Baseball Today April 16
Mon, Apr 16, 2007
By Associated Press
Kansas City at Detroit (7:05 p.m. EDT).
Justin Verlander hasn't allowed an earned run in 13 innings for the Tigers.
Sunday
STARS
-Marco Scutaro, Athletics, hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, sending Oakland to a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees.
-Albert Pujols, Cardinals, hit two home runs and had five RBIs, helping St. Louis beat Milwaukee 10-2.
-Dioner Navarro, Devil Rays, hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay beat Minnesota 6-4.
-Kyle Lohse, Reds, struck out a career-high 12 batters in eight innings to lead Cincinnati to a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
-C.C. Sabathia, Indians, struck out 10 and allowed five hits over eight innings in a 2-1 win over the White Sox.
-Jose Vidro, Mariners, homered twice and drove in four runs in a 14-6 win over the Rangers.
JACKIE'S DAY
Jackie Robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the sport celebrated the 60th anniversary of his debut throughout the country Sunday, when more than 200 players, managers and coaches wore his number.
WASHED OUT
A nor'easter pounded much of the East Coast, wiping out six baseball games and postponing the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut in five cities on Sunday. It was the most postponements in one day in the Major Leagues since April 12, 1997, when eight games were postponed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
BOOM
Marco Scutaro hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, sending the A's to a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday. Scutaro drove an 0-2 pitch from Rivera off the screen just inside the left-field foul pole for the second game-ending homer of his career.
BREAKING OUT
Albert Pujols broke out of an April drought with two home runs and five RBIs, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-2 on Sunday. Pujols, who hit a major league-record 14 homers last April, has three this month. He entered the game batting .158 with two RBIs and 17 career multihomer games.
STREAKS
Tampa Bay's Delmon Young extended his AL-leading hitting streak to 12 games with a two-run homer in the sixth inning of a 6-4 win over the Twins on Sunday.
SPEAKING
''It's kind of disappointing a little bit because we wanted to be on the field. This is a special day for baseball and for Jackie Robinson and Jackie Robinson's family because he did a lot for this game.'' - Mets shortstop Jose Reyes on major league baseball's celebration of the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut on Sunday. Storms wiped out games in five cities, including a doubleheader in Pittsburgh.
Yankees starters Mussina, Pavano go on disabled list
Sun, Apr 15, 2007
By Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano joined fellow Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang on the disabled list Sunday, further depleting the New York Yankees' already taxed pitching staff.
''Nobody wants that,'' Mussina said after cutting short his throwing session because of pain in his injured left hamstring. ''We don't have a choice. You just find a way to get through it and deal with it. It's unfortunate. ... Nobody's having surgery. A couple of muscle pulls, a strain, we'll be fine.''
After a pair of extra-inning games Friday and Saturday against the Oakland Athletics, the Yankees called up right-hander Chris Britton from Triple-A Scranton to give them a fresh arm in the bullpen for Sunday's series finale against the reigning AL West champion Athletics.
New York manager Joe Torre said the club was discussing a couple of possibilities to take Pavano's turn in the rotation Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. Left-hander Chase Wright was thought to be the leading candidate to be called up from the minors. Oddsmakers have not set a line for this matchup.
''It's OK,'' Torre said. ''We're above water. That's the main thing. We're holding our own. We're going to get healthy. It's not anything that's going to debilitate anybody for a long time. We have to hang around.''
Pavano was scratched Friday from his scheduled start Saturday with tightness in his forearm, while Mussina has a strained hamstring that he injured three batters into the third inning Wednesday in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Mussina tried to throw off the mound Sunday morning but stopped after only seven pitches. Pavano didn't throw his scheduled bullpen.
Mussina was able to do some light running and play catch.
''I can do everything else, it's just getting down the hill trying to stop myself,'' he said. ''It was wearing down. It hasn't been four days yet. I'm not disappointed.''
Pavano felt the problem in his pitching arm during his start Monday night and informed the Yankees afterward. He threw seven innings in an 8-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday, giving up six hits and two runs for his first victory since May 22, 2005.
He knows pushing it now might make things worse.
''It's not something that's going to get any better going out there and trying to be a hero,'' Pavano said. ''To take a step back like this is disappointing. It's the right thing to do.''
The 38-year-old Mussina, who won 15 games last year for his most victories since getting 17 in 2003, isn't sure whether he will need a rehab start before rejoining the rotation.
''We'll worry about that when the time comes,'' said Mussina, who will be able to throw on flat ground during his DL stint.
Rockies shelve Matsui
April 15th, 2007
Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Colorado infielder Kaz Matsui was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday due to back spasms.
Matsui started at second base Saturday night and went 2-for-3 before leaving the contest in the fifth inning due to the back problem.
Acquired in a trade from the Mets last June, Matsui was off to a big start offensively with a .361 average in nine games this year.
The Rockies replaced Matsui's roster spot by calling up infielder Clint Barmes from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Blue Jays' Johnson to have surgery
April 16th, 2007
Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Reed Johnson will undergo surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back, the team announced on Monday.
The surgery will be performed on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Florida by spine specialist, Dr. Thomas Tolli. It is speculated that Johnson will return to the club sometime in July.
The 30-year-old had been placed on the 15-day disabled list last Friday.
He has appeared in seven games this season, batting .265 with one home run and seven RBI.