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Leading Off
What's happening in the world of Major League Baseball.
July 2008
Thursday July 31, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 6:24PM EST on July 31, 2008
Ahead of Thursday's deadline, blockbuster trades were popping up all over the Major League landscape. The biggest sent quixotic Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers in a 3-way deal that landed Pirate outfielder Jason Bay in Boston. Meanwhile, Cincinnati traded Ken Griffey Jr. (with 600+ career home runs) to the White Sox. Ramirez fits in the Dodgers' outfield in large part because former Braves' superstar Andruw Jones is batting an anemic .166.
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Monday July 28, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:57AM EST on July 28, 2008
Randy Johnson's scoreless inning streak reached 15 as he helped Arizona sweep San Francisco with a 7-2 win on Sunday. The Big Unit notched his 292nd victory by mixing pitches, including a super-slow "eephus" pitch to Giants' hitter Fred Lewis. Scattering nine hits over seven innings with zero walks, Johnson raised his record to 8-7. Arizona batters jumped on hard- luck Barry Zito for six runs in the 4th and 5th innings, led by Conor Jackson and Stephen Drew with three base hits each for the game.
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Monday July 21, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:10AM EST on July 21, 2008
The Los Angeles Angels captured their 5th straight win Sunday, completing a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. The Halos are now 22 games over .500 and top Oakland by nine full games. The team did it with solid pitching and timely hitting, including back to back homers by Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Striking out the side to close out the 9th inning, Francisco Rodriguez became the quickest pitcher to post 40 saves in big league history. He got the chance thanks to Casey Kotchman's two-run double that capped a three-run rally in the 8th.
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Friday July 18, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:26AM EST on July 18, 2008
There were many big stories in the season's first half, but July-October should be even more interesting. Will the upstart Rays really compete for the AL East crown? Have the Mets found their mojo? Will the Phillies hang on? Can the Tigers redeem themselves in the AL Central? What about the good play of the White Sox and Twins? Will it continue? Are the Angels unbeatable? Can the Brewers win the NL Central after the Sabathia trade? Will any team break .500 ball in the NL West? One way or the other, it's going to be fun finding the answers to these (and a lot more) baseball questions in the second half.
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Tuesday July 15, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:40AM EST on July 15, 2008
In a hitting barrage worthy of Babe Ruth, the Texas Rangers’Josh Hamilton blasted 28 homers in the first round last night at Yankee Stadium. Hamilton corked shot after shot, soaring drives into the New York night, many landing in the frenzied upper deck crowd. At one point, the former number one draft pick slammed 13 in a row. The catcher's open mitt waited, but no balls passed the plate for minutes at a time. However, Minnesota's Justin Morneau became the humble Home Run Derby king as he out-hit a tired Hamilton 5-3 in the final round.
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Monday July 14, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:38AM EST on July 14, 2008
Carlos Beltran helped power New York to a convincing 7-0 win over Colorado Sunday night, moving the Mets within a half game of the Philadelphia Phillies. On the mound, Mike Pelfrey hurled eight innings of shutout ball to complete a sweep of the staggering Rockies heading into the All-Star break.The Mets jumped on Colorado's journeyman starter  Mark Redman for five runs in the first three innings including Beltran's 3-run homer in the first. Carlos Delgado added a 2-run blast in the 5th to polish off the scoring.
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Friday July 11, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:25AM EST on July 11, 2008
Justin Morneau slugged Minnesota to victory Thursday, pounding out five hits including a game-winning homer in the top of the 11th. The win helped sweeten the bad taste of a recent Fenway Park sweep. The Twins rallied to tie in the 9th off Detroit closer Todd Jones who failed to convert a save for just the second time in 18 chances. The two teams combined for 28 hits and 12 walks in a wild slugfest at Comerica Park. .
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Thursday July 10, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 4:45PM EST on July 10, 2008
Josh Hamilton cranked a walk-off 9th inning homer off saves leader Francisco Rodriguez to lift the Rangers over the Angels 5-4 last night. The two-run blast to right field was his first walk-off home run ever, at any level. It also ended a recent drought, as Hamilton had not  gone deep since June 17. Los Angeles glided into the 9th with a 4-2 lead before the usually reliable Rodriguez stumbled. The win puts Texas at four games over .500 for the first time since 2006.
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Tuesday July 8, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:52AM EST on July 8, 2008
33-year-old rookie Hiroki Kuroda tossed a nifty one hitter Monday night, dazzling Braves batters and lifting  Los Angeles to a 3-0 shutout win over stumbling Atlanta. Kuroda glided into the 8th inning with a perfect game, retiring 21 hitters in a row before Mark Teixeira lined his 70th pitch into the right field corner for a double to start the inning. Kuroda signed with the Dodgers in December as a free agent after 11 seasons with Hiroshima of the Japanese Central League. For his part, Braves starter Jorge Campillo pitched seven strong innings, allowing just five hits and three earned runs in a tough loss.
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Monday July 7, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:48AM EST on July 7, 2008
Randy Johnson helped Arizona hold on to the NL West lead Sunday, striking out 10 San Diego batters on the way to a 3-2 win. His 289th victory put the lanky lefty in 24th place in major league history (and 5-7 for the season). The D'Backs put together just enough offense, paced by Justin Upton who had two hits including a massive 480+ homer into a second-deck restaurant patio. Leading 3-1, Arizona survived a Padres 9th inning rally against D'Backs' closer Brandon Lyon.   ... (more)
Tuesday July 1, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:25AM EST on July 1, 2008
Tampa Bay padded its AL East lead over Boston last night, hanging on to win 5-4 at Tropicana Field. James Shields scattered five hits over 6.1 innings to help the Rays claim baseball's best record at 50-32. After Tampa Bay glided into the 9th with a a 5-2 cushion, the Red Sox staged a rally, scoring two before falling one run short. B.J. Upton and Gabe Gross hit homers to lead Rays' scoring. Closer Troy Percival had to exit the game with a tweaked hamstring after giving up two runs, but J.P. Howell nailed down the victory by getting former Ray Julio Lugo to line out.   ... (more)