10/4/09 Linescore of the Day: Alex Rodriguez

arodAlex Rodriguez had the Linescore of the Day, or rather of the Inning, against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, as he drove in seven runs in the 6th inning (an inning RBI mark for the AL).  His seven runs batted in helped propel the Yankees to a 10-2 (all ten NY runs coming in the 6th) victory in their final game of the year, the team’s 103 win of the season.  ARod ripped a three run homer in his 1st at bat of the inning and he came to the plate with the bases loaded in his 2nd time up, after the Rays intentionally walked Mark Teixeira, and Rodriguez cleared off the bases with his 30th dong, giving him 100 RBIs for the season, in only 124 games, due in part to hip surgery, AMAZING!

Alex Rodriguez 3 for 4, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs (in the 6th, including a GS), 2 runs

10/2/09 Linescore of the Day: B.J. Upton

uptonIt was a mismatch from the onset, C.C. Sabathia (going for his 20th win) & the Yankees against rookie David Price & the Rays.  When the smoke had settled a 13-4 beat-down occurred, thirteen runs on seventeen hits, 5 for 5 by one player, one starting lefthander only allowed two hits over seven innings.  Who was the star with five hits, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, didn’t the Yankees already clinch, why did they have to be so rough on Tampa Bay?  Funny thing is B.J. Upton of the Rays was the 5 for 5 guy, including being the first player in Rays history to hit for the cycle, C.C. Sabathia was the hurler who was shelled, while Price totally dominated the Pinstripers from the Bronx.  Upton came into the game with a disappointing .236 batting average.

B.J. Upton 5 for 5, 2 singles, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 3 runs

10/1/09 Linescore of the Day: Chris Carpenter

chris_carpenter_st_louis_cardinalsChris Carpenter did his best Babe Ruth imitation, doing it with the bat and doing it with his arm.  He hit a grand slam on his first career home run in the 2nd inning, then cracked a two run double in his next at bat, while throwing five donuts at the Red Legs.  His five shutout innings secured the NL ERA title.

Chris Carpenter 2 for 3, 1 2B, 1 HR (GS), 6 RBIs, 1 run

Chris Carpenter 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO (W, 17-4)

9/29/09 Linescore of the Day: Jay Bruce

jay-bruce-jc-423Jay Bruce slugged his 21st and 22nd homers and knocked in five runs in Tuesday’s triumph over the Cardinals.  Meanwhile, Bruce has made some adjustments since returning from an eight-week disabled list stint with a broken right wrist.  Since being activated on Sept. 14, he is batting .375 (12-for-32) with four homers and 12 RBIs. He’s batting .224 for the season.  After avoiding the long ball virtually all season, Joel Pineiro was reached for three homers Tuesday.  Jay Bruce hit a three-run shot in the second inning and a two-run jack in the sixth, and Joey Votto added a solo homer in the third.  Pineiro had not given up even two homers in a single game all year, and had been reached a total of seven times in his previous 30 starts.

Jay Bruce 2 for 4, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 2 runs, REDS BEAT REDBIRDS 7-2

9/28/09 Linescore of the Day: Andy LaRoche

Pirates Cubs BaseballAndy LaRoche had a career day against his old mates, the LA Dodgers, in the last game in Pittsburgh for 2009.  LaRoche was 5 for 5, with six runs batted in, 2 doubles, 2 homers, & 1 single, were among his hits.  LaRoche said, he knew he was seeing the ball well when he singled his first time up against Hiroki Kuroda.  Truth be told Andy has been seeing the ball well lately, hitting .368 over his past 14 starts, in that span he’s gone deep five times, driving in 13, while hitting safely in each game.  His five home runs are more than he hit in the first half of the season.  He finished his most reason series against the Dodgers going 10 for 18.

Andy LaRoche 5 for 5, 2 2Bs, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 4 runs

4-15-09 L-O-T-D: James Loney

James Loney  2 AB, 0 H, 3 RBI

DonS emails:

Guys,
 
  Last night, James Loney got 3 rbis without getting a hit.
 
  I wonder when’s the last time THAT happened.
 
  LSOTD on the Baseball Zealot?
DonS.
 
Well, as rare as it is, it’s not as rare as I thought it would be.  The last person to have 3 or more rbis with no hits in a game was Hideki Matsui on July 29, 2007 when the Yankees played the Orioles.
 
It’s happened nine times in this decade.  The strange thing is that it happened FOUR times in 2000.  Ben Petrick of Colorado (remember him?) did it by driving in four runs without the benefit of a hit.
 
 
.  

4/13/09: L-O-T-D – Orlando Hudson

orlando-hudson O-Dog became the first Dodger to hit for the cycle at Dodger Stadium, and the first since Wes Parker did so on May 7, 1970 in New York against the Mets.

Orlando Hudson 4 for 5, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, 1 SO, 1 CYCLE

Orlando reached base on an infield single in the first inning. He homered in the third to put the Dodgers ahead, 1-0, and doubled in the Dodgers’ six-run rally in the fourth.

Hudson hit a ball down the right-field line in the sixth, stretching a double into a triple with a head-first slide to beat the throw.

Hudson said he knew he would go for the triple when he saw Giants right fielder Randy Winn turn his back — but said he wasn’t even aware of the cycle.

He claimed that he learned what he had done when he returned to the dugout after scoring a run.

“I was like, ‘Congratulations for what?’ ” Hudson said. “I had no idea what was going on.”

Matt Kemp didn’t believe him.

“He was trying to act like he didn’t know,” Kemp said.

“I’m not sure about that. Everyone in the stadium knew he needed the triple for a cycle.”

Whatever the case, the record crowd at Dodger Stadium — 57,099 fans, according to the team — responded with what might have been a record ovation when Hudson’s feat was noted on the video board as he was warming up at second base before the seventh inning.

The fans rose to their feet.

Hudson said that at that moment, he looked into the dugout and tried to lock eyes with Torre.

“I was just looking down at the dugout at Mr. Torre to see if he’d give me a little look, so I could tip my cap,” Hudson said.

“I didn’t want to make it all about me, you know, but I didn’t want the fans to think I was a jerk.”

BTW, The LA Dodgers won their home opener 11-1 over the SF Giants.

4/12/09: L-O-T-D – Aaron Harang

harang

Aaron Harang (1-0) 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO – 1 CG ShO

While pitching a dominant complete-game shutout against Pittsburgh on Sunday, right-hander Aaron Harang made life easy for his Reds colleagues — well, for most of them anyway.
Harang’s performance certainly didn’t leave Reds manager Dusty Baker with any simple options as his squad entered the top of the ninth. Sure, Harang eventually secured the 2-0 win for Cincinnati with his dominating three-hit, nine-strikeout performance. But Baker wasn’t sure what to do about his game plan entering the final inning.

“If it’s 3-0 or 4-0 — or 6-0, like it should have been — there’s no question,” Baker said. “But 2-0 in our ballpark with guys that can reach the fence … you just want that last strike to be thrown. Aaron was masterful, and it’s a tough position for the manager. Take him out and something happens, or leave him in and something happens.”

Baker knew Harang’s opinion about the matter without having to ask his 6-foot-7, 261-pound ace — “He was going to have to drag me off the field,” Harang said with a laugh — and Baker allowed him to take the mound in the ninth.

Although Pirates left fielder Nyjer Morgan, who reached base three times on Sunday, singled with one out, Baker never left the bench. Harang then coerced Freddy Sanchez to fly out and struck out Nate McLouth to end the game and seal the sixth shutout and 12th complete game of his career.

Last year Harang was 6-17 with a 4.78 ERA, while two years ago was his best in the bigs, 16-6 with a 3.73 ERA. It looks like Aaron is back!