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Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Friday, Oct. 2
Chicago White Sox at Detroit (7:05 p.m. EDT). All-Star right-hander Edwin Jackson (13-8, 3.36 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Tigers in the opener of their final regular-season series. Jake Peavy (2-0, 2.25) goes for the White Sox.
STARS
Wednesday
—Ricky Nolasco, Marlins, struck out nine straight Braves and finished with a club-record 16 strikeouts — the most by a major league pitcher in more than two years — during Florida’s 5-4 victory over Atlanta.
—Roy Halladay, Blue Jays, pitched a three-hitter for his second consecutive shutout and Toronto sent Boston to its sixth straight loss, 12-0.
—Justin Maxwell, Nationals, hit a game-ending grand slam off All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez with two outs in the ninth inning of Washington’s 7-4 victory over the New York Mets.
—Clayton Richard, Padres, allowed one hit in seven innings of a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
—Brad Penny, Giants, tossed a six-hitter for his first complete game in four years, leading San Francisco to a 4-1 win over Arizona.
—Ryan Doumit, Pirates, went 4 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs as Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Cubs 8-2 to complete its first doubleheader sweep at Wrigley Field since June 20, 1983.
—Bronson Arroyo, Reds, allowed one run and four hits in 8 1-3 innings to lift Cincinnati over St. Louis 6-1.
—Brandon Morrow, Mariners, yielded only an infield single in eight innings and struck out a career-high nine to lead Seattle past Oakland 7-0.
THEY’RE IN
Philadelphia can rest now and prepare to defend its World Series title. Kyle Kendrick pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Pedro Martinez and the Phillies beat Houston 10-3 to clinch their third straight NL East crown. Raul Ibanez hit his career-high 34th homer for Philadelphia, which is heading to the postseason for the third straight year for the first time since Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and crew won three consecutive division titles from 1976-78.
ALMOST THERE
Colorado moved closer to a playoff spot with a 10-6 win over Milwaukee. The Rockies lead the wild card by four games over Atlanta with four to play after the Braves lost 5-4 to Florida. Colorado also pulled within 2 1/2 games of NL West-leading Los Angeles, which is off Thursday before hosting Colorado for three games to finish the season.
TIGERTOWN
Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run double and Detroit beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 to move closer to the AL Central title. Eddie Bonine pitched five effective innings after getting off to a rough start for the Tigers, who increased their lead to three games over the Twins. The Tigers had a chance to clinch their first division championship since 1987 with a victory in Thursday afternoon’s series finale.
CHANGE IN CLEVELAND
Eric Wedge was fired as manager of the Indians, who are in the final days of a terrible season that began with high hopes. Despite being told he would not be back next season, Wedge planned to manage the last six games of his seventh year with Cleveland. Wedge led the club to one playoff appearance since taking over in 2003 and went through two rebuilding projects with the midmarket club. General manager Mark Shapiro said Cleveland’s coaches were told Tuesday night that they would not be retained for the 2010 season. Wedge is under contract for 2010.
ONE ILL-TIMED SLIDE
The Dodgers need another win or a Rockies loss to clinch the NL West title. That final step is proving to be a tricky one. Los Angeles matched its season high with its fourth consecutive loss, managing just one hit in a 5-0 loss at San Diego. The Dodgers failed once again to secure their second consecutive division title for the first time since 1977-78. They beat Pittsburgh 8-4 on Saturday night to wrap up a playoff berth.
LOTS of Ks
Ricky Nolasco struck out nine straight Braves in Florida’s 5-4 win and finished with 16 strikeouts, the most by a major league pitcher in more than two years. Nolasco’s nine consecutive strikeouts in one game were one short of the big league record set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver for the New York Mets on April 22, 1970, against San Diego.
STINGY STAFF
Matt Palmer combined with four relievers on a one-hitter and the Los Angeles Angels beat Texas 5-0, tying a club record for most runs in a season with 866. Palmer (11-2) gave up a leadoff single in the first inning to Julio Borbon, but that was it. Darren Oliver struck out the side in the sixth before Jose Arredondo, Kevin Jepsen and fellow rookie Rafael Rodriguez each pitched a hitless inning. It was the sixth combined one-hitter in Angels history and the first since July 24, 2004, also at home against the Rangers.
NOT ANOTHER ONE
All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez gave up a game-ending grand slam for the second time this season when Justin Maxwell homered to give Washington a 7-4 victory over the New York Mets. Everth Cabrera also hit one off Rodriguez in the San Diego Padres’ 6-2 win on Aug. 7.
LIMPING TO THE FINISH LINE
James Shields carried a shutout into the eighth inning, Ben Zobrist hit a three-run homer and Tampa Bay extended Baltimore’s losing streak to 13 games with a 5-3 victory. The Orioles can tie the second-longest skid in franchise history, set in August 1954, with a loss in the series finale Thursday night.
SIDELINED
Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer will have season-ending surgery after tearing muscles in his groin and lower abdomen Tuesday night against Houston. He’s expected to be ready for spring training. The 46-year-old left-hander was 12-10 with a 4.94 ERA in 30 games, including 25 starts. He lost his spot in the starting rotation to Pedro Martinez in August and probably wasn’t going to be on the team’s postseason roster. … Mets shortstop Jose Reyes has a new tear in the injured right hamstring that sidelined him for most of this season. New York manager Jerry Manuel said doctors were trying to decide whether Reyes needs surgery. … San Francisco second baseman Freddy Sanchez had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Sanchez should be ready for spring training.