Reynolds Lifts Arizona; Ibanez Slams 6 RBI in 7th

Players of the Day from Monday, August 4, 2008 American League The Twins had finally caught and passed the White Sox on Sunday to take a slender 1/2 game lead in the AL Central, and were comfortably leading the Mariners, 6-1, until Raul Ibanez and his Seattle teammates spoiled the party with a 10-run 7th inning that ended in an 11-6 Seattle win, sending Minnesota into a tie with the White Sox. Ibanez (16 HR, 73 RBI), probably the best player the Mariners haven't traded, started the scoring in the inning with a grand slam homer, and finished it with a 2-run double, cashing 6 RBI in just one inning - a remarkable feat. Notes: While the loss wasn't devastating to the Twins, the win was just the 43rd of the season for Seattle, against 68 losses. Seattle is 27 games behind the runaway leaders in the AL West, the Angels, and are just playing out a long, long string. With much of the league idle on Monday, the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees all suffered losses, keeping the standings intact from Sunday. The Angels beat the O's, 6-5, for their 70th win against just 42 losses and an 11 1/2 game lead over the Rangers in the West. National League Third baseman Mark Reynolds singled twice and hit his 16th home run in 5 at-bats, driving in a run with each hit as the Diamondbacks banged out 18 hits in a 1307 drubbing of the Pirates. Arizona improved its lead in the NL West to 1 1/2 games over the idle Dodgers, who begin a 3-game series at St. Louis on Tuesday. Notes: The Milwaukee Brewers are apparently going into September swoon mode a little early this year, dropping a 6-3 decision at Cincinnati for their 2nd straight loss and 7th in their last nine games. There was also a dugout incident involving Prince Fielder apparently shoving a teammate. Bad behavior on a struggling team. It sounds so familiar for Milwaukee. The Brewers are 5 behind the Cubs in the Central, after having dropped four straight to them to end the month of July and are just 1/2 game clear of the Cardinals as the wild card race comes into focus.