{"id":478,"date":"2008-05-26T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2008-05-26T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/05\/26\/diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-eight\/"},"modified":"2008-05-26T22:07:12","modified_gmt":"2008-05-27T05:07:12","slug":"diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/05\/26\/diamond-rundown-%e2%80%93-edition-eight\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamond Rundown \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Edition Eight"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

After Beating Cancer This Game Is Easy<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester <\/strong>pitched his first no hitter of his career against Kansas City on Monday which also happened to be his first complete game of his career.\u00c2\u00a0 Lester came real close on July 18, 2006 when he and Jonathan Papelbon <\/strong>combined to pitch a one hitter against the same Kansas City Royals.<\/p>\n

Redding\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Phillies<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>The potent Phillies offense has fizzled against Washington Nationals pitcher Tim Redding<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 On Monday, the Phillies lost 4-0 and Redding went 6 1\/3 innings while scattering seven hits and two walks.\u00c2\u00a0 He has not given up a run against the Phillies in 13 1\/3 innings this year.<\/p>\n

Going, Going Gone<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Adam Dunn <\/strong>hit a home run for the fifth consecutive game on Monday and Dunn was the second player this season to do so.\u00c2\u00a0 (Philadelphia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chase Utley <\/strong>did it earlier this season.)\u00c2\u00a0 Dunn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s streak tied the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s record for consecutive games with a home run shared by Ken Griffey Jr.<\/strong>, Johnny Bench <\/strong>and Ted Kluszewski<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a bad group to join.<\/p>\n

Many Happy Returns<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Tampa Bay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Scott Kazmir <\/strong>has been excellent since returning from the disabled list.\u00c2\u00a0 He lost his 16 consecutive scoreless inning streak on Tuesday but picked up his third consecutive win in the Rays 3-2 win over the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.\u00c2\u00a0 In his last three starts, Kazmir has given up just one run and 10 hits in 19 innings.<\/p>\n

Move Over Joltin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Joe<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>On Tuesday, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton <\/strong>became the fastest to 50 RBIs when he collected his 50th<\/sup> in his 45th<\/sup> game.\u00c2\u00a0 Previously, Joe DiMaggio <\/strong>shared the record with Carl Everett <\/strong>who both accomplished the feat in 46 games.<\/p>\n

The Power Of Animal Crackers<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Giants catcher Steve Holm <\/strong>showed up on Wednesday to start but had to be scratched from the lineup when he lost his breakfast (twice) before the game.\u00c2\u00a0 Thanks to munching on animal crackers through the first half of the game, Holm was available as a pinch hitter and delivered a game-tying two-out pinch hit double.\u00c2\u00a0 Holm stayed in the game as the catcher and the Giants came back to win 3-2 in 10 innings.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable I<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bobby knew what he was doing.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been doing this for a long time.\u00c2\u00a0 He just wanted me to relax and have fun and tonight was fun.\u00c2\u00a0 I had fun for the first time in a while.\u00c2\u00a0 I smiled and just relaxed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur <\/strong>the day after Bobby Cox <\/strong>gave him the night off ending his major league leading 370 consecutive games streak.\u00c2\u00a0 Francoeur followed the night off with a 3-for-4 performance with a triple, homer and four RBIs.<\/p>\n

Small Ball Spotlight<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Matt Treanor <\/strong>successfully pulled off a suicide squeeze to score Luis Gonzalez <\/strong>and tie the game in the fifth against then unbeaten Brandon Webb<\/strong> on Wednesday.\u00c2\u00a0 The Marlins plated two more runs and gave Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Webb his first loss as they held on to win 3-1.<\/p>\n

Take \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEm How You Get \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEm<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>In their 5-2 win over the Reds, the Dodgers scored their first four runs in unorthodox ways.\u00c2\u00a0 First, James Loney <\/strong>scored on a wild pitch and Matt Kemp <\/strong>scored on a suicide squeeze in the second inning.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, Blake DeWitt <\/strong>scored on a passed ball in the fourth and Kemp scored in the fifth on an errant pick-off throw by Johnny Cueto<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dazzling Debut \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Duo Edition<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Minnesota\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Brendan Harris <\/strong>and Alexi Casilla <\/strong>combined to turn four double plays in the Twins loss on Thursday.\u00c2\u00a0 The Rangers beat the Twins 8-7 but Harris and Casilla impressed in their first time the combo ever played together in the majors.<\/p>\n

Dice-W<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka <\/strong>went to 8-0 after getting great run support in their 11-8 win over the Royals.\u00c2\u00a0 The Red Sox are 10-0 when Matsuzaka starts and 12 straight back to last year.<\/p>\n

Texting\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 1\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 2<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>It was power vs. power as Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge <\/strong>faced off with Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Lance Berkman <\/strong>in Thursday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Phillies-Astros game.\u00c2\u00a0 Lidge challenged Berkman and got him to pop up to end the game and earn his 12th<\/sup> save in the Phillies 7-5 win over the Astros.\u00c2\u00a0 After the game, former teammate Berkman texted Lidge which read \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I hate you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

Miserable Mets<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Mets ace Johan Santana <\/strong>could not stop the Braves from completing their first four-game sweep of the Mets since July 2003.\u00c2\u00a0 Santana fell to 5-3 with a 3.36 ERA after giving up 12 hits and four runs (three earned) in seven innings.\u00c2\u00a0 The 12 hits were the most given up in his career.\u00c2\u00a0 He had tied his record of 10 earlier in the season in a May 10th<\/sup> loss to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

Silver Slugger \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Pitcher Edition<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano <\/strong>continued to impress on the mound and at the plate on Friday.\u00c2\u00a0 Zambrano went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored in their 12-3 win over the Pirates.\u00c2\u00a0 He became the 28th<\/sup> pitcher since 1956 to accomplish the feat and became the first Cub since Lew Burdette <\/strong>on July 23, 1964 to do so.\u00c2\u00a0 Burdette and Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Micah Owings <\/strong>are the only two pitchers since \u00e2\u20ac\u212256 to do it twice.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable II<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I felt like a car wreck when I hit the wall.\u00c2\u00a0 It was not the first time I hit it like that but this one got the best of me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Brett Carroll <\/strong>after crashing into the wall trying to track down an Aaron Rowand <\/strong>home run in their 8-2 loss on Friday against the Giants.\u00c2\u00a0 On Saturday, Carroll went on the disabled list.<\/p>\n

Gutsy<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Houston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jose Valverde <\/strong>took a Pedro Feliz <\/strong>line drive to the jaw that looked eerily similar to the line drive that put Padres pitcher Chris Young <\/strong>on the DL earlier in the week.\u00c2\u00a0 Valverde was down for a few minutes but was able to get up and actually stayed in the game and earned his 15th<\/sup> save of the season.<\/p>\n

Dazzling Debut \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Solo Edition<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>The Mets had to place Marlon Anderson <\/strong>on the disabled list and called up Nick Evans <\/strong>to replace him.\u00c2\u00a0 Evans proved to be a worthy substitute as he went 3-for-4 with three doubles and two RBIs as the Mets beat Colorado 9-2 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

A Whole Lot Of Matt<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Pirate fans were treated to an extra helping of Matt Capps <\/strong>on Saturday.\u00c2\u00a0 At the gate, fans received their very own Matt Capps Bobble head and then saw Capps work three scoreless innings in the ninth, 10th<\/sup> and 11th<\/sup>.\u00c2\u00a0 He even got a chance to bat (he struck out) and it was the first time in his career that he pitched three innings.\u00c2\u00a0 The Pirates beat the Cubs in 14 innings on a Jason Bay <\/strong>walk-off single.<\/p>\n

Notable Quotable III<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I said, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThose guys don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want none of me today \u00e2\u20ac\u02dccuz I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to pull a Lester on \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcem.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00c2\u00a0 In the sixth inning, I was thinking, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDid I really say that before the game?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Oakland pitcher Justin Duchscherer <\/strong>who took a no hitter into the seventh inning before Boston\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s David Ortiz <\/strong>ended it with a base hit.\u00c2\u00a0 Duchscherer went eight and Huston Street <\/strong>closed the game for a combined one hitter in their 3-0 win on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Rare Feat<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>The grand slam hit by Arizona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eric Byrnes <\/strong>on Sunday was not just any grand slam; it was a grand slam off of Atlanta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tom Glavine<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 In Glavine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s career, players have had 367 opportunities to hit a grand slam off of him and Byrnes became just the second player to do it\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 ever!\u00c2\u00a0 The first was Jose Vidro <\/strong>when he was with Montreal when Glavine pitched for the Mets on September 19, 2003.\u00c2\u00a0 Going into Sunday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game, batters were hitting .249 off of Glavine with the bases loaded.<\/p>\n

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Back in 2006, Pittsburgh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Damaso Marte <\/strong>started off his Pirate career 0-7 when he lost on August 16, 2006.\u00c2\u00a0 Since then, Marte has appeared in 116 games and went 7-0 including 4-0 this season when he kept the game tied on Sunday in order to give Jason Bay <\/strong>a chance to get his second walk-off hit in as many days against the Cubs.<\/p>\n

Maybe It Wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Such A Bad Idea<\/u><\/strong>:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>When the White Sox signed middle reliever Scott Linebrink <\/strong>to a 4-year, $19 million contract, it left some scratching their head<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Linebrink picked up the win to go to 2-0 with 12 holds and a 1.23 ERA so far in \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 and the White Sox are 19-3 when Linebrink appears.<\/p>\n

Numbers Game<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>8:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>The Yankees scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth without an extra base hit.\u00c2\u00a0 They plated eight runs with seven singles, a hit batter and a walk.\u00c2\u00a0 In the inning, Bobby Abreu <\/strong>has two singles, a run scored and two RBIs and Derek Jeter <\/strong>walked and was hit by a pitch.
\n12:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Toronto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Lyle Overbay <\/strong>set a new club record by reaching base for the 12th<\/sup> consecutive time in a four-game span breaking Tony Fernandez<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s record of 11 that he set in 1999.\u00c2\u00a0 The Jays won all four games of Overbay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s streak.
\n19:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>The Detroit Tigers set a Comerica Park record for runs scored in their 19-3 thrashing of the Twins on Saturday.
\n40:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>How many plate appearances did it take for Tigers rookie Matt Joyce <\/strong>to hit five home runs?\u00c2\u00a0 You guessed it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 40.\u00c2\u00a0 No wonder manager Jim Leyland <\/strong>said he was impressed by Joyce.
\n46:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Philadelphia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jamie Moyer<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start in Nationals Park on Wednesday notched Moyer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 46th<\/sup> stadium played in during his major league career tying him for the most amongst active players.\u00c2\u00a0 The tie remained when teammate Rudy Seanez <\/strong>failed to make an appearance in the series \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Seanez has played in 46 different stadiums, also.\u00c2\u00a0 Teammate Tom Gordon <\/strong>tied Moyer on Tuesday with 45 when he made his first appearance at Nationals Park.
\n439:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Mets slugger Carlos Delgado <\/strong>launched his 439th<\/sup> career home run on Saturday and took sole possession of 35th<\/sup> place on the all-time HR list passing Andre Dawson<\/strong>.
\n2,584:\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>San Francisco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Omar Vizquel <\/strong>broke the all-time games played at shortstop record held by fellow Venezuelan Luis Aparicio<\/strong> by playing both ends of a doubleheader on Sunday.\u00c2\u00a0 When Vizquel took the field in the sixth inning, he did it by himself and the Marlins fans gave him a standing ovation.<\/p>\n

Grand Slams<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Hunter Pence, Houston <\/strong>vs. Chicago Cubs (5\/20)
\nMarcus Thames, Detroit <\/strong>vs.Seattle (5\/21)
\nJ.D. Drew, Boston <\/strong>vs. Kansas City (5\/22)
\nMike Lowell, Boston <\/strong>vs. Kansas City (5\/22)
\nJarrod Saltalamacchia, Texas <\/strong>vs. Cleveland (5\/23)
\nBrad Wilkerson, Toronto <\/strong>vs. Kansas City (5\/24)
\nEric Byrnes, Arizona <\/strong>vs. Atlanta (5\/25)
\nJason Kubel, Minnesota <\/strong>vs. Detroit (5\/25)<\/p>\n

Walk-Off Archive
\n<\/u><\/strong>Single:\u00c2\u00a0 Howie Clark, Minnesota <\/strong>vs. Texas (5\/19); Blake DeWitt, LA Dodgers <\/strong>vs. Cincinnati (5\/19); Matt Holliday, Colorado <\/strong>vs. NY Mets (5\/23); Jason Bay, Pittsburgh <\/strong>vs. Chicago Cubs (5\/24); Dan Uggla, Florida <\/strong>vs. San Francisco (5\/25); Andre Ethier, LA Dodgers <\/strong>vs. St. Louis (5\/25); Jason Bay, Pittsburgh <\/strong>vs. Chicago Cubs (5\/25)
\nDouble:\u00c2\u00a0 Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay <\/strong>vs. Baltimore (5\/25)
\nTriple:\u00c2\u00a0 None<\/strong>
\nHome Run:\u00c2\u00a0 Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta <\/strong>vs. Arizona (5\/24); Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego <\/strong>vs. Cincinnati (5\/25); Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox <\/strong>vs. LA Angels (5\/25)
\nWild Pitch:\u00c2\u00a0 Elijah Dukes, Washington <\/strong>vs. Milwaukee (5\/25)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the eighth 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-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t