Cleveland Sports Forum

Jeremy Guthrie putting it all together for the first time this year is shutting out the White Sox on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts and 0 walks. Guthrie lowers his ERA to 6.10 on the year. 104 pitches after 8 innings of work. Looks like relief will be on the way. Meanwhile, NY leads Detroit 11-8 in the 9th. Will the Tigers repeat?

Billy Hamilton's race for the record

Reds speedster eyes Vince Coleman's all-time steals mark

MiLB.com Staff 08/08/2012 1:03 PM ET
All-Time Minor League Single-Season Stolen Base Leaders

Hamilton steals three in Wahoos' win

Reds top prospect climbs within 14 of Minor League record

By Zack Cox / Special to MLB.com

08/09/2012 1:53 AM ET
Billy Hamilton continued his mad dash toward the single-season Minor League stolen base record Wednesday night, racking up three in Double-A Pensacola's 5-0 win over visiting Chattanooga.
The three steals brought Hamilton's total to 131, only 14 from tying Vince Coleman's record of 145 set in 1983.

The Reds' top prospect put on another baserunning clinic, reaching twice on balls that did not get past the pitcher.

After grounding out in the first inning, Hamilton beat out a roller in front of the plate that was fielded by Lookouts catcher Gorman Erickson. He promptly swiped second and third and came home when Erickson's throw sailed past third baseman Luis Nunez.

"He definitely has a lot of flexibility," Blue Wahoos manager Jim Riggleman said of Hamilton's freedom to steal at will. "There are times where we have been down a few runs and Billy will get the green light in a situation where a runner usually wouldn't. Sometimes it comes back to hurt us and sometimes it pays off."

In the sixth, Hamilton reached when pitcher Matt Magill fielded his ground ball and chose to look Chad Rogers back to third base. Rogers, Pensacola's starting pitcher, had opened the inning with his first career triple.

Hamilton stole second, took third as Bryson Smith bounced into a fielder's choice and raced home on a passed ball.

It was Hamilton's fifth multi-steal game in August. He has 14 thefts this month, more than any other Southern League team.

With 23 games left in the regular season, the 21-year-old shortstop sits in third place on the all-time single-season list, trailing only Coleman and Donell Nixon (144).

"Of course, I think [the record] would mean a lot [to him]," Riggleman said. "You're talking about some greats of the game, like Vince Coleman. You're in an elite class when you're talking about stolen base records, getting into the conversation with Coleman, Rickey Henderson, players that have taken this success to the Major Leagues.

"It's a tough season. It's a great credit to Vince to have that record and a great credit to Billy in how he has gone after it."

So did the Yankees "fix" Derek Lowe in two days, or does he always pitch great the first month he's with any new team?

Lowe has always been a tinkerer. I doubt he takes advice from anybody. He says he went to Florida while he was DFA and fixed himself.

We'll see.

Reds with another walkoff win. Homer by Jay Bruce wins it in the 10th!

Perfect! Mariners' Felix Hernandez throws perfect game
Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game Wednesday, beating the Tampa Bay Rays, 1-0. Hernandez struck out 12, throwing the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history.

By Larry Stone
Seattle Times staff reporter




Whenever Felix Hernandez takes the mound, the possibility of seeing something special, of witnessing immortality, is always lurking.

On Wednesday, on a brilliantly sunny day, that possibility became reality, as Hernandez threw the 23rd perfect game in major-league history, and the first in Mariners history.

"I don't have any words to explain this," Hernandez said in a TV interview after the game. "I've got to throw one. I've been working so hard to throw one, and I got it. It was in my mind the whole game."

It was the third perfecto this season, one of which took place in the same venue, as Philip Humber of the White Sox threw a perfect against the Mariners on April 21. The Giants' Matt Cain had a perfect game against the Astros on June 13.

It marks the first time in MLB history three perfect games have been thrown in the same season, and also the first time a team has been victimized by, and thrown, a perfect game in the same season.

The Mariners beat the Rays, 1-0, before 21,889 at Safeco Field to win the series, but that was secondary to Hernandez's historic outing.

Hernandez struck out the side in the sixth, and again in the ninth, as fans in the King's Court section loudly chanted, "Let's Go, Felix." Mariners players, who hung on the dugout railing during Mariners at-bats, were nowhere to be seen when the Mariners were in the field as superstition took over.

In the ninth, pinch-hitter Desmond Jennings fouled off two-strike pitches, then went down swinging. Another pinch-hitter, Jeff Keppinger, grounded out to shortstop Brendan Ryan on a 1-2 pitch. Hernandez went 2-0 on Sean Rodriguez, then struck out Rodriguez for the 27th consecutive out.

Hernandez pointed skyward as teammates rushed out to congratulate him.

"In his postgame interview on the field, Hernandez looked at the fans and said, "It's unbelievable. It's for you guys, for you!"

It was the first perfect game in Mariners history, though Brian Holman came within one out in 1990 before Ken Phelps of Oakland hit a pinch-hit home run. The Mariners have thrown three previous no-hitters, including one against the Dodgers earlier this season in which they used six pitchers on June 8.

The last Seattle pitcher to go the distance on a no-hitter was Chris Bosio on April 22, 1993 against Boston. Randy Johnson threw the first Mariners no-hitter on June 2, 1990, against the Tigers.

Hernandez has flirted with no-hitters before, most notably on April 11, 2007, when he stole the thunder from Daisuke Matsuzaka's Boston debut with a one-hitter at Fenway Park. The only hit he allowed was a single up the middle by J.D. Drew leading off the eighth.

This was Hernandez's fourth shutout this season, including a masterful two-hitter at Yankee Stadium two starts ago. He also had a three-hitter against the Rangers, and a five-hitter against the Red Sox.

For the Rays, it was the third time in their brief history — which began in 1998 — that they have been the victim of a perfect game. Mark Buehrle of the White Sox threw one against them on July 23, 2009, and Oakland's Dallas Braden threw one on May 9, 2010. They've also had two no-hitters thrown against them, by Boston's Derek Lowe (April 27, 2002) and Arizona's Edwin Jackson (June 25, 2010).

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was ejected with two outs in the seventh by home-plate umpire Rob Drake, arguing a called strike on Matt Joyce. But Hernandez was undeterred by the delay, getting Joyce on a ground out to first on a 3-2 pitch. It was just his second three-ball count of the game.

The Mariners scored the only run they would need in the third inning, thanks to alert baserunning from Brendan Ryan and clutch hitting by Jesus Montero. After a leadoff single, Ryan was still on first with two outs when he noticed that Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson was paying him little attention. Before Hellickson even started his stretch, Ryan took off for second, and when the pitch was in the dirt and got past catcher Jose Lobaton for a wild pitch, Ryan kept right on running to third base.

Montero then lined a single to left, and Ryan trotted home. Hellickson had been 3-0 with a 0.92 earned-run average in four previous starts against the Mariners.

The Rays rarely even threatened a hit in the game. Sam Fuld had a long fly to right to start the game, and lined out to third in the fourth, and Evan Longoria lined out to second in the fifth. Ryan made a nice play on a g rounder by B.J. Upton for the second out in the seventh, after the ball skipped past diving third baseman Kyle Seager. Catcher John Jaso pounced on a nubber in front of the plate by Carlos Pena in the fifth and threw him out.

J.R. wrote:Seattle's Felix Hernandez throws 23rd perfect game in MLB history

Doesnt seem it means all that much anymore without roids. Seems like the only guys who know how to hit get busted later on.

It marks the first time in MLB history three perfect games have been thrown in the same season

Should have been the second time. Sorry Armando, you are now officially forgotten.

TORONTO --

Adam Dunn broke open a seventh-inning tie by blasting a mammoth three-run homer to help power the White Sox to a 9-5 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Wednesday night.

Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero walked leadoff hitter Alejandro De Aza to start the seventh, then hit Kevin Youkilis to put runners on first and second. Romero was then pulled for reliever Brad Lincoln, who came in to face Dunn.

Dunn deposited a 2-0 fastball into the upper deck in right field for his Major League-leading 34th homer and career No. 399 to put the White Sox up, 7-4.

[Dunn now up to 81 rbi's]

Comeback player of the year?

Not with a .208 batting average JR.

But he's still going to get his 40 homers and 100 rbis.

He's slightly below his lifetime OBP and SLG %. His 167 strikeouts is nearing his lifetime average. He's walked 82 times nearing his lifetime average.

Pretty much what one would expect from Dunn.

But the homers and RBIs are great, compared to last year.
People thought he was all "Dunn!"

Reds win, Pirates lose. Reds now have a 7 game lead on both PIT and STL.