Sunday, June 28, 2009

Burnett Stops Mets on 1 Hit; Happ, Werth Provide Phillies Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 27, 2009 American League Boston still leads the AL East, but the Yankees continue to hunt, just 4 games back. On Saturday, A.J. Burnett twirled a no-hitter through five innings before giving up a single to Alex Cora opening the 6th for the only hit in 7 innings of work. Burnett (6-4) walked 3 and struck out a season-high 10. Only one Met baserunner reached second base as Burnett and the Yankees topped the Mets, 5-0, their second straight lopsided win in the subway series which concludes Sunday at City Park. So far, the Yankees have won 4 out of 5 between the two New York metro teams. National League Having gone 2-11 in interleague play since June 12, watching their NL East lead shrink to a mere 1/2 game, the Philadelphia Phillies needed somebody to step up and get the team back to its winnings ways. In Satruday's 10-0 plastering of the Blue Jays, Jayson Werth (left) provided the offense while rookie J.A. Happ (right) pitched his first major league complete game shutout, working over the Jays on 5 hits, striking out 4 without issuing a walk. With Happ keeping the Blue Jays in complete control, Werth did more than enough damage at the plate to secure the win, going 4-for-4 with a single, double and two homers, three RBI and three runs scored. Werth has 15 homers and 43 RBI on the season. Happ is 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Coupled with losses by both the Mets and Marlins, the Phillies opened up a 1 1/2 game lead in the division over NY, with the Marlins 2 games back. NOTES: Other stellar performances from Saturday's action included Tim Wakefield's 3-hit, 6-inning shutout effort to lead Boston past the Braves, 1-0 and Albert Pujols' pair of 2-run homers in St. Louis' 5-3 win over Minnesota. Wakefield's win tied him with Minnesota's Kevin Slowey (victimized by Pujols) and Roy Halladay for the AL lead in wins with 10. Albert the Great, meanwhile, leads the majors in homers (28) and RBI (74). Pujols could be having his best year ever, and that's saying something. He's on pace to smash is personal best power numbers of 49 homers and 137 RBI, which earned him his first MVP Award in 2005. Pujols won it again last year with 37 homers, 116 RBI and a .357 batting average. The Angels are finally back to familiar ground, atop the AL West, thanks to some help from fellow Californians down the coast. San Diego popped Texas, 7-3, while the Angels were dispatching Arizona, 2-1, resulting in the Halos taking a 1/2-game lead in the division. The Rangers will have their opportunity to take the lead back, but they'll have to do it in Anaheim, as the two teams open a 3-game series on Monday.

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