Sunday, April 19, 2009

Monroe Hammers a Pair for Pirates; DeRosa Helps Tribe Ambush Yanks, 22-4

Players of the Day for Saturday, April 18, 2009 American League The Cleveland Indians have made a farce of the Yankees' celebration of the opening of their new stadium, winning two out of three games by wide margins. On Saturday, the indians put up 14 runs in the second inning, en route to a 22-4 thrashing. Key among the offensive assault was Mark DeRosa, who contributed with two singles, a double and a three run homer in 7 at-bats, driving in six runs and scoring twice. Six different players homered for the Indians, as they cranked out 26 hits. National League Craig Monroe hasn't had much playing time over the past few seasons. In fact, after being traded from Detroit to the Cubs in 2007, and then to Minnesota in 2008, he's only seen action in a total of 87 games. On Saturday, he got the start for the Pirates in right field and the hard-hitting veteran smacked a pair of three-run homers, driving in six runs in support of Ian Snell's seven shutout innings as the Pirates cruised past Atlanta, 10-0. When playing regularly, Monroe can mash. From 2003-2006, when platooning and playing nearly full time, he averaged 22 homers and 81 RBI. If he continues to produce at the plate, he could fit in nicely for Pittsburgh. NOTES: Maybe we'll be calling them the Amazin' Marlins before long. The Florida Marlins continue their hot start to the 2009 season with a 10-1 record - the best in baseball - and a 4-game lead over the Mets in the inept NL East. The Marlins are on a 6-game winning streak and all ten wins thus far have come against division foes. While the standings in the NL East are a surprise, the AL is simply shocking with Toronto, Kansas City and Seattle leading the divisional races. Those three teams compiled a combined record of 222-262. Only the Blue Jays had a winning record (86-76).

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