Tigers look to gain ground on White Sox

Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura doesn't want his players putting extra significance on their makeup game with the second-place Detroit Tigers .

That seems unavoidable, however, seeing as it's the last meeting between the contenders.

Before parting ways for the season, the White Sox try to push their lead over the Tigers to three games, while Detroit looks to pull within one of first place on Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.

The finale of a four-game series was rained out last Thursday, so after the White Sox (79-66) traveled to Minnesota to sweep the Twins and Detroit (77-68) went to Cleveland to take two of three, the rivals have returned to Chicago.

"It's going to be a game with a lot of emotion," said Jake Peavy , who pitched six strong innings in Sunday's 9-2 win. "We got our hands full, but at the same time we think we can get it done."

The White Sox would be in a better position to win the division if they were able to beat Detroit with any regularity. Chicago is 5-12 in the season series and has lost nine of the last 10 meetings.

Regardless of what happens Monday, though, Ventura knows the division race is hardly over.

"You still have to finish the rest of the season," Ventura said. "And they do, too. It's one of those there's going to be a lot of tough games coming up and we'll face more good pitchers and they'll face our pitchers."

One reason for the White Sox to be optimistic for the makeup is their only win over the Tigers since May 15, came Monday, as scheduled starter Jose Quintana (6-4, 3.52 ERA) put together one of his best outings.

After yielding 12 runs over five innings in losing back-to-back starts, Quintana allowed a run and seven hits while striking out seven over 7 2-3 innings in a 6-1 victory. The rookie left-hander will be pitching on an extra two days of rest when he faces the Tigers for his second time.

"It actually does feel good about this time of season to get a couple extra days," he said. "It gives your arm a little extra strength so I'll feel good for (Monday)."

The Tigers counter with Doug Fister (9-8, 3.49), who gave up homers to Dewayne Wise and Gordon Beckham - the only hits he allowed - over seven innings in Tuesday's 5-3 victory over the White Sox.

Two starts earlier against Chicago on Aug. 31, the right-hander served up a solo shot to A.J. Pierzynski, and ended up allowing three runs in five innings in a game Detroit rallied to win 7-4.

This time, he'll have to be careful facing Adam Dunn , who appears refreshed after missing seven games with a strained muscle on his right side. The slugger has gone 4 for 7 with a homer in the two contests since his return.

The Tigers hope to have Austin Jackson back in their lineup after he was scratched from Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Indians with a sore left knee. Closer Jose Valverde gave up two runs in the ninth inning in his third straight day of work, so he'll almost certainly be unavailable Monday.

"These are high-intensity games," Sunday's starter Rick Porcello told the Tigers' official website. "We're right there in this race."

Jackson has played a big role in Detroit's success against the White Sox, batting .379 with three homers, three triples, 14 RBIs and 12 walks in 17 games.

Miguel Cabrera , a leading candidate for AL MVP, has been just as hard on Chicago pitching, hitting .362 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and 12 runs. He hit his 38th homer Sunday, and is 9 for 19 with two home runs and six RBIs in his last four games.

© 2012 STATS LLC

18 Sep, 2012

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Coming and Going

The Dodgers will need to play make up ground in the NL wild card without the services of reigning Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. (Keith Birmingham/ZUMApress.com)

With just over two full weeks remaining in the regular season, all three AL division flags remain in play, and while the NL races aren't that close, the wild-card picture has gotten increasingly crowded thanks to late surges and slumps. Here are the key stories and series over the next five days.

• Clayton Kershaw's hip

The Dodger rotation has already taken major hits with the season-ending injuries of Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly. Now they face an even bigger loss, as their ace was scratched from a start for the second Sunday in a row due to a right hip problem. Kershaw, who already underwent a cortisone injection prior to his last start, is headed to New York for an examination, and it's quite possible he will require surgery that would not only end his season but knock him out until the middle of next May. While fill-in Stephen Fife gave the Dodgers nine strikeouts in five innings on Sunday against the Cardinals, there's simply no replacing the defending NL Cy Young winner, who leads the league in innings (206 2/3) and strikeouts (206) while ranking second in ERA (2.70).

At 76-61, the Dodgers have already seen their shot at the NL West flag fizzle; they're now 7 1/2 games behind the Giants, and with Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Cardinals, they're one game back for the second wild card spot. With a remaining rotation of Josh Beckett, Joe Blanton, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang and Fife, they don't figure to survive without Kershaw, particularly with Matt Kemp mired in a 6-for-53 slump since injuring his left shoulder running into the outfield wall in Colorado on August 28.

• The returns of Andy Pettitte and Chris Carpenter

The 40-year-old Pettitte was amid a stellar comeback from a one-season retirement — a 3.22 ERA and 9.1 strikeouts per nine in nine starts — when he suffered a fractured left fibula on a sharp comebacker on June 27. On Tuesday, he'll return to the mound against the Blue Jays in the Bronx. The move isn't a moment too soon for the Yankees, who at 83-63 lead the AL East by a single game but have endured CC Sabathia's recent struggles. The team has seen their ace — whose fastball effectiveness and velocity have dipped considerably of late — surrender leads in his last five starts, losing four of them.

As for Carpenter, the 37-year-old Cardinals co-ace hasn't pitched since Game 7 of last year's World Series, and after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, he underwent what appeared to be season-ending surgery on July 19. Such a condition — which requires the removal of a rib to alleviate compressed blood vessels — can require a full year of recovery, but remarkably enough, Carpenter has worked his way back into pitching shape quickly, and will start on Friday against the Cubs. After splitting a four-game series with the Dodgers, the Cardinals sit one game up in the race for the second NL wild card spot, but they're just 6-9 in September while allowing 4.93 runs per game. With Jake Westbrook out with an oblique injury, Jaime Garcia struggling since his return from the disabled list and Lance Lynn making just one start since August 24 due to innings concerns, Carpenter could be the difference between St. Louis' chance to defend their title and an early October vacation.

• Detroit Tigers (77-68) at Chicago White Sox (79-66)

The AL Central's two contenders square off on Monday in a makeup of last Thursday's rainout, but what was supposed to be a matchup featuring Justin Verlander against Chris Sale instead pits Doug Fister against Jose Quintana. The White Sox swept the Twins over the weekend to snap out of a 5-11 slide dating back to August 27; they lead the division by two games. The Tigers, who are also 4 1/2 back in the wild-card hunt, have just finished a rollercoaster road trip featuring four losses in a row— including a three-game sweep by the Angels — followed by two wins against the White Sox, two wins against the Indians, and then a tough loss on Sunday in which Jose Valverde blew a save and Alex Avila was flattened by Prince Fielder in a collision. Avila suffered a sprained jaw but no concussion; he'll miss today's game. This is the last time the two teams will face each other in the regular season; Detroit leads the season series 12-5.

• Texas Rangers (87-59) at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (80-67)

Despite a 9-6 record this month and a 28-16 record since the beginning of August, the Rangers are feeling the squeeze; before beating the Mariners on Sunday, their AL West lead had dwindled to two games over Oakland for the first time since April 13. The Angels, who lead the season series 7-6, are on a 14-5 run dating back to August 28, but they're still 7 1/2 games out in the division race, and 2 1/2 back in the wild-card race. The series kicks off on Tuesday, with Ryan Dempster facing Jered Weaver. After struggling initially with the Rangers, Dempster has settled into a groove, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts, a span during which he has delivered a 1.91 ERA while allowing just one homer and striking out 36 in 33 innings, albeit mainly against inferior competition (two starts apiece against the Indians and Royals, plus one against the Orioles). Weaver, who was scratched from his September 7 start due to biceps tendinitis, tossed seven innings of two-hit shutout ball in his return against the A's on September 13. The other pairings in the three-day set: Derek Holland versus C.J. Wilson and Yu Darvish versus Zack Greinke.

• Milwaukee Brewers (74-72) at Pittsburgh Pirates (73-72)

On August 19, the Brewers sat 12 games under .500 at 54-66, and 12 1/2 behind the 67-54 Pirates; their season looked done. Since then, Milwaukee has been the hottest team in the majors at 20-6. The Brewers now lead the Bucs in the  NL Central and are in fourth place in the wild card race, 2 1/2 games out of the second spot. For as strong as the Brewers have been lately, their 28-43 road record is by far the worst among any NL contender, but on the other hand, they've gone 8-4 against the Pirates thus far, and have won five of their last six battles since late August. As for Pittsburgh, it has lost eight out of its last nine and have gone a major league worst 6-18 during the Brewers' hot streak; the Pirates are now three games out of a wild card spot, and a potential finish at or above .500 — which would be their first since 1992 — is in jeopardy. The series begins on Tuesday, with Yovani Gallardo squaring off against A.J. Burnett.

• Philadelphia Phillies (73-74) at New York Mets (66-80)

Like the Brewers, the Phillies have made a late run at a wild card spot after being more or less left for dead; they've gone 27-17 since the beginning of August. Even so, they just dropped three out of four to the Astros to slip back under .500, and they're now sixth in the wild-card race, four games out of the second spot. They're just 5-10 against the Mets this season, but New York has lost eight out of nine and is just 20-40 since the All-Star break. The series begins on Monday with a pairing of Cliff Lee and R.A. Dickey, with Cole Hamels and Tyler Cloyd following for the Phils, and Jon Niese and Matt Harvey going for the Mets.

• Boston Red Sox (66-81) at Tampa Bay Rays (78-68)

Like the Phillies, the Rays are in need of a doormat on whom they can wipe their feet, as they've lost five out of their last six against the Orioles and Yankees to fall five games back in the AL East and four games back in the wild-card. The Red Sox may be that doormat. Though they've taken seven out of 12 against Tampa Bay this season, they're on a 4-14 slide, and were officially eliminated from the playoff hunt on Sunday; one more loss would guarantee their first sub-.500 finish since 1997. Monday's opener pits Aaron Cook versus Alex Cobb, with Felix Doubront and Jeremy Hellickson going on Tuesday, and Daisuke Matsuzaka and David Price — a mismatch if there ever was one — on Wednesday.

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18 Sep, 2012

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Murky diagnosis clouding Kershaw injury

Clayton Kershaw will recover from his strained hip but perhaps not in time to help the Dodgers reach the playoffs this season.

AP

There's no real use of the DL in September, so this time of year gives us a unique opportunity to get near-final injury stats while baseball is still being played. I won't even hint at the likely Dick Martin Award finalists, but at the other end of the spectrum, the news isn't good. We may have more 1000-plus day teams than ever before, with nearly a third of the league already there. The Rays, A's, Orioles and Nats are all over 1,000 days lost, while the Yankees take up their traditional position at the tail end of the injury stats and the lead of the AL East. Losing Mariano Rivera for the season should be worse than losing David Aardsma, but having Rafael Soriano step in seamlessly shows that even that assumption can be misleading. There are more advanced measures that give a better picture, but days and dollars lost tell an important story. Teams can overcome injuries, but it's much easier to win when you don't have to do so.

Powered by far too much caffeine -- seriously, I would fail MLB's test right now by a lot -- on to the injuries:

Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (strained hip, TBD)

News that Kershaw's hip strain is actually a torn acetabular labrum is about the last thing the Dodgers wanted to hear. While the Dodgers have seen some superficial improvement in their injury stats, no team has the depth to lose its ace while fighting for a playoff spot. The surgery itself isn't that big a deal; several players, including pitchers, have had it in MLB and come back with no problem. The question now is whether the Dodgers' medical staff can find any way to keep Kershaw functional over the next couple weeks. Doctors I spoke with emphasized that this is a relatively new diagnosis, made possible by improvements in MR imaging, so there wasn't much agreement on what could and could not be done. The Dodgers are forward-thinking and flexible, but this might be too much of a challenge for any team. Stephen Fife will be Kershaw's replacement, though it sounds as if the team will try to skip that slot as much as possible.

Josh Hamilton, Rangers (arthritic knees)

Hamilton had an injection of lubricant into his knee last week and it seems to have made a difference. Hamilton has been mostly healthy in putting together a season in which he's hit 42 homers, but questions of wear have come up more often. Hamilton's next contract could depend a lot on health and availability much more than things he did a decade ago. The need for Synvisc injections does indicate that Hamilton may have more problems down the line, but managing that issue is possible. Since his last injection back in April, Hamilton's had a pretty good run. Whatever team spends big on him will have plenty of budget for a couple more of these types of injections. Hamilton should focus on which of the teams willing to sign him have the best record of maintaining players like him. It could be the biggest advantage the Rangers have.

Adrian Beltre, Rangers (strained shoulder)

Beltre strained his shoulder on a great diving play Wednesday night. The Rangers took a precautionary scan, but there was no severe damage. Essentially, Beltre just overextended his shoulder, but was strong enough that nothing moved out of place. The muscle got the worst of it, leaving him sore. The pain is in his left shoulder, so it shouldn't affect his throws, but the Rangers are keeping him at DH for the time being. This is mostly a precaution. Beltre is always a streaky guy, but watch to see if he gets his power back over the next couple days.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/will_carroll/09/17/fantasy-baseball-injuries/index.html?xid=si_mlb
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Cardinals' Carpenter returns to the mound Friday

Chris Carpenter will make his season debut Friday. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

St. Louis Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter will return from injury to make his season debut on Friday, according to the Cardinals' official website. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said after the Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday that Carpenter will start this week.

Carpenter, who has been the Cardinals ace, has been out all season after undergoing surgery in July to treat thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare condition that includes pain in the neck and shoulder. He felt discomfort in his neck and shoulder during spring training.

Carpenter was expected to be out all season, but he started in four simulated games without any incident. His addition could be significant down the stretch and, potentially, in the postseason. The Cardinals lead the race for the National League's second wild-card spot by one game.

Last season, Carpenter went 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA. He also went 2-0 during the World Series against the Texas Rangers and was the winning pitcher in Game 7.

"I'm looking forward to it," Carpenter told the Cardinals' website of his start Friday. "We've worked hard to get back and be able to do this. Like we've said all along, we weren't expecting it, but I'm excited. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to getting back out there and competing."

17 Sep, 2012

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Cliff Corcoran: After a busy weekend, not much has changed in the standings

Jon Jay's RBI double in the 12th inning started a three-run rally for the Cardinals, who went on to win 5-2.

Mark J. Terrill/AP

The Angels and Brewers gained some ground in the Wild Card races this weekend, while the Orioles lost some and raised some red flags, but the biggest factor on the pennant races over the last four days was the relentless march of time.

1. A Battle of Attrition. This past weekend, which for our purposes here lasted from Thursday to Sunday, saw some key head-to-head battles among playoff rivals, with the Cardinals and Dodgers playing four games in Los Angeles, the Orioles and A's playing three in Anaheim, and the Rays and Yankees playing three in the Bronx. Yet, for all of the excitement that the weekend brought, the peak of which was likely the Dodgers wild card-tying, walk-off win after being one strike away from a loss on Saturday night, not much has changed in the overall standings since Thursday morning. Of what I'll call the five "active" races, for the second wild card in each league and all three American League divisions, only one saw the leader lose any ground over the last four days, and even there it was just a half a game (see below).

With the Cardinals' extra-inning win on Sunday, St. Louis regained the one-game lead it held on Los Angeles entering their head-to-head series. With the A's loss and the Rangers win on Sunday, Texas regained the game it lost to Oakland in the standings on Saturday, restoring the three-game lead they had entering Thursday's action. The Yankees broke their tie with the Orioles on Saturday and maintained that one-game advantage with a win on Sunday, and the White Sox added a game to their lead over the Tigers when Detroit blew a late lead to Cleveland on Sunday (more on that below). That lack of change is good news for the leaders, who are burning games off the schedule. No contender has more than 17 games left on its schedule and some are down to 15.

Weekend AL Wild Card Changes

Thursday Morning Team W-L Pct. GB A's 82-60 .577 +5.0 Orioles 80-62 .563 - Rays 77-65 .542 3.0 Angels 77-66 .538 3.5 Monday Morning Team W-L Pct. GB A's 84-62 .575 +4.5 Orioles 82-64 .562 - Angels 80-67 .544 2.5 Rays 78-68 .538 4.0

2. Reports of Angels' Demise Greatly Exaggerated: Among those teams with just 15 games left is the only challenger in the American League to gain ground this weekend, the Angels. Playing the Royals while the rest of the wild-card contenders were beating on each other, the Angels lost a brutal game on Saturday that had many writing their season's obituary. The Angels were leading the Royals 2-0 with Zack Greinke still on the mound with one out in the bottom of the ninth, when Alex Gordon singled on Greinke's 109th pitch. Angels manager Mike Scioscia then went to his closer, Ernesto Frieri, and Frieri promptly gave up a game-tying home run to Billy Butler on his first pitch, followed by a game-winning homer by Salvador Perez three pitches later.

Backbreaker? Not so much. The Angels won 4-3 on Sunday thanks in part to 3 1/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen, with Kevin Jepsen getting the save, taking two of three in the series. Having entered Thursday's action 3 1/2 back, they are now just 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore and a game and a half ahead of the Rays in the AL Wild Card race.

Weekend NL Wild Card Changes

Thursday Morning Team W-L Pct. GB Braves 81-63 .563 +6.5 Cardinals 75-68 .524 - Dodgers 74-69 .517 1.0 Pirates 72-70 .507 2.5 Phillies 72-71 .503 3.0 Brewers 72-71 .503 3.0 Monday Morning Team W-L Pct. GB Braves 84-63 .571 +8 Cardinals 77-70 .524 - Dodgers 76-71 .517 1.0 Brewers 74-72 .507 2.5 Pirates 73-72 .503 3.0 Phillies 73-74 .497 4.0

3. Milwaukee's Best: The Dodgers' tie for the second wild-card spot in the National League lasted less than 24 hours. The Phillies lost three of four to the Astros by allowing an average of six runs per game in Houston. The Pirates finally snapped their losing streak at seven games with a win Saturday, but still dropped two of their first three against the Cubs in Chicago, allowing 26 runs in those three games (8 2/3 per game). The Cardinals burned four more games off the schedule by splitting their series in Los Angeles, but also failed to break out of their scoring slump, scoring just 12 runs in regulation over those four games and needing twelve innings and the Dodgers to burn through nine relievers before adding three more runs to their tally for the win on Sunday.

Amidst all of that, the Brewers took two of three from the Mets to become the only one of the top five teams in that race for the second NL wild-card spot to win their weekend series. In the process, they slipped past the Pirates into third place in that race and are now just 2 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. That's only a half-game gain from Thursday morning, but they're just two games back in the loss column, and given how poorly their competition is playing and the fact that there's now one less team between them and their goal, it's fair to say they've gone from the periphery of this race to the center of it.

4. Take These Broken Wings: The Orioles dropped two of three to the A's in Oakland this weekend, and while they actually broke even in scoring, both teams tallying 13 runs in the series, some red flags have emerged on the Orioles' roster. The biggest culprit is in an area that very recently was their biggest strength, the starting rotation. Joe Saunders turned in a quality start in a hard-luck 3-2 loss on Friday night, but Zack Britton was lit up on Saturday. Britton had been somewhere between good and dominant in four starts from August 18 to September 4 (4-0, 0.94 ERA, 29 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings), but in his last two he has allowed ten runs in 7 1/3 innings while walking nine. On Sunday, the O's turned to veteran lefty Randy Wolf, whom they picked up off the scrap heap at the end of August and had been pitching in long relief since, posting a 5.68 ERA in three appearances. Wolf gave up two runs in four innings before yielding to the bullpen.

Wolf was taking Jason Hammel's turn in the rotation following Hammel's departure from his last start due to a stabbing pain in his surgically repaired right knee. Hammel's MRI revealed no structural damage in the knee, but the O's are going to skip his start anyway and have said they're going to take a "wait and see" approach to his health. Meanwhile, Chris Tillman is scheduled to start on Monday after missing two turns with stiffness in his pitching elbow. Given Britton's collapse and Hammel's mysterious status, that could prove to be a huge start for the team, as having Tillman or Hammel (and ideally both) healthy for the remainder of the season is a must for Baltimore.

On the other side of the ball, the Orioles, trailing 5-2, staged a ninth-inning rally on Saturday, bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs. Veteran defensive specialist Endy Chavez, a lefty-hitting September call-up who hit .190/.222/.281 this season before being outrighted off the roster in early August, was the batter due up. Buck Showalter let Chavez hit against the A's right-handed closer, Grant Balfour. That might have been a questionable call anyway (Chavez ground out weakly to third to end the game), but one reason Showalter didn't sent up a pinch-hitter in that situation is that, despite the expanded rosters, he didn't really have one. With Nick Markakis, whose spot in right field Chavez was filling, out for the season with a broken thumb and Wilson Betemit possibly done as well after re-aggravating the right wrist injury which sent him to the disabled list in August, the only lefty bats Showalter had on his bench were utility man Ryan Flaherty, reserve infielder Omar Quintanilla, and rookie speedster Xavier Avery, and the best hitter he had on his bench from either side was Lew Ford, who is 2-for-21 against right-handed pitchers this season, his first in the major leagues since 2007.

5. The Week Ahead: The coming week starts with a bang as the Tigers and White Sox make up the rained-out finale of their season series with a 1:10 p.m. Central time start in Chicago. It's not the game we could have had on Thursday, however. That game was to pit Justin Verlander against Chris Sale with the Tigers trailing the White Sox for the division lead by one game. Monday will see Doug Fister face rookie Jose Quintana with the White Sox up two games in the division.

From there, the Tigers will travel home to host the A's for three games starting on Tuesday. The Tigers are pretty much out of the wild-card hunt at this point being 4 1/2 games behind the Orioles and 6 1/2 behind the A's, but they're very much in the hunt for the Central. This is a big week for Detroit. If the Tigers can hang close to the White Sox this week, they'll be in a great position as they face only the Twins and Royals the rest of the way, while the White Sox have seven games against the Angels and Rays.

Elsewhere, the Brewers will look to further separate themselves from the rest of the NL wild-card challengers via a three-game set against the free-falling Pirates, while the closest wild-card challengers, the Dodgers and Angels, will try to avoid losing ground while facing the teams with the top records in their respective leagues, the Nationals and Rangers. Meanwhile, the other top contenders take on weaker teams and anticipate key starting pitcher returns. The Orioles and Yankees will face the Mariners and Blue Jays, with Tillman and Andy Pettitte scheduled to return on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, while the Cardinals hope to avoid the Phillies' fate against the Astros, particularly with Chris Carpenter now scheduled to return against the Cubs on Friday afternoon.

17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/cliff_corcoran/09/16/no-real-changes-in-playoff-races/index.html?xid=si_mlb
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Braves finish season series vs. Nats with sweep

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves gave themselves a glimmer of hope in the NL East.

Hey, after what happened to these guys a year ago, they're not giving up on chasing down the first-place Washington Nationals .

Mike Minor threw six strong innings, Dan Uggla broke it open with a two-run single and the Braves denied Gio Gonzalez his 20th win, completing a sweep of Washington with a 5-1 victory Sunday night. Atlanta closed within 5 1-2 games of the Nationals with a little over two weeks left in the regular season.

"There's still a lot of baseball left," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Who knows what could happen? We've just got to keep playing and keep winning ballgames."

The Braves certainly know anything is possible. Last season, they had a double-figure lead in the wild-card race with a month to go - and blew it. St. Louis passed Atlanta on the final day and rubbed salt in the wound by winning an improbable World Series championship.

"Look what happened to us last year," Uggla said. "We're back in the hunt. We still need a little bit of magic, but we'll see what happens."

Minor (9-10) allowed five hits before turning it over to the bullpen. The left-hander had an ERA of 6.20 at the end of June, but he's pitched brilliantly since then to become a valued member of the rotation with the playoffs approaching. He had not allowed a run in his two previous starts, covering 12 2-3 innings, and he kept the Nationals off the board until the sixth, lowering his ERA to 4.31.

"I made my goals a little more realistic," Minor said. "At the beginning of the year, I wanted to pitch a shutout or a no-hitter every time I went out there. Now, I know if I get through six innings and give up three runs or less, it's a good day."

The Braves broke a scoreless tie in the third against Gonzalez (19-8) on Chipper Jones ' run-scoring single. Freddie Freeman followed with a sacrifice fly.

Washington closed to 2-1 on Ian Desmond 's RBI single in the sixth, but the Braves pulled away with a three-run seventh, taking advantage of an error by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman . Michael Bourn used his speed to score without a ball being hit out of the infield, and Uggla came through with his two-out hit.

Cory Gearrin , Luis Avilan and Chad Durbin each worked a scoreless inning to close it out for Atlanta.

The Nationals are still in fairly comfortable position, but the Braves are at least making the leaders sweat a bit.

"Just turn the page," Gonzalez said. "I still feel confident with my team."

More noteworthy for Atlanta, the sweep came after three straight losses in Milwaukee rekindled memories of last year's collapse. The Braves maintained a seven-game lead over the second wild-card spot, held by St. Louis, and are eight games up on the next club in the race, the Los Angeles Dodgers . It would take a more epic meltdown than even 2011 to squander that advantage with only 15 games to go.

"Playing this kind of baseball gives us a chance to achieve the goal we set in spring training, and that's to play in a World Series," said Jones, who is retiring after the season.

Gonzalez was trying to become the first 20-game winner for the Montreal-Washington franchise since Ross Grimsley in 1978, when the team called Canada home. But the Braves ran up his pitch count by showing patience at the plate, making it difficult for him just to get through the required five innings.

The left-hander struggled into the sixth, but was lifted after Jones led off with a walk and Freeman doubled. Craig Stammen got out of the mess. Uggla popped out, David Ross struck out and Andrelton Simmons ended the threat with a weak grounder to second base.

"Obviously Gio had a little problem locating the strike zone," manager Davey Johnson said. "He had a whole bunch of pitches but I wanted to give him every chance to win 20."

The Braves blew it open the next inning, using Bourn's speed and Zimmerman's fielding blunder. Bourn walked with one out, then Reed Johnson hit a chopper to third that bounced off Zimmerman's left arm. The ball deflected a few feet away into foul territory, while Zimmerman looked around desperately, unsure where it was.

He finally spotted it, but not quick enough to get Bourn hustling into third. Sean Burnett came on to face Jason Heyward , who grounded to Adam LaRoche at first base. He stepped on the bag and quickly threw home, but it was a bit up the line, allowing Bourn to slide around the tag. After Jones was walked intentionally and Freeman was hit by a pitch, Uggla drove in two more runs with a single to left.

"We had three tough at-bats when Stammen came in, and mine was probably the worst," said Uggla, who swung at a 3-0 pitch that was probably ball four. "It was awesome to get another opportunity - and especially to come through."

It began raining midway through the game, and there was a slight delay after the sixth while the grounds crew feverishly worked on the mound and around the bases, smoothing out some dry dirt. The showers passed, and the game went on without any further delays.

Notes: Nationals 2B Danny Espinosa was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth because of lingering weakness in his left shoulder. The shoulder has been bothering him for about a week, and he's scheduled to see a doctor on Monday, when Washington is off. ... The Nationals outhit the Braves 6-5. ... Atlanta will travel to Miami on Monday to begin a three-game series with the Marlins. Tim Hudson (14-6) goes against Miami's Wade LeBlanc (2-4).

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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

© 2012 STATS LLC

17 Sep, 2012

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Tigers lose late to Indians, 2 back in AL Central

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Detroit Tigers lost their manager, catcher and a crucial game in the AL Central race.

Now, the Tigers are hoping to quickly rebound from their sour Sunday after twice blowing leads to the Cleveland Indians .

Lonnie Chisenhall singled in the winning run with one out in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a 7-6 win - the Indians' first at home when trailing after eight innings in more than a year.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland was ejected and catcher Alex Avila hurt in a collision with Prince Fielder as Detroit dropped two games back in the AL Central. The Tigers go to Chicago to face the first-place White Sox on Monday.

"It was a good comeback," Leyland said. "There wasn't anything cheap about it. It was a heck of a ballgame. Give them credit. That's the way it goes. Turn the page and move on."

Before the game, Leyland said the makeup of Thursday's rainout with the White Sox would be huge since it is the last meeting between the rivals.

It is even bigger for the Tigers after Cleveland's comeback.

Jason Kipnis doubled off Jose Valverde (3-3) and scored the tying run on a one-out triple by Carlos Santana . Right fielder Don Kelly nearly made a leaping catch, but the ball dropped as he crashed into the wall.

Valverde then intentionally walked both Michael Brantley and Ezequiel Carrera to face Chisenhall, who lined the first pitch to right-center.

"You've got to get the ball to the outfield there," Chisenhall said. "They weren't walking guys to get to me, I'd like to think. They were trying to get the bases loaded and have the force out.

"It's definitely exciting. You like to win games like that."

Esmil Rogers (2-1) pitched one inning for Cleveland, an AL-worst 17-45 since the All-Star break, and just 11-37 since July 26.

Miguel Cabrera , with visiting Detroit fans chanting "MVP! MVP!" hit a three-run homer in the seventh to put the Tigers ahead 6-5. Cabrera connected off Joe Smith for a 402-foot drive.

But Valverde got his fifth blown save in 36 chances as he worked for the third day in a row.

"We were asking a lot of Valverde," Leyland said. "He had better velocity than he had the last couple of nights. We talked to him before the game and he said he was good to go."

Valverde credited the Indians.

"I made good pitches, but they hit them," he said. "I want to be perfect, but I am not. Now, let's go to Chicago and win."

Cleveland scored two unearned runs in the fifth for a 4-3 lead after trailing 3-0. Leyland got tossed for arguing the play that put the Indians ahead.

With the score tied at 3, first-base umpire Brian Knight ruled shortstop Jhonny Peralta 's throw trying for an inning-ending double play was too late as Brantley scored from third base.

First baseman Prince Fielder hopped off the bag and yelled and Leyland came out to disagree. Cabrera was restrained by other umps from going across the diamond from his third base position to join in.

Earlier in the inning, Leyland disputed a call by Knight that also kept Detroit from turning a double play.

"They were unbelievable bang-bang plays," Leyland said. "At this time of year with the importance, you get a little more excited. Obviously, I thought they were out. The umpire saw it differently."

Avila left in the sixth after colliding with Fielder. Avila was about to catch Santana's foul pop along the warning track in front of Detroit's dugout when Fielder, listed at 275 pounds, ran into him. The ball dropped and so did Avila.

"It looked like a knockout punch," Leyland said. "The elbow got him in the jaw."

Leyland said trainers told him Avila has a sprained jaw, no concussion, and could possibly play Monday. Leyland said he likely was going to rest Avila anyway against White Sox lefty Jose Quintana .

Given new life, Santana got an RBI single on another questionable call by Knight. With Asdrubal Cabrera on second, Santana hit a grounder between third and short that Miguel Cabrera snared with a dive. His high throw from his knees pulled Fielder off the bag, but the first baseman tagged Santana. Knight ruled safe as Asdrubal Cabrera kept running and scored.

Fielder and acting manager Lloyd McClendon both protested.

"It was a weird game," Tigers starter Rick Porcello said. "Whether we get those calls or not is tough to say. It was frustrating, but you have to deal with it and push on."

Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the first off Ubaldo Jimenez . Both runs scored as Brennan Boesch was safe with a bases-loaded infield single when Jimenez fielded his slow tapper, but threw low and late to first for an error.

Cleveland loaded the bases on three walks in the first, but Porcello got Russ Canzler to hit the ball back to him and made the play for the third out.

Delmon Young , hitting .167 (5 of 30) in the Tigers' previous eight games, hit an RBI single to make it 3-0 in the third.

Porcello gave up three hits in the fourth as Cleveland got within 3-2. Shin-Soo Choo's two-run bloop single to left drove in Canzler, who had singled and came after a two-out double by Jack Hannahan .

NOTES: Cleveland won the season series, 10-8. ... Tigers CF Austin Jackson was a late scratch because of a sore left knee. He got hurt trying to make a catch Saturday when he ran into the center-field fence. "I definitely anticipate playing (Monday)," Jackson said. "We'll see. It hurt too much today." ... Peralta played his 73rd straight game without an error, longest streak by a Tigers shortstop since at least 1957. Eddie Brinkman had a 72-game streak in 1972. ... Miguel Cabrera has hit .369 (7 of 19) with 2 homers and 7 RBIs off Smith. ... Jimenez, 1-9 in 13 starts since the All-Star break, still has a 9-16 record and avoided becoming the first Indians pitcher to lose 17 games since Tom Candiotti went 7-18 in 1987. ... Indians 1B Matt LaPorta was twice shaken up after crashing into a railing while trying to catch foul popups in the same at-bat by Tigers 2B Omar Infante in the ninth. He stayed in the game.

© 2012 STATS LLC

17 Sep, 2012

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Rangers defeat Mariners; AL West lead back to 3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The sun finally peeked through the clouds and a rainbow appeared beyond center field soon after the Texas Rangers finished playing.

All around, it was a bright ending to a drizzly Sunday.

Matt Harrison came within one out of a complete game for his 17th victory and the Rangers beat Seattle 2-1, adding to their AL West lead over Oakland for the first time in 10 days.

"The only thing we can do is keep winning series, and do what we've been doing the past month," Harrison said. "The way they're playing, we've just go to keep going."

On his 27th birthday, Harrison (17-9) became the fourth American League pitcher to 17 victories.

Adrian Beltre hit his 33rd homer and Mitch Moreland had an RBI double to back the All-Star lefty who has won nine consecutive starts against Seattle since May 2010.

"Glad we got two runs to support him a little bit," catcher Mike Napoli said. "Overall, everything was pretty good. He had a good changeup, mixed in a couple of curveballs and backdoor sliders. For the most part, he was throwing strikes and missing barrels."

With runners on first and third and two outs in the ninth, Koji Uehara struck out Michael Saunders to end the game. It Uehara's first save for Texas since being traded from Baltimore in July 2011.

The start of the game was delayed 2 hours and 12 minutes by rain. A light drizzle was still falling when Harrison threw the first pitch, and persisted through the game that took only 2 hours and 20 minutes to play.

Two-time defending AL champion Texas (87-59) has the league's best record, and now has a three-game division lead over Oakland. The A's lost for only the second time in 10 games Sunday, 9-5 at home against Baltimore.

Texas had a 5 1/2-game lead on Sept. 6 after winning at Kansas City, gaining a half-game that day on the idle A's. Before Sunday's games, that lead had shrunk to two games - the Rangers' smallest since April 13, a week into the season.

"They're playing unbelievable," Harrison said. "We've just got to keep winning series."

Texas has won eight of its last nine series, and hasn't lost consecutive games in more than a month.

The Rangers have their final off day of the regular season Monday. They start a three-game series Tuesday at the Los Angeles Angels , before spending next weekend in Seattle and then playing seven of their last 10 games against the A's.

Harrison scattered six hits and struck out five, and his only walk was to Franklin Gutierrez with one out in the ninth. After Kyle Seager 's infield popout for the second out, Montero singled to right and manager Ron Washington made the pitching change after 119 pitches.

After allowing a single to start the game, Harrison didn't let a runner past first until Justin Smoak led off the eighth with his 16th homer. Harrison benefited from three double plays - two that he started.

"He did a good job coming in at both left-handers and right-handers, he works that changeup off the fastball, he's able to cut his fastball or sink it, rides it every now and again, a nice breaking ball," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "He's got a quick tempo and helped himself, he's great defensively out there, a couple of big double plays. `'

Blake Beavan (9-10), pitching for the first time since Sept. 4, allowed two runs and seven hits over seven innings. The right-hander was the Rangers' first-round draft pick five years ago before being sent to Seattle in 2010 with Smoak in the Cliff Lee trade.

Beltre put the Rangers up 1-0 in the fourth with his eighth homer in 15 games. The 33 homers are one more than he had in his debut with the Rangers last season. The only time he hit more in his career was in 2004 for the Los Angeles Dodgers , when he led the majors with 48.

Murphy had a leadoff single in the fifth and scored when Moreland pulled a double into the right-field corner.

"We needed the home run from Beltre and we needed the double by Mitch," Washington said. "Up and down our order, someone's going to get one."

NOTES: The Rangers said after the game Martin Perez will start Friday's game at Seattle in place of struggling Scott Feldman . ... Seattle played its majors-high 24th rubber game of a series. The Mariners are 11-13 in those games, and had won seven of the previous eight. ... The Rangers are 16-7 in rubber games. ... The NFL's Dallas Cowboys played under sunny skies in Seattle, where they lost. ... During the rain delay, fans were able to see the start of both the Cowboys and A's games on split screen on the big video board. ... The announced paid attendance was 45,928, the 34th sellout at Rangers Ballpark. But a lot of bought tickets were unused on the wet day.

© 2012 STATS LLC

17 Sep, 2012

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Pirates 3 back in wild-card race with loss to Cubs

CHICAGO (AP) -- Anthony Rizzo had another series of firsts. The toughest for him to conquer was the curtain call.

Rizzo hit two home runs and drove in six to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 13-9 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third game of a four-game set.

Rizzo hit a two-run shot in a four-run fifth inning, then capped a five-run sixth with his first career grand slam to seize the lead for Chicago. The six RBIs are a career high. It was also the 23-year-old's first multihomer game.

He reappeared from the dugout briefly after his grand slam to acknowledge the crowd of 33,559.

"I didn't know what (my teammates) were saying and then I realized that's what you do," Rizzo said. "It was pretty cool."

Rizzo became the first Cubs player since Aramis Ramirez in July of 2010 to drive in six runs.

"Everything he's done up here is obviously what we've expected," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "We don't expect any more or any less. ... He's been spectacular since he's been here."

Pedro Alvarez hit two homers and drove in five for the Pirates, who lost for the 12th time in 15 games. Pittsburgh came into play Sunday two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card.

Rod Barajas went deep for Pittsburgh, and Joe Mather hit a solo shot for the Cubs.

Staked to a 6-1 lead, the Pirates were unable to hold off the feisty Cubs, who have taken five of the last six against Pittsburgh.

Rizzo's two-run, opposite field blast highlighted a four-run fifth, then he launched a 3-1 pitch into the left-center field bleachers off Jared Hughes (2-2) an inning later to put the Cubs up 10-9 and send the home crowd into a frenzy.

Rizzo recalled a game-winning homer he hit in July against St. Louis - the grand slam didn't quite compare.

"I don't think it tops the walk-off, but it was a great game," Rizzo said. "We kept fighting the last couple of days and showing some resilience."

David DeJesus had a pinch-hit, two-run single in a three-run ninth for Chicago.

Alvarez carried the Pirates early, but they could not tack on late. The big lefty followed Gaby Sanchez 's leadoff single in the fifth with an opposite-field shot onto Waveland Avenue to extend the lead to four.

After the Cubs rallied to get within one, Alvarez hit another opposite field shot in the sixth with two men on to pad the lead again. It was Alvarez's sixth multihomer game of the season. He passed Andrew McCutchen for the team lead with 29.

The Pirates had a chance to tie it with a Starling Marte leadoff triple in the seventh, but Marte was caught in a rundown on a fake to third, throw to first by Cubs reliever Jaye Chapman after Neil Walker and McCutchen failed to get the run in.

"Actually that's a forced balk, break late try to get the run to second and try to steal a run at home is what it was," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle explained. "I do believe if Starling could've shown a little more patience that play would have worked for us, but in the heat of the moment he left a little bit early."

Jeff Beliveau (1-0) allowed Alvarez's second home run, but recorded the final two outs of the sixth to earn his first career win.

Barajas homered on an 0-2 pitch with a man on and the pitcher on deck in the second inning to reach double-digits for the year.

McCutchen had an RBI single in the second and reached base four times. He has reached safely in nine of his last 11 plate appearances this series.

Pirates starter Jeff Locke was backed by a consistent flow of Pittsburgh offense, but couldn't get through the fifth inning to earn his first big league victory.

The 24-year-old Locke was staked to a 6-1 lead until things fell apart in a four-run fifth.

Mather's one-out solo homer started a string of four straight hits for the Cubs, which included Rizzo's two-run shot.

Cubs starter Chris Volstad had trouble finding the strike zone, and was hit hard when he did. The big righty gave up six runs on 10 hits through 4 2-3 innings. He walked four and struck out three.

Volstad had won three of his last four starts after enduring a brutal 24-start winless skid that spanned 13 months.

Alfonso Soriano drove in his 100th run of the season with a first-inning single to bring home Rizzo. It's Soriano's third career 100-RBI season, and first since 2005 when he had a career-high 104 with Texas.

NOTES: Pirates manager Clint Hurdle removed RHP James McDonald from the starting rotation due to a poor second half. RHP Kyle McPherson will take McDonald's turn in the rotation Wednesday against Milwaukee. McDonald is 3-5 with a 7.08 ERA since the All-Star break. ... Chicago sends LHP Travis Wood (6-11, 4.23 ERA) to the mound in the series finale Monday against Pittsburgh's RHP Kevin Correia (10-9, 4.29).

© 2012 STATS LLC

17 Sep, 2012

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See-Saw September

The latest injury to the Los Angeles Dodgers ' rotation is the biggest blow yet, and may severely damage their playoff hopes.

The surprising hitting of Luis Cruz has only improved them.

Cruz and the Dodgers try to withstand the absence of ace Clayton Kershaw on Sunday in order to overtake the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the NL's final wild-card spot.

Los Angeles (76-70) has already lost two key cogs in its rotation. Chad Billingsley has an elbow injury that may require Tommy John surgery, and Ted Lilly is expected to undergo season-ending surgery on his injured left shoulder.

Now, the Dodgers may be without Kershaw for a prolonged period after he was scratched from Sunday's scheduled start due to a sore right hip, which also may require surgery.

The same injury ruled the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner out of last Sunday's 4-0 loss at San Francisco, but he returned two days later to allow one unearned run and three hits in seven innings of a 1-0 defeat at Arizona.

That was part of a four-game slide, but Cruz has been a big reason for Los Angeles' winning the last two contests of this four-game set to tie the Cardinals (76-70) for the NL's second wild card.

Cruz connected for a three-run, sixth-inning homer to help the Dodgers prevail 8-5 on Friday, and he followed that up with a game-tying double in Saturday's 4-3, walkoff victory.

"It's unbelievable. It's like a dream for me," Cruz said. "I'm just trying to go out there and give a hundred percent and play hard every time. I'm having the chance to come through in big situations. I'm not going to say I'm lucky, but I've been really concentrating and having good at-bats."

With Kershaw on the shelf, the Dodgers will give the ball to rookie Stephen Fife (0-1, 2.16 ERA).

Recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque earlier this week, the right-hander made three starts in the majors earlier this season, the most recent coming in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Aug. 1 in which he allowed two runs and six hits in 4 1-3 innings.

Since then, he's gone 3-2 with a 5.81 ERA in six games - five starts - for the Isotopes.

Losers of eight of 10, the Cardinals are trying to remain focused following Saturday's heartbreaking defeat.

"We invest ourselves a lot in every game, but obviously this one stings more than others," said first baseman Allen Craig , who had a homer, a single and three RBIs. "It's a tough loss, but putting your head down and being overly concerned about it isn't going to get us anywhere. So we've just got to play better and stay positive. We're still in a good spot."

St. Louis will give the ball to Adam Wainwright (13-13, 4.01) who has posted an 8.56 ERA while losing his last three starts.

The right-hander allowed five runs - two earned - in six innings of Tuesday's 6-4 defeat at San Diego.

Wainwright is making his first appearance at Chavez Ravine since a loss June 9, 2010. He beat the Dodgers on July 24, when he allowed two runs and fanned seven in 7 1-3 innings of an 8-2 home victory.

© 2012 STATS LLC

17 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/gameflash/2012/09/16/42680/index.html#recap?xid=si_mlb
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