Yesterday, Mark Ellis provided some tenth-inning fireworks in Oakland as the A’s completed a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. With the score tied, Ellis - who had entered the game riding a .024 average in May - tagged the left field foul pole for the win. The A’s moved to 22-14, tied for the most wins in MLB.
What the heck happened to the Orioles anyway? On April 29th they were 15-11 and led the AL East by percentage points. Since then they’ve gone 1-7, falling to 16-18 and 5 games back of the Red Sox in the AL East cellar. Things move pretty fast - heck Cub fans are wondering if Brian Roberts is available again.
Yes, I know … someone will say that I should have given the HRoD to the Twins’ Carlos Gomez, who hit for the cycle yesterday against the White Sox - and I would have if his Home Run completed the cycle or really factored into a close game instead of the blowout that it was. HRoD’s are better if there’s some drama attached to them.
Pinch-hitting is hard enough. Sit on your duff for 7+ innings, get the notice that you are probably going to get at bat if the situation is right, go take a couple swings in the cage behind the dugout, swing the donut a bit, and go out there down by 1 run and 2 runners on and 2 out.
Oh, and you get to face Hank Steinbrenner’s favorite Yankee (but not Erin Andrews), Joba Chamberlain. A single ties the game, but why not over-deliver? Second pitch he sees … ding dong, the pitch is dead.
And while Joba had a bad night last night, “his” team in the HRD, The Joba Rules, is building a nice cushion in our contest. Through May 5th, The Joba Rules had a seven Home Run cushion in the contest and was on the doorstep of breaking 100 Home Runs to date.
I think we might have found a new HRD whipping boy.
It might have more to do with the fact that the Sox will no longer be playing indoors. In nine games so far this season under a roof (and on artificial turf) the White Sox are 2-7 with six straight indoor losses … and their batting average is a simply horrendous .191.
That would be the lowest indoor batting average in MLB since at least 2000. And the White Sox have eleven more games scheduled in domes this season (4 in Tampa, 7 in Minnesota).
Mind you - the Mets are worse this year (.192 indoors) - but they’ve only played two games with the roof shut this season.
Hey look- that kinda delved into something other than just an HRoD post! Yay!
Another day, another Walk Off Home Run. This time in extra innings, Hunter Pence delivers the fatal blow to the Milwaukee Brewers. The second time in three days a Houston Astro has walked away with the coveted HRoD award.
The funny thing here is everything in the game was just a little weird, or more to the point, predicated on poor execution. The Astros were lucky to even get to extra innings. Eric Gagne had a horrible ninth to blow the save with a game tying walk Lance Berkman. Gagne’s line 1 IP, 2HA, 3BB, 2ER, 0K.
Hunter Pence wasn’t really any better before the 12th as he nearly had himself a Golden Sombrero as he was 0 for 5 with 3 strike outs to that point. Even if you look at the video, the swing was everything you teach your kids not to do: His hips fly open, he has poor weight transition and appears to lose his balance. It was the case of the ball hitting the bat, not the bat hitting the ball. It seems the MLB has given up the embedding of video (no more menu to try), but I highly suggest taking a look at the video. Crappy swing or not, Hunter Pence you are the HRoD Honoree!
The game might have been between two of the worst teams in baseball (the Nationals hosted the Pirates in Washington) … but neither team looked like the Pirates or Nationals.
Literally and figuratively.
First of all, both teams wore the uniforms of the Homestead Grays - one of the most storied teams in the history of the Negro Leagues. both teams wore the old duds because the Grays (who were based out of Pittsburgh) played their home games at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and also adopted the DC area as their home turf, playing many “home” games at Griffith Stadium in Washington DC.
And Cristian Guzman had a game worthy of the uniform, hittng a first-inning home run and eventually driving in six of the Grays’ ( Nationals) 9 runs to beat the vistiting Grays (Pirates) 9-8.
Yesterday was one of those days that was filled with meaningful Home Runs. There were 27 Home Runs in total, two walk-offs (Burrell, Schumaker), three multi-Home Run games (Uggla, Pence, Bautista) and the first of the year from Khalil Greene (Hooray…finally, the last stone cutter on my entry this year).
But sometimes meaning takes a whole different point of view, as it does with today’s honoree, Miguel Tejada. Tejada was special in the sixth when he smacked a two run Home Run against the Brewers to tie the game at 4-4. First, his Home Run was the first of three consecutive by the Astros (Berkman, Lee) last night.
But more importantly, on a night when every Astros Home Run raised $10,000 (courtesy of Citgo) to fight Muscular Dystrophy, Tejada fulfilled a promise to a young MD patient he made earlier that day. Miguel when meeting 8 year old Jacob Scott prior to Friday’s game told the young man that he would hit a Home Run for him.
The Astros, in addition to the back to back to back jacks, had two Home Runs courtesy of Hunter Pence. 5 Home Runs. $50,000 for MD research. Good job, boys.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Ryan Howard untied a 2-2 ballgame with one swing and the Phillies went on to beat the visiting San Diego Padres.
The win put the Phillies in sole possession of first place in the NL East.
Around the League:
Brewers 4 Cubs 3
The “Kerry Wood as closer” experiment might be just about over for the Chicago Cubs.
Wood blew a 3-1 ninth inning lead and his third save in seven opportunities and visiting Milwaukee beat the Cubs 4-3 - wasting another great start by Carlos Zambrano. Wood now has an ERA of 18.00 against the Brewers in three games at Wrigley.
You get the sense that it’s only a matter of time until Carlos Marmol is the closer for the Northsiders.
Rays 4 Orioles 2
They’re on the cusp of history in Tampa Bay … as the AL East-leading Rays beat the Orioles and moved to four games over .500 for only the third time in their 10+ year history.
The Rays have never been five games over .500.
Maybe there was something to dropping the Devil.
Tigers 8 Yankees 4
The Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the the Yankees in New York.
Don’t look now, but since the Tigers started 0-7, they’ve gone on a 14-8 run. And they’re now in a three-way tie for second place in the AL Central, only 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox.
Remember that slump Geovany Soto was in? The one in which he had eight straight at-bats for Strikeouts, including the dubious Platinum Sombrero (0-5, 5 K’s) on Saturday?
The Slump is over.
One could say it was over Tuesday night when Soto went 2 for 4 … but that could have been an anomaly. Two three-run Home Runs in a 19-5 Cubbie plastering of the Brewers last night is no anomaly.
I was kind of hoping that Geovany Soto would hit a Home Run last night and end up here to dispell any rumor that I am incapable of honoring a Cub (despite my World Series prediction).
Alas, it was not meant to be, so we turn our attention to a former 40+ Home Run hitter , Adrian Beltre.
If you just look at the final score of last night’s Mariners-Indians game (7-2), you might miss that it was tied going into the ninth 2-2.
Beltre untied it with a 3-run Home Run off of Rafael Betancourt. The Mariners added another 2 run after that for good measure, but that doesn’t take away from Adrian’s clutch performance.
Think of it this way, if they were in Seattle it was a walk off (there’s a movie quote in there somewhere, different locale - any guesses?).
I know it doesn’t take the sting of the bloated contract Beltre signed in 2005, but he actually having a excellent start to the year (.309 BA. .962 OPS) not quite his stats from his last year in LA (.334 BA, 1.017 OPS) but certainly more in line with what was expected from him when the Mariners signed him
Well, for one day anyway, Adrian Beltre you are king of the Home Run.
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