The Pennant Race - 9/17

Is it Deja Vu all over again? The Mets have lost three straight and are suddenly in second place, one-half game behind the Phillies in the NL East. It all started with a blown two run lead in the ninth to the Braves on Sunday, and has been followed up by two straight losses to the suddenly competitive Nationals. The Mets and Pedro Martinez got spanked on Monday, 7-2, and were shut down last night by Mr. Cy Young himself, Odalys Perez.

Meanwhile, Ryan Howard continues his MVP surge in Philly. The Phils trailed the Braves 7-6 in the eighth inning lats night when Howard unloaded his 45th home run of the season to put the Phillies ahead 8-7. Brad Lidge escaped a bases loaded jam in the ninth to move the Phils into first place.

The Mets also got bad news when they found out Fernando Tatis is probably done for the year with a separated shoulder.

The Rays wrested sole possession of the AL East lead from the Red Sox with a 2-1 walk off win. Dionner Navarro delivered a bases loaded single in the bottom of the ninth.

The Twins rallid from an 8-0 deficit to the Indians to take a 9-8, but ultimately lost 12-9 in extra innings on Victor Martinez's walk off home run. The loss dropped Minnesota 2.5 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central.

The Mets may be out of first place, but they do have the wildcard lead thanks to the Cubs. CC Sabathia lost for the first time since Milwaukee acquired him as he was out pitched by Chicago's Ryan Dempster, who won his 16th game, 5-4.

No movement in the NL West- the Dodgers beat the Pirates 6-2 behind three hit games from Manny Ramirez (.401) and Casey Blake. Dan Haren kept Arizona 4.5 behind the Dodgers with a complete game, 4-hit, 12 striekout shutout over the Giants. Solo home runs by Chris Snyder and Stephen Drew provided the runs in the 2-0 win.

The Pennant Race - 9/17

Is it Deja Vu all over again? The Mets have lost three straight and are suddenly in second place, one-half game behind the Phillies in the NL East. It all started with a blown two run lead in the ninth to the Braves on Sunday, and has been followed up by two straight losses to the suddenly competitive Nationals. The Mets and Pedro Martinez got spanked on Monday, 7-2, and were shut down last night by Mr. Cy Young himself, Odalys Perez.

Meanwhile, Ryan Howard continues his MVP surge in Philly. The Phils trailed the Braves 7-6 in the eighth inning lats night when Howard unloaded his 45th home run of the season to put the Phillies ahead 8-7. Brad Lidge escaped a bases loaded jam in the ninth to move the Phils into first place.

The Mets also got bad news when they found out Fernando Tatis is probably done for the year with a separated shoulder.

The Rays wrested sole possession of the AL East lead from the Red Sox with a 2-1 walk off win. Dionner Navarro delivered a bases loaded single in the bottom of the ninth.

The Twins rallid from an 8-0 deficit to the Indians to take a 9-8, but ultimately lost 12-9 in extra innings on Victor Martinez's walk off home run. The loss dropped Minnesota 2.5 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central.

The Mets may be out of first place, but they do have the wildcard lead thanks to the Cubs. CC Sabathia lost for the first time since Milwaukee acquired him as he was out pitched by Chicago's Ryan Dempster, who won his 16th game, 5-4.

No movement in the NL West- the Dodgers beat the Pirates 6-2 behind three hit games from Manny Ramirez (.401) and Casey Blake. Dan Haren kept Arizona 4.5 behind the Dodgers with a complete game, 4-hit, 12 striekout shutout over the Giants. Solo home runs by Chris Snyder and Stephen Drew provided the runs in the 2-0 win.

The Pennant Race - 9/10

We're back from vacation, tanned, rested, and ready to get back to full posting. The races in four of the six divisions continue to be exciting. The Angels have a magic number of two to clinch the AL West, and the Cubs aren't losing any ground, because the Brewers are losing as much as the Chi-town team.

Things have really gotten crazy out in the NL West. The Dodgers lost eight straight in August before winning their final two of the month. They've since won seven of their first eight games in September to, remarkably, pick up five games on the Diamondbacks. LA has gone from 2.5 games out to 2.5 in front. Last night they trailed the Padres 2-0 in the sixth inning when Manny Ramirez's solo home run ignited a comeback. Andre Ethier drove in four runs, including a back breaking 3-run double in the ninth inning.

The Diamondbacks meanwhile lost for the 12th time in 15 games. Chris Snyder hit a game tying, 2-run home run in the ninth against Giants closer Brian Wilson, but Eugenio Velez singled in the game winner in the home half of the ninth.

The Blue Jays continue to muck up contending team's plans. Yesterday they out pitched and out hit the White Sox in a doubleheader sweep to extend their winning streak to 10 games. A.J. Burnett won his 17th game in the opener, allowing just one hit over seven innings in a 3-1 Blue Jays win.

The Jays won the nightcap 8-2 behind seven strong innings from Jessie Litsch and three home runs. News also got worse for the White Sox, already without Carlos Quentin, when Paul Konerko went down with a sprained MCL. He'll be further evaluated today.

The Twins took advantage of the White Sox double demise with a 7-2 win over the Royals. The victory moved the Twins back to within one game of the AL Central lead. Justin Morneau continued his run at another MVP award with his 23rd home run and RBI, 118 and 119.

When Jason Bay hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning last night, it appeared the Red Sox would overtake Tampa for first place in the AL East, but the Rays had more up their sleeve. Dan Johnson took Jon Papelbon deep for a game tying home run in the ninth. One out later, pinch-hitter Fernando Perez and Dionner Navarro stroked back to back doubles to give the Rays a 5-4.

Troy Percival came on in the ninth and faced a two out challenge when pinch-runner Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base and moved to third base on Navarro's throwing error. But Percival got Coco Crisp to pop out to end the game and push the Rays lead back to 1.5 games.

10-8. Important numbers in the NL East. The Mets blew a 5-2 lead to the Nationals and then had to rally from an 8-7 deficit to beat Washington, 10-8. Carlos Delgado went from first half boos to second half chants of 'MVP' with games like last night's in which he slugged two home runs.

The Phillies trailed the Marlins 9-1 before rallying behind Ryan Howard's 41st home run. They fell short though and the Marlins emerged with a 10-8 win, dropping the Phillies 2.5 games behind the Mets.

The Cubbies struggles continue. They led the Cardinals 3-0 last night before Albert Pujols hit a game tying 3-run home run in the sixth inning. The game would remain tied until the ninth when pinch-runner Bo Ryan came home with the winning run on Caesar Izturis' grounder. The victory moved the Cardinals to within 4.5 games of the Brewers in the NL wildcard race.

The Cubs didn't lose any of their lead though as the Brewers rallied back from a 4-1 deficit, only to lose to the Reds, 5-4, in 11 innings. Ray Durham hit the game tying 3-run blast in the seventh. The Brewers remain 4.5 back of the Cubs in the NL Central, while maintaining their 3.5 game lead over the Phillies in the wildcard.

The Pennant Race - 9/10

We're back from vacation, tanned, rested, and ready to get back to full posting. The races in four of the six divisions continue to be exciting. The Angels have a magic number of two to clinch the AL West, and the Cubs aren't losing any ground, because the Brewers are losing as much as the Chi-town team.

Things have really gotten crazy out in the NL West. The Dodgers lost eight straight in August before winning their final two of the month. They've since won seven of their first eight games in September to, remarkably, pick up five games on the Diamondbacks. LA has gone from 2.5 games out to 2.5 in front. Last night they trailed the Padres 2-0 in the sixth inning when Manny Ramirez's solo home run ignited a comeback. Andre Ethier drove in four runs, including a back breaking 3-run double in the ninth inning.

The Diamondbacks meanwhile lost for the 12th time in 15 games. Chris Snyder hit a game tying, 2-run home run in the ninth against Giants closer Brian Wilson, but Eugenio Velez singled in the game winner in the home half of the ninth.

The Blue Jays continue to muck up contending team's plans. Yesterday they out pitched and out hit the White Sox in a doubleheader sweep to extend their winning streak to 10 games. A.J. Burnett won his 17th game in the opener, allowing just one hit over seven innings in a 3-1 Blue Jays win.

The Jays won the nightcap 8-2 behind seven strong innings from Jessie Litsch and three home runs. News also got worse for the White Sox, already without Carlos Quentin, when Paul Konerko went down with a sprained MCL. He'll be further evaluated today.

The Twins took advantage of the White Sox double demise with a 7-2 win over the Royals. The victory moved the Twins back to within one game of the AL Central lead. Justin Morneau continued his run at another MVP award with his 23rd home run and RBI, 118 and 119.

When Jason Bay hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning last night, it appeared the Red Sox would overtake Tampa for first place in the AL East, but the Rays had more up their sleeve. Dan Johnson took Jon Papelbon deep for a game tying home run in the ninth. One out later, pinch-hitter Fernando Perez and Dionner Navarro stroked back to back doubles to give the Rays a 5-4.

Troy Percival came on in the ninth and faced a two out challenge when pinch-runner Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base and moved to third base on Navarro's throwing error. But Percival got Coco Crisp to pop out to end the game and push the Rays lead back to 1.5 games.

10-8. Important numbers in the NL East. The Mets blew a 5-2 lead to the Nationals and then had to rally from an 8-7 deficit to beat Washington, 10-8. Carlos Delgado went from first half boos to second half chants of 'MVP' with games like last night's in which he slugged two home runs.

The Phillies trailed the Marlins 9-1 before rallying behind Ryan Howard's 41st home run. They fell short though and the Marlins emerged with a 10-8 win, dropping the Phillies 2.5 games behind the Mets.

The Cubbies struggles continue. They led the Cardinals 3-0 last night before Albert Pujols hit a game tying 3-run home run in the sixth inning. The game would remain tied until the ninth when pinch-runner Bo Ryan came home with the winning run on Caesar Izturis' grounder. The victory moved the Cardinals to within 4.5 games of the Brewers in the NL wildcard race.

The Cubs didn't lose any of their lead though as the Brewers rallied back from a 4-1 deficit, only to lose to the Reds, 5-4, in 11 innings. Ray Durham hit the game tying 3-run blast in the seventh. The Brewers remain 4.5 back of the Cubs in the NL Central, while maintaining their 3.5 game lead over the Phillies in the wildcard.

Around the Horn - 6/9

Tampa is still in a feisty mood even though they are no longer playing the Red Sox. During yesterday's game with the Rangers, catcher Dionner Navarro and starting pitcher Matt Garza had to be separated. Garza was then yanked from the game by manager Joe Maddon, who later downplayed the incident.

The Angels have very quietly put together a 7-game winning streak, which ended with their loss to Oakland on Sunday. They're still not hitting, but their pitching continues to stand out. Imagine if they get Kelvim Escobar back healthy.

Every team in the American League is playing .500 ball or better, but it doesn't seem to be very good ball for most of the teams.

Despite a penchant for issuing walks, the Red Sox Justin Masterson is 3-0 after beating the Mariners yesterday. He'll get at least one more start until Dice-K comes back.

The White Sox have won 6 straight to take a 5.5 game lead on 2nd place Minnesota. Chicago is the only team over .500 in the AL Central.

The Tigers have probably lost Jeremy Bonderman for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.

The Indians have definitely lost Jake Westbrook for the season after it was announced he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.



















The Padres turned up the heat again on Willie Randolph with a 4-game sweep. San Diego came into the series 13 games under .500. They won three straight 2-1 games and rallied on Sunday for an 8-6 victory.

In case you haven't checked Jay Bruce's stats lately - in 13 games he's hitting .429 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, has 14 runs scored, and a 1.227 OPS. His teammate Ken Griffey Jr. still waits for that 600th home run.

Chipper Jones has a slight tear in his quad, but is only expected to miss a couple of games.

Around the Horn - 6/9

Tampa is still in a feisty mood even though they are no longer playing the Red Sox. During yesterday's game with the Rangers, catcher Dionner Navarro and starting pitcher Matt Garza had to be separated. Garza was then yanked from the game by manager Joe Maddon, who later downplayed the incident.

The Angels have very quietly put together a 7-game winning streak, which ended with their loss to Oakland on Sunday. They're still not hitting, but their pitching continues to stand out. Imagine if they get Kelvim Escobar back healthy.

Every team in the American League is playing .500 ball or better, but it doesn't seem to be very good ball for most of the teams.

Despite a penchant for issuing walks, the Red Sox Justin Masterson is 3-0 after beating the Mariners yesterday. He'll get at least one more start until Dice-K comes back.

The White Sox have won 6 straight to take a 5.5 game lead on 2nd place Minnesota. Chicago is the only team over .500 in the AL Central.

The Tigers have probably lost Jeremy Bonderman for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.

The Indians have definitely lost Jake Westbrook for the season after it was announced he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.



















The Padres turned up the heat again on Willie Randolph with a 4-game sweep. San Diego came into the series 13 games under .500. They won three straight 2-1 games and rallied on Sunday for an 8-6 victory.

In case you haven't checked Jay Bruce's stats lately - in 13 games he's hitting .429 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, has 14 runs scored, and a 1.227 OPS. His teammate Ken Griffey Jr. still waits for that 600th home run.

Chipper Jones has a slight tear in his quad, but is only expected to miss a couple of games.

Yankees Forced to Wait Another Night

With Kei Igawa replacing Roger Clemens for this evening's start, you had to figure the odds were not good for clinching the AL Wild Card tonight. Given 5 runs and 5 scoreless innings by Igawa, you would have thought it would have been a lock, but the garbage that is the rest of the Yankees bullpen made sure it wasn't to be. The Devil Rays rallied from 5-0 to take a 6-5 lead, and eventually won in 10 innings, 7-6 on Dionner Navarro's walk-off home run off of Jeff Karstens (1-4).

Igawa had done the impossible, holding the Rays to 2 hits and no runs over 5 full innings. He did struggle with his control, walking 5, but didn't give up the big hit to the Rays. Already leading 1-0 entering the 4th, the Yankees thought they had broken the game open when Alex Rodriguez belted his 3rd grand slam of the season, off of Jason Hammel. A-Rod's 53rd HR gave the Bombers a 5-0 lead and gave him 151 RBI. The latter total are the most since Joe DiMaggio drove in 155 in 1948.

But the Yankees middle relievers provided no relief. Early favorite Edwar Ramirez is quickly moving into the doghouse alongside Brian "Base on Balls" Bruney, who helped blow the game. BB-Ram (the former K-Ram) walked B.J. Upton to start the 6th, and one batter later Navarro doubled in the Rays first run. When Ramirez walked Jonny Gomes, Joe Torre sent for Bruney, and the small fire quickly became a 4-alarmer.

In typical Bruney fashion, the right-hander walked Greg Norton to load the bases, blew away Josh Wilson with 3 straight upper 90's fastballs and then walked Akinori Iwamura to force in a run. Then household name Jorge Velandia struck with a grand slam, the 32-yr old's 1st major league home run to give the Rays the lead.

The Yankees tied things up in the 8th against Dan Wheeler on Melky Cabrera's sac fly, but with runners on the corners and 2 outs, Derek Jeter took a 3-2 pitch for an inning ending strike 3. But Al Reyes and Gary Glover (6-5) blanked the Yankees over the next 2 innings and Navarro's 9th HR kept the Tigers breathing for one more day.

...

Johnny Damon certainly can't be blamed for the loss. The left-fielder went 5-5 with 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored.
Publish Post
Derek Jeter had hits in first 2 at-bats to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

Roger Clemens has been shut down for the rest of the regular season, and remains a question mark for the post-season roster, when and if it finally gets here.

photos courtesy of AP

Yankees Forced to Wait Another Night

With Kei Igawa replacing Roger Clemens for this evening's start, you had to figure the odds were not good for clinching the AL Wild Card tonight. Given 5 runs and 5 scoreless innings by Igawa, you would have thought it would have been a lock, but the garbage that is the rest of the Yankees bullpen made sure it wasn't to be. The Devil Rays rallied from 5-0 to take a 6-5 lead, and eventually won in 10 innings, 7-6 on Dionner Navarro's walk-off home run off of Jeff Karstens (1-4).

Igawa had done the impossible, holding the Rays to 2 hits and no runs over 5 full innings. He did struggle with his control, walking 5, but didn't give up the big hit to the Rays. Already leading 1-0 entering the 4th, the Yankees thought they had broken the game open when Alex Rodriguez belted his 3rd grand slam of the season, off of Jason Hammel. A-Rod's 53rd HR gave the Bombers a 5-0 lead and gave him 151 RBI. The latter total are the most since Joe DiMaggio drove in 155 in 1948.

But the Yankees middle relievers provided no relief. Early favorite Edwar Ramirez is quickly moving into the doghouse alongside Brian "Base on Balls" Bruney, who helped blow the game. BB-Ram (the former K-Ram) walked B.J. Upton to start the 6th, and one batter later Navarro doubled in the Rays first run. When Ramirez walked Jonny Gomes, Joe Torre sent for Bruney, and the small fire quickly became a 4-alarmer.

In typical Bruney fashion, the right-hander walked Greg Norton to load the bases, blew away Josh Wilson with 3 straight upper 90's fastballs and then walked Akinori Iwamura to force in a run. Then household name Jorge Velandia struck with a grand slam, the 32-yr old's 1st major league home run to give the Rays the lead.

The Yankees tied things up in the 8th against Dan Wheeler on Melky Cabrera's sac fly, but with runners on the corners and 2 outs, Derek Jeter took a 3-2 pitch for an inning ending strike 3. But Al Reyes and Gary Glover (6-5) blanked the Yankees over the next 2 innings and Navarro's 9th HR kept the Tigers breathing for one more day.

...

Johnny Damon certainly can't be blamed for the loss. The left-fielder went 5-5 with 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored.
Publish Post
Derek Jeter had hits in first 2 at-bats to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

Roger Clemens has been shut down for the rest of the regular season, and remains a question mark for the post-season roster, when and if it finally gets here.

photos courtesy of AP

The House that Smelled Like Garbage

This is why it is impossible to completely buy into the Yankees making any kind of a run at the AL East or wild card leads. We saw this in June too. Get a great run going, then fall apart. The Yankees won 11 of their past 14 games entering last night. But after being humiliated by the Devil Rays last night, 14-4, the Yankees suddenly find themselves with a 2 game losing streak. To compound matters, the Yankees and Devil Rays play two today, with the Yanks sending out the shaky duo of Kei Igawa and Matt DeSalvo.

That's what made last night's game so crucial. The Rays sent out Edwin Jackson to the mound, he of the 1-9 record and 7-plus ERA. But as we've seen so many times in the last few years, when Mike Mussina needed to come up big, he came up small.

It didn't appear that way at first. Mussina breezed through the 1st two innings, barely breaking a sweat. But the 3rd inning lasted a lifetime and with no punch from the Yankees' offense, the game was all but over. After Greg Norton's lead off single, Dionner Navarro, the former Yankees prospect, hit a drive to deep right. In a scene replayed many times over, Bobby Abreu hesitated as he neared the wall and the ball hit at the base, resulting in a double. Instead of a man on 1st with one out, the Rays were suddenly cooking with 2nd and 3rd, and no one out.

Akinori Iwamura's sac fly brought home the 1st run, and Carl Crawford followed with an RBI single to right. B.J. Upton then put an exclamation point on the inning with a home run into the 1st row of the upper deck in left. It was Upton's 10th HR of the year, and one of two he hit on the night, and gave the Rays a 4-0 lead. The inning would go on even longer though, as Mussina uncharacteristically walked the bases loaded before getting Norton on an inning ending ground out.

The Yankees put two men on in each of the first 2 innings, but came up empty in each case. Hideki Matsui flied out to end the 1st inning, and Shelley Duncan, making his major league debut, K'ed and Johnny Damon lined out to end the 2nd inning threat. Duncan failed again in the 4th, again striking out on a pitch out of the zone, to strand 2 runners.

A game that was still in reach became a blowout in the 5th. Upton lead off with a double before Mussina (4-7) retired the next 2 batters. But Brendan Harris stroked an RBI double to the gap in right-center to give the Rays a 5-0 lead, and Joe Torre decided it was time to call it a night for Moose. But things would only get worse.

Torre called on rookie Edwar Ramirez who hadn't pitched in 2 weeks. The layoff showed. K-Ram became W-Ram, walking Ty Wiggington and Norton. Then Navarro hit the crusher. A grand slam into the right field seats for an insurmountable 9-0 lead. It was Navarro's 2nd HR of the season, and 1st career grand slam. Ramirez then walked Iwamura and Crawford before Torre mercifully came out to get him.

Jackson (2-9) left after 6 scoreless innings and the Yankees finally got on the board when Andy Phillips (2nd) homered in the 7th to make it a 10-1 game. Duncan would later pick up his 1st major league hit and RBI, but this game was all about the Devil Rays.

...

Ramirez is expected to be sent down before the 2nd game in order to call up DeSalvo. The Yankees might be better off sending Brian Bruney down at this point. Bruney continued his awful pitching last night, retiring only 1 of the 5 hitters he faced. He was charged with 3 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks, and a wild pitch.

Hideki Matsui went 0-5 to end his hitting streak at 14 games.

Ron Villone threw only 11 pitches in 2/3 of an inning, but Torre felt compelled to use Scott Proctor...again. Proctor served up Upton's 11 HR and 2nd of the night.

The House that Smelled Like Garbage

This is why it is impossible to completely buy into the Yankees making any kind of a run at the AL East or wild card leads. We saw this in June too. Get a great run going, then fall apart. The Yankees won 11 of their past 14 games entering last night. But after being humiliated by the Devil Rays last night, 14-4, the Yankees suddenly find themselves with a 2 game losing streak. To compound matters, the Yankees and Devil Rays play two today, with the Yanks sending out the shaky duo of Kei Igawa and Matt DeSalvo.

That's what made last night's game so crucial. The Rays sent out Edwin Jackson to the mound, he of the 1-9 record and 7-plus ERA. But as we've seen so many times in the last few years, when Mike Mussina needed to come up big, he came up small.

It didn't appear that way at first. Mussina breezed through the 1st two innings, barely breaking a sweat. But the 3rd inning lasted a lifetime and with no punch from the Yankees' offense, the game was all but over. After Greg Norton's lead off single, Dionner Navarro, the former Yankees prospect, hit a drive to deep right. In a scene replayed many times over, Bobby Abreu hesitated as he neared the wall and the ball hit at the base, resulting in a double. Instead of a man on 1st with one out, the Rays were suddenly cooking with 2nd and 3rd, and no one out.

Akinori Iwamura's sac fly brought home the 1st run, and Carl Crawford followed with an RBI single to right. B.J. Upton then put an exclamation point on the inning with a home run into the 1st row of the upper deck in left. It was Upton's 10th HR of the year, and one of two he hit on the night, and gave the Rays a 4-0 lead. The inning would go on even longer though, as Mussina uncharacteristically walked the bases loaded before getting Norton on an inning ending ground out.

The Yankees put two men on in each of the first 2 innings, but came up empty in each case. Hideki Matsui flied out to end the 1st inning, and Shelley Duncan, making his major league debut, K'ed and Johnny Damon lined out to end the 2nd inning threat. Duncan failed again in the 4th, again striking out on a pitch out of the zone, to strand 2 runners.

A game that was still in reach became a blowout in the 5th. Upton lead off with a double before Mussina (4-7) retired the next 2 batters. But Brendan Harris stroked an RBI double to the gap in right-center to give the Rays a 5-0 lead, and Joe Torre decided it was time to call it a night for Moose. But things would only get worse.

Torre called on rookie Edwar Ramirez who hadn't pitched in 2 weeks. The layoff showed. K-Ram became W-Ram, walking Ty Wiggington and Norton. Then Navarro hit the crusher. A grand slam into the right field seats for an insurmountable 9-0 lead. It was Navarro's 2nd HR of the season, and 1st career grand slam. Ramirez then walked Iwamura and Crawford before Torre mercifully came out to get him.

Jackson (2-9) left after 6 scoreless innings and the Yankees finally got on the board when Andy Phillips (2nd) homered in the 7th to make it a 10-1 game. Duncan would later pick up his 1st major league hit and RBI, but this game was all about the Devil Rays.

...

Ramirez is expected to be sent down before the 2nd game in order to call up DeSalvo. The Yankees might be better off sending Brian Bruney down at this point. Bruney continued his awful pitching last night, retiring only 1 of the 5 hitters he faced. He was charged with 3 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks, and a wild pitch.

Hideki Matsui went 0-5 to end his hitting streak at 14 games.

Ron Villone threw only 11 pitches in 2/3 of an inning, but Torre felt compelled to use Scott Proctor...again. Proctor served up Upton's 11 HR and 2nd of the night.