Linescores of the Day | The Baseball Zealot

Five Ribbies and 3 HR for Alfonso (and a tense moment for Jason Marquis)

Linescore of the Day:

Alfonso Soriano: 4 for 5, 3 HR, 4 runs, 5 rbi (and no errors)

Soriano came though for the Cubs in a big way for the Cubs Saturday against the Reds in a game they quite honestly needed to win. They needed all of Alfonso’s production as the Reds made a comeback against the Cubs beleaguered bullpen scoring 8 runs in the last two innings. Final score: 14-9.

Much kudos to starter Jason Marquis who not only pitched a good game (2 runs in 7 plus innings though with five walks… more on that later), he had a good day at the plate. He hit two nicely hit flyballs for outs the first two times he was up but the third time was a charm. That one reached the right field seats for a solo homer.

The day wasn’t without a little controversy, though. The situation with umpire Brian Runge was just plain weird. With the bases loaded and a 3-0 count, Marquis threw one that looked like a strike to me. Regardless, Runge didn’t call it. Even stranger, batter Chris Dickerson didn’t make a move to first thinking it was a strike himself. It took a long while before anyone did anything. Finally, Runge made the call, Ball Four. Boy, that got Marquis upset and he got yelling and gesturing the shape of the strike zone.

The Play of the Game?

The best play of the game wasn’t a hit or a play in the field. It was a simple gesture made by catcher Geovany Soto to Runge that could have saved the game. While Marquis was yelling at Runge and things were getting tense, Runge started to move to go toward the mound. Soto touched Runge’s arm as if to say, "Don’t worry. I’ll handle it." and went out to the mound. Runge turned back to his spot behind home plate.

In my opinion, Soto prevented Marquis from getting ejected from the game. It may have been obvious and simple but it worked. Marquis pitched pretty well the rest of his outing, allowing one more run in the eighth (don’t forget about his homerun too). Had he been ejected, who knows what could have happened. We saw what happened in the 8th and 9th inning.

Soto has been showing this kind of maturity and presence of mind all year. I will most likely have the first pick in the rookie draft in the Ilowa APBA League next year.

I think I have made my decision.

Linescore of the Day: Mariners’ Brandon Morrow

Brandon Morrow: 7 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K (W)

Mr Brandon Morrow had a no-hitter into the 8th inning when pinch hitter Wilson Betemit spoiled his party by hitting a rbi double.

It was Morrow’s first career start and the seventh time a pitcher got into the 8th with goose eggs in the hit column. So far only Red Sox Jon Lester has been able to go distance.

The Ms need something to cheer about languishing in last place. Brandon Morrow might be a future star.

6/24/08 Linescore of the Day: Bronson Arroyo

Arroyo 1 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3 HR, 6.52 ERA (L, 4-7)

Marco Scutaro singles, Joe Inglett walks, Alex Rios singles, bases loaded, nobody out. Vernon Wells strikes out, how embarrassing! A sacfly by Matt Stairs scores Scutaro. Scott Rolen launches a three run home run. Lyle Overbay doubles, Gregg Zaun rips a two run bomb. Mound visit results in a force play by Inglett, after Adam Lind & Scutaro singled. End of first inning 6-0 Blue Jays.

Reds score one in the top of the 2nd, there is hope, no there’s not. Rios homers to left, Wells singles, Stairs doubles home Vernon. Another trip to the mound, a wild pitch moves Stairs to 3rd, Rolen doubles Matt home. Coach comes out and takes ball from Arroyo. Overbay singles Rolen to third off new pitcher Gary Majewski. Zaun pops out, Lind’s singles plates Rolen to close the book on Bronson. Scutaro singles to load the bases, Overbay scores on Inglett’s groundout, and then Rios strikes out, 11-1 after two.

I suppose I could have given the Linescore of the Day to the Toronto Blue Jays O-ffense, but decided Arroyo had as much to do for the outburst as anyone. It should be noted that this was the first game back for new/old Blue Jays skipper Cito Gaston. Manager John Gibbons & hitting coach Gary Denbo lost their jobs in part due to a lack of offense. Before the game new hitting coach told the club, “don’t think, just go up there & swing the bats”. Nice coaching Gino!

Linescore of the Day: Howard bringin’ those numbers up

Ryan Howard: 3 for 5, 2 HR, 4 runs, 5 rbis

The Phillies faced the Pujols-less Cardinals on Friday for the only intra-league game of the day. Even with Pujols, I don’t think the Cards would have surmounted the 20-2 score that the Phillies racked up.

Going 3 for 5, Ryan Howard is slowly bringing that batting average back up again. He’s at .212 now. For those who don’t believe in batting averages, there’s hope. If you take out the Chase Utley Factor, Howard leads his team in runs and rbis.

6/7/08: Linescore of the Day – Johnny Damon

The last time a Yankee did it was 1934 when Myril Hoag got six hits in ballgame, until Saturday when Johnny Damon was 6 for 6. Not only was Damon perfect in six at bats, he also was clutch. His fifth hit of the day tied the game and his 6th hit won it.

It was a real pitcher’s dual in the Bronx with Andy Pettitte on the mound for the Yankees, facing Brian Bannister of the Royals. Jose Guillen tagged Pettitte with a first inning two run two out blast. Jason Giambi’s two out single, plated Damon, who had a leadoff double, to make it 2-1 KC after one.

In the 3rd David DeJesus singles, scores on Mike Aviles’ triple, Mark Teahen was hit by a pitch, Aviles scored on Guillen’s single, and John Buck’s single scored Teahen, 5-1 Royals.

Bottom of four, ARod singles, Giambi walks, Jorge Posada doubles home Rodriguez, Robinson Cano singles home Giambi, Wilson Betemit’s sac-fly scores Posada, base knock by Melky Cabrera, Damon’s basehit scores Cano, with Joel Peralta now pitching for KC Damon steals 2nd, Derek Jeter lifts a flyball to right & Guillen guns down Cabrera tagging from 3rd, 5-5 tie.

Jason Giambi unties it with a two out solo shot, Peralta walks the next guy, and is replaced by Brett Tomko, who closes down the Yanks in the 5th, 6-5 NY.

7th inning: Alberto Callaspo rips a leadoff double, Esteban German beats out a bunt to 3rd, Joey Gathright softly grounds to Damon scoring Callaspo, DeJesus bunts the runners to 2nd & 3rd, Mike Aviles is given a free ride to load them up, Jose Guillen launches a grand slam after Teahen strikes out, Jose Veras replaces Pettitte, and gets Miguel Olivo swinging to end the top half of the 7th. In the bottom of the 7th, Bobby Abreu singles with one out and scores on ARod’s two run blast, saying goodbye to Tomko. Ramon Ramirez gets the next two batters, 10-8 KC.

In the bottom of the 8th with one out Johnny Damon tied the score by singling home Cano & Betemit, after they had singled, and moved up on a wild pitch. Jimmy Gobble & Yasuhiko Yabuta got the next two outs without any further damage, tied at 10.

9th inning, GAME TIME: DeJesus greeted Mariano Rivera with a homer to right putting the Royals up by one heading into the bottom of the 9th. Joakim Soria is brought on to close it out. With one out Posada’s line drive out to right knots the game at 11. But the Bombers aren’t done, as with two gone, Betemit walks, Cabrera singles, and Damon ends it with his 6th hit of the game to win it 12-11.

Johnny Damon 6 for 6, 1 2B, 1 R, 4 RBI’s, 1 SB, .326

FLOYD THE BARBER

Eww, Andy, that was a GOOD game! Wasn’t it Andy? He pitched GOOD, threw the ball REAL hard. Actually Gavin’s fastball topped out at about 93, but I’m just thinking about what Floyd the Barber on the old Andy Griffith show might have said about the performance turned in by Gavin Floyd last night against the Twins.

I had my doubts as I headed to the Cell to watch the White Sox play the team from Minnesota. My boys were coming off a four game sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays, in which the Sox scored only five runs in the four games, losing the last game 1-0 when Pablo Ozuna rapped into a 1-2-3 doubleplay with the bases loaded and one out to finish up the series, OUCH!

But last night was a different story, Floyd was masterful with his nasty curveball accompanying his pinpoint control of his heater. At first the White Sox didn’t push it, not trying to score on a ball hit to rookie centerfielder Carlos Gomez, his throw was off the mark, the runner would have scored, but the Sox were hesitant. Right after that play in the first inning, a Sox runner tried for 3rd, would’ve been out on a good throw, but the throw got away from the thirdbaseman. Instead of dusting himself off, glad he made third, the runner headed for home, a dead duck, for sure. He kicked the ball out of the catcher’s mitt and was safe at the plate. 2-0 Sox after one inning.

The Sox leftfielder dropped a ball in the 4th, the Twins scored an unearned run to cut it to 2-1, but the Palehose scored a run in the bottom of the frame to keep the game at a two run difference between the two teams. The Good Guys added four more tallies to make it 7-1.

Going into the top of the 8th somebody said, “I didn’t know he was throwing a no-hitter”. The words hit me like I’d had icewater thrown into my face. I looked out at the scoreboard like I’d never seen it before. The ZERO in the hits column for Minnestota looked to be a mirage. Why would someone say it outloud? It’s like saying, Macbeth or Lord Voldemort, only ten times worse! Fans around me began to call friends on their cell phones, talk about the gem, heck even my phone got a call telling me about the no-no. Would these people walk under ladders, carrying a black cat, while breaking mirrors?

Before the 9th inning I said, I’d bring in Brian Anderson for Nick Swisher in center. But people around me, the ones talking about the no-hitter, knowing nothing about superstition etiquette, said, don’t change a thing.

Floyd struckout the first batter looking in the 9th. Then it happened, a linedrive just out of the diving reach of Nick Swisher, for a two basehit by Joe Mauer. Would Brian Anderson have caught the baseball? I’m not sure, but he’d have had a better shot of preserving the no-hitter than Swisher. Oh well, it was a great game. 8 1/3 innings before the first hit, lotsa tension, lotsa excitement. Bobby Jenks came on to close it out.

Gavin Floyd (3-1) 8′ IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 2.50 ERA

4/16/08 Linescore of the Day: Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera: 4 for 6, HR, 2 runs, 5 rbis

Cabrera knocked out his 3rd homer of the season to help the Tigers to their fifth win of the year and 3rd win in a row. The Tigers do have life! It wasn’t even close as Detroit clobbered the Indians 13-2.

I have to give special mention to Carlos Zambrano who did it with his arm and the bat. Zambrano allowed just 2 runs in 7 innings (and only one walk!) in the Cubs 12-3 defeat of Dusty Baker’s Reds. In addition, Zam went 3 for 4 at the plate including a double, rbi and a run.

At this point last year, Carlos had a 7.88 ERA. And we all remember how he pitched in April two years ago. Now four starts is a small sample size but is his 3.04 ERA a good omen for the team?

4/13/08 Linescore of the Day: Two grannies

Paul Konerko: 2 for 4, HR, run, 5 rbis

Joe Crede: 1 for 2, HR, run, 4 rbis

The White Sox got two grand slams on Sunday from the bats of Konerko and Crede, the first time that has happened in one game in Sox history.

The Sox scored a total of 11 runs against the hapless Tigers who are now 2-10. Chicago pitching held the Tigers’ lineup to just 6 hits and shut them out.

The four rbis gives Crede the AL lead in that category behind 4 homeruns (already matching his total from last year) and a .341 batting average.

4/8/2008 Linescore of the Day: 4 hits and 4 rbis for Huff

Aubrey Huff: 4 for 4, 2B, run, 4 rbis

Oriole designated hitter and cleanup man Aubrey Huff was key to the Orioles’ 8-1 victory over the Rangers. His 4 rbis accounted for half of his team’s eight runs.

Ranger pitcher Jason Jennings, who pitched on Tuesday, is off to a rough start. Not only is he 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA but he’s also allowed 4 homers in 9 2/3 innings. Huff’s teammate Luke Scott was #4.

4/4/08 Linescore of the Day: Groan it’s gotta be A.J.

A.J. Pierzynski: 3 for 5, 2 2B, HR, 2 runs, 5 rbis

A.J gets it today by virtue of the “Five rule”. He drove in 5 runs in the Sox’ 8-5 win against the Tigers on Friday. That was accomplished via 2 doubles and a homers.

A.J. had 50 ribbies last year. He’s already got a good head start this year.

Special mention to Philadelphia’s Utley who Chased two homers out of Great American.