Last Updated on June 11, 2007 12:01 pm by admin
SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, June 12
Arizona at N.Y. Yankees (7:05 p.m. EDT). 2006 NL Cy Young award winner Brandon Webb faces off against Chien-Ming Wang, who finished second in AL voting for the award.
STARS
Sunday
-Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, homered twice, had five RBIs and scored four runs in New York’s 13-6 victory over Pittsburgh.
-Alex Gonzalez, Reds, hit a game-ending RBI single in the 12th inning to give Cincinnati a 1-0 win over Cleveland.
-Ryan Spilborghs, Rockies, had two homers and a career-high six RBIs to push Colorado past Baltimore 6-1.
-Mark Grudzielanek, Royals, hit a home run and drove in five runs and Kansas City defeated Philadelphia 17-5.
-Geoff Jenkins, Brewers, hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning and Milwaukee stopped a three-game losing streak, beating Texas 9-6.
-Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks, gave up one run and struck out nine in six innings to help Arizona top Boston 5-1.
SCRAPE
Cubs starter Ted Lilly was ejected in the first inning of a 5-4 loss to the Braves on Sunday night after hitting Edgar Renteria with a pitch, causing the benches and bullpens to empty. Moments later, Renteria retaliated. He smacked Cubs second baseman Mike Fontenot in the face with his right hand while stealing second. Renteria left for a pinch-hitter in the fourth because of a bruise on his left hand, the result of Lilly’s fastball. The Braves said X-rays were negative.
BATTERED
Geoff Jenkins hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers stopped a three-game losing streak, beating the Texas Rangers 9-6 Sunday night. Prince Fielder connected for his NL-leading 23rd home run as the Brewers finished with a season-high 22 hits.
SALVAGED
Randy Johnson allowed one run in six innings and three relievers did the rest as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Boston Red Sox 5-1 Sunday afternoon to salvage the final game of a three-game series. Carlos Quentin doubled home the eventual winning run in the sixth inning, and Eric Byrnes had three hits as the Diamondbacks moved within percentage points of first-place San Diego in the NL West.
FIRSTS
Tampa Bay’s Andy Sonnanstine struck out 10, including seven straight at one point, and got his first career victory in Tampa Bay’s 9-4 win over Florida on Sunday. … Jason Hirsh limited Baltimore to one run on five hits in his first career complete game and earned his first win since April 22 in Colorado’s 6-1 win over Baltimore.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
C.C Sabathia stifled Cincinnati through nine scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and one walk. He struck out six and didn’t allow a runner past second base but Cleveland fell to the Reds 1-0 in 12 innings. Sabathia also went 2-for-3 at the plate.
STREAKS
Casey Blake extended his career-high hitting streak to 19 games in Cleveland’s 1-0 12-innings loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. … Willy Taveras extended his hitting streak to an NL-best 15 games in Colorado’s 6-1 win over Baltimore.
SNAPPED
Yuniesky Betancourt had his 20-game hitting streak snapped in Seattle’s 4-3 win over San Diego on Sunday. … The Chicago White Sox beat Houston 6-3 to snap a five-game losing streak.
SPEAKING
“It hit me in the hand and the chin also. But I have a big chin. Strong. I understand the game. If he hit me on my buttocks, I understand, but to hit me in the head, I don’t understand that.” – Edgar Renteria, on being hit by Ted Lilly in the first inning of the Braves’ 5-4 win over the Cubs on Sunday. Lilly was ejected and the benches and bullpens emptied as a result of the incident.
SEASONS
June 12
1922 – Hub Pruett struck out Babe Ruth three consecutive times as the St. Louis Browns beat the New York Yankees 7-1.
1928 – Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees had two triples and two homers in a 15-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
1939 – The Baseball Hall of Fame was officially dedicated at Cooperstown, N.Y.
1954 – Milwaukee’s Jim Wilson pitched the year’s only no-hitter, blanking the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0.
1959 – The San Francisco Giants’ Mike McCormick tossed a 3-0, five-inning no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. Richie Ashburn singled in the top of the sixth for the Phillies, but the hit didn’t count because the game was stopped by rain.
1970 – Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates hurled a 2-0 no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres. Ellis walked eight and hit a batter, and Willie Stargell hit two homers.
1981 – Thirteen games were canceled due to a players’ strike.
1997 – After 126 years, baseball broke its tradition and played interleague games.
1999 – Cal Ripken went 6-for-6, homering twice and driving in six runs as the Baltimore Orioles scored the most runs in franchise history with a 22-1 rout of the Atlanta Braves.
2005 – Hee-Seop Choi hit three homers in his first three at-bats, including a go-ahead solo shot in the sixth, to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past Minnesota 4-3.
2006 – Pitcher Jason Grimsley was suspended 50 games, less than a week after federal agents raided his home during an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs.
2006 – Chicago’s Jose Contreras won his 15th straight start and struck out a career-high 11 batters to help the White Sox defeat Texas 8-3.
Today’s birthdays: Hideki Matsui, 33; Ryan Klesko, 35.