Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty Five

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

Rare Power Source :  Juan Pierreof the Dodgers hit the 13 ^th home run of his career on Monday in their 8-2 win over the Pirates.  It was his first in 1,070 at-bats.  Pierre’s 13 ^th career homer came on his 5,132 ^nd career at-bat.

Snap! : Seattle’s Raul Ibanezwent 0-for-3 in their 3-0 loss to the Royals on Monday.  The performance ended Ibanez’s streak of reaching base at 32 consecutive games.

Even Better Than the Babe :  Alex Rodriguezhomered for the 35 ^th time this season on Wednesday and surpassed the 100 RBI mark giving him 35 home runs and 100 RBI for the 12 ^th season — one more than Babe Ruth.  Also, the Yankees beat the White Sox 5-1 as A-Rod became the first player to homer 35 times in 11 consecutive seasons passing Sammy Sosawho hit at least 35 homers in 10 consecutive seasons.

Notable Quotable I : “No, I’m not enjoying this.  Are you crazy?  Walking out there every three minutes?  [Fans] didn’t come to see me.  They come to see the guys play.  This is not the way we drew it up, but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to win.  We’ll laugh about it, hopefully, in November.”  Mets manager Jerry Manuelwho used seven different relievers in their 9-7 win over the Nationals on Wednesday. 

Team Turnaround : The Tampa Bay Rays won their 90 ^th game on Wednesday over the Red Sox 10-3.  They became just the sixth team in Major League history to follow 10 consecutive losing seasons with at least 90 wins.  The 2008 Rays joined the ’12 Senators, ’14 Braves, ’56 Reds, ’79 Expos and 2006 Tigers.

One Happy Return : Detroit’s Freddy Garciamade his first start in 15 months a successful one on Wednesday.  Garcia went five innings and allowed one unearned run on two hits and a walk in their 17-4 win over the Rangers.

Notable Quotable II : “Wow!  This year’s been really, really crazy.  I’m just here for one reason.  I want to win and keep going.”  Geovany Sotoof the Cubs who slammed a game-tying three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to send their game with the Brewers to extras on Thursday.  The Cubs won on a walk-off single by Derrek Leeto beat the Brew Crew 7-6 in 12 innings.

Consolation Prize : The Rays lost to the Twins 11-8 on Thursday but Evan Longoriabecame just the second player in Rays’ history to hit three home runs in a game.  The only other Ray to do so was Jonny Gomesin 2005.

Major Maybin : Florida’s Cameron Maybinhad four hits for the second consecutive game, had eight consecutive hits and reached base 10 consecutive times both streaks tying franchise records.  The four-hit performance by Maybin on Friday helped the Marlins beat the Phillies 14-8 and Maybin ended the night with an .818 average through his first three ’08 games.

Reversal : Tampa Bay’s Carlos Penabecame the first to benefit from instant replay as the call on the field of fan interference and a ground-rule double was reversed after review and Pena awarded a home run in their 11-1 win over the Twins on Friday.  The first use of instant replay also took place at Tropicana Field on September 3.

Rookie Power : Cincinnati’s Joey Vottohit his 19 ^th and 20 ^th homer and Jay Brucehit his 20 ^th homer on Friday to help the Reds beat the Brewers 11-2.  Votto and Bruce became the only pair of rookies on the same team to blast 20 home runs this year.

Whiff Ball : Oakland’s Jack Custstruck out for the 186 ^th and 187 ^th time on Friday to set a new American League record for strikeouts in a season.  On a good note, the Athletics won the game against the Mariners 2-0.

Clinch I : The Chicago Cubs defeated the Cardinals 5-4 on Saturday and clinched their second consecutive National League Central title.

We Have A Winner : Philadelphia’s Joe Blantonhas not been dominant since joining the team after a mid-season trade with Oakland but he is a perfect 3-0 in 12 starts with the club.  On Saturday, the Phillies won 3-2 behind Blanton’s five-inning, two run and nine strikeout performance.

Clinch II : The Tampa Bay Rays clinched their first-ever playoff berth on Saturday with a 7-2 win over the Twins.

Streakin’ : Atlanta’s Kelly Johnsonextended his hitting streak to 19 straight games in the Braves 7-6 come-from-behind win over the Mets (Do the Mets lose any other way?) on Sunday.

Bullpen Blow-Up : The Mets’ bullpen fell to 2-8 since August 11 and the bullpen registered their 16 ^th blown save since the All-Star break — the most in the Majors — on Sunday in their loss to the Braves.  Scott Schoeneweistook the loss, his third since August 26.

Dynamic Duo : Oakland’s bullpen duo of Brad Zieglerand Joey Devineare nothing short of amazing this year.  On Sunday, Ziegler picked up the win and Devine notched his first save in their 5-3 win over the Mariners.  Ziegler is 3-0 with 10 saves and a 0.78 ERA and Devine is 6-1 with one save and a 0.62 ERA.

Closing In : Philadelphia’s Brad Lidgeis a perfect 40-of-40 in save opportunities this season after Lidge’s fourth save of the week on Sunday.  The Phillies beat the Marlins 5-2 and extended their National League East lead to 1-1/2 games and Lidge moved closer to becoming only the second player in Major League history to save at least 40 games without blowing an opportunity.

Notable Quotable III : “I feel like I’m losing an old friend.  I’m glad I was here.”  Hall of Famer Reggie Jacksonon Sunday’s game at Yankee Stadium — the last before the Yankees move across the street.

Shutting the Doors : The Yankees closed out Yankee Stadium with a 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles behind Andy Pettitewho picked up his 14 ^th win, Jose Molinawho hit the last home run at the Stadium and Mariano Riverawho pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Numbers Game
200: Seattle’s Ichiro Suzukiwent 3-for-3 on Wednesday to notch his eighth consecutive 200-hit season matching only Wee Willie Kellerfor the most consecutive seasons with 200 hits.
1,007: Kansas City’s Brandon Duckworthstruck out Wladimir Balentienin the sixth to register the club’s 1,007 ^th strikeout, a franchise record.  The previous record of 1,006 was set in 1990.
1,270:  Derek Jeterof the Yankees delivered his 1,270 ^th hit at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.  The first inning single moved Jeter past Lou Gehrigfor most hits in Yankee Stadium history.

Grand Slams
Taylor Teagarden, Texasvs. Detroit (9/15)
Troy Tulowitzki, Coloradovs. San Diego (9/15)
Chris Ianetta, Coloradovs. San Diego (9/16)
Adam LaRoche, Pittsburghvs. LA Dodgers (9/17)
Jorge Cantu, Floridavs. Houston (9/17)
Adam Kennedy, St. Louisvs. Chicago Cubs (9/19)
Joey Votto, Cincinnativs. Milwaukee (9/19)
Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Soxvs. Kansas City (9/19)

Walk-Off Archive
Single:  Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bayvs. Boston (9/16); Chris Davis, Texasvs. Detroit (9/16); Cliff Pennington, Oaklandvs. LA Angels (9/17); Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubsvs. Milwaukee (9/18); Jamey Carroll, Clevelandvs. Detroit (9/19)  
Double:  None
Triple:  None  
Home Run:  Victor Martinez, Clevelandvs. Minnesota (9/16)