Mormon Baseball

After falling into a slump that lasted most of the month of May, Jacoby Ellsbury stole his way back toward his customary performance last week, going 8 for 23 (.348) with 5 rbis and 4 stolen bases, despite an overall mediocre performance by his team, the Yankees. The stolen bases are particularly noteworthy, since they raised him from 11th in the majors last week to 6th overall. During his career Ellsbury has 3 times led the American League in stolen bases.

He isn’t the only Mormon to do well at the plate last week. The As Eric Sogard also cracked .300 — going 5 for 13 (.385) with a run scored. But Sogard’s part-time role means he gets fewer plate appearances, and his record reflects that. And while Sogard is popular with fans, its hard to justify his presence in the lineup when he is hitting just .207 for the season.

On the mound the best performances came from Kyle Farnsworth, Jeremy Guthrie and Doug Fister. Farnsworth’s relief appearances for the Astros aren’t frequent, but he has got the job done, and lowered his season era to 3.38 in the process. Again last week he didn’t give up any runs, although he gave up walks and hits too frequently. Guthrie continued his strong performances of late in two appearances last week, and managed to get his season era down to 4.00 as a result. But he isn’t getting much support from his team, so despite giving up just 3 runs he lost both games and his record fell to 2-5. And while Fister earned a 3.00 era for last week, his season performance is much better than Guthrie or Farnsworth, since he gives up few walks and hits (1.08 WHIP) and has a 3-1 record. Because of injury, he hasn’t pitched enough to appear on the leader boards.

Chicago White Sox’ closer Matt Lindstrom joined Bryce Harper and Josh Johnson on the DL last week. Lindstrom is expected to be out 3 months after surgery to repair a tendon sheath in his left ankle. Harper is on his way back after surgery on his thumb. And Johnson is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and may not return this year.

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Hitting Stats Leaders:

• Jacoby Ellsbury — 15 stolen bases (tied 6th)

Pitching Stats Leaders:

• Jeremy Guthrie — 78.2 innings pitched (tied 14th)

Fielding Stats Leaders:

• [none]

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• Darwin Barney — second base — Chicago Cubs
  2 for 12 (.167), 0 runs, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .179, 8 runs, 11 rbi, 2 hr, 9 bb, 0 sb, 18 so in 95 at bats.
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• John Buck — backup catcher — Seattle Mariners
  1 for 5 (.200), 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .220, 4 runs, 2 rbi, 0 hr, 5 bb, 0 sb, 10 so in 41 at bats.
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• Jacoby Ellsbury — centerfield — New York Yankees
  8 for 23 (.348), 4 runs, 5 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 4 sb, 3 so
  YTD: .269, 28 runs, 22 rbi, 2 hr, 22 bb, 15 sb, 41 so in 201 at bats.
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• Kyle Farnsworth — relief pitcher — Houston Astros
  0-0, 0.00 era, 1 hits, 0 er, 2 bb, and 0 k in 1.2 innings; 1.80 WHIP
  YTD: 0-3, era 3.38, 22 hits, 8 er, 10 bb and 12 k in 21.1 innings; 1.45 WHIP
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• Doug Fister — starting pitcher — Washington Nationals
  1-0, 3.00 era, 4 hits, 2 er, 1 bb, and 6 k in 6.0 innings; 0.83 WHIP
  YTD: 3-1, era 3.34, 30 hits, 11 er, 2 bb and 23 k in 29.2 innings; 1.08 WHIP
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• Jeremy Guthrie — starting pitcher — Kansas City Royals
  0-2, 2.08 era, 15 hits, 3 er, 5 bb, and 10 k in 13.0 innings; 1.54 WHIP
  YTD: 2-5, era 4.00, 79 hits, 35 er, 19 bb and 39 k in 78.2 innings; 1.25 WHIP
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• Bryce Harper — starting centerfield — Washington Nationals
  Injured, 15-day DL
  YTD: .289, 8 runs, 9 rbi, 1 hr, 8 bb, 1 sb, 21 so in 83 at bats.
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• Elliot Johnson — second base — Cleveland Indians
  Reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: .105, 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 7 so in 19 at bats.
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• Josh Johnson — starting pitcher — San Diego Padres
  Injured, did not pitch (60-day DL — Tommy John Surgery)
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Matt Lindstrom — Chicago White Sox, closer
  Injured, 15-day DL
  YTD: 2-1, era 3.32, 19 hits, 7 er, 9 bb and 11 k in 19.0 innings; 1.47 WHIP
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• Brandon Lyon — relief pitcher — Los Angeles Angels
  Not on roster — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Clayton Mortensen — relief pitcher — Kansas City Royals
  Not on roster — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Shane Peterson — Oakland As minor league affiliate, infield
  Did not play — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: .000, 0 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 0 so in 0 at bats.
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• Adam Rosales — Texas Rangers, backup infielder
  Did not play — reassigned to minor leagues
  YTD: .000, 0 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 0 so in 0 at bats.
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• Eric Sogard — Oakland As, backup short stop
  5 for 13 (.385), 1 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .207, 12 runs, 7 rbi, 0 hr, 11 bb, 4 sb, 13 so in 121 at bats.
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