A sinking line drive sailed through the chilly evening air toward Matt Holliday. All he needed to do was make the catch, and St. Louis would have a series-tying victory. Instead, the ball smacked him in the gut and dropped to the grass — and the Cardinals never recovered. Holliday's crucial error with two outs in the ninth inning led to a two-run rally that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2…
Two Cy Young Award candidates, two losses for the St. Louis Cardinals. Adam Wainwright held the Dodgers to a run and three hits over eight innings on Thursday, only to watch the Cardinals lose 3-2 after an error by left fielder Matt Holliday led to Los Angeles' two-run rally with two outs. A night earlier, Chris Carpenter, who was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA in the regular season, had an…
It's been 10 years since the New York Yankees won the first two games of a division series. They're looking to go up 2-0 this year with a postseason neophyte on the mound. A.J. Burnett will make his playoff debut Friday night as the Yankees try to take a commanding lead over the Minnesota Twins in Game 2 of their AL division series.
By the time Cole Hamels rushed off to be with his pregnant wife, his streak of postseason dominance was long over. Yorvit Torrealba hit a two-run homer, Aaron Cook pitched effectively into the sixth inning and the Colorado Rockies beat Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Thursday to even their NL playoff series at a game apiece.
Brian Moehler and the Houston Astros on Thursday exercised a mutual $3 million contract option for next season. The right-hander was 8-12 with a 5.47 ERA in 29 starts this year. His deal originally included a $2.3 million club option for 2010 with a $250,000 buyout, but it became a mutual option at a higher salary because he reached 150 innings this year.
Pedro Martinez wants the ball in another big game. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel will consider giving the three-time Cy Young Award winner the start in Game 3. Martinez was the only pitcher out of the three possible starting candidates that did not pitch Thursday in a 5-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies that evened the best-of-five series at a game apiece.
Oh, baby! Cole Hamels couldn't deliver for the Philadelphia Phillies on a day his wife went into labor. Hamels left the ballpark to be with his wife, a former "Survivor" contestant, who went into labor with the couple's first child on Thursday. Hamels gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings against the Rockies in Game 2 on Thursday.
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski spoke to the media for more than an hour Thursday about last season and next year. The first question and many more that followed were about Miguel Cabrera's infamous weekend. "We know he made a mistake. He knows he made a mistake," Dombrowski said. "I feel confident that he going to address the issues he needs to address to take care of the…
Phillies reliever J.A. Happ was knocked out of Game 2 of their division series against Colorado after he was struck in the left leg by a line drive in the seventh inning. Happ faced only one batter in Thursday's game. Rockies pinch-hitter Seth Smith hit a hard shot straight off Happ's leg for an infield single.
Los Angeles managed to get the best of St. Louis' ace in Game 1 of its NL Division Series, but the Dodgers still have a daunting task at hand. The Dodgers look to extend their series lead when they face Adam Wainwright and the visiting Cardinals on Thursday afternoon. Los Angeles didn't waste any time putting pressure on Cy Young Award candidate Chris Carpenter in its 5-3, series-opening…
