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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UPDATE:
Road trip brings Sanchez home
Former batting titlist heats up at Dodger Stadium, while Zaun gets busy on the basepaths.
By Gabriel Rizk
GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players.
Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman: Mired in a two-for-26 slump at the plate going back to April 3, the former Vaqueros and Burbank High standout raised his batting average 50 points with a three-for-five effort on Monday night in a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
“I really needed that game,” said Sanchez, who was batting .250 on the season with three runs batted in and two runs scored going into the second game of Pittsburgh’s three-game series with the Dodgers on Tuesday night. “I had been struggling.”
Sanchez, who batted .344 to win the National League batting title in 2006, has been hindered by tendonitis in the rotator cuff of his right arm this year.
“It felt the best it’s felt in quite a while on Monday,” Sanchez said of the afflicted shoulder.
As of Tuesday, the Pirates were 7-6 and in fourth place in the National League Central Division.
Gregg Zaun (St. Francis High, 1989) Toronto Blue Jays catcher: While competing with fellow veteran backstop Rod Barajas for playing time, Zaun hasn’t made an overwhelming case for himself at the plate, batting .237 with three RBIs and three runs scored. He has made some unexpected contributions on the basepaths, however.
With 21 steals to his name over a 12-year Major League career prior to the 2008 campaign, and a career season-high of seven, Zaun has already swiped two bases this season.
The second — which matched his stolen-base total for the past three seasons combined — came on a steal of home on the back end of a double steal in the sixth inning of an 8-5 win over the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark at Arlington on Friday.
It was Zaun’s first-ever steal of home and it came within his only multi-hit game of the year, a two-for-five effort with one RBI and one run.
Zaun attempted to steal second base in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s 11-3 defeat of the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which moved Toronto to 8-6 on the season and into a tie with Baltimore for second place in the American League East Division. He was caught and thrown out for the first time this year, but finished the game one for three with an RBI double.
Doug Slaten (Glendale Community College, 1999) Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher: As the only left-handed reliever on the Arizona staff, the Diamondbacks don’t figure to stop calling Slaten’s number any time soon, even though he has struggled a bit in his last two appearances.
In Monday’s 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, Slaten entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and allowed a hit to the only batter he faced.
In Arizona’s 13-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday at Chase Field, Slaten surrendered two hits in the bottom of the eighth inning, including a two-run home run to right-hander Garrett Atkins.
They were Slaten’s first runs allowed of the season in 3 1/3 innings pitched and his earned-run average is now 5.40.
Arizona is currently 10-4 on the season, which is the best record in the Majors.
Jason Botts (Glendale Community College, 2000) Texas Rangers, outfielder: Botts struck out as a pinch hitter in the Rangers’ 7-4 home loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday.
In his first season on a Major League opening-day roster, the former Triple-A standout is now hitless in five at bats this year.
Unable to distinguish himself so far amid the Rangers’ crowded outfield, Botts, who’s played some first base, has started just one game, a 5-4 victory over the Orioles in which he went 0 for two with one walk and a strikeout. Texas (5-9) is in fourth place in the American League West Division.
Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman: Mired in a two-for-26 slump at the plate going back to April 3, the former Vaqueros and Burbank High standout raised his batting average 50 points with a three-for-five effort on Monday night in a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
“I really needed that game,” said Sanchez, who was batting .250 on the season with three runs batted in and two runs scored going into the second game of Pittsburgh’s three-game series with the Dodgers on Tuesday night. “I had been struggling.”
Sanchez, who batted .344 to win the National League batting title in 2006, has been hindered by tendonitis in the rotator cuff of his right arm this year.
“It felt the best it’s felt in quite a while on Monday,” Sanchez said of the afflicted shoulder.
As of Tuesday, the Pirates were 7-6 and in fourth place in the National League Central Division.
Gregg Zaun (St. Francis High, 1989) Toronto Blue Jays catcher: While competing with fellow veteran backstop Rod Barajas for playing time, Zaun hasn’t made an overwhelming case for himself at the plate, batting .237 with three RBIs and three runs scored. He has made some unexpected contributions on the basepaths, however.
With 21 steals to his name over a 12-year Major League career prior to the 2008 campaign, and a career season-high of seven, Zaun has already swiped two bases this season.
The second — which matched his stolen-base total for the past three seasons combined — came on a steal of home on the back end of a double steal in the sixth inning of an 8-5 win over the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark at Arlington on Friday.
It was Zaun’s first-ever steal of home and it came within his only multi-hit game of the year, a two-for-five effort with one RBI and one run.
Zaun attempted to steal second base in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s 11-3 defeat of the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which moved Toronto to 8-6 on the season and into a tie with Baltimore for second place in the American League East Division. He was caught and thrown out for the first time this year, but finished the game one for three with an RBI double.
Doug Slaten (Glendale Community College, 1999) Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher: As the only left-handed reliever on the Arizona staff, the Diamondbacks don’t figure to stop calling Slaten’s number any time soon, even though he has struggled a bit in his last two appearances.
In Monday’s 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, Slaten entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and allowed a hit to the only batter he faced.
In Arizona’s 13-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday at Chase Field, Slaten surrendered two hits in the bottom of the eighth inning, including a two-run home run to right-hander Garrett Atkins.
They were Slaten’s first runs allowed of the season in 3 1/3 innings pitched and his earned-run average is now 5.40.
Arizona is currently 10-4 on the season, which is the best record in the Majors.
Jason Botts (Glendale Community College, 2000) Texas Rangers, outfielder: Botts struck out as a pinch hitter in the Rangers’ 7-4 home loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday.
In his first season on a Major League opening-day roster, the former Triple-A standout is now hitless in five at bats this year.
Unable to distinguish himself so far amid the Rangers’ crowded outfield, Botts, who’s played some first base, has started just one game, a 5-4 victory over the Orioles in which he went 0 for two with one walk and a strikeout. Texas (5-9) is in fourth place in the American League West Division.
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| Tologs roll in relays at league finals | MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UPDATE: Botts sees a boost in playing time |
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