Baseball Today - April 7
Fri, Apr 6, 2007
By Associated Press
SCOREBOARD
Saturday, April 7
Detroit at Kansas City (2:10 p.m. EDT).
Mike Maroth makes his first start for the Tigers since going on the disabled list last May.
STARS
Thursday
- Mike Piazza, Athletics, hit a homer with two outs in the ninth inning to lift Oakland to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
- Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox, struck out 10 and allowed one run and six hits in seven innings in his major league debut, a 4-1 victory over Kansas City.
- Scott Hatteberg, Reds, hit a two-run homer in Cincinnati's 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
DICE-K'S DEBUT
Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out 10 in seven innings in his major league debut Thursday, leading Boston over Kansas City 4-1. Matsuzaka allowed six hits, including a sixth-inning homer by David DeJesus, and walked one. His fastball clocked at 95 mph and he retired 10 batters in a row during one stretch starting with the final out of the first inning.
PIAZZA DELIVERS
Mike Piazza hit his first home run as a full-time designated hitter, connecting against Francisco Rodriguez with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Oakland Athletics over the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Thursday night.
BULLPEN BLUES
A.J. Pierzynski was hit by a pitch from Roberto Hernandez with the bases loaded in the ninth inning Thursday, sending the Chicago White Sox to a 4-3 victory over Cleveland. ... Two walks, a wild pitch and a passed ball allowed Cincinnati to make a comeback and beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Bob Howry gave up Jeff Conine's pinch-single that tied the game with two outs in the seventh, then walked Ryan Freel to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Will Ohman followed with a wild pitch, a walk to Adam Dunn and a full-count slider that deflected off the end of catcher Michael Barrett's mitt, allowing Conine to score from third.
FAST START
Elijah Dukes hit his second homer in two major league games and Tampa Bay took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Yankees in a 7-6 win on Thursday night. Dukes also homered in his first big league at-bat on Monday.
SPEAKING
''Against the Giants, you're always thinking about Barry. You have to continue to see how he's swinging, how he looks. He's always there lurking.'' - Padres manager Bud Black on Barry Bonds. Bonds had an RBI double and scored a run in the Giants' 5-3 victory over the Padres on Thursday night.
Indians' Martinez hurts leg
Fri, Apr 6, 2007
By Associated Press
CLEVELAND -- Indians catcher Victor Martinez injured his left leg while running to first base in the third inning of Cleveland's frosty home opener on Friday against the Seattle Mariners.
Martinez hit a grounder to third baseman Adrian Beltre, who misplayed the bouncer for an error. Martinez didn't see Beltre's bobble as he hustled down to first, but he came up limping just as he approached the bag.
Martinez spent several minutes kneeling in the outfield grass before walking gingerly off the field. He was replaced by pinch-runner Kelly Shoppach, who took over behind the plate in the top of the fourth.
The Indians did not have immediate word on Martinez's condition.
Cold weather - gametime temperature was 31 degrees with a wind chill of 20 - could have contributed to Martinez getting hurt. Last season, the 28-year-old batted .316 with 16 homers and 93 RBIs.
Doubleheader postponed in Cleveland
04/07/2007
MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- Burned once by the snow, the Indians and Mariners aren't going to press their luck again Saturday.
Both games of a hastily scheduled day-night doubleheader at Jacobs Field have been snowed-out, the club announced Saturday morning. A traditional doubleheader will be played in its place Sunday, beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET. Gates will open at noon.
Even if Sunday's doubleheader goes off as planned, the Indians and Mariners will still have to squeeze in another makeup game sometime this season. This is Seattle's only scheduled visit to Cleveland this year, so the teams will likely have to eat up an off day to get the game in.
Friday's home opener was delayed four times because of the snow, with the final delay coming two outs into the top of the fifth inning. The Indians were ahead, 4-0, and the game was one strike away from becoming official when Mariners manager Mike Hargrove pleaded with the umpires to have it stopped.
Pitching matchups for Sunday's action have not yet been announced by either club.
Giants LF Barry Bonds (rest) will not start today, but will be available to pinch-hit.
Yankees Johnny Damon is not in the probable starting lineup.
Giants LF Barry Bonds (rest) will not start today, but will be available to pinch-hit.
The season just started and he already needs rest ???
Lifes a bitch without his " ROIDS " 😀