City of the Day
Smithtown, NY. 2 Players, 0 Active. First Player: Craig Biggio (1988-2007).
Only a few players have come out of the Long Island town, but they have been successful. John Curtis was not born in Smithtown, but graduated high school there. He went on to play for multiple teams through the '70s and '80s, finding most of his success with the Red Sox and Cardinals. In his first full season in 1972, the 24-year-old went 11-8 with a 3.73 ERA. He had success as a starter into the mid '70s, where he fluctuated between starter and reliever. He bounced back in 1980 for the Padres by going 10-8 with a 3.51 ERA. Over his 15 years, he was 89-97 with a 3.96 ERA over 438 games (199 starts). The first player born in Smithtown to make the majors was Craig Biggio, and he is the hands-down best player from the town. He hit 291 home runs, knocked in 1,175, and batted .281 with 414 stolen bases over 20 years. His best year came in 1998 when he hit 20 home runs, knocked in 88, and batted .325 with 50 stolen bases and 123 runs scored. He had eight years of at least 20 home runs, four where he hit .300, five where he stole at least 30 bases, eight with at least 100 runs scored, and seven with at least 40 doubles. A surefire Hall of Famer, the only question is if he makes it on the first ballot. Frank Catalanotto is the only other Smithtown native to make the major leagues, and he definitely represented the town well. In 2001, while playing in a star-studded lineup that included Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, Michael Young and Andres Galarraga, he hit 11 home runs and batted .330 with 15 stolen bases over 133 games. A platoon and pinch hitter extraordinaire later in his career, he finished with 84 home runs and a .291 average over 1,265 games through 14 seasons.
News
Diamondbacks traded Stephen Drew (2 HR, 12 RBI, .193 AVG, 0 SB, age 29) to the A's for minor leaguer Sean Jamieson (10 HR, 49 RBI, .234 AVG, 25 SB at Class A, age 23).
Rays tied the record for most consecutive wins after losing in a perfect game at five.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter tied Eddie Murray for 12th all-time in hits.
Nationals walked off on a Chad Tracy pinch hit infield single in the 13th inning.
Game Scores
Nationals (76-46) beat the Braves (70-52) 5-4 (13 innings).
White Sox (66-55) beat the Yankees (72-50) 9-6.
Giants (67-55) beat the Dodgers (67-56) 2-1.
Phillies (57-65) beat the Reds (74-49) 12-5.
Rays (68-54) beat the Royals (54-67) 5-1.
Brewers (55-66) beat the Cubs (47-74) 9-5.
Rockies (47-73) beat the Mets (57-65) 3-1.
Red Sox didn't play.
Top Scorer: Phillies beat the Reds 12-5 and Marlins beat the Diamondbacks 12-3.
Standings
AL East: Yankees (72-50, .590 WPCT). AL Central: White Sox (66-55, .545). AL West: Rangers (71-50, .587).
NL East: Nationals (76-46, .623). NL Central: Reds (74-49, .602). NL West: Giants (67-55, .549).
AL Wild Cards: Rays (68-54, .557) and Orioles (66-56, .541). NL Wild Cards: Braves (70-52, .574) and Pirates (67-55, .549).
Bottom Team: Astros (39-83, .320). Longest W Streak: Mariners, 6 games. Longest L Streak: Indians, 6 games.
League Leaders
Offensive: AVG: Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), .352. Home runs: Adam Dunn (White Sox), 36. RBI: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), 104. Stolen bases: Mike Trout (Angels), 39.
Pitching: Wins: Johnny Cueto (Reds), Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), and David Price (Rays), 16. K's: R.A. Dickey (Mets), 181. ERA: David Price, 2.39 (162 innings, 43 earned runs). Saves: Fernando Rodney (Rays), 38.
Top Performers
Offensive: Michael Saunders (Mariners): 3-4, 2 home runs (13), 4 RBI, 2 runs, AVG up .005 from .243 to .248, hitting streak to 4 games (8-16, .500 AVG).
Pitching: Madison Bumgarner (Giants): Win (14-7), 8 shutout innings, 4 hits, no walks, 10 K's (160), ERA drop: 0.14 runs from 2.97 to 2.83.
Worst Pitching Performance: Joe Saunders (Diamondbacks): Loss (6-10), 3.2 innings, 9 earned runs, 12 hits, no walks, 2 K's (89), ERA jump: 0.52 runs from 3.70 to 4.22.
--
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
