Baseball Today - April 11
Wed, Apr 11, 2007
By Associated Press
Seattle at Boston (7:05 p.m. EDT). Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his home debut for the Red Sox.
STARS
Tuesday
-Josh Beckett, Red Sox, struck out eight while giving up one run on two hits in seven innings for his second win of the year and Boston beat Seattle 14-3.
-Jeff Francoeur, Braves, homered and had five RBIs in Atlanta's 8-0 win over Washington.
-Kenny Lofton, Rangers, went 3-for-3 with a homer, three runs scored and three RBIs in Texas' 12-9 win over Tampa Bay.
ALEX THE GREAT
Alex Rodriguez hit his sixth home run of the year in the Yankees' 10-1 win over Minnesota on Tuesday night. With it, Rodriguez became the ninth major leaguer, and first Yankee, to hit six homers in his first seven games of the season. Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt, who hit seven homers in the first seven games of the 1976 season, is the only player to hit more in that span.
NAT SO GOOD
Washington lost to Atlanta 8-0 on Tuesday night. The Nationals have lost five straight. Washington (1-7) has been outscored 53-18, falling behind by at least 3-0 in every game. The Nationals haven't scored in the first three innings of any game and never led at the time of any pitch - their only win came on a ninth-inning single by Dmitri Young against Florida on April 4.
SIGNED
Chris Young has impressed the San Diego Padres enough to earn a $14.5 million, four-year contract Tuesday that would be worth $23 million if the team exercises a 2011 option. The new deal was announced about 12 hours after Young gave up four hits in seven innings to beat Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants 1-0 at Petco Park.
NOT PEACHY FOR ICHIRO
Josh Beckett became only the second pitcher to strike out Ichiro Suzuki three times in one game in Boston's 14-3 win over Seattle on Tuesday. Tim Hudson, then with the Oakland Athletics, was the first to accomplish the feat, doing so on Sept. 19, 2003. ''It's hard to see Ichiro fan once. He's human. He's awfully good, but he's human,'' said Mariners Manager Mike Hargrove.
SURGERY
Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez had shoulder surgery Tuesday and is expected to begin his rehabilitation within two months. Sanchez had a screw inserted in a small bone in front of his right shoulder to repair a hairline fracture. He will need six-to-eight weeks to recover from the surgery and then will begin his rehabilitation. The right-hander, who hasn't pitched for New York since separating the same shoulder in a taxi accident last July, went 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA before the injury as the team's primary setup man for closer Billy Wagner.
STREAKING
Arizona beat Cincinnati 5-4 in 11 innings on Tuesday night. The Diamondbacks have now won six straight games.
SNAPPED
San Francisco beat San Diego 6-5 on Tuesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
SPEAKING
''I was telling our general manager today, the way we're put together as a team, if we play in 40-degree (weather) all year, I don't think we're going to do very well because we don't have that type of team. We have more power in our lineup. We need to bang it a little more, and once the weather warms up, we will.'' - Cubs Manager Lou Piniella. After Chicago's 4-2 loss to Houston Tuesday night, Piniella clarified his comment, saying the Cubs are more a fly-ball team than a small-ball group but still should be able to win cold-weather games.
Dodgers place OF Matt Kemp on DL
Tue, Apr 10, 2007
By Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers placed outfielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of an injured right shoulder, and recalled reliever Chin-hui Taso from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Kemp was injured in the fourth inning of a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Monday when he banged into the auxiliary scoreboard in right field trying to catch Jeff Baker's RBI triple.
''It's a grade one separation,'' manager Grady Little said Tuesday night before the game against the Rockies. ''It's going to be between seven days and two weeks. It's the right thing for us to do right now. A lot can be told the day after something like that happens.''
Kemp and the Dodgers thought after Monday's game he wouldn't be out more than a few days. X-rays taken Tuesday morning revealed the magnitude of the injury.
''It's my throwing arm - I have to take it easy,'' said Kemp, who has six hits in 14 at-bats with no homers and three RBIs. ''It could have been worse.''
Tsao, a right-hander, appeared in two games for Las Vegas, allowing one earned run in two innings and striking out four.
Jason Schmidt, who came out of Monday's game in the fifth with tightness in his right hamstring, said he felt fine and would take his regular turn Sunday night against San Diego.
''It's a little stiff - nothing abnormal,'' he said. ''I've just got to drink more water. It's not rocket science.''
Schmidt said the problem was a cramp because of dehydration, and not a hamstring pull.
Astros-Cubs snowed out
MLB.com
The Cubs and Houston Astros game Wednesday was postponed because of snow, and will be made up on July 12.
The field was covered in snow by 9:30 a.m. CT, and the forecast for the Chicago area called for more snow, turning to rain.
The Cubs have lost three in a row, and were to play host to the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, starting Friday. The Cubs and Astros are next scheduled to play in Chicago from July 13-15, which is after the All-Star break. Both teams have July 12 off.
The last Cubs home game postponed by snow was April 7, 2003, which was Dusty Baker's debut at Wrigley Field and that season's home opener against Montreal. That was the first Cubs game called because of snow since April 16, 2001, when the team was to play host to Philadelphia.
White Sox RF Jermaine Dye (undisclosed) is questionable
Cardinals Scott Rolen (back) is questionable.
Indians C Victor Martinez (quadricep) is out
Marlins SS Henley Ramirez (hamstring) is questionable.
Cirillo has surgery
April 11th, 2007
Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Minnesota Twins infielder Jeff Cirillo had arthroscopic surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his left knee.
Cirillo was placed on the disabled list April 10, retroactive to April 8. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.
The 37-year-old played in just the team's Opening Day game versus Baltimore. He received a cortisone shot in the knee last Tuesday and seemed to be making progress in his return to the field, but while running sprints on Sunday, he felt the same twinge he had before.
Cirillo said he suffered the tear about a year and a half ago, just prior to Spring Training with Milwaukee. He played the entire 2006 season without the injury flaring up.
The USC product batted .319 with three homers and 23 RBI in 112 games for the Brewers last season. For his career Cirillo has produced a .298 average with 110 homers and 700 RBI in 13 seasons with the Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.