Sunday, July 5, 2009

McGehee Impacting Brewers; Andruw Jones Sighted

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 4, 2009 American League There have been reports of Andruw Jones sightings lately in Arlington and Saturday, the real thing appeared. Jones, who has, in recent years, bounced from the Braves to the Dodgers to the Rangers, was in the DH slot as Texas thumped Tampa Bay, 12-4, to stay tied for first in the AL West with the Angels. Jones got the Rangers going in the right direction with a three-run homer in the first (his 10th of the year) and added another RBI with a double in the 6th as the score got out of hand. Jones finished 2-for-5 with 4 RBI. He is batting .245 on the season with 27 RBI. After playing in just 78 games with LA last season and hitting just 3 home runs, Jones may be finding his power stroke. He's left the yard three times in the past seven games. National League Impact rookie? How about Milwaukee 3rd baseman Casey McGehee? As the Milwaukee Brewers were dismantling the Cubs, 11-2, McGehee was doing his best to take revenge on his former club, going 4-for-5 with 5 RBI and 3 runs. After three singles, McGehee capped off his night with his 6th home run of the season, a two-run job to left field which completed the Brewers' scoring. In 46 games, McGeHee has accumulated 43 hits, a .331 batting average, 6 homers and 26 RBI. What's even more important is his filling up open spaces at second and third bases, problem positions for Milwaukee this season. His ability to handle either position has produced more playing time for the rookie. NOTES: Milwaukee's win kept them tied with the Cards in the NL Central, still the tightest race in the majors, with all six division opponents within 6 games of the lead. In the NL West, the Giants have closed to within 6 1/2 games. Tim Lincecum just keeps blazing his way toward the Cy Young award. On Saturday, he stopped the Astros on 3 hits over 7 innings in a 9-0 Ginats' win. The NL East is also up for grabs. The Phillies continue to hang onto their slim margin, one game better than the Marlins. The Graves and Mets are ties, 3 games back. In the AL, the West looks like it will come down to the Angels and Rangers, who are currently tied for the lead. The Central is becoming a 3-team race, with Detroit 2 1/2 ahead of the White Sox and 3 better than the Twins. Boston's lead in the East is down to 1 game as the Yankees have won 9 of 10. The Rays have fallen 5 off the pace. Toronto is 7 back.

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