Diamond Rundown – Edition Fifteen

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the fifteenth week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

Proving to be Fast Quickly : Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawfordstole the 300 ^th base of his career on Monday in their 7-4 extra inning loss to the Royals on Monday.  With the steal, Crawford became the ninth player in the Majors since 1900 to steal 300 bases before turning 27.  The others — Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb, Tim Raines, Vince Coleman, Cesar Cedeno, Clyde Milan, Eddie Collinsand Sherry Magee.

Almost Perfect I : Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kurodafaced just 28 batters and threw 91 pitches in his one-hit complete game shutout of the Atlanta Braves on Monday.  Kuroda retired 21 straight batters before Mark Teixeiraled off the eighth inning with a double — the team’s only hit.

In Good Company : Cleveland’s Grady Sizemorestole the 100 ^th base of his career on Tuesday in their 9-2 loss to the Tigers.  Sizemore became just the second player in team history to hit 100 homers and steal 100 bases joining Joe Carter.

Ray Man : Yankees pitcher Andy Pettiteoutpitched All-Star Scott Kazmiron Tuesday in their 5-0 win over Tampa Bay.  In his career, Pettite is 15-4 against the Rays.

Notable Quotable I : “If you watched the game you know what happened.  So what do you want to talk about?”  Baltimore’s Freddie Bynum— a late inning defensive replacement — who made a key error in the ninth inning on a Scott Rolengrounder which scored the winning run.  Toronto trailed 6-2 but came back to win 7-6.

Home Sweet Home : Chicago’s Ryan Dempsterimproved to 10-0 at home in their 7-3 win over the Reds on Tuesday.

Dazzling Debut I : Rangers pitcher Matt Harrisonpitched seven strong innings allowing just two runs on five hits and a walk in his first Major League win in their 3-2 win over the Angels.

Moving On : On the day the Athletics traded Rich Hardento the Cubs, Oakland’s Justin Duchschererbecame the first Oakland pitcher to pitch a 2-hit complete game shutout since Harden accomplished the feat on July 14, 2005.  Oakland beat Seattle 2-0 and Duchscherer raised his record to 10-5 while lowering his Major League leading ERA to 1.78.

Notable Quotable II : “I probably won’t wear it during the game… unless I happen to get tossed.”  Yankees manager Joe Girardion “ Jason GiambiMustache Day” where the first 20,000 fans received fake mustaches to support Giambi’s candidacy for the 32 ^nd roster spot in the Final Vote.  Giambi came up short, beaten out by Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria.

SurgeRy : Philadelphia’s Ryan Howardwas hitting .163 in May but set a team record for most RBI before the All-Star break when he plated his 80 ^th run on Wednesday.  The previous record was held by Greg Luzinskiwho had 79 RBI at the All-Star break in 1975.  Howard finished the week with 84 RBI.

Notable Quotable III : “Perfect timing, isn’t it?”  Giants manager Bruce Bochyafter learning his team would face newly acquired Cubs pitcher Rich Hardenover the weekend and CC Sabathiain their first series against the Brewers after the All-Star break.

Almost Perfect II : Dodgers pitcher Derek Loweretired 18 straight before giving up a single to Gregor Blancoto lead off the seventh.  Lowe went 7 2/3 innings and gave up just one run on two hits and a walk in their 2-1 win over the Braves on Wednesday.  The game lasted just two hours which was three minutes shorter than Hiroki Kuroda’s one hitter on Monday.

Mulligan : The Pirates and Yankees had to restart a game rained out earlier in the season in which the Yankees were leading 3-0.  In that game, Pittsburgh’s Paul Maholmgave up four consecutive extra-base hits and was the pitcher of record when the game was washed away.  On Thursday, the game was replayed and Maholm was the starter.  This time, he went eight innings and gave up two runs on seven hits and a walk in their 4-2 win over the Yankees.

Well Supported : Angels pitcher John Lackeytied a team record for most hits allowed in their 11-10 win over the Rangers on Thursday.  Lackey gave up 15 hits and six runs in 5 2/3 innings but left with a 10-6 lead and ended up with a no decision.  The 15 hits allowed tied Paul Hartzell’s team record of 15 hits allowed in 8 2/3 innings on September 9, 1976.

Career Year? : Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohseregistered his 11 ^th win on Friday in their 6-0 win over the Pirates.  Lohse gave up no runs on six hits and a walk in seven innings for his 12 ^th quality start of the season.  He is 11-2 and on pace to blow away his career best record of 14-11 in 2003.

Dazzling Debut II : Cardinals reliever Jaime Garciafinished off the shutout of the Pirates on Friday in his debut with two innings of scoreless ball.  He gave up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts in his first game in the Majors. 

Trickery : In the sixth inning with runners on first and third, Philadelphia sent Carlos Ruizfrom first base and Ruiz allowed himself to get into a rundown which allowed Shane Victorinoto score from third and give the team a 3-1 lead.  The game ended up going extras and the Phillies won 6-5 on a Jayson Werthwalk-off single.  Victorino did not get credit with a steal of home on the play that gave them a 3-1 lead.  Who was the last player to steal home in Philadelphia history?  Carlos Ruiz.

Finish What You Started : Toronto’s Roy Halladay’s 2-hit complete game shutout of the Yankees on Friday was his Major League best seventh complete game and second shutout of the season.

Notable Quotable IV : “I wanted to go into the record book.  I told my wife, some way, somehow in my career, I’m going in the record book.”  Washington’s Tim Reddingwho snapped a streak of nine consecutive no decisions with his seventh win of the season and first since May 19 on Friday.  The Nationals beat the Astros 10-0 and kept Redding from joining San Diego’s John D’Acquistoand Philadelphia’s Randy Lerchwho both started 10 consecutive games without a decision in 1977.

I Get Around : Astros Hall of Fame broadcaster Milo Hamiltoncalled Friday’s Astros-Nationals game at Nationals Park marking the 57 ^th Major League stadium Hamilton called a game from.  He is the only broadcaster to call games in all three Major League parks in Washington, D.C. — Griffith Stadium, RFK Stadium and Nationals Park.

Notable Quotable V : “I don’t like a player like Barry Bondson my ballclub.  He’s a Hall of Famer, to me the best player in the history of baseball no matter what.  But he’s not the type of player we’re looking for in this organization.”  White Sox manager Ozzie Guillenwhen asked about the possibility of acquiring baseball’s home run king.

Almost Doesn’t Count : Florida’s Chris Volstadwent 8 2/3 innings in his first Major League start, nearly ending the Marlins streak of games without a complete game.  It was the 269 ^th consecutive time a Marlins starter failed to register a complete game.  The Marlins did win the game 3-1 and Volstad went to 2-0.

One is Not Always a Lonely Number : On Saturday, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Muniz, Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoenweisand Billy Wagnercombined for the 32 ^nd one-hitter in Mets history.  The Mets beat the Rockies 3-0 and the quintet became the first group of five players to combine for a no-hitter in team history.

K-onsistent : Oakland’s Jack Custstruck out for the 19 ^th consecutive game on Saturday to set a new team record for consecutive games with a strike out by a non-pitcher.  The previous record was held by Reggie Jackson.  Fortunately, Cust ended the streak on Sunday and finished with 114 strikeouts at the All-Star break — one short of Bo Jackson’s American League record of 115 at the All-Star break.

Olympic Spirit : Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jonesbecame the fourth player to strike out five times on Saturday lowering his batting average to .167.  Often, a five strikeout game is referred to as a “Platinum Sombrero” but also earns the nickname “Olympic Rings”.  Jones has struck out 58 times in 52 games this season.

According to Elias : On Saturday, the Cardinals blew a lead and lost to the Pirates 12-11 in 10 innings on a Jason Michaels’ walk-off homer.  In the game, the Cardinals registered 22 hits, the most in a St. Louis loss since July 1, 1956 when they had 23 hits in a 19-15 loss to the Reds.

Home Field Advantage : The Cleveland Indians snapped a 10-game losing streak on Friday — their longest since 1979 — with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays.  Then, they swept the Rays which extended their home winning streak over the Rays to 13.  The Indians have not lost to the Rays in Cleveland since September 29, 2005.

Sunday Stumbles : The Baltimore Orioles lost to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday by a score of 2-1.  The loss marked their 14 ^th consecutive losing Sunday.  The streak is nowhere close to the Major League record for most consecutive losses on a day of the week held by the 1939 St. Louis Browns and 1890 Pittsburgh Innocents who lost 21 consecutive Tuesdays.

An Irresistible Force Meets an Immovable Object : Chicago’s Ryan Dempsterlost at Wrigley for the first time in 12 starts this year.  Dempster fell to 10-1 at home and to 0-7 in his career against the San Francisco Giants.  His opponent, Tim Lincecum, raised his road record to 8-1 and his season record to 11-2.

Streakin’ : Rangers second baseman Ian Kinslerheads into the All-Star break on a 25-game hitting streak, the longest in the Majors this season.  It moved him past teammate Michael Youngwho had a Major League longest 23-game hitting streak and went into the break on a 15-game hitting streak.

Record for K-Rod : Angels closer Francisco Rodriguezrecorded his 38 ^th save of the season on Sunday.  Rodriguez’s 38 saves is a new Major League record for most saves at the All-Star break.  The previous record was held by John Smoltz.

AL+NL+CC=HR : Milwaukee’s CC Sabathiaearned his second win as a National Leaguer on Sunday with a complete game win over the Reds.  He also hit a home run in the third to become the first pitcher since Earl Wilsonin 1970 to hit homers in both leagues.

Numbers Game
38: Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollinsstole twice on Sunday to extend his consecutive steals without being caught to a Major League-best 38.  Rollins finished at the All-Star break a perfect 24-for-24, tied for third for the most steals at the All-Star break without getting caught.  Only Vince Coleman(39-for-39 in 1989), Julio Cruz(28-for-28 in 1981) and Mitchell Page(24-for-24 in 1977) have equaled or surpassed Rollins’ feat.
87: Florida’s Scott Olsenmade his 87 ^th consecutive start without a complete game — the ninth longest streak in Major League history.  He came close to ending his personal streak as well as the team’s Major League record streak of games without a complete game.  Olsen went eight innings and gave up one run on four hits and two walks.
200: Yankees shortstop Derek Jeterhit the 200 ^th home run of his career in their 9-4 win over the Blue Jays on Saturday.
290: Arizona’s Randy Johnsonraised his record to 6-7 in 2008 and notched the 290 ^th win of his career in their 10-4 win over the Phillies on Saturday.  Johnson had a two-run double in the fourth that started an eight-run inning.
537: Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguezpassed Mickey Mantlefor 13 ^th on the All-Time Home Run list with the 537 ^th homer of his career on Saturday.
1000: Houston’s Miguel Tejadascore in the first inning of their 10-7 loss to the Pirates on Monday for the 1,000 ^th time in his career.
1509: Chicago’s Jim Thomewalked for the 1,509 ^th time of his career on Wednesday passing Lou Gehrigfor 15 ^th on the All-Time walks list.
2000: Kansas City’s Mark Grudzielanek’s second of two hits on Saturday gave him 2,000 career hits.  He became the 18 ^th active player with 2,000 hits and the 251 ^st in Major League history.

Grand Slams
Kevin Youkilis, Bostonvs. Baltimore (7/12)

Walk-Off Archive
Single:  Adam Lind, Torontovs. Baltimore (7/10); Jayson Werth, Philadelphiavs. Arizona (7/11); Reed Johnson, Chicago Cubsvs. San Francisco (7/12)
Double:  Bobby Abreu, NY Yankeesvs. Tampa Bay (7/9)
Triple:  None 
Home Run:  Miguel Cabrera, Detroitvs. Cleveland (7/9); Josh Hamilton, Texasvs. LA Angels (7/9); Emil Brown, Oaklandvs. Seattle (7/10); Jason Michaels, Pittsburghvs. St. Louis (7/12)
Error:  Scott Rolen, Torontovs. Baltimore (7/8); David DeJesus, Kansas Cityvs. Seattle (7/12)