Montero Doubles Three Times for Arizona; Vernon Wells Bangs Pair of Homers; Jeter within 6 of 3000, but Injured

Players of the Day for Monday, June 13, 2011

American League

With only three scheduled games, Monday was something of a slow day in the American League, though the LA Angels made the most of it by topping Seattle, 6-3, as the two teams opened a three-game series in the Pacific Northwest.

Vernon Wells,
a sub-.200 hitter?

There's still a pennant race in the West, but the Angels have recently fallen a bit behind. With their win on Monday, they are 32-36, 4 1/2 games back of the Rangers, who lead Seattle by two. Oakland, losers of nine of their last 10, have fallen out of it, now a full eight games off the pace.

Angels' hopes were buoyed by finally getting some production out of Vernon Wells, the erstwhile star from Toronto who is batting just .196 this season. Wells cashed a pair of home runs in the win, a solo shot in the 3rd and a two-run job in the 7th which broke a 3-3 tie and chased Seattle starter, Jason Vargas.

Granted, Wells has only played in 41 games this season, missing most of the month of May on the DL, but he's failed to crack the .200 mark since a 1-for-4 effort opening day against the Royals. His 2-for-4 output on Monday is the closest he's been to the .200 plateau since April 1.

National League

Miguel Montero

Arizona catcher Miguel Montero spanked doubles in his first three at-bats, leading the Diamondbacks to a 12-9 win at Florida.

Montero started off the game with a bases-loaded double in the first, clearing them for three of his four RBI. In the 3rd, he doubled home Stephen Drew and in the 4th he doubled and scored, putting the D-Backs up by an 11-3 score.

The Marlins tried to cut into the lead, but eventually came up just a little short, even though the Florida bullpen held Arizona scoreless after the 4th inning.

After losing the opener of the series on Friday, Arizona bounced back for three straight wins over the Marlins, cutting the Giants' lead in the NL West to 1/2 game. Florida, meanwhile, has gone from hot to not, following up a 6-3 road trip with a horrific 1-10 home stand, falling 7 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the East, and giving up second place to the Braves, who are just 2 1/2 behind.

JETER 3000 WATCH: Fans tracking Derek Jeter's path to 3000 hits will have to wait a little longer. After recording hit number 2994 with a first inning single in the Yankees' 1-0 loss to Cleveland on Monday, Jeter left the field in the 5th inning, limping down the first base line on a routine fly out, heading straight to the dugout in obvious pain.

He failed to come out to the field in the Yankees' 6th and has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 (the least severe) strain of his right calf. He's already been scratched from the lineup for Tuesday's opener with the Rangers, the start of a three-game series, but, unfortunately, the end of the Yankees' current home stand. Jeter will not likely be placed on the DL, though there's no immediate timetable for his expected return to action.

The Yanks go on the road for six interleague games (Cubs, Reds) before returning to Yankee Stadium for a pair of three-game sets with the Rockies and Brewers, so it's conceivable that the rabid New York fans may get to see him crack the 3000-hit mark at home, should he miss, say, five or six of the next nine games.