baseball
Ex-Cub Ryan Theriot 2 wins away from 2nd title in 2 years
SAN FRANCISCO — As the Giants took the field for batting practice Wednesday before Game 1 of the World Series at AT&T; Park, former Cub Ryan Theriot and some teammates marveled at a media throng so big they had to sidestep cameras, lighting equipment and …
Giants win the pennant with 9-0 Game 7 victory, will face Detroit in World Series
SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie shortstop Pete Kozma moved to his right, only to watch the line drive off Hunter Pence’s broken bat inexplicably change directions when the shattered barrel hit the ball a second and then third time.
Three runs scored on a strange double …
Giants, Ryan Vogelsong beat Cardinals to force Game 7
SAN FRANCISCO — Ryan Vogelsong and the San Francisco Giants saved their season once more, pushing St. Louis to a winner-take-all Game 7 in the NL championship series. Turns out the defending champion Cardinals aren’t the only team that’s tough to put away in October. …
GROCHOWSKI: Best MLB teams do it with hitting and pitching
Baseball teams do not live by bats alone, nor are arms enough to do the trick without a little run support. The object, after all, is not just to score or prevent runs but to score more than the other guys. At billjamesonline.com, columnist Dave …
Giants beat Cardinals behind Barry Zito, send series back to Bay
ST. LOUIS — The San Francisco Giants waited quite a while for this kind of performance from Barry Zito. The soft-tossing lefty was at his best Friday night, pitching San Francisco back into the NL championship series with a 5-0 win over the St. Louis …
Detroit Police gear up for World Series
DETROIT — Law enforcement agencies in Detroit are expected to meet early next week to discuss security strategies heading into Major League Baseball’s World Series. Detroit police Sgt. Eren Stephens says the meeting had been scheduled Friday, but was postponed. Federal, state and county agencies …
Former Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly named TV analyst for Diamondbacks
PHOENIX — A day after leaving the Cubs’ television booth, former Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly rejoined the team as a TV analyst Thursday. Brenly replaced former Cubs first baseman Mark Grace, who left voluntarily in August after his second drunken-driving arrest in 15 months. …
Beltran sub boosts Cardinals to 3-1 win in Game 3 of NLCS, Yanks-Tigers PPD
ST. LOUIS — Carlos Beltran limped to the trainer’s room, taking the St. Louis Cardinals’ biggest clutch October bat with him.
Turns out they had the perfect substitute.
Matt Carpenter hit a two-run homer after subbing for Beltran and the Cardinals chased Matt Cain before …
Verlander, Tigers edge Yankees 2-1 in ALCS Game 3, one win from World Series
DETROIT — Justin Verlander took a shutout into the ninth inning and the Detroit Tigers held on to beat the New York Yankees 2-1 Tuesday night for a 3-0 lead in the AL championship series.
Phil Coke gave up consecutive singles with two outs in …
‘Total runs’ shows Yankees’ Robinson Cano is best player still in action
Throughout this season, I’ve used WAR (Wins Above Replacement) as a method of comparing players. Another method makes the comparison in terms of runs rather than wins. It first was described in John Dewan’s The Fielding Bible II, and numbers from 2003 to date are …
Giants beat Cardinals 7-1 in Game 2 to even NLCS
SAN FRANCISCO — Marco Scutaro bounced back from Matt Holliday’s hard slide by delivering a big hit of his own that helped the San Francisco Giants get their first home win this postseason, 7-1 over St. Louis on Monday night that tied the NL championship …
Yankees lose game to Tigers, Derek Jeter to broken ankle
NEW YORK — Delmon Young doubled home the go-ahead run in the 12th inning after New York’s Raul Ibanez hit another stunning game-tying home run during a four-run rally in the ninth, and the Detroit Tigers outlasted the Yankees 6-4 Saturday night in an AL …
Cardinals score 4 in 9th to stun Nationals, reach NLCS vs. Giants
WASHINGTON — Carlos Beltran and the never-give-up St. Louis Cardinals began their latest comeback celebration quietly, plucking cans of beer from a blue bin that was hurriedly wheeled from the home to the visiting clubhouse in the middle of the ninth inning. “How did that …
Yankees beat Orioles, advance to ALCS vs. Tigers
NEW YORK — Yankees-Orioles. Playoffs. Disputed home run to right field. Yankees win. Sound familiar? CC Sabathia and his New York teammates saw Nate McLouth’s long drive called foul by the slimmest of margins — hello, Jeffrey Maier — and then hung on to beat …
A-Rod benched by Yankees for Game 5
NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez will start the New York Yankees’ biggest game of the year on the bench. After being pinch hit for in Games 3 and 4 against the Baltimore Orioles, the $275 million third baseman was removed from the starting lineup for …
Anderson pitches A’s past Tigers to avoid sweep
OAKLAND, Calif. — Brett Anderson outdueled fellow playoff first-timer Anibal Sanchez and received stellar defense all over the diamond, and the upstart Oakland Athletics avoided another playoff sweep by Detroit, beating the Tigers 2-0 Tuesday night in their AL division series.
The A’s cut their …
