What a Relief!

 

In Wednesday night’s Padres vs. Rockies match up, San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman entered the game to begin the top of the 9^th trying to preserve a 0-0 tie.  Two batters later the Rox had runners on second and third with nobody out.  That however, is when Trevor Hoffman is at his best.  An intentional walk and three strikeouts later the threat was thwarted and the Padres would go on to win in the 11^th on a pinch-hit home run by Paul McAnulty.  It was simply business as usual for the NL’s leading reliever in BAA with runners on base.  For the season opposing hitters are batting a paltry .134 (11-for-82) with runners on against Hoffman. 

 

With that in mind, we take a look today some of baseball’s top relievers in some key situations.  By far the most impressive performance noticed by DN&N is that of B.J. Ryan, the only reliever in either league to appear on all five lists.  Be sure to take a close look at his major league leading % of inherited runners scored.

 

NL – BAA – Relief Pitchers                                             AL – BAA – Relief Pitchers

1. Takashi Saito – LA - .172 (40-for-232)                          1. Jonathan Papelbon – Bos - .167 (40-for-240)

2. Billy Wagner – NY - .200 (47-for-235)                           2. B.J. Ryan – Tor - .169 (37-for-219)

3. Brian Fuentes – Col - .201 (40-for-199)                         3. Joe Nathan – Min - .172 (35-for-204)

4. Trevor Hoffman – SD - .211 (42-for-199)                      4. Joel Zumaya – Det - .180 (46-for-255)

5. Jonathan Broxton – LA - .211 (49-for-232)                   5. Chris Ray – Bal - .193 (38-for-197)

(through 9/6 – .3 IP/Game)

 

NL – BAA w/Runners on – Relief Pitchers   AL – BAA w/Runners on – Relief Pitchers

1. Trevor Hoffman – SD - .134 (11-for-82)                        1. Jonathan Papelbon – Bos - .112 (10-for-89)

2. Jonathan Broxton – LA - .155 (16-for-103)                   2. B.J. Ryan – Tor - .124 (12-for-97)

3t. Chad Cordero – Was - .167 (15-for-90)                        3. Scott Downs – Tor - .133 (11-for-83)

3t. Billy Wagner – NYM - .167 (15-for-90)                        4. Chad Gaudin – Oak - .154 (14-for-91)

5. Brian Fuentes – Col - .174 (15-for-86)                           5. Joe Nathan – Min - .164 (12-for-73)

(through 9/6 - .1 PA/Game)

 

NL – BAA w/RISP – Relief Pitchers                              AL – BAA w/RISP – Relief Pitchers

1. Trever Miller – Hou - .051 (2-for-39)                             1. Pat Neshek – Min - .067 (1-for-15)

2t. Ryan Wagner – Was - .125 (3-for-24)                          2. Jonathan Papelbon – Bos - .082 (4-for-49)

2t. Brian Wilson – SF - .125 (3-for-24)                               3. B.J. Ryan – Tor - .113 (6-for-53)

4t. Francisco Cordero – Mil - .130 (3-for-23)                    4. Scott Downs – Tor - .114 (5-for-44)

4t. Juan Cruz – Ari - .130 (3-for-23)                                    5. Kurt Birkins – Bal - .115 (3-for-26)

(through 9/6 - .3 IP/Game)

 

NL – First Batter Efficiency                                             AL – First Batter Efficiency

1. Taylor Tankersley – Fla - .156 (5-for-32)                      1. Justin Duchscherer – Oak - .119 (5-for-42)

2. Brian Fuentes – Col - .157 (8-for-51)                             2. Willie Eyre – Min - .121 (4-for-33)

3. Darren Oliver – NYM - .161 (5-for-31)                           3. Kiko Colero – Oak - .123 (7-for-57)

4. Tom Gordon – Phi - .163 (7-for-43)                                4t. B.J. Ryan – Tor - .125 (7-for-56)

5. Macay McBride – Atl - .189 (10-for-53)                        4t. Dennys Reyes – Min - .125 (6-for-48)

(through 9/6 - .2 First Batters/Game)

 

NL  - % Inherited Runners Scored                 AL - % Inherited Runners Scored

1. John Grabow – Pit – 13.9 (5/36)                                     1. B.J. Ryan – Tor – 3.4 – (1/29)

2. Trever Miller – Hou – 16.7 (5/30)                                   2. Dennys Reyes – Min – 14.3 (5/35)

3. Chad Bradford – NYM – 17.6 (9/51)                              3. Bobby Jenks – ChW – 17.2 (5/29)

4. Brian Shouse – Mil – 18.6 (8/43)                                    4. Chad Gaudin – Oak – 17.9 (5/28)

5. Mike Stanton – SF – 19.0 (11/58)                                   5. Mike Myers – NYY – 18.0 (9/50)

(through 9/6 - .2 IR/Game)

 

Juiced! – The Final Tally

 

When Jose Canseco made his highly anticipated pitching debut for Long Beach back on August 16, he was supposed to make another that following Sunday and possibly even a third before the GBL season wrapped up on August 28.  Instead, Canseco never played in another game for the Armada.  The reason is unknown, despite an exhaustive internet search.  Should any of our readers have the inside scoop we’d surely love to hear from you.  As it is, Canseco wrapped up his career with Long Beach having hit just .176 (12-for-68) with 4 HR and 9 RBI.  As a pitcher, he made one appearance and had a 4.15 ERA in 4 1/3 innings, taking the loss while walking five and hitting four others with his infamous knuckler.  The Armada finished the second half of the year 15-25 – fifth place in the six team league – and they were just 37-43 for the season. 

 

Rehab Notes

 

Hideki Matsui made his second rehab start, going 0-for-3 with a walk for the Trenton Thunder in the second game of their Double-A playoff against the Portland Sea Dogs.  He told reporters he would look to the Yankees for help in determining when he would be ready saying, “if they could help me decide, that would be great.”  Matsui has been out of action since breaking his wrist on May 11.  The injury snapped a streak of 1,768 consecutive games played between his stint with the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Pacific League and the New York Yankees.  His record streak of 518 consecutive games to begin his major league career bested the previous mark of 424 set by Ernie Banks from 1953 to 1956.  Manager Joe Torre has said Matsui will be the team’s DH when he returns.

 

Quick Hits

 

Derek Jeter goes into the weekend series with Baltimore with the longest hitting streak in the majors at 17 straight games.  He’s batting .400/.481/.571 (28-for70) with 2 HR, 10 RBI and 12 runs scored during that stretch.

 

Xavier Nady is batting .341/.403/.468 with 2 HR and 17 RBI in 34 games for the Pirates.

 

Jay Payton has hit safely in 9 straight and 15 of his last 16 games and is batting .393 (24-for-61) since August 19. 

 

Juan Pierre went 0-for-5 Thursday to snap 5 game stretch in which he went 12-for-22 (.545).  Still, after going hitless, Pierre is batting .339 (42-for124) since August 10.

 

Since August 14, Ryan Church is batting .342 (13-for-38) and he has hit safely in 7 straight.

 

Since August 11, Yuniesky Betancourt is batting .330 (30-for-91) and he has hit safely in his last 7 straight. 

 

Gabe Gross is batting .327 (16-for-49) since August 8.

 

The Chase is Wild

 

Justin Verlander strengthened his Rookie of the Year credentials Thursday night, winning his 16^th game of the year while holding off the hard charging Twins with seven strong innings. By winning the opener of this crucial 4-game weekend series 7-2 in Minnesota, the slumping Tigers (just 9 wins in their last 28 games prior to Thursday) bumped their lead in the Central back up to 5 games.  Verlander (2-3, 6.83 ERA in August) won his second straight start while allowing just 1 ER to give him a September ERA of 0.64 (1 ER in 14 IP).  Curtis Granderson’s leadoff jack set the tone for the Tigers, who hit four HR in the game.  Wil Ledezma gets the ball on Friday night against rookie Matt Garza, while Boof Bonser goes on Saturday for the Twins against Nate Robertson.  But the marquee game is on Sunday, when Jeremy Bonderman will go for Detroit against Twins ace Johan Santana.  Minnesota has won 22 of Santana’s last 25 starts.

 

Despite the loss to Detroit, the Twins lead in the Wild Card remained at a half a game as the White Sox lost 9-1 to the Indians in Chicago.  Mark Buehrle, 3-1 with a 3.81 ERA in his last 5 starts, gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits in 4+ innings.  Home runs by Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez helped the Tribe win for the 20^th time in their last 28 games.  Cliff Lee (12-10) got his second straight victory after winning just 1 of his previous 8 starts.  In the loss, Tad Iguchi extended his hitting streak to 10 straight games, during which he is batting .343 (12-for-35).

 

Freddy Garcia will try to turn it around on Friday while Paul Byrd attempts to keep things rolling for the Tribe.  The Sox then turn to Jon Garland and Javier Vazquez while the Indians will counter with Fausto Carmona on Saturday and ace C.C. Sabathia in the finale. 

 

Boston and Los Angeles were both idle on Thursday and picked up a half game on the Twins.  Both are 5 ½ games back, with the Red Sox set to take on the Royals at home and the Angels facing Toronto at the Big A. 

 

AL – Wild Card Leaders

Minnesota        – 80-59   –

Chicago            – 80-60 0.5

Los Angeles     – 75-65 5.5

Boston             – 75-65 5.5

 

West            Central       East

Oak – 5.5 – Det – 5.0 – NY – 9.0

 

National League Wild Card leading San Diego did not play on Thursday, but that didn’t stop them from gaining in the standings.  The Dodgers lost for the fourth time in five games, 7-0 to the Mets, and saw their lead in the NL West dwindle to just a half a game over the idle Padres.  Jose Reyes hit a three-run inside-the-park home run and Tom Glavine gave up just 5 hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his 13^th win of the year and the 288^th of his HOF-worthy career.  With the win, Glavine moved past Bert Blyleven and tied Tommy John for 24^th all-time.  The win also tied him with John as the fifth winningest left hander in history and left him just 12 shy of 300 victories in his career.  Brad Penny gave up all seven runs in 5 2/3 innings and took the loss, dropping his record to 15-8.  Hong Chih-Kuo will make his first major league start tonight in Queens, opposed by John Maine, who is 5-0, 2.94 ERA since July 15.

 

With the rest of the Wild Card contenders taking the day off, the spotlight fell on the Phillies and Marlins Thursday night in Florida.  Just one day after Anibal Sanchez’ no-hitter, hits were aplenty for both sides as the two sides combined for 29 hits and 22 runs.  The Phillies clobbered Josh Johnson (5 ER, 9 H, 4.2 IP) and five Marlin relievers.  The win pulled the Phils to within 2 ½ of San Diego, while Florida dropped to 3 ½ games back, tied with San Francisco at 70-70.  Miguel Cabrera, Josh Willingham and Mike Jacobs all homered for the Fish while the Phillies hit four of their own, including Ryan Howard’s 54^th of the year.  The home run tied Howard with Ralph Kiner, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth (twice) for the 18^th highest single season total in baseball history.  Nobody has ever finished with 55.  Chase Utley, Jeff Conine and Chris Coste also went deep for Philadelphia in the 14-8 win.  The two teams will continue to battle through the weekend.

 

The front running Padres travel north to San Francisco this weekend for three pivotal games at AT&T Park with Jake Peavy (2.52 ERA in his last 8 starts) going in the opener opposed by rookie Matt Cain, who has a 2.20 ERA in his last 7 starts, including just 1 ER in his last 4 (27 innings - 0.33 ERA).  David Wells will make his second start for San Diego on Saturday while the Giants will counter with Jason Schmidt.  Woody Williams takes the mound in the finale on Sunday for the Pads.  The Giants have not yet announced a starter for that contest.

 

The Reds will open up a three game set at home with the Pirates on Friday with Kyle Lohse (3.11 ERA in six starts for Cincinnati) going against rookie Ian Snell (5.40 ERA in his last 7 starts), while Houston and the Brewers meet for three in Milwaukee.  Newly minted Roy Oswalt (2.14 ERA in his last 6 starts) faces off against Ben Sheets (79 K, 8 BB in 71.1 IP) on Friday, with the Rocket scheduled to go on Saturday, groin permitting.  The Reds should beware of the Pirates who have the Central division’s best record since the all-star break (26-24). 

 

NL – Wild Card Leaders

San Diego        – 73-66   – 

Philadelphia      – 71-69 2.5

Florida             – 70-70 3.5

San Francisco   – 70-70 3.5

Cincinnati         – 69-71 4.5

Houston           – 68-71 5.0

 

West          Central        East

LA – 0.5 – St.L – 6.5 – NY – 16.5

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.