Anibal Sanchez Sharp in Nationals' 9-3 Win over Cubs; J.D. Martinez' 2 HRs, 7 RBI Lead Boston Rout of Padres

Players of the Day for Friday, August 23, 2019

Martinez: 2 HR, 7 RBI

American League

Boston, in defense of their 2018 championship, hasn't fared well and probably won't make the playoffs.

That doesn't mean they're going to go down without a fight, however, as they trail the Indians and A's by 6 1/2 games after blistering the Padres, 11-0, Friday night.

While Eduardo Rodriguez was holding San Diego scoreless on five hits over seven innings, J.D. Martinez was blasting away at the plate, socking a pair of three-run homers and driving in a run with a sac fly. Martinez totaled seven RBI, going 3-for-4 at the plate.

The dingers were numbers 29 and 30 for Martinez, and his RBI total for the season measured 82 after the game. While Martinez's .312 batting average is solid, it and his power numbers are down from last season, when he batted .330 with 43 homers and 130 RBI.

Boston continues its three-game series in San Diego Saturday. Game time is 8:40 pm ET.

National League

Sanchez: 8 1/3 IP, 1H, 1ER

Continuing their pursuit of the Braves in the NL East, the Washington Nationals have carved out the top spot in the wild card standings, cementing that with a 9-3 win in Chicago over the Cubs on Friday.

With his longest mound outing since 2015, Anibal Sanchez showed the way to an easy win, allowing one hit and one earned run over 8 1/3 innings.

Sanchez threw 76 of 112 pitches for strikes, fanning six and walking two, the last of which led to the first of three runs the Cubs would score in the ninth. After Nick Castellanos singled in the fourth, Sanchez set down 14 straight before walking Tony Kemp, who eventually scored on a throwing error.

Sanchez finished for the night, Matt Grace mopped up what remained of the Cubs' mini-rally.

Opening their three game series in Chicago with a win left the Nationals six games behind the Braves in the division and two games up on Cubs, the loss sending them to second place in the Central, 1/2 game behind the Cardinals, who topped Colorado, 8-3, and took over the division lead.

Game two of the Chicago-Washington series is Saturday, 2:20 pm ET.

Anibal Sanchez Goes Six Scoreless As Braves Humble Cubs; Ian Kinsler Leads Angels To Top Spot In AL West

Players of the Day for Friday, April 13, 2018

American League

Kinsler: 3-for-4, 2R, RBI

After winning the World Series in 2017, Houston is expected to take the AL West once again, but the other teams in the division have fortified their lineups and are certain to make the Astros earn heavy win.

Among the contenders in the West is the LA Angels, winners of six straight, their most recent conquest a 5-4 win in the second of four at Kansas City.

Picked up in the off-season from Detroit, Ian Kinsler was back in the leadoff spot for the Angels in Friday's game, after coming off the 10-day disabled list. The veteran second baseman went 3-for-4, stole two bases, scored twice and drove in the game-winning run with a sac fly in the eighth inning.

Kinsler's .367 batting average is positive sign that he's ready to go the distance atop the LA lineup.

The Angels improved to a stunning 12-3, their sixth straight win vaulting them past the Astros into a 1/2-game lead in the division. They'll be looking for their seventh straight win when they take the field at KC on Saturday. Game time is 7:15 pm EDT.

National League

Sanchez: 6 scoreless, 6K

The last time the Braves made the playoffs was 2013, when they ran away in the AL East, posting a mark of 96-66 to win the division by 10 games. Since that time, they've spent four years finishing under .500, but with an 8-5 start to the season, 2018 could be a year of change.

Opening a three-game series in Chicago, Atlanta posted a 4-0 win over the Cubs. Dominating from the mound with six innings of scoreless, three-hit ball was starter Anibal Sanchez, who struck out six and walked one as his teammates built a lead, Preston Tucker's three-run homer in the fifth off You Darvish providing most of the cushion.

The veteran right-hander threw 63 of 94 pitches for strikes, earning his first win of the year in three appearances. Now in his 13th season, Sanchez gives the Braves some depth in their starting rotation.

It was the second straight win for Atlanta, moving them into second place, 3 1/2 games behind the streaking Mets, who lead the division with a 11-1 mark, including nine straight wins.

Game two of the series at Wrigley Field is slated for a 2:20 pm EDT start on Saturday.

Anibal Sanchez, Jhonny Peralta lead Tigers to 1-0 Win over Red Sox; Cardinals Take 2-0 Lead in NLCS as Michael Wacha Silences Dodgers

Players of the Day for Saturday, October 12, 2013

American League

Anibal Sanchez

Jhonny Peralta

Tigers' starter, Anibal Sanchez, tossed six innings of no-hit ball to lead Detroit to an opening-game, 1-0, win over the Boston Red Sox in the AL championship series.

Detroit's only run came in the top of the sixth inning, when Jhonny Peralta drove in Miguel Cabrera from third with a solid single to center. Peralta also doubled twice, going 3-for-4 with the lone RBI.

Sanchez struck out 12 and walked six, and was pulled after six innings due to a high pitch count (116) despite the no-hit bid. A series of relievers made their ways to the mound after the departure of Sanchez, each keeping the no-hit bid intact until Joaquin Benoit surrendered a single to Daniel Nava with one out in the ninth, though the hit came to naught as Benoit got Stephen Drew to fly out to Carlos Beltran in right field and Xander Bogaerts on a popup to short, securing the win.

Sanchez took the win, his second, against three losses, in post-season play. John Lester, despite pitching well for six innings, was saddled with the loss.

Michael Wacha

Game two of the series is slated for an 8:07 pm EDT start, Sunday evening at Fenway Park.

National League

Michael Wacha allowed no runs on five hits with a walk and eight strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings, as the Cardinals took their second straight from the LA Dodgers, 1-0, in St. Louis.

Wacha out-dueled LA ace, Clayton Kershaw, who took the loss, when David Freese came home on a Jon Jay sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freese's double was one of just two hits allowed by Kershaw. The run was unearned because Freese took third base on a passed ball by A. J. Ellis, preceding Jay's sac fly.

Now 2-0 in post-season play, Wacha, the savvy rookie hurler, shut down the Pirates in the NLDS on October 7, allowing one run on one hit, going 7 1/3 innings for the 2-1 victory. Wacha has allowed just six hits and one run in 14 innings in the post-season, fanning 17.

Game three of the NL championship series will be held in LA, on Monday, at 8:07 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: Who holds the record for strikeouts in a single post-season? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Randy Johnson and Francisco Rodriguez each won five post-season games in a single season, Johnson in 2001, Rodriguez in 2002.

Michael Cuddyer Leads Rockies over Giants in Tight NL West; Anibal Sanchez Hurls One-Hitter as Tigers Take AL Central Lead

Players of the Day for Friday, May 24, 2013

American League

Sanchez: 1-hitter

Joe Mauer can do a lot of things with a bat, but Tiger pitcher, Anibal Sanchez, probably wishes he hadn't been in the lineup Friday night when the Twins played the second of their four-game series in Detroit.

That's because, other than Mauer's one out single in the ninth inning, no other Twin was able to touch Sanchez in Detroit's 6-0 victory. Sanchez fanned 12, walked three and gave up just Mauer's one hit as the Tigers rolled to the top of the standings in the AL Central, 1/2 game up on Cleveland, thanks to Boston's 8-1 win over the Indians.

At 5-4, Sanchez has been a stoic performer for the Tigers after arriving in midseason from the Marlins. His 12 Ks on the night were good enough to get him to second in the AL in strikeouts, with 80, trailing Texas' Yu Darvish (91), but wasn't his best effort of the year. That was back on April 26, when he fanned 17 Braves over eight innings. His 2.38 ERA is fifth-best in the league. Friday's outing was Sanchez's first shutout and complete game of the season.

The Tigers continue their series with the Twins Saturday at 4:08 pm EDT.

National League

Michael Cuddyer

Tyler Chatwood threw six innings of shutout ball and Michael Cuddyer drove in three runs as the Rockies broke up a three-way tie for first place in the NL West with a 5-0 win at San Francisco.

With Arizona taking a 5-2 win over the Padres, the Rockies remained tied with the Diamondbacks in the division, with the Giants dropping one game back.

Chatwood gave up four hits as the Colorado starter, giving way to a parade of three relievers who kept the Giants in check through the final three innings.

Cuddyer socked his eighth homer of the season in the sixth inning of San Francisco starter, Tim Lincecum (3-4), who fanned eight but allowed four runs on seven hits over seven innings.

Victimizing Lincecum in the first inning, Cuddyer got the Rockies on the board with a two-out double, his 2-for-4 performance raising his batting average to .325.

The Rockies have won three straight and will go for their second straight over the Giants when they play the second in their three-game series Saturday at 4:05 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: In 2012, only one National League player - a shortstop - played in all 162 games. Who was this modern-day iron man?

Yesterday's Answer: Jose Reyes led the majors in 2005, 2006, and 2008 with 17, 17 and 19 triples, respectively, and tied Shane Victorino for the major league lead with 16 in 2011.

Anibal Sanchez Fans 17 as Tigers Rout Braves, 10-0; Jordan Zimmermann Hurls One-Hitter in Nats' 1-0 Win over Reds

Players of the Day for Friday, April 26, 2013

American League

Sanchez: 17 Ks

The Atlanta Braves opened their three-game series in Detroit with the best record in baseball, at 15-6. After nine innings of domination by the Tigers, they learned a lesson in humility from the AL champions in a 10-0 defeat.

Anibal Sanchez worked over the Atlanta lineup, fanning a career-high 17, breaking the franchise record of 16 set by Mickey Lolich in 1968. Sanchez allowed five hits and walked one over eight innings of sensational pitching, getting Freddie Freeman and Dan Uggla four times each on strikes. He fanned at least two in every inning except the fourth, when he got Freeman looking to open the inning and got the other two outs via a double play.

Sanchez improved to 3-1, the eight innings of shutout ball lowering his ERA to 1.34. His 41 strikeouts are third in the AL behind Yu Darvish (49) and Boston's Ryan Dempster (43).

The Tigers got a big effort from Manny Tuiasosopo, who singled in two runs in the third inning and socked a three-run homer in the fourth.

Atlanta will try to even the series at 1:10 pm EDT at Comerica Park. Sunday's series finale will be ESPN's featured Sunday night game at 8:00 pm EDT.

National League

Zimmermann: 1-hitter

With the Braves being pounded in Detroit, the Washington Nationals took the opportunity to pick up another game in the NL East with a 1-0 win over the Reds in the second game of their four-game series.

Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann came within a whisker of tossing the first no-hitter of the season, going the distance for his fourth win against just one loss. Zimmerman allowed just one hit - a leadoff single by Xavier Paul in the third inning. Only two other Reds' batters reached base. Todd Frazier reached on an error in the fifth and Corky Miller walked in the eighth.

Zimmermann needed just 91 pitches for his second complete game of the season and his first career shutout. He fanned four, got 11 batters on ground outs and 12 via fly balls.

The Nationals now trail Atlanta by 3 1/2 games in the division. The Mets, 4-0 losers to Philadelphia, are 4 1/2 out.

Washington has a 2-0 lead in the series, which concludes over the weekend with day games at Nationals Park, Saturday and Sunday.

NOTABLE: Sanchez and Zimmermann weren't the only pitchers hitting their marks Friday night. Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen gave up just two hits over eight scoreless innings in the O's 3-0 win at Oakland. Phialdelphia's Kyle Kendrick threw a complete game three-hitter in the Phillies' 4-0 victory over the Mets.

Carlos Beltran, David Freese Pace Cardinals; Anibal Sanchez Hurls Tigers to 3-0 Win, 2-0 Lead over NY

Players of the Day for Sunday, October 14, 2012

American League

Sanchez: 7IP 3H 0ER

ALCS: Detroit 3 NY Yankees 0 - Detroit's Anibal Sanchez and the Yankees' Hiroki Kuroda locked into a lengthy pitcher's duel in game two of the ALCS, and, even though Kuroda worked longer - 7 2/3 innings compared to Sanchez's 7.0 - and struck out 11, it was Sanchez who was more masterful from the mound, allowing just three hits, walking three and striking out seven before turning the ball over to Phil Coke for two innings of scoreless relief.

Kuroda had been perfect through five, but Jhonny Peralta singled to open the sixth and the Tigers scored the game's first run when Delmon Young hit into a fielder's choice with one out, scoring Quentin Berry from third.

The Tigers tacked on two more with two out in the eighth, chasing Kuroda and working through four relievers in the frame.

David Freese

The Tigers have a 2-0 lead in the series with the scene shifting to Detroit for three games, including a game five, if necessary. Game three begins at 8:07 pn EDT on Tuesday.

National League

Carlos Beltran

NLCS: St. Louis 6 San Francisco 4 - St. Louis wasted little time showing the Giants that their hitters could handle anything the San Francisco pitching staff could cook up, scoring two runs in the second and four more in the fourth, all off Giants' starter Madison Bumgarner, who lasted only 3 2/3 innings, giving up all six runs on eight hits.

Cardinal starter Lance Lynn didn't fare much better, working the same 3 2/3 innings, but only allowing four runs before taking an early shower.

The St. Louis and Giant bullpens were both spot on, allowing just one hit between them - Marco Sucaro's leadoff single in the fifth - from the fifth inning onward.

David Freese and Carlos Beltran each connected for two-run homers to highlight the St. Louis attack, leading to a 1-0 lead in the series, with game two scheduled for Monday night at 8:07 pm in San Francisco.

Anibal Sanchez Tosses 3-Hit Shutout, Tigers Tied with White Sox; Freddie Freeman's 9th-Inning Blast Propels Braves into Playoffs

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 25, 2012

American League

Acquired by the Tigers from the Marlins just prior to the July 31 trading deadline,Anibal Sanchez fired a three-hit shutout over the Kansas City Royals, propelling Detroit into a tie for first place in the AL Central division with the Chicago white Sox.

Sanchez, who had not pitched particularly well since coming over to Detroit (11 starts, 4-6, 3.95 ERA), was in complete control throughout his nine innings on the mound, needing only 105 pitches (77 strikes) to shut down the Royals for the 2-0 win.

Sanchez: 3-hit shutout

Only one Royal reached second base, that coming in the sixth inning, when Alcides Escobar reached on a bunt single with two down and stole second. Alex Gordon was issued the only walk by Sanchez in the game, but the inning was ended when Sanzhez fanned Billy Butler.

After that, Sanchez was lights out, putting away the Royals in order through the 7th, 8th and 9th innings, fanning four along the way and finishing with 10 strikeouts, the most he's recorded as a Tiger.

With Cleveland taking down the White Sox, 4-3, earlier in the day, the result has the Tigers and White Sox dead even at 82-72 with eight games remaining. Unless both the Tigers and Sox get red hot down the stretch and either Baltimore or Oakland goes into a funk, only one team from the Central will qualify for the playoffs, that being the division winner. Earning a wild card spot has long been off the table for both squads.

Having won the first two, the Tigers continue their four game series with the Royals Wednesday and Thursday in Detroit while the White Sox play the rubber game of their three game set with the Indians in Chicago before hosting a four game series with the Rays starting Thursday. Chicago's final three games are at Cleveland.

Detroit finishes up the regular season on the road, with three at Minnesota and three at Kansas City. Detroit is 34-41 on the road, but has two of the weaker AL teams ahead, while Chicago will face a stern test from the Rays, who still entertain post-season fantasies, resting three back of Oakland for the second wild card spot.

National League

Freeman: Walk-off HR

Freddie Freeman's ninth inning, two-run homer lifted Atlanta to a 4-3 walk-off win over visiting Miami and into the playoffs, clinching at least a wild card spot, while shaving a game off Washington's lead in the NL East to just four back.

Freeman's blast came with none out in the ninth, after Chipper Jones reached on a leadoff double off reliever Mike Dunn, who has one save but five blown opportunities. Dunn came on to pitch the ninth, but did not retire a batter and took the loss.

Atlanta will most likely earn the first wild card, as Washington's magic number is down to four with just eight games left.

The Braves have two more games with the Marlins in Atlanta, then hosts the Mets for three before finishing the regular season with three in Pittsburgh.

Washington may have a tough time closing out the season atop the division, which they have led for the bulk of the year. With two more games in Philadelphia, where they lost, 6-3, on Tuesday, the Nationals play three at St. Louis, currently in position for the second wild card, before ending the regular season at home with the Phillies, a dangerous team with plenty of pitching and solid hitting, and probably more than a little upset that the first half more or less eliminated them from contention because of injuries to a number of their star players.

Eight games against a playoff contender and and angry bunch of Phillies while Atlanta plays also-rans bodes ill for the Nationals down the stretch.

Dan Haren Blanks Yankees, 6-0; Anibel Sanchez Tosses One-Hitter; Wild Card Races Tighten

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 10, 2011

American League

The Angels are putting on quite a show in the AL West, clinging to post-season hopes based on catching the Rangers in the division or the Red Sox in the wild card race. With Saturday's 6-0 win over the Yankees, September is working out quite well for them.

Haren: 4-Hit Shutout

Dan Haren turned in another clutch pitching performance, improving his record to 15-8, with a complete game, 6-0, win over the AL East-leading Yankees, denying C.C. Sabathia of his 20th win and getting the Angels one game closer to their desired outcome.

Needing 113 pitches to complete the game, Haren threw 78 strikes, gave up just four hits while fanning seven. He did not walk a batter and at one point retired 18 in a row. Haren got into a little trouble in the 8th, when the Yankees collected a pair of singles with one out, but that threat was quickly quelled wen Edgardo Nunez grounded into an inning-ending double play. It was Haren's fourth complete game and third shutout of the season.

In connection with the Rangers dropping an 8-7 decision to the A's and Boston losing, 6-5, to Tampa Bay in 11 innings, the Angels inched to within 1 1/2 games of the Rangers and are five games behind the Red Sox in the wild card chase. Tampa Bay closed to within 4 1/2 of the Red Sox and are seven back of the Yankees in the AL East.

In the Central, Alex Rios clubbed a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning for a 7-3 win over Cleveland, securing the White Sox hold on second place. Unfortunately for both the White Sox and Indians, the Tigers won again, topping Minnesota, 3-2, and have a 9 1/2 game edge over Chicago and lead Cleveland by 11 games. The magic number for the Tigers is nine.

National League

Neil Walker stroked a one-out single in the second inning, but that turned out to be the only hit the Pirates could get off Anibal Sanchez, as the Florida hurler tossed his second one-hitter of the season, beating the Pirates, 3-0, Saturday.

Sanchez: 1-Hitter

While both the Marlins and Pirates have no post-season aspirations, Sanchez, who won for just the second time in his last 16 starts, the win was important in terms of looking ahead to next year. Sanchez allowed the lone hit, walked three and struck out 11, tying his personal best for Ks in a game. He was around the plate all game long, throwing 86 of 119 pitches for strikes.

Meanwhile, the pennant races were taking some odd turns. The Phillies took their third straight from the Brewers, who have lost their last five games, with a 3-2, 10 inning victory in Milwaukee. The win, coupled with St. Louis' 4-3 win over the Braves, shrunk Milwaukee's Central division lead to just six games, while the Phillies' magic number for clinching the AL East dropped to just seven.

The Cardinals are closing fast, not only on the Brewers, but on Atlanta in the wild card race. With their second straight win over Atlanta, the Cards are just 4 1/2 games back.

In the West, Arizona won its 15th straight home game, getting back-to-back home runs from Chirs Young and Lyle Overbay to send the game into extra innings, beating the Padres, 6-5, in 10 innings. With the Giants losing, 3-0, to the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks have a commanding 9 1/2 game lead in the the division, with just 16 left to play.

Crawford Stays Hot, Red Sox Win 14-1; Marlins Sweep Giants on Sanchez Shutout

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 26, 2011

American League

Carl Crawford

Mother Nature imposed her own form of the Mercy Rule, stopping the Boston onslaught after eight full innings, granting the Red Sox a 14-1 victory at Detroit.

Just a day pounding out 20 hits in a 14-2 win over the Indians, the Red Sox punched out 16 more hits against another AL Central squad and once again, it was Carl Crawford leading the charge.

Crawford, 4-for-4 on Wednesday, went 4-for-5 on Thursday with a pair of triples, two singles, three RBI and two runs. In the past two games, Crawford's batting average has gone from .212 to .244.

Better yet, by winning 11 of their last 13 games, the Red Sox have run down the Yankees and are tied with them for first place in the AL East. The Yankees were idle on Thursday.

For Detroit, it was another setback in the quest to catch the runaway White Sox. Prior to Thursday's outing, they had drawn to within five games of Chicago, but fell back to six out as the White Sox defeated Toronto, 3-1.

National League

Anibal Sanchez

Pennant races in both the NL East and NL West just got a whole lot more interesting as Anibal Sanchez and the Florida Marlins stopped the Giants 1-0, completing a sweep of their three-game series.

The Giants were without catcher Buster Posey, who is likely out for the season after suffering multiple injuries in a home plate collision on Wednesday. Without him in the lineup, the Giants could muster just five hits off Sanchez, who walked two but struck out eight for his second complete game and first shutout of the season. Ryan Vogelsong allowed eight hits over eight innings for the Giants, the Marlins breaking through for the only run of the game in the 6th inning.

The Phillies beat Cincinnati, 10-4, to maintain their slim, one-game edge over the Marlins in the East, while Arizona won for the 9th time in their last 10 games, topping the Rockies, 6-3, and have drawn to within 1 1/2 of the suddenly-vulnerable Giants in the West.

Sanchez Flirts with No-Hitter Again, Wins; Jeter Not Yet Over the Hill

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 8, 2011

American League

Derek Jeter

The hysteria over the health and welfare of Derek Jeter was always a little bit absurd. After all, the guy's a proven champion, a certain Hall of Famer and, at age 36, may not have the range at short he used to, but can still pick it with the best in the business.

It wasn't so much his fielding that concerned the Yankee worriers, but the low batting average and lack of power. Until Sunday, Jeter hadn't hit a home run since August 24 of last season.

By the time the Yankees had finished polishing off the Rangers, 12-5, on Sunday, Jeter had put all of the questions to rest, going 4-for-6 with a pair of home runs, three RBI, two runs and a stolen base. He also extended his hitting streak to six straight game, raising the batting average to a very respectable .276.

Over the hill? Not yet. In the meantime, the usual Yankee hand-wringers better keep an eye on the Tampa Bay Rays, because they've won four straight and are tied with the Yanks for first place in the AL East.

National League

Anibal Sanchez

A couple of weeks ago, Anibal Sanchez, flirted with a no=hitter, coming up just short with a one-hit complete game shutout over the Rockies.

Three starts later, he was at it again, this time taking a no-no into the 7th inning against the Washington Nationals. An error in the first and a hit batsman in the 3rd were all that separated Sanchez from perfection. However, Lance Nix singled to lead off the 7th inning, and Michael Morse also singled with one out, so the drama ended there, but Sanchez got through the inning without surrendering a run, ringing up 11 Ks and no walks.

Getting just his second win of the season against one loss, Sanchez and the Marlins won the game, 8-0, and shaved a game off Philadelphia's lead in the NL East, as the Braves took down the Phillies, 5-2. Florida, as hot as any team in either league of late, is two games off the pace.

Anibal Sanchez 1-Hits Rockies; Michael Young Raking for Rangers

Players of the Day for Friday, April 22, 2011

American League

Michael Young

Michael Young is one of the best pure hitters in the game and proof of that has been his red-hot start to the 2011 season. He's batting .359, good for third in the AL and he's helped the Texas Rangers to first place in the AL West.

After losing six of their last eight and briefly giving up the division lead, Young and his Ranger teammates were happy to see the Royals visiting for a three-game series on Friday, and welcomed them to the Lone Star state with a five home run, 15 hit, 11-6 beating.

Young was not one of the five Rangers who homered, but he did get things started by singling in Ian Kinsler in the first and tripling him home in the second and scoring as the Rangers built a 5-0 lead.

Another single put Young at 3-for-5 for the night and gave him 28 hits, two behind league leader Alex Gordon, who went 2-for-4 in the same game. Meanwhile, the Angles lost to Boston, 4-3, and the Rangers assumed a 1/2 game lead.

Young won the AL batting championship in 2005 and also led the league in hits that season with 221.

National League

The Florida Marlins won their 4th straight game and kept pressure on the Phillies in the NL East, remaining 1/2 game behind the division leader.

Anibal Sanchez

Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, spoiled on the first pitch to Dexter Fowler, who snapped a single into right field. Fowler had also walked to lead off the game, took second on a passed ball, moved to third on a ground out and scored when Gaby Sanchez threw errantly on Troy Tulowitzki's grounder.

The run was unearned, but gave the Rockies a short-lived 1-0 lead. Little did anyone know that it would be all they would get.

Sanchez cruised through the Rockies' lineup, at one point getting 12 straight outs, including four consecutive strikeouts. He finished allowing only Fowler's ninth inning single and three walks while fanning nine in the 4-1 Florida win.

Sanchez tossed a no-hitter last season, and flirted with another Friday. He is 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA in four starts this season.

Anibal Sanchez 1-Hits Giants, Ends Posey Streak; Carlos Pena Stars as Rays Win 6th Straight

Players of the Day for Thursday, June 29, 2010 American League When the Detroit Tigers traveled to play the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game series, it was supposed to have been a showdown between two of the top AL contenders. By the time it was all over, some fans were wondering why only one team showed up as the Rays swept the slumping Tigers, finishing them off with a 4-2 win Thursday night. After taking the first three games handily, by scores of 5-0, 3-2 and 7-4, game four was all Carlos Pena, the slugging first baseman who's struggled to keep his batting average over .200 all year. Pena drove in all four runs for the Rays, going 3-for-4, with a solo homer in the 2nd inning, a singled that plated a pair of run in the 3rd and another RBI single in the 8th. Despite the low batting average (.216), Pena is among the league leaders in home runs (23) and RBI (68). The four straight home wins by the Rays bettered the Yankees' output in Cleveland, where they won three of four, keeping the AL East race a tight, 2-game lead for New York. The Tigers, meanwhile, have all but fallen out of contention in the AL Central, dropping four straight and 12 of 15 since the all star break, dropping six games off the pace of the Chicago White Sox, winners of four straight. Minnesota remains comfortably in second place, 1 1/2 games out, having won their last five. National League San Francisco catcher Buster Posey was looking to tie Willie McCovey's franchise mark for rookies of 22 straight games with a hit when he and his Giant teammates ran into Anibal Sanchez and the Florida Marlins. Sanchez (8-6) had all of the Giants' would-be hitters off-balance as he twirled a one-hit shutout, his first complete game of the season, retiring the first 13 in order before Jose Uribe reached with one out in the 5th on an error by first baseman Jorge Cantu and Pablo Sandoval followed that up with a bloop single to center. Sanchez got out of the inning without suffering further damage and didn't allow another hit the rest of the way, finishing with 8 strikeouts and one walk in Florida's 5-0 win. Posey had just three cracks at Sanchez, but he struck out in his first two plate appearances and grounded into a double play after Aubrey Huff had walked to lead off the 7th inning. His piece of immortality will have to wait, though it seems certain to come at some point. Posey is batting .358 and is the leading candidate for NL rookie of the year. For Sanchez, his first shutout and complete game since his rookie season of 2006 has him believing in himself again and adding to the Marlins' hopes of running down the Braves in the NL East. The win put Florida at .500 (51-51), 7 1/2 games behind Atlanta, in 4th place. The Phillies are 2 1/2 back, the Mets trail the Braves by 6 1/2. The Giants lost a game to the Padres, 3-2 winners over LA, but are still alone in second place, 3 1/2 games out.