Here’s your
morning baseball briefing:
Game of the Weekend Friday August 9
– Sunday August 11:
Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Tampa Bay Rays 6 (Friday):
The
Dodgers swept the Rays over the weekend in Los Angeles, and Friday's comeback win set the table for a showdown between two of the game's best teams. The Rays and pitcher David Price overmatched the red-hot Dodgers for six innings,
and led 6-0 in the seventh before Los Angeles began to claw its’ way back into
the game. The Dodgers scored once in the
bottom of the seventh and twice more in the bottom of the eighth to cut the
lead to 6-3, and Tampa Bay handed the ball to closer Fernando Rodney to secure
the final three outs in the ninth. He
promptly gave up a single, double, triple and a double as Los Angeles tied the
score at six, and then intentionally walked Yasiel Puig with one out. The next batter, Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a
grounder to Rodney who muffed the throw to first base as it sailed wide,
allowing Adrian Gonzalez to score the winning run from second and giving Los
Angeles the improbable win.
Rest
of the weekend scores:
Consecutive
days with a walk-off win (where the home team scores the winning run in the
ninth inning or later that immediately ends the game): 1. The New York Yankees walked off winners yesterday a Brett
Gardner’s home run in the ninth.
Longest
Winning Streak: 7, by the Texas Rangers
Longest
Losing Streak: 5, by the Houston Astros
A.L. MVP
Watch: Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit Tigers
Last Week: Hit .400 with 3 HRs,
10 RBI and 6 runs scored
Season: .366, 36 HRs, 110
RBI and 85 runs scored
On pace
for: .365, 50 HRs, 153 RBI and 118 runs
scored
N.L. MVP
Watch: Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
Last Week: Hit .462 with a homer, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored
Season: .313, 16 HRs, 66
RBI, 72 runs scored and 24 stolen bases
On pace
for: .313, 22 HRs, 92 RBI, 100 runs
scored and 33 stolen bases
A.L. Cy
Young Watch: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Last Week: 1-0, 2 games started, 15 IP, 11 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk and 16
K’s
Season: 12-8, 154 K’s and a
3.57 ERA
On pace
for: 16-11, 215 K’s and a 3.54 ERA
N.L. Cy
Young Watch: Matt Harvey, New York Mets
Last Week: 1-0, 9 IP, 4 hits, 0 walks and 6 K’s in a win vs. Colorado
Season: 9-3, 178 K’s and a
2.09 ERA
On pace for: 13-4,
257 K’s, and 2.07 ERA:
History –
1963 World Series
Winner: The Los Angeles Dodgers swept
the New York Yankees 4 games to 0.
The two-time defending champion Yankees met
the Dodgers again in the World Series, but for the first time since the Dodgers
moved west to Los Angeles. This series
would begin to show the cracks in the Yankee dynasty as their dominant players
were aging and they would appear overmatched by some spectacular Dodger pitching. Yogi Berra and just Mickey Mantle were
limited to just 64 & 65 games respectively during the season due to
injuries, but a young catcher named Elston Howard emerged from Berra’s shadow
to win the A.L. MVP and continue the great tradition of Yankee catchers.
New York had
home field advantage in the series, but it wouldn’t matter. Dodger pitcher and Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax
absolutely conquered Yankee hitters in Game 1 as he struck out a then World
Series record 15 in a complete game 5-2 victory. Koufax went 25-5 during the season with a
1.88 ERA, and after the game when Yogi Berra was asked about his performance,
he noted he now saw the guy won 25 games, but didn’t know how he could lose 5. Whitey Ford (24-7) started for New York and allowed
a three-run home run to catcher Johnny Roseboro in the second inning, the only
homer he surrendered to a left-handed batter all season.
Game 2 was
more of the same as lefty Johnny Podres (the hero of the 1955 World Series when
he won Game 7 against the Yankees) pitched a six-hitter in eight and a third
innings, helping Los Angeles to a 4-1 win and a 2-0 series lead as the teams
flew west for Games 3 & 4.
In Los
Angeles, the Dodgers threw another Hall of Famer at New York as Don Drysdale
pitched a masterful three-hitter to once again stymie the Yankee hitters in a 1-0
victory. Now just one win away from the
championship, Los Angeles sent Sandy Koufax back to the mound against Whitey
Ford, and Koufax was once again extremely tough to score on. The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the
seventh when Yankee first baseman Joe Pepitone mishandled a throw from Clete
Boyer at third, allowing Dodger second baseman Junior Gilliam to scamper all
the way to third base where he would score on a sacrifice fly. The 2-1 lead was all Koufax needed as he
retired the final six Yankee batters to give Los Angeles their sixth overall World
Series title, second since moving west, and the first won at home. It also marked the first time the Yankees were
ever swept in a World Series.
For the
series the Dodgers outscored the Yankees 12-4, and outhit them 25-22. The four runs scored by New York were the
fewest ever scored in a World Series. Hall
of Famers in the series included for Los Angeles: manager Walter Alston, and
pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale; and for New York: catcher Yogi Berra,
outfielder Mickey Mantle, and pitcher Whitey Ford.
Tomorrow: 1964 World Series – New York Yankees vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Trivia -
Today’s Question: What pitcher holds the record for lowest ERA in a season?
Friday’s
Question: What is the longest losing
streak held by one team in a season?
Answer: Post 1900, the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies hold
the record with the most consecutive losses at 22.
Vegas Bet: Lastly, here’s an
actual bet you can make at a Las Vegas Sports Book: Over/Under 8 strikeouts by Texas pitcher Yu
Darvish today vs. Houston.
Yesterday’s
Bet: Over/Under
2 runs allowed by Dodger starter
Clayton Kershaw on Sunday night vs. Tampa Bay.
Result: Under. Kershaw allowed just 1 earned run.
Standings
| American League | National League | |||||||||
| EAST | W | L | GB | STRK | EAST | W | L | GB | STRK | |
| Boston | 71 | 49 | - | Lost 1 | Atlanta | 72 | 46 | - | Won 1 | |
| Tampa Bay | 66 | 50 | 3 | Lost 5 | Washington | 57 | 60 | 14.5 | Won 3 | |
| Baltimore | 65 | 52 | 4.5 | Won 1 | NY Mets | 54 | 61 | 16.5 | Won 2 | |
| NY Yankees | 59 | 57 | 10 | Won 1 | Philadelphia | 52 | 65 | 19.5 | Lost 3 | |
| Toronto | 54 | 63 | 16 | Lost 1 | Miami | 44 | 72 | 27 | Lost 1 | |
| CENTRAL | W | L | GB | STRK | CENTRAL | W | L | GB | STRK | |
| Detroit | 69 | 47 | - | Lost 1 | Pittsburgh | 70 | 47 | - | Lost 3 | |
| Cleveland | 63 | 55 | 7 | Won 1 | St. Louis | 67 | 50 | 3 | Won 1 | |
| Kansas City | 61 | 54 | 7.5 | Won 1 | Cincinnati | 65 | 52 | 5 | Won 1 | |
| Minnesota | 52 | 63 | 17 | Won 1 | Chicago Cubs | 52 | 65 | 18 | Lost 1 | |
| Chicago Sox | 44 | 72 | 25 | Lost 1 | Milwaukee | 51 | 67 | 19.5 | Lost 1 | |
| WEST | W | L | GB | STRK | WEST | W | L | GB | STRK | |
| Texas | 68 | 50 | - | Won 7 | LA Dodgers | 67 | 50 | - | Won 5 | |
| Oakland | 66 | 50 | 1 | Won 1 | Arizona | 59 | 57 | 7.5 | Lost 2 | |
| Seattle | 54 | 63 | 14 | Won 1 | Colorado | 55 | 64 | 13 | Won 3 | |
| LA Angels | 53 | 63 | 14 | Lost 1 | San Diego | 53 | 64 | 14 | Lost 1 | |
| Houston | 37 | 79 | 30 | Lost 5 | San Francisco | 52 | 65 | 15 | Lost 1 | |
Schedule for Monday August 12 with probable pitchers in parentheses. My picks to win
are highlighted. Weekend picks: 25-21
Overall: 665-504
Times EST
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ | |||||
| @ |
No comments:
Post a Comment