Wang Wins 6th; Furcal Leads Dodgers to 7th Straight

Players of the Day from Friday, May 2, 2008 American League On Friday night, Chien-Ming Wang become the first pitcher in the American League to win 6 games, outdueling Seattle's Erik Bedard for a 5-1 Yankee victory. Wang worked six innings, allowing just 3 hits and a pair of walks while striking out five. The only run came in the 6th, when Ichiro Suzuki singled, stole second and third (he had 3 steals on the night) and scooted home on Raul Ibanez's ground out to second. Wang, 6-0, has easily been the brightest spot for the Yankees thus far in the season. He's pitched at least 6 innings in all but one start, and has recorded victories in 6 of 7 outings. In 45 innings, he's only allowed one home run and is carrying an ERA of 3.00 to go with a 1.13 WHIP. Notes: In the hotly contested AL East, the Red Sox reclaimed the lead with a 7-3 win over Tampa. They lead the Rays and O's (4-3 winners at LA) by one game. National League Rafael Furcal singled twice, smacked a three-run homer in a 7-run Dodger 6th inning, scored twice and tallied 4 RBI in five at-bats, as the Dodgers won their seventh straight last night and closed the gap on NL West leader Arizona to 4 games with an 11-6 conquest of the Rockies in Denver. Furcal, LA's exceptional leadoff man, is second in the NL with a .380 batting average. His 30 runs and 46 hits lead the majors. Notes: The Arizona Diamondbacks are the only team in the majors with less than 10 losses. Their 7-2 loss at NY was their 9th of the year, against 20 wins. They have lost 2 of their last 3. Last night the D-Backs were victimized by Jose Reyes, who went 4-for-5 with a double and two triples, stole a base and scored three times.