Saturday’s streaking and slumping pitchers
By JASON LOGAN
Streaking
Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox (15-3, 3.15 ERA)
Lester gave the Jays fits in his most recent appearance. The lefty went eight innings and gave up just one run on four hits in a 4-3 win at Fenway. Lester’s performance trumped Toronto ace Roy Halladay, who he will face off with again Saturday.
Lester is 5-4 in 15 road starts (compared to 10-1 at home) this season and is 2-2 with a 3.23 ERA in four career appearances versus the Blue Jays.
Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox (16-7, 3.73 ERA)
Floyd proved he has a short memory when he rebounded from a tough loss with a victory over the Yankees in New York. The right hander limited the damage of nine hits, pitching well in a pinch, to give up just two runs in seven innings.
Floyd is 6-1 in his last 10 starts and has three days rest heading into Kansas City. He is 1-1 with an ERA just over two versus the Royals this season.
Slumping
Carlos Silva, Seattle Mariners (4-15, 6.42 ERA)
Silva’s last win was nearly two months ago and since that fateful day in June, the M’s righty is 0-6 with four no decisions. Not all those losses can be rooted back to Silva. He’s put together some solid showings but hasn’t received the support at the plate from a stumbling Seattle squad.
Silva is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA against Oakland this season. He is 6-4 in his last 10 starts versus the Athletics stemming back to his days with the Twins.
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers (10-16, 4.78)
Verlander’s struggles are starting to stir up concerns. After two seasons of near-perfect pitching, the Tigers’ stud just isn’t the same arm and is 0-3 in his last four starts in which he is posting an 8.10 ERA.
He is 1-4 with an ERA over six against Cleveland this season and is a dismal 4-9 with 6.59 ERA in 14 career starts versus the Tribe.
Baseball Today
Saturday, Sept. 20
St. Louis at Chicago Cubs (3:55 p.m. EDT). Ted Lilly goes to the mound for the Cubs, who can clinch their second consecutive NL Central title with a win or a Milwaukee loss at Cincinnati. Lilly is 2-0 with a 2.54 ERA in four starts against the Cardinals this season.
STARS
Friday
— Cameron Maybin, Marlins, had four hits for the second consecutive game and tied a franchise record by reaching base in 10 consecutive plate appearances to help Florida beat Philadelphia 14-8 for its ninth straight win, which tied a team mark.
— Adam Kennedy, Cardinals, hit a grand slam and matched his career high with four hits while driving in five runs during a 12-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
— Carlos Pena, Rays, homered and drove in four runs—with help from baseball’s first replay reversal—to lead Tampa Bay past Minnesota 11-1.
— Daniel Murphy, Mets, delivered a pinch-hit double that drove in the tiebreaking runs and helped New York regain first place in the NL East with a 9-5 win at Atlanta.
— Barry Zito, Giants, took a shutout into the eighth inning and beat Greg Maddux in San Francisco’s 7-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
— Torii Hunter, Angels, homered and drove in four runs in a 15-13 win at Texas.
READY TO CELEBRATE
Tampa Bay routed Minnesota 11-1 to close in on the club’s first playoff berth. The AL East leaders moved within one win of clinching at least the wild card and remained 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Boston. The only big league franchise without a playoff appearance, the Rays (91-61) had never won more than 70 games in a season since their inception in 1998. Even if they lose Saturday, the Rays could earn a postseason spot with losses by the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.
ZEE-NIED
After pitching the Cubs’ first no-hitter in 36 years Sunday against Houston in Milwaukee, Carlos Zambrano (14-6) allowed eight runs and six hits in 1 2-3 innings of a 12-6 loss to St. Louis. It was his shortest outing in two years and the shortest start by a pitcher coming off a no-hitter since St. Louis’ Bob Forsch lasted one inning at Pittsburgh in April 1978, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
SWINGING AWAY
Gary Sheffield and Fausto Carmona exchanged punches on the infield during a bench-clearing brawl between Detroit and Cleveland. In the seventh inning, Carmona hit Sheffield in the left arm with a pitch. The Tigers’ designated hitter walked slowly to first base, carrying his bat with him, glaring at Carmona and exchanging words with the right-hander. When Carmona threw over to first on a pickoff attempt, Sheffield motioned and yelled at him to throw the ball to the plate. Carmona took a step toward first base, yelled, and Sheffield charged the mound. Both players threw punches before Carmona got Sheffield in a headlock and began landing punches. Players and coaches from both dugouts and bullpens ran onto the field, but no other punches appeared to be thrown before order was restored. Sheffield and Carmona were ejected, along with Indians catcher Victor Martinez and Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco. Carmona also hit Sheffield with a pitch on April 17 in a game that included five hit batters.
SWING AND A MISS
Oakland designated hitter Jack Cust struck out for the 186th and 187th time this season, breaking the AL record, in a 2-0 victory over Seattle. Rob Deer of Milwaukee previously held the AL mark with 186 whiffs in 1987. Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard set the major league record last season with 199 strikeouts.
FALLING FLAT
Joey Votto and Jay Bruce each hit two home runs and Cincinnati cracked seven homers in all for an 11-2 victory over the free-falling Brewers. Milwaukee’s 14th loss in 18 September games left the Cubs one victory—or a Brewers loss— from clinching the NL Central title. Jeff Suppan (10-10), who was 5-0 in August but is 0-3 while allowing 19 earned runs in 16 1-3 innings in September, lasted only two innings.
GRAND ENTRANCE
Alexei Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox tied an AL rookie record with his third grand slam this season in a 9-4 victory at Kansas City. Shane Spencer also hit three for the New York Yankees in 1998. It was Chicago’s 11th slam this season, tying the club mark set in 2006.
SNAPPED
Kansas City’s 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox ended the Royals’ seven-game winning streak, their longest since starting the 2003 season 9-0. … Philadelphia’s season-best seven-game winning streak was snapped with a 14-8 loss at Florida that knocked the Phillies out of first place in the NL East. … Randy Wolf allowed three hits in seven innings and Houston stopped a five-game skid with a 5-1 victory at Pittsburgh.
SLUGFEST
The Los Angeles Angels set seasons highs for runs and hits (22) in a 15-13 victory at Texas. The AL West champions led 7-0 until the Rangers scored nine runs on nine hits in the third. That was the most hits and runs in an inning against the Angels since May 19, 2006, when the Dodgers had 10 runs in one inning and 10 hits in another in a 16-3 victory. Garret Anderson had four hits for the Angels in this one, while Josh Hamilton had four of the Rangers’ 19 hits. The 41 combined hits were the most in an AL game this season. It also was the second-highest scoring game in the AL this year behind Texas’ 19-17 loss at Boston on Aug. 12.
COMING UP EMPTY
Dana Eveland (9-8) pitched seven strong innings and Oakland beat Seattle 2-0, handing the Mariners their ninth straight loss. The Mariners, shut out for the second consecutive game, haven’t scored in 26 innings. They have been blanked four times this season with Felix Hernandez (9-11) on the mound and 12 times overall. Seattle loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth before Brad Ziegler got Yuniesky Betancourt to ground out, ending a game that lasted 2 hours, 5 minutes.
STRONG STARTS
Edwin Jackson (12-11) allowed one run and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings of Tampa Bay’s 11-1 victory over Minnesota. … Mark Buehrle pitched six effective innings on three days’ rest to lead the Chicago White Sox over Kansas City 9-4. Buehrle (14-11) is 3-0 in four September starts and 6-1 in his past nine.
SPEAKING
“They all end eventually. It’s not cricket.”—San Diego manager Bud Black after his team needed 5 hours to beat Washington 11-6 in 14 innings, its third-longest game this season. The Padres lost a 22-inning marathon to Colorado on April 17 and beat Cincinnati in 18 innings on May 25.