| Recent Player News |
| Date |
Player |
News |
| 7/3/2009 |
Manny Ramirez, LF (LAD) |
Ramirez's suspension for violating baseball's drug policy ended Friday and he was set to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres.
Analysis: Ramirez's ban was based on evidence he used human chorionic gonadotropin, a fertility drug that's banned by baseball, a person familiar with the suspension told The Associated Press after the suspension was announced on May 7, speaking on condition of anonymity because those details were not released. HCG is popular among steroid users because it can mitigate the side effects of ending a cycle of the drugs. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Rodrigo Lopez, SP (Phi) |
The Phillies have purchased the contract of right-hander Rodrigo Lopez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Analysis: Lopez, a two-time 15-game winner with Baltimore, started against the New York Mets on Friday in place of injured rookie Antonio Bastardo. Lopez hadn't pitched in the majors since 2007 with Colorado because of elbow surgery. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Ryan Dempster, SP (ChC) |
Dempster gave up four runs - three earned - while striking out nine in 6 2-3 innings of a 9-5 win over the Brewers on Thursday night.
Analysis: Dempster got his first win in six starts since May 30. The veteran right-hander was 0-2 in five outings in June despite a solid 3.23 ERA, and the Cubs lost all of those games. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Sam Fuld, CF (ChC) |
Fuld went 2 for 4 with a walk two runs scored in the Cubs' 9-5 win over the Brewers on Thursday night.
Analysis: Fuld reached base three times for the second consecutive game. Called up from Triple-A Iowa on Monday, the 27-year-old outfielder recorded his first two major league hits and walked in a win at Pittsburgh on Wednesday. He's 4 for 8 with two doubles, two walks and three runs scored in his first three games with the Cubs this year. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Derrek Lee, 1B (ChC) |
Lee hit two home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs to lead the Cubs to a 9-5 win over the Brewers on Thursday night.
Analysis: Lee took a curtain call after his second homer, a grand slam that put the Cubs up 9-2 in the fourth inning. It was his 10th career slam. "Just some nights the game seems like it slows down a little bit and tonight was one of those nights," Lee said. Lee has driven in 16 runs in his last five home games, all Cubs wins. Thursday's victory was the opener of an 11-game homestand at Wrigley Field. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Prince Fielder, 1B (Mil) |
Fielder went 2 for 4 with a home run and two runs scored in the Brewers' 9-5 loss to the Cubs on Thursday night.
Analysis: Fielder has put together his best stretch of the season over the last two weeks, going 23 for 61 (.377) with six homers, 19 RBIs and 13 runs scored over his last 16 games. Before Thursday, he was 3 for 18 (.167) with eight strikeouts against the rival Cubs. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Mike Cameron, CF (Mil) |
Cameron fell a triple short of the cycle while driving in two runs and scoring twice in the Brewers' 9-5 loss to the Cubs on Thursday night.
Analysis: Cameron had gone 2 for 20 (.100) with four strikeouts over his previous six games and 2 for 14 (.143) with five strikeouts in his first four against the Cubs this year. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Todd Wellemeyer, SP (StL) |
Wellemeyer held the Giants to two runs in a season-high 7 1-3 innings of a 5-2 victory Thursday night.
Analysis: It was Wellemeyer's first quality start since a win over Kansas City on May 22. Though the right-hander has been inconsistent, the Cardinals have won four of his last five starts. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Barry Zito, SP (SF) |
Zito gave up five runs in 4 1-3 innings of a 5-2 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday night.
Analysis: Zito loaded the bases before he recorded his first out in the first inning and gave up three runs in the frame. He fell to 0-4 with a 5.54 ERA in five career starts against the Cardinals, and his team has lost all of those games. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Ryan Ludwick, RF (StL) |
Ludwick went 2 for 4 with two RBIs in the Cardinals' 5-2 win over the Giants on Thursday night.
Analysis: Ludwick is 7 for 18 (.389) with three RBIs over his last five games, lifting his season average to .239. He has 11 homers and 41 RBIs in 61 games after batting .299 with 37 homers and 113 RBIs in 152 games in 2008. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Brendan Ryan, 2B (StL) |
Ryan went 2 for 4 with two runs scored in the Cardinals' 5-2 win over the Giants on Thursday night.
Analysis: Ryan had gone 1 for 15 (.067) over his previous five games and hadn't scored a run in six games since June 23. He's batting .298 with 22 runs scored in 58 games this year. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Danny Richar, 2B (Cin) |
The Reds placed Richar on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Analysis: Richar was injured when he slid headfirst into home in the third inning of Cincinnati's 1-0 loss to Arizona on Wednesday. That was his seventh game since being called up on June 20. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Javier Vazquez, SP (Atl) |
Vazquez gave up two runs in 5 1-3 innings of Atlanta's 5-2 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Analysis: Vazquez held the Phillies scoreless for five innings before giving up two runs in the sixth. Though he delivered another strong outing, the right-hander wasn't rewarded with the win. He's 1-4 over his last eight starts despite his 2.68 ERA in that stretch. |
| 7/3/2009 |
J.A. Happ, SP (Phi) |
Happ held the Braves to two runs in seven innings Thursday night, but the Phillies went on to lose 5-2.
Analysis: Happ has been a very strong addition to Philadelphia's starting rotation, going 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA in eight starts since the move from the bullpen. He's 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA over his last three outings, but the Phillies have won just one of those games. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Casey Kotchman, 1B (Atl) |
Kotchman went 2 for 2 with a two-run home run in the Braves' 5-2 win over the Phillies on Thursday night.
Analysis: Kotchman hadn't homered since doing it in back-to-back games May 7 and 8. Thursday's game was only his second multihit performance in 15 games. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Garret Anderson, LF (Atl) |
Anderson hit his first career pinch-hit homer Thursday night, a two-run shot in a 5-2 win over the Phillies.
Analysis: Anderson got off to a slow start in his first season with the Braves, but the veteran outfielder is 17 for 44 (.386) with two homers, 10 RBIs and five runs scored over his last 12 games. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Matt Diaz, LF (Atl) |
Diaz drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning double and the Braves beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Thursday night to complete their first home sweep of the Phillies in four years.
Analysis: Diaz had his second straight three-hit game to lift the Braves to their fourth consecutive win. With seven hits in 12 at-bats during that winning streak, Diaz appears to be convincing manager Bobby Cox to keep him in the lineup. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Michael Bourn, CF (Hou) |
Bourn had two hits, a stolen base and two runs scored in the Astros' 7-2 win over the Padres on Thursday.
Analysis: Bourn, batting .291 on the season, had been 2 for 18 over his previous four games. He has 26 multihit games this season after totaling 31 in 2008, his first season with his hometown Astros. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Wandy Rodriguez, SP (Hou) |
Rodriguez held the Padres to one run over seven innings of a 7-2 victory Thursday.
Analysis: Rodriguez improved to 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts, all Houston wins, after going 0-3 with an 8.27 ERA over his previous four outings. |
| 7/3/2009 |
Geoff Blum, 3B (Hou) |
Blum went 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs in the Astros' 7-2 win over the Padres on Thursday.
Analysis: Blum has driven in nine runs over his last eight games after totaling 15 RBIs in his first 46 contests. The Astros are 10-2 when he drives in a run and 16-25 when he plays and doesn't collect an RBI. |
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© 2009 by STATS LLC.