Blackburn Perfect for 3; Gonzalez 3-for-3 in Win over Royals

Players of the Day for Saturday, March 5, 2011

American League

Nick Blackburn

Nick Blackburn no-hit the Tampa Bay Rays for three innings, striking out two, and six other Minnesota pitchers held the Rays to three hits for the game as the Twins won, 6-1.

Blackburn, beginning his 4th full season with the Twins, has had up-and-down seasons thus far, going 32-36 with a 4.10 ERA.

The Twins are hoping that Blackburn will become more consistent in 2011 as he has normally good control but has been streaky.

National League

Carlos Gonzalez

The Colorado Rockies outlasted Kansas City in a 10-9 exhibition game victory as Carlos Gonzalez found his groove.

Gonzlaez rapped out a pair of singles and a double in three at-bats, drove in one run and scored twice in the game. He had been in a 1-for-6 slump to start Spring training.

A big part of the Rockies' success in 2010, Gonzalez hit 34 homers and drove in 117 runs for the Rockies, a late-season surge nearly capturing the NL MVP award. He did cache some hardware, however, earning the MLB Players Choice Player of the Year and NL Most Outstanding Player in addition to the Silver Slugger award, a Rawlings Gold Glove and won MLB.com's Breakout Player of the Year.