Chris Davis, Orioles Bash Tigers, 13-3; Hanley Ramirez Goes 6-for-8 as Dodgers Split Double-Dip vs. Yankees

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 19, 2013

American League

Baltimore took two of three from the Tigers - in Detroit - with a 13-3 mashing of the AL champions Wednesday night with a 17-hit assault that left the Tigers a bit beaten and bruised, but still in first place in the Central division, 3 1/2 games up on the Cleveland Indians.

Chris Davis

The Orioles moved closer to the top of the AL East, now trailing Boston by 1 1/2 games, after the Red Sox dropped a 6-2 decision to visiting Tampa Bay. Tighter than ever, the five teams in the AL East are now separated by just 7 1/2 games, as the Blue Jays won their eighth straight and are only a game under .500, at 34-35.

Every starter in the Baltimore lineup had at least one hit in the Detroit rout, six players coming up with two or more. Chris Davis, quickly becoming regarded as one of the most-feared power hitters in the game, went 3-for-5, with a pair of homers - his MLB-leading 25th and 26th - and a double, driving in five runs to up his total to 66, just five behind Miguel Cabrera, who was 2-for-4 for Detroit, but didn't drive home any runs.

Baltimore gets a day off Thursday before heading to Toronto to see if they can cool down the Blue Jays in a three-game series which starts Friday at the Rogers Center. The Tigers remain home to host the Red Sox in a four game series, starting Thursday night at 7:08 pm EDT.

National League

Hanley Ramirez

The Dodgers and Yankees were rained out on Wednesday, resulting in a Thursday double-dip at Yankee Stadium, which apparently was just fine with Dodger shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Although the teams split the two-game series, the Yankees winning the first game, 6-4, with the Dodgers coming back for a 6-0 triumph in the second game, Ramirez stole the slow by going 6-for-8 over the course of the double-header.

Ramirez, who started the year out on the DL, has played in just 15 games this season. He was 4-for-4 in the day game, belting his second home run to go with a double and two singles and two RBI. In the nightcap, he was 2-for-4 with another two RBI, as the Dodgers rode the arm of Chris Capuano, another Dodger just off the DL, who blanked the Yankees on three hits over six innings.

The Dodgers will surely benefit with some of their regulars now getting healthy, as they continue to languish in last place in the NL West, though they are only eight games back.

New York, another team missing various stars to injury, picked up 1/2 game on the Red Sox and remain in third place in the AL East, 3 1/2 games back. The win in the opener was just their second in their last eight games.

Today's Trivia: In what year did the American League adopt the Designated Hitter (DH) rule? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: In 1968, Bob Gibson, of the St. Louis Cardinals, recorded the ERA of 1.123, the lowest for a starting pitcher since 1914 and the fourth-lowest ever recorded. Nobody has come close since.