The Associated Press | Posted: Monday, July 21, 2008 12:00 am
SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, July 22
Philadelphia at New York Mets (7:10 p.m. EDT). Joe Blanton makes his first start for the Phillies after his trade from Oakland. He faces Johan Santana (8-7) in an NL East showdown.
STARS
Sunday
-Willie Harris, Nationals, had five RBIs and reached base five times as Washington set a season high for runs in a 15-6 rout of Atlanta.
-Jose Reyes, Mets, had four hits and scored three runs in New York's 7-5, 10-inning win over Cincinnati.
-Justin Verlander, Tigers, came within an out of completing a three-hitter in Detroit's 5-1 win over Baltimore.
-Alex Rios, Blue Jays, homered and hit two doubles to help Toronto beat Tampa Bay 9-4.
-Matt Holliday, Rockies, hit his 16th home run and had three hits in Colorado's 11-3 win over Pittsburgh.
-Ryan Braun, Brewers, drove in a career-high five runs in Milwaukee's 7-4 victory over San Francisco.
40-SOMETHING
Francisco Rodriguez became the fastest pitcher to 40 saves in big league history when he closed out the Los Angeles Angels' 5-3 victory over Boston. Rodriguez, who struck out the side in the ninth inning, reached 40 saves in 98 games - 10 faster than John Smoltz did five years ago.
INJURED
Chicago White Sox slugger Jermaine Dye left the game early against the Kansas City Royals after getting hit in the right knee by a pitch. Royals reliever Horacio Ramirez hit Dye with a pitch in the fourth inning. Dye fell to the ground in obvious pain. He was helped off the field by two trainers. The team said Dye has a bruised right knee. X-rays were negative and he is day-to-day. … Seattle's Carlos Silva left his start with lower back tightness after allowing four runs in three-plus innings to Cleveland. … Philadelphia right fielder Geoff Jenkins bruised his shoulder when he was hit by the barrel of his broken bat. Jenkins came out of a game at Florida but is expected to be ready for the start of the Phillies' series Tuesday against the New York Mets.
SWITCHING TEAMS
Ray Durham wore a Giants uniform for the last time, then packed up his locker and went to join the Milwaukee Brewers on the other side of the ballpark before leaving town with his new team. San Francisco traded the veteran second baseman to the Brewers for two minor leaguers, with both clubs waiting until after the teams played Sunday to announce the swap. That, in fact, was per Durham's request as he didn't want to suit up for his first game for Milwaukee against the Giants. "Personally it was out of respect for the guys in this locker room," Durham said, saying his goodbyes in the Giants' clubhouse. "It really was a stipulation I asked for."
SUNDAY SCHOOLED
Baltimore lost 5-1 to Justin Verlander and Detroit, the Orioles' 15th consecutive Sunday loss. Baltimore's 15-game skid on Sundays is the longest on any given day since Arizona dropped 15 in a row on Saturdays in 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Baltimore has been outscored 81-41 in Sunday games since winning its first one of the season, at home against Seattle.
ROAD TO GLORY
Ryan Dempster struck out seven in eight shutout innings to earn his first road victory in two years and the Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-0 win over Houston. Dempster (11-4) allowed six hits, all singles, and got his first road win since June 2, 2006, at St. Louis. He's 10-1 in 12 starts at Wrigley Field this season, but was 0-3 with a 4.03 ERA in eight starts away from home before Sunday. "Such a relief," Dempster said with a smile. "All the questions can stop now."
MR. CLUTCH
Aaron Miles' grand slam in the ninth inning, the first game-ending hit of his career, helped St. Louis beat San Diego 9-5. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Miles has only seven homers in three seasons with the Cardinals. "That's a feeling I wasn't sure I was going to get to experience, that walk-off homer," Miles said. "I've never done it before, not in the minor leagues or on any field. That's a great feeling."
ROLE REVERSAL
Casey Kotchman hit a two-run double to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels beat Boston 5-3 for their fifth straight victory. The Angels also completed their first three-game sweep of the Red Sox in seven years. Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter homered on consecutive pitches for the Angels, who became the first team to 60 wins. They improved to 5-1 against the defending World Series champions, clinching their first season series against Boston since 2001.
BOOED
Jason Isringhausen of St. Louis blew another save in a 9-5 win over San Diego. After Troy Glaus' three-run homer off Heath Bell in the eighth gave the Cardinals a two-run lead, the Padres rallied against Isringhausen, who blew his eighth save in 19 chances. He was booed by a sellout crowd after allowing three straight one-out hits, including an RBI double by Edgar Gonzalez. Isringhausen got the shot at his first save since May 5 because replacement closer Ryan Franklin, who is 14-for-18, needed a day off after a two-inning save on Saturday. "No matter how much a veteran he is, he's trying to do more," manager Tony La Russa said. "And today, it was less."
11-HITTER
Cleveland's Cliff Lee gave up 11 hits in a complete game and the Indians beat the Mariners 6-2. He became the first Indians pitcher to yield at least 11 hits in a complete-game win since Charles Nagy, who gave up 13 against Baltimore on June 17, 1992, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
SPEAKING
"I don't like the way they were hitting my players. They hit six guys this week and all of a sudden the umpires give a warning. I was kind of upset about it." - White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen about being warned after a Chicago pitcher threw inside to Billy Butler of Kansas City. Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitch for the second straight game and left the game earlier.
SEASONS
July 22
1905 - Weldon Henley of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a no-hitter, defeating the St. Louis Browns 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader. It was the highlight of Henley's 4-11 season.
1906 - Bob Ewing pitched the Cincinnati Reds to a 10-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies without a single assist registered by his teammates.
1926 - Cincinnati had four triples in an 11-run second inning as the Reds beat the Boston Braves, 13-1. Curt Walker hit two in the inning to tie an NL record for most triples in an inning.
1962 - Floyd Robinson of the Chicago White Sox had six singles in six at-bats in a 7-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
1967 - The Atlanta Braves used a major league record five pitchers in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The pitchers were Ken Johnson, Ramon Hernandez, Claude Raymond, Dick Kelley and Cecil Upshaw.
2000 - Seattle's 13-5 win over Texas was interrupted for 54 minutes when a rainstorm drenched fans at Safeco Field and the $517.6 million stadium's roof wouldn't close because of a computer problem. The roof finally began closing about 20 minutes later.
2004 - Jason Schmidt's 12-game winning streak ended as San Francisco fell to San Diego 9-4. Schmidt (12-3) was off from the outset in his worst start of the season, allowing eight runs, nine hits and four walks in 5 2-3 innings. It was his first loss in 17 starts since April 21.
2006 - Alfonso Soriano had three doubles, a triple and scored two runs to lead Washington to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
2007 - The New York Yankees had 25 hits in a 21-4 rout of Tampa Bay. The Yankees hit six home runs in the game, including two by Shelley Duncan.
Today's birthdays: Scot Shields 33; Mike Sweeney 35.