Cody Ross Bolsters Boston Attack; Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter Lead Angels

Players of the Day for Friday, March 30, 2012


Grapefruit League

Cody Ross

Boston's off-season acquisition of outfielder Cody Ross is looking like one of the shrewder moves moves of the winter, as the lefty hitter has displayed nice power to all fields and should have a fun time in tiny Fenway once the regular season begins.

Ross cracked a pair of two-run homers - his fifth and sixth of the spring - and drove in four runs to help the Red Sox overcome the Twins, 9-7, on Friday, improving to 13-11 as exhibition baseball winds down.

If Ross can carry his spring training form into the regular season - he's batting .366 and has driven in 15 runs - the Red Sox should have one of the more formidable offenses in the AL.

Albert Pujols

Cactus League

The Angels are starting to look like the offensive juggernaut they envisioned when they signed Albert Pujols this past winter.

Torii Hunter

Pujols went 2-for-3 and socked his fifth home run to help the Angels overcome Arizona, 9-2, improving their exhibition record to 17-10, good for second place in the Cactus League behind the Oakland A's.

Torii Hunter continued his torrid spring with a double and two singles in three at-bats. Hunter is batting .347 and looks forward to his fifth year with the Angels after an illustrious career as the center fielder for the Minnesota Twins.

The Angles open the regular season with a three-game home stand against Kansas City, beginning on April 6.