Felix Harnandez Blanks Yanks, 1-0; Angel Pagan Leads Giants to 11-6 Win over Rockies

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 4, 2012

American League

The rest of the Al East can thank Felix Hernandez for temporarily slowing down the Yankee express to the division title, as the Seattle hurler blanked New York on two hits, winning by a 1-0 score.

Felix Hernandez

Hernandez allowed a first inning double by Robinson Cano and a third inning leadoff single by Ichiro Suzuki, but did not allow a hit after that, issuing only a harmless pair of walks over the final six innings.

Following a double play that erased Ichiro in the third, Hernandez set down nine straight before walking Curtis Granderson in the 6th inning. A walk to Raul Ibanez with two down in the seventh was the last base runner the Yankees would have, as Hernandez closed out the game by getting the final seven batsmen in order.

Fanning five, Hernandez increased his league-leading strikeout total to 159. Always efficient, he threw 69 of 101 pitches for strikes for his third shutout of the season.

The Yankees' loss left them with a still-comfortable lead in the division, 6 1/2 games better than the O's and Rays, with Boston 10 back and Toronto trailing, 10 1/2 out.

The series concludes with the rubber match, Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

National League

Angel Pagan

The offensive onslaught that started with a 16-4 slaughter on Friday, continued Saturday in Colorado, as the Giants topped the Rockies, 11-6, banging out 17 hits in the process.

Angel Pagan, who was 3-for-4 in Friday's game, went 4-for-6 on Saturday, socking a solo homer in the ninth after singling three times earlier. Pagan scored twice and drove in three of the Giants' runs.

The Giants were never threatened after building a 6-0 lead through five. Colorado scored in the sixth and added two in the seventh, but Pagan's RBI single in the top of the eighth ignited a four-run rally.

The win kept San Francisco in first place in the NL West, 1/2 game better than the Dodgers. Arizona fell three games off the pace, losing to Philadelphia, 3-0.

The series in Colorado concludes on Sunday afternoon.

NOTABLE: Red Hot Reds. Cincinnati took its second straight from the Pirates, Saturday, 5-4, for their fifth straight win and 15th of their last 16.

The Reds have been on a terrific roll; since July 6th they are a staggering 22-3 and lead the NL Central by 5 1/2 over Pittsburgh. The Reds will be looking to sweep their closest rival Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati.