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Sunday Night Baseball
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Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (-138)
The Dodgers send the surgically repaired arm of Eric Milton (1-0 3.00) up against Sean Marshall (3-3 3.70) and the Cubs in the conclusion of their four-game series in Chicago.
Chicago's bat woke up, scoring seven runs in the 7-0 shutout of the Dodgers Saturday. The two teams traded 2-1 victories in the first two games of the series.
Ram up
The Dodgers haven’t missed a beat since Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games on May 7. He's eligible to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 3, 11 days before the All-Star game in St. Louis.
Speaking of the All-Star Game, MLB is growing uneasy with the fact that Manny is climbing the All-Star ballot. It would be uncomfortable for the league to see him named a starter to this year’s contest.
“The All-Star game is for the fans and I think if he got voted in, then it would be appropriate for him to play," said Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia’s manager and NL boss for this year’s event. "Once he serves his suspension, he's paid his penalty and he's just like every other player."
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa doesn’t agree.
"The fans have a right to vote, but I think it's probably not fair to the guys who are out there playing," he said. "It's pretty tough to do what he did and then miss a good part of the season. But it's up to the fans."
And the countdown continues.
Ram down
The frustration being felt by Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez continues to amplify with each loss. Ramirez was hitting .364 BA with four home runs and 16 RBI when he dislocated his left shoulder May 8 diving to stop a line drive. His teammates continue to struggle through their worst losing streak in years.
''It's hard watching because I can't help. All I can do is watch,'' told reporters. ''Everyone is frustrated. We know we're better than we are playing right now. That's why everyone is frustrated.''
The All-Star third baseman is not expected back until after the All-Star break. The hole at third base has been glaring, not only for the lack of a true third baseman to fill in defensively but because Ramirez is one of the National League's best hitters.
With Ramirez sidelined, the loss of Mark DeRosa from last year's club has become especially noticeable. DeRosa hit 21 homers and drove in 87 runs for the Cubs in 2008 before being traded to Cleveland for three minor league pitchers in the off-season. This season, DeRosa has already hit seven homers and 30 RBI for the Indians.
Heading into this series, the Cubs were on a 6-10 slide since Ramirez was hurt.
Empty plates
Neither pitcher brings a lot to the table Sunday.
Eric Milton did not make one start in 2008 and only started six games in 2007. He picked up his first win since 2006 in his most recent start, a 7-1 victory at Colorado this past Tuesday.
The 11-year veteran lasted five innings, allowing one run on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts. That win snapped a streak of eight straight team start losses for Milton, dating back to 2006. Milton is 3-10 in his last 13 team starts during the month of May.
Sean Marshall has struggled with the Cubs, dropping 13 of his last 16 team starts, including 10 of his last 12 at home. Marshall is also 4-8 with a 4.53 ERA in his career team starts during the month of May.
Looking back
Heading in to this four-game showdown, the Dodgers had won five of the previous six games in this series. They've dropped two of the first three games during this four-game set.
The Cubs have found solace at home on Sundays, where they are 14-3 in their last 17 tries.
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Baseball Today
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SCOREBOARD
Sunday, May 31
Washington at Philadelphia (1:35 p.m.EDT). The Phillies' Jamie Moyer makes his sixth try for his 250th win, against the foundering Nationals.
SEASONS
May 31
1914 - Joseph Benz of the White Sox pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians for a 6-1 victory.
1927 - Detroit first baseman Johnny Neun made an unassisted triple play against Cleveland. He caught Homer Summa's liner, tagged Charlie Jamieson between first and second and then touched second base before Glenn Myatt could return. The Tigers beat the Indians 1-0.
1937 - Carl Hubbell's 24-game winning streak ended with a 10-3 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hubbell's last defeat came on July 13, 1936, 1-0 to the Chicago Cubs.
1944 - Al Unser's only home run of the year, a pinch-hit grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, helped the Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 6-2.
1964 - The New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants played the longest doubleheader in major league history - nine hours, 52 minutes - with the help of a 23-inning game in the nightcap that was won by the visiting Giants 8-6 on run-scoring hits by Del Crandall and Felipe Alou against Galen Cisco. The second game took 7:23 to play.
1970 - Chicago's Luis Aparicio and Walt Williams each collected five hits in a 22-13 rout of the Boston Red Sox. Williams also scored five times. The two teams had 40 hits, one short of the AL record set in 1950.
1980 - Ken Landreaux went 0-for-4 in Minnesota's 11-1 loss to Baltimore, ending his hitting streak at 31 consecutive games. It was the longest streak in the American League since Dom DiMaggio's 34-game streak in 1949.
1997 - Ila Borders became the first woman to pitch in a regular-season professional game, in the sixth inning of the St. Paul Saints' Northern League game against Sioux Falls. She gave up three earned runs without getting an out.
1999 - Umpire Frank Pulli used TV replay to take away a home run from Florida's Cliff Floyd in the fifth inning of the Marlins' 5-2 loss to St. Louis.
2008 - Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox hit career homer No. 500, a drive off Baltimore right-hander Chad Bradford to become the 24th major leaguer to reach the milestone.
Today's birthdays: Andrew Bailey 25; Jake Peavy 28.
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This Day in Baseball
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On May 31 in Baseball History...
1937 - A Memorial Day crowd of 61,756, the second-largest crowd in Polo Grounds history, sees the Dodgers end Carl Hubbell's consecutive-game winning streak at 24 over two seasons. Brooklyn routs King Carl in the fourth inning and wins 10-3.
1942 - Before 22,000 at Griffith Stadium, Satchel Paige pitches five innings to defeat the Dizzy Dean All-Stars 8-1. Dean pitches just the first inning. The game a week earlier, in which Paige won 3-1 at Wrigley Field, drew 29,000. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis will prohibit a scheduled July 4 matchup because the first two games outdrew major-league games.
1948 - A lefthander for Schenectady (Canadian-American League) named Tom Lasorda strikes out 25 in a 15-inning game against Amsterdam.
1964 - After Juan Marichal's 5-3, first-game win, San Francisco holds a 6-1 lead in the nightcap until New York rallies for five runs to tie it in the seventh. Eventually, with two down in the 23rd inning, pinch-hitter Del Crandall delivers a run-scoring double off Galen Cisco, and the Giants prevail 8-6 after a record seven hours and 22 minutes. Gaylord Perry pitches ten scoreless innings to get credit for the win. Thirty-two innings and an elapsed time of nine hours and 50 minutes are doubleheader records, as are 47 strikeouts.
1975 - The Royals beat the Brewers 7-5 in a game bridging the generation gap. Hank Aaron and Harmon Killebrew are in their 22nd major-league seasons and winning pitcher Lindy McDaniel is in his 21st. All three were playing in the majors before Brewers shortstop Robin Yount was born.
1979 - Pat Underwood makes his major league debut for Detroit, pitching 8 1/3 innings in shutting out Toronto 1-0. The losing pitcher is Pat's brother, Tom.
1980 - Ken Landreaux goes 0-for-4 in Minnesota's 11-1 loss to the Orioles to end his hitting streak at 31 consecutive games. Baltimore southpaw Scott McGregor does the honors. It is the longest streak in the A.L. since Dom DiMaggio's 34-game stretch in 1949.
1981 - Playing before their tenth consecutive home sellout, the Dodgers pound the Reds 16-4 and raise their season attendance to 1,026,725 in 22 dates. It is the earliest any team has cracked the one million attendance barrier.
1983 - A.L. President Lee MacPhail suspends Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for one week, citing "repeated problems" with the outspoken owner's public criticism of umpires. Steinbrenner, who had been fined $50,000 by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn during spring training for berating some N.L. umpires, cannot attend games or be in his Yankee Stadium office during the suspension.
1984 - Mario Soto is suspended for five days by N.L. president Chub Feeney for his role in a 32-minute melee that marred the Reds-Cubs game on May 27. After shoving third base umpire Steve Rippley, who had signaled that Ron Cey's long fly ball was a three-run home run (it was later ruled foul), a bat-wielding Soto then tried to attack a park vendor who had thrown a bag of ice at him. Soto will be suspended again for five more days later in the season for his June 16 fight with Claudell Washington.
1996 - Albert Belle uses a forearm to break up a double play and nearly breaks Milwaukee second baseman Fernando Vina's nose in the process. The Cleveland slugger is suspended for two games.
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Sunday Night Baseball
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Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (-138)
The Dodgers send the surgically repaired arm of Eric Milton (1-0 3.00) up against Sean Marshall (3-3 3.70) and the Cubs in the conclusion of their four-game series in Chicago.
Chicago's bat woke up, scoring seven runs in the 7-0 shutout of the Dodgers Saturday. The two teams traded 2-1 victories in the first two games of the series.
Ram up
The Dodgers haven’t missed a beat since Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games on May 7. He's eligible to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 3, 11 days before the All-Star game in St. Louis.
Speaking of the All-Star Game, MLB is growing uneasy with the fact that Manny is climbing the All-Star ballot. It would be uncomfortable for the league to see him named a starter to this year’s contest.
“The All-Star game is for the fans and I think if he got voted in, then it would be appropriate for him to play," said Charlie Manuel, Philadelphia’s manager and NL boss for this year’s event. "Once he serves his suspension, he's paid his penalty and he's just like every other player."
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa doesn’t agree.
"The fans have a right to vote, but I think it's probably not fair to the guys who are out there playing," he said. "It's pretty tough to do what he did and then miss a good part of the season. But it's up to the fans."
And the countdown continues.
Ram down
The frustration being felt by Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez continues to amplify with each loss. Ramirez was hitting .364 BA with four home runs and 16 RBI when he dislocated his left shoulder May 8 diving to stop a line drive. His teammates continue to struggle through their worst losing streak in years.
''It's hard watching because I can't help. All I can do is watch,'' told reporters. ''Everyone is frustrated. We know we're better than we are playing right now. That's why everyone is frustrated.''
The All-Star third baseman is not expected back until after the All-Star break. The hole at third base has been glaring, not only for the lack of a true third baseman to fill in defensively but because Ramirez is one of the National League's best hitters.
With Ramirez sidelined, the loss of Mark DeRosa from last year's club has become especially noticeable. DeRosa hit 21 homers and drove in 87 runs for the Cubs in 2008 before being traded to Cleveland for three minor league pitchers in the off-season. This season, DeRosa has already hit seven homers and 30 RBI for the Indians.
Heading into this series, the Cubs were on a 6-10 slide since Ramirez was hurt.
Empty plates
Neither pitcher brings a lot to the table Sunday.
Eric Milton did not make one start in 2008 and only started six games in 2007. He picked up his first win since 2006 in his most recent start, a 7-1 victory at Colorado this past Tuesday.
The 11-year veteran lasted five innings, allowing one run on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts. That win snapped a streak of eight straight team start losses for Milton, dating back to 2006. Milton is 3-10 in his last 13 team starts during the month of May.
Sean Marshall has struggled with the Cubs, dropping 13 of his last 16 team starts, including 10 of his last 12 at home. Marshall is also 4-8 with a 4.53 ERA in his career team starts during the month of May.
Looking back
Heading in to this four-game showdown, the Dodgers had won five of the previous six games in this series. They've dropped two of the first three games during this four-game set.
The Cubs have found solace at home on Sundays, where they are 14-3 in their last 17 tries.
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Baseball Today
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SCOREBOARD
Sunday, May 31
Washington at Philadelphia (1:35 p.m.EDT). The Phillies' Jamie Moyer makes his sixth try for his 250th win, against the foundering Nationals.
SEASONS
May 31
1914 - Joseph Benz of the White Sox pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians for a 6-1 victory.
1927 - Detroit first baseman Johnny Neun made an unassisted triple play against Cleveland. He caught Homer Summa's liner, tagged Charlie Jamieson between first and second and then touched second base before Glenn Myatt could return. The Tigers beat the Indians 1-0.
1937 - Carl Hubbell's 24-game winning streak ended with a 10-3 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hubbell's last defeat came on July 13, 1936, 1-0 to the Chicago Cubs.
1944 - Al Unser's only home run of the year, a pinch-hit grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, helped the Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 6-2.
1964 - The New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants played the longest doubleheader in major league history - nine hours, 52 minutes - with the help of a 23-inning game in the nightcap that was won by the visiting Giants 8-6 on run-scoring hits by Del Crandall and Felipe Alou against Galen Cisco. The second game took 7:23 to play.
1970 - Chicago's Luis Aparicio and Walt Williams each collected five hits in a 22-13 rout of the Boston Red Sox. Williams also scored five times. The two teams had 40 hits, one short of the AL record set in 1950.
1980 - Ken Landreaux went 0-for-4 in Minnesota's 11-1 loss to Baltimore, ending his hitting streak at 31 consecutive games. It was the longest streak in the American League since Dom DiMaggio's 34-game streak in 1949.
1997 - Ila Borders became the first woman to pitch in a regular-season professional game, in the sixth inning of the St. Paul Saints' Northern League game against Sioux Falls. She gave up three earned runs without getting an out.
1999 - Umpire Frank Pulli used TV replay to take away a home run from Florida's Cliff Floyd in the fifth inning of the Marlins' 5-2 loss to St. Louis.
2008 - Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox hit career homer No. 500, a drive off Baltimore right-hander Chad Bradford to become the 24th major leaguer to reach the milestone.
Today's birthdays: Andrew Bailey 25; Jake Peavy 28.
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This Day in Baseball
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On May 31 in Baseball History...
1937 - A Memorial Day crowd of 61,756, the second-largest crowd in Polo Grounds history, sees the Dodgers end Carl Hubbell's consecutive-game winning streak at 24 over two seasons. Brooklyn routs King Carl in the fourth inning and wins 10-3.
1942 - Before 22,000 at Griffith Stadium, Satchel Paige pitches five innings to defeat the Dizzy Dean All-Stars 8-1. Dean pitches just the first inning. The game a week earlier, in which Paige won 3-1 at Wrigley Field, drew 29,000. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis will prohibit a scheduled July 4 matchup because the first two games outdrew major-league games.
1948 - A lefthander for Schenectady (Canadian-American League) named Tom Lasorda strikes out 25 in a 15-inning game against Amsterdam.
1964 - After Juan Marichal's 5-3, first-game win, San Francisco holds a 6-1 lead in the nightcap until New York rallies for five runs to tie it in the seventh. Eventually, with two down in the 23rd inning, pinch-hitter Del Crandall delivers a run-scoring double off Galen Cisco, and the Giants prevail 8-6 after a record seven hours and 22 minutes. Gaylord Perry pitches ten scoreless innings to get credit for the win. Thirty-two innings and an elapsed time of nine hours and 50 minutes are doubleheader records, as are 47 strikeouts.
1975 - The Royals beat the Brewers 7-5 in a game bridging the generation gap. Hank Aaron and Harmon Killebrew are in their 22nd major-league seasons and winning pitcher Lindy McDaniel is in his 21st. All three were playing in the majors before Brewers shortstop Robin Yount was born.
1979 - Pat Underwood makes his major league debut for Detroit, pitching 8 1/3 innings in shutting out Toronto 1-0. The losing pitcher is Pat's brother, Tom.
1980 - Ken Landreaux goes 0-for-4 in Minnesota's 11-1 loss to the Orioles to end his hitting streak at 31 consecutive games. Baltimore southpaw Scott McGregor does the honors. It is the longest streak in the A.L. since Dom DiMaggio's 34-game stretch in 1949.
1981 - Playing before their tenth consecutive home sellout, the Dodgers pound the Reds 16-4 and raise their season attendance to 1,026,725 in 22 dates. It is the earliest any team has cracked the one million attendance barrier.
1983 - A.L. President Lee MacPhail suspends Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for one week, citing "repeated problems" with the outspoken owner's public criticism of umpires. Steinbrenner, who had been fined $50,000 by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn during spring training for berating some N.L. umpires, cannot attend games or be in his Yankee Stadium office during the suspension.
1984 - Mario Soto is suspended for five days by N.L. president Chub Feeney for his role in a 32-minute melee that marred the Reds-Cubs game on May 27. After shoving third base umpire Steve Rippley, who had signaled that Ron Cey's long fly ball was a three-run home run (it was later ruled foul), a bat-wielding Soto then tried to attack a park vendor who had thrown a bag of ice at him. Soto will be suspended again for five more days later in the season for his June 16 fight with Claudell Washington.
1996 - Albert Belle uses a forearm to break up a double play and nearly breaks Milwaukee second baseman Fernando Vina's nose in the process. The Cleveland slugger is suspended for two games.
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