DeRosa Slam Lifts Cubs; Halladay Tosses 4-Hit Shutout at Mariners

Players of the Day from Monday, June 30, 2008 American League Year in and year out, veteran Roy Halladay is one of the best pitchers in the game, but he's labored much of his career in the relative obscurity of Toronto. The idea that nobody notices didn't deter him from pitching his 37th complete game and 10th shutout on Monday, as the Blue Jays topped Seattle, 2-0 Halladay (9-6) threw 84 of 115 pitches for strikes, didn't walk a batter and struck out nine while allowing just four harmless singles. 16 of the 27 outs recorded were via ground balls. With power and control, Halladay's numbers are rock solid, as usual, with an ERA of 2.90 and a 1.04 WHIP. Notes: The three-game series which opened in Chicago with a 9-7 White Sox win last night could prove pivotal to the Indians' chances of repeating as NL Central champions. With their fifth straight win, the Sox pulled 2 1/2 clear of Minnesota, losers to Detroit (5 behind), which has won six straight. Cleveland has lost three straight and are in last place, 10 1/2 out and a game behind the Royals. In Monday's game, Cleveland's Jhonny Peralta went 5-for-5, with three doubles and a home run, driving in three runs and scoring three. For the White Sox, hit a solo homer and a grand slam,k driving in six runs in four at-bats. National League With contributions from players up and down the lineup, the Cubs have established themselves as the team to beat in the NL Central. On Monday, third baseman Mark DeRosa had the big hits, socking a two-run homer in the 5th inning and a grand slam in the 8th, driving in six runs as Chicago blasted past San Francisco, 9-2.

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DeRosa also singled to go 3-for-4, boosting his batting average to a very respectable .295. The loss went to troubled Barry Zito, whose record dropped to 3-12. The Cubs maintained their 2 1/2 bulge over St. Louis while Milwaukee dropped a 6-3 decision at Arizona to fall 5 1/2 off the pace. Notes: Ken Griffey Jr. belted home run #603 in the bottom of the 9th inning with a man aboard to give the Reds a come-from-behind win over Pittsburgh, 4-3 Griffey entered the game in the top of the inning as a defensive replacement, but came through at the plate. With the pressure of reaching the 600 mark now past, Junior's been playing a little more like, well... himself lately. He's hit 3 homers in his last 8 games.