Daily Baseball Blog: 6/30

Did You Know

Aaron Hill hit for the cycle again, becoming the first player since Babe Herman in 1931 to hit for the cycle twice in one season, a span of 81 years.  Even more impressive was that his last cycle was June 18th, making him the first player in modern history to hit for the cycle twice in one month.  The record for most career cycles is three, held by John Reilly (pre-modern era), Bob Meusel, and Babe Herman.  Hill, being only 31, has plenty of time for a third.  Hill's first hit of the cycle accounted for his 1,000th career hit.

This Day in Baseball History

6/30/1995: Eddie Murray collects his 3,000th career hit, a ground ball single into right field off of Twins pitcher Mike Trombley. Murray is the 20th player in history to reach the milestone. Hall of Famers Murray and Kirby Puckett appeared in the game, as well as future Hall of Famers Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel. 

News

Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill hit for his second cycle of the season, the first player since Babe Herman in 1931 to do so. His first hit, a double, was his 1,000th career hit.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter garnered hit number 3,185 to pass Cal Ripken on the all-time hit list. Now, he is 13th all time.

Padres were the first team to 50 losses.

Game Scores

Nationals (44-31) beat the Braves (40-36) 5-4.

Red Sox (41-36) beat the Mariners (33-46) 5-0.

White Sox (42-35) beat the Yankees (46-30) 14-7.

Marlins (36-40) beat the Phillies (36-43) 6-2.

Mets (42-36) beat the Dodgers (43-35) 9-0.

Rays (41-36) beat the Tigers (37-40) 4-2.

Cubs (27-49) beat the Astros (32-45) 4-0.

Rockies (30-46) beat the Padres (28-50) 10-2.

Top Scorer: White Sox beat the Yankees 14-7 and Pirates beat the Cardinals 14-5.

Standings

AL East: Yankees (46-30, .605 WPCT). AL Central: White Sox (42-35, .545). AL West: Rangers (49-29, .628).

NL East: Nationals (44-31, .587). NL Central: Reds (42-34, .553). NL West: Giants (44-34, .564).

AL Wild Cards: Angels (43-34, .558) and Orioles (42-34, .553). NL Wild Cards: Dodgers (43-35, .551) and Pirates (41-35, .539).

Bottom Team: Cubs (27-49, .355). Longest W Streak: White Sox and Rangers, 4 games.  Longest L Streak: Dodgers, 6 games.

League Leaders

Offensive: AVG: David Wright (Mets), .359. Home runs: Jose Bautista (Blue Jays), 26.  RBI: Josh Hamilton (Rangers), 69. Stolen bases: Tony Campana (Cubs), 25.

Pitching: Wins: R.A. Dickey (Mets), 12. K's: Justin Verlander (Tigers), 121. ERA: Brandon Beachy (Braves), 2.00 (81 innings 18 earned runs).  Saves: Jim Johnson (Orioles) and Chris Perez (Indians), 23.

Top Performers

Offensive: Aaron Hill (Diamondbacks): 4-5, double, triple, home run (11), 3 RBI, 2 runs, stolen base (7), AVG up .009 from .293 to .302, hitting streak to 1 game (4-5, .800 AVG).

Pitching: Aaron Cook (Red Sox): Win (2-1), 9 shutout innings, 2 hits, no walks, 2 K's (2), ERA drop: 5.07 runs from 9.39 to 4.32.

Worst Pitching Performance: Adam Warren (Yankees): No decision, 2.1 innings, 6 earned runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 1 K (1), ERA jump: -.-- runs from -.-- to 23.14.

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman