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.

Drew Stubbs' 9th Inning Homer Gives Reds 6th Straight Win; Adam Dunn Blasts 30th HR in White Sox Romp; A's Streak into Second Place

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 24, 2012

American League

It's all tied up atop the AL Central, after Detroit lost to Cleveland, 3-2, and Adam Dunn cranked out his 30th home run of the season - he leads the majors - in an 11-4 romp over the last-place Twins.

Dunn: 30 HR leads
majors

The White Sox and Tigers are knotted at 52-45, with the Indians three games back. Each of the trio has been in first place for some part of the 2012 season.

Dunn went 3-for-5 on the night, busting a two-run bomb in the seventh, getting the Sox even at 4-4 after the Twins put up three runs in the sixth. Chicago scored two more in the inning, then tacked on a five-spot in the eighth. Dunn drove in a pair with a double and scored on a single by Alex Rios. Alexei Ramirez finished the scoring with a two-run shot of his own, his third.

Dunn's resurgence is one of the main reasons the White Sox are in the hunt for the playoffs. After hitting a career low 11 homers in 2011, Dunn's hard work in the off-season has produced positive results. His 71 RBI is fourth-best in the AL.

The White Sox will go for the sweep of Minnesota on Wednesday, while the Tigers and Indians sort things out in the second game of their three-game series in Cleveland.

National League

Drew Stubbs

In Houston, the Astros appeared to have the game under control entering the ninth inning with a 2-1 lead over NL East-leader, Cincinnati, looking to even their series at a game apiece and snap their seven-game losing streak.

That was until Drew Stubbs stepped to the plate with one out and one aboard and took an offering from closer Francisco Cordero into the left field seats, turning the game on its head, propelling the Reds to their sixth straight victory, 4-2.

Cincinnati added an insurance run in the frame, then Aroldis Chapman picked up his 16th save, fanning three straight after a leadoff single in the ninth.

Stubbs went 3-for-4, though, besides his game-winning homer, his pair of singles didn't yield any more runs.

The Reds improved their lead in the Central division to 2 1/2 games over the resolute Pirates, who lost their second straight in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Cubs.

STREAKING: Right out of the "Nobody Saw This Coming" Department, the Oakland A's have won six straight - including a four-game sweep of the Yankees - tying the Angels for second place in the AL West, five games back of the Rangers. The A's have actually played two fewer games than LA and have a one-game edge in the loss column, having won 10 of their last 11, including nine of 10 since the all star break. Their record of 15-2 in July is the best in the majors.

Adam Dunn, Chris Sale Lead 10-1 White Sox Rout of Houston; Jerry Hairston Drives in Five for Dodgers

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 9, 2012

American League

Dunn: 19 HRs

Adam Dunn is launching moon shots again and the Chicago White Sox are winning, taking a 1 1/2 game lead over Cleveland in the Central division after their 10-1 blasting of the Astros Saturday in Chicago.

Dunn socked his 19th homer of the season - an eighth inning grand slam - and drove in five runs, going 2-for-4 with a sac fly to lead the White Sox to even their weekend interleague series with Houston at a game apiece.

Sale: 8-2, 2.05 ERA

Dunn trails runaway leader, Josh Hamilton, of the Texas Rangers, by three homers, and his 45 RBI are third-best in the league. Hamilton leads with 59, while Detroit's Miguel Cabrera has 51.

Starter Chris Sale limited the Astros to just four hits, blanking them over eight strong innings, to notch his fifth straight win and improve to 8-2 on the season. Jed Lowie homered in the ninth inning off reliever Zach Stewart for Houston's only run. Sale, who leads the AL with a 2.05 ERA, struck out seven without issuing a walk.

The Astros and Cubs square off in the rubber game of the series Sunday afternoon.


National League

Jerry Hairston homered and doubled twice to lead the LA Dodgers to an 8-3 win at Seattle, evening their series with the Mariners at a game apiece with the rubber to be played Sunday afternoon.

Jerry Hairston

Not generally regarded as a potent power hitter, Hairston wasted no time at all getting his bat working, belting a three-run homer to deep left in the top of the first, staking Clayton Kershaw to the early lead.

When he doubled in another run and scored on James Loney's single in the third, the Dodgers were up 5-0 and on their way to maintaining their four game lead over the Giants in the NL West division.

Hairston finished 3-for-4 with five RBI, capping his performance with an opposite field, run-producing double in the eighth inning.

Now playing the infield with regularity, Hairston is having one of the best years of his career at the plate, batting .366, a number that would be leading the NL if Hairston had enough qualified plate appearances. He has played in just 34 games, but, if his hot hitting continues, should remain a staple on the Dodger diamond.

INTERLEAGUE SCOREBOARD: The cross-league games ended in a 7-7 split for the second straight day on Saturday, leaving the AL with a 38-32 lead over their rivals from the senior circuit.

Adam Dunn Socks a Pair, Drives in Five; Matt Kemp, Dodgers Stay Hot with 3-1 Win

Players of the Day for Friday, April 20, 2012

American League

Adam Dunn

Adam Dunn worked hard during the off-season to correct a swing that produced a .159 batting average and just 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 122 games, easily the worst season of his career, now in its 12th year.

Dunn's work has been paying off. The batting average is up and in Chicago's 7-3 win over Seattle the 6'6" slugger drove in five runs with a pair of homers and a double in four at-bats.

Dunn got the White Sox on the board in the first inning with an RBI double (his 6th), then followed up with a three-run homer in the second inning, capping a four run outburst by the Sox. His second home run of the game came in the eighth inning, completing Chicago's scoring.

The White Sox improved to 7-6 with the victory, claiming third place in the AL Central, 1/2 games behind Cleveland and two back of front-running Detroit.


National League

Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp and the LA Dodgers continued their torrid paces with a 3-1 win over the Astros, in the first of a three game series in Houston. The 11-3 Dodgers have the best record in the National League and lead the West division by 4 1/2 games.

Kemp went 3-for-3, smacking his eighth home run of the season in the first inning to stake winning pitcher (2-0) Ted Lilly to an early 2-0 lead.

In his subsequent three trips to the plate, Kemp rapped out a couple of singles and took a walk, raising his batting average to .481, second to David Wright's .486. The two are well ahead of Chris Young's .410, third in the league.

Kemp leads the league in almost every other important category, including hits (26), runs (16), RBI (20) and, of course, home runs. His slugging percentage and OPS are off the charts, at 1.000 and 1.525, respectively.

MILESTONES: Alex Rodriguez lofted a fifth-inning solo shot over Fenway's Green Monster, on an historic day for Boston and the Yankee slugger. Fenway Park turned 100 years old on Friday, while Rodriguez passed up Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth place on the all-time career home run list with his 631st, putting him behind Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. The Yankees spoiled the Red Sox' fun with a 6-2 win. A-Rod needs 29 more homers to tie Willie Mays at 660.

Jaime Garcia Fans Nine in Cards' 9-0 Win; Dunn Smashes Two HR, Drives in Six for Sox

Players of the Day for Thursday, March 22, 2012

Grapefruit League

Garcia: 5IP 3H 0ER 9K

The St. Louis Cardinals won't miss Albert Pujols' bat much if their pitching staff delivers on its enormous upside. With Adam Wainwright returning from a season missed due to injury and Chris Carpenter being his usual dominating self, the Cards have one of the best one-two pitching punches in the league.

Add in Jaime Garcia, who allowed just three hits over five innings and fanned nine in St. Louis' 9-0 win over the Nationals, and the Cardinals could be looking at a serious number of series sweeps during the regular season.

Garcia picked up his first win of the spring with the solid outing in which he allowed no runs and issued no bases on balls. Last year, when Wainwright went down before the season opener, Garcia filled the void admirably, going 13-7 with a 3.56 ERA and was a huge aid to St. Louis' late season run to the NL wild card and eventually the World Series, though he was 0-2 in the post-season.

Cactus League

Dunn: 2HR, 6RBI

Unfortunately for KC starter Bruce Chen - and possibly a whole bunch of other AL hurlers - Adam Dunn seems to have rediscovered the home run stroke that was sorely missing last year, his first with the White Sox.

Dunn knocked two out of the yard against Chen in a 16-4 clobbering of the Royals. The free-swinging lefty smashed a two run bomb and a grand slam for a six RBI day at the plate.

The homers were Dunn's third and fourth of the exhibition season. Through 11 games, that's one more than he hit in 21 2011 spring games. His RBI total of 12 has also surpassed last spring's total of seven. Dunn is batting .333, compared to .224 last spring and while he fanned 27 times last spring, he's only struck out once this year, all good signs pointing to a potential rebound from his disastrous 2011 campaign.

Adam Dunn's 4 RBI Lead White Sox; Edwin Jackson Hurls Four Scoreless for Nats

Players of the Day for Thursday, March 8, 2012

Grapefruit League

Edwin Jackson

After helping the Cardinals reach the playoffs and eventually win the World Series, Edwin Jackson took the free agency route to Washington, where he will likely be part of a starting rotation that could be one of the best in the National League.

Jackson showed off his stuff Thursday, hurling four scoreless innings in an 8-0 whitewash of Houston, allowing just two hits while fanning three without allowing a walk.

Jackson won a divisional series game for the Cardinals last season and took a loss in the World Series after going 5-2 down the stretch as the Cards surged to the wild card. A journeyman, to say the least, Jackson has bounced around the major in his nine major league seasons, playing with the Angels, Dodgers, Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Cardinals and now, finally, the Nationals.

His deal with Washington is for just one year, as Jackson keeps his options open. Blessed with a blazing fastball, n 2010 he fanned 181 batters and followed up with 142 Ks in 2011.

Cactus League

Dunn: HR, 2B, 4 RBI

Adam Dunn had a nightmare of a season in 2011, batting just .159 with 177 strikeouts in 122 games with the White Sox, but the Sox held onto their high-priced DH (probably because nobody wanted him), despite the slugger's career low of 11 home runs for the season.

Hoping to put 2011 behind him, Dunn is off to a better start this Spring. On Thursday he doubled and homered in three at-bats, helping Chicago upend the Rangers, 6-3, with four RBI.

Smacking a three-run homer of Texas closer-turned-starter, Neftali Feliz, in the first inning, Dunn followed up with an RBI double to right-center in the 3rd.

Prior to last season's collapse, Dunn had hit 38 or more homers with 100 or more RBI in six of his prior seven seasons. The White Sox are counting on him to return to that kind of form.

Padres Rip Brewers for 23 Hits; Adam Dunn Leads White Sox Past Angels

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 11, 2011

American League

When people think of Adam Dunn, they usually envision a huge, lumbering hulk of a man with a big swing who hits lots of home runs and strikes out even more frequently.

Adam Dunn

Well, Adam Dunn was lumbering all right in Chicago's 10-inning, 6-4 win over the LA Angels. He was lumbering around the bases, mostly, going 4-for-6 with a home run (yeah, had one of those), a double, two singles, a walk and yes, one strikeout, scoring three times and driving in one run.

Dunn's four-hit game was punctuated by a 10th-inning double which sent Alexei Ramirez around to third base with one out. Ramirez scored on a wild pitch and Dunn followed him home with an insurance run on Brent Lillibridge's scratch single.

A third inning solo home run was Dunn's 4th of the season and briefly tied the game at 1-1.

The win gave the White Sox a 2-1 series win at LA, and it was the fourth win in their last five games, though Chicago remains well back in the AL Central, 9 1/2 games behind the division-leading Indians. The Royals and Tigers, both winners on the night, picked up a game on the Indians - who had their home win streak snapped at 14 in an 8-2 loss to the Rays - and are 4 1/2 back.

National League

Jason Bartlett

With the team decimated by trades over the past three seasons, there isn't much noise coming from the San Diego Padres, but every now and then the crack of the bat punctures the silence, as it was in their 13-6 win at Milwaukee.

San Diego punched out 23 hits off six Milwaukee pitchers, 12 of them off starter Randy Wolf, who lasted just 3 1/3 inning. Doing his fair share of the damage was Jason Bartlett, who went 4-for-6, with a double and three singles, scored twice, drove in two runs and, for good measure, stole a pair of bases.

The baker's dozen put up on the Brewers was the most runs in a single game by the Padres this season, topping the 11 they scored on St. Louis on opening day. Despite the offensive outburst, the Padres remain in last place in the NL West, but, even though they are just 15-22, they are only 5 1/2 games behind co-leaders San Fran and Colorado.

Hope springs eternal, or at least in early May.

Rappin': Rajai Davis went 4-for-4 (all singles), scored twice, drove in a pair of runs and stole two bases as the Blue Jays knocked off Boston, 9-3. With the Red Sox scuffling along in last place (actually tied with Baltimore and Toronto, 4 1/2 games out), the upcoming weekend series with the Yankees is an opportunity for every team in the AL East to make a move. Tampa Bay is already tied with the Yanks and hosts Baltimore for three games, while the Jays head to Minnesota for three with the Twins, who have the unique distinction - at 12-23 - of having the worst record in the majors. Minnesota has lost five straight.

Dunn, Strasburg Topple Giants; Teixeira Powers Streaking Yankees

Players of the Day for Friday, July 9, 2010 American League Just in case you haven't noticed, the Yankees are leading Tampa Bay by 3 games and Boston by 5 in the AL East, winning their 7th straight as they storm through the lower half of the Western division, taking their second straight at Seattle, 6-1. Their 55-31 record is the best in the majors. Prior to their trip to the great Northwest, the Yankees swept three games at Oakland after taking the final two games of a three-game series with the Blue Jays. The seven game stretch is the longest current streak in the majors. Center stage for the Yanks in Seattle was Mark Teixeira, who supported Phil Hughes' 7-innings for his 11th win against 2 losses. Teixeira whacked a solo homer in the top of the first inning and bashed another in the 9th. In between, he walked and scored from first base on Robinson Cano's 6th inning triple, as the Yankees broke the game open with 4 runs. Teixeira's two homers gave him 17 on the year, 4 of which have come over the last five games. The burly first baseman has been the driving force for the Yankees' recent success. Over the last seven games, Teixeira has hit safely in all but one, going 10-for-27 (.370), with 4 homers, 4 doubles, 8 runs and 10 RBI. New York plays two more in Seattle prior to the All Star break. National League Amid all the excitement over Stephen Strasburg, fans may not have noticed that the Nationals have fallen back into their usual spot in the NL East standings, last place, 12 1/2 games behind the division-leading Braves, but that hasn't deterred their young starter or their top slugger. Strasberg (left) improved to 3-2, working 6 solid innings against the Giants in an 8-1 Washington win. The rookie hurler allowed just three hits, the only San Francisco run coming when Andres Torres' led off the contest with his 7th home run of the season. Unfazed, Strasburg sliced through the Giants after that, getting the next nine batters in order before walking Freddie Sanchez to open the 4th. Strasburgh finished with 8 Ks and just one walk. throwing 85 pitches before taking a seat. In the meantime, the Nats had forged a 4-1 lead, then turned the game into a laugher with 4 more in the 7th, highlighted by Adam Dunn's (right) second homer of the game, a two-run bomb to left center, giving him a National League best 22 (tied with Joey Votto) on the year. Dunn also doubled and scored in the 6th, going 3-for-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBI. Dunn, who homered three times just two days ago in a 6-5 win over San Diego, is having an awesome year, with 26 doubles, 22 homers, a .963 OPS and a .285 batting average, 31 points over his career mark.

Dunn's Blast Helps Boost D-Backs; Mora Rips Red Sox

Players of the Day from Wednesday, August 20, 2008 American League Here's a guy that doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves. Playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Melvin Mora doesn't get much notice, but his 95 RBI are 5th best in the AL. On Wednesday, Mora hit a three run homer (21), drove in another run with a sac fly, stole a base and drove in four runs total as the Orioles knocked down the Red Sox, 11-6.

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Mora's been on a tear of late, going 20-for-39 (.513) over his last 9 games, with 4 homers and 16 RBI. The loss wasn't a killer for Boston, as the Rays were being beaten by the Angels, 5-4, and remain 4 1/2 in front in the AL East. Notes: The Yankees won, 5-1, over Toronto, and are 10 back of the Rays and 5 1/2 behind the Red Sox in the wild card. There are still people who believe the Yankees have a chance at making the post-season via the wild card route, but unless Boston and either the White Sox or Twins collapse, it's not going to happen. The White Sox and Twins both won on Wednesday, so the Central has Chicago up by one game over the Twins, who are currently 1/2 behind Boston for the wild card. It all adds up to mission impossible for the Yankees. National League Adam Dunn is providing the big bat the Diamondbacks have been seeking. In Wednesday night's 8-6 win over San Diego, Dunn launched his 34th home run of the season, a 3-run, first inning shot off Padres' starter Jake Peavy, which helped as the D-Backs rallied from a 4-0 deficit. By the end of the second, Arizona was ahead 6-4 and never trailed again, adding a game on 2nd place Los Angeles, losers to Colorado, 4-3, now 2 back in the West standings. Dunn's homer was his second in as many nights and gave him the NL lead over Philly's Ryan Howard (33).

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Notes: The Brewers picked up a game on the Cubs and now trail by 5 in the Central, but have a 2 1/2 game edge over St. Louis in the wild card race. The Mets and Phillies were both winners, so the Mets remain 1 1/2 ahead of Philadelphia in the East. Florida lost to San Francisco, 6-5, and have fallen 5 off the pace.

Dunn Crashes a Pair in Cincy Win; Youkilis Slams for Sox

Players of the Day from Saturday, July 12, 2008 American League A week ago, it appeared that the Tampa Bay Rays would run away with the AL East title. That's not such a given, now that the Rays have lost six straight. On Saturday, Kevin Youkilis and his Red Sox teammates closed the gap to a mere 1/2 game, as Boston pounded Baltimore, 12-1, while the Rays were dropping their third straight at Cleveland, 8-4. Youkilis accounted for 6 RBI with a grand slam in the third inning, a sac fly in the 4th and a run-scoring single in the 8th. Notes: The Yankees also won, 9-4, over Toronto, putting them 5 1/2 behind the Rays. The AL East looks to be far from a done deal. National League Adam Dunn socked a three-run homer and a solo shot, and Jerry Hairston Jr. went 4-for-4 and scored three times as the Reds tapped the Brewers, 8-2, dropping Milwaukee 6 games behind the NL Central-leading Cubs.

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Dunn's blasts gave him 26 on the season, two behind league leader Ryan Howard, Notes: With both St. Louis and Milwaukee losing, the Cubs squeaked by San Fran, 8-7 in 11 innings, and have a 5 1/2 game lead over the Cards. The Mets extended their winning streak to eight with a 3-0 win over the Rockies, while the Phillies were losing, 10-4, to Arizona and Florida dropped the Dodgers, 5-3. Both the Mets and Marlins are now just 1/2-game behind the Phillies in the AL East. Arizona has re-established a 2-game lead over LA in the West. Mets pitching has been particularly effective of late. Over the past five games, Mets' pitchers have allowed just 13 hits and 4 runs. The bullpen hasn't allowed a run in 18 1/3 consecutive innings. Of course, they're doing this against a couple of the weaker NL West teams, San Francisco and Colorado, but their accomplishments are noteworthy.

Yankees Slip by Sox; Zambrano Boosts Cubs

American League NY Yankees 8 Boston 7 - New York scored 6 times in the 8th inning, Luis Vizcaino worked a perfect 8th and Mariano Rivera held the Sox scoreless in the 9th for his 27th save as the Yankees took the first of a crucial 3-game series in Boston, drawing to within 4 1/2 games of the Red Sox for the AL East lead. Johnny Damon victimized his old teammates, going 4-4, though only scoring once. Alex Rodriguez capped the comeback, driving in Bobby Abreu with the lead run with a single, his only hit of the game. A-Rod has 141 RBI, which leads the majors. Texas 9 Oakland 11 - Sammy Sosa (right) slugged his 20th home run of the season and drove in 5 runs in a losing effort for the Rangers. Sosa, after sitting out all of 2006, has rebounded with a solid season, driving in 88 runs in 108 games. Other AL Scores Kansas City 4 Cleveland 5 - Indians magic number is 10 Baltimore 6 Toronto 2 Detroit 4 Minnesota 2 LA Angels 3 Chi White Sox 5 - J. Thome, 0-4, needs 1 HR for 500 Tampa Bay 1 Seattle 2 National League Chi Cubs 5 St. Louis 3 - The Chicago Cubs handed the Cardinals their 8th straight loss and took a 1 1/2-game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central as Carlos Zambrano (right) hurled 8 solid innings, allowing just 4 hits. The only run off Zambrano was Albert Pujols' 31st homer of the season, which tied the game, but the Cubs came back with a run in the 7th and 3 in the 9th. Zambrano improved to 16-12. Cincinnati 6 Milwaukee 5 - Prince Fielder hit his league-leading 45th home run, and Cincy's Adam Dunn socked his 39th as the Reds climbed to within 2 games of third place in the NL Central division, spoiling the hopes of the Brewers, who failed to keep pace with Chicago. Philadelphia 3 NY Mets 2, 10 innings - The Phillies probably won't catch the Mets in the division, but they kept their playoff hopes alive with an extra-inning triumph at Shea.

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Greg Dobbs' sac fly drove home Jayson Werth with the game-winner, and the Phillies remained 1 1/2 games back of the Padres, who lead the wild card standings. Arizona 4 LA Dodgers 7 - Likewise in the West, the Dodgers are 4 1/2 behind Arizona, but stayed 1 1/2 behind San Diego in the wild card race. LA scored 4 times in the 4th inning to erase a 4-2 Arizona lead and help Brad Penny, who allowed 3 earned runs over 5 innings, improve to 16-4. The Dodger bullpen did its job, blanking Arizona the rest of the way, with Takashi Saito picking up his 39th save with a scoreless 9th. San Francisco 4 San Diego 5, 10 innings - Khalil Green's solo homer in the 10th gave San Diego a much-needed win, keeping them in the wild card lead and closing to within 3 games of Arizona in the West. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 4 Houston 3 Florida 7 Colorado 6 - M. Holliday HR (31), 120 RBI leads NL Atlanta 8 Washington 5, 13 innings

Peavy wins 17th; Angels Magic Number is 10

American League LA Angels 10 Baltimore 5 - The Angels have the largest lead in the major leagues, at 9 1/2 games over Seattle, and last night reduced their magic number to 10 with a thumping of the hapless O's. Vladimir Guerrero (right) led a 14-hit Angels attack with a pair of 2-run homers, giving him 24 on the season and increasing his RBI total to 114, third best in the AL. How bad are the Orioles? They've won just 3 times in their last 20 games. That's how bad. Tampa Bay 10 Boston 16 - The Red Sox fell behind Tampa 8-1 in the 4th inning, but rallied past the Devil Rays to even their series at 1-1 and stay 5 games ahead of the Yankees in the division. Mike Lowell went 4-5 and scored 4 times and Kevin Youkilis banged a 3-run double off the left field wall to highlight a 6-run 6th inning. NY Yankees 9 Toronto 2 - With a showdown looming in Boston, the Yankees are the hottest team in the majors, winning their 6th straight and 10th of their last 13. Jason Giambi socked a grand slam to lead the offense as the Yankees improved their wild card lead to 4 games over Detroit. Other AL Scores Cleveland 8 Chi White Sox 3 - Indians have 6 1/2-gm. lead in Central Texas 13 Detroit 6 Texas 1 Detroit 4 Minnesota 6 Kansas City 3 Oakland 7 Seattle 4 National League San Diego 9 LA Dodgers 4 - The Padres moved on everybody Tuesday night, beating their closest pursuer as the D-Backs and Phillies also lost. The win put them 2 1/2 behind Arizona in the division and 2 1/2 ahead of Philly in the wild card race. Jake Peavy (left) became the NL's first 17-game winner, allowing 2 earned runs on five hits over 7 innings. Peavy is looking more and more like the easy choice for the NL Cy Young award, leading the league in wins (17-6), ERA (2.44) and strikeouts (215). Tuesday's win was his 8th in his last nine decisions. St. Louis 2 Cincinnati 7 - Adam Dunn cracked a pair of homers, driving in 5 runs as the Reds dumped the Cardinals. Dunn hit a solo shot in the first inning and banged a grand slam in the 3rd, both of Cardinals' starter Mark Mulder, who lasted only 4 innings in his second start after coming off the disabled list. Mulder's line for the two games is pretty disappointing: 8 IP, 15 hits, 11 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, and an ERA of 12.38. Given every opportunity to get past the .500 mark and take over the NL Central lead, the Cards have lost five straight and are 4 games behind Milwaukee in the division. Milwaukee 6 Pittsburgh 1 - The Brewers took back first place in the Central, grabbing a 1-game lead over the Cubs. Colorado 8 Philadelphia 2 - Matt Holliday (right) took over the RBI leadership in the NL, banging a couple of home runs and driving in 3. Ryan Howard, who had the lead going into the game, went 0-4. Holliday has 116 RBI; Howard, 115. Other NL Scores Washington 8 Florida 13 Atlanta 13 NY Mets 5 Chi Cubs 4 Houston 5, 11 innings Arizona 1 San Francisco 2

Griffey, Dunn lead Reds to 5th straight; Lowell propels Red Sox

American League Boston 14 Chi White Sox 2 - The Red Sox are on cruise control and Mike Lowell (right) is one of the big reasons why. Lowell connected for 4 singles in 6 at-bats, drove in two runs and scored a pair, as Boston hammered the White Sox for the third straight day. Boston took both ends of a double-header - 11-3 and 10-1 on Friday prior to Saturday's drubbing. Lowell leads the team in hits, with 150, and RBI, with 92. His .324 batting average is just .001 shy of David Ortiz' team lead. Lowell's hitting backed Tim Wakefield's 7 shutout innings as the knuckler joined teammate Josh Beckett the majors' only 16-game winners. NY Yankees 7 Detroit 2 - The Yankees remained 6 1/2 behind the Red Sox as Chien-Ming Wang (15-6) kept the Tigers in check for his 15th win. Wang allowed one earned run on five hits over 8 innings of work. Johnny Damon tripled and homered to spark the offense. The Yanks picked up a game on wild card leader Seattle and now trail the Mariners by 2 games. Cleveland 9 Kansas City 4 - Detroit's pain was Cleveland's gain. The Indian's improved their AL Central lead to 2 1/2 games over the Tigers with a drubbing of the Royals. The Indians banged out 17 hits - 9 for extra bases - with 7 of the 9 regulars getting at least 2 knocks. Victor Martinez had two doubles and his 19th home run from 5 at-bats, drove in 2 runs and scored 3 times. Minnesota 8 Baltimore 1 - Almost without notice, the Twins have snuck back into the AL Central fray with their 4th straight win. Torii Hunter smacked a 3 run homer in the 6th inning and drove in another with a double in the 8th. Hunter has 90 RBI on the season. The Twins trail the Indians by 5 1/2. Other AL Scores Oakland 3 Tampa Bay 14 Seattle 3 Texas 5 = Mariners still 1 game back of Angels in AL West Toronto 9 LA Angels 2 National League LA Dodgers 3 NY Mets 4 - The Mets extended their dominance in the NL East as both the Phillies and Braves were losing Saturday. New York has opened a 7-game lead on both as they squeaked by the Dodgers to take the second straight in the 3-game series. Tonight's finale is ESPN's featured game. Atlanta 4 St. Louis 5 - The Cardinals refuse to die, picking up a game on both the Cubs and Brewers in the NL Central race. The Cards ended up just 3 games behind Chicago as they scored all of their runs in the 6th inning, batting around on loser Tim Hudson (15-6). The Cardinal bullpen worked the final five innings, with Jason Isringhausen fanning two in the ninth for his 26th save. Chi Cubs 1 Arizona 3 - The D-Backs kept their slim 2-game lead over San Diego intact with more solid starting pitching, this time from Doug Davis (11-11), who scattered 6 hits over 7 innings while striking out 8. Jose Valverde picked up his 39th save, tops in the majors. San Diego 4 Philadelphia 3 - The Padres kept pace in the West with four homers accounting for all of their runs, and now lead the wild card standings by four games over the Phillies and Braves. Mike Cameron, Milton Bradley and Kevin Kouzmanoff all had solo shots, and pinch hitter Terrmel Sledge's solo slug to center provided the winning margin in the ninth. The Philadelphia bullpen, overworked and under pressure, gave up a lead again, sending the Phillies to their 4th straight loss. The Padres have won 4 straight. Florida 7 Cincinnati 11 - Adam Dunn (left) hit his 36th home run and Ken Griffey Jr. (right) knocked career #591 as the Reds slugged their way to their 5th straight win and are just 7 1/2 games out in the Central division. Over the five game span, the Reds have scored 35 runs, but their average margin of victory is just 2.2 runs per game. A little pitching could put the Reds right in the thick of things. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 4 Houston 1 Washington 1 Colorado 5 Milwaukee 2 San Francisco 6 - Brewers, 3 straight losses

Ichiro stokes Mariner hopes; Dunn homer finishes Braves

American League Cleveland 3 Detroit 1, 10 innings - Starters Jake Westbrook and Nate Robertson each put up zeros for 8 innings and Cleveland finally broke through against Joel Zumaya in the 10th to put down the Tigers for the 2nd consecutive night and take the pivotal series, two games to one. The win gave Cleveland a 2 1/2 game lead over Detroit in the AL Central and dumped the Tigers five games behind surprising Seattle in the wild card race. The effort by Westbrook was his 4th solid outing in his last five starts, th eonly loss coming against the Yankees. Over that span, he's allowed just 6 runs in 36 innings, for a superb ERA of 1.50. If he continues to pitch at that level, the Indians will be hard to beat down the stretch. Seattle 9 Texas 4 - The Mariners scored 7 times in the 6th inning, keyed by Ichiro Suzuki's (right) bases-loaded double. Suzuki went 3-5 and drove in 3 runs, raising his batting average to .352, just .001 behind Detroit's Magglio Ordonez for the major league batting lead. Suzuki is just 15 hits shy of the 200 mark, a number he's hit in all six of his previous seasons with the Mariners. The Mariners, 14-6 during August, have closed to within one game of the LA Angels, who have led the division nearly the entire season. After 3 more games at Texas, Seattle heads home for a three-game series with the Angels. Other AL Scores

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Minnesota 5 Baltimore 2 Toronto 5 LA Angels 4 Oakland 12 Tampa Bay 2 - M. Piazza, 4-5, HR (5), 5 RBI National League San Diego 9 NY Mets 8, 10 innings - In a game both Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner blew save opportunities, Adrian Gonzalez had the final say with his 20th home run of the season, a game-winning solo shot that gave the Padres a two-game edge over Philly in the wild card standings and put them 3 games behind Arizona in the NL West. The Mets maintained their 5-game bulge in the East as both the Phillies and Braves were losers on Thursday. Atlanta 7 Cincinnati 9, 12 innings - Adam Dunn (right) launched his 35th moon shot into the right field stands, sending Atlanta to their 3rd straight defeat and taking the series 3 games to 1. The Braves have lost 6 of their last 8 and are in danger of falling out of both the divisional and wild card races. They currently trail the Mets by 6 games and San Diego by 3 in the wild card. Other NL Scores LA Dodgers 5 Philadelphia 2 Pittsburgh 5 Colorado 1 Chi Cubs 1 San Francisco 4 - Cubs hold 1/2-game lead in NL Central Washington 7 Houston 6 Florida 11 St. Louis 3

Indians rule AL Central; Mets mash Cubs

American League Cleveland 5 Minnesota 2 - The Indians finally put together a pair of wins - the first time since July 19 & 20 at Texas that they've won two straight - and took over first place in the AL Central. After a 5-0 win over Texas on Thursday, the Indians put their ace, C.C. Sabathia, (right) on the mound, and he responded with six solid innings, allowing just two earned runs against Twins' starter Johan Santana (11-9). Sabathia (14-6) became the first pitcher in the American league to get to 14 wins, tying the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano for the most in the majors. The Indians have been dogging Detroit for nearly a month, most recently going through a frustrating 3-8 stretch while the Tigers were desperately trying to fumble away first place, losing 11 of 15 since ending a 4-game win streak on August 19. Kansas City 1 NY Yankees 7 - The Yankees, on the verge of completing what may be the softest part of their entire 2007 schedule, have taken 10 of 15 over Tampa Bay, Baltimore, KC and the White Sox, and with two games left in their series with the Royals, seem to have made some headway. With Boston losing last night, the Yanks are 7 back in the AL East and now trail Detroit by 2 1/2 in the wild card race. Seattle is also involved, 1/2-game behind the Tigers. After Sunday, it gets a lot more interesting in the Yankees' quest for a playoff spot, with August filled with games against Toronto, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland and the LA Angels. The month culminates with a 3-game series in the Bronx with Boston on August 28, 29 and 30. The upcoming stretch may well determine the post-season fate of the Bronx Bombers. Boston 4 Seattle 7 - The Mariners continue to confound their critics, remaining a contender in both the AL West and wild card races. With a lineup consisting of no-name players beyond Ichiro and Adrian Beltre, Seattle manages to get timely hitting and pitching, like on Friday, when #9 hitter, Yuniesky Betancourt delivered a 3-run homer in the 4th and broke a 4-all tie in the 6th with a key ground-out RBI. The Mariners are 2 1/2 behind the Angels and just 1/2-game behind Detroit in the wild card. Other AL Scores Chi White Sox 7 Detroit 4 Texas 4 Toronto 6 Baltimore 3 Tampa Bay 1 LA Angels 4 Oakland 8 National League Cincinnati 13 Pittsburgh 4 - Adam Dunn (right) socked his 29th homer and Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 26th, as all 8 position players for the Reds had at least 2 hits. NY Mets 6 Chi Cubs 2 - The Mets are determined to make a mess of any other team's hopes of making the playoffs. On Friday, they knocked the Cubs out of first place, and, by virtue of losses by Philly and Atlanta, improved their NL East lead to 5 games. Orlando Hernandez gave the Mets 6 2/3 innings of solid mound work, allowing 2 earned runs, and the bullpen blanked the Cubs the rest of the way, preventing Carlos Zambrano from becoming the first 15-game winner in the majors. Arizona 1 LA Dodgers 0 - The Diamondbacks upped their lead to 1 1/2 games, behind the 3-hit, 8-inning performance of Doug Davis (8-10), who outdueled LA starter Chad Billingsley (7-2). Jose Valverde delivered a perfect ninth, fanning 2 of the 3 batters he faced, for his 32nd save. The Dodgers fell to third place, 2 back, as the Padres beat San Fran. Colorado stayed in the race with a win at Florida. The Rockies are 3 1/2 off the pace. Other NL Scores St. Louis 2 Washington 3 Houston 8 Florida 2 Colorado 9 Atlanta 2 Philadelphia 1 Milwaukee 2 San Francisco 3 San Diego 4, 10 innings

Dan Johnson Goes All 4s; Griffey catches Palmeiro on HR List

Thursday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League The Angels' Kelvim Escobar knocked the Cleveland Indians out of first place in the AL Central with a 7-hit complete game shutout on Thursday. The 8-0 win also kept the Angels a game up on Oakland in the AL West. Escobar (4-1) struck out 9 and has given up just one run in his last 16 innings, dropping his ERA to 2.21 and his WHIP to a very respectable 1.08. Oakland's Dan Johnson made up for a lot of lost time on Thursday in Kansas City. Johnson, who didn't start playing regularly until April 25, went 4-4 with 2 homers and a double, drove in 4 runs and scored 4 times as Oakland steamrolled the Royals, 17-3. With only 43 official at-bats entering the game, Johnson raised his batting average from .326 to .383. Leadoff hitter Shannon Stewart also had 4 hits in 6 at-bats, scored a pair of runs and drove in 2. Jose Contreras evened his record at 3-3 with a 5-hit complete game, 3-0 shutout of the Minnesota Twins. It was Contreras' 2nd road win of the season and his 2nd career shutout. The win moved the White Sox 1/2 game ahead of the Twins and also ended Torii Hunter's hitting streak at 23 games. The Sox took the last 2 of their 3-games series in Minnesota and trail the Detroit Tigers by 4 games in the wide-open AL Central division. Tim Wakefield shut out the Blue Jays on 3 hits over 7 innings and the Boston offense spoiled Roy Halladay's bid for his 100th career win in an 8-0 rout. The Red Sox swept the Jays in their 3-game set and sent them to their 9th straight loss. The Sox have won 4 straight and now lead the AL East by 7 games. The Texas Rangers finally got a win over the NY Yankees and they made it a big one. The Rangers had lost 5 straight to the Yankees, but their 14-2 win in New York snapped the streak.

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Mark Teixeira had a single and 3 doubles in 5 at-bats, drove in 3 runs and scored 3 for Texas. Victor Diaz hit his 1st home run of the season, a grand slam in the 8th inning to finish the scoring deluge. Other AL Scores Baltimore 11 Tampa Bay 6 - O's sweep 3-gm. series w/D-Rays Detroit 7 Seattle 3 - Tigers 1/2-gm. lead in AL Cent. National League Sergio Mitre shut out the visiting LA Dodgers on 3 hits and 3 walks over 8 innings but did not get the decision as Josh Willingham ended the contest with a 3-run homer with 1 out in the ninth inning off LA starter Derek Lowe. It was Willingham's 5th home run of the season. Adam Dunn (right) just needed a single to hit for the cycle, but he had to settle for a 3-4 effort in Cincinnati's 9-4 win over the visiting Astros, smacking his league-leading (tied with Barry Bonds) 11th home run of the season to go with a double, triple, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. While Dunn was having his fun, Ken Griffey Jr. (left) knocked his 6th homer of the season and 5th in his last 10 games. Griffey's shot was the 569th of his career, tying him for 9th place all-time with Rafeal Palmeiro. Just 4 ahead is Harmon Killebrew at #8 with 573. Griffey, when healthy, is capable of hitting 40 or more, which he's done 7 times, though various injuries have limited him since 2000, when he last hit 40. Since then, his best has been 35 in 2005, but he's off to a solid start and should easily pass Mark McGwire (583) and Frank Robinson (586) and may catch still-active Sammy Sosa (595). While Barry Bonds continues to chase down Hank Aaron's 755 this season, Griffey, 37, looks to have at least 3 or 4 more seasons to make a run of his own. One good reason to root for "The Kid" is that in an age of steroids and other performance-enhancing potions, there's never been so much as a hint that Griffey ever used any, instead relying entirely on his own abundant physical talents. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 6 Chicago Cubs 4 - A. Soriano, 18-gm. hit streak; D. Lee, 17-gm. streak Colorado 5 San Francisco 3 Atlanta 5 San Diego 3 - T. Hudson (W, 4-1)

A-Rod Slams O's; Oswalt Goes Distance for 1st Astros Win

Saturday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Alex Rodriguez (right) homered twice, the second a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, to propel the NY Yankees to a 10-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Yankees Stadium. A-Rod's stat line for the game is the most impressive thus far this season. 4 at-bats, 3 hits, 4 runs, 6 RBI. In the same game, O's third baseman Melvin Mora put up some pretty good numbers of his own with a double and home run in 5 at-bats, 5 RBI and a run scored. Curtis Granderson's 5th inning solo home run proved to be the game-winner as Detroit outlasted Kansas City, 6-5. Granderson went 2-3, drove in a pair of runs and scored twice for the Tigers, who earned their first road win. Javier Vasquez threw 6 2/3 innings of 1-hit shutout ball, sending the visiting Twins to their first loss, 3-0. Vasquez struck out 5 (including the side, in order in the 5th inning) and walked 4. Frank Thomas hit his first home run in a Toronto uniform, a 2nd inning grand slam off Tampa Bay's Toma Okha, who gave up 6 hits, 3 walks and 5 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. The Blue Jays won the game 8-5 in Tampa. Sammy Sosa hit his first homer of the season and first as a Texas Ranger as the Rangers beat the visiting Red Sox for the second straight day, 8-4. Sosa's 2-run blast came off Boston's J.C. Romero, who had a rough outing, allowing 5 hits, 3 earned runs while not recording an out. Sosa was 2-5, with 2 RBI and scored twice. John Lackey looked to be in midseason form, helping the LA Angels to their 5th win in six games with a 7 inning quality start and his second win of the season. Lackey outdueled Danny Haren (0-2), allowing just 1 run on 7 hits, no walks and 6 Ks. Haren pitched well enough to win, but the A's literally threw the game away in the 6th inning, when shortstop Marco Scutaro threw wildly to first, allowing Garrett Anderson to score the winning run from 2nd base. National League Adam Dunn (right) had an interesting day helping the Reds take over sole possession of first place in the NL Central (4-1) with a 7-5 win over visiting Pittsburgh. Dunn belted his his third homer of the season in the first inning - a two run shot - and after that the Pirate pitchers walked him three times, so Dunn responded by stealing second twice and scoring a couple more times. Noted more for his power stroke than his speed, Dunn has now stolen 9 consecutive bases without being thrown out. He stole 7 in 7 tries in 2006. After a rough outing in his first start, Derek Lowe held the Giants to 1 run on 4 hits over 7 innings in the Dodgers' 4-1 win at San Francisco. Lowe walked 2 and struck out 1 - opposing pitcher Russ Ortiz - evening his record at 1-1. Florida's Josh Willingham nearly hit for the cycle in the Marlins 8-4 win over the visiting Phillies, but he couldn't get the easiest part - a single. Willingham homered in the 2nd, tripled in the 3rd and doubled in the 5th inning, drove in 4 runs and scored one. He struck out swinging in the 7th, his final at-bat. Dontrelle Willis struck out 9 en route to his 2nd win. Houston finally got their first win of 2007, thanks to the complete game thrown by ace Roy Oswalt, who allowed just 1 earned run on 5 hits a walk and 4 Ks. The Astros beat St. Louis 5-1, dropping the visiting Cardinals into a tie for last place with themselves. Both the Astros and Cardinals are 1-4.