Overbay Shoots Down Angels; Martin's 4-4 Leads LA Past Mets

Players of the Day from Friday, May 30, 2008 American League Lyle Overbay belted a pair of solo home runs, drove in another run with a single and scored three times, sparking Toronto to a 10-4 win over AL West leader Los Angeles. The Blue Jays, winners of 3 straight and 8 of their last 10, remain 3 games behind the Rays and 2 back of Boston in the AL East. Though usually not noted for their hitting prowess, the Jays have scored 22 runs in their last two games. Their pitching staff, however, is the stingiest in the league, with a 3.32 team ERA. Notes: The woes of the Royals continue. On Friday, Kansas City blew a 4-1 lead and failed to score after the 4th inning, dropping their 12 straight, a 5-4 decision to Cleveland. When the losing streak started, the Royals were just one game under .500, at 21-22. That was on May 18, before being losing four straight at Boston, four more at Toronto, dropping three straight home games to Minnesota and last night's defeat at the hands of the Indians. Of all the teams in the AL, the Royals are the only one that has not cracked the 200 barrier in runs (197) or RBI (187). Their team ERA of 4.60 is 11th of 14, with only the Rangers, Tigers and Mariners posting worse numbers. National League The National League's spot behind the plate at this season's All-Star Game should be occupied by the Dodgers' Russell Martin, batting a brisk .326 after a 4-for-4 night on Friday. Martin singled twice, doubled and hit a solo home run, drove in three and scored three times as the Dodgers whipped the Mets, 9-5, Friday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Dodgers, and with Arizona losing their 5th in a row, puts LA 2 1/2 behind the Diamondbacks, the closest they've been since early in the season. Notes: While the Dodgers are closing ground in the West, the Phillies overtook Florida in the East with a 12-3 thumping of the Marlins in Philly. Chase Utley smacked his league-leading 18th home run. Teammate Ryan Howard notched his 15th bomb of the season as the Phillies took a 1/2-game lead in the East. Absolutely scorching, the Phillies have won five straight and 8 of their last 10. They've scored 60 runs in their last 5 games. Not surprisingly, they lead the NL in home runs with 82 and are second in RBI and Runs.