Projo Sox Blog

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT

Toronto at Tampa Bay (12:08 p.m. EDT). How's this for a nice matinee? Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay is scheduled to face talented left-hander David Price in the finale of Toronto's three-game series at Tampa Bay.

WEDNESDAY'S STARS

-Andruw Jones, Rangers, homered in his first three at-bats to help Texas rout the Los Angeles Angels 8-1.

-Felipe Lopez, Diamondbacks, hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run rally in the eighth and Arizona defeated San Diego 6-2 to win its season-high fifth straight.

-Tim Wakefield, Red Sox, earned his AL-leading 11th victory and improved to 9-0 in his last 11 starts at Fenway Park with Boston's 5-4 win over Oakland.

-Chris Volstad, Marlins, pitched a five-hitter for his first career complete game, striking out six and not walking a batter as Florida beat San Francisco 7-0.

-A.J. Burnett, Yankees, won his third straight start, overcoming three wild pitches as New York topped Minnesota 4-3.

-Wandy Rodriguez, Astros, pitched a five-hitter and tied a career high by striking out 11, leading Houston over Pittsburgh 5-0.

-Shane Victorino, Phillies, had an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift Philadelphia over Cincinnati 3-2.

STILL SITTING

Marlins All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez is scheduled to start for the National League in next week's All-Star game in St. Louis but has missed four straight games with a right hip flexor. Ramirez hopes to play Thursday at Arizona.

SCORED UPON

Giants rookie Ryan Sadowski allowed his first runs in his third big league start - a 7-0 loss to Florida - after pitching 16 scoreless innings to begin his career. Sadowski's scoreless streak was the longest by a Giants pitcher to start his career since Al Worthington began with 19 in 1953. The 16 scoreless innings topped Hall of Famer Juan Marichal's mark of 15 to start his career in 1960 and also 15 by Dick LeMay in '61.

SLUGGING AWAY

One night after Paul Konerko connected for three homers, Texas' Andruw Jones hit three in his first three at-bats. Jones had two chances to equal the major league record but he popped out and struck out.

STUMPING FOR VOTES

The Phillies have gone all-out to get Shane Victorino selected to the final spot on the All-Star team. He went door-to-door in South Philadelphia with Mayor Michael A. Nutter to campaign for votes on Monday. Three fans in their early 20s have been sitting in the press box lounge since Tuesday afternoon clicking nonstop on their computers for Victorino. Fans in the ballpark and people listening to the game on radio or watching on television have constantly been reminded to "Vote for Shane."

STREAKING

The Diamondbacks beat the Padres 6-2 to win their season-high fifth straight game and move out of the cellar in the NL West, ahead of San Diego.

TURNAROUND

Colorado beat Washington 10-4 to complete its third sweep in its last five home series and put the Rockies six games over .500 for the first time this season. They have gone 30-15 (.666) since May 21, the best winning percentage in the majors.

OFFENSIVE OUTAGE

After averaging 5.06 runs in going 21-14 through May 16, the Cubs have dipped to 3.43 runs while their record slumped to 20-27. They have been held to one run or fewer 15 times during the 47-game slide. The Cubs led the league in scoring last season but rank 15th in 2009.

TAKING OVER

Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer became eligible for the AL batting race with his three-hit effort against the Yankees. Mauer had been short on plate appearances, but now owns a 26-point lead over Ichiro Suzuki in the batting race. Mauer won the crown last season.

STAT

The Phillies used seven starting pitchers last season when they won the World Series. They have already used nine in 82 games this year.

SPEAKING

"Looking at the standings every day, to not be in last place is big and a breath of fresh air. Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but to wake up tomorrow and be out of that is a nice feeling." - Arizona manager A.J. Hinch after his team ended their one-month stay in the cellar with a 6-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, wrapping up a three-game sweep.

THIS DATE IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1902 - Rube Waddell beat Bill Dinneen 4-2 in 17 innings when light-hitting Monte Cross hit a two-run homer for Philadelphia.

1932 - Ben Chapman of the Yankees hit three homers, including two inside the park, as New York beat the Detroit Tigers 14-9 at Yankee Stadium.

1940 - The NL recorded the first shutout in All-Star play, with a 4-0 win at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Five pitchers - Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters, Whit Wyatt, Larry French, and Carl Hubbell - held the AL to three hits. Max West hit a three-run homer.

1946 - After a one-year break due to war travel restrictions, the Americans trounced the Nationals 12-0 at Fenway Park, the most one-sided of the All-Star games. Ted Williams of the Red Sox didn't disappoint the hometown fans. He hit two homers and two singles for five RBIs.

1968 - Willie McCovey hit into a double play, scoring Willie Mays with the only run of the 39th All-Star game, played at the Houston Astrodome. It was the first game of this series played indoors and the first 1-0 contest in All-Star history.

1976 - Houston's Larry Dierker pitched a no-hitter as the Astros beat Montreal 6-0. Dierker struck out eight and walked four.

1991 - Cal Ripken hit a three-run homer to lead the AL over the NL 4-2 in the All-Star game for the AL's fourth straight victory in the contest.

1996 - Mike Piazza launched an upper-deck home run in his first at-bat and lined an RBI double next time up, leading the National League to a 6-0 victory in the All-Star game in Philadelphia.

2000 - Tyler Houston hit three home runs, tying his career-high with six RBIs, in Milwaukee's 10-2 rout of Detroit.

2002 - Despite Barry Bonds hitting a home run and Torii Hunter making a spectacular catch, the All-Star game finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.

2005 - It took 847 regular-season games at Coors Field, the most any stadium needed, before hosting its first 1-0 game. The lowest total runs scored in a game at Coors Field before Colorado's 1-0 win over San Diego was 2-0. There had been three 2-0 games at the 11-year-old stadium.

2007 - Los Angeles Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero won the Home Run Derby, hitting 17 homers and beating Toronto's Alex Rios 3-2 in the final round of the All-Star competition.

Today's birthday: Miguel Montero 26.

 Tags  Baseball Today Roy Halladay

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