Baseball Today - May 9
Wed, May 9, 2007
By Associated Press
San Diego at Atlanta (7:35 p.m. EDT) Longtime teammates Greg Maddux and John Smoltz square off. Oddsmakers list the Braves as a -147 home favorite. The total is set at 8.
STARS Tuesday
-Justin Morneau, Twins, homered twice, including a winning three-run shot in the 10th to lead Minnesota to a 7-4 victory over Chicago.
-Josh Beckett, Red Sox, allowed one run on five hits in seven innings to improve to 7-0 on the season and Boston beat Toronto 9-2.
-Omar Infante, Tigers, drove in a career-high four runs and Detroit defeated Seattle 9-7.
-Miguel Cabrera, Marlins, had a game-winning RBI single to lead Florida past Los Angeles 6-5.
-Cliff Lee, Indians, tossed a complete game three-hitter and Cleveland topped Los Angeles 5-1.
CHASING AARON
Barry Bonds hit his 745th home run Tuesday night, moving within 10 of Hank Aaron''s record 755. The San Francisco slugger connected on the first pitch from New York''s Tom Glavine for his 11th homer of the year in a 4-1 loss to the Mets.
LONG DISTANCE
Eric Byrnes and Tony Clark hit home runs that traveled a combined 930 feet in Arizona''s 3-2 win Tuesday night over Philadelphia. In the second inning, Byrnes hit a 473-foot homer into a restaurant above the bleachers in left, tying for the second-longest homer in Chase Field''s 10-year history. In the seventh, Clark hit a 457-foot shot off the facing of the loge in right field.
HOME WOES
Despite scoring in only three innings on its current six-game homestand, St. Louis is 3-2. The Cardinals raised their record to 6-11 at home with a 4-1 win Tuesday night over Colorado.
STREAKS
Torii Hunter extended his career-high hitting streak to 22 games in a 7-4 win Tuesday night over Chicago. ... Milwaukee''s J.J. Hardy homered to extend his hitting streak to 19 games in a 6-4 win over Washington. ... Edgar Renteria''s hitting streak stands at 16 after Atlanta''s 3-2 win over San Diego. ... Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 13 games in a 4-1 win over San Francisco. ... Tampa Bay''s B.J. Upton extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games in an 8-3 loss to Baltimore. ... Detroit won its eighth straight in a 9-7 win over Seattle. The Tigers'' streak is currently the best in the majors.
SNAPPED
Troy Tulowitzki had his 10-game hitting streak ended in Colorado''s 4-1 loss to St. Louis. ... Jim Edmonds broke out of an 0-for-20 slump with three hits in the game.
SPEAKING
''I don''t try to outthink them, I just try and look for what I want and if it''s there I swing and if it''s not, I don''t swing. I really try to simplify it. I know I''m not that smart.''''-St. Louis'' Scott Spiezio, on his pinch-hit two-run double in the Cardinals'' 4-1 win over Colorado.
Youkilis listed as day-to-day with bruised left leg
Wed, May 9, 2007
By Associated Press
TORONTO -- Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis was listed as day-to-day after getting hit by a pitch above the left knee Tuesday night.
Youkilis went 3-for-3 with a home run before leaving in the sixth inning of a 9-2 win over Toronto.
''It's a question mark whether it was intentional or unintentional,'' Youkilis said. ''It gets old after a while, getting hit, but what are you going to do?''
Youkilis was nicked in the same area by Minnesota's Glen Perkins on Sunday and has been hit five times already this season.
''There's going to be some tightness,'' Youkilis said. ''Hopefully I'll get through it and be all right.''
Youkilis fell to the ground after being hit by Casey Janssen. Trainer Paul Lessard and manager Terry Francona came out to check on Youkilis, who limped off the field without assistance. He was replaced by Eric Hinske.
''He's going to be pretty sore,'' Francona said. ''We'll check tomorrow morning.''
Youkilis is batting .306 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 29 games this season.
Cuddyer returns after 5-game absence
Tue, May 8, 2007
By Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins cleanup hitter Michael Cuddyer returned on Tuesday after missing five games with a back injury, providing some much-needed pop in the middle of a struggling lineup.
Cuddyer was injured when he stumbled while running the bases in Tampa Bay on May 1. He landed on his batting helmet and bruised his back, making it difficult for him to swing a bat or play in the field.
The Twins sorely missed him. They scored just five runs while losing two of three to the Boston Red Sox over the weekend and entered the day with just 16 homers in their first 31 games.
Cuddyer started in right field Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox.
Cuddyer hit 24 home runs last year and had 109 RBIs while hitting between batting champion Joe Mauer and MVP Justin Morneau.
''Everybody always talks about Joe and Justin, but I think what we've learned is how important Cuddy is in all this after losing him for the last six, seven days,'' catcher Mike Redmond said. ''You realize how important those 100 RBIs are in that lineup. We need him. He's a huge part of our offense and a big presence in that lineup.''
His return is even more important after Mauer was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with a strained left quadriceps muscle. Mauer is hitting .353 and was the only Twins player aside from Torii Hunter who has shown any consistency at the plate.
''Anytime you have a guy like that miss out for a week, you're going to feel it,'' Hunter said of Cuddyer's absence. ''And now we lose Mauer. We need Cuddyer back bad.''
Hunter has moved into the third spot in the lineup while Mauer is out, and said he was looking forward to hitting in front of Cuddyer and Morneau.
Cuddyer played in 150 games last season, and loathes sitting on the bench, especially when his team is struggling offensively.
''Even more so than that, I just hate not playing,'' Cuddyer said. ''Even more so than us not winning games, I just wanted to be out there to play. It's nice to be able to get back out there.''
Dodgers' Anderson to miss two months
May 8th, 2007
Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Los Angeles Dodgers infielder/outfielder Marlon Anderson will undergo surgery on Friday to repair bone chips and scar tissue in his right elbow.
Anderson, who was 4-for-22 at the plate this season, is expected to miss two months. He was originally placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday.
Cards' Carpenter undergoes successful surgery
May 8th, 2007
St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter underwent successful surgery on his right elbow Tuesday.
Carpenter, who has been on the disabled list for most of this season, underwent arthroscopy of his right elbow with debridement and removal of bone spurs.
There were no unexpected findings during the procedure and Carpenter is expected to begin physical therapy later this week. The team has not announced a time table for his return.
After making his Opening Night start, the right-hander has not pitched in a game since.
The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner threw a side session April 28 and three simulated innings last week. However, he encountered elbow stiffness and it was determined that surgery was necessary.
Carpenter complained of stiffness and soreness in his throwing elbow the day after the Cardinals lost their season opener to the New York Mets 6-1. The right-hander started that game and allowed five runs on nine hits, striking out three and walking one, in six innings of work.
Carpenter went 15-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 32 starts last season.
Yankees DH Jason Giambi is not expected to start in tonight's game.
D-Backs 3B Chad Tracy will likely be out of the lineup tonight with LHP Jamie Moyer on the mound.