Daily Baseball Blog: 7/17

City of the Day

Slidell, LA (2 Players, 2 Active). First Player: Mike Fontenot (2005-present).

The small Cajun town north of Lake Pontchartrain has yielded just three ballplayers, all three are active, and the two who were born there are 5'9" or shorter. Mike Fontenot was first, debuting in 2005 and playing ever since as a utility infielder. His best year was 2008 with the Cubs, when the 5'8" infielder hit nine home runs and batted .305 in 119 games. Xavier Paul debuted in 2009 and is still trying to break in as a regular major leaguer. Over his three-year career, the 5'9" outfielder has hit three home runs and batted .246 with 19 stolen bases in 183 games. Logan Morrison was born in Kansas City, but moved to Slidell in High School. He showed everyone what he could do in 2011 when he hit 23 home runs with 72 RBI.  

This Day in Baseball History

7/17/1941: Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak is snapped at 56 as he goes 0-3 with a walk off of Cleveland's Al Smith and Jim Bagby. The Yankees still win 4-3 on the strength of a pair of Hall of Famers. Joe Gordon is 2-4 with a home run while Lefty Gomez tosses eight strong innings.

News

Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 19 games.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard hit his first home run of the season.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who is leading the majors with 36 doubles, will miss 3 to 4 weeks to knee surgery.

Kevin Youkilis went 3-4 with two doubles in his return to Fenway Park.

Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford went 1-3 with a pair of runs scored in his season debut.

The Twins set a Target Field record with 19 runs.

Game Scores

Marlins (43-46) beat the Nationals (51-36) 5-3.

Red Sox (46-44) beat the White Sox (49-40) 5-1.

Yankees (55-34) beat the Blue Jays (45-45) 6-3.

Phillies (40-51) beat the Dodgers (48-43) 3-2.

Indians (46-43) beat the Rays (46-44) 3-2.

Rockies (35-54) beat the Pirates (49-40) 5-4.

Braves and Cubs didn't play.

Top Scorer: Twins beat the Orioles 19-7.

Standings

AL East: Yankees (55-34, .618). AL Central: White Sox (49-40, .551). AL West: Rangers (54-35, .607).

NL East: Nationals (51-36, .586). NL Central: Reds (50-39, .562). NL West: Giants (49-40, .551).

AL Wild Cards: Angels (49-41, .544) and Tigers (47-43, .522). NL Wild Cards: Braves (49-39, .557) and Pirates (49-40, .551).

Bottom Team: Astros (34-56, .378). Longest W Streak: Braves, 7 games. Longest L Streak: Mets, 4 games.

League Leaders

Offensive: AVG: Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), .372. Home runs: Adam Dunn (White Sox), 28. RBI: Josh Hamilton (Rangers), 76. Stolen bases: Dee Gordon (Dodgers) and Mike Trout (Angels), 30.

Pitching: Wins: R.A. Dickey (Mets), Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), Matt Harrison (Rangers), and David Price (Rays), 12. K's: Felix Hernandez (Mariners), 140. ERA: Ryan Dempster (Cubs), 1.86 (92 innings, 19 earned runs). Saves: Craig Kimbrel (Braves), 27.

Top Performers

Offensive: Miguel Montero (Diamondbacks): 3-4, 2 doubles, home run (9), 4 RBI, 2 runs, walk, AVG up .008 from .267 to .275, hitting streak to 2 games (5-8, .625 AVG).

Pitching: Aaron Cook (Red Sox): No decision, 7 innings, 1 run (0 earned), 5 hits, no walks, 0 K's, ERA drop: 1.03 runs from 4.37 to 3.34.

Worst Pitching Performance: Jonathan Sanchez (Royals): Loss (1-6), 1.1 innings, 7 earned runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, 2 K's (36), ERA jump: 1.01 runs from 6.75 to 7.76.

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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. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman