Players of the Day for Thursday, June 3, 2010
American League
The Detroit Tigers were determined not to allow the excitement and attention of Wednesday's "imperfect game" thrown by Armando Galarraga - and ruined by umpire Jim Joyce - to distract their focus, which was to win the rubber game of their three-game series with the Indians.
There was no movement from the Commissioner's office on whether what should have been the final out of the game would be changed and Galarraga awarded his perfect game, only a statement that baseball would be looking into it and other umpire mistakes with an eye toward future changes.
As for the Tigers, well, they moved on,
whipping the Indians, 12-6, shaving a full game off Minnesota's lead in the AL Central as the Twins lost to Seattle, 4-1. The Tigers are just 2 1/2 games behind the Twins, the rest of the division well back.
Magglio Ordonez had one of his best games of the season, going 3-for-5 with 5 RBI and 2 runs, with a triple, double and a 7th inning, 3-run homer, his 8th of the season.
Ordonez broke a 6-6 tie in the 6th inning, doubling home Austin Jackson, who went 4-for-6 with 3 doubles, and then broke the game open with his 7th-inning blast. Following Ordonez's clearing of the bases, Miguel Cabrera belted his 16th homer of the season, tying him with Paul Konerko and Jose Buatista for the most in the majors. Cabrera drove in another run with a sac fly in the third inning, giving him 51 RBI on the season, also tops in either league.
National League
Carlos Lee isn't having a very good season, but he came up large in Thursday's
6-5 win over the Nationals, with an RBI single in the opening frame and a two-run, walk-off homer against Washington closer Matt Capps for the Astros' thrid straight win.
Lee, hitting just .213 this season, hit his 7th homer in the bottom of the ninth with Lance Berkman aboard. His three RBI upped his total to 26, well below his usual output. Lee has driven in 100 or more runs in each of the past four seasons and five of the last six. The only time he missed the mark was in 2004, when he drove home 99.
He and Berkman seem to be picking it up as baseball enters the heated months of Summer. Berkman drove in 5 runs in Tuesday's 9-8 win over the Nats, and Lee has now homered in consecutive games.
QUICK HITS: The Atlanta Braves have surged into first place in the NL East, now holding a 3-game edge over the Phillies in the division. Winners of 9 straight, the Braves opened a four-game series in LA by smacking down the Dodgers, 4-3. The Braves aren't the only surprise in the NL, though, with San Diego leading the West and Cincinnati tied with the Cardinals for the top spot in the Central.
The Detroit Tigers were determined not to allow the excitement and attention of Wednesday's "imperfect game" thrown by Armando Galarraga - and ruined by umpire Jim Joyce - to distract their focus, which was to win the rubber game of their three-game series with the Indians.
There was no movement from the Commissioner's office on whether what should have been the final out of the game would be changed and Galarraga awarded his perfect game, only a statement that baseball would be looking into it and other umpire mistakes with an eye toward future changes.
As for the Tigers, well, they moved on, whipping the Indians, 12-6, shaving a full game off Minnesota's lead in the AL Central as the Twins lost to Seattle, 4-1. The Tigers are just 2 1/2 games behind the Twins, the rest of the division well back.
Magglio Ordonez had one of his best games of the season, going 3-for-5 with 5 RBI and 2 runs, with a triple, double and a 7th inning, 3-run homer, his 8th of the season.
Ordonez broke a 6-6 tie in the 6th inning, doubling home Austin Jackson, who went 4-for-6 with 3 doubles, and then broke the game open with his 7th-inning blast. Following Ordonez's clearing of the bases, Miguel Cabrera belted his 16th homer of the season, tying him with Paul Konerko and Jose Buatista for the most in the majors. Cabrera drove in another run with a sac fly in the third inning, giving him 51 RBI on the season, also tops in either league.
National League
Carlos Lee isn't having a very good season, but he came up large in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Nationals, with an RBI single in the opening frame and a two-run, walk-off homer against Washington closer Matt Capps for the Astros' thrid straight win.
Lee, hitting just .213 this season, hit his 7th homer in the bottom of the ninth with Lance Berkman aboard. His three RBI upped his total to 26, well below his usual output. Lee has driven in 100 or more runs in each of the past four seasons and five of the last six. The only time he missed the mark was in 2004, when he drove home 99.
He and Berkman seem to be picking it up as baseball enters the heated months of Summer. Berkman drove in 5 runs in Tuesday's 9-8 win over the Nats, and Lee has now homered in consecutive games.
QUICK HITS: The Atlanta Braves have surged into first place in the NL East, now holding a 3-game edge over the Phillies in the division. Winners of 9 straight, the Braves opened a four-game series in LA by smacking down the Dodgers, 4-3. The Braves aren't the only surprise in the NL, though, with San Diego leading the West and Cincinnati tied with the Cardinals for the top spot in the Central.
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