To Williamsport and Beyond – The championship games of the Little League World Series are set with Columbus, GA positioned to take on Beaverton, OR and Japan set to face Mexico on Saturday.  Columbus beat Portsmouth 8-0 to earn the birth in the U.S. championship while Japan rode the pitching and hitting of Ryoya Sato to a 4-1 win over Dhahran, Saudi Arabia to earn a spot in the International championship.  The winners of those two games will meet on Sunday to determine this year’s Little League World Series champions.

 

Eliminated – The Kansas City Royals, who on Wednesday tied a major league record by losing after scoring ten runs in the first inning, were eliminated from playoff contention with that loss. 

 

The Longest Streak Pt I – Willy Taveras tied Manny Ramirez for the second longest hitting streak in the majors this year at 27 straight games when he bunted for a hit in the 3^rd inning, his 9^th consecutive successful bunt attempt.  It was the third time in the last four games that Taveras extended his streak with a bunt hit, doing it with an infield hit in the other.  With that bunt hit, of Taveras’ last 6 hits overall, none had left the infield; he’d collected 4 bunt singles and two infield hits.  That streak would end with a 7^th inning ground-rule double in the Astros’ 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh.  Overall, Taveras’ first hit has come by way of a bunt 8 times, with Thursday’s contest being just the second in which he collected more than just the one bunt hit in those 8 games.  It was the tenth multi-hit game for Taveras in the streak and the 2-for-4 left him batting .339 (39-for-115) since it began on July 27. Ironically Taveras began his streak seven days before Chase Utley’s 2006 season best 35-game streak came to an end and 12 days after Ramirez’ 27-gamer began meaning all three streaks were active at the same time.  Victor Santos goes on Friday for the Pirates in a match up with Roger Clemens.  Taveras has never faced Santos but has hit safely in Clemens’ last 5 starts.

 

The Next Longest Streak Pt Ia – Rob Quinlan of the Angels did not play in the Angels 2-1 loss to Boston Thursday night, letting stand for an evening his 14-game hitting streak.  His streak began on August 2, the day before Utley’s streak came to an end and six days after the birth of Taveras’ run.  Ray Durham, meanwhile, extended his hitting streak to 14 straight games in the Giants’ 6-3 loss to Cincinnati Thursday.  His streak began on August 9^th.  Both are tied with eight others for the 24^th longest streak this season.  Miguel Tejada – one of those eight after having hit safely in 14 straight back in April – has now hit safely in his last 12 games. 

 

Chasing 3000 – Craig Biggio had one hit for the Astros in the loss, giving him 2,908 in his major league career. 

 

The Longest Streak Pt II – Carlos Delgado continued his assault on the National League, hitting his 6^th home run in his last seven games, and Jose Reyes had three hits for the second straight night. These gentlemen propelled the Amazin’s to their 7^th straight win and extending their lead over the Phillies in the East to 14.5 games.  The winning streak is the longest currently in the majors.  Delgado is 12-for-25 (.480) in those seven games, slugging 1.400.  For the struggling Cardinals, it was their third straight loss, and combined with the Cincy’s win over San Francisco, dropped them into a tie with the Reds for first place in the Central.  

 

The Longest Streak Pt III – While the Nationals did not play on Thursday – their losing streak stalled at 5 games – the Rockies took on the Brewers and got pounded by a score of 12-6 to extend their own slide to 6 straight and giving them sole possession of the longest current losing streak in the majors.  Bill Hall hit his 28^th home run of the year in the 2^nd to get things started and Prince Fielder book ended the scoring with a 3-run jack in the 7^th to put the Rox away.  It was his 23^rd home run of the year which leads all major league rookies.  In between Tomo Ohka, batting left handed for the first time in his career after 230 career at bats right handed, collected two hits and four RBI and also reached base on catchers interference.  Colorado will travel back home to take on the San Diego Padres in the friendly confines of Humidor Field.  They are last in the NL West, 7 games behind L.A. 

 

From the Infirmary – When the Braves placed pitcher Danys Baez on the DL on Thursday after an emergency appendectomy Wednesday night, they tied the Nationals for the most players currently on the injured list with 12 each (both with 3 position players and 9 pitchers).   The Cubs are next with 9 (2 position - 7 pitcher).

 

Ryan Howard Home Run Notes Redux – When we last checked in on the Phillies’ prodigious slugger, it was just after the all-star break and he had 31 home runs.  As DN&N noted, the big lefty had hit just 7 of those 31 to the right of centerfield.  Well, 13 more round trippers later and we thought it was time to check back in on Little Papi.  The results are encouraging, though not altogether surprising.  Of his last 13 home runs, 6 have been hit to the right of center while the other 7 have been hit to the left.  Here is a complete breakdown of his 44 home runs this year.

 

Ryan Howard	L	LC	C	RC	R	T
Home Runs	18	8	5	8	5	44
Citizens Bank	14	2	3	3	2	24

 

Quick Hits

 

With his next home run, Chipper Jones will pass Chili Davis for 3^rd all-time in home runs among switch hitters.  He now trails only Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) among all switch hitters and is tied with Davis for 71^st on the career list

 

While the Red Sox bullpen struggles, Cla Meredith – traded along with Josh Bard to San Diego in the deal that brought Doug Mirabelli back to Boston – has been unscored upon in his last 19 straight appearances covering 19 2/3 innings.  All together, the rookie right hander has allowed a run in just 2 of his 27 outings and sports a 1.01 ERA in 26.2 IP.

 

Among all position players, Laynce Nix now has the most plate appearances in the majors without a walk with 51.  He was 0-for-5 on Thursday and is now batting .125 (6-for-48) for the year between both Milwaukee and Texas.

 

Since June 20, Mark Teahen is second in the majors in runs scored behind David Ortiz’s 52.  He is batting .343 (74-for-216) during that span with 13 HR and 47 RBI. 

 

Antonio Perez is 7-for-his-last-77 (.091) since the end of spring training.

 

Ryan Zimmerman, owner of the longest hitting streak in the majors by a rookie this season at 17 games (8^th overall), is 0-for-his-last-16.   

 

On Deck – The Twins and White Sox meet this weekend on the South Side in a big Central division showdown with serious Wild Card implications.  Minnesota enters the series trailing Chicago by a half a game in the Wild Card and the Tigers by 6 in the Central while Detroit’s lead over the Sox is down to 5 ½ games after Jon Garland’s 6-hit shut out on Thursday.  Javier Vazquez (11-5, 5.13) goes for the Sox in the opener on Friday.  His ERA for the month of August in four starts is 3.55 after posting a 7.16 combined mark for June and July.  He is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA against the Twins, including a 7-3 loss in his last outing on August 20.  Brad Radke (12-9, 4.35) will take the ball for the Twinkies.  He has a 2.59 ERA since the start of June, including a 1.67 mark in August, after recording a 7.01 ERA through first two months of the season.  Against the Sox this season Radke is 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA.  He took the loss on the 19^th as he was out pitched by Garland in the 4-1 decision.  One player he won’t have to face is White Sox DH Jim Thome who is likely to miss the weekend series with an injured hamstring.  Minnesota leads the season series 7-6.

 

Minor League Leaderboard – all statistics through 8/23

Courtesy of milb.com

 

Triple-A

International League Leaders

Earned Runs Average - min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Brian Mazone – SWB – 2.22                          37. Jason Scobie – SYR – 6.61 (18 losses)

2. Brian Bowles – OTT – 2.92                             36. Abe Alvarez – PAW – 5.64

3. Heath Phillips – CHA – 2.96                           35. Josh Banks – SYR – 5.40             

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1. Heath Phillips – CHA – 13                              1. Julio Manon – OTT - 29

2. Charlie Haeger – CHA – 12                            2. Lee Gardner – TOL - 28

3. Brian Mazzone – SWB – 11                            3. Scott Chiasson – LOU – 27

 

Pacific Coast League Leaders

Earned Run Average - min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Jason Hirsh – ROU – 2.10                               40. Harold Eckert – 7.55

2. Chris Sampson – ROU – 2.61                         39. Mike Esposito – 6.69

3. Joe Saunders – SLC – 2.67                             38. Steven Shell – 6.20

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1. Jason Hirsh – ROU – 13                                  1. Nate Field – CSP - 22

2t. Chris Sampson – ROU – 12                           2. Brad Clontz – ALB - 19

2t. Cha Seung Baek – TAC – 12                        3. Brian Falkenborg – MEM - 16

2t. Jason Windsor – SAC – 12 (0 losses)

2t. Francisco Cruceta – TAC – 12

2t. Dustin Nippert – TUC – 12

 

Mexican League Leaders

Earned Run Average - min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Hansel Izquierdo – COR – 2.92                      62. Guadalupe Perez – PUE – 7.61

2. Alfredo Garcia – MTY – 2.91                         61. Eduardo Salgado – YUC – 7.17

3. Hugo Castellanos – TIJ – 3.17                       60. Narciso Elvira – CAM – 6.38

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1r. Carlos Elizalde – OAX – 13                           1. Jose Vargas – YUC - 27

1t. Alonso Beltran – TIJ – 13                             2t. Maximo De La Rosa – MTY - 26

3. Salvador Arellano – YUC – 12                       2t. Mauro Nieblas – SLP – 26

 

Double-A

Eastern League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Ismael Ramirez – NHM – 2.08                        37. Oscar Alvarez – HAR – 5.44

2. Philip Hughes – TRE – 2.46                            36. Matt Peterson – ALT – 5.27

3. Adam Miller – AKR – 2.88                             35. Tim McClaskey – REA – 5.26

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1t. Adam Miller – AKR – 13                               1t. Brandon Knight – ALT - 23

1t. Landon Jacobsen – ALT – 13                      1t. Justin Pope – TRE - 23

1t. Chris Begg – CT – 13                                     3t. Billy Sadler – CT – 20

                                                                                3t. Henry Owens – BIN – 20

 

Southern League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Spike Lundberg – 2.21                                     28. Ryan Rodriguez – BIR – 5.48

2. Tyler Lumsden – BIR – 2.69                           27. Chris Waters – MIS – 5.01

3. Lance Broadway – BIR – 2.74                        26. Garrett Mock – TEN – 4.95

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1. Andrew Sonnanstine – MON – 14                1. David Shafer – CHA - 26

2. Spike Lundberg – JAX – 13                           2. Dale Thayer – MOB - 25

3. Jim Magrane – MON – 11                               3t. Ehren Wasserman – BIR – 22

                                                                                3t. Mark Alexander – JAX – 22

 

Texas League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Matt Albers – COR – 2.17                              24. Christopher Hunter – ARK – 7.01

2. Yorman Bazardo – SAN – 3.07                       23. Rafael Rodriguez – AKR – 6.90

3. Brad Ziegler – MID – 3.17                              22. Seung Song – WIC – 5.72

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1.Brad Knox – MID – 12                                     1. Mark Worrell – SPR - 26

2t. Thomas Diamond – FRI – 11                        2. Marcus McBeth – MID - 20

2t. Juan Morillo – TUL – 11                                3. Manny Corpas – TUL – 19

 

Class-A – Advanced

California League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Jonathan Barratt – VIS – 3.07                         32. Kellen Raab – LNC – 6.97

2. Cesar Ramos – LAK – 3.71                             31. Luis Cota – HDM – 6.94

3. Franklin Morales – MOD – 3.78                    30. Derek Feldkamp – VIS – 6.68

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1t. James Houser Jr. VIS – 11                             1. Brian Anderson – SJO - 37

1t. Christopher Mason – VIS – 11                     2. Neil Jamison – LAK - 27

3t. Five tied w/10                                                  3. Matt Elliot – LNC – 24

 

Carolina League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Scott Lewis – KIN – 1.59                                22. David Haehnel – FRD – 6.30

2. Charles Lofgren – KIN – 2.46                         21. Gary Galvez – WIL – 5.71

3. Thomas Hottovy – WIL – 2.80                      20. Michael Hinkley – POT – 5.64

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1. Charles Lofgren – KIN – 15                            1. Micheal James – WIL - 22

2t. Wesley Whisler – WSW – 10                      2. T.J. Burton – KIN - 19

2t. James Barthmaier – SAL – 10                       3. Rodrigo Escobar – SAL – 17

 

Florida State League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Chase Wright – TAM – 1.93                          25. Carlos Perez – DAY – 5.07

2. Anthony Swarzak – FTM – 3.25                    24. Williams Horne – TAM – 4.97

3. Dallas Trahern – LAK – 3.29                          23. Blake Johnson – VER – 4.92

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1t. Chase Wright – TAM – 11                           1. Mike Sillman – PBC - 32

1t. Jose Sanchez – SLU – 11                               2. Carlos Muniz – SLU - 29

1t. Orlando Trias – DUN – 11                             3. Kevin Whelan – LAK – 26

 

Class-A

Midwest League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Aaron Tressler – LAN – 1.90                         50. Zachary Phillips – CLI – 5.88

2. Nick Adenhart – CED – 1.92                          49. Jacob Rasner – CLI – 5.57

3. Stephen Marek – CED – 1.96                         48. Juan Jimenez – CLI – 5.56

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1. Burke Badenhop – WMI – 13                        1. Orlando Perdomo – WMI - 28

2t. Yohan Pino – BEL – 12                                  2t. Greg Dupas – SWM - 24

2t. Mitch Atkins – PEO – 12                               2t. Richard Aldridge – CED – 24

 

South Atlantic League Leaders

Earned Run Average – min 0.8 IP per team game

1. Thomas Fairchild – LEX – 1.66                      47. Mario Alvarez – COL – 6.32

2. Matthew Maloney – LAK – 2.05                   46. Zachary Simons – ASH – 6.20

3. Carlos Carrasco – LAK – 2.14                        45. Jairo Cuevas – ROM – 5.49

 

Wins                                                                      Saves

1. Matthew Maloney – LAK – 15                      1. Matt Davis – LCO - 26

2t. Joshua Outman – LAK – 13                          2. Andrew Johnston – ASH - 22

2t. Joseph Martinez – AUG – 13                        3t. Andrew Barb – LAK – 18

                                                                                3t. Jim Hoey – DEL - 18

Questions or comments for Richard? Richard Van Zandt is a staff writer for Baseball Evolution who lives in San Francisco, California. You can reach him at richard@baseballevolution.com.