Crawford Scores for Rays; Russell Martin Everywhere

Players of the Day for Friday, April 25, 2008 American League Carl Crawford went 3-6, with two triples, an RBI, stole his 8th base and scored 3 times - including the game-winner - in Tampa Bay's 5-4, 11-inning win over Boston. It was the Rays' 4th straight win and Boston's third straight loss. Crawford, a career .297 hitter who has topped .300 for the season each of the last three years, is currently on a 12-game hitting streak in which he's raised his batting average from .204 to .314 with 5 extra base hits. Crawford, mainly a singles hitter, is doing what he does best, though, scoring runs. During his streak he's crossed the plate 13 times and his 23 runs overall leads the AL. Notes: Law of Averages. The Cleveland Indians won their 4th straight game on Friday, a 6-4 home win over the Yankees, and have reached second place in the AL Central, 2 games back of the White Sox. At 11-12 Cleveland sports an unusual stat. While the team batting average is an unhealthy .250, Grady Sizemore leads the team at a mere .264. That means a lot of guys are going 1-for-4 every night. Kansas City and Texas both won, each ending a 7-game losing streak. National League The LA Dodgers are still under .500 at 10-13 and are chasing the runaway Arizona Diamondbacks, but the season has just begun. On Friday night, Russell Martin put in overtime, as he reached base in all 6 plate appearances in the Dodgers' 8-7, 13-inning win over Colorado. If it seemed like Martin was everywhere, it's because he was, going 4-for-4, walking twice, stealing a base, scoring a run and driving in two, including the walk-off game winner on a bases-loaded sac fly. He also caught for 8 innings before putting in 5 more over at third base. Notes: Florida and Milwaukee dueled through 9 scoreless innings before the Marlins erupted for three runs in the 10th. Florida starter Scott Olsen lasted 7 1/3 before being lifted after giving up 4 hits and 5 walks without a strikeout. Olsen's (3-0) been hot lately, having allowed just one run over his last 21 1/3 innings. Streaks: Houston has won 6 straight while the Padres have been on the losing end five in a row.