Michael Brantley's 4 RBI Drive Indians Past Orioles, 5-2; Dodgers Down Giants, 3-1, on Yasiel Puig's 2 RBI

Players of the Day for Monday, June 24, 2013

American League

Michael Brantley

In one of just two AL games played Monday, the Cleveland Indians got four RBI from Michael Brantley, sending the Orioles to their fourth straight loss, as the Tribe won the opener of a four-game series at Camden Yards, 5-2.

Down, 2-1 in the sixth, Brantley put the Indians in front with a two-run single and then padded the lead with a two-run homer in the eighth. Ubaldo Jiminez (6-4) took the win, allowing eight Oriole hits and two runs over 5 1/3 innings. Cleveland used a parade of four relievers over the final 3 2/3 innings to hold down Batlimore bats.

Brantley's homer was his fifth of the season and helped the second-place Indians pick up 1/2 game on the idle Tigers, who lead the AL Central by 3 1/2 games. Baltimore fell into a tie for second with the Yankees in the AL East, 2 1/2 games behind Boston.

The series resumes Tuesday at 7:05 pm EDT.

National League

Yasiel Puig

The classic West coast rivalry opened for a three game series in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers took a 3-1 decision over the invading Giants.

As has been the case for much of the last month, Yasiel Puig - who appears headed for the NL rookie of the year award - was the difference-maker, going 3-for-4 with a first-inning homer and two RBI, enough to support the one-run pitching of Hyun-Jin Ryu, who allowed eight hits and walked four over 6 2/3 innings, but received no decision.

Puig's single in the eighth inning drove in Nick Punto, breaking a 1-1 tie. Hanley Ramirez knocked in Mark Ellis with an insurance run later in the frame.

Puig, who began his major league career on June 2, played in his 20th game. He has hit safely in 17, going 34-for-77 (.447) with seven home runs, 14 RBI and 12 multiple-hit games.

Even with Puig and the recently-returned Ramirez, the Dodgers remain stuck in last place in the NL West. Monday's victory left them eight games off the pace being set by the Arizona Diamondbacks. San Francisco dropped into fourth-place in the division 3 1/2 off the lead, with the Padres and Rockies a half game ahead of them.

The second of the three-game set begins Tuesday at 7:10 pm PDT.

Today's Trivia: What was the highest batting average ever recorded by a rookie?

Yesterday's Answer: Sandy Koufax won the Cy Young Award in 1963, 1965 and 1966.