City of the Day
Vancouver, BC, Canada. 11 Players, 6 Active. First Player: Bob Alexander (1955-1957).
At well over 600,000 people, Vancouver is the largest North American city ever featured on City of the Day. It has produced numerous ballplayers, particularly since the turn of the millennium. In fact, only two of the 11 players appeared in a game before 2000. Pitcher Bob Alexander became the first Vancouverite to play in the majors in 1955, when he debuted with the Orioles. His career did not last long, as he pitched just nine games over two seasons, going 1-1 with a 10.64 ERA. In 1975, Dave McKay became the first hitter from the largest city in Canada's Pacific Southwest. With the Twins, Blue Jays, and A's, he hit 21 home runs from 1975-1982 and batted .229. While playing for the Blue Jays in 1978, he had the best year of his career. In 145 games, he hit seven home runs and batted .238 with four stolen bases, while finishing sixth in the AL with eight triples. In 2000, a shortstop named Kevin Nicholson appeared in 37 games for the Padres and finished with one home run and a .216 average. In 2002, Dave McKay's son, Cody McKay, debuted with the A's, but did not have as much success as his father. Over 37 games through two seasons, he batted .247 with eight RBI. Aaron Guiel became the most successful Vancouverite to date with his great 2003 season. Despite appearing in just 99 games for the Royals, he hit 15 home runs and batted .277. He finished his major league career in 2006 with 35 home runs and a .246 average. Jeff Francis, who has come to be known as one of the faces of Canadian baseball, debuted in 2004 out of Vancouver. He compiled one of the greatest pitching seasons in Rockies history in 2007 after combining to go 30-25 over his first three seasons. Over 34 starts, he went 17-9 with a 4.22 ERA, then went 2-1 in the postseason to lead the Rockies to an improbable NL Pennant. He has struggled over the past few years, and is back with Colorado after a year in Kansas City. Over 23 starts this year, he is 5-7 with a 5.75 ERA. Scott Mathieson was the next player from Vancouver, and he has pitched three years with the Phillies. Over 15 games (eight starts) in his career, he is 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA, though he has not pitched professionally since last year. In 2008, R.J. Swindle debuted for the Phillies. Over nine games from 2008-2009, he owns a 12.71 ERA. In 13 appearances for the AAA Memphis Redbirds this year, he was 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA. Scott Richmond, a pitcher currently with the Blue Jays, has pitched four years in the majors. He is 9-14 with a 5.27 ERA. In three appearances this year, he owns a 6.00 ERA. Catcher Mike Nickeas has held his own at the major league level, homering twice and batting .182 over three seasons. This year, he has homered, knocked in 13, and batted .178. Lastly, Trystan Magnuson just finished up a year in the minors. After posting a 6.14 ERA over nine appearances for the A's in 2011, he has gone 0-5 with a 3.20 ERA for High Class A Dunedin and AA New Hampshire.
News
Reds starter Homer Bailey threw baseball's seventh no-hitter of the season, tying a single season record. With his final K of the outing, he notched his 500th career punch-out.
With the Giants and Reds already having clinched their divisions, the Nationals have a magic number of two for the NL East.
Since my last update, Gio Gonzalez, R.A. Dickey, and Jered Weaver have all reached the 20-win plateau.
With yesterday's loss, the Pirates will not break their streak of 19 straight non-winning seasons. They fall to 76-81 on the season.
Major League Baseball has decided that Melky Cabrera will not win the batting title, upon his request.
Game Scores
Cardinals (85-72) beat the Nationals (95-62) 12-2.
Yankees (91-66) beat the Blue Jays (69-88) 11-4.
Orioles (90-67) beat the Red Sox (69-88) 9-1.
Marlins (67-90) beat the Phillies (78-79) 2-1.
Dodgers (82-75) beat the Rockies (62-95) 8-0.
White Sox (83-74) beat the Rays (86-71) 3-1.
Mets (73-84) beat the Braves (91-66) 3-1.
Diamondbacks (79-78) beat the Cubs (59-98) 8-3.
Top Scorer: Cardinals beat the Nationals 12-2.
Standings
AL East: Yankees (91-66, .580 WPCT). AL Central: Tigers (84-73, .535). AL West: Rangers (92-65, .586).
NL East: Nationals (95-62, .605). NL Central: Reds (95-62, .605). NL West: Giants (92-65, .586).
AL Wild Cards: Orioles (90-67, .573) and A's (89-68, .567). NL Wild Cards: Braves (91-66, .580) and Cardinals (85-72, .541).
Bottom Team: Astros (52-105, .331). Longest W Streak: Indians, Giants, and Dodgers, 3 games. Longest L Streak: Royals and Cubs, 6 games.
League Leaders
Offensive: AVG: Melky Cabrera (Giants), .346. Home runs: Josh Hamilton (Rangers), 43. RBI: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), 133. Stolen bases: Mike Trout (Angels), 47.
Pitching: Wins: Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), 21. K's: Justin Verlander (Tigers), 231. ERA: David Price (Rays), 2.56 (204 innings, 58 earned runs), Saves: Jim Johnson (Orioles), 48.
Top Performers
Offensive: Nelson Cruz (Rangers): 3-3, double, home run (23), 2 RBI, run, AVG up .004 from .258 to .262, hitting streak to 2 games (5-6, .833 AVG).
Pitching: Homer Bailey (Reds): Win (13-10), 9 shutout innings, no hits, 1 walk, 10 K's (162), ERA drop: 0.17 runs from 3.92 to 3.75.
Worst Pitching Performance: Edwin Jackson (Nationals): Loss (9-11), 1.1 innings, 9 runs (8 earned), 6 hits, 4 walks, no K's, ERA jump: 0.36 runs from 3.77 to 4.13.
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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
