Book of David: Ortiz 4-for-5 in Boston Comeback Win Over Twins; Wright Powers Mets Late-Inning Surge

Players of the Day for Monday, August 8, 2011

American League

David Ortiz

Felling pretty good about themselves after taking two of three from in Yankees over the weekend, the Boston Red Sox arrived in Minnesota for a three game series with the Twins on Monday with a one game lead over New York in the AL East.

Right from the start, it seemed to be a good night for David Ortiz, who scored the first Red Sox run in the top of the second after leading off the inning with a single.

Minnesota scored three runs in the bottom of the 2nd, then added single runs in the 4th and 5th, to put the Twins up 5-1, but that all changed in the 6th, as the Red Sox plated four in the inning, two of them on Ortiz 22nd homer of the season.

Ortiz scored the go-ahead run in the 8th after doubling to lead off that inning, but the Twins countered with one of their own in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game at six-all.

Undeterred, Ortiz singled home Darnell McDonald with another go-ahead run, and Jerrod Saltalamacchia doubled home another for the 8-6 win, which stood up when Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 25th save with a perfect 9th inning, including two Ks.

Ortiz finished the night at 4-for-5 with two singles, a double and a homer, three runs and 3 RBI, giving him 74 on the season. He raised his batting average to a very solid .295.

The comeback victory increased the Red Sox lead in the East to 1 1/2 games. Minnesota fell 10 1/2 behind the idle Tigers in the Central.

National League

David Wright

With both Jose Reyes and David Murphy missing after injuries in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Atlanta, the situation seemed bleak for the Mets, who have been suffering through another injury-plagued season.

One player who missed significant time is all star third baseman David Wright, who has been on quite a tear since returning from the DL on July 22nd. In the 16 games he's played since then, he's had 10 multiple-hit games, four homers and 18 RBI, so the Mets are fortunate to have his bat back in the lineup.

The Mets got off to a good start, with solo homers by Angel Pagan in the 1st inning and Jason Bay in the second. Wright launched a 2-run shot in the 3rd to put the Mets ahead 4-1, but Mike Pelfrey couldn't hold the lead as the Padres scored three runs in the 6th to tie the game.

Adding four more in the 8th, San Diego took an 8-4 lead, but the Mets were just getting started. After getting back two runs in the 8th, Wright got them to within one run with an RBI single in the 9th, and scored the game winner when Lucas Duda knocked in Justin Turner and Wright with a one-out single after the two baserunners had advanced to second and third on a wild pitch.

The 9-8 walk-off win left the Mets 9 games behind Atlanta in the wild card race and kept the Padres, who just completed a sweep of the Pirates, in last place in the NL West.

STREAKS: In Atlanta's 8-5 win over Florida, Dan Uggla legged out an infield hit in the 5th inning to extend his hitting streak to 29 games, one shy of Andre Ethier's 30-game streak earlier in the season, which is the longest of the season. Uggla will get a chance to tie Ethier for the longest hit streak of 2011 when the Braves take on the Marlins in Miami Tuesday night.