\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 7-2 loss to the Marlins on Wednesday. Bennett had flu-like symptoms and a 101 degree temperature the day before but lasted 6 innings including giving up just 2 hits in his last 5 innings after giving up 3 runs in the first.<\/p>\n

Phranchise Record<\/u>: Philadelphia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Pat Burrell <\/strong>set a new April record for the Phillies when he plated his 25th<\/sup> man. Burrell has a chance to pad his record with two more games left in April.<\/p>\n

Second Guessing<\/u>: Phillies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 manager Charlie Manuel <\/strong>was second guessed by many after the decision to stick with Cole Hamels <\/strong>into the 8th<\/sup> inning backfired. Despite Hamels being over 100+ pitches, Manuel continued with him on the hill against the Brewers on Wednesday. Ryan Braun <\/strong>doubled and Prince Fielder <\/strong>homered before Manuel finally brought the hook but the damage was done and the Brewers won 5-4.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable III<\/u>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I only got 100 twice last year? Wow, must be getting old.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Yankees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Mike Mussina <\/strong>joking after being told that he only reached 100 pitches twice in 2007. Mussina threw 101 pitches in the Yankees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 6-4 win over the White Sox on Wednesday. It was his 252nd<\/sup> career win.<\/p>\n

Overpriced<\/u>: Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bronson Arroyo<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s $25 million contract extension to 2010 is starting to look like a bad deal for the Reds. Since making the deal, Arroyo is 9-18 including 0-3 with a 7.56 ERA in \u00e2\u20ac\u212208.<\/p>\n

Tough Luck<\/u>: San Diego\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Greg Maddux <\/strong>pitched 7 shutout innings and gave up just 4 hits on Wednesday and the Padres got it to Trevor Hoffman<\/strong> in the 9th<\/sup> which usually is good enough for the win. However, Maddux would have to wait for his 350th<\/sup> win as Hoffman blew the save to keep Maddux\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s career win total at 349. To add insult, the Padres lost in 13 innings, 3-2 to the Giants.<\/p>\n

Ripley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Believe It Or Not<\/u>: The Elias Sports Bureau reported that the Matt Cain<\/strong>–Greg Maddux <\/strong>matchup on Wednesday was a baseball oddity that had happened for only the sixth time ever. Both Cain and Maddux gave up 9 runs each in their last start. The only other time that it had happened in the last 70 years was when St. Louis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Andy Benes <\/strong>squared off against Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Osvaldo Fernandez <\/strong>on June 4, 2001. Cain and Maddux gave up just one run in their 14 innings pitched in their rebound performances.<\/p>\n

The Sweeney Show<\/u>: Oakland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mark Sweeney <\/strong>was the offense on Wednesday. He walked and scored in the second inning, got an RBI single in the 3rd and hit a solo home run in the 8th<\/sup>. The Athletics won 3-0. It also ended Sweeney\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 39-game homer-less streak.<\/p>\n

Down To Earth<\/u>: Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Johnny Cueto <\/strong>finally became ordinary. Cueto gave up 5 runs, 8 hits and registered just 2 strikeouts in 7 innings on Thursday. The Reds lost to the Astros 5-3 and Cueto dropped to 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable IV<\/u>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Somebody\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got to have the most. It might as well be me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Lance Berkman <\/strong>after being told his home run on Thursday was the most by a visiting player at the Great American Ball Park. It was Berkman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 18th<\/sup> home run in the stadium.<\/p>\n

Willie Mays Hayes?<\/u>: One night after being benched following an 0-for-5 outing because his manager Rod Gardenhire <\/strong>felt he was swinging for the fences, Minnesota\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Carlos Gomez <\/strong>led off the game with his 1st<\/sup> home run of the season. I wonder if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see Gomez doing push-ups if he hits a pop up.<\/p>\n

Free Passes<\/u>: Pittsburgh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tom Gorzelanny <\/strong>walked 7 in 5 innings in their 9-2 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday. He has 22 walks in 22 1\/3 innings and is 1-3 with an 8.46 ERA.<\/p>\n

Home Away From Home<\/u>: The Tampa Bay Rays moved to 6-0 when playing at Disney World after sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Move Over, Stuffy<\/u>: Boston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kevin Youkilis <\/strong>passed Stuffy McInnis <\/strong>when he recorded his 1,701st<\/sup> chance without an error. His last error occurred on July 4, 2006.<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention<\/u>: Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Carlos Delgado <\/strong>was booed during pregame introductions on Sunday. However, he won back the fans with two home runs but refused a curtain call out of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153respect for the game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Delgado said he had only made two curtain calls in his career \u00e2\u20ac\u201c his 4-home run game in 2003 and his 400th<\/sup> home run in 2006.<\/p>\n

Reaching Safely<\/u>: Texas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Ian Kinsler <\/strong>has reached based in all 26 games this season.<\/p>\n

Deep Bullpens<\/u>: Milwaukee and Florida used a combined 15 pitchers in their 10 inning game on Sunday. The Marlins won 3-2.<\/p>\n

Owning Meche<\/u>: Toronto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Alex Rios <\/strong>continued his dominance over Kansas City\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Gil Meche<\/strong>. Rios went 3-for-4 against Meche on Sunday and is now 10-for-13 against the Royals\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 hurler.<\/p>\n

It Happens Every Spring<\/u>: Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ace Brandon Webb <\/strong>became the first pitcher in \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 to reach 6 wins. In March and April, Webb is 18-2 in his career.<\/p>\n

Won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t You Take Me To Funky Town<\/u>: San Francisco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Barry Zito <\/strong>dropped to 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Day Shift<\/u>: Colorado\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jeff Francis <\/strong>definitely likes the daylight. Francis, who was 8-0 with a 2.48 ERA in day games in \u00e2\u20ac\u212207, went 7 innings and gave up just 5 hits and 2 runs on Sunday. Unfortunately, that was not good enough as the Dodgers beat the Rockies 3-2.<\/p>\n

Numbers Game<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u>11: <\/strong>Runs scored by the Tigers in the 6th<\/sup> inning on Wednesday in their 19-6 win. That was their biggest inning since April 23, 2004.
\n16 1\/3<\/strong>: San Francisco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tim Linecum<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scoreless inning streak that he extended on Thursday. Lincecum is 4-0 and the team is 5-0 when he pitches and 6-15 when he does not.
\n50: <\/strong>The Yankees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Chien Ming Wang <\/strong>registered his 50th<\/sup> win in 85 starts on Tuesday. He was the quickest to 50 wins since Dwight Gooden <\/strong>reached the milestone in \u00e2\u20ac\u212282.
\n136: <\/strong>Atlanta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bobby Cox <\/strong>extended his major league career high ejection number after arguing balls and strikes on Thursday. Cox was upset after Jair Jurrjens <\/strong>walked 4 consecutive batters in the 3rd<\/sup> inning including 3 times with the bases loaded. After the ejection, Jurrjens retired 10 straight batters and the Braves won 6-3.
\n285: <\/strong>Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Randy Johnson notched his first win of the season on Friday, his 285th<\/sup> career victory.
\n597: <\/strong>Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ken Griffey Jr. <\/strong>moved to just 3 home runs away from 600 after his 597th<\/sup> home run off of Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chris Sampson on Wednesday.
\n2000: <\/strong>Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Vladimir Guerrero <\/strong>reached the milestone with a double in the 8th<\/sup> in his team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 6-4 loss to Detroit on Saturday.
\n3000: <\/strong>On Tuesday, Atlanta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s John Smoltz <\/strong>joined the 3,000 K Club. Only 16 players have reached the milestone. Washington\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Felipe Lopez <\/strong>was the victim but the Nationals won the game 6-0 despite Smoltz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stellar 7 inning, 5 hit, 1 run and 10 strikeout performance.<\/p>\n

Grand Slams<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Casey Black, Cleveland <\/strong>vs. Kansas City (4\/22)
\nBobby Abreu, N.Y. Yankees <\/strong>vs. Chi. White Sox (4\/22)
\nFelipe Lopez, Washington <\/strong>vs. N.Y. Mets (4\/24)
\nJustin Morneau, Minnesota <\/strong>vs. Texas (4\/25)
\nMatt Kemp, L.A. Dodgers <\/strong>vs. Colorado (4\/26)<\/p>\n

Walk-Off Archive<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Walk: None<\/strong>
\nSingle: Gabe Kapler, Milwaukee<\/strong> vs. St. Louis (4\/22); Nathan Haynes, Tampa Bay <\/strong>vs. Boston (4\/25); David Murphy, Texas <\/strong>vs. Minnesota (4\/25); Brian Anderson, Chi. White Sox <\/strong>vs. Baltimore (4\/26); Victor Martinez, Cleveland <\/strong>vs. N.Y. Yankees (4\/26); James Loney, L.A. Dodgers<\/strong> vs. Colorado (4\/27)
\nDouble: None<\/strong>
\nTriple: None<\/strong>
\nHome Run: Wil Nieves, Washington <\/strong>vs. Chicago Cubs (4\/25); Tadahito Iguchi, San Diego <\/strong>vs. Arizona (4\/26)
\nSacrifice Fly: Russell Martin, L.A. Dodgers <\/strong>vs. Colorado (4\/25)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the fourth week of the \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 major league baseball season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}