mr77's Recaps
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Astros vs. Cubs
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs met Monday night in a highly dramatic game featuring two solid National League teams. The game was so dramatic it would have to be decided in extra innings.
The Astros were the first to strike, putting one run on the board thanks to a solo blast from Carlos Lee. Derek Lee would answer for the Cubs in the fourth inning with a solo shot of his own to tie the game at one a piece. The day was a day of home runs across the Majors. Teams in the Al and NL were hitting blasts and the battle in Chicago was no different.
Following Derek Lee’s home run, however, there were no home runs for a long time. Both teams held their opponents to no runs for the following 8 straight innings. Both starting pitchers and both bullpens had great outings, holding their opponents scoreless for a long time. That finally changed in the bottom of the 13th.
With bases loaded, Alfonso Soriano stepped up to the plate and hit a walk-off grand slam, giving the Cubs the win in dramatic fashion. Soriano has had his ups and downs for the Cubs, but came through big on Monday against the Astros.
Author
mr77 -
Padres vs. Nationals
Sunday belonged to two amazing players inducted into the Hall of Fame. Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice gave their Hall of Fame acceptance speeches in Cooperstown Sunday – the day definitely belonged to them. The day also belonged to Nationals’ player Austin Kearns.
The Nationals have had struggles of historic proportions this year. Many say there hasn’t been a team playing this poorly since the Mets many years ago. The Padres have also had their share of struggles, loosing over 60 games already in the season. Both teams met in the nation’s capitol Sunday to steal a win.
The game proved to be a pitching duel early. Neither team put a run on the board for the first five innings. Kevin Kouzmanoff gave the Padres the 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning, breaking a 5 inning scoreless gridlock. After the Nationals tied the game at one apiece thanks to a solo shot in the 7th, Adam Dunn drove in another run after an RBI single. It looked like the Nats would pull of the victory until Kyle Blanks hit a solo blast to left field to tie the game at 2.
In extra innings, Austin Kearns came through big, hitting a two-out, RBI single that gave his team the late-inning win.
Author
mr77 -
Cardinals vs. Phillies
Recently, trade rumors surrounding Roy Halladay have been swarming. Friday, however, it was Holliday, not Halladay that got traded. The Oakland Athletics traded star player Matt Holliday for four star prospects to the St. Louis Cardinals. Among the prospects is star up and coming third baseman Brett Wallace.
Holliday traveled from New York to Philadelphia to make his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies have been hot following the All Star break, and looked to extend their good fortune. Friday, however, belonged to Matt Holliday and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cards scored 8 runs in a romp of the Phillies 8-1. Holliday went 4-5 on the day and drove in a run against the Phillies. The Cardinals had a total of 15 hits on the night including a 4 run inning in the 6th. Julio Lugo also contributed big on Friday with a homer and a triple.
The Phillies weren’t able to mount any comeback against the St. Louis pitching staff. Joel Pineiro was solid Friday against the Phillies. He allowed no runs in 6 innings and gave up just 4 hits. The Phillies got their only run in the 7th inning after Pineiro left the game.
Author
mr77 -
Twins vs. Angels
The Rally Monkey has been working hard this season. The Anaheim Angels first introduced their fury friend in the 2002 championship season that brought the franchise a World Series title. When the Angels are trailing an opponent at home going into the late innings, the Angels display the Rally Monkey to encourage fans and teammates to rally for the victory. The Rally Monkey has been a huge hit among fans, and this year, has been working wonders for the Angels who have 30 come from behind wins in 2009.
The Angels were trailing the Minnesota Twins 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth. Twins closer Joe Nathan had converted 20 consecutive saves, without allowing a single run. After hitting Mike Napoli, the Angels scored one run to close the gap to 5-4. With two outs, Nathan got Howie Kendrick to ground up the middle, but the ball hit the bag before Nick Punto could make the out and Angels tied the game at 5.
The ball game went into extra innings. After the Twins failed to score in the top of the 10th, the Angels rallied yet again for the sixth win in a row. This time Mike Napoli hit a walk-off double to score the go-ahead run and give the Angels yet another come from behind win.
Author
mr77 -
Athletics vs. Twins
The Home Run Derby was hosted in St. Louis this year with many of the best players in the world dazzling fans with their ability to hit the long ball. The Oakland Athletics hosted a home run derby of their own Wednesday night as they teed off on Minnesota Twins’ pitching staff.
Trevor Cahill was on the mound for the A’s on Wednesday. He gave up one run in the first inning and things were looking down for the Oakland club. He would settle down and his team would help him out in a big way. After the one run top half of the inning, the A’s scored 5 runs in the bottom of the first. The run came off of Twins star player Justin Morneau after he hit a solo shot. Cahill would remain solid through the rest of his outing, keeping the Twins to just one run the entire game.
The A’s would add 7 runs in the second and 4 more throughout the game to beat the Twins 16-1. Matt Holliday went three for three and joined Rajai Davis and Scott Hairston in contributing to the victory. Davis had four RBI’s on the night and Hairston hit a three-run home run to help the team blow out the Twins.
Author
mr77 -
Phillies vs. Cubs
The Cubs season woes continued Tuesday night against the World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The game was tied going into the 13th inning when the Phillies sent the Cubs home, unhappy.
Tuesday was a major pitcher’s duel in Philadelphia. Both clubs’ pitching staffs only allowed one run in 12 straight innings. The Phillies were the first to get on the board after a solo shot from Phillies star Jimmy Rollins in the third. The Cubs quickly tied the ball game at one after Kosuke Fukudome hit an RBI double.
Both starters were solid in Tuesday’s outing. Cubs pitcher Rich Harden pitched 7 innings allowing only one run. Phillies starter Joe Blanton matched the feat, also pitching 7 innings with just one run allowed. Both bullpens showed up big as well. The game saw 8 consecutive scoreless innings until the bottom of the 13th.
Relief pitcher Jeff Samardzija recorded two outs before he walked Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez to put two men on. Jason Werth came to the plate and blasted his 21st home run of the year for a big walk-off, three-run homer. Werth’s late inning heroics gave the Phillies their 10th consecutive win in a row, and a lot to be happy about after a long game.
Author
mr77 -
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox
There’s been a lot of media coverage surrounding All Star pitcher Roy Halladay. Daily trade talks would surely distract any ball player, but Halladay remains cool and collected under the possibility of a trade. He would have to be solid against the AL East leading Red Sox to help his team get the victory.
It looked like the Boston Red Sox might take advantage of Halladay Sunday afternoon in Toronto. With a runner on third, former All Star David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead after a sacrifice fly. But Halladay would get out of the inning and remain solid throughout the rest of the game. He gave up just six hits on the day. He also walked no batters and struck out six. His era on the year dropped to a stellar 2.73.
The Red Sox had Jon Lester on the mound on Sunday. He came into the game with a good record against the Blue Jays, but even a good outing would not be enough with Halladay on the opposing side. The Blue Jays took back the lead in the second inning thanks to a two run double from Rob Barajas. Barajas would drive in the third run of the game for the Blue Jays, breaking out of major 0-20 slump.
Author
mr77 -
Tigers vs. Yankees
The Tigers found themselves in Yankees stadium for Old Timers’ Day on Sunday, battling the Bronx bombers for an afternoon victory. But first, the Tigers would have to overcome the Yankees deep offensive lineup and starter Joba Chamberlain.
Chamberlain has struggled for the Yanks recently, failing to record a victory so far in the month of July. Despite his recent struggles, Chamberlain brought his A-game against the Detroit Tigers. Chamberlain allowed just one run off of three hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out eight batters.
The Tigers ace, Edwin Jackson, also brought his A-game. He allowed just 2 runs in 7 innings. He only allowed 5 hits in his outing Sunday as well. Two runs, however, would prove enough for the victory on the day of remembrance for the previous Yankee greats.Alex Rodriguez hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game after Detroit’s Clete Thomas hit a solo blast in the top of the inning to give the Tigers the brief lead. After an inning of tied ball, first-basemen Mark Teixeira blasted a shot over the right field fence to give the Yankees the go-ahead run and eventually the win. Mariano Rivera recorded his 19 save against the Tigers this decade.
Author
mr77 -
Braves vs. Mets
Chipper Jones has been the face of the Braves franchise for many years. He was a member of those teams in the late nineties that won division championship after division championship. In Wednesday’s game against the Mets, he proved again why he is the big kahuna of the Braves organization.
In the first game back from the All Star break, both team’s starter pitching fared well Wednesday night. Derek Lowe was on the mound for the Braves and gave up just 3 runs off 5 hits in six innings of work. On the other side, New York Mets starting pitcher Oliver Perez gave up the same numbers: 3 runs off of 5 hits in six innings.
After going down 2-0 in the second innings, the Mets came roaring back in the fourth. Led by star players David Wright, Gary Sheffield and David Wright, the Mets scored 3 in the fourth to take a one run lead.
The Braves quickly responded in the bottom of the night, tying the game at 3 runs. They waited until the 7th inning to take the lead. With a runner in scoring position, Chipper Jones singled to score the go-ahead run. The Braves would add another in the 8th following Jones’ clutch RBI single.
The Braves bullpen was solid, holding the Mets to no runs in 3 innings.
Author
mr77 -
Twins vs. Rangers
Josh Hamilton made his first appearance at the ballpark in Arlington in more than 6 weeks. Last year’s home run derby runner-up made the home appearance worthwhile by homering in the game. The Texas Rangers looked to ride Hamilton’s hot bat to a victory over the Minnesota Twins.
The Rangers took an early 2-0 lead against the Twins in the first inning. They added another run in the 5th but it would not be enough to hold off the Twins.
The Twins were swinging the bat well on Friday. Led by All Stars Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer, they scored 5 runs on the night and beat the Rangers by 2. Mauer has been stellar this season, flirting with a .400 batting average. In the third inning with the game tied, Maeur and Morneau successfully got on base, bringing up Jason Kubel. Kubel put a ball over the fence for a three run homer and a two run lead for the Twins.Glen Perkins had a good outing on Friday. He gave up just 3 runs in five innings of work and has a good record against the Rangers this season. Twins’ closer Joe Nathan recorded his 24th save on the season.
Author
mr77