Yanks' mound meetings slow Series, give MLB pause
PHILADELPHIA --- All those meetings on the mound called by catcher Jorge Posada and the New York Yankees are giving Major League Baseball pause, too.
Posada and pals visited pitcher CC Sabathia eight times -- in a single inning -- on Sunday night, grinding Game 4 of the World Series to a standstill. Agitated Phillies fans booed each trip.
MLB vice president of umpiring Mike Port said frequent mound meetings by all teams likely would be discussed by baseball officials this offseason.
"It would fall under the province of pace of game," Port said before the Yankees beat Philadelphia 7-4 to take a 3-1 Series lead.
Baseball has tried speed-up rules and guidelines in recent years, with varying results. Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon was fined a few times this season and even had a ball called on him for taking too long to pitch. Hitters are encouraged to stay in the batter's box.
One trip to the mound is allowed per inning -- by a manager or coach -- before a pitcher must be pulled. There is no limit, however, on players-only meetings.
The Yankees held six in the first inning of Game 4. Then came eight more -- four alone with Jayson Werth hitting -- in the fifth. Damaso Marte relieved Sabathia in the seventh. After two pitches, Posada made the 60-foot, 6-inch trudge yet again.
Sabathia wound up striking out Werth with two runners on. Perhaps the Phillies could have used a meeting to figure out who covers third base if Johnny Damon steals second against an overshifted infield.
"It's just part of the game," Posada said. "We want to talk with each other so we know what we're doing."
Plate umpire Brian Gorman clapped his hands while Posada and Andy Pettitte met in Game 3, trying to hurry them along. The PA system at Citizens Bank Park played "Fly Like an Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band -- the song starts out "Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future" -- when Posada and Sabathia talked.
The World Series opener lasted 3 hours, 27 minutes. The next three games all took exactly 3:25.
Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett and personal catcher Jose Molina visited seven times during an inning in the AL championship series. New York pitching coach Dave Eiland made no apology.
"Every pitch is a big pitch this time of year. Seriously. You want to make sure everything's covered," Eiland said Sunday night.
As for making a rule limiting catchers' trips to the mound, Eiland scoffed.
"No, don't take three minutes between innings. You know how many times a pitcher is standing on the mound waiting for the umpire's call to throw the first pitch?" he said.
"You can't take away the beauty of the game," Eiland said. "I know fans get upset and I know Major League Baseball may get upset with that. But that's part of the game. There's no rules against it, and I don't see any rules changing for that. That would be ridiculous."
Sabathia had no problem with the confabs, either.
"We were just trying to make sure we were on the right page, getting the pitches right, whatever it takes. There's really no time limit on the game," he said.
The Yankees' mound visits throughout the postseason can serve another purpose. In a sport that's not supposed to have timeouts, it can help slow opposing hitters.
"Sometimes it's a momentum-breaker," Eiland said. "If we feel like they have the momentum we kind of want to take a little momentum timeout and stop it and regroup, and I want to make sure the pitcher's mind is right. So a lot of things go into it."
Added Yankees manager Joe Girardi: "There's a lot of situations."
"Sometimes it's easier to go talk about what you want to do as opposed to putting down signs and then keep shaking," he said before Game 5 Monday night.
Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino dismissed speculation that the Yankees held so many meetings because Philadelphia was swiping their signals.
"Obviously," he said, "if we're stealing signs we would be doing better than what we're doing right now."
Actor Robert Wuhl found it all amusing.
Wuhl portrayed coach Larry Hockett in the movie "Bull Durham" and made a much-quoted trip to the mound when the guys got stuck on what to get a teammate and his bride for their wedding. "Candlesticks always make a nice gift, and maybe you could find out where she's registered ... maybe a place setting, or a silverware pattern. OK? Let's get two," Hockett said.
Wuhl was behind the backstop watching the Yankees take batting practice before Game 5. He'd also noticed New York's many meetings.
"Here's what I don't get in baseball," Wuhl said. "You have a Korean pitcher, a Dominican catcher, a first baseman from French Canada and a third baseman from Mississippi, and they can't understand each other already. Then they cover their mouths with their gloves. Then the catcher puts down one finger for fastball. What was that all about?"
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
World Series nothing new to umpire crew
NEW YORK - Alex Rodriguez and Cliff Lee might be in their first World Series, but the men who will make the calls behind the plate and on the bases are not.
Major League Baseball has assigned some of its most experienced umpires to the 105th World Series. All six have World Series experience.
Over the last couple of decades, MLB has tried to assign at least one umpire who had never worked a World Series to the sport's signature event. That practice was halted after a flurry of blown calls in the first two rounds of this postseason.
The crew that will work the series between the Phillies and New York Yankees includes Gerry Davis, Joe West, and Dana DeMuth. They have 84 years of big-league experience and nine World Series combined.
The rest of the crew is Brian Gorman, Mike Everitt, and Jeff Nelson.
MLB employs 68 full-time umpires. It chooses postseason officials based on merit. Twenty-four umpires work the first round of the playoffs. The six World Series umpires are chosen from that pool. Umpires cannot work consecutive postseason levels, which means that those who worked in the League Championship Series cannot work in the World Series.
An umpire who does his job well is seldom noticed. This postseason, umpires have stood out almost as much as the players, in effect, becoming the newest players in the postseason. With that, one longtime major-league coach offered a scouting report on the World Series umpiring crew.
"Overall, that's a good crew," said the coach, who spoke on a condition of anonymity. "Davis, Nelson, Everitt, DeMuth . . . Joe West is a good ump - you just hope he pays attention.''
The coach has high regard for Davis, who is scheduled to work home plate tonight and in Game 7, if necessary.
"I like him a lot," the coach said. "He's a good ball-strike man. He'll admit when he makes a mistake. You always get the impression he's trying to work hard out there."
Davis and DeMuth are both in their 26th seasons and have worked three World Series each. Gorman, Everitt, and Nelson are working their second World Series.
"I'm not big on Gorman's balls and strikes, but he's really good on the bases," the coach said. "Behind the dish, he'll make a mistake, then he'll try to make up for it and go too far the other way. But he's a good guy with a good demeanor.
"Everitt is a very good umpire. He's gotten good in a short time. He's a good worker. He works hard to get in position.
"DeMuth is another really good ump. His demeanor is good. He's much better on the bases than he is behind the plate. If he's bad behind the plate, he's bad both ways not because he's trying to make up; he just had a bad day.
"I like Nelson. He's very conscientious. When he came up 10 or so years ago, he had a chip on his shoulder. He's still got a quick temper, but he's conscientious."
Shouldn't all umpires be conscientious?
The coach laughed.
"Some guys get caught out of position," he said. "When you're conscientious, you're never caught out of position. These guys have a tough job. For the most part, they work their tails off, but a few take things for granted and think they don't have to get into position to make the call."
The coach saved West for last in his scouting report. Cowboy Joe, as he is known around the game, is in his 32d season. He is regarded as a highly competent umpire, but his thirst for attention sometimes rubs players and managers the wrong way. West has a long memory, and he's not patient with a young player who doesn't agree with him.
"Don't [tick] him off," one player said.
"Joe wants to have control,'' the coach said. "That's not all bad. It's just that sometimes he's tough to deal with because sometimes he's more concerned with the beach ball on the field. He wants everyone to know he's in charge. He likes the camera and he has an ego. He has issues with young players. But when he bears down, he's a pretty good ball-strike guy. Overall, I'd say he's a very good umpire.''
These are the men who will officiate the 105th World Series.
Major League Baseball hopes this is the last you hear of them.
(c) The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Phillies would welcome a Rollins breakout
PHILADELPHIA -- Jimmy Rollins relishes the big moments in baseball.
The moments are only getting bigger as the Phillies hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park. The series was tied after the Phillies blew a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.
The Phillies could have used a little more offense Friday.
They could have used a little more Rollins.
Rollins entered Game 3 hitting .111 (1-for-9) with one run scored and one strikeout in the NLCS, and .214 (6-for-28) with one double, two runs scored and six strikeouts in the entire postseason. Rollins, the Phillies' leadoff hitter, ranked just sixth on the team in runs scored.
"Actually, from what I've seen, they're pitching him pretty tough," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said before Game 3. "At times he really works the count pretty good. He takes pitches. But the Dodgers have been getting ahead of him, and they've been throwing a lot of slow stuff. The other day I felt like [Dodgers right-hander Vicente] Padilla was aggressive with him, and he moved the ball in and out on him, and he made some real good pitches on Jimmy. I mean, they've been pitching Jimmy pretty tough. He'll be all right."
Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson agreed.
Rollins will be OK. But right now, Thompson said, Rollins "is hooking everything. He's trying to pull everything instead of working up the middle. Just work up the middle. That's the key."
The Phillies were 89-66 this season when Rollins played. They were 61-19 (.763) when he scored a run and 28-47 (.373) when he did not score a run. The Phillies are 482-221 (.686) when he has scored a run in his career, and 268-435 (.381) when he has not.
The team's record when Rollins scores a run often is overstated. For example, the Phillies are 40-11 (.784) this season when Pedro Feliz scores a run, 21-6 (.778) when Carlos Ruiz scores a run and 9-4 (.692) when Eric Bruntlett scores a run.
It isn't so much the fact that the Phillies typically win when Rollins scores -- they typically win when any player scores -- but because he is at the top of the lineup he has the most opportunities to score. They need him to get on base, and take advantage.
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Umpires' postseason errors show MLB needs replay
To replay that which cannot be replayed might seem pointless nearly a week after the Minnesota Twins were deprived of an 11th-inning double that was rightfully theirs on a very bad call by an umpire. There is, after all, no crying about instant replay in baseball.
But there should be. As baseball marches into its two League Championship Series, with the Twins already dispatched to their winter retreat, we have to realize that as bad as the umpire's mistake was in Game 2 of the Twins-New York Yankees playoff series, it could have been worse. It could have happened in Game 7 of the World Series. Problem is for Major League Baseball, it still might.
Possible blown calls are lurking everywhere in baseball's postseason, from every slicing drive down the line to every bang-bang play at the plate. There's good reason for this. Baseball is the one major league sport that refuses to truly embrace the fact that these are no longer the golden days of radio and that widespread television replays are available to all -- except, of course, to the umpires who could really use them once in a while.
Last year, the game did inch slowly into the 20th century before too much more of the 21st century went by when it allowed replays to be used on home run calls. While that was a good start, baseball's replay policy, or lack thereof, was revealed to be full of holes in the past week.
Home runs were not the issue. Missed calls at first were. So was a pitch that appeared to graze the uniform of the Detroit Tigers' Brandon Inge with the bases loaded in the 12th inning of the Tigers-Twins one-game playoff.
Then, finally, the piece de resistance:
A truly awful call that might have cost the Twins a victory on the road in their series with the Yankees. In that fateful 11th, Minnesota's Joe Mauer hit a fly ball down the left-field line that not only glanced off the glove of outfielder Melky Cabrera in fair territory, but also landed about a foot inside the line before bouncing into the stands for what should have been a ground-rule double. Instead, umpire Phil Cuzzi, who was practically on top of the play, called the ball foul.
Mauer singled moments later, and two more singles followed, but the Twins didn't score, and the Yankees won the game in their half of the inning. Had Mauer been on second, though, and the next two batters still singled, he almost certainly would have scored. What happens next is anyone's guess, but the final score would not have been 4-3 New York.
Poor Phil Cuzzi. We were told he felt horrible about his mistake after the game. But that could have been avoided. He could have had help, the kind of assistance all U.S. sports fans have come to expect from their pro leagues these days.
If baseball allowed a manager one replay challenge per game, Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire could have used it there, Mauer would have been on second base and Cuzzi's mistake would have been corrected. The ump might have been embarrassed, but the game would not have suffered from his error.
"I didn't see the play," Gardenhire said the next day, "so I would have had to have coaches up in the booth calling into my ear on my headset. Give me a headset and give me a red flag and we can fix this stuff, but I would have to have somebody calling me saying, 'Throw your flag; let's question this call.' "
We're not talking about balls and strikes here; those would remain sacred and untouchable. But a hit-by-pitch situation, such as the one not called when Inge was at the plate? Or a play at first, a few of which were botched in the Angels-Red Sox series? Give the manager a red flag and let him throw it no more than once a game.
Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday over the phone that he doesn't favor an increase in replays because he doesn't want technology to interrupt the revered pace of the game.
"Baseball is a game that has a flow, and it's the pace I worry about," Selig said. "We don't want constant interruptions. That said, nobody is more sad about a call like that (on Mauer's hit) than I am. Fortunately, they haven't happened very often. We made the change to review home runs because the new ballparks offered up new challenges to the umpires.
"I'm really satisfied where we are now. Once you start opening up Pandora's box, there's no way to stop it. I believe that would be a disservice to the game."
So that's probably the end of that. But it doesn't have to be. Nineteen years ago, as the NFL debated using instant replay, legendary Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula said the single smartest thing anyone has ever uttered on the topic:
"If people sitting in their living rooms can see a play is called incorrectly, then we should be able to see it, too."
(c) 2009 USA TODAY.
Dodgers' win puts heat on Wainwright
LOS ANGELES -- This is just the third time that the Dodgers and Cardinals have met in a Major League Baseball postseason, and some fans on both sides might recall that hearts were broken at Dodger Stadium in those two previous occasions.
The Dodgers took the first two games of the 1985 National League Championship Series behind Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser, but the Cardinals came back and won the next four to reach the World Series. It was an NLCS remembered for two ninth-inning homers off Tom Niedenfuer -- Ozzie Smith's walk-off in Game 5 at St. Louis ("Go crazy, folks, go crazy!") and then Jack Clark's three-run shot at Dodger Stadium.
Five years ago, the teams met in the NL Division Series, and the Cardinals took the first pair at Busch Stadium. The series moved to Los Angeles, and it was "Lima Time," as Jose Lima threw a shutout in a game that saw fans going wild over their first postseason involvement in eons. But that joy was short-lived, as Jeff Suppan clinched it at Dodger Stadium.
Now what can we expect? Dodgers fans are sky-high right now after seeing their team find a way to beat Chris Carpenter, one of the top two NL Cy Young Award candidates, in the 5-3 opener of the NLDS on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. At 6:07 p.m. ET today, the Dodgers face the other top Cy Young candidate in Adam Wainwright. Either Dodgers fans are going to be in absolute ecstasy over getting past the toughest 1-2 punch in this postseason, or Cardinals fans are going to be relieved to take one of two with the intent on repeating some history.
"Wainwright is a good pitcher. You never know, but more chances than not he's going to be really good out there," Andre Ethier said after going 2-for-3 with a run scored against Carpenter. "He will get guys off-balance, he's got a good curveball, good fastball, and he's able to mix it up and throw things for strikes. It's going to be a tough battle, but we'll figure it out."
Carpenter and Wainwright followed each other in the Cardinals' starting rotation 18 times this season, and only once did the team lose successively in any of their starts: June 25 to Mets and June 26 to Twins. Carpenter hopes that accounts for something now.
"I hope so. Absolutely," Carpenter said, after explaining a Game 1 outing in which he lived on the middle of the plate and off the plate, two places you don't want to be as a pitcher. "[Wainwright] had a quality year. It's been that way all year long. Hopefully he can come out [in Game 2] and pick it up. It didn't work out the way I wanted it to work out tonight, but Adam will be prepared, I know that. He's been prepared all year, and he'll be prepared this time."
You weren't really sure what to expect in the opener from two teams that had strong seasons but a case of the late blahs at the end. Neither Albert Pujols (0-for-3 plus two intentional walks) nor Manny Ramirez (1-for-4) was much of an offensive factor, something that figured to be key in this series. And you definitely weren't expecting a postseason record of 30 combined men left on base. The Dodgers set a record by themselves by stranding 16, breaking the record of 14 set by the Padres in Game 3 of the 2006 NLDS against the Cardinals.
When asked if that is a concern going into today's game, Dodgers manager Joe Torre said: "No, not this time of year. To me, I felt we applied a lot of pressure, but when you have the best teams in baseball out there, their pitchers know how to get out of jams, and I'm happy to say that ours did, too. So that really doesn't concern me. All it tells me is we're getting opportunities. And you certainly want to cash in on more, but you have to understand who you're playing, too."
The matchup of probable Game 2 starters is as stark in contrast as the shadow that will be creeping over the sunny infield for a late-afternoon start. It's baseball's present and its future. Wainwright led the NL with 19 wins. Clayton Kershaw is 21, the Dodgers' youngest postseason starter since Valenzuela in 1981, and is beginning to blossom, having just rescued the Dodgers with a timely outing in their clinch game.
Kershaw used the word "differently" over and over during his pregame interview session with media on Wednesday, as in he does not plan to treat this game any differently than his previous outings. The Dodgers are careful to help keep his approach that way.
"I'll probably be nervous, for sure," he said. "I'm nervous every time I pitch. I think it's how you handle the nerves, how you channel it, how you can use it to your advantage sometimes. Get the adrenaline going. Maybe throw harder or have better break on your breaking balls -- just depends on how you use it, I guess."
Wainwright is pitching a postseason game for the first time since he threw the final pitch of the 2006 season. Back then, he was a closer. Now he is here as one of the frontline aces. He came up big in that classic pennant clincher at Shea Stadium -- when he buzzed a strike three past Cardinals-killer Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth -- and then retired Brandon Inge for the final out of the '06 World Series at Busch.
He sees some of Kershaw in himself back then.
"As a reliever, as a greenhorn reliever, I didn't know what to expect or how to go about anything. I just followed everyone else. I was a young guy," Wainwright recalled. "That's what you do. You make sure you're on time and you follow some veteran somewhere doing something, whereas now I've been to the playoffs one time only but we went all the way, but I know what to expect. I know what the crowd and the opposing team's going to try to do, and I'm just going to go out there and try to make pitches."
Wainwright has faced pressure with aplomb in the past, but he will have plenty more of it now. Not many people would have expected the Cardinals to fall into an 0-2 hole after starting Carpenter and Wainwright back-to-back. But nothing is for sure in this game. One need only look back to the 2003 NLCS, when the Cubs left Florida knowing they had the security of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood back-to-back for the final two games at home. Prior imploded less than two innings away from the World Series, and then the Marlins beat Wood in Game 7 to advance.
Matt Kemp, who hit a two-run homer in the first inning to start the Dodgers' momentum against Carpenter, is enjoying the early lead, though there isn't a whole lot of time to think about it. The Dodgers also have beaten Tim Lincecum, the Giants' 2008 Cy Young Award winner, who is seen as an outside candidate for this year's award. Beating Carpenter just added to the confidence going into this one, Kemp said.
"It makes us feel we can beat any pitcher out there," Kemp said. "That's the mentality you're supposed to have as a team. We definitely did that tonight. We got another tough pitcher tomorrow, and hopefully we can do the same thing, have the same approach and just have great at-bats and do everything all-around as a good team."
The postseason history between these teams says to not take anything for granted. But at least one old postseason hand likes what he sees so far.
"We knew coming in that [Carpenter and Wainwright] have had wonderful years," said Jim Thome of the Dodgers. "You do your preparation, your homework. Ultimately you go out and you try to battle, and we did that. We did that against, let's face it, probably one of the top two or three pitchers in the game right now. He's had a wonderful year. To do that at home and lift us up like that was big. Hopefully it will keep the momentum going for us."
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Phils power way closer to NL East clinch
PHILADELPHIA -- With one mighty swing, Pedro Feliz lifted the Phillies out of their recent funk.
And he also lifted them one step closer to their third consecutive National League East title.
Feliz ripped a slider for a grand slam off Wilton Lopez in a four-run fourth inning, leading the Phillies to a much-needed, 7-4 victory over the Astros on Tuesday night before a sellout crowd of 45,082 at Citizens Bank Park. Jayson Werth added a two-run shot off Wesley Wright with two outs in the fifth for his career-best 35th homer.
Feliz received a curtain call from the appreciative Phillies fans.
The Phillies snapped a five-game losing streak to Houston and trimmed their magic number to clinch the NL East to one, as the second-place Braves fell to the Marlins, 5-4, in Atlanta.
"That was a good hit in a tie game," Feliz said. "We haven't been scoring a lot of runs lately."
The players in the clubhouse barely noticed when Leo Nunez notched his 25th save to preserve Florida's victory over the Braves.
"That's good. That'll work," Ryan Howard said without glancing at the multiple flat-screen televisions.
Howard and Raul Ibanez each singled and Werth walked to load the bases in the fourth. Feliz then jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Lopez and sent it careening into the seats in left-center field for a 5-1 advantage.
It was the seventh career grand slam for Feliz and his second this season. It was also the 11th grand slam for the Phillies in 2009, extending a franchise record.
For a team struggling to hit in recent games, the early run support had to be extremely positive. Manager Charlie Manuel held a closed-door meeting before the game to try to ignite his team.
"It feels good," Howard said. "Just to go out there and relax and play is what we're doing. We're just trying to go out each day and win a game."
While Feliz and Werth supplied the offensive punch, J.A. Happ continued his push for National League Rookie of the Year with his 12th victory. The lanky left-hander allowed nine hits and four runs (three earned) in 5 2/3 innings and became the first Phillies rookie to record 12 victories since Jim Owens went 12-12 in 1959.
"It's a great thing," Happ said. "It was a good day. We'll come out now and see what happens tomorrow."
Kazuo Matsui's two-run home run with two outs in the sixth sent Manuel to the mound to lift Happ for 46-year-old veteran Jamie Moyer.
Moyer got the job done, retiring Miguel Tejada on a flyout to end the sixth and tossing a scoreless seventh. Moyer, however, limped off the field at the end of the seventh after appearing to land awkwardly following a pitch to Jeff Keppinger, who flied out to center field. The Phillies announced that Moyer suffered a left groin strain and his status for Wednesday's game is unknown.
Ryan Madson pitched two innings to pick up his 10th save in 16 opportunities. The fans roared when Madson trotted out to the mound for the ninth. Brad Lidge, who has a Major League-leading 11 blown saves, was warming up in the bullpen.
Since Madson got through the eighth on only nine pitches, he was called on for the ninth. With runners on first and second and two outs in the ninth, Madson unleashed a nasty 97-mile-per-hour fastball to strike out Hunter Pence looking.
"Warming up, I was thinking I was going two [innings]," Madson said. "Once I knew definitely I was going back in the ninth after sitting down and calming down, the crowd definitely got me going. It felt good. I was surprised. They made some noise and made it easier to go back out there."
Manuel considered going to Lidge but opted to stay with Madson after the short pitch count in the eighth.
"I was going to go to Lidge," Manuel said.
The Phillies' bats broke through against the Astros on this particular night. That's what ultimately changed the game early on.
"They did what they do best -- the long ball," Astros interim manager Dave Clark said. "The big grand slam from Feliz really, really put a damper on things for us. It's a pitch that Lopey left up. It looks like it was a hanging slider and he got a big part of the bat on it, and we all know if you hit the ball good here, it's a good chance to get out of the ballpark."
Another expected sellout crowd will have a chance to celebrate at the ballpark on Wednesday. Either a Braves loss or a Phillies win will clinch the NL East for the third straight year.
"The first step is clinching a spot," Howard said. "It's a long road once you get in there. The first step is getting in.
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Clubs look to chip away at magic numbers
Tigers, Rockies seek separation; idle Cards could clinch .
About half of baseball's contenders have the day off Thursday, but the postseason push will not rest, and it won't until the eight contestants have been decided and seeded.
The AL Central-leading Tigers and NL Wild Card-leading Rockies will be hitting the field hoping to win and fend off their challengers another day, but a team sitting out Thursday might make the most postseason news.
The Cardinals could join the Yankees, who secured a playoff berth on Tuesday, by clinching a postseason spot without even throwing a pitch or swinging a bat. Holding a magic number of one to clinch via the NL Central crown, the Cardinals will spend Thursday traveling to Colorado for a weekend matchup of playoff hopefuls, but they could still clinch with a Cubs loss at San Francisco.
Meanwhile, the Tigers will take on the last-place Indians, and the Rockies will host the Padres, fourth in the five-team NL West -- both hoping to defend top billing in their respective races.
Detroit's bats woke up in a big way Wednesday night, scoring 11 runs on 15 hits against Cleveland, with all nine starters getting into the act. Keeping those bats awake could give the Tigers the opportunity to gain a half-game on the surging Twins, who are 2 1/2 back and idle Thursday.
"For the offense, it's pretty good," said Carlos Guillen, who hit two home runs Wednesday. "Now we've got to be consistent. We have to do the same thing."
Tigers ace Justin Verlander will be on the mound against the Indians in the series finale, meeting Carlos Carrasco, who will make his fourth Major League start.
The Rockies, meanwhile, will be hosting the Padres in the finale of their series and will try to hold fast to a four-game lead over the Giants and Braves in the NL Wild Card race. They'll send right-hander Jason Hammell to the mound on regular rest, before bringing back healthy ace Aaron Cook on Friday in the opener against the Cards.
"Keeping Jason Hammel on his regular turn makes a lot of sense," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.
At 9-8, Hammell will be trying to give the Rockies -- yes, the Rockies -- five starters with double-digit wins. He'll be opposed by Padres lefty Clayton Richard.
Elsewhere, the Red Sox will be trying to salvage a split in Kansas City and possibly chip away at the AL Wild Card magic number, currently at five, as the Rangers finish up a series at Oakland. And the NL East-leading Phillies hope to pick up a half-game on the idle Braves and Marlins in the opener of a four-game series against the Brewers.
Other contenders off Thursday include the Yankees, awaiting a visit from the Red Sox starting Friday, and the Angels, who next host the A's on Friday.
The Cardinals actually had a possible clincher in their hands Thursday, but a 3-0 loss to the Astros put it off for another day or two, as inevitable as it seems to be.
"Everybody wants to clinch," said Albert Pujols. "But ... when you go to Spring Training, you want to have an opportunity to play in October. And we have a pretty good chance to get there."
In trying to stave off NL Central elimination Thursday, the Cubs will be taking on a Giants team hungry for another victory to keep up with or gain on the Rockies in the Wild Card race.
"We're still breathing," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said after Wednesday's 5-2 win at Arizona. "We're running out of games, we know that. And we need a little help. But there's still hope."
(c) 2001-2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
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