Chipper Jones Goes 5-for-5; Kevin Youkilis Leads White Sox Rout of Texas

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 3, 2012

American League

Kevin Youkilis

Since being traded from the Red Sox to the White Sox, Kevin Youkilis has had to make adjustments, like batting second in manager Robin Ventura's lineup and not having Fenway's Green Monster lurking invitingly out in left field.

After eight games with the White Sox, however, Youkilis put it all together in Chicago's 19-2 pasting of Texas, going 3-for-6 with a pair of singles, his first home run as a member of the White Sox, four RBI and three runs.


The Sox piled on Texas starter Roy Oswalt, dinging him for 13 hits and nine earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Youkilis started the slaughter with a two-run blast in the first inning, followed by solo shots by Adam Dunn (25) and Alex Rios (11).

Youkilis singled in a run and scored in the second and did the same in the fifth inning, as the Sox pounded out a season-high 21 hits.

The win kept the White Sox two games up on Cleveland in the AL Central, while Texas maintained a five game lead over the Angels, who dropped a 9-5 decision to the Indians.


National League

Jones: 5-for-5

Chipper Jones has already announced that he'll hang up the spikes at the end of this season, but in the meantime, he can still swing the bat with the best of them.

Jones went 5-for-5 in Atlanta's 10-3 win over the Cubs, knocking in four runs with a pair of doubles and three singles. Oddly enough, even though Jones was on base all night and the Braves totaled 10 runs, Jones didn't score any of them.

The Braves continue to chase the Nationals and second place Mets in the NL East. They are five back of Washington, and 1 1/2 behind the Mets. Both New York and Washington were winners on Tuesday, so the Braves didn't pick up any ground.

It was the third time Jones has had five hits in a game.