Beltran Hurt

post from Baseball Musings on 02 September 2006 11:31:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

Jose de Jesus Ortiz blogs the game for the Houston Chronicle: Berkman lined a shot toward the left-center field wall, but Beltran sprinted in and made the catch while crashing into the wall. Once Beltran limped off the field, Wagner...

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Cardinals Keep it Interesting

post from Baseball Musings on 02 September 2006 11:14:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

The St. Louis Cardinals lost 1-0 to the Pittsuburgh Pirates tonight. Shawn Chacon started, and despite allowing four hits and four walks in five innings, the Cardinals couldn't push a run across. They waste a fine effort by Jeff Weaver,...

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Jaws Of Life: Angels 7, Tigers 2

post from 6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 02 September 2006 11:02:00 PM. © 6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

The scary thing about the Angels' bullpen is the sudden and frightening decline in Scot Shields' ability to shut down the opposition. That came into play in the bottom of the eighth of this one, when he wild pitched two of his mistakes into scoring position, and then when Marcus Thames cashed them in, I turned off the TV. Given the Tigers' bullpen, this game was over.

Right?

Well, not so much. Somehow, in the top of the ninth, Maicer Izturis managed to get aboard on an error, and O-Cab reached on an infield single to third; Vlad's RBI single tied it up, and so the Tigers, who had chased the Angels to their last strike, went to extras.

Frankie held down the fort for another frame, and then, well, the Angels shocked me by loading up the bases, the last runner, shockingly, being Jeff Mathis, who went 1-1 with a single.

And then Figgins, previously 0-5 with three strikeouts, stroked a bases-clearing triple to right.

And then Izzy walked, off replacement Zach Miner — and Cabrera blasted one over the left field fence.

That's the heroism part. There might yet be more moments like that this year, but even if or when the Angels finish second — and there's no shame in that, by the way — there's still something left in the tank.

And, by the way, great game, Joe.

ESPN Box

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Borowski Blows It

post from Baseball Musings on 02 September 2006 11:01:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

The Marlins take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Borowski comes on to get the save and retires the first two Milwaukee batters. But then Rivera doubled to left and Jenkins followed with a home run to...

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You Gotta Have Heart

post from Baseball Musings on 02 September 2006 10:42:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

The heart of the Washington lineup may have ended the Diamondbacks playoff hopes tonight. With Arizona up 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Melvin allowed Livan Hernandez to stay in the game. He struck out Vidro to start the...

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Mets 4, Astros 2

post from MiracleMets.net - A New York Mets Blog on 02 September 2006 09:59:00 PM. © MiracleMets.net - A New York Mets Blog

You know, I'd have gladly taken the "L" in this one if it meant not worrying about Carlos Beltran tonight. Beltran made an amazing grab at the fence to rob Lance Berkman of what would have been a game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, but during the play appeared to injured his knee slamming against the fence. Phillies fans can have the Aaron Rowand play; this beats it for me, because without it, the Mets definitely would have lost. But in the process, Beltran had to be helped from the field, with Shawn Green coming in to cover the rest of the game. Now, the fact that Beltran walked off the field, though not on his own power, makes me optimistic that it might not be TOO bad. Still, there are three players on this team who are about as close to irreplaceable as you'll find: Beltran, Wright, and Reyes. The possibility of going into October without one of them...well, that shakes me to my very core.

That kind of took the fun out of what had been a good game for the Mets. John Maine gave them six and a third solid innings, not allowing a hit until the fifth, which unfortunately was a solo homer by Berkman that gave the Astros their first run. Still, after a shaky start, Maine has been the Mets' best starter the past six weeks or so. That seems crazy to even think, but he's been that good. Then the bullpen does what the bullpen does best; protect leads. Pedro Feliciano got the Mets out of the seventh, Heilman pitched a scoreless eighth, and Billy Wagner, with a huge assist from Carlos Beltran, picked up save #34.

The hitting wasn't too shabby, either. They didn't hit up Hirsh as well as you'd think they would a pitcher who came into the game with an ERA north of 8, but David Wright went 2 for 3 with a walk, a run, and an RBI, and Cliff Floyd returned to the lineup with an RBI double in the eighth. Floyd hadn't looked good in his previous at-bats but the double was nice. Anderson Hernandez, filling in for Jose Reyes, also returned to the Mets' lineup for the first time since April. He looked as overmatched as ever. People forget that he had won the Mets' second base job out of spring for good defense, but he was an awful hitter. In fifty-nine career at-bats, he has seven hits, all singles. I remember being furious that he was starting over Kaz (granted, Kaz was hurt) when the season started, and now the Kaz-AHern debate is pretty much non-existant, thanks to Jose Valentin. Strange the way things work out.

I was going to rip into Houston fans again, since they continued to boo Beltran heartily every time he batted. However, they sort-of redeemed themselves by being classy when he was able to walk out on his own power at the end of the game. Being a Dallas Cowboys fan living near Philadelphia, I still remember the classless Eagles fans booing Michael Irvin as he was carried off of their concrete-like surface they called turf at the Vet a few years ago, and as a result, anytime fans prove themselves to be better than Eagles fans, I have to give them credit. But still, let it go, Astros fans. Let go of your anger, because it is silly to boo a player who left your team after a whopping three months.

A dark cloud hangs over this Mets win, but they will still go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon, probably with Endy Chavez in center. The Mets will welcome Orlando Hernandez back to the rotation after he was skipped for a start, where he'll be opposed by Astros' ace Roy Oswalt, who may have been a Met today if Duaner Sanchez's cab had not crashed, but instead has now signed long-term with Houston. Oh well. Game time is 2:05 PM EST.

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Dodger Thoughts: Juggling the Rotation

post from Dodger Thoughts on 02 September 2006 08:37:00 PM. © Dodger Thoughts

Tonight's starter for the Dodgers, Brad Penny, was listed in the team's game notes as the probable starter for Wednesday's game at Milwaukee - that would be on three days' rest. Aaron Sele is starting Sunday in place of injured Chad Billingsley, followed by Greg Maddux on Monday and Mark Hendrickson on Tuesday. So I'm wondering if Penny was listed in error in the spot where Derek Lowe would be - or if the Dodgers might be giving Lowe an extra day off after a frenetic week.

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Doing Damage

Chipper Jones homers in the top of the first of game two versus the Phillies to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. In his last eight games, Chipper's collected nine hits, five of them for homers. He's not hitting for...

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Giving Away the Division

The Yankees lost to the Twins today, 6-1 in a game shortened to eight innings by rain. Despite their five game sweep of the Red Sox, the Yankees are not playing lights out baseball. Their big lead in the division...

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Braves Gain

Atlanta comes back as the Phillies bullpen can't hold a 3-2 lead. It's days like this when they really miss Tom Gordon. Madson started the ninth and allowed a Francoeur single, then Rhodes came on to give up a two...

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http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/017024.php