Dioner Navarro's Three Homers, Six RBI Lifts Cubs; Chris Davis Powers Orioles Past Washington

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 29, 2013

American League

Ryan Zimmerman clubbed three home runs and drove in four, but the Nationals still dropped a 9-6 decision to the Orioles.

Davis' 19 HR leads MLB

That result was largely due to the 4-for-4 effort from Baltimore's Chris Davis, who hammered his 18th and 19th home runs of the season, stroked a pair of singles, drove in three runs, scored three times and led the Orioles to the comeback win.

Davis lifted a solo shot in the fourth inning after singling and scoring in the second, but by the seventh, the O's found themselves staring at a 6-3 deficit. Baltimore rallied for six runs in the bottom of the inning, capped by Davis' two-run homer, cementing his major league homer run lead (Miguel Cabrera is second with 15) while lifting his RBI total to an even 50, second in the AL behind Cabrera's 59. Davis is also second in the league with a .359 batting average, chasing - you guessed it - Miguel Cabrera, who leads the majors, at .368.

Baltimore's win compressed an already-tight AL East race. Boston and the Yankees both lost on Thursday, while Tampa Bay joined the Orioles in the win column. The Red Sox lead is one over the Yankees. Baltimore is 2 1/2 back with the Rays three out.

The interleague series between the Nationals and Orioles concludes Thursday at 7:05 pm EDT at Camden Yards.



National League

Navarro: 3HR, 6RBI

In Chicago, Dioner Navarro had an even better time of it, smashing three out of Wrigley Field, with six RBI, as the Cubs took their second in a row and third straight overall from the cross-town rival White Sox, 9-3, proving that all three-home-run games are not created equal.

Life just kept getting better for Navarro on his epic day. After socking a solo homer in the first, the Cubs' catcher hit a two-run job in the fourth, followed by a three-run blast in the seventh inning. Adding to his effort, Navarro walked and scored one of his four runs in the sixth.

Navarro's outburst doubled his home run production for the season and nearly doubled his RBI total. He has driven in 13 runs, but he's been to the plate just 53 times in 2013.

The Cubs' mini-winning streak has gotten out of last place, by two games over the Brewers, who have lost five in a row. However, the Cobs are still 13 1/2 games behind Central division leading St. Louis.

The home-and-home series finishes at Wrigley on Thursday, as the Cubs host the White Sox for a 2:20 pm EDT start.

Today's Trivia: Who holds the major league record for extra-base hits in a season?

Yesterday's Answer: The New York Mets won the NL pennant in 1973.