- Kevin Slowey fired 7 no-hit innings against the A's, before being pulled from the game. Slowey missed his last start with tendinitis in his elbow and was up to 106 pitches, when Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pulled the plug. Gardy said afterward, "I'd be booing, too, because I want to see a no-hitter, but I also know I'm responsible for this guy's arm." It's nice to see a manager put the health of his pitcher ahead of a crowd pleasing moment in history. Slowey ended the game with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks.
Break Up to Make Up:
- Armando Galarraga and Alex Avila exchanged a few choice words with each other, before the two were separated in the dugout. The Tigers won the game and Johnny Damon quipped afterward, "Dissension breeds winners. We should have done it earlier." I say find a way to get Carlos Zambrano on the team and make a late push, but that's just me.
Blast from the Past:
- Bryan Bullington, the 2002 number 1 overall draft pick, won his first major league game on Sunday. He pitched 8 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts, 1 walk, and only 2 hits against the Yankees. In 102 innings at Triple-A, he had a 2.82 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 73/28 strikeout to walk ratio.
Notables:
- Travis Hafner hit a grand slam off of Felix Hernandez, in the Indians 9-1 win over the Mariners. It was his first game back off the DL (shoulder).
- Jeremy Hellickson improved to 3-0, after he pitched 6 innings and allowed only 1 earned run to the Orioles. Hellboy struck out 5 and walked one in the victory. In 20 major league innings this season, he has an 18/3 strikeout to walk rate.
- Carl Crawford went 3-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. He's batting a smooth .300 on the season with 81 runs, 13 homers, 61 RBI, and 39 stolen bases.
- Andruw Jones hit his 16th homer of the season, in a 3-4 effort. It wasn't all roses for Jones though, as he had trouble tracking a Johnny Damon ball that hit off the wall and in for a triple.
- A.J. Burnett pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball against the Royals, but took a loss. It was the good Burnett on Sunday, as he had 6 strikeouts, 3 walks, and 4 hits allowed. He's now 9-10 with a 4.66 ERA.
- Jim Thome hit his 580th career homer, a 3-run shot off of A's relief pitcher Jerry Blevins. Thome is 3 homers shy of tying Mark McGwire for 9th on the all-time list.
- C.J. Wilson held the Red Sox to 1 run over 7.2 innings, in his 11th win of the season. Wilson struck out 8, walked 1, and gave up 4 hits. The former relief pitcher now has a 3.19 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 116 strikeouts.
- Ricky Romero, fresh off his new contract extension, pitched 7 innings and allowed only 1 run to the Angels. He struck out 4 and walked 3 in the win, his 10th.
- Homer Bailey struck out 4 and walked none, as he kept the Marlins off the scoreboard for 6 innings. He was filling in for the suspended Johnny Cueto, in what was thought to be a spot start, but with Mike Leake's recent struggles, Bailey may hang around for a while.
- Jair Jurrjens pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball against the Dodgers. Jurrjens likes pitching at home, where he has an 1.81 ERA at home this season. The road however is a different story, as he has a 6.39 ERA in 38 innings away from Turner Field. He ended the game with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk, in the win, his 5th.
- Alex Gonzalez & Troy Glaus each chipped in 4 RBI in a 13-1 romp over the Dodgers. For the game, Gonzalez was 2-3 with a triple, while Glaus was 2-5 with a home run.
- Stephen Strasburg gave up 3 runs (1 earned) and struck out 7 D-Backs batters in a no-decision. He walked none, but made a costly throwing error that allowed 2 runners to score. Strasburg remains 5-3 with a 2.97 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and an 86/17 strikeout to walk ratio.
- Adam LaRoche was the grinch that stole Strasmus, as he hit a homer, his 20th, off of the phenom. LaRoche has 12 runs, 6 home runs, 11 RBI, and a .407 batting average in the month of August.
- Chris Johnson stayed hot for the Astros, going 3-4 with a home run against the Pirates. The third baseman has 18 runs, 6 homers, 26 RBI, and an unbelievable .420 batting average since the All-Star break. I was at the game on Sunday and would have more to say about Johnson, but I was too focused on Brett Wallace and his walrus like features.
- Derrek Lee hit two homers off of Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse. The two solo-shots traveled a combined 838 feet and helped the Cubs to a 9-7 victory. Lee has 21 runs, 6 homers, 20 RBI, and a .313 batting average since the All-Star break.
- Ubaldo Jimenez took a no-decision, after he pitched 8 innings, allowed 3 earned runs, and struck out 10 Brewers batters. He was in line for the win, but Clint Barmes lost a Corey Hart pop-up, that would have been the final out, in the Sun and allowed 2 runs to score to tie the game. Jimenez remains 17-3 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 153 strikeouts.
- Troy Tulowitzki hit a walk-off single off of Trevor Hoffman to give the Rockies a 6-5 win. Earlier in the game, he hit a 457 ft absolute bomb off of starter Manny Parra. Tulowitzki is batting .415 with 3 homers and 12 RBI in the month of August.
- Wade LeBlanc held the Giants to 2 runs over 7 innings, in an 8-2 win for the Padres. LeBlanc struck out 7 and walked 2 in the win, his 7th. The unheralded lefty has a 3.46 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts on the season.
- Kyle Kendrick pitched 6.2 innings with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk, against the Mets on Sunday night. The win is Kendrick's 8th and the Phillies 2nd in a row, as they try to catch the Braves who are 2 games ahead in the standings in the NL East.
Save Chances:
- Rafael Soriano, converted (33). Pitched a clean 9th.
- Joakim Soria, converted (33). Pitched a clean 9th with 1 strikeout.
- Francisco Cordero, converted (32). Struck out 2, walked 1, and allowed 1 hit in a scoreless 9th.
- Matt Capps, converted (30). He allowed 1 hit in a scoreless 9th.
- Kevin Gregg, converted (27). Struck out the side in the 9th.
- Carlos Marmol, converted (21). Got 2 outs with a walk and a strikeout.
- Brad Lidge, converted (16). Pitched a clean 9th with 1 strikeout. August has been good to Lidge with 6 saves and 0 earned runs allowed.
- Drew Storen, converted (2). Pitched a clean 9th.
- Huston Street, blown (3). Clint Barmes is partly to blame for this one. Street came on and immediately got 2 outs, but then he loaded the bases on a hit, walk, and hit by pitch. Corey Hart hit a pop-fly, but Barmes couldn't handle it and two runs scored to tie the game.
Other Closer Outings:
- Chris Perez pitched a clean 9th with 2 strikeouts.
- Michael Wuertz had 1 walk, 1 hit, and 1 strikeout in a scoreless 8th.
- Neftali Feliz allowed 1 walk in a scoreless 9th.
Non-Closer Outings:
- Joaquin Benoit struck out 2 and walked 1, in a scoreless 8th.
- Phil Coke pitched a scoreless 9th with 1 walk.
- Chris Sale pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts.
- Jon Rauch allowed 2 earned runs and got 1 out.
- Jason Frasor walked 1 in a scoreless 8th.
- Brian Sanches struck out 2 in a scoreless 8th.
- Tyler Clippard pitched 2 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts.
- Sean Burnett struck out 2 in a scoreless 8th.
- Sean Marshall walked 1 and got 2 outs via strikeout.
- Zach Braddock pitched a clean 8th with 2 strikeouts.
- Rafael Betancourt got a strikeout to end the Huston Street/Clint Barmes mess in the 9th inning. He received a vulture win after Troy Tulowitzki hit a walk-off single.
- Joe Thatcher & Ernesto Frieri each pitched a clean inning against the Giants. These relief pitchers grow on trees for the Padres.
- Pedro Feliciano, Bobby Parnell, & Hisanori Takahashi (the Mets bullpen) combined to pitch 2 scoreless innings.
Tough Days: Dustin Johnson's House
- Tim Lincecum had another bad outing on Sunday. He allowed 5 earned runs in 3.2 innings against the Padres. He struck out 6, but walked 3 and gave up 8 hits. That's 11 earned runs in his last 7.2 innings . His ERA is up to 3.62, but before any of his owners go throwing themselves a pity party, realize that his 169 strikeouts are still 4th most in all of baseball.
- Vicente Padilla gave up 8 earned runs in 4.1 innings to the Braves. That's now 12 earned run in his last 9.1 innings with only 4 strikeouts.
- Kyle Lohse got torched in his return from the DL. He allowed 7 earned runs in only 3 innings against the Cubs. It's surprising that he's even back, considering he has surgery on his forearm earlier this season.
- Trevor Hoffman gave up a walk-off single to Troy Tulowitzki in the bottom of the 9th inning. The phrase "tough days" has pretty much defined his season. His ERA is up to 6.75 for those of you keeping track.
- Luis Valbuena went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. He's 5 for 33 (.152) since coming off the DL in late July.
- Brennan Boesch was 0-3 and is now batting .274. In the series against the White Sox he was 0-11 with 5 strikeouts. The Tigers got 16 hits on Sunday.
- Chris Carter went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts and is still hitless in 19 major league at-bats. He's struck out 9 times, but does have 1 walk.
- Peter Bourjos was 0-4 with 1 strikeout and is now batting .135. For what it's worth, he does play a mean center field.
- Michael Bourn struck out 3 times in an 0-4 effort. He's batting .248 and is losing at-bats against lefties, but he'll steal a base in a heart beat.
- Adrian Gonzalez was 0-4 with 4 strikeouts for the golden sombrero. It can happen to the best of them.
Lineup-ology/Injuries:
- Rich Harden was placed on the DL with right shoulder tendinitis by the Rangers. Brandon Boggs was recalled to take his spot on the roster.
- David Purcey was placed on the Dl with strained ligaments in his right foot. Jesse Carlson was recalled in corresponding move.
- Juan Francisco was optioned to the minors by the Reds. Someone had to leave to make room for Homer Bailey.
- Jordan Brown was optioned to the minors by the Cardinals. Kyle Lohse was activated, so Brown had to go.
- Daniel Schlereth was called up by the Tigers. Jeff Frazier was sent down in response.
- With Nelson Cruz dealing with a hamstring issue and Vladimir Guerrero struggling at the plate lately, the Rangers went with Josh Hamilton at DH and an outfield of David Murphy in left, Julio Borbon in center, and Mitch Moreland in right.
- The Red Sox had a make shift outfield of their own as they had Eric Patterson in left, Ryan Kalish in center, and Darnell McDonald in right. Bill Hall played second base for the heat stricken Jed Lowrie, but that should stop when Dustin Pedroia comes back on Tuesday. The musical chairs in the outfield however, may never stop.
Home Runs:
- Albert Pujols (30), Paul Konerko (29), Miguel Cabrera (27), Ryan Zimmerman (24), Adam LaRoche (20), Michael Young (19), Mike Napoli (19), Ian Stewart (17), Adam Lind (17), Derrek Lee (15 & 16), Josh Willingham (16), Troy Glaus (16), Andruw Jones (16), Jim Thome (16), Carl Crawford (13), Troy Tulowitzki (12), Jhonny Peralta (10 & 11), Travis Hafner (10), Jayson Nix (10), Buster Posey (9), Jose Reyes (8), Darnell McDonald (7), Chris Johnson (6), Jake Fox (6), Ryan Raburn (6), Miguel Cairo (4), Michael Brantley (3), Yorvit Torrealba (3), & Steve Hill (1).
Stolen Bases:
- Chris Young (25), Will Venable (21 & 22), Shane Victorino (22), Carlos Gonzalez (19), Austin Jackson (17), Hunter Pence (15), Ian Desmond (14), Jimmy Rollins (11 & 12), Julio Borbon (10), David Murphy (9), Willie Bloomquist (7), Alexi Casilla (4), Ryan Spilborghs (2), & Ryan Raburn (2).
Caught Stealing:
- Erick Aybar (8), Brett Gardner (7), Jose Reyes (6), Rickie Weeks (4), & Melvin Mora (1).