Ichiro Does It All

It wasn’t that long ago that I speculated that Ichiro Suzuki’s days in a Yankees uniform could be numbered. That’s not going to happen if the 40-year old has more days like he had in the first game of a day-night doubleheader with the LA Dodgers Wednesday.

Ichiro stood out at the plate and in the field in the Yankees 6-4 win in the first regular season contest played between the two storied franchises in Yankee Stadium. Already up 2-0, Ichiro hit a solo home run off Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu in the 6th inning.

After the Dodgers scored a pair of runs off starter and winner Hiroki Kuroda, Ichiro helped out his countrymen again with a 2-run single to cap a 3-run 7th inning.  The 10 time Gold Glove winner then flashed the leather in the 8th inning when he made a running, leaping catch to take an extra base hit and an RBI away from Adrian Gonzalez. The play proved crucial when the next batter, Hanley Ramirez, belted a 2-run home run to cut the Yankees advantage to 6-4.

Kuroda helped himself out in the early part of the ballgame with some quick reflexes. Gonzalez and Ramirez started the top of the 4th off with a single and double to put two men in scoring position with no one out. Andre Ethier lined a ball back up the middle, but Kuroda snared it and threw to David Adams to double Gonzalez off of third. Kuroda then retired veteran Juan Uribe to keep the Dodgers off the board.

Mariano Rivera bounced back from his struggles Sunday in Anaheim to pitch a 1-2-3 9th inning for his 25th save of the season.  Rivera welcomed rookie Yasiel Puig to the bigs with a game ending strikeout.

Notes

Despite a shortage of infielders, the Yankees brought up outfielder Zoilo Almonte, who will play in the evening contest.  Almonte impressed Joe Girardi in the past two Spring Trainings and was having a good year for Triple-A Scranton. In 68 games, the recently turned 24-year old had splits of .297/.368/.421 with 6 HR and 36 RBI. The right-handed hitter also had 12 doubles, a triple and was 4-5 in stolen base attempts.

The main reason the Yankees brought up an outfielder, as Mark Feinsand pointed out on the radio broadcast, was due to injuries to infielders Corban Joseph and Ronnier Mustelier, both of whom are on the DL.

The Bleacher Creatures chanted “Donnie Baseball” in tribute to former Yankees standout and current Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. The former #23 now dons #8 (See what I did there) in Dodger blue and gracisously tipped his cap to the Creatures. He and Joe Girardi hugged each other when they brought out the lineup cards prior to the game.

Back in the lineup as a regular, Lyle Overbay came through in the clutch again. He drove a ball over Ethier's head in center field for a 2-run double to start the day's scoring.

Phil Hughes and Chris Capuano will face off in the nightcap.

Dodgers Want to Go Crazy on Greinke

Ever since the sale of the LA Dodgers went through last year the team has looked to break the bank. They acquired Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez and their ridiculously large contracts from Boston at the 2012 trade deadline.

Now comes word from the LA Times' Dylan Hernandez that the Dodgers are working with free agent pitcher Zack Greinke on a reported six year, $145MM contract. The dumb just keep getting dumber.

I am tired of owners bitching and moaning about salaries getting out of whack and then they each make these ridiculous offers year after year. Of course, some of them are by Jeffrey Loria, who just lies through his con man's teeth and trades the player a year (or less) later.

How long until the Dodgers realize they're losing money and start whining?


UPDATE: A deal appears to be set in place (Physical, etc. needs to be done), six years for $147MM. The Dodgers payroll is now at a league record $225MM. The pressure is now on Donnie Baseball, who will feel like he's managing in Pinstripes.

Napoli, Victorino Join Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have plenty of money to burn after unloading Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez at the 2012 trade deadline, and they are quickly spending it.

The Red Sox have snatched up catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Shane Victorino at the start of the winter meetings.

Napoli will primarily be the Sox first baseman and could see occasional play backing up starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Napoli spent his first five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels before he was dealt along with Juan Rivera to the Toronto Blue Jays in Jan., 2011 for Vernon Wells. Four days later, the Blue Jays moved Napoli to the Texas Rangers for reliever Frank Francisco. The deal proved to be a winner for Texas as Napoli helped propel them to their second straight World Series.

The then-29-year old produced career highs in home runs (30), RBI (75), and OPS (1.046). Though his numbers dipped last season he made his first All-Star team. On the face of it, the Red Sox overpaid for a player (3 years, $39MM) that has only played more than 115 games in a season once in his career, but his former manager Ron Washington says he worth it.

The Texas skipper sang Napoli's praises at the winter meetings in Nashville.“Tremendous character,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “He’s a winner. It’s unfortunate that things didn’t work out here, but we do wish him well in Boston.”¹

Victorino became a full-time player with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006 and was an instrumental  part if the Phiilies back to back pennant winners in 2008 and 2009. With free agency looming, the Phils sent Victorino to the Dodgers at last season's trade deadline for reliever Josh Lindblom and a pair of minor leaguers.

The "Flying Hawaiian" turned 32 last Friday and had a significant drop off in production in 2012. Despite that, the Red Sox were willing to give Victorino a three year, $39MM contract. Just like Napoli, the amount of money per year is more than the player is worth. But also like Napoli, the Red Sox are getting a top character guy for a clubhouse that has been in disarray the last two years.

1 - Boston Herald

Aceves Latest to Lose Battle With Valentine

Who's pitching the 9th?

Adrian Gonzalez was front and center of a mini-revolution in Boston a week ago. Reportedly, 17 players wanted manager Bobby Valentine fired and Gonzalez was one of the players pushed to the forefront to approach owner John Henry. The Sox principle owner told the players that Valentine's his man and a week later Gonzalez was shipped to the LA Dodgers as part of a blockbuster deal. Victory to Valentine.

Though his job could still be in jeopardy, the team backed Valentine again yesterday when reliever Al Aceves was suspended three games for conduct detrimental to the team.

What reportedly set Aceves off was Valentine's decision to let Andrew Bailey close out Friday night's game. Bailey had entered the game in the 8th inning to record the final out of the frame and remained in the game to record his first save of the season.

Bailey had been acquired in the off-season to be the Red Sox closer, but injured his thumb in spring training, underwent surgery, and didn't return to the team until recently. After a shaky start, Aceves established himself as the team's 9th inning guy and saved 25 games in 32 attempts. His most recent appearance was Thursday night when he allowed five runs in an inning of work (plus two batters faced in the 10th) and took the loss.

Aceves got into a heated argument with Valentine in the manager's office and stormed away. No word on whether or not Valentine has decided to use Bailey going forward or if it was just a one shot deal for the time being.

Bigger question...how did Al Aceves go from throwing 90-91 mph as a Yankee from 2008-2010, to suddenly throwing his fastball from 95-96 mph. Fueled by anger?

Red Sox Get Martinized

The prospects for the Yankees winning 2 of 3 in Boston were not good, considering that A.J. Burnett, he of the 13.86 ERA in his last three starts, was going up against Red Sox stud Jon Lester in the series finale Thursday night. But John Sterling is occassionally right, especially when he says you can't predict baseball. Burnett kept the Yankees in the game through his 5.1 innings and Russell Martin delivered a clutch 2-run double in the 7th inning to give the Yankees a 4-2 victory and their first series win against Boston this season.

The biggest story lines coming into the game was how would Burnett fare (or as most people figured, how badly he would fare) and the Major League debut of Jesus Montero. Burnett was going along swimmingly until he threw a high fastball to high fastball hitter Dustin Pedroia, who launched it into the center field seats to the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the 4th. But unlike most of his prior starts, Burnett didn't melt down. Instead he beared down and tossed a scoreless 5th inning before leaving with two men aboard and one out in the 6th. Boone Logan and Cory Wade stranded the base runners and the Yankees finally broke through against the Boston bullpen in the 7th.

Jon Lester had given the Yankees a number of opportunities to score, but they couldn't get the big hit off of him. What they did do though was work the count and forced Lester out of the game after five innings and 114 pitches. Andruw Jones worked his third walk of the night against former Yankee Al Aceves to start the rally. That brought up Montero, who had already stranded six base runners on the night. He didn't deliver a key hit, but got hit when an Aceves pitch clipped his jersey.

Terry Francona brought on fireballer Daniel Bard to face Martin, but as he has done often thi season, the Yankees catcher came through in the clutch, drilling a pitch up the alley in right-center. Jones scored easily to tie the game and Montero slid across home plate with the go ahead run well ahead of the relay throw home. Eric Chavez then gave the Yankees some insurance with a pinch-hit RBI single to right for a 4-2 Yankees lead.

But you know nothing is easy in a Yankees-Red Sox series and that was exemplified in all three games of the series. Mariano Rivera came in to close things out in the 9th and walked the lead off hitter Jed Lowrie. Rivera got his cutter in enough on the hands to Josh Reddick who couldn't get the "good wood" on it as Kenny Singleton likes to say, and flied to right. Rivera blew away Jarrod Saltalamacchia with a a pair of fastballs for the second out and things seemed to be easy going. But Mariano and company had to sweat this one out. He walked Jacoby Ellsbury to put the tying runs on basis and then gave up a single to his nemesis Marco Scutaro to load the bases. That brought up the AL's batting leader Adrian Gonzalez, who also entered the game with 103 RBI.

Rivera busted one cutter after another in on Gonzalez's hand and body- in fact Gonzalez fouled a pitch into himself that looked like it might have hit him had he taken it. The final pitch of the night was a result of all those inside pitches as Rivera fired a cutter at the outside corner that Gonzalez could only watch. Home plate ump Alfonso Marquez rung him up and the game was over some four hours after it began.

NOTES

Mark Teixeira took a hard breaking pitch from Al Aceves off the back of his right knee and went down in tremendous pain. He's listed as day-to-day, but it would not be surprising to see him miss at least a couple of games. Michael Kay pointed out on the broadcast that the White Sox Paul Konerko had a similar injury and missed four games. In fact he returned in a series against the Yankees and was still having trouble running.

In addition to Montero, the Yankees brought up old friend Scott Proctor, left-hander Raul Valdes, righty Lance Pendleton, outfielder Chris Dickerson, and third baseman Brandon Laird, Infielder Ramiro Pena will likely join the team as well once he finished his minor league rehab assignment.

David Ortiz extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

The Yankees return home Friday night to begin a three game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. Ivan Nova faces Brandon Morrow in the opener.

Yankees Walk Tightrope To Win

Whether you are a fan of the Yankees or Red Sox, last night’s game between the two was not an easy one to watch. The teams played their usual three-and-a-half hour plus game, home plate Ed Rapuano squeezed the strike zone tighter than the Boston Strangler, the benches emptied, batters were hit and not hit, and the two team’s pitching staffs escaped jam after jam. In the end though it was the Yankees doing the celebrating in a 5-2 win.

Managers Joe Girardi and Terry Francona try to publicly downplay the games between the two, but make no mistake this was an important win for the Bronx Bombers. For one thing CC Sabathia finally beat the Red Sox after losing his first four starts against them this season. The 18 game winner was far from perfect and threw a whopping 128 pitches in six innings, but left the game with a 4-2 lead.

The Yankees offense had several chances to bust the game open against Red Sox starter John Lackey, but couldn’t deliver the knockout punch. They did manage to put five runs across home plate, four of them earned, in Lackey’s seven innings of work.

Eric Chavez gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning, but Jorge Posada bounced into an inning ending double play with two aboard. The 3rd inning had similar results when Robinson Cano and Chavez delivered RBI hits for a 3-0 lead, but Posada once again bounced into an inning ending twin killing.

Sabathia worked his way out of early trouble, he got Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out with the bases loaded and two down in the 2nd, but couldn’t escape the 4th inning unscathed. Carl Crawford got Boston on the board with a solo home run and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Darnell McDonald followed with singles. Sabathia struck out Ellsbury, but Marco Scutaro doubled in a run to cut the Yankees lead to 3-2. Sabathia had first baseman Adrian Gonzalez's number all night and struck him out to preserve the lead. (Sabathia would strike Gonzalez out three times.)

Francisco Cervelli led off the 5th with a solo home run and ignited some fire in Lackey and the Red Sox. As Cervelli stepped on home plate he clapped his hands together hard right in front of Saltalamacchia. Cameras caught Lackey glaring at Cervelli as he walked back to the visitor’s dugout. The next time Cervelli stepped into the box, Lackey drilled him up high and the benches empty. Cervelli had choice words for both Lackey and Saltalamacchia and Sabathia also yelled at his counterpart. (When asked after the game what he said, Cervelli said I don’t remember; I forgot English at that point and a lot of Spanish came out.)

Things settled down on the field, but Sabathia continued to walk the fine line between holding the lead and getting knocked out of the box. David Ortiz reached on a one out single in the bottom of the 5th and Jed Lowrie followed with a double to put the tying runs in scoring position. Crawford hit a bullet, but right at Cano for the second out and Sabathia struck out Saltalamacchia to end another threat.

Sabathia’s pitch count was already up to 100, but with a shortened bullpen (David Robertson was unavailable), Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild needed Sabathia to work another inning and the big lefty put up another goose egg on the scoreboard.

The bullpen had no easy time of either though. With Robertson out and Rafael Soriano pushed back to the 8th inning role, the Yankees relied on Corey Wade and Boone Logan to get them through the 7th inning. Wade retired Dustin Pedroia, but walked Ortiz and gave up a single to Lowrie. Logan came on to face Crawford, whose hot hitting continued with a lined single to left-center. The Yankees caught a break when Ortiz couldn’t get a good read on the ball and had to hold up at third base. Logan bounced back and K’ed Saltalamacchia and McDonald to get out of the jam.

Soriano was hit hard in the 8th, but turned the 5-2 lead over to Mariano Rivera in the 9th. Just like the rest of the game, the final inning wasn’t smooth sailing. Ortiz led off with a single to right that Nick Swisher played into a double. Rivera retired the next two hitters before hitting Saltalamacchia to bring the tying run to the plate. Earlier in the game Curtis Granderson appeared to be hit on the hand, but Rapuano ruled the ball hit the handle of the bat. Replays showed that it may very well have done both, but after inspecting Granderson’s hand, Rapuano stood by his call. When Saltalamacchia got hit he appeared to not be able to check his swing, which would result in a strike and negate the hit by pitch. But third base umpire Mark Wegner ruled that Saltalamacchia held up. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know Girardi was about to get tossed. He was before he even reached Wegner and unloaded the night’s frustrations on the ump.

Play resumed and Rivera retired pinch-hitter Josh Reddick on a line drive to left to earn his 35th save of the season. The Yankees cutter-man is now six saves away from 600 total and seven away from tying Trevor Hoffman for the all-time record.

NOTES

Nick Swisher had a perfect night at the plate with three hits and a walk. The right fielder has a .978 OPS since the All-Star break compared to .783 beforehand.


Alex Rodriguez received a cortisone shot in his left thumb and was hopeful he could return for Thursday’s finale in Boston, though the opener of the Toronto series at home on Friday is a more likely scenario.

CC's Boston Beatdown

Putting everything else aside (his prior starts against Boston) and his red hot streak, I expected CC Sabathia to limit Boston's offense yesterday. Nothing was further from the truth. Sabathia, who is is 16-2, 2.11 vs. other AL opponents, was thumped by the Red Sox for seven runs in six innings. The Red Sox won 10-4 to move back into a first place tie in the AL East with the series finale pitting Freddy Garcia against Josh Beckett tonight. The win also snapped the Yankees' eight game winning streak.

Sabathia's record against Boston is now 0-4, 7.20. It's that record that will likely keep him from winning the AL Cy Young Award no matter how he finishes the season. But individual awards are the last thing on the mind of Sabathia, Joe Girardi, or the Yankees fans. They know that to get to the World Series they will, in all likelihood, have to beat Boston in the ALCS. (assuming both teams win win their division series.)

Opponents are hitting .238 vs. Sabathia this season, but the Red Sox are hitting well over .300 with four Boston batters in particular having done major damage to the lefty this season.

Carl Crawford (5-13) .385, .846 OPS
Jacoby Ellsbury (4-8) .500, 1.545 OPS, 1 HR 7 RBI (six of which came on Saturday)
Adrian Gonzalez (4-13) .308 1 HR 4 RBI
Dustin Pedroia (6-10) .600, 1.336 OPS

To make matters worse, Sabathia has walked 10 Red Sox in 25 innings, by far his worst walks per nine innings of any team. The Red Sox have enough good/great hitters without a pitcher giving them free passes. Needless to say he's going to have to change his approach against them in the future.

Yesterday's game was so typical of a Yankees - Red Sox game at Fenway on a Saturday. Boston pitcher throws mediocre to decent outing (John Lackey 6 IP 3 ER), Yankees starter gets clobbered and Boston scores in double figures. The only missing was a rain delay.

One guy who loves facing Boston pitching is Francisco Cervelli. The Cisco Kid was 3-4 on Saturday and is now 18-42 (.429) lifetime against the Red Sox with 12 RBI in 13 games.

Curtis Granderson scored his league leading 100th run as part of a two run fourth inning that briefly tied the game at two apiece.

Ellsbury's career high six RBI included a back breaking 3-run HR in the 4th inning.

Bing Bang Boom Boston

Jonathan Papelbon blew an out number three-strike three fastball past a swinging Alex Rodriguez with a man aboard and two out in the 9th tonight, but the game between the Yankees and Red Sox was over in the 1st inning.

Boston jumped all over Freddy Garcia, who had the second shortest outing of his career en route to a 6-4 victory. Jon Lester was effective enough over six innings to earn his eighth win in 10 decisions and he got plenty of run support early.

Garcia had nothing and the Red Sox took advantage. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the ball game with his seventh home run of the season. Garcia then walked Dustin Pedroia before Adrian Gonzalez drilled a pitch to the gap in right-center for a triple and his league leading 51st RBI. Kevin Youkilis' sacrifice fly made it a 3-0 game before the sell out crowd had barely settled into their seats.

The Yankees mounted an immediate threat against Lester, but paid a price at the same time. Curtis Granderson drew a one out walk to start the 1st before Lester drilled Mark Teixeira in the right knee. The big 1st baseman had to be helped off the field by Joe Girardi and Tony Pena and was taken for x-rays, which were negative. The Yankees will know more on Teixeira's condition tomorrow. Lester got Alex Rodriguez to bounce into a fielder's choice, but Robinson Cano delivered a two otu single to get the Yankees on the board. Lester than plunked Russell Martin on the right knee, luckily without the same velocity that felled Teixeira. Nick Swisher had a chance to tie the game, but bounced out for the final out of the inning.

When Garcia gave up a two out RBI double to Pedroia in the 2nd inning, Girardi had seen enough and sent for Luis Ayala. Hector Noesi came on in the 3rd inning and pitched the remainder of the ball game. The rookie was effective, but did allow a 2-run home run to David Ortiz shortly after an inside pitch threw the DH off balance. Seemingly in defiance, Ortiz fired his bat towards the Red Sox dugout after connecting on the home run, drawing a loud chorus of boos from the hometown crowd.

The Yankees had a chance in the 9th against closer Jonathan Papelbon when Brett Gardner reached on a walk, took second on defensive indifference, and scored on Jorge Posada's RBI single. But the big showdown of Rodriguez, who had previously homered twice off Papelbon, and the Red Sox closer ended with a Boston victory.

Notes

Jorge Posada's three hit night included his first two hits from the right side of the plate.

Hector Noesi's six innings were a career high.

Derek Jeter had two hits and now needs 12 for 3,000.

Bobby Jenks, just off the DL, had to leave the game after his back stiffened up against the first batter he faced.

Hughes Fastball Still MIA

If you happen to see a baseball wandering around your neighborhood at about 92-93 mph, please call the local authorities. Do NOT try to apprehend the baseball yourself. We don't know why the known fastball has abandoned its owner-Phil Hughes- but pitching coach Larry Rothschild better find out in a hurry.

After a tremendous first half last season, Hughes struggled in the second half, primarily because of the lack of location. Now, the question of location is where is the velocity on his fastball? Just as in his prior start against Detroit, Hughes' teammates put runs on the board, but he couldn't keep them in the lead as his fastball resembled Javier Vazquez's. He lasted just two innings, and was yanked after he allowed five runs to the Boston Red Sox in the second inning to put his squad behind 6-3.

The Yankees rallied to tie the game before the Red Sox scored three runs off of Bartolo Colon and Boone Logan and fell 9-6. The victory was the first of the season for Boston, which had lost its first six games. Boston starter John Lackey fared no better than his counterpart, allowing six runs in five innings, but earned the victory. In his two starts, Lackey has allowed 15 earned runs in 8.2 innings pitched.

Hughes entered the bottom of the 2nd inning with a 3-1 lead thanks to a 2-run Robinson Cano dobule and an RBI double by Brett Gardner. But Boston loaded the bases on three straight singles with no out to start their half of the 2nd frame. A Marco Scutaro ground out scored one run, but Hughes looked like he might get out of trouble when he got Carl Crawford to bounce out for the second out of the inning. Dustin Pedroia, who homered in the 1st, had other things in mind and lined a 2-run single to center for a 4-3 Boston lead.

Pedroia moved to 2nd base on a Curtis Granderson throwing error and came home on an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez. After Hughes walked Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz brought home the final run of the inning with a single. Hughes probably would have been pulled then, but Youkilis was caught in between 2nd and 3rd and was eventually tagged out by Alex Rodriguez to end the inning.

The Yankees got single runs in the 2nd through 5th innings, including a solo home run by Rodriguez, but failed to score against the Boston bullpen. Former Yankee Al Aceves made his Red Sox debut and was followed by Bobby Jenks, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon.

Can You Feel It? | Baseball Digest

Can You Feel It? | Baseball Digest

It is the stretch of time, not Christmas, that some consider to be the most wonderful time of the year. I am of course talking about the first two weeks of the baseball season, and more specifically, Opening Day. It is one of the rites of spring, right up there with spotting the first robin and rainfall. There’s something distinctly different about Opening Day than all other days, including the post-season. There’s a distinct buzz in the air and in the ball park that is palatable. Some of these homes to baseball will beg for fans during the regular season, but for the most part they’ll sell out or nearly sell out their home opener.

The fans are loud well before the first pitch is thrown and the first beer and hot dog have been sold. Discussions on the pitching rotation, the lineup, the manager, the hated rivals. It doesn’t matter if it’s grey and 35 degrees; it feels sunny and warm (though if you were sitting in the Bronx on Thursday you might disagree).

Click here to read the rest of Baseball Digest's 2011 MLB Preview.

Albert Pujols Alex Rodriguez Derek Jeter Mariano Rivera Felix Hernandez Tim Lincecum Troy Tulowitzki Prince Fielder Ryan Braun Adrian Gonzalez Jon LesterCC Sabathia Carlos Beltran Jose Reyes

BD Hot Stove: AL East Prospects | Baseball Digest

BD Hot Stove: AL East Prospects | Baseball Digest

The Hot Stove turns to the the beasts of the east today with a look at the AL East prospects. The division produced three Rookie of the Year winners in the last decade – Eric Hinske (2002), Dustin Pedroia (2007), and Evan Longoria (2008).

Yankees: From the moment George Steinbrenner and company signed Jesus Montero out of Venezuela at age 16, Yankees fans have been drooling at the prospect of seeing Montero reach the majors. The $2M bonus baby is a presence behind the plate at 6’4″, 225 lbs, a factor that has many scouts wondering if that’s where his future lies. Early in this off-season Montero was nearly guaranteed a chance to prove himself at the majors in 2011, but then the Yankees signed Russell Martin and told the former Dodger that he would be the starting catcher. That left Jorge Posada as the full-time DH/part-time catcher and Montero wondering what the immediate future holds for him. GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees front office must decide whether to let Montero be mentored at the major league level by Martin, Posada, and coach Tony Pena or have him start the season at Triple-A Scranton. Montero’s spring training performance will certainly have an impact on that decision.

The Yankees aren’t too concerned with the hard hitting catcher’s bat, but know he needs to prove himself defensively. In his four seasons in the minors Montero has a .314 career batting average and .882 OPS. He has also averaged 19 home runs over the past two seasons. The now 21-yr old was nearly dealt at last season’s trade deadline for Cliff Lee, but instead remained in the organization and caught fire at the plate. His hitting coach Butch Wynegar told the NY Times, “Initially it bothered him. He didn’t come out and say it exactly, but I could tell it in his demeanor. He wants to be a Yankee, and I think that did motivate him a little bit, knowing that nobody’s untouchable around here. It kind of shook him up a little bit, like, ‘I’ll show them.’ ”

“Monty was a joy to be around, and he’s still raw and growing,” said Wynegar. “That’s why I call him a beast. That’s why I think he can be a monster.” Ranked the ninth best prospect by MLB.com, the Yankees hope 2011 is the arrival of the monster.

Red Sox: When Casy Kelly and a package of prospects were sent to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez, shortstop Jose Iglesias became Boston’s number one prospect. The Red Sox have had stalwarts at all infield positions, but shortstop since the team traded Nomar Garciaparra during the 2004 season. Marco Scutaro, in his second season in Boston, holds down the position for now. Jed Lowrie has also seen time there, but the long term plans for him in the organization are unknown. GM Theo Epstein is hoping that Iglesias, a native of Cuba that signed in 2009, will be the shortstop for many years to come. The 21-yr old played the majority of his first season at Double-A Portland, but missed a substantial amount of time after being hit on the right hand with a pitch. His return from injury included a 13 game stint in the New York-Penn league (rookie ball).

Iglesias’ time in Portland showed that his bat still needs work. Though he hit .285, he posted just a .695 OPS- nearly 80% of hits were singles and he lived up to his reputation as a free swinger by drawing just eight walks. Iglesias’ glove work is well ahead of his bat though. He’s got very good range, an excellent arm, and soft hands. Despite the missed time, Iglesias was still ranked the #42 prospect for 2011 by MLB.com. Spring Training will determine whether Iglesias starts the season in Portland or Pawtucket (Triple-A).

Rays: Tampa Bay lost many players via free agency this winter and dealt others, but this is an organization stocked with very good prospects. One of them is outfielder Desmond Jennings, who is the heir apparent to Carl Crawford. But the name on everyone’s lips after his brief 2010 stint in the majors is right-handed pitcher Jeremy Hellickson. The fourth round pick in the 2005 amateur draft (Hoover HS- Des Moines, IA) has got the goods. Only Mike Trout is rated as a higher prospect in Major League Baseball.

Hellickson throws a steady fastball that hits the mid-90s and can throw both his curve and changeup for strikes. He has excellent composure on the mound and is aggressive in his approach towards hitters. The Iowa native averaged 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings at Triple-A Durham last season while posting a 1.173 WHIP. He made his Major League debut on August 2, holding the Twins to two runs and three hits over seven innings to earn his first win in the bigs. Hellickson allowed just three earned runs in his first three starts, all of which he won. The Rays monitored his innings, however, and of his seven additional appearances, just one was as a starter.

With nothing left to prove in the minors, Hellickson will go to spring training trying to win the final spot in the rotation. If he doesn’t, the Rays will then have to decide whether to use him out of the pen or send him back down to Triple-A.

Blue Jays: Another right-handed pitcher with tremendous potential is in the #1 spot for the Toronto Blue Jays. Kyle Drabek, acquired in the Roy Halladay deal, is on the precipus of what many feel should be a long and illustrious career. Drabek’s big pitch is his nasty curveball. Padres pitcher Mat Latos had the chance to play with Drabek earlier in his career and had this to say, “It’s (Drabek’s curveball) pretty filthy. I’ve seen a lot of curveballs and some nasty sliders, but not a curveball like that. All I could think was, ‘I’m glad I’m not a hitter.”’

Drabek’s four seam fastball is in the low 90′s, while his two-seamer is is around 88-90 mph and has plenty of movement. Like Hellickson, Drabek has receivEd High mark for his mound composure. He’ll need it since he should be in the Blue Jays starting rotation opening day and facing the best the AL East has to offer.

Orioles: The Orioles have developed some fine young talent of late- catcher Matt Wieters and pitcher Brian Matuz immediately come to mind. Shortstop Manny Machado was rated the best pure hitter and defensive infielder in the O’s organization by Baseball America and the 24th best prospect by MLB.com. He’s the highest pick by the Orioles since they draft pitcher Ben McDonald out of LSU in 1989.

Just 18 years old, Machado was the 3rd overall selection in last June’s amateur draft from Brito Miami (FL) High School. He didn’t sign until mid-August though, so the Orioles got to see him play just nine games, seven of which were for Aberdeen of the NY-Penn League. In that short stretch, Machado impressed with 10 hits in 29 AB (.345) and an .855 OPS. Being from Miami and having a 6’3″ frame, Machado has already drawn comparisons to fellow Miami native Alex Rodriguez. There are some in the organization who feel Machado, like A-Rod, will eventually move to 3rd base once his body matures.

The comparisons to A-Rod end there though. Machado is expected to hit for average with some power. He gets high marks for his fielding ability and for his hard work. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has known Machado since he was 10. “He’s hungry. (Machado) wants to be good. … I’ve see this kid prove himself day by day, week by week, year by year, to get better. I never thought he would be this good.” Machado will start the season in ‘A’ or Advanced ‘A’ ball.

Rumors, News, Transactions

MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and Fox’s Ken Rosenthal have reported that the Cleveland Indians and infielder Orlando Cabrera have agreed to a deal. Rosenthal expects Cabrera to compete for the 2nd base job.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told reports that 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez is ahead of schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery.

The Texas Rangers and centerfielder Josh Hamilton have agreed to a new two year, $24M deal.

The Angels Jered Weaver lost his arbitration hearing and will “only” make $7.37M this season. He had been asking for $8.8M.

Rumors are spreading that the Twins are thinking of dealing lefty Francisco Liriano, though they have him under control through 2012.

BD Hot Stove: Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes | Baseball Digest

D Hot Stove: Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes | Baseball Digest

It’s time to check in on the AL East and see what progress or lack of progress the teams have made.

Champion of the Winter Meetings: The Boston Red Sox clearly claim this title. First they swung a deal to bring the powerful bat of Adrian Gonzalez to Beantown and then signed the speedy Carl Crawford to a free agent deal. Post winter meetings, GM Theo Epstein has worked on stocking the bullpen. He’s added Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler, and Matt Albers and will still look to add another lefty (Felix Doubront is the sole left-hander in the pen at the moment).

Where’d everybody go?: The Tampa Rays knew this would happen, but it still has to be painful for manager Joe Maddon to see his team being dismantled. Crawford and Wheeler are in Boston. 1st baseman Carlos Pena went to the Chicago Cubs. Shortstop Jason Bartlett was dealt to the Padres. Set up man Joaquin Benoit went to Detroit. Lefty Randy Choate signed with the Marlins. Brignac will replace Bartlett and there’s still very good starting pitching, but some major holes need to be filled.

Standing Still: The NY Yankees had a chance, but it turns out they never really had a chance, to land Cliff Lee. While Boston’s offense and pen got stronger, the Yankees have been unable to fill their biggest needs, starting pitching and bullpen help. Andy Pettitte has yet to determine if wants to play again. Kerry Wood wanted a sizable “donation” from the Yankees, but instead gave the Cubs a hometown discount. Jon Rauch should be on the Yankees radar. The Yankees did add a new starting catcher, Russell Martin, with Jorge Posada taking on full time DH duty. It remains to be seen whether or not minor leaguer Jesus Montero will have an impact in 2011.

Oh Canada: The Blue Jays dealt their top starter, Shaun Marcum, for a top 2nd base prospect in the Brewers’ Brett Lawrie. A good deal for both squads. The Blue Jays are counting on their stud, Kyle Drabek, to earn a spot in the rotation some time during the 2011 season.

The Jays lost reliable set up man/closer Scott Downs, 1st baseman Lyle Overbay, and catcher John Buck, who enjoyed his best season, to free agency. As possible additions, the Jays signed 1st baseman Mike Jacobs and outfielder Corey Patterson to minor league deals. It’ll be difficult to compete with those plusses and minuses.

Hot L Baltimore: It’s been a tough off-season for the once proud Orioles. Players just don’t want to sign with a team that has been floundering in the AL East for so long. The O’s did get shortsop J.J. Hardy in a deal with the Twins and slugger/whiffer Mark Reynolds from the Diamondbacks. The latter deal cost them David Hernandez, but dealing the pitcher for some more offense was worth it.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

The Angels have reportedly dropped out of the running, for now, for 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre. The free agent is demanding a sixth year guaranteed contract.

Brandon Webb is said to be weighing offers, with either the Rangers, Cubs, or Nationals being the right-hander’s final destination.

BD Hot Stove: We’re In The Money | Baseball Digest

Jayson Werth's contract impact on Adrian Gonzalez and more.

BD Hot Stove: We’re In The Money | Baseball Digest

Red Sox, Padres Agree To A-Gon Swap | Baseball Digest

Red Sox, Padres Agree To A-Gon Swap | Baseball Digest

Adrian Gonzalez closer to heading to Boston.

Lee Heads to the Heart of Texas

Several reports are now out and it looks like it is official. Cliff Lee will be headed to Texas for "star in the making", Justin Smoak, and three prospects ( Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke, Matt Lawson). The Rangers also get reliever Mark Lowe.

It's a hefty to price to pay for Rangers' GM Jon Daniels. A player who they view as an annual 30-40 home run hitter for a three month rental. Evidently Daniels is worried about the pending bankruptcy of the team and may feel this is the Rangers lone shot at a title.

But it also makes me think of this, which I tweeted a short time ago - "Let me take you back to 2006 Rangers fans..Adrian Gonzalez, Chris Young, and Termel Sledge for Aki Otsuka and Adam Eaton".

Now Cliff Lee is a much better pitcher than Eaton or Otsuka, the latter of which was to fill the closer role at the time. But Gonzalez was a can't miss and he proved all the scouts right. Smoak may make Daniels regret this deal as well.

Yankees Strike Down Padres

The Mantlemurcers made their firs trip of the season yesterday, and except for the traffic getting to the GWB on the way home, it was a very successful day. The Yankees pitching, which was so mediocre the night before, dominated on Thursday afternoon. Joba Chamberlain and 3 relievers combined for 15 strikeouts as the Yankees completed a 3-game sweep of the San Diego Padres with a 2-1 win.

Joba wasn't around when the Yankees took the lead on an Alex Rodriguez single in the 6th, but he was pretty impressive in his 5.2 innings pitched. His final pitch, his 100th on the day, finished off his 9th strikeout. Joe Girardi was greeted with a chorus of boos as he came out to the mound and called on Jose Veras, wary that Joba would go far past his 105 pitch max limit should he face one more batter.

Those were the only boos on the day, well except when Kyle Farnsworth came out of the bullpen, on a beautifully sunny day. We had seats behind home plate about 2 or 3 rows from the top of the Stadium, but when we got there we nestled into some loge box seats by 3rd base and lucked out when their owners never showed up.

As for the game itself, Joba did indeed struggle with his control at times, walking 3, but his pitch location continued to improve and he regularly reached the upper 90s with his fastball. His strikeout prowess and some hustle avoided the Padres building a big inning in the 2nd.

Adrian Gonzalez drew a lead off walk and rookie Chase Headley poked a ground rule double into the left field corner. Former Yankee Tony Clark drew another walk to load the bases with no one out. But Joba brought the heat and blew strike three past Scott Hairston. With Khalil Greene hitting, a Joba pitch scurried past Jose Molina, but both players hustled and Molina threw to Joba, who actually blocked the plate, to tag out Gonzalez as he attempted to score. Greene then went down swinging, eliciting a modified fist pump from Joba for out number three.

The Yankees weren't doing much against Padres starter Josh Banks, who has an impressive array of pitches himself. He escaped a 1st inning jam after Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter lead off with back to back singles, striking out Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi after Damon had advanced to 3rd base on Bobby Abreu's fly out. He only allowed one base runner, hitting Giambi with a pitch, over the next 3 innings.

The Padres broke through first in the 4th inning. Brian Giles lead off with a single and Gonzalez drew a walk. Joba struck out out Headley, but Clark sliced a pitch into the left field corner for a ground rule RBI double. Pitching and defense then stopped the Padres from a big inning. Hairston grounded a pitch to A-Rod who came home with his throw. Gonzalez, running on contact, was a dead duck and lamely let himself be tagged out by Molina. (How do you not run over the catcher or slide?) Greene then lined to Abreu in deep right to end the inning.

The Yankees tied things up in the 5th by taking advantage of the Padres inability to throw out base stealers. Melky Cabrera drew a one out walk and stole 2nd and 3rd, easily beating throws from Michael Barrett. Molina shot to deep center easily plated Cabrera with the tying run.

The Yankees ran into another run an inning later when Jeter singled and stole 2nd base. The Yankees were 8 for 9 in thefts in the 3-game series. Abreu's ground out to the right side to move Jeter to 3rd and A-Rod brought him home with a line drive single to right for a 2-1 Yankees lead.

Jose Veras picked up the victory with 1.1 innings of worked and Farnsworth turned the boos to cheers when he struck out Headley and Clark to strand a Padres runner on 1st. Mariano Rivera then entered to deafening cheers, which got even louder when he struck out the side to record his 20th save in as many attempts.

News and Notes

The announced crowd was 54,000 plus, but looked to be 50,000 tops. In the AL the announced attendance is based on ticket sales rather than how many people actually go threw the turnstyles.

Hall of Famer Jerry Coleman, a Padres announcer and Phil Rizzuto's former double play partner on the Yankees, pulled the lever to reduce the number of home games from 46 to 45.

GWB $8
Parking $17
Hot Pretzel and a Diet Coke $8.75
Sitting in Yankee Stadium on a beautifully sunny day and winning PRICELESS

Yankees Strike Down Padres

The Mantlemurcers made their firs trip of the season yesterday, and except for the traffic getting to the GWB on the way home, it was a very successful day. The Yankees pitching, which was so mediocre the night before, dominated on Thursday afternoon. Joba Chamberlain and 3 relievers combined for 15 strikeouts as the Yankees completed a 3-game sweep of the San Diego Padres with a 2-1 win.

Joba wasn't around when the Yankees took the lead on an Alex Rodriguez single in the 6th, but he was pretty impressive in his 5.2 innings pitched. His final pitch, his 100th on the day, finished off his 9th strikeout. Joe Girardi was greeted with a chorus of boos as he came out to the mound and called on Jose Veras, wary that Joba would go far past his 105 pitch max limit should he face one more batter.

Those were the only boos on the day, well except when Kyle Farnsworth came out of the bullpen, on a beautifully sunny day. We had seats behind home plate about 2 or 3 rows from the top of the Stadium, but when we got there we nestled into some loge box seats by 3rd base and lucked out when their owners never showed up.

As for the game itself, Joba did indeed struggle with his control at times, walking 3, but his pitch location continued to improve and he regularly reached the upper 90s with his fastball. His strikeout prowess and some hustle avoided the Padres building a big inning in the 2nd.

Adrian Gonzalez drew a lead off walk and rookie Chase Headley poked a ground rule double into the left field corner. Former Yankee Tony Clark drew another walk to load the bases with no one out. But Joba brought the heat and blew strike three past Scott Hairston. With Khalil Greene hitting, a Joba pitch scurried past Jose Molina, but both players hustled and Molina threw to Joba, who actually blocked the plate, to tag out Gonzalez as he attempted to score. Greene then went down swinging, eliciting a modified fist pump from Joba for out number three.

The Yankees weren't doing much against Padres starter Josh Banks, who has an impressive array of pitches himself. He escaped a 1st inning jam after Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter lead off with back to back singles, striking out Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi after Damon had advanced to 3rd base on Bobby Abreu's fly out. He only allowed one base runner, hitting Giambi with a pitch, over the next 3 innings.

The Padres broke through first in the 4th inning. Brian Giles lead off with a single and Gonzalez drew a walk. Joba struck out out Headley, but Clark sliced a pitch into the left field corner for a ground rule RBI double. Pitching and defense then stopped the Padres from a big inning. Hairston grounded a pitch to A-Rod who came home with his throw. Gonzalez, running on contact, was a dead duck and lamely let himself be tagged out by Molina. (How do you not run over the catcher or slide?) Greene then lined to Abreu in deep right to end the inning.

The Yankees tied things up in the 5th by taking advantage of the Padres inability to throw out base stealers. Melky Cabrera drew a one out walk and stole 2nd and 3rd, easily beating throws from Michael Barrett. Molina shot to deep center easily plated Cabrera with the tying run.

The Yankees ran into another run an inning later when Jeter singled and stole 2nd base. The Yankees were 8 for 9 in thefts in the 3-game series. Abreu's ground out to the right side to move Jeter to 3rd and A-Rod brought him home with a line drive single to right for a 2-1 Yankees lead.

Jose Veras picked up the victory with 1.1 innings of worked and Farnsworth turned the boos to cheers when he struck out Headley and Clark to strand a Padres runner on 1st. Mariano Rivera then entered to deafening cheers, which got even louder when he struck out the side to record his 20th save in as many attempts.

News and Notes

The announced crowd was 54,000 plus, but looked to be 50,000 tops. In the AL the announced attendance is based on ticket sales rather than how many people actually go threw the turnstyles.

Hall of Famer Jerry Coleman, a Padres announcer and Phil Rizzuto's former double play partner on the Yankees, pulled the lever to reduce the number of home games from 46 to 45.

GWB $8
Parking $17
Hot Pretzel and a Diet Coke $8.75
Sitting in Yankee Stadium on a beautifully sunny day and winning PRICELESS

Yankees Streak to 6 in a Row

There was nothing pretty about the Yankees pitching tonight, whether it be Darrell Rasner or any reliever not named Rivera. But the Yankees hitters are heating up, even on a cool night. They made the difference tonight in an 8-5 win over the San Diego Padres that extended their winning streak to 6 games. It also bumped their "high water mark of the season" to 6 games over .500 (39-33).

The Yankees took a quick 1-0 lead in the 1st inning with the help of a Khalil Greene error and built on it in the 2nd. Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit stroked back to back doubles off of Jake Peavy for a 2-0 lead and Johnny Damon brought home Betemit two batters later with the first of his three singles on the night.

Rookie Edgar Gonzalez stroked a 2-run double in the 3rd off of Ranser, but he escaped further trouble after walking the bases loaded by retired another rookie, Chase Headley on a deep fly out to Melky Cabrera.

Each time the Padres got close the Yankees answered back. Alex Rodriguez continued his torrid June with a home run in his fourth straight game. His 14th home run of the season gave him 532 for his career, putting him two behind Jimmie Foxx for 14th place on the all-time list.

A-Rod helped manufacture a run in the 5th when Brian Corey replaced Peavy. The reigning MVP singled, stole 2nd base, one of four Yankees steals, and scored on a Jorge Posada single for a 5-2 lead.

Rasner threw 96 pitches in his struggling night, so Joe Girardi went to Edwar Ramirez to start the 6th. He breezed through the inning, but Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez took him deep in the 7th and suddenly it was a ball game again at 5-4. But again the Yankees answered right back.

Derek Jeter lead off the Yankees half of the 7th with a double and scored on Bobby Abreu's single. Abreu promptly stole 2nd and A-Rod greeted reliever Cla Meredith with an RBI single to restore the 3 run lead.

The teams traded single runs in the 8th with Kyle Farnsworth giving up Chase Headley's (Chase, Cla, Khalil..who named these people?) first major league home run and RBI . But Damon produced another RBI single for an 8-5 lead. Then it was up to Mariano Rivera to add to his save total. He even gave up a lead off double, but struck out Giles, and got Adrian Gonzalez to bloop into a double play, his brother Edgar being the victim at 2nd base.


News and Notes

Darrell Rasner picked up his 4th win and ended his 4 game losing streak. He deserved a break considering 2 of his losses were due to a lack of run support.

Mariano Rivera is now 19-19 in save situations. He picked up his 19th save last season in August.

Derek Jeter's double extended his hitting streak to 7 games, though it's a rather poor streak (7-29, .241).

Alex Rodriguez's 3-4 night raised his average to .337, tops in the AL. Johnny Damon had 3 hits put in the two spot at .332.

Hideki Matsui sat out tonight's game due to fluid build up in his left knee. Team doctor Stuart Hershon drained the knee and Godzilla will probably also go for an MRI.

June 18, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
San Diego	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	1	0		5	8	2
NY Yankees	1	2	1	0	1	0	2	1	X		8	14	1

San Diego	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Gerut, CF	4	1	0	0	1	1	3	.271
Gonzalez, Ed, 2B	5	0	2	2	0	2	2	.317
Giles, RF	5	1	1	1	0	1	2	.301
Gonzalez, A, 1B	4	1	1	1	1	0	2	.289
Clark, DH	2	0	0	0	2	2	0	.239
Headley, 3B	4	1	1	1	0	0	4	.375
McAnulty, LF	4	0	0	0	0	3	0	.227
Greene, SS	3	1	2	0	1	0	0	.231
Carlin, C	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.172
a-Hairston, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.230
Barrett, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.183
Totals	35	5	8	5	5	11	15
a-Struck out for Carlin in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Gonzalez, Ed 2 (7, Rasner, Rivera), Greene (9, Farnsworth). HR: Giles (5, 7th inning off Ramirez, 0 on, 2 out), Gonzalez, A (20, 7th inning off Ramirez, 0 on, 2 out), Headley (1, 8th inning off Farnsworth, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Gonzalez, Ed 4; Giles 4; Gonzalez, A 4; Headley 4; Greene 3; Carlin. RBI: Gonzalez, Ed 2 (7), Giles (27), Gonzalez, A (63), Headley (1). 2-out RBI: Giles; Gonzalez, A. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Headley 2; Gonzalez, Ed; Gerut. Team LOB: 8. FIELDING E: Greene (4, throw), Carlin (1, throw). DP: 2 (Carlin-Greene, Gonzalez, Ed-Greene-Gonzalez, A).

San Diego	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Peavy (L, 5-4)	4.0	6	4	3	2	4	1	2.88
Corey	1.1	3	1	1	0	1	0	5.11
Hampson	0.2	2	2	2	0	1	0	10.13
Meredith	2.0	3	1	1	0	0	0	4.84

Hampson pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	5	1	3	2	0	1	2	.332
Jeter, SS	4	1	1	0	1	1	3	.272
Abreu, RF	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	.282
Rodriguez, 3B	4	2	3	2	0	1	1	.337
Giambi, DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.263
Posada, C	3	0	1	1	1	0	0	.326
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	1	2	.230
Betemit, 1B	4	2	3	1	0	1	0	.254
Cabrera, CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.254
Totals	36	8	14	7	2	6	15
BATTING 2B: Cano (15, Peavy), Betemit 2 (5, Peavy, Meredith), Cabrera (9, Peavy), Jeter (10, Hampson). HR: Rodriguez (14, 3rd inning off Peavy, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 3; Jeter 2; Abreu; Rodriguez 6; Posada; Cano 2; Betemit 5; Cabrera 2. RBI: Betemit (10), Damon 2 (33), Rodriguez 2 (40), Posada (18), Abreu (44). 2-out RBI: Damon 2; Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Jeter 2. GIDP: Giambi. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Damon (13, 2nd base off Peavy/Carlin), Rodriguez (7, 2nd base off Corey/Carlin), Abreu 2 (8, 2nd base off Peavy/Carlin, 2nd base off Meredith/Carlin). CS: Betemit (1, 2nd base by Hampson/Carlin). FIELDING E: Betemit (2, fielding). DP: (Jeter).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner (W, 4-4)	5.0	3	2	2	5	4	0	3.64
Ramirez (H, 2)	2.0	2	2	2	0	4	2	2.86
Farnsworth (H, 7)	1.0	2	1	1	0	2	1	4.18
Rivera (S, 19)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.82

Hampson pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

Pitches-strikes: Peavy 93-55, Corey 35-22, Hampson 12-6,
Meredith 25-12, Rasner 96-55, Ramirez 29-19, Farnsworth 19-13, Rivera 11-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: Peavy 3-5, Corey 0-3, Hampson 0-0,
Meredith 6-0, Rasner 4-7, Ramirez 1-1, Farnsworth 0-1, Rivera 0-1.
Batters faced: Peavy 20, Corey 7, Hampson 3, Meredith 8,
Rasner 24, Ramirez 8, Farnsworth 5, Rivera 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Hampson 1-0, Meredith 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Gary Cederstrom.
2B: Fieldin Culbreth. 3B: Jim Reynolds.
Weather: 60 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 3 mph, Varies.
T: 3:11 (1:18 delay).
Att: 52,628.