The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers meet Monday night (ESPN2, 10 ET) with the NL West lead on the line. The Dodgers lead the NL West by a half-game over the Giants despite scoring fewer runs than all but four teams in the National League.
As we enter the third month of the season, here are some notes on the current major-league baseball standings that struck us as interesting: • There are 19 teams with a .500 or better record right now.
Stats & Info insights into this morning's top sports stories 1. FORGET REGULATION: The Phoenix Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks have offered extra playoff hockey every time they’ve met this series.
Don’t look now, but the Washington Nationals have zoomed to the top of the NL East following their 3-2, extra-inning win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon. The Nationals improved to 5-2, their best start since moving to Washington, and also win their first home opener since 2008.
Luke Scott: Signs one-year deal with Tampa Bay Rays The player that the Rays hope they signed is the Scott of 2010, the one who prior to shoulder surgery in 2011, was one of the best power hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching.
Justin Verlander became the first 19-game winner in the majors Monday night with a strong performance against the Tampa Bay Rays. Verlander struck out eight and allowed three hits over seven innings. He has now won seven straight starts, the second time this season he's accomplished that feat.
Coming into Wedneday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw, San Francisco Giants' ace Tim Lincecum was 0-3 this season against pitchers named Clayton. Lincecum can now add a fourth loss to that list and his second to Kershaw, all because of a single pitch.
Ultimately, it took a heat index in the triple digits to accomplish something that 63 teams couldn't over the course of more than four years. For the first time since 2007, Roy Halladay started a game on the road and lasted less than six innings Monday as the Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Chicago Cubs.
With the report from Bruce Levine that the Chicago Cubs have traded left-hander Tom Gorzelanny to the Washington Nationals in exchange for three (as of yet unnamed) prospects, the natural reaction would suggest that the Cubs are dealing from depth after the acquisition of Matt Garza.
At the time Alfonso Soriano signed his eight-year $136 million dollar contract in November of 2006, it was the fifth-largest contract given to a major league player. Behind such stalwarts as Alex Rodriguez ($252 million / 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million / 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million / 8 years) and Todd Helton ($141.
