- Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto has been suspended for seven games for his actions during a brawl with the St. Louis Cardinals, and both managers were suspended for two games.
Papelbum and Broxton with some real gas can performances tonight. Dodgers lead 9-6, bottom 9: Phillies 9th Jonathan Broxton pitching: Placido Polanco : Ball, Ball, Polanco hit by pitch. Mike Sweeney : Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul, Sweeney walked, Polanco to second. Jayson Werth : Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Werth walked, Polanco to third, Sweeney to second. Ben Francisco : Strike looking, Francisco grounded into fielder's choice to third, Polanco and Sweeney scored, Werth to second on 3rd baseman Blake fielding error. Carlos Ruiz : Strike looking, Ball, Ruiz doubled to deep center, Werth and Francisco scored Red Sox lead 5-2, bottom 9: Blue Jays 9th John Lackey pitching: Jose Bautista : Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Ball, Ball, Foul, Bautista homered to left. Jonathan Papelbum relieved John Lackey. Vernon Wells : Wells doubled to deep right. Adam Lind : Lind singled to center, Wells scored. Aaron Hill : Strike looking, Wise stole second, Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Hill reached on an infield single, Wise to third. Travis Snider : Ball, Strike swinging, Strike swinging, Snider struck out swinging. Edwin Encarnacion : Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Encarnacion doubled to left, Wise scored, Hill to third Lyle Overbay hit for Jose Molina. Lyle Overbay : Intentional ball, Intentional ball, Intentional ball, Overbay intentionally walked. Daniel Bard relieved Jonathan Papelbon. Fred Lewis : Ball, Lewis hit sacrifice fly to center, Hill scored
An important NL West series started tonight: Padres @ Giants Richard (SD) and Sanchez (SF) will duel in the opener tonight. It should be a good one.
Mike Stanton, considered one of the next best prospects behind Heyward and Strasburg before the season, is absolutely killing the ball. And he's only 20! Watch him if you have a chance.
yesterday Oakland was no hit for 7.1 IP (Slowey for 7 and then a reliever for one out), and tonight they were no hit for 6. Conor Jackson, fresh off the DL, homered to lead off the 7th. Now in the 9th and that's still Oakland's only hit and run. The NL West is now a better hitting division than the AL West, what with Seattle and Oakland's inept lineups. Oakland has Kurt Suzuki cleanup and Seattle had a 3-4-5 of Branyan-Jose Lopez-Franklin Gutierrez tonight.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38761247/ns/sports-player_news/ Derrek Lee to Atlanta for three prospects.
True, his talent is undeniable...he's the real deal. Too bad he only plays in front of 200 people at home games.
Carlos Gonzalez hurt slamming into the wall while making a great, potentially game-saving catch (it was tied at 2, a run would've scored, and then there would've been runner on 2nd, two out).
PHILADELPHIA -- Rookie ace Stephen Strasburg exited early, wincing with a strained tendon in his right forearm, and the Washington Nationals went on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 Saturday night. Strasburg left with one out in the fifth inning. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said the young pitcher would have an MRI exam Sunday. "You're always concerned when a pitcher leaves. We'll see what the MRI says," Rizzo said. Strasburg was making his third start since returning from a stint on the disabled list with inflammation in the back of his right shoulder. He grimaced and shook his right wrist after a pitch to Dominic Brown and was removed without any warmup tosses -- the Nationals were taking no risks. Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty slapped the dugout wall in anger after Strasburg was yanked, another setback for a pitcher with so much promise. Strasburg was in control until he got hurt, striking out six in 4 1/3 innings while allowing two runs and a run. Craig Stammen relieved Strasburg with the Nationals leading the Phillies 5-1. Doug Slaten (3-1) pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings for the win. http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap...washington-nationals-vs-philadelphia-phillies AP report
CHICAGO -- Cubs manager Lou Piniella says he is retiring after Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves to spend more time with his family. Piniella, 66, announced in mid-July he would retire at the end of the season after 22 years as a major league manager but Sunday said his need to be at home with his ailing mother had become more urgent. The Cubs quickly named third base coach Mike Quade manager for the remaining 38 games of the season, starting Monday at Washington. The rest of the coaching staff would stay for now, the team said several hours before the game at Wrigley Field. In selecting Quade, the team didn't choose bench coach Alan Trammell, who was 1-4 as an interim manager during Piniella's absence earlier this season. General manager Jim Hendry said in a news conference on Sunday that Trammell would not be considered as a successor to Piniella. "When I previously announced my intentions to retire at the end of the season, a primary reason for my decision was that it would allow me to spend more valuable time with my family," said Piniella in a statement Sunday. "That time has unfortunately gotten here sooner than I could have ever expected." Piniella's record with the Cubs was 316-292. Under the mellowed skipper, Chicago won consecutive NL Central titles in 2007-08, but missed the playoffs last year and has struggled again this season with a new owner in charge. [+] EnlargeAndrew Weber/US Presswire With 1,835 career wins, Lou Piniella ranks fourth among active managers behind Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre. "As many know, the several weeks since that announcement was made have been very difficult on a family level, requiring two leaves of absence from the club," Piniella said. "While I fully intended to manage this club the rest of the season, a family situation at home now requires my full attention." The Cubs have gone 102 years without a World Series title. Losing seven of their last 10 entering Sunday, they've dropped to 20½ games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central at 51-73. Piniella, with a record of 1,835-1,712 (.517), ranks fourth among active managers in wins. He'll manage his last game against Bobby Cox, who stands second at 2,485-1,981 (.556). Tony La Russa leads active managers at 2,618-2,271 (.535). Joe Torre is third (1,835-1,712, .517). Quade, 53, has coached in the Cubs' organization for eight years. He was the manager of Triple-A affiliate Iowa from 2003-06 before joining the Cubs. Quade has also served as a minor league manager in the Nationals, Phillies, and Athletics organizations. A native of the Chicago area, Quade was a minor league outfielder in the Pirates' system from 1979-82 before retiring as a player. Hendry said he decided over the past few weeks that Trammell would not be considered for the job on a full-time basis. He said he discussed that with Trammell on Sunday, and that he understood. "He's happy for Mike, and he wants to stay and help Mike," Hendry said of Trammell. "Since I had already made a decision that Alan wasn't going to manage next year, I thought that we would be better served by him not being the manager for the rest of the season." Previously, Hendry had said Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, now managing the club's Triple-A affiliate in Des Moines, would be a candidate for the job. He said last month Piniella's replacement wouldn't be hired before the end of the season, but he had hoped to have a manager in place by organization meetings in late October or early November. "It's not going to be a two-week process," Hendry said. Sandberg, who spent several seasons as a spring training instructor with the Cubs after retiring in 1997, has said he's interested. "I need to focus on what I'm doing here in Des Moines with these players and what my job is right now," he said. "If the time came, if I was considered for that job in Chicago, I think that'd be a terrific thing just to be considered. The whole goal of any minor leaguer is to get to the major leagues, and I think that includes coaches and managers like myself." Piniella's South Side counterpart, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, said the news was "very shocking." "I think this man is a very, very, very [good] baseball man. When you're going to talk about baseball, Lou's name is out there. But I don't blame him," Guillen said. "Sometimes enough is enough, especially when you expect a lot from the ballclub from the beginning of spring training and all of the sudden everything is wrong. It's not easy." Piniella made five trips to the World Series in his career and has three championship rings. A right-handed outfielder, he was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1969 after batting .282 with 11 homers and 68 RBIs with the Royals. He was traded to the Yankees in 1973 and ended his playing career with New York in 1984. In all, Piniella played 18 years in the majors -- 11 with the Yankees -- and was a career .291 hitter. Piniella began managing in 1986 with the Yankees and lasted three years, including a stint as general manager. He managed the Reds from 1990-92, leading them to a World Series championship in his first season. After Cincinnati, Piniella had a long run in Seattle, where his teams won at least 90 games four times. The Mariners went 116-46 in 2001, but lost in the AL Championship Series to the Yankees. His 1995 and 2000 Mariners teams also fell in the ALCS.
I don't care to look it up, but I can't remember the last time David Ortiz got a triple before today against the Jays
Houston/Philly in the 15th. Rollins hit a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 2-2.
Jeter just missed. He somehow played 157 games in 2002 without recording a triple. He's had at least one in 15 out of 16 seasons. Ichiro's next season will be #11, and he's had at least 4 triples in every previous season. Only 2 so far in 2010.
