Bay Delivers for BoSox; Loretta Slams Mets

Players of the Day from Friday, August 1, 2008 American League Much was made about the trade that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles and Jason Bay to Boston, but the Red Sox, so far, seem to have gotten themselves a good deal. In his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform, Bay endeared himself to the Boston faithful as the Red Sox topped Oakland, 2-1, in 12 innings. Bay went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, but scored both Boston runs. In the second inning, he walked, moved to third on J. D. Drew's double, and scored on a Jed Lowrie sac fly. Then, in the bottom of the 12th, Bay tripled off the Green Monster in left and scored the game winner on Lowrie's scratch single. Notes: Boston kept pace (3 back) with the front-running Rays, who beat Detroit, 5-2. The Yankees lost to California, 1-0, and fell 5 1/2 off the pace. Let's talk magic numbers. 40 is it for the LA Angels. Any combination of Angels' wins or Texas losses clinches the AL West for LA. Key dates come at the end of August, when the Angels host the A's for three and the Rangers for 4 games to close out the month. The Angels may pop the champagne cork on the 8th, 9th or 10th of September, when they host the Yankees. Meanwhile, in the Central, those pesky Twins just won't go away. They trail the White Sox by 1/2 game as both won on Friday. The two play a 3-game set in Minnesota on September 23, 24, 25, which may decide the division. National League The Mets missed a golden opportunity to catch the Phillies in the NL East, as St. Louis dropped Philly, 6-3, but Mark Loretta broke a 3-3 tie in the 8th with a pinch hit grand slam, giving Houston a 7-3 win over New York.

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That left the Mets a game behind the Phillies. The Marlins also lost to Colorado, 5-2, and remain 1 1/2 back. The aforementioned Cardinals and the Brewers each picked up a game in the standings, as the Cubs lost to the Pirates, 3-0. Chicago leads both by 4 games. Notes: In the West, Randy Johnson (9-7) earned win #293, working 6 innings in Arizona's 2-1 win at LA. With all the attention focused on Manny Ramirez, who went 2-4 in his first start as a Dodger, the Diamondbacks improved their lead to 3 games over LA with their 4th win in a row.