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Rangers within reach of AL West title in tight race

Written By Sepatu on Senin, 17 September 2012 | 22.05

Ron Washington's Rangers have won eight of their last nine series, and 11 of their last 13.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington held out one hand, then the other.

Another division title is within reach for the two-time defending American League champions, and that is Washington's way of demonstrating how they have their destiny in their own hands.

As long as they can stay ahead of the surprising Oakland Athletics in the AL West.

Even with the AL's best record and being a season-high 28 games above .500, the Rangers (87-59) are still in a tight division race - with the young A's the closest chaser instead of the expected Los Angeles Angels.

"Everything is in front us," Washington said. "Oakland, everybody thought they were going to go away. They don't seem to be going away."

With 16 games left after their final off day of the regular season Monday, the Rangers lead the A's by three games. The Angels, who added slugger Albert Pujols and former Texas lefty C.J. Wilson last winter, were 7 1/2 games back.

"Hopefully for the rest of the season, we'll be able to just win series," said outfielder David Murphy, sixth in the AL with a .314 batting average after becoming an everyday player. "And we'll be in a good spot."

Texas has won eight of its last nine series, and 11 of 13, after taking two of three games against Seattle over the weekend. The Rangers haven't lost consecutive games in more than a month.

And yet their division lead shrunk to two games - the smallest in more than five months, since the first week of the season - when the A's won eight of nine games. Oakland lost at home to Baltimore on Sunday, the first time in 10 days Texas was able to add a game to its division lead that was 5 1/2 games at the start of that stretch.

The Rangers play seven of their last 10 games against Oakland, which is 41-19 since the All-Star break. But they play at Los Angeles and Seattle this week before coming home for four games against the A's, then three more against the Angels. The season-ending series at Oakland is in two weeks.

"They're feeling good about themselves and the way they're playing," Washington said about the A's before pointing to the schedule on the wall in his office listing probable pitchers with an Angels trio. "On the board, Weaver, Wilson, Greinke. Come on, I certainly ain't thinking about Oakland."

Ryan Dempster, who has won five consecutive starts with a 1.91 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33 innings, starts the Tuesday night series opener against the Angels and Jered Weaver (17-4).

The right-hander is 6-1 since getting traded from the Chicago Cubs just minutes before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. His first start for Texas was at home two days later against the Angels, when he gave up eight runs in 4 2-3 innings - the same number of runs the Rangers scored in 5 1-3 innings off Wilson that night in a game they eventually won 15-9.

Dempster, who also allowed eight runs in a loss at the Yankees before his current winning streak, called it exciting to be in a pennant chase with a team that has been to the last two World Series. He has a sense why the Rangers have been able to have that kind of success.

"Just a bunch of guys who work really hard to be prepared and go out there and take their job really seriously and want to win really bad, but have a lot of fun," Dempster said. "It's a loose group of guys that go out there and realize that really the easiest way to be successful at your job is to have fun doing it."

When asked what most satisfied him about the way he is pitching now, Dempster talked about making adjustments and doing a better job of executing pitches. Then came the follow-up question about his most significant adjustment, and his answer that showed just how well he fits in with this team.

"Probably changing my underwear," he said. "They were definitely really unlucky."

Derek Holland (10-6) is scheduled to face Wilson on Wednesday and Yu Darvish (15-9), the Japanese rookie who surpassed 200 strikeouts during his last start, goes against Zack Greinke on Thursday.

The Rangers have made one change in the rotation, replacing struggling Scott Feldman (0-5, 6.99 ERA his last seven starts) with rookie Martin Perez (1-1, 3.38) for the opener Friday night in Seattle. All-Star lefty Matt Harrison (17-9) pitches again Saturday.

Texas had only 1 1/2-game division lead at the same point last season, then won 14 of its last 16 games to finish 10 games ahead of the Angels. The Rangers were 40-17 against division opponents last season; they're 21-20 this year.

"That's where you win, when you can run away in your division, or do well in your division," Washington said. "I'll take our best game against any one of those teams' best game."

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/09/18/rangers-riding-high.ap/index.html?xid=si_mlb
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Ex-MLBer, minor league exec Saffell dead at 91

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -- Tom Saffell, the former major league outfielder and longtime Gulf Coast Rookie League president, has died. He was 91.

Saffell's daughter, Cari Llewellyn, confirmed Monday that Saffell died last week. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune said he developed pneumonia after having surgery for a broken hip sustained in a fall.

"He had an amazing life," Llewellyn said. "He had quite a career. He worked up until he was 89 years old. He was quite a man."

Saffell spent parts of four seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics, hitting .238 with six homers and 40 RBIs in 271 games. He played 17 seasons in the minors - including Triple-A stops with Indianapolis, Hollywood, Portland, Los Angeles and Spokane - and managed seven seasons in the minors.

President of the Gulf Coast Rookie League from 1979 to 2009, he was honored in 1999 as "King of Baseball" at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Anaheim, Calif.

Saffell also was a fighter pilot during World War II.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/09/18/saffell-obit.ap/index.html?xid=si_mlb
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Red Sox drop Rays 5½ back of Yanks in AL East

The Tampa Bay Rays will need another stirring rally if they want to return to postseason, and might have just the opportunity to get one started during a promising part of their schedule.

The Rays will play nine straight against sub-.500 clubs beginning with Monday night's visit from the Boston Red Sox.

Tampa Bay pulled to within 1 1/2 games of the AL East lead Sept. 4 after a fourth straight win, but is now five games behind New York after dropping seven of 10. The Rays (78-68) also trail Baltimore by four games for the AL's second wild-card spot.

They went 1-5 on a road trip against the Orioles and Yankees, and gave up five runs in the third inning of a 6-4 defeat Sunday to New York. Tampa Bay, which had five hits in that loss, is batting .218 over its last 10 games and .172 with runners in scoring position.

"It seems like we're pressing now," third baseman Evan Longoria said.

Tampa Bay will play six of its next nine games against Boston (66-81) and the other three versus Toronto. The Rays travel to Fenway Park for two games Sept. 25-26.

Tampa Bay rallied from nine games back and beat out the Red Sox for the lone wild card spot last year, but manager Joe Maddon isn't necessarily expecting another miracle.

"The math isn't in our favor," he said. "The baseball gods have created two wild cards, so let's see what happens."

The Rays will likely need a more consistent performance against the Red Sox to get things going. They're just 5-7 this season against their AL East rivals after winning 23 of 36 meetings over the previous two campaigns.

Alex Cobb (9-8, 4.26 ERA) will try to deliver a win in this matchup while going deeper in this game. The right-hander has given up two runs in each of his last two starts but lasted only 4 2-3 innings in a 3-2 loss in Baltimore on Wednesday.

Cobb is 5-0 with a 3.31 ERA in eight starts since the beginning of August, but he hasn't faced Boston since May 25. He gave up two runs, three hits and four walks over five innings of that 7-4 win at Fenway.

The Red Sox have dropped 14 of 18 and 10 of 13 on the road, but won their first two games in Toronto this weekend before falling 5-0 in Sunday's finale. They were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in that defeat, which put them one shy of the franchise's first losing season since 1997.

"We fired a lot of blanks with men on base today," manager Bobby Valentine said.

Aaron Cook (3-10, 5.18) is hoping a better performance from his teammates will help him end a five-game losing streak.

He was dealt the latest of those defeats Wednesday against the Yankees. The right-hander gave up three runs over five innings but was given only one run of support in a 5-4 loss.

Cook has received a combined two runs over his last three outings.

Cook will face Tampa Bay for the first time since June 17, 2009. He's 1-1 with a 6.63 ERA in three all-time matchups.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/gameflash/2012/09/17/42689/index.html#recap?xid=si_mlb
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Hudson wins 15th; Braves handle Marlins 7-5

MIAMI (AP) -- Dan Uggla got Atlanta started with his bat. His glove helped finish off his former club.

Uggla hit a three-run home run in the first inning and sprawled to snare a ground ball that ended a Miami threat in the eighth, Martin Prado tied a career best with four hits and the Braves beat the Marlins 7-5 on Monday night.

It was the fourth straight win for Atlanta, which moved within five games of idle Washington in the NL East.

"Three-run homer, but for me Danny saved us defensively," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Here's a guy that gets a bad rap at times defensively, and he saved the game for us today making a bunch of plays."

It was Uggla's first three-RBI game since Aug. 15. Uggla has 13 RBIs in 12 games against Miami this season, more than anyone else has managed against the Marlins.

And even though Miami's current stadium was never his home - he played up the road at Sun Life Stadium when he was a Marlin - Uggla clearly still has good feelings when he returns to South Florida.

Uggla has seven homers in 72 games this season at his home park, Turner Field. He's homered three times in only six games at Marlins Park.

"The fans here, I had a great relationship with them," Uggla said. "I felt like they liked the way I played, enjoyed and appreciated the way I played down here. It's always fun to come back and play in front of them."

Tim Hudson (15-6) allowed a season-high 10 hits in five innings, still beating the Marlins for the fifth straight time. Atlanta - which swept a three-game series from Washington over the weekend - moved within five games of the idle Nationals in the NL East.

Gorkys Hernandez had his first three-hit game for Miami, the rookie's average going from .157 to .178. Bryan Petersen and Hernandez hit consecutive triples in a four-run fourth inning for Miami.

Miami was without right fielder Giancarlo Stanton , out because of muscle soreness in his rib cage. Chipper Jones got the night off for Atlanta and Prado went 4 for 4 playing third base in his place, including an RBI single in the eighth.

"We battled. We make this game pretty fun," Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We went out and didn't give up. We battled back against good pitching. We just had one bad inning with a bad pitch to Uggla."

Craig Kimbrel gave up a one-out single to Miami's Jose Reyes in the ninth, but escaped for his 37th save in 40 chances.

The Braves wasted little time against Marlins starter Wade LeBlanc (2-5), getting four hits and four runs in the first. Prado's RBI single opened the scoring, and Uggla followed that with his 19th homer of the season.

"That was just a mistake," LeBlanc said. "I tried to go away and left it middle. To a hitter like that, you can't afford to do that."

Miami had two runners on while trailing by two in the eighth, when Petersen hit a grounder into the hole between first and second. Uggla got to the ball, then scrambled to make the throw to first just in time and end the inning.

For a while, it didn't seem as if such defensive heroics would necessary. Jeff Baker and Hudson had RBI singles for Atlanta in the fourth, pushing the lead to 6-0.

"We kind of let them back in the game a little bit," Gonzalez said.

The Braves came into the night 50-0 when scoring at least six runs.

The Marlins, apparently, weren't deterred.

And for a welcome change - at least from the Miami perspective - some home-field advantage helped the Marlins get back into the game.

A night after John Buck flied out to the deepest part of cavernous Marlins Park for the final out of Miami's 5-4, 11-inning loss to Cincinnati - it prompted plenty of discussion in the team's clubhouse Monday about whether the fences are too far from home plate - the huge outfield gaps played a big role in Miami rallying.

The pair of triples got Miami right back into things. Petersen's came first, bringing home Donovan Solano and Rob Brantly , and the next by Hernandez allowed Petersen to jog home and cap a four-run outburst that cut Atlanta's lead to 6-4.

"We get a big lead, I'm not really trying to go to the corners with a big lead like that," Hudson said. "You've got to tip your hat to those guys. They hit some pretty decent pitches, I think."

Miami got within 6-5 in the seventh, Carlos Lee 's single bringing home Reyes, who hit a one-out double.

NOTES: LHP Paul Maholm (12-10) pitches for Atlanta on Tuesday night against Miami RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-12). A marquee pitching matchup awaits Wednesday, when Kris Medlen (8-1, 1.62) goes for the Braves against the Marlins' Josh Johnson (8-12, 3.81). ... Stanton, who leads the Marlins with 34 home runs, said he first felt the side-muscle issue on Saturday. Guillen said he'd rather sit Stanton for a couple days than have him miss the rest of the season, and indicated he would be evaluated Tuesday. ... The Braves sat C Brian McCann (knee soreness), though Gonzalez hopes he can play Tuesday. ... Braves RF Jason Heyward made a running catch of a sinking liner to end the fifth inning and save a run.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/gameflash/2012/09/17/42688/index.html#recap?xid=si_mlb
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Phils top Mets, now 3½ out of NL wild-card spot

NEW YORK (AP) -- Cliff Lee toed the rubber, went through a full windup and simulated a pitch - toward second base, that is.

Naw, he didn't do that because the Philadelphia Phillies have been stuck in reverse lately. It's a quirk of his, something he started in the minors to stay loose and visualize positive results.

Lee struck out 10 while outdueling Cy Young contender R.A. Dickey, and the Phillies regained their winning touch by beating the New York Mets 3-1 Monday night.

"He controlled the game, he was that good," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said.

Jimmy Rollins homered with the help of video replay and Domonic Brown also hit a solo shot off Dickey (18-6). The Phillies pulled within 3 1/2 games of idle St. Louis for the second NL wild-card spot, though other clubs are also in their path.

"It was a big win. We're kind of running out of games," Lee said. "Three or four teams ahead of us that we've got to catch and pass. Definitely not where we want to be."

Philadelphia had lost three of four at last-place Houston before arriving at Citi Field, where visiting teams have feasted. The Mets have dropped nine of 10 overall, and fell to 4-22 at home since the All-Star break.

"We bounced back tonight," Manuel said. "You get that kind of pitching, it's not that hard."

Lee (6-7) turned in his fifth straight sharp start, winning four of them, and allowed seven hits over eight innings. He was in control, as always, with one walk. He has gone 14 consecutive outings with no more than one free pass.

The 33-year-old lefty trotted to the mound to start his innings, and often was the first Phillies player to take his position. That's when he'd go through his unusual routine, making phantom pitches toward second base.

"In the minors, I usually was the first person out there and that's when I started doing it," he said. "Now, I do it all the time. It's my thing."

Lee, who earned his elusive first victory of the season on July 4 at Citi Field, became the latest pitcher to shut down the Mets in their own ballpark. New York has scored three runs or fewer in a team-record 14 straight home games.

"The way that he has been throwing the last month, month and a half, you knew it was probably going to be a tight game," Dickey said. "The margin of error decreases when he's pitching."

Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for his 35th save in 39 chances.

Dickey missed a chance to tie Washington's Gio Gonzalez for the major league lead in wins, and has lost two decisions in a row for the first time this year. Dickey projects to get three more starts this season.

The knuckleballer allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out eight - he has 205 this year, one behind NL leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers - and lowered his ERA a tad to a league-best 2.67.

Dickey's signature floater was fluttering from the get-go. His first pitch of the game eluded catcher Mike Nickeas and went to the backstop, and his second pitch sent a swinging Rollins to his knees.

Rollins eventually struck out, but reached on Nickeas' passed ball. Dickey made a wild toss on his fourth pickoff try to first base and Rollins later scored on Chase Utley 's sacrifice fly.

Rollins hit a drive over right fielder Scott Hairston 's outstretched glove at the top of the wall in the fifth and pulled into third base with an apparent triple. After a brief look at the replay, the umpires waved him to the plate. Rollins has 21 home runs this year, six this month.

Brown led off the seventh with his fourth homer. He tripled earlier.

The Mets nicked Lee in the fifth. Nickeas put down a perfect bunt on the first pitch and the backup catcher hustled for a single. Dickey sacrificed and Daniel Murphy blooped a two-out single for a run.

That was all for Dickey and the Mets.

"You feel for him, because all he's done is given himself a chance to win a baseball game," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We'll go back at the end of the year and recount the number of games where he didn't get a decision, or he's allowed us an opportunity to win, and hopefully it doesn't get back to bite him too bad."

NOTES: The Phillies are 6-10 against the Mets this year. ... Dickey has thrown an NL-high 212 innings this year. He is the first Mets pitcher with 200 strikeouts since Johan Santana in 2008. ... The Mets have lost 10 straight series openers at home. ... The last team to score three runs or fewer in more consecutive home games than the Mets was Seattle, which went 16 in a row in 2010. ... The Mets' Triple-A affiliate will move from Buffalo to Las Vegas for the next two seasons. Toronto is set to switch its top farm team from Las Vegas to Buffalo. Collins says hitting stats at high altitude in the Pacific Coast League "can be a little deceiving." ... A few rows of temporary seats were added in foul territory, next to the backstop. It's a test for when Citi Field hosts the All-Star game next year.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/gameflash/2012/09/17/42686/index.html#recap?xid=si_mlb
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MLB investigating Jay's reported homophobic slur

Yunel Escobar was photographed at Saturday's game wearing eye-black displaying an apparent homophobic slur written in Spanish.

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

TORONTO (AP) -- Major League Baseball is checking reports that Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar played Saturday's game against Boston wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish.

Pictures posted online show Escobar with the message written in his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from the sun. The slur did not appear to be directed at any person in particular.

MLB spokesman Pat Courtney confirmed the commissioner's office is looking into the reports.

"The club takes this situation seriously and is investigating the matter," the Blue Jays said in a statement Monday night, adding they "do not support discrimination of any kind nor condone the message displayed by Yunel Escobar during Saturday's game."

The team said Escobar will be available to the media Tuesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium along with general manager Alex Anthopoulos, manager John Farrell and coach Luis Rivera.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/09/17/escobar-slur.ap/index.html?xid=si_mlb
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Injured Lewis gets one-year deal from Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Texas Rangers have agreed on a one-year contract extension with Colby Lewis, the injured right-hander who could have been a free agent after this season.

The AL West-leading Rangers announced the deal for the 2013 season Monday but did not release financial terms.

Lewis was 6-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 16 starts this season before surgery in July to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow.

Originally drafted by the Rangers in 1999 with a compensation pick between the first and second rounds, Lewis is 32-29 with a 3.93 ERA in 80 starts since rejoining the team in 2010 after two seasons in Japan. He is 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA in eight postseason starts.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/09/17/colby-lewis-rangers.ap/index.html?xid=si_mlb
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White Sox rally past Tigers, boost lead to three

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.

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/gameflash/2012/09/17/43584/index.html#recap?xid=si_mlb
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Tigers look to gain ground on White Sox