Adam Dunn Homers Twice in Foggy Chicago Win; Brandon Phillips Drives in All Six Reds' Runs in Win over Cubs

Players of the Day for Monday, June 10, 2013

American League

Adam Dunn is never going to compete for a batting title, and the White Sox, like three other AL Central teams, are already in a desperate chase to catch the Tigers, but on a foggy Monday night in Chicago, Dunn went 4-for-4 and the Sox picked up a game on Detroit with a 10-6 win over Toronto.

Adam Dunn

Dunn homered twice and added two singles, drove in five runs and scored three times as Chicago won its third straight. Meanwhile, the Tigers were losing, 3-2, to a resurgent Kansas City squad that's won six straight.

The game was delayed an hour and ten minutes in the third inning due to fog, but that didn't seem to bother Dunn, who apparently was seeing the ball just fine. He launched a 452-foot tape-measure bomb in the third, a solo shot, followed by a three-run job in the fourth that "only" went 432 feet.

In the eighth, Dunn collected his fourth hit of the night, singling home Alexei Ramirex with the game's final run.

Dunn's four hits raised his batting average from an embarrassing .165 to a still-pathetic .181. The Sox are tied with Minnesota at the bottom of the division, seven games out. Kansas City and Cleveland trail Detroit by 5 1/2 each.

Game two of Chicago's three-game set with Toronto starts at 8:10 pm EDT Tuesday.

National League

Phillips: GS, 6 RBI

After losing two of three to Colorado and St. Louis last week, the Cincinnati Reds were probably relieved that their schedule sent them off to the Windy City for four games with the Cubs to start this week.

They're also happy that Brandon Phillips is having an all-star season.

Phillips, who spent most of the past seven seasons batting either in the leadoff or two-spot, has flourished batting fourth, behind Joey Votto, this season. In Monday's 6-2 win, Phillips drove in all of the Reds' runs, while Homer Bailey stifled Chicago on four hits, fanning eight over eight innings.

Phillips got the Reds rolling with an RBI single in the opening frame, then stroked a grand slam in the third, putting Cincy up by a 5-0 margin. The Cubs didn't score until the sixth, and Phillips tacked on another run and RBI, grounding out in the eighth with runners on first and third.

Phillips has 10 homers and 52 RBI, second in the league behind Paul Goldschmidt's 59.

The Reds took sole possession of second place in the Central division, 3 1/2 back of the Cardinals. They resume their rivalry with the Cubs at 8:10 pm CDT on Tuesday.

Today's Trivia: Who was the last American League rookie of the year to later win the MVP award? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: In 1974, St. Louis' Lou Brock set the single-season standard for steals, swiping 118 bases.