LA 2nd Basemen Come Alive: Howie Kendrick Leads Angels; Mark Ellis Powers Dodgers

Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 23, 2013

American League

The LA Angels got off to another slow start this season, but have been coming on strong of late, Tuesday's 5-4, 11-inning win over Texas getting them to within 4 1/2 games of the NL West-leading Rangers.

Howie Kendrick

Tuesday's outcome was largely the work of LA's steady second baseman, Howie Kendrick, who drove in all but one of the Angels' runs, including the solo homer in the bottom of the 11th, which ended the game in heroic, walk-off style, Kendrick's second home run of the season.

Kendrick went 3-for-5, reaching on an infield single in the first, scoring Albert Pujols. His first home run of the season came in the fourth, a two-run blow that put the Angels up 4-0.

Texas battled back to tie the game in the eighth, before Hendrick ended it in the 11th.

The win tied the three-game series at a game apiece. The Rangers and Angels will settle matters on Wednesday at 10:05 pm EDT.

National League

Mark Ellis

Another LA story came out of New York, where the Dodgers topped the Mets, 7-2.

The Dodgers had lost six straight before beating Baltimore on Sunday, prior to their visit to the Big Apple, taking the first of their three-game set at Citi Field, improving to 9-10 on the season.

Second baseman Mark Ellis delivered the goods for LA, going 4-for-5 with a pair of homers, a double, single, four RBI and two runs. His two dingers were the first of the season for Ellis, who belted a solo shot in the fifth inning to tie the game at 2-2, then cleared the wall in left for a three-run shot in the seventh which put the Dodgers ahead to stay, at 5-2.

Catcher A.J. Ellis (no relation) completed the scoring with a two-run double in the ninth.

Bottom line, "all's Ellis that ends Ellis."

The Dodgers will go for their third straight win when the meet the Mets Wednesday at 7:00 pm EDT.