Matt Holliday Keeps Cardinals Winning; Derek Holland and Adrian Beltre Lead Rangers in Rout of Boston

Players of the Day for Friday, May 3, 2013

American League

Adrian Beltre

Matching leaders of their respective divisions, Texas welcomed the Red Sox into Arlington for the first of a three-game series Friday, and the Rangers broke out with an 18-hit attack in a 7-0 thumping.

Derek Holland

Texas starter Derek Holland threw eight innings of shutout ball at the Sox, fanning nine while scattering six hits and one walk to even his record at 2-2. Only one Boston baserunner reached second base, as all of the hits off Holland were singles and the Rangers turned two double plays. Derek Lowe piched a perfect ninth inning to close out the whitewash.

Adrian Beltre went 4-for-5, with a double and three singles, driving in three runs. Batting just .215 entering the game, Beltre upped his average to .241 with the effort.

Despite the loss, Boston remained safely in first place in the AL East, as both the second place Yankees and third place Orioles lost. Boston is 2 1/2 games up on the Yankees.

Oakland kept pace with the Rangers in the West, beating the Yankees, 2-0, to remain 1 1/2 games out.

The series continues Saturday afternoon at 7:10 pm EDT.

National League

Matt Holliday

Matt Holliday broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with a two-run homer - his sixth of the season - to lead the NL Central division-leading Cardinals to a 6-1 win over the homestanding Brewers.

Holliday went 3-for-4 with three runs, singling and scoring in the fifth and seventh innings as the Cardinals extended their lead.

Carlos Beltran added a solo homer in the seventh inning, his eighth of the season.

The win kept the Cardinals a game in front of Pittsburgh, who topped Washington, 3-1. The Central division, which has been a see-saw battle for first place through most of the first month of the season, has opened up a bit as Cincinnati is 2 1/2 back and the Brewers have faded to 3 1/2 out with their third straight loss.

St. louis has won four straight and will look to extend their winning streak when the meet the Brewers at 4:05 pm EDT in game three of their four-game series.