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Baseball Today - September 15
SCOREBOARD
Saturday, Sept. 15
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis (8:10 p.m. EDT). Sean Marshall and the Cubs defend their NL Central lead against the Cardinals in the second game of a doubleheader.
STARS
Friday
-- Khalil Greene, Padres, homered to left field with one out in the 10th inning to give San Diego a 5-4 win over San Francisco.
-- Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers, had three hits, including a home run in a four-run fifth inning, to help beat Arizona 7-4.
-- Timo Perez, Tigers, had three hits and drove in three runs, leading Detroit over Minnesota 4-2.
-- Jose Bautista, Pittsburgh, hit a two-run homer to lift Pittsburgh over Houston 4-3.
-- Brandon Phillips and Adam Dunn, Reds. Phillips drove in three runs and Dunn hit a two-run shot for his 39th homer in Cincinnati's 6-5 win over Milwaukee.
NARROW MARGINS
The Yankees closed within 4 1/2 games of AL East-leading Boston with an 8-7 victory Friday night in a 4-hour, 43-minute marathon -- two minutes shy of the record for a nine-inning game set by the clubs on Aug. 18 last year. New York had not overcome a five-run deficit on the road to win since May 9, 2004, at Seattle. ... Philadelphia picked up its major league-leading 44th come-from-behind win and cut the Mets' lead in the NL East to 5 1/2 games with a 10-inning, 3-2 victory. It was the first matchup between the top teams in the division since the Phillies swept a four-game series last month to cut New York's lead to two games.
FADING FAST
Cliff Floyd hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh and the Chicago Cubs beat St. Louis 5-3 Friday night to send the Cardinals to their eighth straight loss. St. Louis has lost eight straight for the first time since July 27 to Aug. 4 last year. The defending World Series champions, just one game out of first before play last Saturday, are six behind the Cubs, their largest division deficit since Aug. 11.
PRINCE OR KING?
Prince Fielder tied a Brewers record by hitting his NL-leading 45th home run in the fourth inning of a 6-5 loss to Cincinnati on Friday night. Fielder matched the mark held by Richie Sexson (2001, '03) and Gorman Thomas (1979).
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Sammy Sosa hit his 608th home run and had five RBIs in Texas' 11-9 loss to Oakland on Friday night. Sosa reached 20 homers for the first time since 2004 and the 13th time in his big league career.
WHIFFING & WEEPING
C.C. Sabathia struck out a career-high 13 but couldn't get the big one when Kansas City rallied for four runs with two outs in the fifth and beat Cleveland 5-4 Friday night. Sabathia had gone 10 consecutive starts without allowing more than two earned runs, the longest such stretch for an Indians pitcher since Gaylord Perry in 1974. His 198 strikeouts are the most by an Indians left-hander since Sam McDowell's 304 in 1970.
SUSPENDED
Phillies reliever Antonio Alfonseca was suspended four games Friday, a day after he was ejected for hitting Colorado's Todd Helton with a pitch. Alfonseca appealed the suspension and was available for the opener of Philadelphia's weekend series against the NL East-leading New York Mets.
SPEAKING
"We lucked out. That eighth inning was incredible. The only thing predictable in this ballpark is the unpredictable." -- Yankees manager Joe Torre, after New York's 8-7 come-from-behind win over Boston on Friday night.
SEASONS
Sept. 15
1912 -- Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox pitched his 16th consecutive victory to tie Walter Johnson's record as he beat the St. Louis Browns 2-1.
1938 -- Brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner hit back-to-back homers for the Pittsburgh Pirates off Cliff Melton of the New York Giants. This was the only time brothers hit successive home runs in a major league game. It was Lloyd's last homer.
1946 -- The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in five innings when the game was called because of gnats. The insects became such a problem for the players, umpires and fans that the game had to be stopped.
1963 -- All three Alou brothers -- Felipe, Matty and Jesus -- played in the outfield at the same time for the San Francisco Giants in a 13-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1969 -- St. Louis left-hander Steve Carlton struck out 19 Mets for a nine-inning game record. New York won the game 4-3 on two, two-run homers by Ron Swoboda.
1979 -- Bob Watson of the Red Sox became the first player to hit for the cycle in both leagues as he led Boston to a 10-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He hit for the cycle with the Houston Astros against San Francisco on June 24, 1977.
1990 -- Bobby Thigpen pitched one inning and became the first relief pitcher with 50 saves in a season as the Chicago White Sox beat the Red Sox 7-4.
1996 -- The Baltimore Orioles set baseball's season home run record with five against Detroit, including Mark Parent's record breaking shot in the third inning and Brady Anderson's 10th leadoff homer of the year. The homers gave the Orioles 243, three more than the 1961 New York Yankees.
1997 -- Baltimore outfielder Eric Davis played five innings in the opening game of a day-night doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, his first game since colon cancer surgery in June.
1997 -- Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 51st and 52nd homers in Seattle's win over Toronto to become the sixth major league player to hit 100 or more home runs over two consecutive seasons. Griffey hit 49 homers last season.
1998 -- Ken Griffey Jr. hit his AL-leading 52nd homer and drove in five runs to become the fourth-youngest player to reach 1,000 RBIs, leading the Seattle Mariners over the Minnesota Twins 12-7.
2002 -- Arizona's Curt Schilling struck out eight to reach 300 for the season, joining Randy Johnson as the first teammates in baseball history to each strike out 300 in the same season. The Diamondbacks beat Milwaukee 6-5 in 13 innings.
2003 -- Texas designated hitter Rafael Palmeiro hit his 35th home run, joining Jimmie Foxx as the only players with at least 35 homers and 100 RBIs in nine straight seasons. Palmeiro's 525th career homer, a solo shot, came in the fourth inning of the Rangers' 6-4 victory over Seattle.
2006 -- Dan Uggla set the major league record for home runs by a rookie second baseman with his 25th in Florida's 6-4 win over Atlanta.
Today's birthdays: Matt Thornton 31; Gaylord Perry 69.
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SCOREBOARD
Saturday, Sept. 15
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis (8:10 p.m. EDT). Sean Marshall and the Cubs defend their NL Central lead against the Cardinals in the second game of a doubleheader.
STARS
Friday
-- Khalil Greene, Padres, homered to left field with one out in the 10th inning to give San Diego a 5-4 win over San Francisco.
-- Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers, had three hits, including a home run in a four-run fifth inning, to help beat Arizona 7-4.
-- Timo Perez, Tigers, had three hits and drove in three runs, leading Detroit over Minnesota 4-2.
-- Jose Bautista, Pittsburgh, hit a two-run homer to lift Pittsburgh over Houston 4-3.
-- Brandon Phillips and Adam Dunn, Reds. Phillips drove in three runs and Dunn hit a two-run shot for his 39th homer in Cincinnati's 6-5 win over Milwaukee.
NARROW MARGINS
The Yankees closed within 4 1/2 games of AL East-leading Boston with an 8-7 victory Friday night in a 4-hour, 43-minute marathon -- two minutes shy of the record for a nine-inning game set by the clubs on Aug. 18 last year. New York had not overcome a five-run deficit on the road to win since May 9, 2004, at Seattle. ... Philadelphia picked up its major league-leading 44th come-from-behind win and cut the Mets' lead in the NL East to 5 1/2 games with a 10-inning, 3-2 victory. It was the first matchup between the top teams in the division since the Phillies swept a four-game series last month to cut New York's lead to two games.
FADING FAST
Cliff Floyd hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh and the Chicago Cubs beat St. Louis 5-3 Friday night to send the Cardinals to their eighth straight loss. St. Louis has lost eight straight for the first time since July 27 to Aug. 4 last year. The defending World Series champions, just one game out of first before play last Saturday, are six behind the Cubs, their largest division deficit since Aug. 11.
PRINCE OR KING?
Prince Fielder tied a Brewers record by hitting his NL-leading 45th home run in the fourth inning of a 6-5 loss to Cincinnati on Friday night. Fielder matched the mark held by Richie Sexson (2001, '03) and Gorman Thomas (1979).
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Sammy Sosa hit his 608th home run and had five RBIs in Texas' 11-9 loss to Oakland on Friday night. Sosa reached 20 homers for the first time since 2004 and the 13th time in his big league career.
WHIFFING & WEEPING
C.C. Sabathia struck out a career-high 13 but couldn't get the big one when Kansas City rallied for four runs with two outs in the fifth and beat Cleveland 5-4 Friday night. Sabathia had gone 10 consecutive starts without allowing more than two earned runs, the longest such stretch for an Indians pitcher since Gaylord Perry in 1974. His 198 strikeouts are the most by an Indians left-hander since Sam McDowell's 304 in 1970.
SUSPENDED
Phillies reliever Antonio Alfonseca was suspended four games Friday, a day after he was ejected for hitting Colorado's Todd Helton with a pitch. Alfonseca appealed the suspension and was available for the opener of Philadelphia's weekend series against the NL East-leading New York Mets.
SPEAKING
"We lucked out. That eighth inning was incredible. The only thing predictable in this ballpark is the unpredictable." -- Yankees manager Joe Torre, after New York's 8-7 come-from-behind win over Boston on Friday night.
SEASONS
Sept. 15
1912 -- Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox pitched his 16th consecutive victory to tie Walter Johnson's record as he beat the St. Louis Browns 2-1.
1938 -- Brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner hit back-to-back homers for the Pittsburgh Pirates off Cliff Melton of the New York Giants. This was the only time brothers hit successive home runs in a major league game. It was Lloyd's last homer.
1946 -- The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in five innings when the game was called because of gnats. The insects became such a problem for the players, umpires and fans that the game had to be stopped.
1963 -- All three Alou brothers -- Felipe, Matty and Jesus -- played in the outfield at the same time for the San Francisco Giants in a 13-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1969 -- St. Louis left-hander Steve Carlton struck out 19 Mets for a nine-inning game record. New York won the game 4-3 on two, two-run homers by Ron Swoboda.
1979 -- Bob Watson of the Red Sox became the first player to hit for the cycle in both leagues as he led Boston to a 10-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He hit for the cycle with the Houston Astros against San Francisco on June 24, 1977.
1990 -- Bobby Thigpen pitched one inning and became the first relief pitcher with 50 saves in a season as the Chicago White Sox beat the Red Sox 7-4.
1996 -- The Baltimore Orioles set baseball's season home run record with five against Detroit, including Mark Parent's record breaking shot in the third inning and Brady Anderson's 10th leadoff homer of the year. The homers gave the Orioles 243, three more than the 1961 New York Yankees.
1997 -- Baltimore outfielder Eric Davis played five innings in the opening game of a day-night doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, his first game since colon cancer surgery in June.
1997 -- Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 51st and 52nd homers in Seattle's win over Toronto to become the sixth major league player to hit 100 or more home runs over two consecutive seasons. Griffey hit 49 homers last season.
1998 -- Ken Griffey Jr. hit his AL-leading 52nd homer and drove in five runs to become the fourth-youngest player to reach 1,000 RBIs, leading the Seattle Mariners over the Minnesota Twins 12-7.
2002 -- Arizona's Curt Schilling struck out eight to reach 300 for the season, joining Randy Johnson as the first teammates in baseball history to each strike out 300 in the same season. The Diamondbacks beat Milwaukee 6-5 in 13 innings.
2003 -- Texas designated hitter Rafael Palmeiro hit his 35th home run, joining Jimmie Foxx as the only players with at least 35 homers and 100 RBIs in nine straight seasons. Palmeiro's 525th career homer, a solo shot, came in the fourth inning of the Rangers' 6-4 victory over Seattle.
2006 -- Dan Uggla set the major league record for home runs by a rookie second baseman with his 25th in Florida's 6-4 win over Atlanta.
Today's birthdays: Matt Thornton 31; Gaylord Perry 69.
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