Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty Four

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

Dazzling Debut I:  Houston’s Mark Saccomanno made his Major League debut with a pinch hit home run in the fifth inning to become the fourth player in Major League history to homer in his first Major League at-bat.  Saccomanno also became the 22^nd player to hit a home run of his first pitch in the Majors.

Notable Quotable I:  “Put it this way, we’ll be playing in October and I plan on having him,” Houston’s Cecil Cooper on the possible return of Carlos Lee for the playoffs should the Astros make the postseason.

Double Up:  Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels grounded into his 27^th double play on Monday which leads the Major League and broke the club’s record set by Lyman Bostock in 1978.  The Angels beat the Yankees 12-1.

Blown:  Atlanta’s Mike Gonzalez blew his first save since June 25, 2004 and ended the longest active consecutive saves streak at 39.  However, the Braves bounced back and won 5-4 in 10 innings on Tuesday.

Notable Quotable II:  “I love it.  I’m Michael Phelps.  This is what it’s all about.”  Torii Hunter of the Angels after doing the breast stroke and butterfly in a puddle of beer and champagne on the clubhouse floor following their clinching of a playoff spot against the Yankees on Wednesday.

Dazzling Debut II:  Cleveland’s Scott Lewis went eight innings and allowed just three hits and no runs on 96 pitches in his Major League debut win over the Baltimore Orioles in a 7-1 win on Wednesday.

On Parr:  Atlanta’s James Parr went six scoreless innings on Wednesday matching the six scoreless innings he went in his Major League debut.  He was the first Brave since Larry McWilliams in 1978 to go at least six scoreless innings in their first two Major League starts.  The Braves blew his 4-0 lead in the seventh giving Parr a no decision but bounced back and won 9-5 over Colorado.

Proud Padre:  San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez homered twice and knocked in four on Thursday in their 11-3 win over the Giants.  The two homers and four RBI boosted Gonzalez’s numbers to 31 home runs and 103 RBI — both career highs — and are Gonzalez’s second consecutive season with 30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBI.  The only other Padres to do so in consecutive years other than Gonzalez are Fred McGriff (’91-’92) and Phil Nevin (’00-’01).

Bash Brothers:  In the same game, Adrian’s big brother Edgar Gonzalez hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth inning.  The Gonzalezes became the first brothers to hit home runs in the same game since Bengie and Jose Molina with the Angels on July 31, 2005.

Weather Issues:  Hurricane Ike and rain wrecked the Major League schedule on Friday and wiped out six games.

Ace of Baseball:  Cleveland’s Cliff Lee won his 11^th consecutive decision on Friday and moved to 22-2, 20 games above .500.  He is the first pitcher to be 20 games above .500 since Bob Welch went 27-6 with Oakland in 1990.

Infield Powerhouse I:  Florida’s Jorge Cantu hit his 25^th home run on Friday and joined teammates Mike Jacobs (32), Dan Uggla (30) and Hanley Ramirez (29) with at least 25 home runs.  The Marlins have the first infield to have four players with at least 25 home runs in Major League history.

20-Win Club:  Arizona’s Brandon Webb threw eight scoreless innings on Friday en route to his 20^th win of the season.  The D-backs’ bullpen almost blew the game in the ninth but the team held on to win 3-2 over the Reds.

In Good Company:  Boston’s Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-5 with two doubles in their 7-5 win over the Blue Jays on Saturday in the second game of a double header.  The game pushed Pedroia over 200 hits and 50 doubles for the year and he joined Tris Speaker (1912) and Wade Boggs (1989) as the only three players to ever do so.

One Done:  The Braves beat the Mets 3-2 at Shea Stadium in the first game of a double header on Saturday to notch their first one-run road win since August 9, 2007 — also at Shea Stadium — ending their Major League record streak of one-road losses at 29 including 22 this year.

A Costly Trade:  The Diamondbacks sent Micah Owings across the way to the Cincinnati Reds to complete their trade for Adam Dunn earlier this season.  Owings pinch hit for the Reds on Saturday and doubled home the winning run in Cincinnati’s 3-2 extra-inning win over Arizona.

Infield Powerhouse II:  Florida’s Hanley Ramirez blasted his 30^th home run on Saturday.  Ramirez, Mike Jacobs (32) and Dan Uggla (30) joined Jason Giambi (38), Eric Chavez (32) and Miguel Tejada (31) of the 2001 Athletics as the only other trio of infielders to hit 30-plus home runs in a season.

Record Breaker:  Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels saved his 58^th game of the season breaking the record of Bobby Thigpen who saved 57 games with the White Sox in 1990.  Rodriguez’s 58^th save came on Saturday over the Mariners.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot:  Philadelphia’s Chase Utley was hit for a Major League-leading 26^th time on Sunday to set a new Phillies’ record for being hit by a pitch.

No-No:  On the “road” in Milwaukee, Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs pitched a no-hitter against the “home” Houston Astros on Sunday.  The no-hitter was the first in 36 years by a Cub since Milt Pappas in 1972.

Numbers Game
244:  Pitching on three days’ rest for the first time since 2004, Philadelphia’s Jamie Moyer won his 244^th career game over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday with a 5-2/3 inning, three run outing.  Moyer is 7-1 in his last 13 starts.
522:  Manny Ramirez of the Dodgers blasted his 522^nd career home run on Tuesday.  The home run moved him past Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams for sole possession of 17^th place on the All-Time Home Run list.
2,000:  Garret Anderson of the Angels played in his 2,000^th game as a member of the team on Thursday.  Anderson and Atlanta’s Chipper Jones are the only two active players to have 2,000 games with the same team.
2,519:  Derek Jeter of the Yankees notched a single in the first inning of Tuesday’s 7-1 win over the Angels which was his 2,519^th career hit — one more than Babe Ruth for second place on the Yankees’ All-Time Hits list.
2,800:  Mike Mussina of the Yankees struck out seven in a loss on Saturday to raise his career strikeout total to 2,800 and move him past Cy Young for 19^th on the All-Time Strikeouts list.
250,000:  Detroit’s Gary Sheffield second home run on Monday was the 250,000^th home run in Major League history. 

Grand Slams
Gary Sheffield, Detroit vs. Oakland (9/8)
Aubrey Huff, Baltimore vs. Cleveland (9/8)
Miguel Tejada, Houston vs. Pittsburgh (9/10)
Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay vs. NY Yankees (9/12)
Alex Rodriguez, NY Yankees vs. Tampa Bay (9/13)
Dewayne Wise, Chicago White Sox vs. Detroit (9/13)

Walk-Off Archive
Single:  Kelly Johnson, Atlanta vs. Colorado (9/8); Eugenio Velez, San Francisco vs. Arizona (9/9); Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado vs. LA Dodgers (9/13); Chone Figgins, LA Angels vs. Seattle (9/13)    
Double:  Brandon Moss, Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis (9/12) 
Triple:  Eugenio Velez, San Francisco vs. Arizona (9/10) 
Home Run:  None
Fielder’s Choice:  Cesar Izturis, St. Louis vs. Chicago Cubs (9/9)