Reyes and Oswalt Dealt to Seattle

Chicago (AP) - The White Sox, sporting a division leading 58-38 mark so far this season, surprised their fans by dealing both Jose Reyes and Roy Oswalt to the Seatle Mariners. Reyes was batting .291 with 29 stolen bases and 69 runs scored. Oswalt is 10-4 with a 3.60 ERA. In exchange for these players, Chicago receives Seattle's #1, #2 and #3 2007 draft picks along with Matt Capps and Alex Gonzalez.

2007 Draft Watch: Joakim Soria

Position: Pitcher

Bats: Right, Throws: Right

Height: 6' 3", Weight: 200 lb.
Born: May 18, 1984 in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico

Signed as an amateur free agent in 2001.

Had a 3.89 ERA with 15 Saves with the Mexico City Reds in 2006.

2007 Draft Watch: Josh Hamilton

2006 Minor League Highlights:

appeared in 15g for the Devil Rays' short-season Class A affiliate at Hudson Valley in the New York-Penn League...were his first professional apps since 7/10/02 for Class A Bakersfield vs Modesto...spent most of the summer working out at The Winning Inning, a baseball academy in Clearwater run by former minor league manager Roy Silver...was rehabbing an injury to his left knee that had required arthroscopic surgery in March.

2007 Draft Watch: John Danks

2006 Minor League Highlights:

Is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 1 Prospect and having the Best Curveball in the Texas organization entering the 2007 season ... also was tabbed by the same publication as the No. 7 Prospect in the Texas League and the No. 14 Prospect in the Pacific Coast League following the season ... split the season between Class AA Frisco and Class AAA Oklahoma, combining to go 9-9 with a 4.24 ERA (66 ER/140.0 IP) and 154 strikeouts in 27 games (26 starts) ... led all Rangers minor leaguers in strikeouts and tied for eighth in ERA ... averaged 9.9 strikeouts per 9.0 IP ... made 11 quality starts ... lasted at least 6.0 IP on 11 occasions ... began the season with the Rough Riders, going 5-4 with a 4.15 ERA (32 ER/69.1 IP) and 82 strikeouts in 13 starts ... was named to the TL midseason All-Star Team ... opponents hit .273 (74-271), including a .300 (24-80) mark by left-handers ... went 1-4 with a 7.15 ERA (18 ER/22.2 IP) in his first five starts, but 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA (14 ER/46.2 IP) and 54 strikeouts in his final eight ... struck out a season-high 12 batters on 5/15 at San Antonio (6.0 IP) ... was promoted to Oklahoma on 6/22 and went 4-5 with a 4.33 ERA (34 ER/70.2 IP) and 72 strikeouts in 14 games (13 starts) ... limited the opposition to a .248 (67-270) average, while lefties batted just .177 (14-79)

2007 Draft Watch - Dice-K

2006 Japan Pacific League Highlights:

SUMMARY: Led all NPB teams with 13 complete games, ranked second in the Pacific League with 17 wins, a 2.13 earned run average, and 200 strikeouts...placed third in the PL with 186.1 innings, and tied for fifth with two shutouts...established a lifetime best for victories, posted the lowest ERA of his pro career and finished third in the Pacific League's Most Valuable Player Award voting.

BY THE NUMBERS: Allowed one earned run in eight-inning complete game loss to Fukuoka in season's first start on March 30, then was 7-0, 2.12 (14 ER/59.1 IP) in his next eight starts through May 26...went 4-3, 2.14 (15 ER/63 IP in his next nine outings before winning six consecutive starts from Aug. 16-Sept. 19 with a 1.41 ERA (8 ER/51 IP)...allowed season high six earned runs in five innings in season-ending defeat to Chiba on Sept. 26...issued three runs or less 21 times, permitting one or fewer earned runs in 15 starts...allowed just 34 walks in 186.1 innings, an average of 1.64 every nine innings...permitted just 20 walks in final 128 innings beginning May 26...limited opponents to a .206 batting average.

COMPLETE WHAT YOU START: His 13 complete games were two shy of career high set in 2005...went the route in consecutive starts on three occasions...worked seven or more innings in 19 of 25 starts with high of 10 innings in CG win on July 8 versus Hokkaido...had a pair of CG shutouts, a three-hitter on May 26 versus Hanshin and a five-hitter on Sept. 13 against Hokkaido...worked less than six innings just four times, lasting just 0.2 innings on June 24 against Chiba.

PLAYOFFS: In final appearance with Seibu, defeated Fukuoka, 1-0 in opening game of Pacific League playoffs on Oct. 7...issued six hits with no walks, 13 strikeouts, and four hit batters in the complete game, nine-inning performance...threw 137 pitches...Lions dropped the next two games of the best of three series to the Hawks.

2007 Draft Watch: Phil Hughes

Phil Hughes
Philip Joseph Hughes
Position: Pitcher Bats: Right, Throws: Right Height: 6' 5", Weight: 240 lb.

Born: June 24, 1986 in Mission Viejo, CA
High School: Foothill (Santa Ana, CA)

Drafted in the 1st round (23rd pick) of the 2004 amateur draft. Signed June 16, 2004.

2007 Draft Watch: Hunter Pence

2006 Minor League Highlights:

Hit .283 with 28 home runs and 17 stolen bases in his first full season at Double A Corpus Christi...led the Hooks in home runs, RBI (95) and runs (97)...finished second on the team with 17 stolen bases (21 attempts)...represented the Hooks at the Futures Game in Pittsburgh and the TL All-Star Game...ranked among the TL leaders in several offensive categories, including triples (8-2nd), total bases (2nd-279), slugging (4th-.533), runs (3rd-97), RBI (5th-95), and extra-base hits (3rd-67)...batted .354 in April (35x99)...named TL Player of the Week for the week of May 8-14...hit safely in five of six games during the week, while smashing five home runs with 11 RBI...hit two home runs on May 10 at Arkansas...led the TL with 10 home runs in May...ranked seventh among all TL players with a .387 average (12x31) in the playoffs...was the TL postseason leader in RBI with nine...rated as the No. 6 prospect in the Houston organization by Baseball America heading into the season.

2007 Draft Watch: Ryan Braun

2006 Minor League Highlights:

Following the 2005 season was rated by Baseball America as Brewers Best Minor League Hitter for Average and the fifth-best prospect in the South Atlantic League...Entered the 2006 season as the third-best prospect in the Brewers organization according to Baseball America...Was named 2006 Brewers Minor League Player of the Year as he batted .289 with 22 HR, 77 RBI and 26 stolen bases in 118 games between Class-A Brevard County and Double-A Huntsville...Was a 2006 Florida State League All-Star and participated in the All-Star Futures Game in Pittsburgh.....following the season was named the sixth-best prospect in the Southern League according to Baseball America...Following the 2006 season played for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, where he was named to the All-Prospect Team, batting .326 with 6 HR, 25 RBI and 4 stolen bases in 25 games.....ranked among the AFL leaders in doubles (T1st, 9), extra-base hits (T1st, 16), slugging percentage (2nd, .641), home runs (T2nd) and RBI (T3rd).

2007 Draft Watch: Lincecum Ready to Join League

2006 Minor League Highlights:

Kicked off professional career in impressive fashion, combining to go 2- 0 with 1.71 ERA (6er, 31.2ip) in 8 starts between short-season Salem-Keizer and single-A San Jose...struck out 58 batters, against 12 walks...made 2 starts for Salem-Keizer, tossing 4.0-shutout innings...was elevated to San Jose Aug. 5 and went 2-0 with 1.95 mark (6er, 27.2ip) in 6 starts...won lone California League post season start, allowing 1 run over 7.0 innings...did not pitch in Instructional League after making equivalent of 35 starts between collegiate and professional seasons.

Rookie Josh Johnson Now 11-2

Atlanta (AP) - The Braves found a gem with the 15th pick of this past season's draft. Rookie right hander Josh Johnson is one of the big reasons for the Braves success this season. Johnson has posted a sizzling 11-2 mark with a 3.42 ERA in 41 games this season. Originally selected to be a starter, Johnson has won a whopping 11 games out of the pen this season.

Starting Pitching Stat

Least Hits Allowed This Season by a Starter

4/30 2 M Morris of TOA vs. SFN in 9 innings
5/ 7 2 J Verlander of LAN vs. NYA in 9 innings
5/ 9 2 E Santana of CLA vs. SFN in 9 innings
6/21 2 T Lilly of TOA vs. NYA in 9 innings
7/ 3 2 J Peavy of FLN vs. ANA in 9 innings

Sizemore's Double Key to Braves' 3-Run Rally in 9th

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 Minnesota Twins At 2006 Atlanta Braves               6/29/2006

 

  Twins              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Braves             AB  R  H RBI AVG

  I.Suzuki CF         4  1  1  0 .341     G.Sizemore CF       3  1  3  2 .284  

  T.Graffanino 2B     5  1  2  2 .285     D.Jeter SS          4  0  2  1 .309  

  D.Ortiz DH          3  1  1  0 .265     C.Jones 3B          3  0  1  0 .288  

  C.Lee LF            4  1  1  0 .280     F.Thomas DH         4  0  0  0 .177  

  A.Huff 1B           4  0  0  0 .258     K.Youkilis 1B       4  1  2  1 .268  

  H.Matsui RF         4  0  1  2 .441     N.Swisher LF        3  1  1  0 .252  

  P.Lo Duca C         4  0  0  0 .318     J.Posada C          3  0  0  0 .290  

  C.Koskie 3B         2  0  0  0 .292     R.Durham 2B         4  1  1  1 .239  

  J.Wilson SS         4  0  0  0 .253     J.Davanon RF        3  1  0  0 .000  

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      34  4  6  4                 Totals      31  5 10  5

 

 

Twins........... 1 0 2  0 0 0  0 0 1  -  4  6  1

Braves.......... 1 0 0  0 1 0  0 0 3  -  5 10  1

 

Twins (47-35)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

R.Halladay                7       6   2   1   3   7   0   3.05  A1 D1

C.Britton HOLD(5th)       1       1   0   0   1   0   0   3.04  D2 D4

T.Jones LOSS(1-3) BS(2nd) 0 1/3   2   3   3   1   0   1   4.12  D5 D8

A.Embree                  0 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   2.08  D9

Totals                    8 2/3  10   5   4   5   8   1

 

Braves (50-29)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

J.Lackey                  8       6   4   4   5   4   1   4.06  A1 E2

J.Johnson WIN(9-2)        1       0   0   0   0   1   0   2.71  E3

Totals                    9       6   4   4   5   5   1

 

ATTENDANCE- 48,987 DATE- Saturday, June 29th 2006 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Marvin Hudson, Gary Cederstrom, Dale Scott, Ian Lamplugh

T- 3:15

LEFT ON BASE- Twins:10  Braves: 5

DOUBLE PLAYS- Twins: 4  Braves: 0

ERRORS- P.Lo Duca, R.Durham

DOUBLES- H.Matsui(4th), G.Sizemore(30th), R.Durham(17th)

TRIPLES- T.Graffanino(2nd)

HOME RUNS- T.Graffanino(5th), K.Youkilis(6th)

STOLEN BASES- I.Suzuki(20th), G.Sizemore(12th), D.Jeter-2(14th), J.Davanon(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- G.Sizemore

WALKS- I.Suzuki, D.Ortiz-2, C.Lee, C.Koskie, G.Sizemore, C.Jones, N.Swisher,

       J.Posada, J.Davanon

HIT BY PITCH- A.Huff, C.Koskie, G.Sizemore

STRIKE OUTS- I.Suzuki, D.Ortiz, C.Lee, H.Matsui, P.Lo Duca, C.Jones, F.Thomas-2,

             K.Youkilis-2, J.Posada, R.Durham, J.Davanon

GIDP- D.Jeter, F.Thomas, N.Swisher, J.Posada

PASSED BALLS- P.Lo Duca

 

With the hometown crowd on the edge of their seats, Atlanta Braves came from

behind to top Minnesota Twins, 5 to 4.

 

Atlanta erupted with the game winning runs in the 9th inning with 3 runs

utilizing 3 base hits.  Kevin Youkilis opened up the scoring as he lofted a

solo-blast 'downtown'.  Nick Swisher came next and he drew a walk.  After an

out was recorded, Ray Durham stepped in and he doubled.  Jeff Davanon

followed, but he was set down on strikes.  Grady Sizemore stepped into the

box and doubled.  Atlanta had 10 hits for the afternoon while Minnesota had

6.  

 

Josh Johnson(9-2) got the win allowing no runs in 1 inning. Todd Jones(1-3)

suffered the loss in relief.  He surrendered 3 runs and 2 hits in 1/3 of an

inning.  

 

Todd Melton was all smiles after the ballgame, 'It sure was looking pretty dim

there for a while, but our guys never gave up - and neither did our fans -

they kept cheering us on.  What a sweet win!'

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Jays Lilly Outduels Yanks' Pettitte in 1-0 Thriller

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 New York Yankees At 2006 Toronto Blue-Jays           6/21/2006

 

  Yankees            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Blue-Jays          AB  R  H RBI AVG

  M.Teahen 3B         3  0  0  0 .235     B.Roberts 2B        3  1  2  0 .276  

  C.Monroe LF         4  0  0  0 .224     K.Greene SS         4  0  0  0 .278  

  R.Cano 2B           3  0  1  0 .300     M.Cabrera 3B        3  0  2  0 .375  

  J.Uribe SS          3  0  1  0 .217   A-J.Crede 3B          1  0  0  0 .192  

  D.Dejesus CF        3  0  0  0 .291     R.Howard 1B         3  0  1  1 .304  

  R.Sexson 1B         3  0  0  0 .244     V.Wells CF          4  0  2  0 .252  

  A.Kearns RF         2  0  0  0 .273     B.Kielty LF         4  0  0  0 .230  

  G.Laird C           3  0  0  0 .308     K.Mench RF          3  0  2  0 .202  

  A.Pettitte P        2  0  0  0 .308     D.Navarro C         2  0  1  0 .277  

B-C.Snyder PH         1  0  0  0 .311     T.Lilly P           3  0  0  0 .154  

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      27  0  2  0                 Totals      30  1 10  1

 

A-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Cabrera In 8th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Pettitte In 9th Inning

 

Yankees......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  2  0

Blue-Jays....... 1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0    -  1 10  0

 

Yankees (30-44)          IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

A.Pettitte LOSS(9-4)      8      10   1   1   3   8   0   3.83  A1

Totals                    8      10   1   1   3   8   0

 

Blue-Jays (44-33)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

T.Lilly WIN(3-7)          9       2   0   0   2   3   0   3.94  A1

Totals                    9       2   0   0   2   3   0

 

ATTENDANCE- 41,930 DATE- Friday, June 21st 2006 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Tim Timmons, Tim Tschida, Greg Gibson, Chuck Meriwether

T- 2:35

LEFT ON BASE- Yankees: 2  Blue-Jays: 8

DOUBLE PLAYS- Yankees: 4  Blue-Jays: 1

DOUBLES- K.Mench-2(5th)

WALKS- M.Teahen, A.Kearns, B.Roberts, R.Howard, D.Navarro

STRIKE OUTS- C.Monroe, R.Sexson-2, B.Roberts, K.Greene, M.Cabrera, R.Howard,

             V.Wells, B.Kielty, T.Lilly-2

GIDP- G.Laird, K.Greene-2, B.Kielty

WEB GEMS- Bot 1st: Mark Teahen robbed Ryan Howard of a base hit.

 

Ted Lilly allowed 2 hits while blanking New York and Brian Roberts had 2 base

hits as the Toronto ballclub beat the New York Yankees by a score of 1 to

0.

 

Lilly(3-7) was simply too much for the New York batters.  He didn't allow

much, just 2 hits and 2 walks in 9 innings improving his ERA from 4.39 to

3.94.  Toronto managed 10 hits in their victory.  

 

Andy Pettitte(9-4) was hit with the loss.  Toronto now has a record of 44-33.

With this loss, New York has a 4-6 record of late, 30-44, worst in the

division overall.

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Team Clutch Hitting Stats

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

Team Clutch Hitting
Team                          AB    H   HR   RBI   Avg
---------------------------  ---- --- ---- ----- -----
Minnesota Twins (MNA)         393 113   13   142  .288
Cleveland Indians (CLA)       440 125   23   166  .284
Washington Nationals (WAN)    403 110   14   150  .273
Florida Marlins (FLN)         390 104   21   147  .267
Los Angeles Dodgers (LAN)     433 115   17   142  .266
Arizona Diamond-Backs (ARN)   408 106    2   122  .260
Chicago White Sox (CHA)       384  99   15   127  .258
Kansas City Royals (KCA)      437 110   10   150  .252
Oakland A's (OAA)             377  94   15   133  .249
St. Louis Cardinals (SLN)     365  91   10   112  .249
Houston Astros (HON)          362  90   12   101  .249
New York Yankees (NYA)        346  85   13   113  .246
Seattle Mariners (SEA)        395  97   14   128  .246
Anaheim Angels (ANA)          431 105   14   138  .244
Atlanta Braves (ATN)          409  97   13   134  .237
Philadelphia Phillies (PHN)   372  86   17   129  .231
Toronto Blue-Jays (TOA)       360  82   14   109  .228
San Francisco Giants (SFN)    381  85   10   118  .223
Boston Red Sox (BOA)          364  81    9   105  .223
Pittsburgh Pirates (PIN)      395  84    9   111  .213

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Halos Flying High

Anaheim (AP) - The Angels are having a fine season so far sporting a 65-34 won-loss record this year. Three big reasons for their success is their starting pitching. Brett Myers is 12-3, Noah Lowry is 11-4 and Jarod Washburn is 10-4. Throw in a highly successful closer in Joe Nathan (0.91 ERA wih 16 saves) and one can see why the Angels are flying high this season.

Pujols Putting Up Big Numbers Again

Philadelphia (AP) - Albert Pujols is having another big season for the Fightin' Phils. In 96 games so far this season, Pujols is hitting .337 with a league leading 35 homers and 86 ribbies. Philadelphia is in third place in the Aaron Division with a 53-43 mark - just five games behind division leading Chicago.

Walk Off Homer by Matthews Dooms Redbirds

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 St. Louis Cardinals At 2006 Chicago White Sox         7/8/2006

 

  Cardinals          AB  R  H RBI AVG     White Sox          AB  R  H RBI AVG

  M.Mora 3B           4  0  1  0 .283     G.Matthews Jr CF    4  2  2  1 .339  

  A.Amezaga 2B        4  0  0  0 .287     J.Reyes SS          3  0  1  0 .305  

C-J.Francoeur PH      1  0  1  2 .213     D.Dellucci RF       4  1  2  1 .289  

E-J.Estrada C         0  0  0  0 .271     M.Jacobs 1B         4  1  2  0 .281  

  J.Drew RF           4  0  1  0 .317     D.Wright 3B         4  1  2  2 .309  

  M.Anderson DH       3  0  0  0 .289     E.Brown LF          4  0  1  0 .297  

D-S.Drew PH           1  0  0  0 .333     B.Phillips 2B       4  0  2  1 .232  

  E.Renteria SS       5  2  2  0 .249     J.Gibbons DH        4  0  1  0 .280  

  J.Payton LF         3  1  1  0 .295     R.Paulino C         3  0  0  0 .321  

  R.Branyan 1B        3  0  0  2 .148   F-C.Gomez PH          1  0  0  0 .000  

A-P.Konerko PH,1B     2  0  0  0 .288                                          

  N.Logan CF          3  1  1  0 .333                                          

  T.Hall C            3  0  0  0 .179                                          

B-P.Polanco PH,2B     1  0  0  0 .272                                          

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      37  4  7  4                 Totals      35  5 13  5

 

A-Pinch Hit For Branyan In 9th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Hall In 9th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Amezaga In 9th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Anderson In 9th Inning

E-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Francoeur In 9th Inning

F-Pinch Hit For Paulino In 10th Inning

 

Cardinals....... 0 1 0  0 0 1  0 0 2  0 -  4  7  1

White Sox....... 1 0 0  3 0 0  0 0 0  1 -  5 13  0

 

Cardinals (41-47)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

J.Westbrook               8      11   4   4   1   1   0   4.05  A1 D4

C.Baek                    0 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.84  D5 D7

M.McBride                 0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   2.73  D8 D8

C.Cordero LOSS(0-3)       0 1/3   1   1   1   0   0   1   4.18  D9

Totals                    9 1/3  13   5   5   1   3   1

 

White Sox (49-33)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

A.Cook                    8       5   2   2   3   3   0   4.50  A1 D5

M.Gonzalez W(2-2) BS(3rd) 2       2   2   2   4   3   0   3.86  D6

Totals                   10       7   4   4   7   6   0

 

ATTENDANCE- 41,212 DATE- Monday, July 8th 2006 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Marty Foster, Ron Kulpa, Mike Van Vleet, Randy Marsh

T- 3:31

LEFT ON BASE- Cardinals:10  White Sox: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Cardinals: 4  White Sox: 0

ERRORS- A.Amezaga

DOUBLES- N.Logan(2nd), M.Jacobs(18th), B.Phillips(14th)

TRIPLES- E.Renteria(2nd)

HOME RUNS- G.Matthews Jr(7th)

CAUGHT STEALING- J.Reyes

SACRIFICE HITS- J.Reyes

WALKS- M.Mora, J.Drew, M.Anderson, J.Payton-2, N.Logan-2, G.Matthews Jr

STRIKE OUTS- J.Drew-2, E.Renteria, P.Konerko-2, T.Hall, D.Wright, B.Phillips,

             J.Gibbons

GIDP- M.Jacobs, E.Brown, J.Gibbons, R.Paulino

 

One run was the difference at Comerica Park as the Chicago White Sox defeated

the St. Louis Cardinals in 10 innings 5 to 4.

 

Both teams were tied at 4 runs apiece after nine innings.  Chicago won the

hard fought contest in the 10th inning.  After an out was recorded, Gary

Matthews Jr cracked a solo homerun giving Chicago the win and sending the

home town fans into a frenzy.  Chicago finished with 13 hits while St. Louis

ended up with 7.  

 

Mike Gonzalez(2-2) was the winner allowing 2 runs in 2 innings. Chad

Cordero(0-3) took the loss in relief.  He pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up

1 hit and no walks.

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Current Standings Midway Thru Block 5

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2006 Millennium League
 
Brock                       WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Anaheim ANA             56  31  .644 ----    69  
2006 Florida FLN             49  38  .563  7.0        
2006 Seattle SEA             46  41  .529 10.0        
2006 San Francisco SFN       42  54  .438 18.5        
2006 Cleveland CLA           36  60  .375 24.5        
 
Killebrew                   WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Atlanta ATN             63  33  .656 ----    67  
2006 Toronto TOA             45  33  .577  9.0        
2006 Los Angeles LAN         43  41  .512 14.0        
2006 Kansas City KCA         43  41  .512 14.0        
2006 Houston HON             24  72  .250 39.0        
 
Koufax                      WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Washington WAN          46  35  .568 ----    77  
2006 Oakland OAA             44  40  .524  3.5        
2006 Arizona ARN             41  40  .506  5.0        
2006 Boston BOA              35  49  .417 12.5        
2006 Pittsburgh PIN          30  54  .357 17.5        
 
Aaron                       WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Chicago CHA             58  38  .604 ----    73  
2006 Minnesota MNA           43  32  .573  4.5        
2006 Philadelphia PHN        51  42  .548  5.5        
2006 St. Louis SLN           42  48  .467 13.0        
2006 New York NYA            36  51  .414 17.5        
 

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Current Standings Midway Through Block 4

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2006 Millennium League
 
Brock                       WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Anaheim ANA             45  27  .625 ----    93  
2006 Seattle SEA             32  25  .561  5.5        
2006 Florida FLN             29  28  .509  8.5        
2006 San Francisco SFN       25  35  .417 14.0        
2006 Cleveland CLA           20  40  .333 19.0        
 
Killebrew                   WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Atlanta ATN             38  19  .667 ----   101  
2006 Toronto TOA             33  24  .579  5.0        
2006 Los Angeles LAN         30  30  .500  9.5        
2006 Kansas City KCA         30  33  .476 11.0        
2006 Houston HON             19  44  .302 22.0        
 
Koufax                      WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Washington WAN          34  23  .596 ----   106  
2006 Oakland OAA             31  23  .574  1.5        
2006 Arizona ARN             31  29  .517  4.5        
2006 Boston BOA              26  37  .413 11.0        
2006 Pittsburgh PIN          18  36  .333 14.5        
 
Aaron                       WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Philadelphia PHN        38  28  .576 ----   102  
2006 Minnesota MNA           31  23  .574  1.0        
2006 Chicago CHA             37  29  .561  1.0        
2006 St. Louis SLN           31  35  .470  7.0        
2006 New York NYA            22  32  .407 10.0        

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Soriano's 3-Run Homer in 9th Dooms Dodgers

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 Anaheim Angels At 2006 Los Angeles Dodgers           6/18/2006



 



  Angels             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Dodgers            AB  R  H RBI AVG



  B.Abreu RF          3  0  1  1 .337     C.Crawford LF       5  0  1  0 .256  



  J.Barfield 2B       4  1  3  1 .308     O.Cabrera SS        5  1  2  0 .260  



C-C.Delgado PH,1B     1  1  0  0 .259     C.Utley 2B          5  1  2  2 .304  



  A.Soriano LF        5  2  2  4 .297     C.Blake RF          4  1  3  1 .270  



  S.Hillenbrand 1B    4  0  2  0 .325     A.Beltre 3B         1  1  0  0 .285  



D-N.Markakis PH       1  0  0  0 .337     S.Casey 1B          5  1  1  0 .264  



E-M.Izturis 2B        0  0  0  0 .291     J.Buck C            3  0  0  0 .290  



  T.Glaus 3B          5  1  3  1 .204     N.McLouth CF        3  0  1  1 .200  



  B.Molina C          5  0  1  0 .297     M.Buehrle P         1  0  0  1 .071  



  M.Scutaro SS        2  0  0  0 .247   A-G.Sheffield PH      1  0  0  0 .306  



  E.Chavez CF         4  1  1  0 .169     T.Coffey P          0  0  0  0 .000  



  J.Washburn P        2  0  0  0 .000     C.Wilson P          0  0  0  01.000  



  S.Kline P           0  0  0  0 ----                                          



B-C.Patterson PH      1  1  1  0 .294                                          



  J.Nathan P          0  0  0  0 ----                                          



                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      



         Totals      37  7 14  7                 Totals      33  5 10  5



 



A-Pinch Hit For Buehrle In 8th Inning



B-Pinch Hit For Kline In 9th Inning



C-Pinch Hit For Barfield In 9th Inning



D-Pinch Hit For Hillenbrand In 9th Inning



E-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Markakis In 9th Inning



 



Angels.......... 0 0 1  0 2 0  0 0 4  -  7 14  0



Dodgers......... 1 0 2  0 0 2  0 0 0  -  5 10  0



 



Angels (44-24)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET



J.Washburn                6 2/3   9   5   5   4   2   2   4.64  A1 D5



S.Kline WIN(3-0)          1 1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   5.33  D6 E1



J.Nathan SAVE(15th)       1       1   0   0   0   1   0   0.72  E2



Totals                    9      10   5   5   5   3   2



 



Dodgers (26-27)          IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET



M.Buehrle                 8      10   3   3   3   6   2   5.33  A1 D8



T.Coffey L(1-1) BS(1st)   0 1/3   3   3   3   0   0   1   3.72  D9 E3



C.Wilson                  0 2/3   1   1   1   0   1   1   5.18  E4



Totals                    9      14   7   7   3   7   4



 



ATTENDANCE- 32,343 DATE- Tuesday, June 18th 2006 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good



UMPIRES- Tim Timmons, Tim Tschida, Greg Gibson, Chuck Meriwether



T- 3:13



LEFT ON BASE- Angels: 8  Dodgers:10



DOUBLE PLAYS- Angels: 1  Dodgers: 2



DOUBLES- J.Barfield(9th), E.Chavez(2nd), C.Utley(18th), S.Casey(14th)



HOME RUNS- J.Barfield(5th), A.Soriano-2(12th), T.Glaus(9th), C.Utley(13th),



           C.Blake(11th)



SACRIFICE HITS- J.Washburn, M.Buehrle-2



SACRIFICE FLIES- B.Abreu



WALKS- B.Abreu, M.Scutaro-2, C.Blake, A.Beltre-3, J.Buck



HIT BY PITCH- A.Beltre, N.McLouth



STRIKE OUTS- B.Abreu, A.Soriano-2, T.Glaus, B.Molina, M.Scutaro, E.Chavez,



             O.Cabrera, C.Utley-2



GIDP- J.Barfield, B.Molina, S.Casey



 



Left fielder Alfonso Soriano blasted 2 homeruns and had 4 RBI as the Anaheim



Angels staged a dramatic comeback over the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of



7 to 5 at AT&T Park.



 



Anaheim came through with the game-winning runs in the 9th inning when they



tallied 4 runs on 4 hits.  The crucial at-bat was provided by Soriano who



deflated the mood of the partisan fans when he clubbed a three-run home run.



Anaheim ended up with 14 hits for the game while Los Angeles had 10.  



 



The win went to Steve Kline(3-0) who allowed no runs in 1 and 1/3 innings. Joe



Nathan earned his 15th save.  The loss was charged to Todd Coffey(1-1) in



relief.  He pitched 1/3 of an inning and surrendered 3 hits and no



walks.



 



'We just kept swinging the bats and didn't give up,' Soriano said. 'If you



just keep trying good things can happen!'

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Houston's Cole Hamels Fans 16

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 Houston Astros At 2006 Kansas City Royals            6/14/2006

 

  Astros             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Royals             AB  R  H RBI AVG

  J.Repko CF          5  0  0  0 .000     E.German 3B         4  0  0  0 .289  

  L.Berkman LF        4  1  1  2 .308     H.Ramirez SS        4  0  0  0 .266  

  G.Atkins 3B         3  1  0  0 .315     J.Bard C            4  0  2  0 .246  

  M.Piazza C          4  1  2  2 .310     P.Burrell LF        3  0  0  0 .226  

  B.Hawpe RF          4  2  2  2 .287     P.Ozuna DH          4  0  1  0 .273  

  M.Sweeney DH        4  2  1  1 .105     M.Ordonez RF        4  0  1  0 .261  

  R.Gload 1B          4  2  3  0 .340     A.Gonzalez 1B       2  0  0  0 .311  

  J.Castro 2B         4  1  1  2 .226     C.Granderson CF     3  0  0  0 .259  

  A.Cora SS           3  0  1  1 .156     M.Grudzielanek 2B   3  0  0  0 .269  

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      35 10 11 10                 Totals      31  0  4  0

 

 

Astros.......... 0 1 0  1 1 4  0 3 0  - 10 11  0

Royals.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  4  1

 

Astros (16-42)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Hamels WIN(2-7)         9       4   0   0   2  16   0   9.94  A1

Totals                    9       4   0   0   2  16   0

 

Royals (28-30)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

D.Haren LOSS(2-6)         5 1/3   7   6   6   2   3   2   7.75  A1 C5

M.Delcarmen               1 2/3   2   3   3   3   1   0   8.44  C6 D6

B.Wickman                 0 2/3   2   1   1   1   1   0   3.42  D7 E2

B.Jenks                   1 1/3   0   0   0   1   1   0   3.78  E3

Totals                    9      11  10  10   7   6   2

 

ATTENDANCE- 27,918 DATE- Friday, June 14th 2006 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Jerry Meals, Larry Young, Rob Drake, Bill Miller

T- 3:08

LEFT ON BASE- Astros: 5  Royals: 6

DOUBLE PLAYS- Astros: 0  Royals: 2

ERRORS- J.Bard

DOUBLES- P.Ozuna(3rd)

TRIPLES- R.Gload-2(3rd)

HOME RUNS- B.Hawpe(5th), M.Sweeney(1st)

WALKS- L.Berkman, G.Atkins-2, M.Piazza, B.Hawpe, M.Sweeney, A.Cora, P.Burrell,

       A.Gonzalez

STRIKE OUTS- J.Repko-3, L.Berkman, M.Sweeney, J.Castro, E.German-3, H.Ramirez-3,

             J.Bard, P.Burrell, P.Ozuna-2, A.Gonzalez, C.Granderson-3,

             M.Grudzielanek-2

GIDP- J.Repko, B.Hawpe

WILD PITCHES- D.Haren, M.Delcarmen

WEB GEMS- Top 9th: Mark Grudzielanek robbed Brad Hawpe of a base hit.

 

Cole Hamels struck out 16 batters and right fielder Brad Hawpe slammed a

homerun and had 2 RBI as the Houston Astros ballclub embarrassed the Kansas

City Royals by the count of 10 to 0.

 

Hamels(2-7) was on top of his game.  He gave up just 4 hits and 2 walks in 9

innings.  Houston rapped out 11 hits for the night.  

 

Dan Haren(2-6) was the loser.  He was not very effective, surrendering 6 runs

in 5 and 1/3 innings.  'Hamels just dominated us' losing pitcher Haren said.

'Hopefully we can get to him the next time around'

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Complete List of League No-Hitters

No-Hitters:
N. Lowry, Florida Marlins (7/18/2005) PERFECT GAME
J. Weaver, Houston Astros (8/11/2004)
D.Dreifort, San Francisco Giants (7/20/2003)
J. Contreras, Anaheim Angels (4/18/2003)
P. Martinez & J. Smoltz, Boston Red Sox (10/9/2002) POSTSEASON
R. Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (9/17/2002)
J. Anderson, B. Witt, Houston Astros (9/15/2001) PERFECT GAME
B. Duckworth, N. Cruz & M. Rivera, New York Yankees (8/22/2001)
B. Stein & S. Rain, Anaheim Angels (9/13/2000)
F. Castillo, Anaheim Angels (6/17/2000)

Twins Santana Leads League with 86 Strikeouts

Cabrera Continues Hot Hitting

Toronto (AP) - Blue Jays slugger Miguel Cabrera continues his hot hitting. Cabrera, the first player taken in the 2003 draft by Toronto, has put up some amazing numbers this season: .421 batting average, 11 homers and 55 ribbies in just 57 games. Cabrera, in three previous seasons, is a .293 lifetime hitter and has 82 roundtrippers......

Halladay Cruises in 10-0 Shutout

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 Chicago White Sox At 2006 Minnesota Twins             5/4/2006

 

  White Sox          AB  R  H RBI AVG     Twins              AB  R  H RBI AVG

  J.Reyes SS          4  0  0  0 .234     I.Suzuki CF         5  2  1  0 .346  

  B.Phillips 2B       1  0  0  0 .256     T.Graffanino 2B     5  2  2  1 .364  

A-R.Garko PH          1  0  1  0 .167     A.Huff 1B           4  2  2  1 .271  

B-D.Wright 3B         2  0  0  0 .301     C.Lee LF            4  1  2  4 .245  

  J.Gibbons RF        3  0  1  0 .238     D.Ortiz DH          4  1  1  0 .333  

  D.Dellucci LF       3  0  0  0 .292     C.Koskie 3B         5  0  1  2 .313  

  X.Nady 1B           4  0  0  0 .235     P.Lo Duca C         3  0  0  0 .317  

  G.Matthews Jr CF    4  0  0  0 .382     C.Counsell SS       3  1  2  0 .667  

  T.Greene C          4  0  1  0 .333     S.Choo RF           3  1  1  1 .167  

  T.Salmon DH         3  0  1  0 .286                                          

  O.Infante 3B,2B     2  0  1  0 .237                                          

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      31  0  5  0                 Totals      36 10 12  9

 

A-Pinch Hit For Phillips In 4th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Garko In 4th Inning

 

White Sox....... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  5  3

Twins........... 3 3 0  2 0 2  0 0    - 10 12  1

 

White Sox (17-9)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

J.Bonderman LOSS(2-3)     1 2/3   6   6   3   1   1   0   3.18  A1 B4

J.Pineiro                 6 1/3   6   4   4   5   2   1   4.32  B5

Totals                    8      12  10   7   6   3   1

 

Twins (13-10)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

R.Halladay WIN(3-1)       9       5   0   0   2   3   0   2.11  A1

Totals                    9       5   0   0   2   3   0

 

ATTENDANCE- 17,246 DATE- Saturday, May 4th 2006 TIME- Night 

UMPIRES- Dana Demuth, Doug Eddings, Charlie Reliford, Mark Carlson

T- 3:10

LEFT ON BASE- White Sox: 7  Twins: 8

DOUBLE PLAYS- White Sox: 1  Twins: 1

ERRORS- J.Reyes, J.Gibbons, O.Infante, C.Counsell

DOUBLES- T.Graffanino(7th), C.Lee(4th), S.Choo(1st)

TRIPLES- A.Huff(1st), C.Counsell(1st)

HOME RUNS- C.Lee(8th)

STOLEN BASES- I.Suzuki(6th), S.Choo(1st)

WALKS- J.Gibbons, O.Infante, A.Huff, C.Lee, D.Ortiz, P.Lo Duca, C.Counsell,

       S.Choo

HIT BY PITCH- D.Dellucci

STRIKE OUTS- D.Wright, G.Matthews Jr, T.Greene, I.Suzuki, D.Ortiz, C.Koskie

GIDP- X.Nady

WEB GEMS- Top 1st: Corey Koskie robbed Brandon Phillips of a base hit.

 

Roy Halladay tossed a complete game shutout and left fielder Carlos Lee went

deep and had 4 RBI as the Minnesota Twins crushed the Chicago White Sox 10 to

0.Minnesota banged out 12 hits on the night.  

 

Halladay(3-1) went the distance for the shutout. Jeremy Bonderman(2-3) was the

loser.  He pitched 1 and 2/3 innings allowing 6 hits and 1 walk.

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Slow Starts This Year........

Anaheim's Troy Glaus is batting just .194.......D-Backs Luis Gonzalez has failed to hit a homerun yet.......the "Big Hurt", Atlanta's Frank Thomas is batting a lowly .172.......in seven starts, Boston's Matt Cain is 0-6 with a 5.84 ERA.......White Sox' Paul Maholm is 1-3 with a 9+ ERA......the Tribe's Scott Baker has a 9.87 ERA in 8 starts.......Marlins' Doug Davis' ERA is 8.06.......Jose Molina is batting just .198 for struggling Houston.......defending champ Kansas City has Danny Harren getting hit hard with a 2-4 record and 7.66 ERA......LA's Mark Buehrle is 0-5........Twin's Josh Beckett has a 6.30 ERA, but he does have four wins......Yanks' Chone Figgins is batting .194 with just two RBI's......A's Raul Ibanez is hitting just .207 with two homers.....Eric Chavez is hitting only .169 for Philly.......Buccos' Russell Martin is hitting arely above .200.......Giants Zach Duke has an ERA close to 7.00.......Seattle's Mike Camerson is hitting only .185 with 150+ at bats.......Redbirds Edgar Renteria is batting just .197.......Jay's Chris Carpenter's ERA is 5.84........Nats Chris Capauno is 2-4 with a 6.33 ERA.....

Jays and Cabrera Off to Fast Start

Toronto (AP) - The Toronto Blue Jays are off to a fast 25-14 mark this season thanks partly to the strong batting from Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera, a first round draft pick for the the Blue Jays in 2003, is having a fine season. He is batting .413 with 35 RBI's in his first 36 games. He leads the league in batting and is tied for second in runs batted in. Last season, he hit .307 with 36 rountrippers and 107 runs batted in.

Current Standings Midway Thru Block 2

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2006 Millennium League
 
Brock                       WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Anaheim ANA             20  13  .606 ----   131  
2006 Seattle SEA             18  12  .600   .5        
2006 Florida FLN             12  15  .444  5.0        
2006 Cleveland CLA           11  16  .407  6.0        
2006 San Francisco SFN       13  23  .361  8.5        
 
Killebrew                   WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Atlanta ATN             23  13  .639 ----   131  
2006 Toronto TOA             22  14  .611  1.0        
2006 Kansas City KCA         12   9  .571  3.5        
2006 Los Angeles LAN         14  19  .424  7.5        
2006 Houston HON              7  23  .233 13.0        
 
Koufax                      WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Oakland OAA             22  17  .564 ----   130  
2006 Washington WAN          18  15  .545  1.0        
2006 Arizona ARN             13  11  .542  1.5        
2006 Pittsburgh PIN          12  18  .400  5.5        
2006 Boston BOA              13  20  .394  6.0        
 
Aaron                       WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC#
2006 Chicago CHA             20  10  .667 ----   132  
2006 Minnesota MNA           13  11  .542  4.0        
2006 Philadelphia PHN        17  16  .515  4.5        
2006 New York NYA            11  13  .458  6.0        
2006 St. Louis SLN           12  15  .444  6.5        
 

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Boston survives to beat Oakland 15-12

Boston took a seemingly comfortable 12-4 lead into the bottom of the 8th, but 7 walks, 1 wild pitch, 4 pitchers and amazingly only 2 hits later, the A's tied the score at 12. In the top of the 9th, Boston scored 3 runs, highlighted by Dan Uggla's 5th hit of the game have the Red Sox a 15-12 lead. Tom Gordon, who gave up the tying runs in the 8th, set down the A's in order to get the win.

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 Boston Red Sox At 2006 Oakland A's                   4/30/2006
 
  Red Sox            AB  R  H RBI AVG     A's                AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Damon CF          6  3  3  1 .264     W.Taveras CF        4  1  0  0 .230  
  D.Bell 3B           6  0  0  0 .293     M.Giles 2B          4  1  1  0 .189  
  D.Uggla 2B          6  4  5  6 .293     L.Overbay 1B        4  2  1  2 .244  
  M.Teixeira 1B       2  2  1  0 .253     A.Ramirez 3B        4  2  1  2 .314  
  K.Griffey Jr RF     6  1  3  5 .309     R.Langerhans RF     3  2  0  1 .212  
  N.Garciaparra DH    3  1  1  0 .308     R.Ibanez LF         4  1  2  1 .218  
  Y.Betancourt SS     5  1  1  1 .279     R.Hernandez C       4  1  1  2 .221  
  C.Burke LF          5  2  2  0 .103     J.Rollins SS        4  1  0  0 .200  
  B.Schneider C       4  1  1  2 .118     J.Giambi DH         5  1  1  1 .190  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      43 15 17 15                 Totals      36 12  7  9
 
 
Red Sox......... 1 0 1  0 2 0  0 8 3  - 15 17  3
A's............. 0 0 0  0 4 0  0 8 0  - 12  7  1
 
Red Sox (11-11)          IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Marquis                 7       5   4   0   3   3   0   3.20  A1 D4
M.Stanton                 0       1   3   3   2   0   0   4.15  D5 D7
S.Torres                  0 2/3   0   3   3   3   0   0   3.38  D8 E3
D.Wheeler                 0       0   2   2   1   0   0   6.48  E4 E5
T.Gordon WIN(2-1) BS(2nd) 1 1/3   1   0   0   1   2   0   2.89  E6
Totals                    9       7  12   8  10   5   0
 
A's (12-10)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Schmidt                 7       9   7   6   5   1   2   4.06  A1 D8
J.Crain LOSS(0-2)         1 2/3   8   8   8   3   0   1   7.15  D9 F6
S.Linebrink               0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   3.46  F7
Totals                    9      17  15  14   8   2   3
 
ATTENDANCE- 18,549 DATE- Tuesday, April 30th 2006 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Laz Diaz, Mike Reilly, Jeff Kellogg, Eric Cooper
T- 3:38
LEFT ON BASE- Red Sox:10  A's: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Red Sox: 1  A's: 1
ERRORS- D.Bell, D.Uggla, Y.Betancourt, A.Ramirez
DOUBLES- J.Damon(5th), D.Uggla(3rd), N.Garciaparra(4th), C.Burke(1st),
         L.Overbay(6th), A.Ramirez(7th)
HOME RUNS- D.Uggla-2(5th), K.Griffey Jr(3rd)
STOLEN BASES- J.Damon(4th)
WALKS- M.Teixeira-3, N.Garciaparra-3, Y.Betancourt, B.Schneider, W.Taveras-2,
       M.Giles-2, L.Overbay, R.Langerhans-2, R.Ibanez, R.Hernandez, J.Rollins
HIT BY PITCH- M.Teixeira, A.Ramirez
STRIKE OUTS- M.Teixeira, Y.Betancourt, W.Taveras, L.Overbay, R.Langerhans,
             J.Giambi-2
GIDP- B.Schneider, M.Giles
WILD PITCHES- M.Stanton
WEB GEMS- Top 3rd: Ryan Langerhans robbed Ken Griffey Jr of a Homerun!
 
Dan Uggla blasted 2 homeruns and had 6 RBI as the Boston Red Sox defeated the
Oakland A's by a score of 15 to 12 at SAFECO Field.
 
Boston had the game winning rally in the top of the 9th inning scoring 3 runs
on 4 hits.  Chris Burke led off and keyed the rally when he doubled.  After
an out was recorded, Johnny Damon came to the plate and ripped a base-knock.
Damon was running on the next pitch and he stole second.  After another out,
Uggla stepped in and he doubled.  Mark Teixeira stepped into the box and drew
a walk.  Ken Griffey Jr continued the rally and slapped a base-hit.  Griffey
Jr took second on the throw.  Nomar Garciaparra next to the plate and he was
walked intentionally to load the bases.  Yuniesky Betancourt was a strikeout
victim, unable to help out.  Boston lit up the scoreboard in the 8th inning
with 8 runs on 5 hits.  Boston finished with 17 hits while Oakland ended up
with 7.  
 
The victory was credited to Tom Gordon(2-1) who went 1 and 1/3 innings,
allowing no runs. Jesse Crain(0-2) was the losing pitcher in relief.  He
pitched 1 and 2/3 innings allowing 8 hits and 3 walks.
 

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Spring Training - Getting Ready For the 2006 Season

Far left: Mariners signing autographs; Left: Blue Jays working out; Below: Dodgers new facility in Arizona.

Red Sox Deal Smoltz to Braves

The Boston Red Sox traded righthander pitcher John Smoltz to Atlanta in exchange for the Braves' 2007 #1 draft pick. Smoltz, the #1 draft pick of the Red Sox in 2001, compiled the following stats for in his career with Boston: 5 seasons, 21-24 win/loss record, 3.18 ERA and 107 saves. Last season in his first starter role, Smoltz compiled a 15-12 record with a 3.35 ERA in 212 innings pitched.

First Round Draft Recap

The league champions Kansas City Royals picked Hanley Ramirez with the #1 pick - a no brainer selection. . . .the Giants might have surprised some with picking Andre Ethier #2, but he is a strong selection with high future upside. . . .the pitching starved Dodgers selected #3 Justin Verlander and will anchor their rotation for many seasons to come. . . .#4 Troy Tolowitzki will pay dividends for New York in the future as they now have Cano and Tolowitzki in the middle of their infield. . . .the Angels picked Nick Markakis at #5 and will anchor their right field position for years to come. . . .Russell Martin, picked by the Buccos, was the first catcher taken in the draft. . . .the A's plan to be patient with 21 year old centerfielder Matt Kemp. . .the Pirates selected again at #8 and picked Dustin Pedroia who needs another year of seasoning before full time playing time. . . .the Mariners, another team looking to bolster their rotation, selected Jon Lester at #9. . . .the Braves picked the best pure hitter on the board with #10 Ian Kinsler. . . .

Three starters went in straight succession: Cole Hamels (Astros), James Shields (D-Backs) and Adam Wainwright (Blue Jays). . . .the Redbirds, who wanted to take Wainwright, had to settle with Stephen Drew - the eventual replacement for aging shortstop Edgar Renteria. . . .the Braves might have gotten the steal of the draft at #15 with Josh Johnson . . . .the weak Red Sox offense was upgraded by picking second basemen Dan Uggla. . . .the pitching rich Twins added another quality arm in Jered Weaver. . . . .the Indians know shortstop Omar Vizquel's best days are behind him and decided to pick Ryan Theriot. . . . the Marlins decided to take corner outfielder Josh Willingham at #19. . . .rounding out the round, the Royals grabbed Chad Billingsley with the 20th pick. . . .

Dodgers Select Verlander to Bolster Staff

Los Angeles (AP) - The Dodgers selected Justin Verlander, a 22 year old right hander, with the third pick in the 2006 draft. Last year, Justin posted a 11-2 record with a 1.29 ERA between single-A (Lakeland) and double-A (Erie). The Dodgers will insert Verlander in their starting rotation and look for him to anchor the team for many seasons to come.

Previous #1 Picks

• Hanley Ramirez (2006) - selected by Kansas City
• Prince Fielder (2005) - selected by Seattle
• Matt Holliday (2004) - selected by Montreal
• Miguel Cabrera (2003) - selected by Toronto
• Carlos Zambrano (2002) - selected by Minnesota
• Albert Pujols (2001) - selected by Montreal
• Todd Helton (2000) - selected by Philadelphia

Royals Take Hanley Ramirez With First Pick

Kansas City (AP) – It’s not often that you see the previous year’s league champs have the first pick in the draft, but that is exactly the situation with the Royals this season. Kansas City and Washington orchestrated a blockbuster trade that included sending Carlos Beltran, Michael Young and Houston Street to Washington for Pat Burrell and the number #1 pick.

The Royals promptly made highly touted Hanley Ramirez the first pick in the 2006 draft. Ramirez, just 22 years old, spent last season with the AA Portland Sea Dogs in the Eastern League where he hit .271 with 6 homers, 52 RBI’s and 26 stolen bases.

Pirates Trade Oswalt to White Sox

Pittsburgh (AP) - The Pittsburgh Pirates traded veteran righty starter Roy Oswalt to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for their #1 and #3 round draft picks. Pittsburgh drafted Oswalt in the first round (third pick overall) of the 2001 draft.

In five seasons with the Buccos, Oswalt compiled a 55-38 record with a 3.76 ERA. He has two career shutouts. In the 2004 postseason, Oswalt went 1-1 with a 3.42 ERA in four starts as Atlanta eventually eliminated the Pirates in the Semi-Finals. Oswalt also made three starts in the 2002 postseason going 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA.

Pittsburgh now owns the 6th and 8th picks in the upcoming 2006 draft. . . .

Royals Win Title

Kansas City (AP) - In a series that came down to the wire, the Kansas City Royals beat the Florida Marlins in the final game to become Millennium League Champs. A recap of the series:

FL 3, KC 1 - Adam Everett hit a 3-run homer; Noah Lowery pitches five innings of one run ball before turning it over to the Marlin bullpen

FL 6, KC 1 - Jake Peavy fired a 4-hitter with 12 strikeouts; Derrek Lee hit two homers and drove in four runs

KC 2, FL 0 - Paul Byrd and three relievers spin shutout

KC 3, FL 2 - Danny Haren pitched six strong innings and Huston Street saved his 7th game in the postseason

FL 2, KC 1 - Another Lowery win - another one run game

KC 8, FL 4 - The Royals stay alive as Mark Grudzielanek goes 4 for 4, Michael Young (hitting .378 in the post season) hit a homer and Paul Byrd won his 5th in the post season

KC 1, FL 0 - Hank Blalock hit a homer and Danny Haren and Huston Street (9th save) made the run stand up