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Saturday, July 26
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Baseball Today
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SCOREBOARD
Saturday, July 26
Arizona at San Francisco (9:05 p.m. EDT). Two of baseball's top pitchers square off when Brandon Webb (13-4) and the Diamondbacks face Tim Lincecum (11-3) and the Giants in a matchup of NL All-Stars.
STARS
Friday
- Mike Pelfrey, Mets, won his seventh straight decision by giving up just one run and seven hits over seven innings, with five strikeouts and no walks in a 7-2 rout of the Cardinals.
- Aaron Cook, Rockies, improved to 13-6 by giving up one run and five hits over eight innings in a 7-2 win over the Reds.
- Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks, homered, doubled and drove in three runs in a 10-2 win over San Francisco.
- Cliff Lee, Indians, gave up two runs and six hits with 10 strikeouts in eight innings, outpitching Livan Hernandez in a 5-4 win over the Twins.
- Jair Jurrjens, Braves, gave up three hits and a walk in eight scoreless innings, striking out six in an 8-2 win over the Phillies.
- Joba Chamberlain, Yankees, limited Boston to three hits in seven innings, striking out nine before Kyle Farnsworth and Mariano Rivera finished off a 1-0 victory over Boston.
- Wandy Rodriguez, Astros, limited the Brewers to a run and three hits over six innings, striking out seven in a 3-1 victory.
GOING SHOPPING
The Yankees acquired outfielder Xavier Nady and left-hander Damaso Marte from the Pirates in an attempt to bolster their offense and bullpen for the stretch run. They didn't come cheap though. Pittsburgh picked up top outfield prospect Jose Tabata, right-handers Ross Ohlendorf and George Kontos, and left-hander Phil Coke.
TEMPER, TEMPER
Joba Chamberlain fanned nine in seven innings of the Yankees' 1-0 win over Boston, but his strikeout of Kevin Youkilis provided the most drama. Chamberlain threw one high and tight that ricocheted off Youkilis' bat and sent him to the ground, drawing a warning from plate umpire Marty Foster. In Boston's 5-4 loss at New York on July 7, Youkilis scored on a wild pitch on which he slid into Chamberlain, who was covering home. One inning later, Youkilis stared at Chamberlain after a pitch behind his thigh. Chamberlain also was suspended for two games last August for throwing consecutive 98-99 mph pitches over Youkilis' head.
PHILLIES FALLING
Philadelphia was a season-high 13 games over .500 and had a season-best four-game lead in the division after a 20-2 win at St. Louis on June 13. After its 8-2 loss to Atlanta on Friday night, the Phillies are 13-21 since and have scored two runs or fewer 13 times in those 34 games.
BE LIKE MIKE
Mike Pelfrey won his seventh consecutive decision, a 7-2 victory over the Cardinals, helping the Mets to their 14th win in 17 games. New York is a season-high nine games above .500 thanks to the big right-hander, who hasn't lost in 11 outings since May 26 against Florida.
GENERAL LEE
Cliff Lee stayed on pace to become Cleveland's first 20-game winner in 34 years, becoming baseball's first 14-game winner and avenging one of his only two losses this season in a 5-4 win over the Twins. Lee allowed six hits and struck out 10 in eight dominant innings without a walk to improve to 6-0 at home. He retired the side in order five times.
PROUD PAPA
Aaron Cook went eight solid innings in the Rockies' 7-2 win over the Reds, but it wasn't nearly as memorable as the previous day. That's when the All-Star and his wife, Holly, welcomed 8-pound, 3-ounce Colton into the world. Colton arrived about 1:30 p.m., giving dad plenty of time to rest before his start Friday night.
ROAD WINNERS
The Rays moved one game in front of Boston in the AL East with a 5-3 win over the Royals, their first since June 29 at Pittsburgh. Tampa Bay had lost seven straight on the road and much of their division lead to the Red Sox and surging New York Yankees.
CRAZY EIGHT
Texas blew open a close game with an eight-run ninth inning in its 14-6 win over Oakland. Chris Davis started it with a two-run homer, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ian Kinsler were the next to score. Hank Blalock drove in Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, and Marlon Byrd's double to deep right scored Milton Bradley. David Murphy, who scored on Davis' homer, finished up the inning by driving in Blalock with a ground out.
SPEAKING
"Could we sabotage the physicals? We played Pittsburgh this year. Those two are really good players. (The Yankees) made a nice trade. They made themselves better.'' - Rays manager Joe Maddon, after learning the division-rival Yankees picked up Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh for a package of four minor leaguers - pending physicals.
SEASONS
July 26
1928 - Bob Meusel of the New York Yankees hit for the cycle for the third time in his career. The Yankees scored 11 runs in the top of the 12th to beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-1, in 12 innings.
1939 - The New York Yankees tied a major league record by scoring in every inning against the St. Louis Browns. Bill Dickey hit three home runs in the 14-1 win.
1962 - Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves set the National League record for home runs by a pitcher when he hit his 31st off New York's Craig Anderson. Spahn dealt the Mets their 11th straight loss with a 6-1 victory.
1970 - Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds hit three straight homers off Steve Carlton of the St. Louis Cardinals. On the same day, Orlando Cepeda of the Atlanta Braves connected for three consecutive homers in an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
1984 - Pete Rose of the Montreal Expos tied Ty Cobb on the career singles list, No. 3,052, with a base hit in the eighth inning in a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1991 - Montreal's Mark Gardner became the first to pitch nine no-hit innings against a Dodger home team since Johnny Vander Meer beat Brooklyn at Ebbets Field on June 15, 1938, for his second straight gem. But the Dodgers won in the 10th on two singles off Gardner and Darryl Strawberry's RBI single off Jeff Fassero.
1998 - Trevor Hoffman's bid to set a major league record with 42 straight saves ended when the San Diego closer gave up a home run to Moises Alou on his first delivery in the ninth inning, tying the game. The Padres wound up beating Houston 5-4 in the 10th, but Hoffman blew his chance at history.
2005 - Greg Maddux recorded his 3,000th career strikeout against San Francisco, striking out Omar Vizquel in the third inning of a 3-2, 11-inning victory for the Giants.
Today's birthdays: Brandon Morrow 24; Jason Botts 28; Joaquin Benoit 31.
Saturday, July 26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baseball Today
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCOREBOARD
Saturday, July 26
Arizona at San Francisco (9:05 p.m. EDT). Two of baseball's top pitchers square off when Brandon Webb (13-4) and the Diamondbacks face Tim Lincecum (11-3) and the Giants in a matchup of NL All-Stars.
STARS
Friday
- Mike Pelfrey, Mets, won his seventh straight decision by giving up just one run and seven hits over seven innings, with five strikeouts and no walks in a 7-2 rout of the Cardinals.
- Aaron Cook, Rockies, improved to 13-6 by giving up one run and five hits over eight innings in a 7-2 win over the Reds.
- Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks, homered, doubled and drove in three runs in a 10-2 win over San Francisco.
- Cliff Lee, Indians, gave up two runs and six hits with 10 strikeouts in eight innings, outpitching Livan Hernandez in a 5-4 win over the Twins.
- Jair Jurrjens, Braves, gave up three hits and a walk in eight scoreless innings, striking out six in an 8-2 win over the Phillies.
- Joba Chamberlain, Yankees, limited Boston to three hits in seven innings, striking out nine before Kyle Farnsworth and Mariano Rivera finished off a 1-0 victory over Boston.
- Wandy Rodriguez, Astros, limited the Brewers to a run and three hits over six innings, striking out seven in a 3-1 victory.
GOING SHOPPING
The Yankees acquired outfielder Xavier Nady and left-hander Damaso Marte from the Pirates in an attempt to bolster their offense and bullpen for the stretch run. They didn't come cheap though. Pittsburgh picked up top outfield prospect Jose Tabata, right-handers Ross Ohlendorf and George Kontos, and left-hander Phil Coke.
TEMPER, TEMPER
Joba Chamberlain fanned nine in seven innings of the Yankees' 1-0 win over Boston, but his strikeout of Kevin Youkilis provided the most drama. Chamberlain threw one high and tight that ricocheted off Youkilis' bat and sent him to the ground, drawing a warning from plate umpire Marty Foster. In Boston's 5-4 loss at New York on July 7, Youkilis scored on a wild pitch on which he slid into Chamberlain, who was covering home. One inning later, Youkilis stared at Chamberlain after a pitch behind his thigh. Chamberlain also was suspended for two games last August for throwing consecutive 98-99 mph pitches over Youkilis' head.
PHILLIES FALLING
Philadelphia was a season-high 13 games over .500 and had a season-best four-game lead in the division after a 20-2 win at St. Louis on June 13. After its 8-2 loss to Atlanta on Friday night, the Phillies are 13-21 since and have scored two runs or fewer 13 times in those 34 games.
BE LIKE MIKE
Mike Pelfrey won his seventh consecutive decision, a 7-2 victory over the Cardinals, helping the Mets to their 14th win in 17 games. New York is a season-high nine games above .500 thanks to the big right-hander, who hasn't lost in 11 outings since May 26 against Florida.
GENERAL LEE
Cliff Lee stayed on pace to become Cleveland's first 20-game winner in 34 years, becoming baseball's first 14-game winner and avenging one of his only two losses this season in a 5-4 win over the Twins. Lee allowed six hits and struck out 10 in eight dominant innings without a walk to improve to 6-0 at home. He retired the side in order five times.
PROUD PAPA
Aaron Cook went eight solid innings in the Rockies' 7-2 win over the Reds, but it wasn't nearly as memorable as the previous day. That's when the All-Star and his wife, Holly, welcomed 8-pound, 3-ounce Colton into the world. Colton arrived about 1:30 p.m., giving dad plenty of time to rest before his start Friday night.
ROAD WINNERS
The Rays moved one game in front of Boston in the AL East with a 5-3 win over the Royals, their first since June 29 at Pittsburgh. Tampa Bay had lost seven straight on the road and much of their division lead to the Red Sox and surging New York Yankees.
CRAZY EIGHT
Texas blew open a close game with an eight-run ninth inning in its 14-6 win over Oakland. Chris Davis started it with a two-run homer, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ian Kinsler were the next to score. Hank Blalock drove in Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, and Marlon Byrd's double to deep right scored Milton Bradley. David Murphy, who scored on Davis' homer, finished up the inning by driving in Blalock with a ground out.
SPEAKING
"Could we sabotage the physicals? We played Pittsburgh this year. Those two are really good players. (The Yankees) made a nice trade. They made themselves better.'' - Rays manager Joe Maddon, after learning the division-rival Yankees picked up Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh for a package of four minor leaguers - pending physicals.
SEASONS
July 26
1928 - Bob Meusel of the New York Yankees hit for the cycle for the third time in his career. The Yankees scored 11 runs in the top of the 12th to beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-1, in 12 innings.
1939 - The New York Yankees tied a major league record by scoring in every inning against the St. Louis Browns. Bill Dickey hit three home runs in the 14-1 win.
1962 - Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves set the National League record for home runs by a pitcher when he hit his 31st off New York's Craig Anderson. Spahn dealt the Mets their 11th straight loss with a 6-1 victory.
1970 - Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds hit three straight homers off Steve Carlton of the St. Louis Cardinals. On the same day, Orlando Cepeda of the Atlanta Braves connected for three consecutive homers in an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
1984 - Pete Rose of the Montreal Expos tied Ty Cobb on the career singles list, No. 3,052, with a base hit in the eighth inning in a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1991 - Montreal's Mark Gardner became the first to pitch nine no-hit innings against a Dodger home team since Johnny Vander Meer beat Brooklyn at Ebbets Field on June 15, 1938, for his second straight gem. But the Dodgers won in the 10th on two singles off Gardner and Darryl Strawberry's RBI single off Jeff Fassero.
1998 - Trevor Hoffman's bid to set a major league record with 42 straight saves ended when the San Diego closer gave up a home run to Moises Alou on his first delivery in the ninth inning, tying the game. The Padres wound up beating Houston 5-4 in the 10th, but Hoffman blew his chance at history.
2005 - Greg Maddux recorded his 3,000th career strikeout against San Francisco, striking out Omar Vizquel in the third inning of a 3-2, 11-inning victory for the Giants.
Today's birthdays: Brandon Morrow 24; Jason Botts 28; Joaquin Benoit 31.
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