Yearly Archives: 2010

Cubs, Gorzelanny knock off Dodgers as Soto and Ramirez homer

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LOS ANGELES—Tom Gorzelanny got a chance to return to the Cubs’ rotation because of teammate Carlos Zambrano’s well-publicized blowup in the dugout. He has made the most of his second opportunity.Gorzelanny won for the second time in three starts after spending almost all of last month pitching out of the bullpen, and the Cubs got home runs from Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto in a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.Gorzelanny (4-5) allowed two runs — one earned — and six hits over six innings after being staked to an early 6-0 lead. The left-hander, who lost to the Dodgers on May 26 at Wrigley Field, walked only one after issuing six walks over five innings last Monday at Arizona in a 9-4 victory.John Ely (4-7) threw 47 pitches over 2 1/3 innings in the shortest of his 14 big league starts, after lasting only 2 2/3 innings last Monday in a 6-5 loss to Florida at Dodger Stadium. The 24-year-old right-hander was charged with six runs, five hits and three walks — one of them with the bases loaded.Ely has averaged 3.67 walks per nine innings over his last 10 starts, following a string of 89 consecutive batters in which he did not allow a base on balls.Ely is 1-6 with a 5.44 ERA in his past nine starts after recording his first three big league victories in consecutive outings.Ely’s father, Jack, is such a devout White Sox fan that he has steadfastly refused to attend any games at Wrigley Field. So he wasn’t on hand for his son’s first game in Chicago as a big leaguer on May 27, when he limited the Cubs to a run and four hits over 7 1/3 innings and lost 1-0.Marlon Byrd, who was 7 for 9 with three RBI during the first two games of the series, drew a leadoff walk in the second and scored on Starlin Castro’s single. Soto drove the next pitch into the left-field bullpen for his ninth homer.Six consecutive Cubs reached base during a three-run third after Ely got the first out. He hit Byrd on the left arm with a pitch before walking Alfonso Soriano with the bases loaded, then gave up RBI singles by Castro and Soto that extended the Cub lead to 6-0. It could have been worse, but left fielder Xavier Paul threw out Byrd trying to score behind Ramirez on Castro’s hit.The Dodgers got on the board in the second. First-time All-Star Andre Ethier dumped a bloop single to left in front of a diving Soriano to score Paul, and Rafael Furcal followed him home on a throwing error to third by Byrd as he backed up Soriano on the play.The rally began when Paul hit a grounder to first baseman Derrek Lee and umpire Jerry Layne ruled that Paul had beaten Gorzelanny in a foot race to the bag on a bang-bang play.Lou Piniella came out to argue. When the inning was over, Piniella came back on the field to pick up the argument and was ejected for the first time since Aug. 9, 2009.Ramirez got one of the runs back in the seventh with a first-pitch homer off Carlos Monasterios, who was making his first appearance since his start against Boston on June 18. He missed 14 games while on the disabled list because of a blister on his index finger.Ethier capped the scoring in the ninth with another RBI single, this one off Carlos Marmol.

NOTES—Manny Ramirez, on a rehab assignment with Class A Inland Empire, is expected to be activated next Thursday at St. Louis after his second stint on the disabled list this season. … Furcal was selected to replace injured Mets SS Jose Reyes on the NL All-Star roster.

Bulls sign Korver, give Reddick an offer sheet which Orlando may match

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DEERFIELD—Kyle Korver is following Carlos Boozer from Utah to the Bulls after agreeing to sign a three-year deal for about $15 million.Korver is a career 41-percent 3-point shooter who hit 59 of 110 last year while averaging 7.2 points. The Bulls were desperately in need of a shooting guard and now they have one.The Bulls may have held back a large sum of money for LeBron, but that doesn’t mean they’re just going to hang on to it. Hours after signing Korver, they have also inked sharpshooter J.J. Redick to a three-year, $20 million offer sheet.Redick is restricted, so Orlando has seven days to match. And most expect the Magic to match the offer and keep Redick in Orlando, but GM Otis Smith has said he won’t overpay for him . Is $6.6 million a year overpaying for Redick, a guy that averaged 9.6 points per game? I guess that’s up to Smith to decide. However, with Orlando just signing Chris Duhon this week, maybe that was a contingency plan in case the Magic lost Redick and needed backcourt depth.But if the Magic don’t match, the Bulls would have a pretty impressive sharpshooting duo in Korver and Redick. It’s not hard to picture Derrick Rose penetrating and kicking to either one of those guys for an open 3.

Sox stay hot, blast Royals

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Mark Buehrle’s on a nice roll. The are on a tear.A.J. Pierzynski’s two homers led an 8-2 win over the Kansas City Royals — the Sox sixth straight victory and 23rd in 28 games.Buehrle took a line drive off his right (non-throwing) wrist on Scott Podsednik’s leadoff single in the first, but was not seriously injured. The left-hander allowed six hits in seven-plus innings and was replaced by Sergio Santos after walking David DeJesus to start the eighth.But it was a scary moment for the White Sox, especially after right-hander Jake Peavy revealed Friday he would have season-ending surgery next Wednesday on a detached muscle behind his right shoulder.Buehrle (8-7) is 5-1 in his last six starts with a 2.23 ERA as the pitching continues to be the major reason for the team’s surge.His performance followed a two-hit shutout by John Danks against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. The White Sox (47-38) are a season-high nine games over .500 and remained a half-game behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.Kansas City had its three-game winning streak snapped and lost for the third time in 11 games. The Royals were coming off a sweep of the Mariners in Seattle.Pierzynski, who entered the game in a 1-for-17 slide, had a solo homer in the fourth and a three-run shot in the eighth, giving him six homers this season. Andruw Jones, who had been 2 for 23, had three hits, including a two-run single in the second off the left field fence.Yuniesky Betancourt hit a two-run homer in the ninth for Kansas City off newcomer Jeffrey Marquez.Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin began the second with singles and, after Pierzynski sacrificed, Jones hit his two-run single.Pierzynski’s first homer finished Kansas City starter Bruce Chen (5-3) after 3 1/3 innings, his shortest start of the season. Slowed by a bout with strep throat, Chen gave up six hits and three runs.Gordon Beckham had a leadoff double in the fifth off reliever Kanekoa Texeira, Juan Pierre followed with a bunt single and Beckham scored on Alexei Ramirez’s double-play grounder to make it 4-0.Konerko hit a two-out RBI double in the eighth off Victor Marte. After a walk to Quentin, Pierzynski connected again.

NOTES—Buehrle is 21-11 against the Royals and 1-2 this season…..Royals OF Jose Guillen, who strained a quadriceps muscle Tuesday, was out of the lineup…..Buehrle threw a season-high 114 pitches.

Cubs drop another to Dodgers despite four hits by Byrd

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LOS ANGELES—Russell Martin hit a three-run homer, All-Star Andre Ethier had a pair of RBI singles and Casey Blake drove in two runs, helping Los Angeles beat the Cubs 9-7 Friday.With NL West-leading San Diego losing at Colorado, Los Angeles and the Rockies are tied for second place, two games behind the Padres.The Dodgers have won eight of 11, and they finally broke out some offense against the Cubs, who have lost the first two games of this series. Neither team had scored more than three runs in any of the previous four games between them at Dodger Stadium.Chad Billingsley (7-4) won his third in a row, allowing four runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings. He struck out nine and walked four, then watched as the bullpen gave up four runs in the final two innings.Ted Lilly (3-8) gave up seven runs — five earned — and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. The left-hander struck out one, tying a season low, and walked two in losing his second straight start.The Dodgers took a 3-1 lead in the second on Martin’s 15th homer, his first since May 11, a span of 46 games. It also scored James Loney, who had singled, and Blake, who walked. Loney went 2 for 3 with a double and his team-leading 59th RBI.The Cubs pulled to 3-2 in the third on All-Star Marlon Byrd’s RBI single — the third straight two-out hit given up by Billingsley. He walked Tyler Colvin before striking out Mike Fontenot to end the inning with minimal damage.Byrd had a season-high four hits and three RBI in five at-bats to go with his 3-for-4 performance in the series opener. Aramis Ramirez had three hits in four at-bats, with a double and a triple.The Dodgers added three more runs in the third on an RBI single by Ethier, Matt Kemp’s RBI double and Blake’s sacrifice fly that made it 6-2.Ethier had a two-out RBI single in the fourth to chase Lilly. Blake added an RBI double in the fifth off Mitch Atkins, extending the lead to 8-3.Loney’s RBI double off Bob Howry with two outs in the sixth made it 9-3.The Cubs got a bases-loaded groundout by Fontenot in the second and Byrd’s RBI groundout in the fifth.

NOTES—Lou Piniella said Carlos Silva is questionable to make his scheduled start Sunday. Silva threw a “so-so” session Friday, Piniella said, adding that he expects the pitcher to be fine after the All-Star break. Silva injured his upper right calf at Arizona on Tuesday. … The Cubs gave Starlin Castro and Geovany Soto the night off before Saturday’s day game. Alfonso Soriano struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth after the Cubs scored two runs to close the gap to 9-5. … Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez and C Brad Ausmus will be at Class-A Inland Empire on Saturday for rehab assignments. … Dodgers fans cheered “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks, who smiled and waved in response.

Swisher,Votto win “Last Man” votes, added to AL and NL All Star teams.

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ANAHEIM—The American and National Leagues have added a couple of booming bats to their bench Tuesday in Anaheim with the selection of Nick Swisher and Joey Votto, now that fans have spoken loudly in the four-day All-Star Final Vote.The White Sox Paul Konerko was third inthe AL voting behind Swisher and Kevin Youkilis
2010 All-Stars

AL starters |

C: J. Mauer, MIN

1B: J. Morneau, MIN

2B: R. Cano, NYY

SS: D. Jeter, NYY

3B: E. Longoria, TB

OF: J. Hamilton, TEX

OF: I. Suzuki, SEA

OF: C. Crawford, TB

DH: V. Guerrero, TEX

NL starters |

C: Y. Molina, STL

1B: A. Pujols, STL

2B: C. Utley, PHI

SS: H. Ramirez, FLA

3B: D. Wright, NYM

OF: R. Braun, MIL

OF: A. Ethier, LA

OF: J. Heyward, ATL

Furcal blast carries Dodgers past Cubs 3-2

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LOS ANGELES—Rafael Furcal hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Cubs 3-2 in their series opener.Kershaw (9-4) struck out a season-high 12 — one off his career best — in eight innings, tying his longest outing. The 22-year-old left-hander allowed two runs and seven hits for his second straight win, and didn’t walk anyone for the second time in his career.Jonathan Broxton worked a scoreless ninth for his 19th save in 21 chances and the Dodgers won for the fourth time in six games.All-Star Marlon Byrd went 3 for 4 for the Cubs, whose three-game winning streak was snapped.Byrd was ejected in the ninth inning for arguing a strike call after the first base Umpire rung him up on a check swing attempt.Furcal’s season-long 10-game hitting streak ended in a 4-0 loss to Florida on Wednesday night, when he was hitless in four at-bats, but he picked right back up against the Cubs. He had three hits and got hit by a pitch.His 15th homer came on the first pitch from Randy Wells (4-7). It sailed inches inside the foul pole in right field and gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Russell Martin, who led off with a single and was sacrificed to second, also scored.Furcal has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, batting .500 with 17 runs, four homers and 15 RBI since June 26, two days after Furcal returned from the bereavement list after his father died.Wells gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings, struck out seven and walked one in falling to 0-3 against the Dodgers.Furcal had Wells second-guessing himself on the home run pitch.The Dodgers led 1-0 in the first after James Loney’s RBI single scored Furcal, who doubled leading off.The Cubs tied it in the second on Alfonso Soriano’s 15th homer on the first pitch from Kershaw. They took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on Geovany Soto’s RBI single.

  

  

NOTES—Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez will begin a rehab assignment as a DH with Class-A Inland Empire on Saturday. Torre said Ramirez should be ready to return after the All-Star break. The slugger is on the DL with a strained right hamstring. … The Dodgers took a 1,019-1,017 lead in the all-time series between the teams that began in 1890. 

Danks blanks Angels 1-0, complete four game sweep

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John Danks got the ball, took the signs from catcher A.J. Pierzynski and then let it go. And for six innings, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim couldn’t hit what he delivered.After losing his no-hit bid to start the seventh, Danks maintained his composure and finished with his first career shutout on a two-hitter as the surging White Sox beat the Angels 1-0, completing a four-game sweep and winning for the 22nd time in 27 games.The game lasted only 1 hour, 50 minutes on a muggy 79-degree day. Stepping up just a day after the White Sox learned they might be without ace Jake Peavy for the rest of the season, Danks, whose previous low-hit performance was a three-hitter last September against the Indians — his only other complete game — worked quickly and was in control of his pitches from the outset.The sturdy lefty had no walks and seven strikeouts, winning a duel with the Angels’ Ervin Santana.The Sox got a run off Santana (8-7) in the first as he hit leadoff batter Juan Pierre with a pitch, Alex Rios doubled to left and Paul Konerko delivered a sacrifice fly.And then Danks made it stand up.Reggie Willits grounded a single just underneath the reach of Alexei Ramirez to lead off the seventh for the first hit against Danks, who’d lost his previous two starts. Howie Kendrick then followed with a single up the middle and the Angels had their first threat of the game.But Danks escaped, getting Torii Hunter on a fielder’s choice, Mike Napoli on a pop and then leaping high to snag Juan Rivera’s comebacker before throwing him out.So when did Danks realize he was working on a no-hitter, which could have been the fifth in the majors this season? The Sox won their fifth straight and moved within a half game of idle Detroit for first place in the AL Central.The only Angel to get on base in the first five innings was Cory Aldridge, who reached on third baseman Omar Vizquel’s two-out error in the third. Pierzynski then made a nice sliding, bobbling catch of Erick Aybar’s foul pop to end the inning.Santana gave up only three hits with three walks and four strikeouts to go with the one hit batsman — the only runner who scored in the entire game.

NOTES—With Danks on the mound, slumping lefties Hideki Matsui (4 for 22 in July) and Bobby Abreu (1 for 24) got the day off…..Guillen was asked how the White Sox would fill the rotation vacancy created by the injury to Peavy, who has a detached muscle behind his pitching shoulder. “I think you got to stay in the organization. You don’t just pull up the magic thing and make a trade,” Guillen said. “I think you’ve got to stay in the organization.” Daniel Hudson, 11-4 at Triple-A Charlotte, is a possibility.

Bulls lose out on Wade and Bosh,but agree to terms with Boozer. James decision on Thursday,likely to Miami

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Carlos Boozer is headed to the Bulls. Now what about you, LeBron James? A person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press that Boozer, a two-time All-Star forward, agreed to a deal on Wednesday and is leaving the Utah Jazz after six seasons. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract can’t become official until 12:01 a.m. Thursday, did not reveal the terms.Several outlets have reported it’s a five-year deal, and the Tribune cited a source saying the Bulls would still have enough room to offer a maximum salary contract to another free agent. The NBA set the salary cap at $58.04 million for next season on Wednesday.Upon arriving at O’Hare around Midnight Wednesday evening, Boozer told the Score’s Jason Goff that the #1 reason he is signing with the Bulls was “to win Championships”. Boozer becomes the latest chip to fall on a day when Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh confirmed they will play in Miami next season.James, the jewel of this star-studded class, is still out there. While everyone awaits his announcement on Thursday night, the Bulls at least know they’re not coming away empty-handed after landing Boozer.Anticipating about $30 million in cap room, the Bulls were looking to make a big splash in free agency after consecutive first-round playoff exits. Adding Boozer strengthens their standing in the Eastern Conference — and maybe makes them more attractive to James, his former teammate.Boozer averaged 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds last season. His arrival gives the Bulls a formidable pair in the frontcourt with Joakim Noah, not to mention a good pick-and-roll partner for All-Star point guard Derrick Rose.There is some irony to this. Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson’s brother, Jim, was Cleveland’s general manager when Boozer left the Cavaliers following the 2003-04 season.Cleveland, which could have exercised a one-year option after Boozer’s second season, thought they had a six-year, $41 million agreement in place and let him hit the market. Boozer wound up accepting a six-year, $68 million dollar contract as a restricted free agent that Cleveland chose not to match.Jim Paxson is now a Bulls’ consultant and scout.Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment Wednesday.With Boozer, the Bulls finally have a big man who will command double-teams — something they’ve craved for years — and can hit the jumper. They now have two double-double players, with Noah averaging 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds last season, and can still add a perimeter player.If they don’t get James, they could go after someone like Kyle Korver and Mike Miller.Boozer, meanwhile, has been limited by injuries in three of his six seasons with Utah and has clashed at times with management. But he played in 78 games the past season.The U.S. Olympian would be one of the top prizes in free agency most summers, but this one has been anything but typical with the likes of James, Bosh and Wade available.The Bulls put themselves in position to be major players by allowing Ben Gordon to sign with Detroit a year ago and trading John Salmons during the season. That gave them enough room to offer a maximum contract, but they didn’t stop there.They agreed to trade Kirk Hinrich and his $9 million salary along with the 17th pick to Washington on draft day, putting them in position to land two stars. That deal becomes official Thursday, when the Wizards can take on Hinrich’s salary for next season without having to send back something of similar financial value.

  

 

Sox roll on, beat Halos again, Peavy to D.L.

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Freddy Garcia has already matched the expectations of his manager.Before the season, Ozzie Guillen said if Garcia reached double digits in wins, the White Sox would take the AL Central.Garcia pitched six solid innings for his ninth victory, Paul Konerko hit a two-run double and the White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5-2 on a wet Wednesday for their fourth straight victory.The White Sox jumped ahead of the Minnesota Twins for second place in the AL Central and trail the Detroit Tigers by one game.The start of the game was delayed because of rain for two hours, 20 minutes.Paul Konerko hit a two-run double and won despite making five errors. The Angels lost their third in a row.Before the game, White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a detached muscle in the back of his right shoulder, an injury that will almost certainly end his season. He was hurt early in Tuesday night’s win over the Angels.Garcia (9-3), the most consistent pitcher in the White Sox rotation, allowed one unearned run and five hits. He has won six straight decisions against the Angels and is 15-3 over them lifetime.Not bad for someone that entered the season as the fifth starter in the rotation.Matt Thornton relieved with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth and retired Hideki Matsui on a flyball and Mike Napoli on a soft liner.Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save in 20 opportunities.Brent Lillibridge had a two-run single as the White Sox won for the 17th time in 21 games. The Angels have lost five of six.Joe Saunders (6-9), who came into the game with a 3-0 record and a 1.53 ERA in four outings against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, allowed five runs on 10 hits.Konerko doubled in the third after singles by Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios.The Angels took advantage of a two-out throwing error by third baseman Dayan Viciedo in the fifth for a run.The Sox added three runs in the sixth. Viciedo hit an RBI double with two outs and Lillibridge followed with a single that made it 5-1.The White Sox made two errors on the same play in the eighth, giving the Angels a run. With runners on first and second and one out, third baseman Omar Vizquel misplayed Torii Hunter’s bouncer. Ramirez at short picked the ball up and made an errant throw to second, allowing Erick Aybar to score from second.

  

NOTES—For the second straight game, Carlos Quentin was out of the lineup with a sore left knee. He is day-to-day. … The Angels and White Sox were delayed by rain for one hour, 41 minutes on Tuesday. 

Cubs earn first ever sweep in the desert over D-Backs

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PHOENIX—Aramis Ramirez seemed to take the first steps toward breaking out of his season-long funk. The rest of the team was swinging, too, scoring more runs than the previous 10 games combined. Even the pitching was decent.Their first three-game sweep at Chase Field could go a long way in turning the Cubs from woeful to at least hopeful.Ramirez hit a three-run homer, Ryan Dempster labored through five innings and the Cubs beat the free-swinging Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3 Wednesday.Outscored 35-12 in a recent seven-game homestand, the Cubs heated up in Chase Field’s air conditioning, scoring 23 runs to notch their first three-game sweep at Arizona’s spacious stadium in 16 series all-time.Starlin Castro had a two-run single as the Cubs roughed up Edwin Jackson (6-7) early and Ramirez put it out of reach in the ninth, hitting his third homer in two games off Chad Qualls to give the Cubs their first series win of any kind in Arizona since 2003.With four games against the Dodgers left before the All-Star break, the Cubbies have reason for optimism in a season that hasn’t had much. The Diamondbacks are building momentum toward a record they don’t want.Continuing its whiff-a-palooza, Arizona hit 10-plus strikeouts for the fifth straight game to match a team record. The 10 Ks against the Cubs gives the Diamondbacks 69 in six games under interim manager Kirk Gibson and 793 on the season as they swing and miss toward the all-time record.It’s more than just strikeouts, though.Arizona hasn’t made many tangible strides under Gibson, losing five straight since winning in his debut last Thursday. The bullpen still has a knack for blowing up, the key hits never seem to come in the late innings and the Diamondbacks haven’t budged from the bottom of the NL West.In other words, they don’t look a whole lot different under Gibson than they did under A.J. Hinch – at least so far.Dempster (7-7) struck out six, but gave up three runs on eight hits in failing to reach the sixth inning for just the second time in 18 starts.He was still better than Jackson.Two starts removed from the second no-hitter in Diamondbacks’ history, Jackson was sharp early, holding the Cubs without a hit until Derrek Lee led off the fourth with a single to left.Once the Cubs got one hit, they kept going.Marlon Byrd knocked in Lee with a double, then Alfonso Soriano drove him in with a single. Dempster helped himself out in the inning, too, pushing a bunt toward first for a fielder’s choice that scored another run and put the Cubs up 3-0.He just couldn’t hold it in the bottom half.After working around three singles in the second inning and two baserunners in the third, Dempster gave up three runs in the fourth on Jackson’s flare single to center and Chris Young’s broken-bat, two-run single just over the head of Ramirez at third.Didn’t matter against the Diamondbacks.The Cubs continued to knock around Jackson in the fifth inning, going up 5-3 on a two-run single by Castro that left the right-hander so irritated he didn’t see the ball bound off the backstop on left fielder Gerardo Parra’s throwing error.Jackson didn’t come out for the sixth inning after giving up five runs on six hits for his first loss since May 28. The Diamondbacks went out with a whimper after Dempster left, unable to get a runner into scoring position against four relievers over the final four innings to get swept for the eighth time this season.

NOTES—Soriano was 0 for 2 in career game No. 1,400 and left in the bottom of the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow in the top half. … Arizona previously struck out 10 times or more in five straight games from April 29-May 3 earlier this season. … Piniella said he expects right-hander Carlos Silva to be ready for his next start after injuring his right calf against Arizona Tuesday night.