Chris Davis, Nick Markakis Lead 11-5 Rout of Yankees; A.J. Burnett Tosses 1-Hitter for Pirates; Neil Walker Drives in Five

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 31, 2012

American League

Chris Davis

After the Yankees scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning, the Baltimore Orioles were a dejected bunch. After all, Yankee starter, Ivan Nova, had set down the first three O's in order and the New York batters had given him a comfortable, working lead.

All of that changed as the Orioles sent 10 men to the plate in the top of the second and put up 7-spot on Nova, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of DH Chris Davis that turned a 5-3 deficit into a 7-5 Baltimore lead.

Nick Markakis

Davis' 18th home run of the season was a high bomb to left center that bounced off the top of the wall and into the Yankee bullpen. It was the only hit by Davis on the night, but certainly a big one.

Nick Markakis went 3-for-5, scored twice and drove in the final two Baltimore runs with his 11th homer, an 8th-inning shot that all but sealed the win for the O's, sending the Yankees to their fourth straight loss as the Orioles prevailed, 11-5.

Baltimore has taken the first two games of the series and will be looking to sweep Wednesday afternoon (1:05 pm EDT) at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles are in second place, 5 1/2 games back. Baltimore has won three straight and are 10-9 since the all star break. The Yankees are just 8-10 since the break.


National League

Burnett: 1-hitter

Neil Walker hit a first inning grand slam and A.J. Burnett took a no-hitter all the way to two outs in the eighth inning as the Pirates beat the Cubs, 5-0, keeping pace with the streaking Reds - 15-3 since the all star break - in the NL Central.

Walker: GS, 5RBI

Burnett didn't give up a base hit until pinch hitter Adrian Cardenas singled with a man aboard in the eighth. As he improved to 13-3, Burnett allowed just two walks and a hit batsman before surrendering the lone hit for the Cubs. He struck out David DeJesus to end the eighth and retired the three batters in order in the ninth for his first complete game of the season and first shutout since 2006, when he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Throwing 73 of 108 pitches for strikes, Burnett fanned eight, upping his strikeout total for the season to 102 while lowering his ERA to 3.27.

Walker drove in all of Pittsburgh's runs, adding a sac fly in the seventh. He has 55 RBI on the year.

The win left the Pirates three games back of the Reds in the division. They conclude their series in Chicago with the rubber game Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley field.

After a day off Thursday, the Pirates head to Cincinnati for what promises to be a hotly-contested, three-game weekend series with the Reds.