Beltran Blasts Three Homers at Colorado; Royals Swamp Yanks as Butler Goes 4-for-6

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 12, 2011

American League

Billy Butler

Young Ivan Nova had a nice start to his season with the Yankees, going 3-2, but the second inning of his start against Kansas City was one he would rather forget.

The Royals roughed up Nova for five hits and six runs in the inning, aided by a pair of Yankee errors and a passed ball, leading to an 11-5 Royal flush of the Bombers, guided by Billy Butler's four hits in six at-bats.

Butler singled three times and added a double, drove in a pair of runs and scored on Eric Hosmer's double in the 6th inning.

Batting .298 with 16 RBI, Butler has been a key element in the Royals' rise from the dregs of the AL Central to second place in the division, 3 1/2 games behind the high-flying Cleveland Indians.

After dropping the opener in NY on Tuesday, the Royals won, 4-3, in 11 innings on Wednesday and completed their series win Thursday night.

National League

Carlos Beltran

Any number of people had written Carlos Beltran off prior to the beginning of the 2011 season, but the Mets stuck with their franchise player, despite frequent trips to the DL over the past two seasons.

Beltran played in just 81 games in 2009 and only 64 in 2010. so far this season, despite many thinking he'd need time off, Beltran has played in 36 of the Mets' 37 games and on Thursday in Colorado, he lifted three balls into the stands, for the first three-homer game of the season for any player.

Beltran blasted two-run homers in the 1st, 7th and 9th innings, plating willie Harris in front of him each time, accounting for six RBI as the Mets dumped the Rockies, 9-5.

With 8 home runs, 24 RBI and a .295 batting average, Carlos Beltran looks like the 30-homer, 100 RBI guy from 1999 through 2008 and even though the Mets are in the NL East basement, it's not because he's missed time or isn't playing well.