Saturday, August 1, 2009

Abreu Lifts Angels in 11; Lee Fabulous for Phillies

Players of the Day for Friday, July 31, 2009 American League Pounding out 19 hits against seven Minnesota pitchers, the LA Angels racked up another lopsided win over a Central division contender. The Halos are 16-10 against the middle division after their 11-5, 11-inning win over the Twins. Every Angel starter except Erick Aybar had at least one hit. Mike Napoli had four, including a solo homer, while Chone Figgins, Juan Rivera and Bobby Abreu each had three, Abreu knocking his 8th home run (solo) while driving in four runs and scoring twice. He also singled in a run in LA's 6-run 11th inning. The Angels have won three straight and continue to lead the West by 3 games over the Rangers. The Twins remain in a three-way dogfight in the Central, trailing the Tigers by 2 games with the White Sox sandwiched in between 1 1/2 out of first. National League The Philadelphia Phillies seemed intent on landing Toronto's Roy Halladay prior to the Friday trading deadline, but they could never reach a suitable agreement with the Blue Jays. From the looks of things, however, the Phils appear to have done just fine with the acquisition of Cleveland's Cliff Lee, who tossed a complete game four-hitter against the Giants in his first National League start. The Phillies rode their new lefty's arm to a 4-1 victory in San Francisco. Lee was everything as advertised and perhaps more, allowing just one earned run in the bottom of the 8th (Jose Uribe's sac fly) and walked just two batters while setting down six on strikes. Lee was around the plate all night, demonstrating his excellent control, throwing 76 of 109 pitches for strikes. Lee will fit well into the decent Phillies rotation. Along with Cole Hamels, he gives the Phillies a solid one-two punch.

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