Diamond Rundown – Edition Six

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

Dynamic Duo:  The Angels’ Ervin Santana joined teammate Joe Saunders with 6 wins after pitching a 4-hitter in Monday’s 4-0 win over the Royals.  He did it in just 97 pitches and threw 69 strikes.

Notable Quotable I:  “That’s amazing sometimes how that 98 gets hit and that 78 wins.  I think the law of gravity grabs it sometimes.”  Phillies manager Charlie Manuel on Jamie Moyer outpitching Arizona rookie Max Scherzer in Philadelphia’s 11-4 win over the Diamondbacks.  Their pitch speed isn’t their only difference – Moyer is 45 and Scherzer is 23.

Power Outage:  The Giants’ Jose Castillo hit a home run in the 8^th inning in San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.  It was his first in 450 at bats.

Lack Of Support:  Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang deserves better.  His 3.09 ERA has earned him a 1-5 record thanks to his lack of support from the rest of the Reds when he takes the hill.  The Reds have scored 2 or less runs in 4 of his 8 starts including 0 in their 3-0 loss to the Cubs.

Career Day:  Florida’s Luis Gonzalez had the first 4 hit game of his career on Tuesday.  He went 4-for-4, picked up an RBI and added a double in their 3-0 win over Milwaukee.

No No-No Part II:  White Sox’ starter Gavin Floyd took a no hitter deep again and once again fell short.  On April 12^th, Floyd took a no hitter into the 8^th against Detroit before giving up a hit to Edgar Renteria.  This time, Floyd took the no hitter into the 9^th before giving up a double to Joe Mauer.  Floyd was removed after going 8 1/3 innings and Bobby Jenks closed it out to beat the Twins 7-1.

Notable Quotable II:  “It’s pretty pathetic.”  Philadelphia’s Adam Eaton on his walking of Arizona’s Randy Johnson on four pitches with the bases loaded to tie the game on Tuesday.  The Diamondbacks ended up scoring 5 runs in the inning.

Firsts:  Dodgers’ Blake DeWitt got his 2^nd major league homer the night after his 1^st major league home run.  It was extra special because it was his 1^st inside-the-park home run and gave the Dodgers a 5-4 lead over the Mets in the fifth that held.  It was the first inside-the-park home run by a Dodger since Dave Roberts did it on August 9, 2003.

This Week’s Chien-Ming Wang Fan Club Update:  Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang fell to 3-2 in his 5 career starts vs. Cleveland.  Wang fans can rejoice though – he is 14-0 in 19 starts against the rest of the American League Central.

How Low Can You Go?:  Cleveland’s Cliff Lee lowered his ERA to 0.81 and raised his record to 6-0 after 7 scoreless innings in their 3-0 win over the Yankees.

Master Thief:  Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury is 23-for-23 in steal attempts in his career.  It’s the best start for a player on the base paths in 88 years.

Notable Quotable III:  “My jaw drops to the ground, I don’t know how he does it.”  Florida’s Dan Uggla when asked about Alfredo Amezaga’s spectacular defense.  The Marlins’ center fielder robbed two Brewers of hits in Florida’s 6-2 win on Wednesday.

C is for…:  Minnesota’s Carlos Gomez became the first Twin since Kirby Puckett on August 1, 1986 to hit for the cycle.  He lead off the game with a home run, tripled in the 5^th, doubled in the 6^th and singled in the 9^th on Wednesday.

Innocent Bystander I:  The White Sox’ Mark Buerhle was so frustrated after giving up 7 runs in 5 2/3 innings that he took a baseball bat to the dugout heater after being pulled in their 13-1 loss to the Twins on Wednesday.

Notable Quotable IV:  “When Charlie got there and asked me if I was all right, I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going on the first pitch.’”  Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino after being asked about his nasty collision with Arizona’s Conor Jackson at first base in the 8^th inning.  Jackson left the game but Victorino stayed in, stole second and score the go-ahead run.  The Phillies won 5-4 over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Great Start But Not THE Greatest:  Arizona’s Brandon Webb went to 8-0 with his win over the Phillies on Thursday.  While 8-0 is impressive, it pales in comparison to Baltimore’s Dave McNally start in 1969.  McNally went 15-0 and didn’t lose a decision until August 3.

Notable Quotable V:  “If a hitter did something like that, it would be bush.  It’s kind of interesting how a pitcher gets away with it.”  Cleveland’s David Dellucci on Joba Chamberlain’s fist-pumping celebration after the Yankee reliever struck him out in the 8^th inning of a blowout.

Closing Time:  Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge picked up his 9^th save of the season and pitched his 17^th inning without giving up an earned run since joining the Phillies.  His save on Friday included him striking out the side against the Giants.  Those 3 strikeouts brought his season total to 18 for the season.  The Phillies won 7-4.

Innocent Bystander II:  Mets’ closer Billy Wagner needed some work on Saturday so he was inserted in the game in the 9^th.  Wagner couldn’t make it through the 9^th and gave up 3 unearned runs, 2 hits and a walk in 2/3 innings of work in the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Reds.  Wagner then headed to the dugout where he knocked over a water cooler.

Finally:  San Diego’s Greg Maddux became the game’s ninth 350-game winner on Saturday.  It took the 42-year-old 5 tries to finally get to 350.  It was his 15^th career win over the Rockies.

Multi-Hitting Streak:  Houston’s Lance Berkman got at least 2 hits in 7 consecutive games before finally only getting 1 hit on Sunday.  In those 7 games, Berkman went 20-for-27 and raised his average from .295 to .386.

Believe It Or Not:  Cicinnati’s Corey Patterson was charged with an out even though he never made it to the plate.  In an odd turn of events, the Reds batted out of order in the 9^th inning which forced David Ross to bat twice in the 9^th.  Ross lined out in his first appearance but the out was charged to Patterson.  Then, Ross singled in his second opportunity in the inning.

Notable Quotable VI:  “I don’t know if they’ll let us, but I’ll try.”  Marlins’ Jeremy Hermida when asked if he’d like to keep the pink bat he used on Sunday where Hermida went 2-for-4 and hit his 3^rd home run of the season.  To celebrate Mother’s Day and raise breast cancer awareness, many major leaguers used pink bats on Sunday.

Rays Of Light:  Surprised to see the Tampa Bay Rays 5 games over .500 after their 8-5 win over the Angels on Sunday?  You should be… it’s the first time they have ever been that many games over .500 in their 11 seasons.

Stopper:  Royals’ Brian Bannister pitched 8 shutout innings and gave up just 2 hits in Kansas City’s 4-0 win over the Orioles.  Before that, Baltimore had won 12 consecutive games and had not lost to Kansas City since July 25, 2006.

Numbers Game

8:  Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka managed to get a win in his team’s 6-3 victory over Detroit on Monday despite walking 8.  He’s the first pitcher to win while walking 8 since Doug Davis when he was with Milwaukee on September 28, 2006.
20:  San Francisco’s Omar Vizquel returned from the disabled list to become the first Venezuelan to play 20 seasons in the majors.  Last year, he tied Dave Concepcion and Andres Galarragga who each played 19 seasons in the majors.  Vizquel batted 2^nd and went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the Giants win over the Phillies on Saturday.
22:  The Boston Red Sox set a team record with 22 consecutive steals before J.D. Drew was thrown out by Joe Mauer in their 7-6 loss to the Twins on Friday.
23:  Cincinnati’s Joey Votto’s 3 home run performance on Wednesday was the 23^rd by a Red.  The last Reds’ player to hit 3 homers in a game was Aaron Boone on May 8, 2003.
33:  The Rangers streak of 33 scoreless innings pitched, the 2^nd longest in franchise history was snapped on Saturday.  Despite the Athletics finally scoring a run against Texas, the Rangers still won 6-4 and extended their win streak to 5, their longest since 2005.
39:  St. Louis’ Albert Pujols has reached base in every game this season.  The 39 straight games streak is the third longest of his career.  In ’01, he reached safely in 48 straight games.
92:  It took the Rays’ James Shields just 92 pitches to complete a one-hit shutout against the Angels on Friday.  Shields retired the last 20 batters in their 2-0 win.  Brandon Wood was the only Angel to get a hit, a single in the 3^rd.

Grand Slams
Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bay vs. Toronto (5/8)
Dan Uggla, Florida vs. Washington (5/10)

Walk-Off Archive
Single:  Placido Polanco, Detroit vs. Boston (5/7);  Carlos Lee, Houston vs. Washington (5/7);  Matt Diaz, Atlanta vs. San Diego (5/8);  Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh vs. Atlanta (5/9);  Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee vs. St. Louis (5/9);  Mike Lamb, Minnesota vs. Boston (5/9)
Double:  None
Triple:  None
Home Run:  Mark Ellis, Oakland vs. Baltimore (5/7)