Category: Linescores of the Day

Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians

2 for 4, 2 homers, 5 RBIs, 2 runs, 1 walk

Hafner put this game on ice with 2 homers & 5 RBIs in the last two innings of the game. The Tribe was leading 2-0 when Travis went to work. He hit a three run shot off Jon Garland in the eighth and then ripped a two run shot in the 9th. The blasts give him 30 HRs, 100 RBIs, to go along with a .308 average on the year. Final score 8-0 Indians over the Chicago White Sox to close the gap to 2 1/2 games in the AL Central.

Joe Crede, Chicago White Sox

2 for 5, 2 homers, 3 RBIs, 2 runs, 1 VERY BIG game!!!

Joe Crede gives credence to the old adage, swing hard in case you hit it. Crede came up as an all hit, no glove thirdbaseman. But since then his glove has improved, while his bat has pretty much gone south (and not in a good way). With the White Sox going down faster than Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office, Joe came up with some very timely hitting. Crede hit a two run shot in the 3rd to tie the score at two, and then turned a 1-0 David Riske fastball around and sent his walkoff home run 422 feet into the leftfield stands. GO SOX GO!!!

Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians

3 for 3, 2 2B, HR, 2 runs, 3 rbis

…and two walks.  Hafner was all business against the Sox who lost to the Tribe 7-5.  No wonder Teddy Ballgame has taken to going to Cub games.

Hafner’s stats are looking similar to last year (.305/.576/.410 to .311/.583/.410).  Keep that up and folks might start noticin’.

Paul Maholm, Pittsburgh Pirates

8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K (Win)

I seem to like to go back to former LSOTDs but hey, if they deserve it, I’ll put them up.  Maholm again shut down his opponent, in this case the Reds.  The difference here is he added some K flavor to his stats, striking out 8. 

Maybe Pirate fan CaptainWill can shed more light on this but it seems to me that between Maholm and Zack Duke, the Pirates have two young arms for the coming season.

Roger Clemens, Houston Astros

6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (Win)

Rocket allowed only 1 run in six and a third innings.  That’s not news.  He’s been pitching like that all season.  What was different was that he did it hours after his mother passed away.  Bess Clemens passed away that morning. 

Even more unusual, the Astros actually gave Clemens some support.  Not much.  But some.  Clemens left with a 3-1 lead.  True to their nature all year, the Astro offense ironically waited till Clemens left the game before their offense exploded for 7 more runs.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth (they did give him the lead, after all), but geez how hard would it be for once, to give the Rocket some substantial run support?  While he’s pitching?

New York Yankees

17 runs, 20 hits, 1 HR

The Yanks scored two touchdowns and a field goal against Tampa Bay.  The ironic thing is that of the 20 hits, only 2 were for extra bases and only one went deep (by Giambi).  Giambi had 5 ribbies, Matsui and Posada had 4 each.

The key factor:  The Yankees were 11 for 23 with RISP.

Placido Polanco, Detroit Tigers

4 for 5, HR, 4 runs, 2 rbis

Polanco’s performance puts him at .348 for Detroit (he hit .316 for Philly in 158 ab earlier in the year).  He’s at a even .300 for his 3000+ career at-bats. 

Jorge Sosa, Atlana Braves

8 IP, 6 H, 0 runs, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (Win)

What a year Jorge Sosa has had!  After 3 less than mediocre seasons with TB, Jorge skipped to the NL and found success with the Braves.  As a starter/reliever, he currently has a 2.55 ERA and an 11-3 record. 

Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers

3 for 4, HR, run, 5 rbis

The five rbis brings this young stud up to 120 for the season.