Trevor Plouffe Leads Twins past Tigers; B.J. Upton's Two Homers Lift Braves over Giants

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 15, 2013

American League

Trevor Plouffe

Holding onto the lead in the AL Central division has been routine work by the Tigers, not because they're winning consistently, but because the rest of the division has been losing.

Saturday was a case in point: four of the five teams in the Central were losers, the only winner, the Twins, topped the Tigers by a 6-3 score in the middle game of their three game series.

Minnesota's 14-hit assault on Detroit pitching was spearheaded by third baseman, Trevor Plouffe, who singled, doubled and homered in three official at-bats, walked once, scored twice and drove in three runs, two of which came on his fourth-inning, two-run shot that tied the game at two.

Plouffe, who's played in just 38 games this season, was in his first game back since coming off the DL and is riding a nine-game hit streak in which he's gone 12-for-32 (.375) with eight RBI.

The Twins have lost six of their last ten outings, but still are only 6 1/2 off Detroit's pace. The Tigers lead Cleveland by 4 1/2, Kansas City by five.

The Tigers and Twins will play the rubber game of their series on Sunday at 2:10 pm EDT.

National League

B.J. Upton

Atlanta keep rolling along, extending their home record to 22-8 (best in the majors) with a 6-5 win over the Giants Saturday, evening the series at a game apiece and maintaining their 5 1/2 game bulge over the Nationals in the NL East.

While Justin Upton was the toast of the town in April and May, June is turning into brother B.J. Upton's time to shine. The elder Upton socked a pair of homers for the Braves, scored three times, stole a base and drove in three runs. In his last plate appearance, Upton took a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 5-all, and watched from between first and second as teammate Freddie Freeman drove home the game-winner with a single as Giants' reliever, Sergio Romo, imploded, getting just one out in the ninth.

B.J. homered in the first inning to get the Braves on the board with a solo shot. In the sixth, his two-run shot cut the Giants' 5-2 lead to 5-4. Despite hitting just .166, the Braves have kept Upton in the lineup for his stellar work in center field. He has eight homers and just 15 RBI this season.

The Giants and Braves will settle their differences Sunday night at 8:00 pm EDT at Turner Field. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN.

Today's Trivia: In 2011, two players led the major leagues in hits with 213 each. Who are they? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Colorado's Todd Helton has the highest career batting average among active National Leaguers, at .3186.

Curtis Granderson Puts Yankees Back on Top; B.J. Upton, James Shields Help Rays Keep Pace; Ricky Nolasco Blanks Nationals

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 9, 2012

American League

Curtis Granderson

The concluding game of the four game Yankees-Orioles series went all one way - to the Yankees - courtesy of Curtis Granderson, who entered the game in the sixth inning as a pinch-hitter for Andruw Jones and promptly delivered a solo homer, upping the New York lead from 5-3 to 6-3.

After belting his 35th home run of the season, Granderson singled home a pair in the seventh and doubled in two more, helping the Yanks to a 13-3 win and a one game lead over the Orioles in the AL East, going 3-for-3 with five RBI.

Upton: 3HR

As the Yanks and O's were beating each others brains in, splitting the four games, Tampa Bay was keeping up, taking two of three from the Rangers, culminating in a complete game shutout by James Shields, who had complete control over one of the best-hitting teams in the majors, blanking Texas on two hits.

Shields: 2-hit shutout

Shields (14-8) fanned eight and didn't issue any walks, needing just 101 pitches (71 strikes) to put down the Rangers.

B.J. Upton provided half of the Rays' offense in the 6-0 win, belting a trio of solo home runs, with one each in the first, fourth and sixth innings. Upton has 21 homers on the season.

The result left the Rays very much in the hunt for both the wild card and the AL East pennant, two back of the Yankees and one behind the Orioles in the division. The wild card has evolved into a four-team scramble for the two spots, with Oakland leading the chase and Baltimore, Tampa Bay and the LA Angeles all within 2 1/2 games, setting up what should prove to be an epic struggle through the final three weeks of the regular season. Texas leads the A's by just 3 1/2 in the West, while the White Sox hold a two game bulge over the Tigers in the Central.

National League

Washington's gallop to the NL East pennant was slowed over the weekend by the Miami Marlins, who took two of three from the Nats in the nation's capitol.

Ricky Nolasco

The rubber game of the series was all Miami, as Ricky Nolasco evened his record at 12-12 with a four-hit shutout, the Marlins getting some spoiler revenge in an 8-0 whitewash.

Nibbling at the corners throughout the game, Nolasco threw 82 of 101 pitches for strikes, struck out six and issued one walk. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. No Washington runner made it past second base.

The Nationals' loss was offset by Atlanta's 3-2, 10-inning win over the Mets, Brian McCann's sac fly in the top of the 10th providing the difference as the Braves swept three from the Nets in New York and extended Atlanta's win streak to five.

That left the Braves just 5 1/2 behind Washington in the East division, and the clear leader - by 5 1/2 over St. Louis - for the first wild card spot.

Edinson Volquez Tosses One-Hitter for Padres; David Price, B.J. Upton Lead Rays to Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 19, 2012

American League

Volquez: 1-hitter

In San Diego, Alexi Amarista opened the Padres' first inning with a double. The next batter, Logan Forsythe, singled him home and that was about it, as Houston hurler, Lucas Harrell, gave up just two more hits over seven full innings, but San Diego starter, Edinson Volquez, proved even better, protecting the slim lead with a complete game one-hitter as the Padres triumphed, 1-0.

Volquez (6-7) allowed the one hit to Matt Downs with two down in the fourth. Other than three walks, Volquez was pretty magnificent, throwing 75 of 117 pitches for strikes and striking out five for his first major league shutout.

Despite playing for a team that's 16 games under .500 and 13 games out in the NL West, Volquez is having a solid year, sporting a 3.34 ERA and striking out 109 batters in 121.1 innings.

The Padres are in fourth place in the division, just 2 1/2 games ahead of last place Colorado. The win was the third straight for the Padres, who lost the opener of their four game series with the Astros, but won the remainder.

National League

B.J. Upton

David Price

Tampa Bay, trailing the Yankees by 9 1/2 games, may not win the AL East, but they are mired in a seven-team shootout for the two wild card slots. Currently, the Angels are leading the pack, but the Rays are just two back after B.J. Upton and David Price led them to a 6-0 victory over Cleveland - another team in the wild card mix - earning a split in their series, two games apiece.

Upton went 3-for-5, two doubles and a single, and plated three in the sixth inning when he doubled with the bases loaded. He later scored, giving Price more than enough runs to support his seven inning, two-hit effort for his league-leading 13th win.

Price, who's suffered defeat only four times this season, walked three and struck out seven, in the process lowering his ERA to a very respectable 2.64, fourth-best among AL starters.

The Rays next host Seattle for three games before embarking on a nine-game road swing that will take them coast-to-coast, from Baltimore to LA and then on to Oakland.

Eric Hinske's Homer Gives Braves 9-8 win; David Price, B.J. Upton Lead Rays to Sixth Straight

Players of the Day for Friday, May 4, 2012

American League

Price: 5-1

Fans in New York and Boston my not want to face the facts, but the Yankees and Red Sox are struggling to keep pace in the rugged AL East. They are last and second last, 4 1/2 and 7 games behind, respectively, the Tampa Bay Rays, who won their sixth straight, taking a 7-2 victory over Oakland in the opener of their three-game series at Tropicana Field.

BJ Upton

Tampa Bay fell behind early, as the A's scored a run in the first, but the Rays got three runs in the third and four in the second to back the pitching of starter David Price, who worked eight full innings, allowing only the single run in the first, allowing three hits while fanning a season-high 12 batters. Price surrendered only one walk, getting his league-best fifth win (tied with teammate James Shields - 5-0) against one loss.

B.J. Upton was the driving force for the offense, doubling twice in four at-bats, driving in two and scoring a pair of runs. Batting .350, Upton has been stinging the ball, getting 11 hits in his last 26 at-bats, raising his average by 136 points.

The Rays winning streak includes two at Texas and a sweep of the Mariners on their current home stand. They lead the Orioles by 1 1/2 and Toronto by 3 games. The O's have won three straight and Toronto is currently riding a four game winning streak.


National League

There are only three teams with winning road records in the National League: Arizona, St. Louis and Atlanta.

Eric Hinske

The Braves improved to 8-6 on away games, winning 9-8 in 11 innings at Colorado to remain 1 1/2 games back of Washington in the NL East.

Colorado took an early lead with five runs in the first inning, but the Braves battled back, took the lead twice only to see the Rockies tie the game with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Neither team scored in the final three innings, or in the 10th, but Eric Hinske blasted a two-run homer in the top of the 11th to put Atlanta up 9-7. The Rockies responded again in the bottom of the frame, but this time came up short, scoring just one run, as closer Craig Kimbrel struggled to earn his ninth save.

Hinske's homer was one of four hits for the Atlanta outfielder, in six at-bats. In addition to his game-winner, Hinske singled twice and doubled, finishing with three RBI for the game while raising his batting average to .412.

The Braves have two more games at Colorado this weekend.

Pablo Sandoval Hits for Cycle; Rays Club Red Sox, 9-2, to Open 4-Game Series

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 15, 2011

American League

B.J. Upton

Tampa Bay headed into Boston for a four game series with the Red Sox on Thursday, intent on running down the wild card leaders as the weather turned autumn-like while the pennant races were becoming more heated. After one game, the Rays find themselves a little closer to their goal, having dusted the Sox, 9-2, to pull back to within three games.

B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria provided the bulk of the offensive production, each player going 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Upton's 3rd inning single plated John Jaso with the Rays' first run and Longoria upped the Tampa lead to 4-0 with his 27th home run, a three-run job that put the Rays well in front and set the tone for the series.

Evan Longoria

Following Casey Kotchman's two-run homer in the 6th, Upton responded with one of his own in the 7th and Kotchman drove in his third run with a single later in the inning to complete the Rays' scoring onslaught. Kotchman was 2-for-4.

Casey Kotchman

The Rays now trail the idle Yankees by 7 1/2, with Boston within their sights, 4 1/2 back. New York 's magic number to clinch the division is 10.

Elsewhere, the Tigers gained a tie for the Central division even though their 12-game win streak ended in Oakland with a 6-1 loss to the A's. Texas beat Cleveland, 7-4, handing the Indians their third straight loss, while the White Sox lost at Kansas City, 7-2, their fifth consecutive defeat.

The Indians would have to win all of their remaining 15 games to tie the Tigers, though the Tigers would have to lose all 12 of the games left on their schedule. The best the White Sox could do is fall a game short.

With Texas winning and the Angles having the night off, the Rangers' lead in the West expanded to 3 1/2 games, though the way Texas has been going, the Angels probably have a better shot at the wild card. They are four back of Boston and one behind the Rays in that race.

National League

Seven games back with just a dozen left to play, the Giants have little hope of catching Arizona in the NL West, but at least Pablo Sandoval gave their fans something to cheer about, hitting for the cycle as San Francisco upended the Rockies, 8-5, in Denver.

Pablo Sandoval

Sandoval homered in the first, doubled in the second, singled in the fifth and legged out a triple in the sixth to become the second player this season to accomplish the batting rarity. Milwaukee catcher George Kottaras did it against Houston less than two weeks ago, on September 3. Sandoval was issued an intentional walk in the eighth.

The Giants have won five straight and hope to catch the Diamondbacks for the division title, though time is running short and the schedule is not kind. The win in Colorado was the start of a ten-game road show for the Giants, which will culminate with a three game series at Arizona next weekend. The Giants close out the regular season with three games against the Rockies in San Francisco.

In the NL East, the Phillies took two from Florida, 3-1 and 2-1, to improve their division lead over Atlanta to 12 games and cut their magic number down to just one. There was no action in the Central, as the Cardinals and Brewers both had the day off.

Behind James Shields, Rays Sweep Red Sox as Upton Slams; Hundley, Padres Halt AZ Home Win Streak at 15

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 11, 2011

American League

BJ Upton's 5th inning grand slam capped off a three-game sweep of the Red Sox by Tampa Bay, beating Boston, 9-1, in the final game of their series and putting the Red Sox hold on the wild card lead in serious jeopardy.

Shields:15-10

With the Rays already up 4-1, Upton's bases-loaded blast - his 20th homer of the season - gave starter James Shields a more comfortable working margin that helped the right-hander win his 15th game against 10 losses, scattering seven hits and three walks over eight and a third innings. Shields struck out five, making his only big mistake of the game in the third inning, when Marco Scutaro touched him up for a solo home run.

Upton: Grand Slam

Upton's slam was part of a 4-for-4 effort at the plate for the Tampa outfielder. Upton, batting a sub-par .234, singled twice, doubled and scored three times while getting all of his RBI via the home run.

With the sweep of Boston, the Rays now trail the Red Sox in the wild card by just 3 1/2 games with 17 left to play. Boston has lost five straight while the Rays have reeled off four consecutive wins. The Yankees nipped the Angels, 6-5, to increase their lead in the AL East to 3 1/2 games. Texas pounded Oakland, 8-1, improving their AL West lead to 2 1/2 games over the Angels.

In the Central, Detroit got another quality start from Doug Fister (7 innings, 3 hits, 0 ER), beating the Twins, 2-1, as Cleveland downed the White Sox, 7-3. The Tigers lead the Sox by 10 1/2 games and the Indians by 11. Their magic number is down to just seven.

National League

Despite a 7-6 loss to San Diego that ended the Arizona Diamondback's home winning streak at 15 straight, the D-Backs have little reason for concern, holding an 8 1/2 game lead over the second place Giants in the NL West.

Nick Hundley

Arizona's loss was the result of timely hitting by the Padres early in the game, especially by Nick Hundley, who went 3-for-4 and smacked a two-run homer n the 5th inning to put the Padres up 6-0. Arizona battled back with five runs in the 6th, but the Padres had already added another run in the top half of the frame and held on for the win.

The Giants took advantage of Arizona's misfortune, beating the Dodgers, 8-1, picking up a game on the D'Backs in the process, though the lead in the division seems a bit too big for the reigning world champions to overcome. Arizona has just 15 games remaining on the schedule - the Giants, 16 - and the schedule favors the Diamondbacks in a big way.

Arizona hosts a three-game set with San Fran on September 23, 24 and 25, but the rest of their games are against second tier foes. Arizona has six games on the schedule with the Dodgers, three with the Padres and three ore against Pittsburgh.

In the Central, the Milwaukee Brewers halted their five game slide with a 3-2 home win over Philadelphia, keeping St. Louis - 6-3 winners over the Braves - locked in second place, six games back. The Brewers and Cardinals do not play each other again this season.

By taking three straight from Atlanta, however, the Cardinals have gotten back into the wild card race, trailing the Braves by a 4 1/2 games. St. Louis has won five straight, while Atlanta three straight losses have made life easy for the Phillies, as they cruise toward another NL East title with a 12 game edge. The Phillies' magic number is six.

Tigers Lose, Twins Win; Rockies Beat Dodgers; Upton Cycles Out

Players of the Day for Friday, October 2, 2009 American League There was plenty of pennant race action in the AL Central on Friday night, as the Tigers were completely befuddled by Jake Peavy, who threw 8 innings of shutout ball at the division leaders, allowing just 2 hits and two walks while fanning 5 in an 8-0 White Sox win. Later, at the Metrodome, the Twins scored 10 runs in the first four innings and coasted to a 10-7 win over the Royals. Delmon Young cranked out a grand slam in the 1st, drove in another run on a fielder's choice in the second, and singled and scored the Twins' final run in the 4th. That left the race for the division title as close as it has been all season. Though the Tigers have led the way since early May, the Twins have won 14 of their last 18, since September 13, to pull to within 1 game of Detroit with two games to play. The Tigers face the White Sox Saturday and Sunday, while the Twins fill out the schedule with the Royals. Despite all the excitement over the divisional race, down in Tampa, B.J. Upton was accomplishing the unusual against C.C. Sabathia and the NY Yankees. In Tampa's 13-4 win, Upton collected 5 hits in five at-bats, including two singles, a double, triple and his 11 home run of the season. Besides hitting for the cycle, Upton drove in 6 runs and scored three times, for one of the best single-game performances of the season. National League The Colorado Rockies are known for having a late-season burst, but this is getting ridiculous. On Friday, a day after capturing the wild card, the Rockies won their fifth straight game, this one over the LA Dodgers in the first of their season-ending, three-game series. It seems that the Rockies will not be content with the wild card; they want the NL West title and right now appear to have all the momentum swinging their way, as they topped LA, 4-3. The Dodger loss was their fifth straight, and, with two games remaining, are, like the Tigers in the AL Central, in danger of losing control of the division they have dominated since early in the season. The Dodgers need only one win over the Rockies to clinch the division. Unlike the situation in the AL, where the Tigers and Twins could end up in a tie, either the Rockies or Dodgers will win the division outright over the course of the next two days. If the Rockies win on Saturday, it would put both teams at 93-68, with Sunday's game deciding the post-season seeding. The team that does not win the division will be the NL wild card. Arizona's Eric Byrnes hasn't been heard from much this season. After all, he's playing on a last place team, has played in only 82 games and entered Friday's contest batting just .216. But Byrnes apparently still has some pop left in his bat. In Arizona's 12-3 win over the Cubs, he singled twice and homered twice driving in 5 runs, earning him one of the last few POTD honors of the season. NOTES: There will be no 20-game winner in either league this season. The only two pitchers who had a chance at the mark - C.C. Sabathia and Adam Wainright - failed in their quests on Friday. Actually, Wainwright pitched well enough to win, allowing just 3 runs over 6 innings and leaving with a 6-3 lead, but the St. Louis bullpen allowed another 9 Milwaukee runs for a 12-6 loss. Sabathia lasted only 2 2/3 innings in his finale, allowing 8 hits and 9 runs (5 earned) in NY's 13-4 loss at Tampa.

Pujols Puts Cards Back in First; Upton Paces Rays

Players of the Day for Sunday, June 21, 2009 American League Streaky? That would be the Tampa Bay Rays. So far this month, the Rays have won 4 straight, lost 3, won 6, lost 3 won 2, the last pair over the NY Mets, taking the last two in their three-game weekend series. In the 10-6 finale at the Mets' new home, City Park, the Rays banged out 17 hits, with B. J. Upton leading the charge with a 4-for-6 effort. Whenever Upton was up with men on, he made sure to get them home, driving in four total. In the 5th he doubled home a pair and later scored on Carl Crawford's single. After homering in the 7th with Pat Burrell aboard, he scored from third on a bases-loaded walk to Carlos Pena, crossing the plate for the third time. Not normally an RBI guy since he normally bats out of the leadoff spot, Upton notched a season high with his 4 RBI game. The Rays remain in 4th place in the AL East, but are just 6 games out of the lead and trail the Blue Jays and Yankees by one and two games, respectively. National League The St. Louis Cardinals took over first place in the NL Central and cemented their position on Sunday, thanks to a monster effort from - who else? - Albert Pujols. While the Brewers - who entered the weekend in first place - were being swept by Detroit, the Cardinals had the brooms working against Kansas City, outscoring the Royals 29-11 and taking the last game of the series by a 12-5 score. Pujols, who went 6-for-12, with 3 homers and 10 RBI during the three-game stint, saved his best for last. After singling home a run in the 1st, Pujols blasted a grand slam in the 4th inning as part of an 8-run outburst. With the game in hand, he then launched his major league-leading 26th homer, a towering dead-center solo-shot. Amassing 6 ribbies on the day, Pujols vaulted to the MLB lead in RBI, with 68. The Cardinals have a 1 1/2 lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central.

Rays Blow 7 Run Lead, Lose Game 5, 8-7

Players of the Day from Thursday, October 16, 2008 ALCS: Boston 8 Tampa Bay 7 J.D. Drew (R) hit a two-run homer in the 8th inning to draw the Red Sox to within a run, and then singled home Jason Bay with the game-winner in the bottom of the 9th, as the Boston Red Sox stared down elimination and turned a 7-0, 7th inning deficit into a dramatic, 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Scott Kazmir (L) tossed 6 innings of shutout ball and the Tampa Bay Rays continued their long-ball assault against the Red Sox, pounding out 3 more homers. The Rays wasted no time at all getting to Game 1 winner Daisuke Matsuzaka. B.J. Upton (R) launched a two-run homer over the Green Monster in the first inning, and, in the third, Carlos Pena blasted another two-run homer to right, followed immediately by Evan Longoria's solo shot - his 4th home run in consecutive games, a rookie and major league record - and the Rays seemed to be on their way. Hideki Okajima settled the Rays down for a couple of innings, blanking them in the 5th and 6th, but in the 7th inning, the wheels nearly came completely off Boston's beleaguered bandwagon. Manny Delcarmen started his mound stint by walking the first two batters in the inning, Jason Bartlett and Akinori Iwamura. Closer Jonathan Papelbon was summoned from the Boston bullpen. While Papelbon was focused on pitching to Upton, the baserunners pulled off a double steal, putting the runners on second and third base. They scored easily when Upton doubled to the left-center gap. 7-0, Rays, and the Boston faithful began heading for the exits of fabled Fenway Park. Once Kazmir was off the mound, however, the wheels did come off for the Rays, as the Red Sox responded with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning off reliever Grant Balfour, three of them on David Ortiz's home run, just his second hit of the series. Fans scrambled back into their seats. In the 8th, Dan Wheeler gave up the 2-run homer to Drew, making the score 7-6. And when Coco Crisp singled home Mark Kotsay from second, the game was tied at 7-all. J.P. Howell went to the mound in the ninth, but, after getting two quick outs, surrendered a single to Kevin Youkilis, who moved to second on Longoria's throwing error. After issuing an intentional pass to Jason Bay, Drew came through once more, lashing a single to right which easily plated Youkilis with the game-winner. Notes: It was a collapse of magnificent proportions for the youthful Rays, who were on the verge of heading to the World Series. The decision to pull Kazmir, who was pitching brilliantly, has to be questioned, as does the insertion of Wheeler to start the 8th. The Rays and Red Sox will have a day off to think things over prior to game 6 at Tropicana Field on Saturday. Starting time is 8:07 pm ET. Josh Beckett gets the call for Boston, against the Rays' James Shields.

It's Red Sox vs. Rays, Phillies vs. Dodgers for World Series Berths

Players of the Day from Monday, October 6, 2008 Boston 3 LA Angels 2 The Boston Red Sox turned to a rookie and a newcomer to oust the LA Angels and advance to the ALCS. Jed Lowrie - who played just 81 games for the Red Sox in his initial season - drove home Jason Bay - acquired from Pittsburgh mid-season - with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th to topping the Angels, 3-2, to win the series, 3 games to 1. Starters John Lackey and Jon Lester each pitched 7 strong innings, but Lester was better, shutting out the Angels while Lackey allowed a pair of Boston runs. The Angels tied the game in the 8th on Torii Hunter's two-run single in the 8th, but it proved to be too little, too late, as the Red Sox topped the Angels for the 12th time in their last 13 playoff meetings. The wild card Red Sox will face Tampa Bay, winners of the AL East. Tampa Bay 6 Chicago White Sox 2 B.J. Upton's solo homers in the 1st and 3rd innings gave the Tampa Bay Rays an early lead and Andy Sonnanstine and a pair of relievers made it hold up as the Rays took down the White Sox, 6-2, to advance to the AL Championship Series, 3 games to 1. Following Upton's blasts, the Rays added two runs in the 4th and single runs in the 5th and 7th. They also had an opportunity to stretch their legs. Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford each stole two bases off A.J. Pierzynski, prepping for their upcoming showdown with the Red Sox. Notes: The AL Championship Series begins Friday in Tampa at 8:30 pm ET. The series is in a 2-3-2 format in which the Rays have home field advantage. The NLCS begins Thursday in Philadelphia, with the Phillies hosting the LA Dodgers in the best-of-seven series.