Pujols Decks Mets in 14th; Hunter Perfect at the Plate

Players of the Day from Saturday, July 26, 2008 American League The Angels keep rolling right along, already looking forward to the post-season with a 10 1/2 game lead in the AL West. On Saturday, Baltimore hurlers could not keep Torii Hunter off the base paths, as he walked twice, went 3-for-3, scored four runs and drove in five with a pair of homers and a 2-run single as the Angels pummeled the Orioles, 11-6. The Angels have the best record in the majors, at 64-39. Notes: The Yankees topped the Red Sox for the second straight day, winning 10-3. The Tampa Bay Rays said, "thank you very much" as they were beating KC, 5-3, to improve their lead to 2 games over the Sox and 3 over the Yanks. New York will go for the sweep and a tie for second place on Sunday at Fenway. In the Central, the White Sox topped the Tigers again, 7-6. With Minnesota winning 11-4, at Cleveland, Chicago retained their 3 1/2 game edge while the Tigers dropped 7 1/2 off the pace. National League Albert Pujols is not the kind of hitter to whom you would want to give extra at-bats, but that's what happened in St. Louis' 10-8, 14-inning win over New York, as Pujols, who had singled four times already, stepped to the plate for the 8th time. The result was a two-run homer and a win for the Cardinals as Pujols upped his batting average to .351 with a 5-for-8 effort and three RBI. The win ended a five-game St. Louis losing streak and kept them in the NL Central race, three games behind Milwaukee and Chicago. Notes: The Cubs lost to Florida, 3-2, while the Brewers were beating Houston, 6-4, to draw even for first place in the Central. Despite their loss, the Mets stayed 1 game ahead of both Florida and Philly, 10-9 winners over Atlanta. The Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Rockies all won, keeping the West standings static. Arizona is one up on LA and 6 ahead of Colorado.