Ryan Raburn Goes 4-for-5 in 14-4 Tiger Victory; Starlin Castro Leading NL in Hits

Players of the Day for Monday, September 12, 2011

American League

The Detroit Tigers took another step - make that two steps - closer to becoming the AL Central Division champion, knocking off the second place White Sox, 14-4, Monday in Chicago.

Ryan Raburn

With a win and a loss to their closest pursuer, the Tigers reduced their magic number from seven to five and appear to be well on their way, holding an 11 1/2 game lead over both the White Sox and Indians.

Detroit knocked out 21 hits, four of them by Ryan Raburn, batting down in the #9 hole in the Tigers' power-laden lineup. Raburn began his assault on Chicago pitching with a second inning home run, a solo shot, his 13th of the year, and proceeded to go 4-for-5 with a double, two singles, scoring three times and driving in three.

Detroit has pulled away in the division, winning ten straight games, the most they've won in a row since getting 11 straight in 1968, the year they beat St. Louis in the World Series, four games to three.

In the East, the Yankees beat the Mariners, 9-3, pounding starter Felix Hernandez with nine hits and six runs in six innings. The Tampa Bay Rays remained on fire, whipping Baltimore, 5-2, to pull to within seven of the Yankees and three behind the idle second place Red Sox, who are also the AL wild card leader.

In the West, the Angels dropped a 6-3 decision to the A's, dropping them to three games behind the front-running Rangers.

National League

It's been a rough season for both the Cubs and the Reds, but Chicago shortstop Starlin Castro is making the best of it and making a name for himself in the process.

Castro's 190 hits
leads NL

Castro delivered another super game performance by going 3-for-4, with two doubles and his ninth home run of the season, knocking in three runs and scoring four times as the Cubs downed the Reds, 12-8, in Cincinnati.

Castro is batting .308, 6th in the NL, and his 190 hits leads the league. The slick-fielding middle infielder has scored 86 runs, driven in 61 and has 32 doubles, nine triples and 21 stolen bases.

Around the NL, the Braves and Cardinals were both losers, keeping Atlanta's lead in the wild card race at 4 1/2 games. The Braves have lost four straight, three of them to the Cardinals, who swept a weekend series in St. Louis.

The Phillies lost the Houston, 5-1, but Atlanta's loss knocked their magic number for clinching the East down to five. Arizona and San Francisco both won, which kept the Diamondback's lead in the West at 8 1/2 games.