Torii Hunter's Three-Run Blast Lifts Tigers over A's; Danile Murphy Goes 4-for-5 as Mets Crush Phillies, 11-3

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 29, 2013

American League

Torii Hunter

The Detroit Tigers just barely kept themselves from being swept at home by the A's, when Torii Hunter lifted a Grant Balfour offering into the left center field stands, giving the Tigers a 6-7 win in the finale of the four-game series.

Hunter who watched from the bench most of the game, came on as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and remained in the game, replacing Andy Dirks in right field. Detroit erased a 6-1 deficit with a pair of runs in the sixth and four in the ninth, capped by Hunter's walk-off, game-winner.

Victor Martinez drove in the first run of the final frame, singling home Austin Jackson. Hunter was the Tigers' last chance, coming to the plate with two on and two out. It was his 16th home run of the season, helping to increase Detroit's lead over the Indians in the AL Central to 6 1/2 games, as the Indians fell prey to the Braves, 3-1.

Oakland fell three games behind idle Texas in the West division, but still hold the second wild card spot. They are 1/2 game behind Tampa Bay in the wild card standings and lead Baltimore by 3 1/2 for the final playoff spot.

The A's return to Oakland to open a three-game series with the Rays on Friday. Happy to see the A's depart, the Tigers host a three-game series with second place Cleveland, starting Friday night at 7:08 pm EDT.

National League

Daniel Murphy

Not that it matters much in the larger scheme of things, but the NY Mets regained a tie for third place in the NL East with the Phillies, downing their neighbors to the South with an 11-3 beating, finishing their four-game series with a 2-2 tie in games.

Mets' second baseman, Daniel Murphy, went 4-for-5, with a double three singles a stolen base, two RBI and a run scored, as the Mets banged out 11 hits, nine of them shared by the 1-2-3 hitters in the lineup.

While both teams are technically 20 1/2 games behind the Braves in the division, the Phillies have a slight percentage advantage, at 61-73, though the Mets have one fewer loss. Their record is 60-72.

On Friday, both teams open three-game series on the road. The mets are at Washington, while the Phillies travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs.

Today's Trivia: Babe Ruth lead the AL in home runs a record 12 times. Who won the most home run titles in the National League? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: In 1927, Babe Ruth led the majors with 60 home runs and teammate Lou Gehrig mashed 52 doubles, also tops in the majors.