Thursday’s MLB streaking and slumping starters
Covers.com
Streaking
Ervin Santana - Angels (14-5, 3.31)
Santana's performance this season is amazing considering he was in the minors this time last season. Now he's the ace pitcher for the AL-West-leading Angels.
The righty has accumulated 48 strikeouts compared to just six walks over his last six starts leading Los Angeles to victory in four of those contests.
Slumping
Brian Bannister - Royals (7-14, 5.75)
For all the promise Bannister showed last season you'd think the Kansas City pitcher wearing number 19 this season was an imposter. The former Met prospect was 12-9 with an ERA under 4.00 for the last place Royals in 2007.
This season has been a complete nightmare for the Arizona native. You could make a strong argument that if Bannister was pitching for any other team, he would not have only lost his position in the rotation but also his spot on the big club's roster.
The 27-year-old righty hasn't won a game since late June and his team has won just twice in his last 11 appearances.
Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Thursday, Sept. 4
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay (7:10 p.m. EDT). Trying to extend their AL East lead, the surprising Rays send Scott Kazmir (10-6, 3.13 ERA) to the mound against Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees in the finale of a three-game series.
STARS
Wednesday
- Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox, homered in the seventh to begin Boston's comeback in a 5-4 win over Baltimore. He went 3-for-4 and is batting .618 over the last eight games to raise his AL-leading average to .333.
- Randy Wolf, Astros, pitched a six-hitter for his first shutout in four years in Houston's 4-0 victory over Chicago.
- Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs, including a two-run homer verified by replay to lift New York to a 8-4 victory over Tampa Bay.
- Cristian Guzman, Nationals, set a franchise single-season record with his eighth consecutive multi-hit game in Washington's 9-7 win over Philadelphia.
- Placido Polanco, Tigers, had three hits and drove in three runs to help Detroit beat Los Angeles 9-6.
- Ryan Church, Mets, hit a grand slam for his first homer since June 1, lifting the Mets to a 9-2 win over the Brewers.
REPLAY
Alex Rodriguez's ninth-inning homer was upheld in baseball's first use of instant replay, and the New York Yankees beat the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 on Wednesday night. A-Rod hit a towering two-run shot off Troy Percival that third base umpire Brian Runge immediately ruled a homer when it bounced off the catwalk behind the foul pole in left field. Rays catcher Dioner Navarro protested, bringing manager Joe Maddon out of the dugout. After convening, the umpires left the field to review the tape, a process that took 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
SIDELINED
Carlos Zambrano visited the Chicago Cubs' team orthopedist Wednesday to check out his right arm but didn't have an MRI exam. Zambrano left his start Tuesday night against the Houston Astros after five innings and 86 pitches, telling pitching coach Larry Rothschild he didn't feel well and couldn't continue, manager Lou Piniella said Wednesday. Zambrano was scratched from his scheduled outing last Sunday and moved back two days to rest his tired arm.
BIG HURT
Frank Thomas' season ended Wednesday when the Oakland Athletics transferred the designated hitter from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day. He's been on the DL twice this year due to an injured right thigh, most recently going back on Saturday. He also sat out from May 28-July 31 because of tendinitis in his quadriceps.
NO NO-NO
Major League Baseball's scoring review committee ruled Wednesday that official scorer Bob Webb did not err when he decided that Pittsburgh's Andy LaRoche singled against Brewers pitcher CC Sabathia in the bottom of the fifth inning of Milwaukee's 7-0 win on Sunday. Sabathia tried to make a barehanded pickup of LaRoche's softly hit grounder, but dropped it. Webb immediately ruled it a hit, explaining he watched LaRoche out of the batter's box and the runner was two-thirds of the way down the line as Sabathia was picking the ball up.
SELLOUT
The Red Sox sold out 96-year old Fenway Park for the 455th consecutive regular-season game on Wednesday afternoon, tying the Cleveland Indians' major league record. "I have not seen anything but sellouts since I've been here,'' Boston manager Terry Francona said before the game against Baltimore. "Think about it. That's unbelievable. That's the norm. I hope we don't ever get in a situation where we take it for granted. I know our organization doesn't.''
STATS
Jose Reyes stole his 47th base this season, tying the Mets' franchise mark of 281 set by Mookie Wilson. ... Bobby Jenks recorded his first save of more than three outs since Sept. 13, 2005, in the White Sox's 4-2 win over the Indians. ... Derek Jeter went 1-for-5 and needs five hits to tie Babe Ruth (2,518) for second place on the Yankees career list.
SPEAKING
"All the hard work he's put in, all the home runs he's hit in the minor leagues, to get one here, the team was just elated for him. It makes it all worthwhile.'' - Giants manager Bruce Bochy on Scott McClain, who hit his first major league homer after spending 19 years in the minors. He hit 287 homers in 1,664 minor league games