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Leading Off
What's happening in the world of Major League Baseball.
August 2007
Friday August 31, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 9:19AM EST on August 31, 2007
In a wild see-saw contest, Philadelphia clipped New York 11-10 to cash in a 4-game home sweep and land just two games back in the NL East. The Phillies blew leads of 5-0 and 8-5, then rallied back against Mets' closer Billy Wagner. Called on for a six-out save, Wagner gave up a solo homer to Pat Burrell in the 8th. That made it a 1-run game. In the bottom of 9, things unraveled. A leadoff single, stolen bases and a pinch-hit single tied the score at 10. Then, after Jimmy Rollins was intentionally walked, Chase Utley sealed the Mets' fate with an RBI winning single off Wagner.
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Thursday August 30, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:02AM EST on August 30, 2007
Pitching legend Greg Maddux lifted his team to a 3-1 home victory last night, vaulting San Diego back atop the NL West. Red-hot Arizona hitters got eight hits off Maddux but only one run as the 41-year old notched his 38th inning in a row without walking a batter. The Padres' offense broke a 1-1 tie in the 8th when Brian Giles, who homered in the third, scored the go-ahead run on Mike Cameron's double. Arizona starter Micah Owings also pitched well, but like Maddux didn't register in the won-lost column. For San Diego, Kevin Cameron pitched a perfect 8th to earn the win.  
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Wednesday August 29, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:06AM EST on August 29, 2007
Johnny Damon slapped the go-ahead homer off a hittable Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 7th to boost New York over Boston Tuesday 5-3. Veteran lefty Andy Pettitte came to the Yankees rescue once again, scattering six hits over seven innings to secure the victory. Pettitte is 8-1 since the All-Star break. In a losing cause, Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek homered for the Red Sox, who had won four straight. Tonight Roger Clemens will pitch against his former team, facing 16-game winner Josh Beckett. It should be another exciting game in this, baseball's most historic rivalry.
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Tuesday August 28, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:35AM EST on August 28, 2007
Tonight's matchup at Yankee Stadium has all the drama a baseball fan could want. Dice-K takes the hill for Boston against New York's stalwart ace Andy Pettitte and both teams hope to make the highly publicized 3-game series decisive. The Red Sox now sport the best record in baseball and hold an 8-game lead in the AL East. The Yankees have gone cold in the past week after slicing Boston's lead to just four games on August 19. Plus, the Bronx Bombers have to shake off last night's 16-0 drubbing by Detroit. Can New York bounce back and get back in the race? Never say never.
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Monday August 27, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:47AM EST on August 27, 2007
Tonight the Detroit Tigers go for their first series win since mid-July against the New York Yankees. Sunday Comerica Park hosted an exciting Yankee-Tiger game, with the home team playing great defense to pull out a 5-4 win. Detroit hitters jumped on Yankee starter Phil Hughes for three homers and five earned runs. For the Tigers, Joel Zumaya made his third appearance after being on the DL for three months. He pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out A-Rod in the process. Afterward, Todd Jones nailed down the save. 
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Thursday August 23, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:10AM EST on August 23, 2007
In a final score perfectly matching a football game, the Rangers laid a whompin' on the Orioles yesterday, 30-3. Having a poor year statistically, Texas is the first team to post 30 runs in over a century. The amazing outburst in the first game of a doubleheader continued in the second as Texas scored another nine to set the all-time mark for total runs in a twin bill at 39. Six Rangers had 3 hits or more including newly acquired Jarrod Saltalamacchia who homered twice.
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Wednesday August 22, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 9:57AM EST on August 22, 2007
Garret Anderson knocked in 10 to set a club record and the Angels of Anaheim clobbered the Yankees 18-9 last night. Anderson had a grand slam, a 3-run homer and two run-scoring doubles. For his amazing feat, he got the first curtain call of his career. New York starter Mike Mussina was abused early and often, giving up seven runs in less than two innings. The Yanks' bullpen did no better, as every one of the Angels' 18 runs was earned. Kelvim Escobar got the win though L.A.'s staff served up plenty of runs too. A-Rod hit is 41st and 42nd homers, both with the bases empty.
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Tuesday August 21, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:56AM EST on August 21, 2007
The team from Anaheim claimed a key victory last night to set a best home record in the majors of 41-17. An exciting extra innings contest found New York on the short end, sliding to 5 games back of Boston. The Angels are also in a tight pennant race with Seattle, the W giving them a slim 2 game lead. New York played tough, led by A-Rod and Jorge Posada who both hit 2-run homers to keep the Yanks in the game. But rookie Ryan Budde doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th to give L.A. its eighth walkoff win of the season.
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Monday August 20, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:11AM EST on August 20, 2007
Johan Santana set a franchise record by striking out 17 Rangers Sunday and he and the Twins notched a victory, 1-0. Amazingly, catcher Mike Redmond said Minnesota's ace hurler did not shake him off one time. The only Texas player to get a hit was Sammy Sosa who singled and doubled. Michael Cuddyer homered in the 2nd inning for the game's only run off hard-luck Ranger Kevin Millwood who tossed a 4-hitter in a losing effort. Joe Nathan nailed down Santana's historic 2-hit gem by pitching a scoreless 9th inning.  
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Saturday August 18, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:49AM EST on August 18, 2007
New York won a home field classic last night combining sharp pitching with plentiful power to tame the Tigers 6-1. Newly back Jason Giambi pounded two homers while ace Andy Pettitte hurled a 5-hit gem over eight innings. Detroit's lefty Nate Robertson took abuse from Yankee bats, 10 hits and 5 earned runs over six innings. Joining the hit parade, Bobby Abreu and Andy Phillips went 3-for-4 while A-Rod added a run-scoring double. The loss dropped Detroit a half game out of first in the hard-fought AL Central.
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Friday August 17, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:05AM EST on August 17, 2007
Pittsburgh rallied down 5-0 and 7-3 last night to avoid a sweep at home versus New York. Jason Bay had three run-scoring singles and Adam LaRoche cracked a two-run homer to help put away the NL East leader, 10-7. Two key Mets errors in the bottom of the 8th kept the Pirates alive letting them break the tie and score two insurance runs. Pittsburgh's rally came after their starter Tony Armas gave up six hits and five earned runs in the first three innings. Afterward, Pirates hitters got busy, battering Mets' pitchers for 13 hits. But it was New York's defense that ultimately lost the game.
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Thursday August 16, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:53AM EST on August 16, 2007
Arizona put together a 15-hit attack yesterday to get past the Florida Marlins 9-6. In a game you might say was the opposite of a pitcher's duel, hot bats ruled as the teams combined for 26 hits on a warm Miami night. Marlins' starting pitcher Sergio Mitre gave up 10 hits and five earned runs in six innings of work. For Arizona, Eric Byrnes, Mark Reynolds and Orlando Hudson had three hits apiece and Chris Snyder added a decisive two-run homer. Florida touched up D'Backs starter Doug Davis for seven hits and four runs, but the big lefty still notched his 5th straight win.
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Wednesday August 15, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:31AM EST on August 15, 2007
A sellout Yankee crowd observing the passing of Phil Rizzuto endured a blowout last night by Baltimore. Daniel Cabrera tossed a two hitter and his offense pounded New York pitching to the tune of 13 hits and 12 runs. O's bats hit Yankee starter Jeff Karstens early and often, including a grand slam by Aubrey Huff. 1st baseman Kevin Millar had a 3-for-3 night and scored five times. Cabrera, standing 6-7 and weighing over 250, throws hard and can be intimidating on the mound. At least for one night, he kept the hot Yankee bats in check.
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Tuesday August 14, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:05AM EST on August 14, 2007
Where would Houston be without Roy Oswalt? The reliable right hander delivered again last night with an eight inning one run effort on the road against the Dodgers. The win was Oswalt's 5th in a row (13-6 overall) and gave the Astros a rare victory away from home against the NL West. Jason Lane helped his pitcher's cause with a 2-run homer and Luke Scott had an RBI single in Houston's 3-run fifth inning. On the Dodger's side, Juan Pierre was the only player with any success against Oswalt, going 3-for-4.  ... (more)
Monday August 13, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:14AM EST on August 13, 2007
Slow starting Jeff Weaver posted his second shutout of the season to lead the Mariners past the White Sox 6-0 Sunday. Jose Guillen and Richie Sexson went deep for the Mariners, who have won 11 of their last 15 games. On a positive note for home crowd, reliever Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for Chicago, tying the major league record of retiring 41 straight batters. With temps in the 90s, Seattle players voted to wear their lightweight BP jerseys, a cool, casual move, if a bit unusual.
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Saturday August 11, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 10:47AM EST on August 11, 2007
Detroit lost its third game in a row and 18th since the All-Star break last night. The Tigers' struggling bullpen gave up eight runs after the club clawed back to a 9-8 lead. It was bombs away at Comerica Park as Oakland and Detroit combined for 26 runs on hard-hit singles, doubles, triples and homers. Leading the stats, the A's Travis Buck had four hits and three RBI's and Detroit's Marcus Thames had a grand slam. But pitching is Detroit's biggest problem right now as starter Jordan Tata allowed seven earned runs in less than three innings of work. Then the pen gave up nine more.
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Friday August 10, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:32AM EST on August 10, 2007
The Braves' left fielder made a dramatic over the fence grab of Carlos Delgado's certain home run to preserve Atlanta's 7-6 win over New York at sunny Shea Stadium. Chipper Jones also made a major contribution with a gargantuan 3-run homer in the 5th. No wonder Mets' fans hate him. Without his best stuff, Tim Hudson kept the Braves in the game, allowing three earned runs in six complete innings. The victory keeps Atlanta within 3.5 games of New York. But now the team travels to face the Phils and the always tough crowd in Philadelphia. ... (more)
Thursday August 9, 2007
Permalink Posted by: Skeet at 11:34AM EST on August 9, 2007
The Phillies kept pace in the NL East, derailing the D-Train-led Marlins 6-4 on a sweaty night in Philadelphia. Dontrelle Willis failed to win for the 13th game in a row though he smacked a 2-run homer early-on. Back on the mound, Willis gave up nine hits and five runs in just over five innings. Jimmy Rollins and Aaron Rowand led the Phils attack with two hits and two RBIs each. Notching his 8th season save, Brett Myers protected the 6-4 lead by striking out the side in the top of the 9th.
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Wednesday August 8, 2007
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