Monday, September 8, 2008

Loney Leads LA to 8th Straight; 4 More for Morneau

Players of the Day from Sunday, September 7, 2008 American League Justin Morneau drove in 4 runs with a triple and a pair of sac flies, but it wasn't enough to keep the Twins from losing to Detroit, 7-5. Morneau has driven in 4 runs in 3 of his last seven games, giving him 117, just 7 behind league leader Josh Hamilton of Texas. The loss was made more palatable by Chicago losing to the Angels, 3-2, which kept the Twins 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox in the Central. Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 55th save in that game. He is now just 2 shy of the all time single-season saves record. LA's magic number for clinching the West is now 3. Notes: Boston beat Texas, 7-2, and the Rays lost 1-0 at Toronto, shaving Tampa's lead to a mere 1 1/2 games. The Blue Jays passed the Yankees in the standings and are now 9 1/2 back as they won their 8th straight. They are having a major impact on the AL races, and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season. After taking the final two games of their series at New York, the Jays went home and swept the Twins and Jays. This week includes four games at Chicago and four more at Boston. Their season extends with 3 games at home vs. Baltimore, then Boston and NY. The close out with 3 in Baltimore. National League A two-run single in the 1st and a sac fly in the 6th inning were all James Loney needed to match Arizona's output as the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks, 5-3, completing a 3-game sweep, winning their 8th in a row and extending their lead in the NL West to 1 1/2 games. While the Dodgers have been on fire, the D-Backs have been languishing in a 2-6 slump, watching their 4 1/2 game lead vanish in just over a week. Notes: The Phillies and Mets split their day-night double header, so the Mets remain two games in front in the East. In the Central, both the Cubs and Brewers were beaten on Sunday, keeping the Cubs 4 games to the good with the Cubs still staring down a season-ending stretch of 4 games at NY, followed by 3 at Milwaukee.

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