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Leading Off
What's happening in the world of Major League Baseball.
June 2007
Wednesday June 27, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:48AM EST on June 27, 2007
Chicago won its fifth in a row last night over Colorado, 8-5 before a cheering Wrigley Field crowd. Cliff Floyd led the way with a homer in the 1st inning, and Koyie Hill added a two-run double in the Cubs' four-run 4th. The Rockies rallied, scoring single runs in the 6th and 9th, but Chicago's often shaky bullpen held on for the win. Starter Ted Lilly let Colorado within one run in the 4th but lasted through six and claimed the victory. With the win, the Cubs kept pace with the Brewers who pummeled the Astros, 11-5.
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Tuesday June 26, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 12:00PM EST on June 26, 2007
Brian McCann drove in all four runs for Atlanta as the slumping Braves topped Washington last night, 4-1. Mired in a career-worst 0-for-16 streak, McCann delivered a run scoring single in the 4th and a three-run homer in the 6th to help Atlanta snap a 5-game losing skid. Starter Tim Hudson had a strong outing, scattering seven hits, striking out nine and giving up zero walks and one run in seven innings. Even with the win, the Braves' feeble offense was outhit by the Nationals 9-7. But as the saying goes, a win is a win is a win.
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Monday June 25, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:11AM EST on June 25, 2007
The Cubs trip to the south side of Chicago turned up three wins out of three, including Sunday's blanking of the White Sox. Led by star left fielder Alfonso Soriano, who homered in all three games, the Cubbies dominated the Pale Hose on offense and defense. Starter Sean Marshall kept the Cubs in the game with 6.1 scoreless frames. On the other hand, Sox' ace Jose Contreras was touched for 10 hits and a pair of earned runs. That was all the Cubs needed as closer Bob Howry nailed down the save.
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Friday June 22, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:32AM EST on June 22, 2007
Atlanta and Detroit kick off a compelling interleague series tonight at Turner Field, pitting a pair of veteran pitchers. Last year's AL championship star Kenny Rogers will make his first start of '07 after being sidelined since spring with a blood clot in his shoulder. He'll face Atlanta's John Smoltz who has pitched well all season but has shoulder issues of his own. Rogers benefits from a potent Tiger attack, while Smoltz will have to hope Braves' hitters can scrap for a few runs. Atlanta was toally shut down in its last two games with Boston. Meanwhile, Detroit scored 32 runs in a three-game sweep at Washington, improving to 5-1 on their nine-game road trip.
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Thursday June 21, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:45AM EST on June 21, 2007
Sammy Sosa belted his 600th home run last night, becoming just the fifth man in history to accomplish the feat. In Hollywood-like drama, the homer came against his team of more than a decade, the Chicago Cubs. No. 600 came courtesy of Jason Marquis, the 364th pitcher Sosa has homered off in his 18 major league seasons. Though it was a solo shot, Sosa is among the AL leaders in RBI with 52. The landmark homer helped the Texas Rangers grab a much-needed win, 7-3.
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Wednesday June 20, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:00AM EST on June 20, 2007
Dontrelle Willis left the game after one inning with stiffness in his forearm, but the Marlins rallied late to defeat the White Sox in Chicago. Willis, trying to pitch through the injury, gave up four earned runs before being persuaded to call it quits. His condition will be re-evaluated today. Florida's Dan Uggla broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the 9th with a broken-bat homer off hard-throwing Matt Thornton. In the bottom half, Kevin Gregg nailed down the save. Uggla's home run brought out the boo birds at U.S. Cellular Field. Fans are restless, as Chicago has lost 18 of 23, playing poorly for the most part.
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Tuesday June 19, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 12:09PM EST on June 19, 2007
Led by slumping catcher Brian McCann, Atlanta beat up on Boston and starter Curt Schilling last night 9-4. McCann, mired in a 3-for-22 road slump, homered and drove in four runs to keep the Braves within 1.5 games of the NL East leading Mets. Schilling creaked into the 5th inning but gave up back to back singles by Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones, bringing up McCann who drove a 2-1 pitch over the center field wall. Atlanta lefty Chuck James got the win, giving up five hits and two runs in 5.1 innings. Turner Field hosted thousands of Red Sox fans for the game, but they were quieted when pitcher James hit a run-scoring single in the 4th, then fell silent in the next inning after McCann's 3-run blast.
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Monday June 18, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:07AM EST on June 18, 2007
Powered by five home runs, San Diego pounded Cubs pitching Sunday at Wrigley Field. The Padres were led by Mike Cameron who went deep in his first two at-bats. Greg Maddux won his 339th game by scattering seven hits and allowing just three earned runs. Chicago's Rich Hill was rocked for five runs in the first three innings, and that was all Maddux needed for the win. Adrian Gonzalez paced the Padres, going 4-for-5 and scoring four times.
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Friday June 15, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:41AM EST on June 15, 2007
The Yankees won their ninth in a row, breezing to a 7-1 victory over the Diamondbacks last night in front of a cheering Bronx crowd. Andy Pettitte tossed a 4-hitter over eight innings, allowing just one earned run. Aiding New York's cause, Arizona committed three errors and displayed comatose bats. On the other hand, the Yanks' Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez had three hits each and captain Derek Jeter had two. Interleague play hits a fever pitch tonight as the crosstown Mets come to call in a three-game Subway Series.
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Thursday June 14, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 5:08PM EST on June 14, 2007
Los Angeles closed within .5 game of San Diego with a convincing home win over the slumping New York Mets last night, 9-1. Starter Brad Penny pitched seven strong innings, scattering seven hits, walking none and striking out seven. At the plate, Wilson Betemit had a homer and an RBI single for the Dodgers and Rafael Furcal had two triples with an RBI. The loss made sure the sloppy-playing Mets would lose their fourth series in a row, this one an LA sweep.
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Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 1:07PM EST on June 14, 2007
Aaron Rowand was supposed to have the day off and didn't come in till the 6th inning. But he ended up hitting a grand slam and driving in five runs. The interleague day game saw Philadelphia gain a home sweep of Chicago with the 8-4 victory. Kyle Kendrick pitched six effective innings in his major league debut, Wes Helms broke a season-long homerless drought with a solo shot and the Phillies won for the seventh time in nine games to move a season-best four games above .500 at 35-31.
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Tuesday June 12, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:37AM EST on June 12, 2007
Before the game Barry Bonds told starting pitcher Matt Morris he would hit a homer for him, and he kept his word. The 438-foot blast tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the 4th, then the Giants moved ahead for good on a sacrifice by Omar Vizquel. For his part, Matt Morris tossed a seven-hit complete game at the visiting Blue Jays, and San Francisco reversed a three-game losing streak. Bonds' 13th homer was only his second in over a month, but places him within eight of Henry Aaron's historic 755.
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Monday June 11, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:18AM EST on June 11, 2007

Randy Johnson did his best to help the D'Backs avoid a sweep at home Sunday night, outpitching Daisuke Matsuzaka in leading Arizona to a 5-1 win over Boston. In rolicking fashion, a big crowd came out to root for both teams. Johnson won his 4th straight with a six-inning, 4-hit, one-run effort. The Diamondbacks excellent bullpen hurled two-hit ball for the last three innings. At the plate, Arizona's Carlos Quentin doubled home the eventual winning run in the sixth inning, and Eric Byrnes had three hits as the team moved within an eyelash of first-place San Diego in the NL West.

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Sunday June 10, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:19AM EST on June 10, 2007
Atlanta's offense woke up and clubbed Chicago for nine runs to end a four-game losing streak at home. Andruw Jones hit a two-run blast over the center field fence in the 1st and made a magical, tumbling catch in the 7th. Shortstop Edgar Renteria backed the Braves' cause with a homer and 4 RBIs. Starter Tim Hudson got smacked in the shin by Jacque Jones' sharp grounder in the 3rd and had to leave the game. In his stead, reliever Peter Moylan pitched three scoreless frames. For the Cubs, starter Jason Marquis, a former Brave, couldn't make it out of the 2nd inning as the Braves erupted for six runs.
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Friday June 8, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:53AM EST on June 8, 2007
Curt Schilling pitched a masterpiece, coming within one out of his first-ever no-hitter as Boston beat Oakland 1-0 on the road. The win ended a 4-game losing streak begun Sunday night with a loss to the Yankees at Fenway. David Ortiz supplied all the offense Boston needed with a first-inning solo homer. Ironically, with two outs in the bottom of the 9th and Oakland's Shannon Stewart up to bat, Schilling shook off the sign given by catcher Jason Varitek. Stewart lined the first pitch into right field. Afterward, classy Oakland fans applauded Schilling's effort.
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Thursday June 7, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 12:28PM EST on June 7, 2007
After a slower than slow start to the season, Gary Sheffield is in the zone and the Tigers are benefiting. Last night he hit his 14th and 15th homers, leading Detroit to victory behind Justin Verlander on the hill. Verlander threw seven strong innings to blank the Rangers and bounce back from his very poor previous start. Texas now has the worst record in the majors at 21-38. Rangers' ace Kevin Millwood had a miserable start, allowing seven runs in just 3.2 innings. Along with Sheff, Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez hit homers in the fifth to give Detroit a 9-0 lead.
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Wednesday June 6, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:24AM EST on June 6, 2007
San Diego regained first place in the NL West last night behind a classic pitching duel and a 1-0 final score. Jason Schmidt and Chris Young dueled through six innings, giving up just four hits between them. The Dodgers ' Rudy Seanez allowed Marcus Giles to single in the lone tally of the game in the bottom of the 8th. His was one of two hits for the Padres all night, but the one run held up. Trevor Hoffman earned his 499th save, a major league record. Sidelined since mid-April with bursitis in his right shoulder, LA starter Schmidt held the Padres to one hit in six scoreless innings and retired 13 of his last 14 batters. ... (more)
Tuesday June 5, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 12:13PM EST on June 5, 2007
A tired Boston team rallied to tie Oakland, but ultimately succumbed in 11 innings 5-4. The final blow was a two-out homer by Eric Chavez, a shot that helped him become a hero after teammate Mark Ellis became the sixth A's player ever to hit for the cycle. Oakland ace Dan Haren dazzled the road-weary Sox who arrived in the Bay Area at dawn after a late-night game against the Yankees in Boston. Haren tossed a 4-hitter, but his 4-2 lead vanished in Boston's 9th when Jason Varitek and Wily Mo Pena hit run-scoring singles against Alan Embree.
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Monday June 4, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 1:07PM EST on June 4, 2007