Sunday, May 2, 2010

Markakis Drives in 5 as O's Beat Boston; Halladay Stumps Mets on 3-Hitter

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 1, 2010 American League Nick Markakis has been hitting well of late, and maybe that's one of the reasons his Baltimore Orioles have won 3 of their last 5, and two straight, after a disastrous 3-16 start. Markakis scored his 6th multiple-hit game in his last nine, taking advantage of Daisuke Matsuzaka's first 2010 start by banging out a pair of RBI singles in his first three at-bats. When he scored on Matt Weiters 5th-inning 3-run homer, Matsuzaka was gone, but Markakis returned an inning later with two aboard and took a Tim Wakefield - who had relieved Dice-K - offering over the Camden Yard right field wall for a three-run homer. Ty Wiggington launched a pair of solo homers, giving the O's four for the game in a 12-9 win. Markakis finished up 3-for-4 with 5 RBI and 2 runs, boosting his batting average to .302. The O's will be looking for the sweep on Sunday against the flagging Red Sox. National League The Mets are still in first place in the NL East, but their lead is only 1/2 game after Roy Halladay stopped their winning streak at 8 and moved the Phillies past Washington, back into 2nd place in the division. The Nationals dropped a 7-1 decision to the Marlins. Halladay was in complete control throughout the game, and didn't allow a hit or a walk over the final 5 innings, throwing a 3-hit, one walk complete game shutout, his second of the season, upping his record to 5-1 as the Phillies cruised to the 10-0 victory. The Phillies roughed up Mets' starter Mike Pelfrey with a 6-run 4th inning, capped by Shane Victorino's 3-run homer. The two teams play the rubber game of their 3-game set Sunday night in a nationally-televised (ESPN) cable broadcast. NOTES: While Roy Halladay was his usual exceptional best, Giants' hurler Matt Cain may have actually been better, as he shut down the Rockies on 1 hit and 3 walks over 8 solid innings, putting down the last 15 batters he faced in order. Troy Tulowizski's leadoff double in the 4th was the only hit off Cain, who got his first win of the season. Cain finally put up a W in his fifth start, though his other outings were all good. He's 1-1, with a 2.84 ERA and a WHIP of 1.01. The Rockies managed a run off Guillermo Mota in the 9th, but it wasn't nearly enough, as the Giants won for the 4th time in the last 5 games, 6-1.

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