Early Removal, a Cycle, and Offensive Juggernauts

PITCHING
Usually, a pitcher has given up a fair number of hits and runs when they get removed after having thrown just 78 pitches. That was not the case for Shaun Marcum in the TAM/TOR game yesterday:

              IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
S. Marcum     6.0   0   0   0   3   7   0

Not only was Marcum removed just 78 pitches into his start without having given up any runs, he also had a no-hitter going. The no-hitter, and the win, were given up by the bullpen.

FIELDING
I'm filing this little nugget under fielding because it shows a surprising lack of the skill by Johnny Estrada in yesterday's MIL/NYM game:

SB - D Wright 3 (7, 2nd base off C Capuano/J Estrada,
                       2nd base off C Villanueva/J Estrada,
                       3rd base off C Villanueva/J Estrada),
        J Reyes (21, 2nd base off C Capuano/J Estrada),
        C Gomez (1, 2nd base off E Dessens/J Estrada).

This is likely not all Estrada's fault, but you have to figure it was a frustrating game for him.

HITTING
I'm sure most hitters in the National League look forward to their annual trips to Coors Field, but the Giants have to be counting down the days until their next series in Colorado following yesterday's offensive juggernaut. Every starter, including the pitcher, not only had a hit, but they also scored a run. Let me say that again: EVERY starter for the Giants had a hit AND a run scored.

Not too surprisingly, that led to the first cycle recorded on this blog:

                AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
F. Lewis cf     6   3   5   4   0   1   2

2B - F Lewis (1, T Buchholz)
3B - F Lewis (1, T Martin)
HR - F Lewis (1, 4th inning off T Buchholz 2 on, 2 Out)

Contrary to the fact that today saw Lewis' first double, triple, and home run of the season, it was not his first game of the season. It was his third. It was also the 16th game of his career, in which he had just 20 plate appearances before yesterday.

A lot of players go an entire career without hitting for the cycle and Lewis did it in just his 16th career game.

On a related note, the Twins had their offensive juggernaut on display last night when they put up 22 hits and 16 runs in the DET/MIN game. Every player, including the two pinch hitters, had a hit, but Nick Punto failed to join the rest of the team in scoring a run and matching the Giants. Torii Hunter had an amazing 7 RBI on just 3 hits.

Quintessential Plays

FIELDING
Outfield assists aren't rare, but they don't happen all that often within a single game. Outfield assists to home happen that much less.

Imagine, sitting in the stands enjoying a snack and beverage. A ball is hit to the outfield and the player on base takes off for home. The ball lands safely for a hit, but the outfielder charges the ball as the runner continues towards home. The outfielder scoops the ball up and fires towards home. There's a play at the plate and the runner is... OUT!

It's one of the quintessential plays in baseball and if you get to see one live, it's great.

Imagine how many peanuts, hot dogs, and drinks went flying as fans went crazy in the CHC/PHI game for each of the four plays at the plate that resulted in outs:

Outfield assists - J Jones (A Nunez at Home),
              M Murton (S Victorino at Home).

Outfield assists - S Victorino 2 (A Soriano at Home,
              J Jones at Home).

Two plays at the plate resulting in outs by each team is the kind of baseball fans home to, but rarely, get to see.

PITCHING
With two outs in the seventh inning, Boone Logan was brought into the KAN/CWS game. What resulted is the type of performance managers pray for when they make the motion towards the bullpen:

             IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
B. Logan     0.1   0   0   0   0   1   0

Pitches-strikes - B Logan 3-3

Three pitches. Three strikes. One out. End of the inning.

HITTING
Taylor Tankersley was brought into the FLA/WAS game to protect a 3-2 lead and register his first save of the season. What followed was a combination of two hits, two walks, two outs, a run scored, and the bases loaded.

With the game tied and bases loaded, Jorge Julio was brought into the game in hopes of getting Ryan Zimmerman out and taking the game into extra innings.

His first pitch was a ball. His second pitch:

HR - R Zimmerman (2, 9th inning off J Julio 3 on, 2 Out).

The walk-off grand slam. Yet another quintessential play in baseball.

More Double Plays and Almost Cycles

Last night was a bit of a down night for box score nuggets, but a few were still available to be had.

FIELDING
I've posted a couple of times about double plays, but two teams took it to the next level last night. Players for the Braves in the ATL/PIT game and players for the Rangers in the LAA/TEX game turned four double plays:

DP - 4 (K Davies-K Johnson-E Renteria-C Wilson,
     E Renteria-K Johnson-C Wilson,
     E Renteria-K Johnson-S Thorman,
     K Johnson-E Renteria-S Thorman).

DP - 4 (V Padilla-M Young-M Teixeira 2,
     I Kinsler-M Young-M Teixeira,
     I Kinsler-M Teixeira-M Young).

That's a lot of double plays!

HITTING
Another night and another missed cycle. This time, it was Ryan Garko in the CLE/OAK game. Garko missed a cycle by a triple:

                AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
R. Garko 1b     4   1   3   2   0   0   2

2B - R Garko (2, J Blanton)
HR - R Garko (4, 6th inning off J Blanton 0 on, 0 Out)

And that's the end of the nuggets today. While there were a high number of high-strikeout games last night, none of them was really worth the pitching nugget, so hopefully something will happen tonight.

Home Runs and Triple Double Plays

HITTING
Adam Dunn was one hit short of a cycle in last night's HOU/CIN game. Normally, this means a player missed out on a double, triple, or home run. But, in Dunn's case he missed out on a single. He was just a single away from a cycle:

               AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
A. Dunn lf     4   3   3   3   0   0   2 

2B - A Dunn (7, B Moehler)
3B - A Dunn (2, M Albers)
HR - A Dunn (11, 1st inning off M Albers 2 on, 1 Out)

So close, yet so far.

FIELDING
The other day, I wrote about a double play combo getting a double play the same way twice in a game. It seems the Pirates wanted to one-up them and turn it three times in the PIT/CHC game:

DP - 3 (J Wilson-F Sanchez-A LaRoche 3)

Three double plays in a game isn't such a big deal, but three double plays by the same trio in the same manner in the same game is not that common.

PITCHING
Dave Borowski competed for the title of "Easiest Pitcher's Paycheck Ever" in last night's HOU/CIN game:

                 IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
D. Borkowski     0.1   0   0   0   0   0   0 

Pitches-strikes - D Borkowski 1-1

One pitch. One out. End of game.

Six Days, Six Apperances, Five Saves

PITCHING
Today's pitching nugget actually comes from a series of box scores. Francisco Cordero took the ball in the ninth inning of the WAS/MIL game last night and finished off the Nationals for yet another save. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but here are Cordero's box score lines, most recent first, from the last six days. That's right, DAYS!

                       IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
F. Cordero (S, 15)     1.0   1   0   0   0   1   0
F. Cordero (S, 14)     1.0   1   1   1   0   1   0
F. Cordero (S, 13)     1.0   0   0   0   0   1   0
F. Cordero (S, 12)     1.0   0   0   0   0   1   0
F. Cordero (S, 11)     0.1   0   0   0   0   0   0
F. Cordero             1.0   0   0   0   0   0   0

It's rare that a closer will close a game three days in a row. Four days in a row is pretty much unheard of. Five days in a row and owners and fans start questioning the sanity of the manager. Six days in a row might just be one of the official signs of the apocalypse.

But, apocalypse or not, Cordero not only pitched in a game six days in a row, he also managed to get a save in five straight. It will likely be a LONG time before a stretch of games like this is ever seen again, which is why it's today's nugget.

HITTING
There are a lot of 1-0 games in baseball. I'm sure there are a fair number of those 1-0 games in which the only run was scored by a solo home run. But how many of those 1-0 games were won by a solo home run in a team's first at bat? That's what happened last night when Alfonso Soriano hit a home run in the bottom of the first to give the Cubs a win in the PIT/CHC game:

HR - A Soriano (3, 1st inning off T Gorzelanny 0 on,
0 Out)

HITTING (Take 2)
Without an interesting fielding nugget last night, I've decided to go with another hitting nugget. This one comes from the SEA/DET game, in which every Mariner starter got a hit. In fact, not only did all nine starters get a hit, but six of them got a double:

2B - Y Betancourt (6, N Robertson);
R Ibanez (5, N Robertson); R Sexson (8, N Robertson);
A Beltre (5, N Robertson); J Lopez (3, J Grilli);
I Suzuki (6, J Grilli).

It's no wonder they won the game by seven runs.

Six Bases and a Five Pitch Win

HITTING
There were three players who missed hitting for the cycle by a single hit last night. Jay Gibbons in the TAM/BAL game missed it by a triple. Johnny Estrada also missed the cycle by a triple in the WAS/MIL game. Omar Infante hit his first double and first triple of the season in the SEA/DET game, but never got a shot at the home run. But, none of these were last night's hitting nugget.

Instead, that honor goes to Hank Blalock from the TEX/NYY game:

                  AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
H. Blalock 3b     3   0   3   0   1   0   0

2B - H Blalock 3 (10, A Pettitte 2, S Proctor)

3-for-3 with three doubles. That's a heck of a night by any hitter's standards.

FIELDING
There weren't many fielding nuggets last night, so the honor goes to the infield trio of Scott Rolen, Adam Kennedy, and Albert Pujols for turning the exact same double play twice in the COL/STL game:

DP - 2 (S Rolen-A Kennedy-A Pujols 2)

PITCHING
Yesterday, I gave the honor to Saul Rivera for his nine-strike inning, so it was tempting to hand it to Chad Billingsley for coming one ball short of striking out three players on nine pitches in the LAD/FLA game.

Instead, I have to give the honor to closer-turned-middle reliever Brad Lidge for getting the win in the HOU/CIN game while doing just about the least amount of work possible:

                      IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
B. Lidge (W, 2-0)     0.1   0   0   0   0   1   0

Pitches-strikes - B Lidge 5-3

With a total of five pitches, three of which were good for strikes, Lidge struck out a single batter. Those five pitches and that strikeout to finish the sixth inning were followed by two runs in the top of the seventh inning to give Houston the lead for good. That not only gave the Astros a win, but gave five-pitch, one-out Lidge a win as well.

An Outfield Double Play

My first post to this blog contains some interesting nuggets of information from last night's box scores. Initially, I wondered how best to present what I wanted to say and I think the best way to do that is to break things up into categories of Hitting, Fielding, and Pitching.

It should be noted that all thoughts posted have been gleaned from the box scores and not any outside sources. Thus, events MAY have happened differently than how I have envisioned them from the box score. Such is the nature of box scores.

So, without any further ado, here are last night's Box Score Nuggets.

HITTING
I was going to use Travis Hafner's grand slam in the 8th inning of the CLE/BAL game, since it made up for the four men he left on base earlier on the game, but I decided to go with an interesting line from the SEA/NYY game:

                        AB  R   H  RBI  BB  K  LOB
W. Bloomquist pr-dh     0   1   0   0   0   0   0

That's Willie Bloomquist scoring a run in a game in which he did not get a hit, get a walk, get hit by a pitch, or otherwise reach base. His method of reaching base was substituting Jose Vidro, who hit a single, as a pinch runner.

FIELDING
The fielding nugget of the night has to come from the previously mentioned CLE/BAL game. Not only was Nick Markakis credited with an Outfield Assist, he was also credited with a Double Play on the same play:

Outfield assists - N Markakis (T Hafner at Home)
DP - 1 (N Markakis-P Bako)

This means that Travis Hafner was on third when the ball was hit to Markakis in right field. Markakis caught the ball and Hafner tagged up and ran for home. Since Hafner is a DH, it's no surprise that he's a bit slow and that likely helped Markakis complete the double play with his throw to Paul Bako, the catcher, at home.

PITCHING
Highlighting Brad Penny's 14-strikeout performance in the LAD/FLA game would have been a bit obvious. Instead, I chose a nugget from the WAS/MIL game:

              IP    H   R   ER  BB  K   HR
S. Rivera     1.0   1   0   0   0   1   0

Pitches-strikes - S Rivera 9-9

That's Saul Rivera of the Nationals throwing nine pitches in one inning with all nine pitches being strikes. It would have been a more stellar performance if he had three K's, but it's impressive none the less.

And with that, I've completed the first batch of Box Score Nuggets. Things may evolve as I continue writing here on a regular basis, so be patient.