Molina 4-for-4 for 6-1 Giants; Jones, Teahen Nice ChiSox Additions

Players of the Day for Monday, April 12, 2010 American League There was an Andruw Jones (left) sighting Monday night, and he was wearing a White Sox uniform. A Superman cape was tucked deftly underneath. Jones, who after twelve tumultuous years in Atlanta, has gone from the Braves to the Dodgers, to the Rangers, and now, to the White Sox. Still a hitter with power, Jones hasn't seen much action, though he's gotten into five games this season for the Sox. On Monday, Jones and fellow new arrival Mark Teahen (right, from KC) played a bit of tag-team, resulting in an 11-inning, 8-7, White Sox win at Toronto.

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Jones got the hit parade started with a 2-run homer in the 2nd, then an RBI single in the 3rd, followed by a solo homer in the sixth. Then he apparently touched Teahen on the dugout steps because the third baseman drove in Alex Rios with a single in the 6th, tied the game with a towering home run to left field in the ninth and won it with a triple in the 11th, sending Omar Vizquel plate-ward. By the numbers, Jones was 3-for-4, with 4 RBI and 2 runs; Teahen went 3-for-5, 3 RBI, a run, and a stolen base. National League The Giants tried to deal away Benjie Molina during the off-season, but found no takers, and they're probably considering themselves fairly fortunate considering the way Molina has handled the San Francisco pitching staff, to say nothing of his recent excellence at the plate. San Francisco continued to storm through the National League, winning for the 6th time in 7 outings by putting a 9-3 hurt on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Molina was the main catalyst, going 4-for-4 with a pair of singles, an RBI double and a 2 run homer, giving him 4 RBI and 2 runs scored on the day. In his only other plate appearance, he was issued a walk, not a bad idea considering his .421 batting average.

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NOTES: The Houston Astros aren't having any fun yet, especially after dropping their 7th straight to open the season in a 5-0 whitewash by the St. Louis Cardinals. That loss was the third time this season the Astros have been shut out. San Fran's Barry Zito issued the first blanking, then J.A. Happ of the Phillies. The Cardinals' shutout stud was Adam Wainwright. In 7 games, Houston has scored just 13 runs. It doesn't take a genius to figur out that scoring less than 2 runs a game will not produce many wins.

Jones' 3 Homers Lift Rangers to 1st Place; Rodriguez Keeps Astros in the Hunt

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 8, 2009 American League After being sighted knocking baseballs out of the park last week in Arlington, Andruw Jones was at it again, blasting three homers in the Rangers' lopsided 8-1 victory over the Angels. The win completed the second 2-1 series win over the Angels in a week and put the Rangers back on top of the AL West, one game clear of LA and 4 1/2 ahead of third-place Seattle. With recently-returned Josh Hamilton batting third, Jones was in the four spot and cranked out solo homers in the 3rd and 5th innings, after busting a two-run shot in the first. The recent power surge - 5 homers and 11 RBI in his last four games - has been a welcome surprise for Jones and the Rangers, making them a legitimate threat to carry off the division title. National League While the Cardinals, Brewers and Cubs get most of the attention in the wide-open NL Central, dark horses Cincinnati and Houston - both 3 1/2 back - continue to play just well enough to stay in the race. On Wednesday, the Astros finished their three-game series with the Pirates with their second win, a 5-0 gem mastered on the arm of starter Wandy Rodriguez, who allowed five hits and a walk while fanning 11 for his first complete-game shutout of the season. Rodriguez (8-6) matched his season-high in Ks and improved his ERA to a highly respectable 2.96. He ranks 8th in the NL in both ERA and strikeouts (108). With Rodriguez and Roy Oswalt, the Astros have a formidable 1-2 punch in the pitching department. Add another solid arm and some timely hitting and we may see the Astros contending come September.

McGehee Impacting Brewers; Andruw Jones Sighted

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 4, 2009 American League There have been reports of Andruw Jones sightings lately in Arlington and Saturday, the real thing appeared. Jones, who has, in recent years, bounced from the Braves to the Dodgers to the Rangers, was in the DH slot as Texas thumped Tampa Bay, 12-4, to stay tied for first in the AL West with the Angels. Jones got the Rangers going in the right direction with a three-run homer in the first (his 10th of the year) and added another RBI with a double in the 6th as the score got out of hand. Jones finished 2-for-5 with 4 RBI. He is batting .245 on the season with 27 RBI. After playing in just 78 games with LA last season and hitting just 3 home runs, Jones may be finding his power stroke. He's left the yard three times in the past seven games. National League Impact rookie? How about Milwaukee 3rd baseman Casey McGehee? As the Milwaukee Brewers were dismantling the Cubs, 11-2, McGehee was doing his best to take revenge on his former club, going 4-for-5 with 5 RBI and 3 runs. After three singles, McGehee capped off his night with his 6th home run of the season, a two-run job to left field which completed the Brewers' scoring. In 46 games, McGeHee has accumulated 43 hits, a .331 batting average, 6 homers and 26 RBI. What's even more important is his filling up open spaces at second and third bases, problem positions for Milwaukee this season. His ability to handle either position has produced more playing time for the rookie. NOTES: Milwaukee's win kept them tied with the Cards in the NL Central, still the tightest race in the majors, with all six division opponents within 6 games of the lead. In the NL West, the Giants have closed to within 6 1/2 games. Tim Lincecum just keeps blazing his way toward the Cy Young award. On Saturday, he stopped the Astros on 3 hits over 7 innings in a 9-0 Ginats' win. The NL East is also up for grabs. The Phillies continue to hang onto their slim margin, one game better than the Marlins. The Graves and Mets are ties, 3 games back. In the AL, the West looks like it will come down to the Angels and Rangers, who are currently tied for the lead. The Central is becoming a 3-team race, with Detroit 2 1/2 ahead of the White Sox and 3 better than the Twins. Boston's lead in the East is down to 1 game as the Yankees have won 9 of 10. The Rays have fallen 5 off the pace. Toronto is 7 back.

Monroe Slam Downs Birds; Hernandez 1-hits BoSox

Wednesday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Detroit's Craig Monroe (right) pounded a grand slam to deep center field at Camden Yards, sending the Tigers to a 4-1, 12-inning win over the Baltimore Orioles. Monroe's blast, his 1st home run of the season, broke a scoreless tie in which the Orioles used 8 pitchers and scored a single run in the bottom of the 12th. Detroit closer Todd Jones came in to get the final out and his 5th save of the season. Monroe finished the night 3-6 with a double, the slam and 4 RBI. The Tigers won 2 of 3 at Baltimore. The Fenway fans came out to see pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka (Dice-K), but instead were treated to a one-hitter by opposing pitcher Felix Hernandez, Seattle's answer to pitcher-hysteria. Hernandez had a no-hitter through 7 innings, but gave up a scratch single to J. D. Drew in the 8th, striking out 6 and walking just 2 for the complete game win. Hernandez has yet to allow an earned run in two starts this season. His first start of 2007 resulted in 8 innings of 3 hit ball against the A's on April 2nd. Troy Glaus launched a solo shot and scored 3 times in Toronto's 7-3 home win over Kansas City. Minnesota's Ramon Ortiz shut down the visiting Yankees on 3 hits, allowing just one earned run, as the Twins won, 4-1. Ortiz picked up his second win in as many outings. Texas shortstop Michael Young homered twice, drove in 4 runs, but his effort fell short as the Devil Rays won, 6-5, at Texas. National League Andruw Jones (right) blasted a 3-run homer in the 7th to help send the Washington Nationals to their 8th loss in 9 games, all at home. The Braves, meanwhile, improved to 7-1 with the 8-3 win and remain alone atop the NL East. It was Jones' 2nd home run of the season; he's batting just .167 thus far. San Diego's Greg Maddux was all 6's on Wednesday night as he evened his record at 1-1. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 6 hits and struck out 6 San Francisco Giants. One column which was not a 6, but a 0, was earned runs. Three Padre relievers came on to finish what Maddux started as the Padres won, 4-0. LA's Brad Penny improved his record to 2-0, as he shut down the visiting Colorado Rockies on 2 hits over 6 1/3 innings. Penny walked 4, struck out 3 and didn't allow a run. Takashi Saito worked the ninth inning for his 5th save in the 3-0 win.