Saturday, August 29, 2009

Lincecum Stops Rockies, 2-0; Morales One of 7 Angels Over .300

Players of the Day for Friday, August 28, 2009 American League Kendry Morales went 5-for-5 with two doubles and two homers, drove in 6 runs and scored twice as the LA Angels bombed the A's, 11-7. Morales upped his home run total to 29 on the season to go with his 91 RBI. His .307 batting average is just one of seven LA regulars with an average over .300. As a team the Angels lead the majors at .289. The win boosted the Angels' lead in the AL West to 5 games over Texas as the Rangers dropped a 3-2 decision in Minnesota. National League If the San Francisco Giants are going to reach the post-season, it will likely be due to the pitching of Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. The two aces have a combined record of 25-8 thus far in the season, and have been dominating mound presences all year. On Friday, Lincecum notched win #14 against just 4 losses with an 8-inning shutout performance over the Rockies and a 2-0 Giants win. Lincecum allowed just 4 hits, while walking 3 and fanning 8. He leads the league in strikeouts with 222 and is second in ERA at 2.33. Lincecum is also tied for second in NL wins with Chris Carpenter and Jason Marquis. The trio is one behind league leader Adam Wainwright of St. Louis. The win was critical for the Giants to stay in the wild card and NL West races. As the first of a three-game series by the bay, the Giants got to within two games of the Rockies, who lead the wild card race. In the division, San Fran is 6 behind the Dodgers and 2 behind the Rockies. Two more crucial games are set for Saturday and Sunday.

No comments: