ST. LOUIS(AP) Albert Pujols lined an RBI singular over the conduct of core fielder Matt Kemp with dual outs in the 15th inning, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-2 feat over the Los Angeles Dodgers and saddling the NL West leaders with their initial four-game losing strain of the season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.(AP) George Steinbrenner’s participation placed a lot some-more feverishness on Joba Chamberlain than the Tampa Bay Rays .

SEATTLE(AP) Remaining in Toronto, maybe by 2010. Watching Cliff Lee turn the genius traded to Philadelphia. Then, permitting a season-high eleven hits in record-setting Seattle heat.

One of the most appropriate things about round is which with so most at-bats in a deteriorate … whatever you can think of is substantially going to occur (like when which bat stood up on the finish after an at bat a integrate years ago).  So it kinda surprises me which really integrate of baseballs ever strike the TV cameras around MLB ballparks.

But that’s not the box in the alternative fields around America, where cameras have been receiving a violence from baseballs …  either it be batted or thrown.

Here’s a shave from the Little League World Series a integrate years ago.  Take it away, Brent Musburger.

Click here to perspective the embedded video.

That’s not the usually time a representation has strike a camera at the back of the plate.  Here’s an additional pitcher who’s throwing …. juuust a bit outside

Click here to perspective the embedded video.

Here’s a Foul round receiving out the cameraman …

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This subsequent man contingency have been perplexing to strike the camera. 

Seriously … Why else would you set up a camera in a batting cage?

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I’m not certain because these guys have been personification round during French Class …

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Sometimes the cameraman takes a violence … here’s a setup where FOX Sports cameraman Darrin Pierce gets nailed in the conduct by pitch thrown by Arizona State softball pitcher Erica Beach. 

Click here to perspective the embedded video.

She shattered a square of plexiglass presumably safeguarding Pierce.  I think Pierce was wearing his bad thought jeans which day.

But this is my the one preferred of them all – and it doesn’t even engage a camera removing broken … watch as a little guy’s camera bag creates the catch of the century on a cocktail tainted at the back of home plate.

Click here to perspective the embedded video.

That’s simply awesome.

On Opening Day, if I had told you which someday in midsummer, I would see Randy Wells and Mitch Atkins mix on a shutout at Wrigley Field, you substantially would have insincere I was articulate about the “Road to Wrigley” game that’s going to take place on Aug 9 in between Iowa and Las Vegas (note on which page it still says Jake Fox is a “rising star” personification for Iowa — might be which needs to be updated).

Instead, Wells, who is creation a clever box for NL Rookie of the Year, threw 8 shutout innings, needing usually 6 singles and not needing a curtain past initial bottom until the eighth inning, and Atkins, in his vital joining debut, threw a scoreless ninth to finish off a 12-0 shutout of the Astros, the Cubs‘ greatest shutout feat in some-more than 4 years, given they blanked the Marlins 14-0 on Jun 14, 2005, at the behind of a five-hit shutout by Sergio Mitre. nineteen outs currently were available on belligerent balls and the Cubs incited 4 stand in plays at the behind of Wells and Atkins.

I was kind of anticipating Wells could keep his representation equate down in the 7th and 8th innings so he could have a shot at a CG shutout — you do not see many of those any more, and the Cubs’ usually CG this year is by Sean Marshall in a five-inning, rain-shortened win over the Pirates on May 26. But with Wells at 110 pitches by 8 innings and a uninformed arm in Atkins in the pen, it was substantially correct to get Wells out of there and rest him up for his subsequent start. Wells’ ERA, right away 2.85, would arrange eighth in the joining if he had sufficient innings to qualify. His 8 innings currently give him 95; the Cubs have played 99 games, so he’d need to throw a CG to validate after his subsequent start. More likely, it’ll take dual starts to get him there, but Wells, who with his seventh win right away has some-more than any Cub rookie pitcher in a deteriorate given Kerry Wood’s thirteen in 1998, has been usually about the many unchanging pitcher the Cubs have had given his recall. He has left at slightest 6 innings in twelve of his fifteen starts and has, arguably, had usually one unequivocally bad begin between the 15.

In further to Wells, the offense came out smoking in the initial inning and never stopped.

The Cubs battered Mike Hampton for 5 hits and dual walks in the initial inning; along with a furious representation and a scapegoat fly, the big blow was Alfonso Soriano’s three-run homer (I theory Soriano’s behind on lane now, wouldn’t you say?) and nonetheless Hampton substantially would have been yanked early in many circumstances, the Astros‘ beleaguered bullpen standing meant which Hampton had to toil by 3 some-more innings, receiving one for the team, prior to he was private for a pinch-hitter. All told he took 79 pitches to get twelve outs, authorised 4 walks, 8 hits, and 9 warranted runs, together with a second homer by Aramis Ramirez. You know by right away if you follow me or ballhawk on Twitter which Ballhawk Ken held A-Ram’s HR on the fly, right nearby the dilemma of Waveland & Kenmore. He pronounced “the round held me, rsther than than me catching it”, but he is being as well modest. I watched the round all the approach in to Ken’s glove and it was a plain catch, really impressive. He pronounced after the diversion which he held one from Khalil Greene final year, but can’t recollect the final Cub HR he held on the fly. Just got an additional twitter from Ken thanking Ballhawk Jeff for tracking down A-Ram’s car and removing Aramis to pointer the round for him.

By the center innings Lou had proposed to dull his bench; the initial to lay was Reed Johnson, who left after fouling a round off his feet in the initial inning. Late air wave reports prove which Johnson has a fractured bone in his feet and might be out a month — job Sam Fuld, I suppose, nonetheless an additional Iowa recall.

After the seventh inning, the dais all emptied out and some-more players who outlayed most time at Iowa wound up in the game, together with Jake Fox, who gathering in a span of runs with a weal fly and a single, and Andres Blanco, who strike his initial vital joining home run off the RF tainted stick in the 8th. Congratulations to him, and props to the Cubs, who can win this array tomorrow and, if the Dodgers can concur by violence the Cardinals tonight, take over initial place again after this evening.

Final shout-out to a immature integrate creatively from England, right away vital in Chicago, who have been “just removing in to baseball”, in attendance the diversion with one of their dads (sorry, I never did find out which!) — acquire to Chicago and the Cubs, you certain saw a special diversion today.

The Astros will face the Cubs this afternoon with a burned out pitching staff. Ex-Cub LaTroy Hawkins, who is already in difficulty with MLB for his comments done about the umpiring organisation after Monday night’s game, will go on the infirm list currently with shingles. Much as I do not similar to Hawkins, I wouldn’t instruct shingles on him — it can be intensely painful.

Doug Brocail, who is 42 years old and who had, between others, as teammates his rookie year in San Diego in 1992 Mike Maddux, Tony Gwynn Sr. and Larry Andersen (who is 56 years old), will be removed to take Hawkins’ register spot. The Astros will additionally be but Wesley Wright (who expected wouldn’t have pitched any approach currently after throwing 51 pitches final night), given he was “rushed to the sanatorium following Tuesday’s win given he was experiencing annoy in the area around his appendix.”

Bruce Miles blogs about the Cubs’ one after another seductiveness in Pittsburgh’s John Grabow and Washington’s Joe Beimel as Lou continues to overwork his bullpen for no sold reason:

Worse yet, Lou had to make make make use of of of lefty Sean Marshall for a third true game, creation Marshall puzzled for Wednesday.

A array of us (yes, I listen to you, Jessica) have been cheering genuine shrill at Lou about this, but let’s try it again: Hey, Lou! Sean Marshall is a starting pitcher. If you have to make make make use of of of him early in a game, because not make make make use of of of him the approach Cecil Cooper used Wright final night — for mixed innings? Marshall can get both LHB and RHB out.

The Cubs have some-more proclivity to keep Houston from scoring today: close them out and it costs Astros fans money. How? The Astros have been discounting tickets for their subsequent home array formed on how most runs they measure in Chicago:

For each run that the group scores during the Jul twenty-seven to thirty array on the highway opposite the Chicago Cubs, the group will dump the cost on the margin box tickets by $1 for the subsequent home mount opposite the San Francisco Giants. The Giants fool around at Minute Maid Park Aug. 3 to 5.

So far Astros fans can save $12 per margin box ticket. Let’s keep it that way. Onward to this afternoon’s matchup. (Hat tip to Big League Stew for the link.)

Today’s Starting Pitchers

Randy Wells Cubs vs. Mike Hampton Astros 6-4 W-L 6-7 3.10 ERA 4.74 59 SO 64 19 BB 38 8 HR 9 vs. Hou – vs. Cubs

Randy Wells threw the initial 6 innings vs. the Astros on May sixteen at Wrigley Field, giving up no runs but circuitous up with a no-decision after Kevin Gregg blew the lead — Sean Marshall got the win when the Cubs came behind in the final of the ninth. Wells gave up usually 4 hits in that game, his usually career coming vs. Houston, all singles.

Mike Hampton competence have been a Cub had Andy MacPhail been peaceful to outlay as most as the Rockies did when they sealed him in 2001. Good thing he didn’t — Hampton’s been flattering common given signing that eight-year understanding (save one decent year with Atlanta in 2003), that eventually lapsed at the finish of final year. The Cubs jumped all over him in the initial inning on Apr 6 in Houston and he’s gotten battered in his final 3 starts (7.80 ERA). Derrek Lee is usually 7-for-31 (.229) vs. Hampton, but 3 of those hits have been homers.

The Cubs have been on WGN again today, and additionally on FSN Houston. For alternative games currently see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com diversion preview

SB Nation diversion preview

Please revisit the SB Nation Astros site The Crawfish Boxes.

Overflow criticism threads will post currently at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Last night’s 11-6 Cubs detriment to the Astros, which forsaken them behind in to second place by 1/2 diversion after the Cardinals kick up on the Dodgers, incited on dual plays.

The initial was Kosuke Fukudome’s irregular preference to try to widen a slight singular to core margin in to a double. The fool around was right in front of both him and Astros CF Michael Bourn; it was the leadoff fool around in the bottom of the initial inning; since would you risk receiving a curtain off bottom when your group is already trailing 1-0? It wasn’t a great thought at the time and it seemed to take a lot out of the Cubs; the subsequent 9 hitters went down in a row until there was one out in the fourth inning.

The second bad fool around was Ryan Dempster’s preference to try for a stand in fool around with the measure 2-0 and runners on initial and third with nobody out in the tip of the third. Miguel Tejada strike a comebacker which Dempster snagged in front of the mound. It was obviously a hit fool around — Bourn, who was on third base, pennyless for the plate. He would have been out simply had Dempster thrown to Koyie Hill, who, according to Paul Sullivan, was yelling for the ball:

Catcher Koyie Hill was yelling at Dempster, who paid him no heed.

“I did listen to him, and I think that’s since I threw it in core field. When I went to throw to second, I listened ‘home.’ I should have well known to go home. … Bad baseball.”

Don’t know either which was the decay of not pitching for 4 weeks or what — even if Dempster doesn’t throw the round in to CF and gets the stand in play, there was nobody out. A run would have scored anyway. If he throws home and gets Bourn, there competence have still been time to spin a DP by removing Tejada at 1B, and even if which didn’t happen, the subsequent dual hitters were slight outs. That would have left the measure 2-0 instead of 4-0, since one of those outs became a scapegoat fly.

And the Cubs would have had a improved shot at the diversion which way. Roy Oswalt left the diversion in the second inning with a reduce behind strain. Reliever Wesley Wright late the initial 5 batters he faced but afterwards utterly mislaid his control. This isn’t all startling — Wright is in all used as a LOOGY and the thirteen batters he faced final night was the many in his vital joining career. Five walks, a scapegoat fly and a singular later, the Cubs were behind in the diversion trailing usually 4-3. The singular was by Reed Johnson — a unequivocally early have use of of a PH in the fourth inning if you’re not going to leave him in the game. This, and a double-switch done in the sixth after Lou again unsuccessful to assimilate which Sean Marshall could essentially throw to some-more than 4 batters, left the Cubs short of dais players utterly early in the game.

Dempster gave it behind in the fifth, permitting a two-run HR to Tejada, but the Cubs scored equally it in the final of the fifth on Aramis Ramirez’s three-run shot.

And afterwards the bullpen failed. They got out of the sixth with no damage, but Angel Guzman gave up a HR to Geoff Blum and afterwards in the eighth, Kosuke Fukudome usually longed for a diving catch on a Jeff Keppinger round which wound up as a two-run triple. It wouldn’t have been an easy play, but if Fukudome can grab which ball, the measure stays 7-6 going in to the final of the 8th — an wholly opposite game.

The Cubs’ five-game winning strain is over; it happens. The Cubs had sufficient baserunners, notwithstanding carrying usually 5 hits; Astros pitchers expelled ten walks — all unintended — but the Cubs unequivocally took value of them usually in the fourth inning, when the 5 walks since led to 3 runs. Dempster’s pitching and invulnerability showed the decay from his layoff; might be a rehab begin wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. Speaking of rehab, B.J. Ryan done his initial coming for Iowa (OK, technically, it’s not a rehab assignment, but the Cubs are perplexing to “rehabilitate” him), throwing eleven pitches (five strikes) in a scoreless inning with one walk. It’s a start, anyway. He’ll have up to 6 appearances there prior to the Cubs confirm what to do with him; he has to be removed inside of fifteen days of final night or be released.

With Ted Lilly on the DL, they might need him prior to the fifteen days have been up. Today’s pregame thread will post at 11:30 am CDT.

Today the Cubs all annihilated the Astros and took the lead with a wilful 12-0 win over the Astros.  It’s tough to contend what was some-more dominant, the Cubs attack or the pitching of Randy Wells; Mitch Atkins came in for mop-up movement in the 9th and each singular Cubs dais player saw…



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