Tuesday’s National League Capsules

PHILADELPHIA(AP) —Placido Polanco(notes) hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Philadelphia beat Florida 8-7 on Tuesday night to move into first place in the NL East.
The Phillies moved a half-game ahead of football jersey
Atlanta, which lost 5-0 in Pittsburgh. The two-time defending NL champions hadn’t been in first place since May 30. They are seeking their fourth straight division title.
Ryan Howard(notes), Raul Ibanez(notes) and Shane Victorino(notes) hit solo homers for the Phillies, who were seven games behind the Braves on July 22.
After the Marlins rallied to tie it at 7 in the eighth, the Phillies answered with two outs in the bottom half. Victorino blooped a single to center off Jose Veras(notes) (2-2). He stole second and scored on Polanco’s liner to right.
Ryan Madson(notes) (5-2) got the last four outs to earn the win.
Mike Stanton(notes) homered for the third straight game for Florida.
Brewers 4, Cardinals 2=
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Trevor Hoffman(notes) added another milestone to his illustrious career, earning his 600th save by closing out Milwaukee’s win.
Four people were ejected by plate umpire Bob Davidson, including a fan, on a night that ended with Hoffman being carried off the field by his teammates.
The 42-year-old reliever, baseball’s career saves leader, lost his job as the Brewers’ closer in May after a string of bad outings. But he’s pitched better of late and has been getting ninth-inning work as the team tried to get him to No. 600.
The right-hander entered in the ninth and gave up a bloop single to Colby Rasmus(notes). Pinch-hitter Randy Winn(notes) grounded into a double play. Hoffman got pinch-hitter Aaron Miles(notes) to ground out and raised his arms in triumph as teammates rushed to mob him near the mound.
It was Hoffman’s ninth save in 14 chances this season, and 600th in 676 career chances.
Rockies 4, Reds 3=
DENVER (AP) - Carlos Gonzalez(notes) hit a three-run homer and Jhoulys Chacin(notes) pitched six strong innings in Colorado’s fifth consecutive win.
Gonzalez’s homer in the first inning was his 32nd of the season and gave him 100 RBIs. He’s in prime position to challenge for the NL Triple Crown, leading in average (.340), taking over the top spot in RBIs and vaulting into a third-place tie with Joey Votto(notes) and Mark Reynolds(notes) in homers.
Cincinnati dropped its third straight, but still maintained a six-game lead over St. Louis, which lost to Milwaukee 4-2.
Chacin (8-9) turned in his fourth straight outing in which he has surrendered two earned runs or less. The rookie right-hander allowed two runs and six hits, struck out five and walked one.
Huston Street(notes) worked the ninth for his 16th save.
Johnny Cueto(notes) (12-5) was with the Reds after missing a few days to attend a family emergency in the Dominican Republic. The righty lasted six innings, giving up four runs - three earned - and seven hits.
Padres 2, Dodgers 1=
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Mat Latos(notes) bounced back from stomach flu to strike out 10 for the third time in four starts for NL West-leading San Diego.
Latos held Los Angeles to four hits over seven innings. He set a major league record with his 15th straight start of five or more innings with two or fewer runs allowed. He had been tied with Greg Maddux(notes) (1993-94) and Mike Scott (1986) with 14.
Latos (14-5), who was scratched from his start Monday night due to stomach flu, lowered his major league-leading ERA from 2.25 to 2.21. His 10 strikeouts matched his career high, and his 113 pitches were a career high. He walked none.
Heath Bell(notes) got a five-out save, his 39th in 42 chances this year and his 26th straight.
It was the second straight win for the Padres following their 10-game losing streak. San Diego retained its one-game lead over San Francisco, which won 6-3 at Arizona.
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 3=
PHOENIX (AP) - Tim Lincecum(notes) struck out 11 and San Francisco hit three homers.
The Giants have won four straight and six of Dallas Cowboys jersey
seven.
Lincecum (13-9) allowed one runner, Miguel Montero’s(notes) single, through six innings before the Diamondbacks broke through in the seventh. He left after 6 2-3 innings, giving up three runs and five hits with no walks in 6 2-3 innings.
Aubrey Huff(notes), Freddy Sanchez(notes) and Pat Burrell(notes) homered off Barry Enright(notes) (6-3).Jeremy Affeldt(notes) induced a game-ending double play for a one-pitch save. It was his fourth of the season.
Chris Young homered for the Diamondbacks in a game that took just 2 hours, 16 minutes - Arizona’s shortest of the year.
Pirates 5, Braves 0=
PITTSBURGH (AP) - James McDonald(notes) pitched seven innings, Ronny Cedeno’s(notes) triple keyed a five-run seventh and last-place Pittsburgh beat Atlanta for the second straight day.
The Braves have scored only 12 runs while losing five of six, a slump that followed a five-game winning streak. The Pirates had lost seven of nine and were on pace to lose 109 games before winning the first two games of the three-game series.
Tim Hudson(notes) (15-7) held the Pirates to three hits over six shutout innings, but he retired only one batter during the Pirates’ breakthrough seventh. He was charged with four runs after pitching 28 consecutive innings against Pittsburgh without allowing an earned run.
McDonald (3-5) gave up five hits in seven innings.
Mets 4, Nationals 1=
WASHINGTON (AP) - Dillon Gee(notes) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his major league debut to lead New York.
The 24-year-old right-hander did a masterful job over seven innings. Willie Harris(notes) led off the sixth with a home run to right field, the only run the rookie would allow.
In a rare matchup of pitchers making big league debuts, Gee (1-0) outpitched Yunesky Maya(notes), a 28-year-old Cuban defector. Maya (0-1) allowed a three-run first-inning homer to Ike Davis(notes) and a run in the second before retiring 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.
Gee had an RBI single in his first major league at-bat, a single to right that scored Ruben Tejada(notes). For a while, Gee was the most perfect player in baseball history, sporting a 1.000 batting average and a 0.00 ERA. He spoiled it when he struck out in the fourth.
Astros 7, Cubs 3=
CHICAGO (AP) - Michael Bourn(notes) had three hits and three RBIs and Brett Wallace(notes) hit his first career home run for Houston.
Bourn scored twice for the Astros, who won for the 12th time in 16 games.
Astros starter Nelson Figueroa(notes) (5-2) pitched five innings to earn Minnesota Vikings jersey
the victory. He allowed three runs and six hits. Figueroa was backed by four scoreless innings from the Houston bullpen, which allowed only one hit.
Cubs starter Carlos Silva(notes) (10-6), who made his first start since Aug. 1, was tagged for six runs and nine hits in five innings.
Tyler Colvin(notes) drove in two runs on two hits for the Cubs.

Lou Marson and Indians slam Angels, 6-1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Indians catcher Lou Marson(notes) hasn’t allowed his struggles in the batter’s box this season to interfere with his solid work behind the plate.
Marson broke the game open in the sixth with his first career grand slam after Travis Hafner(notes) led off the inning with a go-ahead homer that was upheld by video replay, and Cleveland beat the fast-fading Los Angeles Angels 6-1 on Tuesday night.
“Lou has to work on his offensive game, obviously, but defensively he’s been one of the best catchers in the league. He’s been tremendous,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He not only is throwing guys out, but he’s also done a good job of blocking balls and calling the ballgame. And he knows our pitching staff, because some of nfl jersey
these guys who are up here now were with him in Triple-A after he went down. He’s done a great job leading those guys.”
Marson threw out Bobby Abreu(notes) trying to steal second base in the fourth inning, temporarily preventing Abreu from reaching 20 steals for the 12th straight season. Marson then threw out Torii Hunter(notes) at third for the first out of the seventh with the Angels down by five runs. Marson’s percentage of runners thrown out is an AL-best 36.5 (23 for 63).
“I take pride in my defense and my throwing,” Marson said. “That, and running the pitching staff, is my number one job.”
Hunter has been thrown out five times in his eight attempts to steal third base this season.
“It kind of caught me off guard, and maybe that’s what he was trying to do,” Marson said. “It was 6-1 at the time, so it surprised me. But I’ll take it. The pitchers holding runners on has a lot to do with it. It all comes down to them getting the ball to me in the least amount of Indianapolis Colts jersey
time.”
The Angels lost for the 11th time in 15 games, keeping the three-time defending AL West champions 9 1/2 games behind division-leading Texas with 23 remaining.
“If you’re not playing good baseball, it’s not going to matter if you’re playing on the moon or any other planet,” manager Mike Scioscia said, forgetting for a moment that the moon isn’t a planet. “This sounds like a broken record: We have to pick up our game. These guys are the guys that have to do it.
“There’s a level of frustration in here, that’s for sure. These guys in here are feeling it harder than anybody. We’re going to evaluate things very closely. But these guys are the guys that have to do it right now. We’re playing baseball that is very uncharacteristic of the guys in that room and we’re responsible for that. We’re not going in the right direction, there’s no doubting that.”
The Angels, who have spent one day alone in first place all season, have lost five straight home games for the first time since 2006—the last time they failed to reach the playoffs. Hunter’s ill-advised dash didn’t help.
“I apologize for me and for us as a team,” said Hunter, who hit his 21st homer in the fifth to tie the score. “We need to play better. This is what we get paid to do. Our performance is terrible.”
Justin Masterson(notes) (6-12) allowed a run and six hits over seven innings with five strikeouts and two walks. The 6-foot-6 right-hander from Jamaica is 4-7 with a 4.98 ERA in 16 starts since beating Boston 11-0 on June 9 with a two-hitter for his first big league shutout. In his last three starts, he has allowed a total of three runs over 20 2-3 innings.
“It’s one of those things where you’re trying to find the correct checkpoints and things come together,” Masterson said. “As a big, tall, lanky guy, you try to work through many different things. And I’ve finally found some good checkpoints to catch myself—even within the game. I just tell myself to remember what makes me good and what I can do. I’ve been turning to those checkpoints, and that’s what’s made me consistent.”
Trevor Bell(notes) (2-5) allowed two runs and four hits over 5 1-3 innings. Shin-Soo Choo’s(notes) sacrifice fly in the third was the only run against the right-hander until the sixth, when Hafner led off with a towering drive that hit just above the 18-foot wall in right field. Second base umpire Angel Hernandez gave the home run signal, bringing Scioscia out of the dugout to argue.
Scioscia requested that the umpires check the video, and plate ump Rob Drake remained on the field while Hernandez, Dan Bellino and crew chief Joe West went inside for another look.
Bell faced one more batter before rookie Francisco Rodriguez came on. He gave up a single to Jordan Brown(notes), then walked the next two batters before Marson drove a 1-0 pitch to left field for his third homer of the season and a 6-1 lead. It was the eighth grand slam allowed by the Angels’ staff.
“I knew he was going to come with a Minnesota Vikings jersey
fastball,” said Marson, whose homer ended a 4-for-33 slide. “He just left it up and I put a pretty good swing on it. It’s definitely a good feeling, my first career grand slam.”
Notes: The Angels announced during the fourth inning that longtime utility INF Robb Quinlan(notes) was released by the club, ending his 12-year stint with the organization. … Hafner has eight home runs against the Angels since July 2004, when he had five in a two-day span. … The Angels have as many road victories as Texas (32), but nine fewer wins at home (34). Seven of their final 13 games are against the Rangers.

Hoffman gets 600th save, Brewers beat Cards 4-2

MILWAUKEE (AP)—In a season that didn’t go as planned for Trevor Hoffman(notes), baseball’s career saves leader added another milestone to his illustrious career.
Hoffman earned his 600th save Tuesday night, closing out the Milwaukee Brewers’ 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
A few months ago, Hoffman couldn’t have been sure this day nfl throwback jerseys
would come. The 42-year-old reliever lost his job as the Brewers’ closer in May after a string of bad outings.
“Unfortunately, I was part of the problem this year in not getting my job done early and getting some momentum going,” he said.
Hoffman has pitched better of late with a 2.63 ERA in his last 29 appearances and has been getting ninth-inning work as the team tried to help him reach No. 600.
“September isn’t the idea of what I had of walking into this room and talking about this. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take any of the edge off by any means,” said Hoffman, who had an 11.65 ERA in his first 18 appearances this year.
“It almost enhances the idea of being disciplined, and really if you love the game it’s going to love you back,” he added. “It tests you in a lot of different areas and a lot of different ways, but I’m truly privileged to be here talking to you about this.”
Four people were ejected by the umpires, including a fan, on a night that ended with Hoffman being carried off the field by his teammates.
Milwaukee manager Ken Macha was tossed in the second inning, but watched the game from the clubhouse. He said pitching coach Rick Peterson came in to ask him about the ninth inning, and he told him to send Hoffman to the mound.
“I wasn’t too concerned about the phone ringing (in the bullpen),” Hoffman said. “I had a pretty good idea I was going to get that call. I knew I was going to get that opportunity. It kind of felt like old times.”
The right-hander entered in the ninth to his traditional music, “Hells Bells” by AC/DC, and gave up a bloop single to Colby Rasmus(notes). Pinch-hitter Randy Winn(notes) then grounded into a double play.
Hoffman got pinch-hitter Aaron Miles(notes) on a grounder to shortstop for the final out and raised his arms in triumph as teammates rushed to mob him near the mound.
“He’s one of the best relievers the game’s ever seen,” Miles said. “I always look forward to competing against him in the ninth inning. Congratulations to him.”
Hoffman’s wife, Tracy, and three sons, Brody, Quinn and Wyatt, also ran onto the field to hug him and the crowd roared during a standing ovation. Brewers players hoisted Hoffman on their shoulders and carried him toward the dugout.
It was Hoffman’s ninth save in 14 chances this season and 600th in 676 career opportunities. He earned his first save for Florida in 1993, then spent most of his career with the San Diego Padres before joining the Brewers last season.
Hoffman stayed in the dugout to receive congratulations from teammates and was given a large painting of himself pitching at Miller Park by Macha and general manager Doug Melvin. Fireworks went off and the No. 599 was peeled off to reveal `600’ on a sign next to the Brewers’ bullpen in left-center.
“They went wild when I got up in the Minnesota Vikings jersey
bullpen,” Hoffman said. “It culminated in a crescendo on that last out.”
He said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll return to pitch next season or retire.
“As far as the future goes, I’m going to continue to grind until Oct. 3 and we’ll make a decision then,” he said.
Hoffman passed Lee Smith as the career saves leader, earning No. 479 while pitching for San Diego against Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 2006.
Mariano Rivera(notes) of the New York Yankees is second in major league history with 555 saves.
Casey McGehee(notes) had a single and double with three RBIs for Milwaukee in a game that featured four ejections: Macha, Milwaukee center fielder Chris Dickerson(notes), Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan and a fan.
In the bottom of the seventh, plate umpire Bob Davidson stopped the game and ejected a fan for heckling Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina(notes). Davidson walked to the seats near the backstop netting and motioned for the fan, who was wearing a T-shirt with a Brewers logo on it, to leave his seat.
An usher motioned him away, and the fan stood and posed with his arms extended in the air in a V shape while drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
Sean A. Otto, 44, of Waukesha, was handcuffed at the ballpark and cited for disorderly conduct by Milwaukee police.
In the second, Macha was tossed by second base umpire Tim Timmons while arguing an interference call that cost the Brewers a run.
Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan was ejected from the dugout by Davidson in the third for arguing balls and strikes.
In the fifth, Dickerson was called out on strikes and slammed his helmet to the ground while walking back to the dugout, prompting an immediate ejection from Davidson.
“It was an interesting evening,” Macha said. “One coach, one manager, one player and one fan. Everybody got thrown out.”
Brewers starter Chris Narveson(notes) (11-7) pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out nine.
Narveson said it was a special win because it included Hoffman’s milestone.
“To look up and see that he’s got his 600th save and you were the guy that started the game—it’s a great feeling,” Narveson said.
St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse(notes) (2-7) went five innings, giving up four runs and seven hits. In four starts since returning from the disabled list, he is 1-3 with a 10.31 ERA.
“Tough way to lose,” Lohse said. “It’s frustrating to give up the two-out hits again.”
Milwaukee won for only the second time in eight games.
Notes: Lohse spent 84 days on the DL and had surgery on his right forearm for nerve compression. … The Cardinals recalled 3B Tyler Greene(notes) from Triple-A Memphis before the game. He started and went 0 for 2 with an intentional walk. … Narveson was a second-round draft choice of Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
the Cardinals in 2000.

Utah State fan well enough to dislike BYU

Utah State fans might not be in the best of moodsafter BYU chose not to join them as rivals in the WAC, but let's keep some perspective here.
Their fearless leader, superfan "Wild" Bill Sproat, is out of the hospital now football jerseys
after suffering through a serious episodewith an enlarged heart. Apparently, he's ready to give up his big body for the sake of a few missed free throws once again, blogging that he'll attend games even if he has to come in a wheelchair.
In the entry, Sproat wrote that even through the worst of San Diego Chargers jersey
his hospital stay, it was so important to express his Aggie pride that he couldn't hide his distaste for BYU.
My heart stopped and I had no pulse for seven minutes. After a few minutes of CPR, right before they were about to hit me with the defibrillator, I woke up and the first thing out of my mouth was, "there better not be any BYU fans in here, if so I think I'd rather die!" That gave the doctors and nurses a little shock. I really don't hate BYU, I just don't think they should be allowed to breathe the same air as the rest of us
As for Sproat's thoughts on expansion that Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
has seemingly left the WAC reeling? Let's just say the conference has found its new cheerleader.
I am not worried, the WAC has something MWC will never have … ME!

For now, no divisions in Big Ten hoops

Yesterday, as Andy Katz broke the news delineating the Big Ten's new football divisions, one question remained unanswered: Would the Big Ten use its divisions for basketball, too?
Fortunately, after the dust settled, Big Ten commissioner nfl jerseys
Jim Delaney (sort of) cleared up that little point:
For now there are no plans for divisions in other sports. Delany said he sees no benefit to basketball divisions, but if conference leaders decide they want them, they would have to be drawn differently.
Delaney told reporters that basketball would "chart its own course" schedule-wise, which probably won't happen until the Big Ten meetings in May, according to Andy Katz's discussions with Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi. The Bloomington Herald-Times' Dustin Dopirak summarized Delaney's quotes as such:
Delany said the divisions do not apply to basketball, and that Seattle Seahawks jersey
he does “not see any compelling reason,” to have divisions in basketball at all because the dynamic of the sport is so much different from football.
In other words, neither Delaney nor the Big Ten athletic directors are ruling out the possibility of using divisions for basketball if that's what the majority of member institutions want. So it could still happen. But for now, the hoops divisions are theoretical, and Delaney himself doesn't seem all that fond of the idea.
This is good news. The divisions revealed yesterday -- Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern in one; Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana in the other -- make sense for football purposes, but they're radically imbalanced where basketball is concerned. That's the case whether you look at recent history or traditional prestige. They're just not very equal.
Big Ten fans will be pleased to hear this news, and cautiously optimistic that the majority of San Francisco 49ers jersey
coaches and athletic directors are happy with the basketball schedule as-is. There's nothing wrong with divisions in and of themselves, but these divisions? For college hoops? No thanks, guys.

Oregon State needs a cool Katz

ARLINGTON, Texas -- At some point tonight, Ryan Katz will look up at the world largest video screen that hangs over the Cowboys Stadium field and he will watch a replay of himself.
Wonder what he will see? A pretty TD pass. Or a football jersey
wobbly interception. Maybe a little of both.
No matter what a young quarterback looks like during fall camp, you just don't know how he will perform when the lights go on and the game counts. And this is a heck of a "bright lights, big city" venue.
If Katz keeps his cool and plays like the guy who's raised more than a few impressed eyebrows in Corvallis, the Beavers have a good chance to upset No. 6 TCU tonight.
If he gets rattled, throws late or early or off target, then it could be a long night.
While playing TCU in Texas operates as a road game, noise probably won't be an issue. No more than 40,000 folks will be here and that will not fill up half of this HUGE stadium, and there's a good contingent of Orange-clad Beavers down here anyway.
Nor will the Texas humidity be an issue. The roof is closed.
So it's going to be all about, as coaches say, execution. Who's going to make plays?
TCU counters the green Katz with 29-game winner Andy Atlanta Falcons jersey
Dalton, an efficient, athletic quarterback who's trying to put a bad night in the Fiesta Bowl behind him.
Dalton's supporting skill, however, won't be as good as Katz's. The Rodgers brothers, running back Jacquizz Rodgers and receiver James Rodgers, are the two best places for Katz to look for help. Both can turn a modest-looking play into something full of sound and fury signifying a TD.
The Beavers have some defensive questions. For one, they struggled to pressure opposing QBs last year. Dalton's too good to be allowed to feel comfortable in the pocket.
Then there's the run defense. The Beavers are breaking in a new middle linebacker -- Rueben Robinson probably gets the first snap but Tony Wilson likely will split time with him -- and end Taylor Henry is trying to play through a sprained ankle. The Horned Frogs top-two running backs, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker, combined for 1,300 yards last year and both averaged over six yards per carry. Four starting offensive linemen from 2009 are back.
If Katz is as cool as advertised, and the defense can get Arizona Cardinals jersey
to Dalton, the Beavers could do something they rarely do: Start a season fast.
A win also would send a message that the Beavers are eyeballing their first Rose Bowl since 1965.

Instant analysis: Notre Dame 23, Purdue 12

How the game was won: The Irish couldn't quite deliver the knockout punch, but they controlled the game through -- surprise -- defense and the running game. A pair of interceptions helped keep Purdue's offense at bay, Notre Dame for the most part prevented the big nfl jerseys
play and kept its own mistakes to a minimum.

Turning point: Notre Dame's defense came out breathing fire in the second half, sacking Robert Marve three times in Purdue's first eight snaps. The Irish converted the resulting good field position with a Dayne Crist touchdown pass to T.J. Jones for a 20-3 lead that proved insurmountable.

Player of the game: Armando Allen ran 18 times for 93 Buffalo Bills jersey
yards and a touchdown. His 38-yard punt return in the third quarter also set up Notre Dame's other touchdown.

What it means: Brian Kelly got a win in his debut. And while it might not have been a smashing performance, the team looked solid in all three phases of the game and ensured that the season got off to a good start with next week's showdown against Michigan looming.

Unsung hero of the game: Irish tight end Kyle Rudolph, who Baltimore Ravens jersey
was slowed much of the preseason with a hamstring injury, had five catches for 43 yards. He also provided good blocking in the running game to help free Allen and Cierre Wood.