Baseball roundup: Friday's action on the diamonds
Published Saturday September 6th, 2008
The Chicago Cubs are suddenly in danger of extending their World Series drought to 101 years.
Jay Bruce hit his first career grand slam and Toronto native Joey Votto added a two-run homer Friday night, an all-rookie power display that sent the Cincinnati Reds to a 10-2 victory on a day when nothing went right for Chicago.
Manager Lou Piniella got lost on his way to the ballpark. Starter Ted Lilly lasted a season-low two innings. And the Cubs' losing streak reached a season-high six games against a team already eliminated from the race.
"That's not what we expected," Piniella said.
It's how the week has gone.
Lilly (13-9) gave up five runs, including Votto's 18th homer, before his quick exit. The left-hander has started four times against the Reds this season and lost all four.
"For one reason or another, one way or another, they've found a way to beat me," Lilly said. "A couple of games, I've thrown the ball OK. That wasn't the case tonight. That was probably my most disappointing start of the year. I had much more motivation to win this one, given the circumstances of the last few days."
Bruce hit his 16th homer off Jon Lieber for a 9-0 lead in the fourth inning, silencing the thousands of blue-shirted Cubs fans in the stands. By that point, the Cubs knew they were finished, given the way their offence has struggled in the past week.
"I know at some point we're going to break out and score runs and play like we're capable of playing," Lilly said. "I think everybody else in this clubhouse knows that, regardless what's happened the last six games."
Bruce and Votto have the most homers by any rookie duo in the NL, providing a little long-range hope for a franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs since 1995.
"We're pushing each other," Bruce said. "Hopefully, we're giving the fans something to watch and getting on a roll for next year."
Right-hander Bronson Arroyo (14-10) won his fourth straight start, allowing one run in 6 1-3 innings. Afterward, he taped the Spanish phrase for his No. 61 on the back of his jersey, making fun of Bengals receiver Chad Johnson's name change to Ocho Cinco.
"My father's Cuban, so I'm half," Arroyo said. "I was at home watching that today. It was unbelievable. He was on every talk show."
The Cubs kicked off their longest road trip at the scene of one of their best moments. They clinched the NL Central title at Great American Ball Park last season, when they won 85 games and got knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. They've had the World Series - something they haven't won in 100 years - in the back of their minds all season long.
Until the past week, they've played like they could very well get there. They've already won 85 games - most in the NL - and have been in first place since May 11.
September has been disastrous. Ace Carlos Zambrano got an injection in his sore pitching shoulder on Thursday and will miss at least one start. Right-hander Rich Harden of Victoria also will miss a start because of a bothersome arm.
Elsewhere in the NL it was: Philadelphia 3, New York 0; Atlanta 10, Washington 5; Milwaukee 3, San Diego 2; Florida 4, St. Louis 1; Colorado 5, Houston 3; Los Angeles 7, Arizona 0; and Pittsburgh 7, San Francisco 0.
At Cincinnati, the Cubs can't even get to the ballpark without losing their way.
Piniella and first base coach Matt Sinatro left Chicago at 8 a.m. for a five-hour drive to Cincinnati. With Sinatro driving and Piniella napping, they missed a turnoff and wound up in northeast Ohio - the wrong end of the state.
They stopped at a gas station, bought a map and backtracked along two-lane roads, arriving at the ballpark only two hours before the first pitch. Travel time: eight hours.
The Cubs' chances of winning went by in a blink. After Bruce's homer made it 9-0, Piniella removed his cap and shook his head a few times in disbelief. By the sixth inning, he was freely substituting for his starters, already looking ahead to the next game.
"The truth of the matter is, you've got to get it done," Piniella said. "And it's been a struggle over the past half-a-dozen games or so to put runs on the board. And when you're pitching is not good, it gets ugly like it did tonight."
Phillies 3, Mets 0
At New York, Brett Myers buzzed through the Mets' lineup, pitching eight dominant innings and leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-0 victory Friday night that cut their NL East deficit to two games.
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Braves 10, Nationals 5
At Atlanta, rookie Brandon Jones' three-run double capped a seven-run third inning, and Kelly Johnson had three hits and two RBIs in the Braves' win over the Nationals.
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Rockies 5, Astros 3
At Denver, Clint Barmes homered, Ubaldo Jimenez won for just the second time in a month and Colorado ended Houston's eight-game winning streak.
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Marlins 4, Cardinals 1 (11 innings)
At St. Louis, Dan Uggla singled in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and Florida beat the reeling Cardinals.
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Brewers 3, Padres 2 (11 innings)
At Milwaukee, CC Sabathia pitched seven strong innings, but the Brewers needed a RBI single from J.J. Hardy in the 11th to beat San Diego.
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Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 0
At Los Angeles, Andre Ethier went 5-for-5 and drove in a career-high five runs, Derek Lowe held Arizona to two hits over eight innings and the Dodgers cut the Diamondbacks' AL West lead to a half-game.
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Pirates 7, Giants 0
At San Francisco, Zach Duke pitched a six-hitter to snap a career-worst nine-game skid and Pittsburgh ran its winning streak in San Francisco to seven in a game that featured a light earthquake.
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Sometimes lost in the many trials and tribulations the Toronto Blue Jays have gone through in 2008 is just how remarkable a season Roy Halladay is enjoying.
The ace right-hander is so consistently dominant when he takes the mound, it can be easy for fans take him for granted. Kind of like, "Halladay's pitching, chalk up another win."
"He's been so good you kind of put that unrealistic expectation on him," centre-fielder Vernon Wells said Friday, after Halladay won his fifth straight start in a 6-4 victory over the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
"Not us, we understand how tough it is for him to do what he does," Wells continued. "But for an outsider, he makes it look so easy sometimes, you would think he would do it every time he goes on the mound."
Halladay (18-9) is in the midst of his best year since claiming the Cy Young Award in 2003, and would be a favourite for the prize again this season if not for Cleveland's Cliff Lee, who is 20-2 with a 2.32 earned-run average in 27 starts.
Aside from wins, most of their stats are comparable, yet only a Lee collapse in the final weeks is likely be enough to open the door for Halladay to win it.
"That kid's done a great job too, he's had a great year and Doc's had a great year," said manager Cito Gaston. "If Doc had .. more run support (earlier in the season), he'd certainly have over 20 wins right now."
Halladay added to his case Friday by allowing three runs, only one earned, in seven outstanding innings as the Blue Jays (74-66) won their season-high sixth straight game, and moved to eight games over .500 for the first time since finishing the '06 campaign 87-75.
Lyle Overbay's two-run double in a three-run second and Alex Rios' solo shot in the third off Andy Sonnanstine (13-7) helped send the Rays (85-54) to their third loss in four games before a crowd of 32,477.
Rios added some insurance with a two-run blast in the eighth while Scott Downs and B.J. Ryan, who gave up Jason Bartlett's RBI double in the ninth before earning his 27th save, nailed things down.
Career win No. 129 also moved Halladay past Jim Clancy into second on the Blue Jays' all-time wins list, trailing only Dave Stieb's 175.
"I respect a lot what they've done and from that standpoint it's a nice accomplishment," said Halladay. "It's not something I've looked a lot into. Knowing those guys and respecting them as people and as players makes it special."
With likely four starts remaining in '08, Halladay still has a shot at matching his career-high of 22 wins established during his Cy Young season. That would mean closing out the year by winning nine straight outings, a run that isn't unheard of for him. He won 11 straight decisions in 2003.
While he won't be able to match his astonishing total of 266 innings from then - he's at 218 and counting - he can still beat the career-best 204 strikeouts he had that year (185 so far) and smash the 3.25 earned-run average he posted (2.64 to this point). His eight complete games are one short of the nine he had in '03.
Compare those numbers to Lee, who has pitched 194 1-3 innings this season, struck out 149 and thrown four complete games.
All of that isn't stuff that Halladay concerns himself with.
More important to him was improving to 2-3 versus the Rays after losing his first three decisions to them this season.
"I don't know about a relief, you always look for the challenge," Halladay said of not facing the Rays again until 2009. "But I'm not disappointed by any means. They've been a great team this year the way they've turned things around."
Elsewhere in the AL it was: Oakland 11, Baltimore 2; Boston 8, Texas 1; Minnesota 10, Detroit 2; Cleveland 9, Kansas City 3; Chicago 10, Los Angeles 2; and Seattle 3, New York 1.
At Toronto, things got off to a bad start Friday when Joe Inglett's error on a routine grounder from Akinori Iwamura leading off the first led to a pair of unearned runs. B.J. Upton followed with a double before sacrifice flies by Carlos Pena and Cliff Floyd brought them home.
But Overbay's two-run double, which glanced off the glove of a sliding Upton in centre, tied things up and Scott Rolen put the Blue Jays ahead with a sacrifice fly. Rios' first of two homers, a solo shot in the third made it 4-2.
"I'm being more aggressive (at the plate) but in the strike zone," said Rios. "I don't want to be wild."
After the Rays scratched out a run in the seventh on Jason Bartlett's infield single - Halladay threw out Gabe Gross trying to score on Iwamura's bunt to help limit the damage that frame - Rios smashed a two-run shot off Grant Balfour in the eighth for a 6-3 edge.
"To escape with the lead at that point was big," Halladay said of the seventh inning. "But I think the add-on runs after that were huge because they're such a good team, they come back and never seem to quit. I think that made the biggest difference."
Red Sox 8, Rangers 1
At Arlington, Texas, Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell had an immediate impact in their return to the lineup for the AL wild card-leading Boston Red Sox.
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White Sox 10, Angels 2
At Chicago, Juan Uribe homered twice, Paul Konerko added a solo shot and Mark Buehrle pitched six shutout innings for the White Sox.
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Athletics 11, Orioles 2
At Baltimore, Rajai Davis' grand slam was the only Oakland hit in an eight-run eighth inning, and the Athletics topped the six-run barrier for the first time in 41 games.
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Twins 10, Tigers 2
At Minneapolis, Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C., hit a grand slam and Francisco Liriano threw seven-plus innings to help Minnesota end a three-game skid.
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Indians 9, Royals 3
At Kansas City, Mo., Victor Martinez reached base four times in his return to catching, helping Cleveland earn its 10th straight road win.
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Mariners 3, Yankees 1
At Seattle, Brandon Morrow's bid to become only the second pitcher in modern history to throw a no-hitter in his first major league start ended when pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit doubled with two outs in the eighth inning.
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