Gonzalez, Youkilis Lead Boston to 7th Straight; Werth, Espinosa Crush Orioles

Players of the Day for Friday, May 20, 2011

American League

Adrian Gonzalez

Interleague games began on Friday, and the National took little time to establish its dominance, taking nine of the 14 cross-league contests.

Kevin Youkilis

One which defied the trend in a rather large way was Boston's smashing, 15-5, victory over the Cubs at Fenway Park, where Boston batters combined for 19 hits and the middle of the lineup - Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis - accounted for nearly half the runs.

Gonzalez, normally known as a doubles and homers type of guy, scratched out four singles in six at-bats, producing four RBI, while Youkilis took care of the extra-bases department, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a two run homer, driving in three runs.

The Red Sox have gone from last place in the AL East just a week ago to 1/2 game behind first place Tampa Bay with their 7th consecutive win. The streak began last weekend when they swept three games from the Yankees in New York.

National League

Jayson Werth

While the Washington Nationals are currently positioned in last place in the NL East, they're only two games under .500, at 21-23, which is real progress at this point for the young franchise.

Traveling the 30-odd miles up I-95 to play the Baltimore Orioles, Washington bats hammered out 19 hits against five Oriole pitchers in a 17-5 victory.

Danny Espinosa

Jayson Werth, acquired from Philadelphia in the off-season, blasted a pair of home runs for the Nats, a two-run shot in the 5th and a solo smack in the 7th. He also singled and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, giving him four RBI on his 3-for-4 night.

Rookie shortstop Danny Espinosa went 3-for-5, with a triple, a three-run homer, five RBI and three runs. Despite a .209 batting average, Espinosa has six home runs and 27 RBI, making han early case for rookie of the year consideration.