Jose Altuve Extends Hit Steak to 11 with 4-for-5 Effort in Win over Angels; Buster Posey Stays Hot, Leads Giants to 12-7 Win over Rockies

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 2, 2014

American League

Jose Altuve leads
AL in BA, Hits, SB

Having gone 14-5 since August 12, overtaken the A's by sweeping them in a four-game series while winning six straight, the LA Angels have built a comfortable lead in the AL West and are cruising toward the division title.

Their 8-3 loss in the opener of a two-game series in Houston is more than likely a small bump in the road, but it did manage to shine the spotlight for a little while on Jose Altuve, who is having a remarkable year at the plate.

Altuve went 4-for-5 in the win over the Angels, with two singles, a double, a solo homer, two runs, two RBI and his 50th stolen base of the season. It was the second straight game in which Altuve had four hits, upping his major league-leading total to 193. He also leads the majors in batting average, at .340, and the American League in steals. He's currently riding an 11-game hitting streak.

While Altuve needs to hold off possible challenges for the batting title from Victor Martinez (.332) and Adrian Beltre (.323), as far as the hits are concerned, he's all alone. The player closest to him in total hits is Melky Cabrera, with 170. He also leads the AL by a wide margin in steals, over NY's Jacoby Ellsbury, who's second, with 37.

The Astros won't be going to the post-season, but the Angels, despite the loss, maintained a 4 1/2 game lead over Oakland, 6-5 losers to Seattle.

National League

Posey: 3-5, HR, 4RBI

Buster Posey is the hottest hitter on the planet and the San Francisco Giants are riding the crest of his hitting wave toward the playoffs.

With his fifth multiple-hit game in his last seven, Posey powered the Giants to a 12-7 win at Colorado, in the second of their three-game series, after dropping the opener by a 10-9 score on Monday.

Posey went 3-for-5, with two doubles and his 19th home run of the season - a solo, sixth-inning shot. Posey had four RBI, raising his total to 76 on the year, and scored three times.

The Giants have wrested control of the wild card race over the past two weeks and are quickly bearing down on the Dodgers, who lead the NL West by two games. The Giants have gone 12-5 since August 16 and lead the wild card race by 2 1/2 games over the Brewers. Losers of seven straight, Milwaukee has given up the lead in the NL Central to the Cardinals - who now lead by two games - thanks in part to the Giants, who concluded the month of August with a three-game sweep of the Brewers, outscoring them, 31-8.

The Giants play an afternoon game in Denver, at 3:10 pm EDT on Wednesday, prior to flying to Detroit for a three-game series with the Tigers.

San Francisco hooks up with the Dodgers twice in September, hosting a three-game series on the 12th, 13th and 14th, and playing three games in LA on September 22, 23 and 24. Outside of the Dodger games, the Giants may have the easiest path to the playoffs. After their series in Detroit, they have six games with the Diamondbacks and seven with the Padres.

Chris Davis Grand Slam Sends O's to 9-1 Win over Twins; Buster Posey 5-for-5 in Giants' 13-2 Rout of Brewers

Players of the Day for Friday, August 29, 2014

American League

Davis: Grand Slam

Baltimore's Chris Davis isn't having the kind of season he had in 2013, when he led the league in home runs (53) and RBI (138), but he's been picking his game up lately and the Orioles are happy to see that.

Davis has hit three homers and driven in seven runs in his last five games, four of which came in Friday's 9-1 mauling of the Twins, the opener of a four-game series at Camden Yards.

With the bases full in the fourth and the O's already up, 1-0, Davis unloaded on Minnesota starter, Trevor May, launching a 415-foot bomb over the right field wall. It was Davis' 24th homer of the season and upped his RBI count to 67 on the season.

Filling in at third base frequently since Many Machado's injury, Davis has helped the Orioles remain in first place in the East, where they currently hold a seven-game edge over the Yankees, who beat Toronto, 6-3, Friday, but are looking more and more like a possible wild card, rather than contenders for the division title.

Game two of the series in Baltimore is Saturday, at 7:05 pm EDT.

National League

Posey: 5-for-5

The meeting between the Giants and Brewers in San Francisco this weekend had more than enough intrigue, but the tenseness was dispelled early by Buster Posey and the San Francisco batters, who hammered Milwaukee starter, Wily Peralta, and scored all of their runs in the first five innings of a 13-2 rout.

Peralta lasted only three innings, giving up the first six runs on nine hits and a pair of walks. The Giants weren't exactly hospitable to the next Brewer hurler either, hammering Marco Estrada for seven more runs over the next two innings.

Buster Posey went 5-for-5 with four singles and a triple, scoring three times and driving in three before heading for the bench after six innings. As a team, the Giants were 19-for-42. Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence each collected three hits. Joe Panik went 4-for-6.

Recently, Posey's been on fire, hitting safely in eight of his last nine games, with multiple hits in six of them. Over that span, he's 20-for-40, with four homers and 13 RBI. Winners of four straight and seven of their last ten, the Giants have moved past St. Louis to claim the #1 wild card position, as the Cardinals fell to the Cubs, 7-2, Friday, their third straight loss.

The NL wild card race is still incredibly tight. St. Louis is 1/2 game behind the Giants, Atlanta, 1/2 back and the Pirates are just two games off the pace.

Game two of the Brewers-Giants three-game series is slated for a 6:05 pm PDT start, Saturday in San Francisco.

Boster Posey Goes 4-for-4 in Giants' Win over Cubs; Brandon McCarthy Tosses 4-Hit Shutout as Yanks Cling to Wild Card Hope

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 21, 2014

American League

McCarthy: 4-Hitter

While Detroit's David Price was holding the Tampa Bay Rays to one hit over eight innings, and losing, The Yankees' Brandon McCarthy was blanking the Astros on four hits and winning, keeping hopes alive in the Bronx.

McCarthy's complete game shutout resulted in a 3-0 win for the Yankees, who avoided the indignity of being swept at home by the second-worst team in the American League (Texas is four games behind Houston in the AL West) losing two straight before McCarthy came to the rescue.

The four-hitter included eight strikeouts and no walks. McCarthy, added to the Yanks' roster in late July, is 5-2 in New York, after going 3-10 in Arizona. It was his first complete game and first shutout of the season. McCarthy has thrown nine complete games and four shutouts in his eight-year major league career.

Posey: 4 Hits

The win left the Yankees tied with Toronto in second place in the AL East, nine games behind the Orioles. They are both four games behind Detroit in the race for the second wild card, though Seattle is just 1/2 game out. Oakland currently has a stranglehold on the #1 wild card. The A's are 5 1/2 ahead of Detroit.

National League

After winning their protest and getting Tuesday's game rescheduled for completion, the Giants ended up losing it, anyway, to the Cubs, 2-1. Following that, however, they managed to win their regularly-scheduled game, 5-3, as Buster Posey went 4-for-4, maintaining their hold on the #2 wild card spot by a game over the Atlanta Braves.

Posey singled, doubled and hit a solo homer - his 14th - but the light-hitting Giants barely took advantage of his success at the plate. The RBI from the home run was his only one of the game, and he scored just twice.

Having taken two of three from the Cubs, the Giants have been victorious in four of their last five and head to the nation's capitol, where they begin a three-game series with the red-hot Nationals on Friday at 7:05 pm EDT

The Nationals have won ten straight - including Thursday's 1-0, walk-off win over Arizona - and lead the NL East by seven games over the Braves.

Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford Lead Giants to 1st Place; Mike Moustakas Powers Royals over ChiSox

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 22, 2014

American League

Moustakas: 2HR

Kansas City evened its series at Chicago at a game apiece, banging out 14 hits to top the White Sox, 7-1.

The two teams are struggling to remain relevant in the AL Central. For now, the Royals have the upper hand, trailing division-leading Detroit by seven games. The White Sox fell to nine games off the pace.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas did his best to hide the fact that he's batting under .200 (.198), going 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs - his 11th and 12th of the season - driving in three runs. Moustakas started the Royals' scoring with a solo shot in the second and finished it off with a two-run dinger in the eighth.

The Royals and White Sox square off Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of the series at 2:10 pm EDT at Cellular Field in Chicago.

National League

Posey: hot bat

Crawford: 4RBI

Buster Posey is getting into a groove, and the San Francisco Giants are enjoying the top spot in the NL West because of it.

With the Dodgers were losing at Pittsburgh, 12-7, the Giants took a one-game lead in the division, taking their second straight in Philadelphia with a 9-6 victory over the Phillies in 14 innings.

Posey tied the game at 5-all with a solo homer in the ninth inning, and scored the go-ahead run after doubling with one out and coming home to score on Brandon Crawford's bases-loaded double later in the frame.

Posey was 4-for-7 with a pair of doubles, a single and the solo homer - his 12th - scoring twice and driving in a run. Posey's gone 11-for-28 with 11 RBI his last six games. He's at .286 for the season.

Crawford went 2-for-6 with four RBI, giving him 44 on the year.

The Giants will be looking for their third straight when they take on the Phillies Wednesday night at 7:00 pm EDT in the third leg of their four-game series.

Adam Jones Powers Orioles to 8-5 Win over Blue Jays; Giants Top Padres on Buster Posey's Five RBI

Players of the Day for Friday, July 12, 2013

American League

Adam Jones

Chris Davis crashed his 35th home run and Adam Jones went 3-for-4 as the Orioles topped the Blue Jays, 8-5, to open the final three-game series before the All Star break.

Davis' home run came in the second inning - a two-run belt that drove in Jones, who had doubled to lead off the inning - tying the game at two and giving Davis a five-homer lead over Miguel Cabrera for the MLB lead.

Jones continued to assault Blue Jay pitching, driving in three runs in the third inning with a three-run shot that put the O's up by a 5-3 score after Edwin Encarnacion had given Toronto a 3-2 lead with a homer of his own in the top of the frame.

Baltimore finished its scoring in the sixth when J.J. Hardy drove in both Jones and Davis with a three-run homer after both base runners had singled to open the inning.

The Orioles kept pace with the Red Sox, who lead the AL East by 4 1/2 over Tampa Bay and have a 5 1/2 game edge on the O's. Toronto fell to 12 1/2 behind with the loss. Game two of the series is slated for 4:05 pm EDT, Saturday in Baltimore

National League

Buster Posey

The Giants beat San Diego for the second straight time, but the 10-1 mashing was only their third win in the month of July, against eight losses.

Buster Posey was 2-for-5 to lead the Giants while collecting five RBI to give him 56 on the season.

Posey got things started for San Francisco with a sac fly in the third, tying the contest at 1-1, singled in a pair of runs in the sixth and completed the Giants' output with a two-run double in the seventh inning.

His .320 batting average has Posey tied for fifth in the NL with St. Louis' Matt Carpenter and he is 10th in the league in RBI as the season continues to be one in which pitchers are being belted around in both leagues.

The reigning world champions have fallen on hard times of late, however, dropping 6 1/2 games behind NL West-leading Arizona with a 42-50 mark.

The Padres have fallen to last place in the division, 8 1/2 back, and will host the Giants in the third of the four-game set on Saturday at 7:10 pm PDT.

Today's Trivia: Who was the last player to lead the American League in RBI three straight seasons? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: The only players with 2000 or more RBI are Hank Aaron (2297), Babe Ruth (2220) and Cap Anson (2075).

Rick Porcello Throws Seven Scoreless as Tigers Maintain Central Lead; Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey Spark Giants over Braves

Players of the Day for Friday, June 14, 2013

American League

Rick Porcello

While the Indians and Royals each won their third straight, the Detroit Tigers stayed 4 1/2 clear of Cleveland and five up on KC with a 4-0 win over Minnesota in the opener of a three-game series at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Rick Porcello (4-3) fanned four of the first five batters he faced en route to seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, striking out five.

The Twins never got a runner past second base as Porcello and a trio of relievers kept them in check the entire nine innings. Porcello finished strong, setting down the last eight batters he faced in order. Porcello threw 63 of 94 pitches for strikes, getting first strikes on 16 of the 23 batters he opposed.

Detroit - winners of six of their last eight games - scored all of its runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by Prince Fielder's two-run double which opened the scoring. Fielder has 54 RBI, fourth-best in the AL.

Game two of the three-game series is set for 7:15 pm EDT, Saturday night.

National League

Bumgarner:
7 Scoreless

Posey: 3 Doubles

San Francisco took the first of a three-game set at NL East leader, Atlanta, off a solid pitching performance by Madison Bumgarner, who improved to 6-4 with seven innings of scoreless ball in the 6-0 Giants' win.

Bumgarner struck out ten, issued just one walk and allowed two hits over his seven innings, throwing 69 of 108 pitches for strikes. The Giants built a lead with single runs in each of the first three innings, adding another in the fifth and two more in the seventh.

Buster Posey doubled three times in five at-bats, scoring in the third and fifth innings and driving in a run in the seventh, raising his average to a stout .313.

The win left the Giants 1 1/2 behind Arizona in the NL West. Colorado is 2 1/2 out, with San Diego four back, in the most contentious race in the majors.

Atlanta's loss was their fourth straight, but no teams in the division seem capable of taking advantage. The Braves continue to lead the East by 5 1/2 over Washington and 6 1/2 over the Phillies. The loss was just the eighth in 29 home games for the Braves.

San Francisco will look to upend the Braves again on Saturday, in a 4:05 pm EDT afternoon start.

Today's Trivia: As of today, who is the current active NL leader in batting average? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: On October 4, 1986, Minnesota's Greg Gagne hit inside-the-park homers in consecutive at-bats at the Metrodome, in a 7-3 win over the White Sox.

J.J. Hardy Sends O's to Game Five; Justin Verlander Puts Tigers into ALCS; Jayson Werth Stuns Cards; Buster Posey Slams as Giants Advance

Players of the Day for Thursday, October 11, 2012

American League

J.J. Hardy

ALDS: Baltimore 2 NY Yankees 1, 13 innings - 16 pitchers were used in the marathon extra inning game four between the two AL East entrants in the post-season sweepstakes, but the Yankees' David Phelps was victimized by J.J. Hardy, who stroked a double to deep left field, scoring Manny Machado from second base with the eventual game-winner in the top of the 13th.

Machado doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on Nate McLouth's ground out to second. With the outfield drawn in, Hardy launched a perfect, down-the-middle offering from Phelps, Machado trotting home easily. Jim Johnson worked a perfect bottom of the 13th for his second save of the series.

To settle the series, game five is scheduled for 5:07 pm EDT at Yankee Stadium. C.C. Sabathia goes up the bump for New York, against the Orioles' Jason Hammel.

Verlander: 9IP 4H CG

ALDS: Detroit 6 Oakland 0 - The Tigers took game five of their divisional series with the A's, as Justin Verlander proved once again that he is the ultimate big-game pitcher in the majors.

Verlander improved to 5-3 in the post-season, hurling a four-hit, 11-strikeout gem, advancing the Tigers past the A's and into the Championship Series against either the Yankees or Orioles. The 2011 Cy Young award winner walked one and didn't allow a base runner past second, going the distance for his first post-season shutout in ten starts.

The Tigers won the first two games of the series in Detroit, then dropped two in Oakland before calling on their ace to finish off the A's.

National League

Posey Slams for SF

NLDS: San Francisco 6 cincinnati 4 - Buster Posey socked a grand slam as the Giants erupted for six runs in the fifth inning off Cincy starter Mat Latos, advancing the Giants to the NL championship series to face either St. Louis or Washington.

It was Posey's second home run of the post-season, and likely the biggest shot of his career. Matt Cain took the win and the Giants used five relievers to hold down the Reds, who lost three straight after winning the first two in San Francisco. Sergio Romo allowed a ninth-inning run, but managed to pick up his second save of the series.

Jayson Werth

NLDS: Washington 2 St. Louis 1 - Jayson Werth's leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth broke a 1-1 tie and sent the divisional series to a deciding game five, to be played Friday night in the nation's capitol.

Werth homered off Lance Lynn, staving off elimination for the Nationals and tying the series at two games apiece.

Washington scored a run in the second and the Cardinals responded with a single run in the top of the third, but that was all the two starters, St. Louis' Kyle Lohse and Washington's Ross Detwiler would allow. Lohse went seven full innings; Detwiler worked six.

Adam Wainwright gets the game five start for St. Louis against the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez. Game time is 8:37 pm EDT.

Giants, A's Stay Alive as Brett Anderson, Buster Posey, Serigo Romo Fuel Tight Wins

Players of the Day for Tuesday, October 9, 2012

American League

ALDS: Oakland 2 Detroit 0 - Oakland's Brett Anderson out-pitched Detroit's Anibal Sanchez and the Oakland A's avoided elimination with a 2-0 win at home.

Brett Anderson

Anderson allowed just two hits and no runs over six full innings. Sanchez was tagged for single runs in the second and fifth innings, the first run an RBI single off the bat of rookie Yoenis Cespedes and the insurance a solo homer by Seth Smith.

With the 2-0 lead in hand, the A's went to their bullpen. After Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle worked uneventful seventh and eighth innings, Grant Balfour closed the door in the ninth, earning the save.

Oakland pitchers totaled 11 strikeouts of Detroit batters, including Austin Jackson twice and Omar Infante three times, at the top of the Tiger lineup. Anderson walked two and struck out six, getting the win in his first post-season start.

The series continues Wednesday in Oakland with the Tigers ahead, two games to one. Start time for game four is 9:37 pm EDT.

National League

Buster Posey

Sergio Romo

NLDS: San Francisco 2 Cincinnati 1, 10 innings - Cincinnati's Homer Bailey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished his work on the mound allowing one hit and one earned run over seven complete innings, fanning 10, but the Giants hung in and staved off elimination at Great American Ball Park when Buster Posey scored the game-winner off Reds' third baseman Scott Rolen's crucial fielding error.

In the top of the 10th, Rolen bobbled a rather routine ground ball off the bat of Joaquin Arias, after Posey and Hunter Pence had singled off Reds' reliever Jonathan Broxton to lead off the inning. Following a pair of strikeouts, the runners advanced to second and third on a passed ball, and, when Arias scooted down the line to beat Rolen's late throw, Posey crossed the plate with the go-ahead run.

Sergio Romo got the win, holding the Reds hitless over the ninth and 10th innings, sending the series to game four in Cincinnati with the Reds still up, two games to one.

Wednesday's game starts at 4:07 pm EDT. If the Giants win game four and force a deciding game five, Matt Cain goes to the mound for the Giants against Cincy's Mat Latos.

Alex Rios Walks Off Angels in 8-6 Win; Buster Posey, Angel Pagan Lead Giants in 16-4 Romp

Players of the Day for Friday, August 3, 2012

American League

Alex Rios banged a pair of home runs - his 17th and 18th of the season - the second of which won the game in extra innings for the White Sox, defeating the Angels, 8-6.

Alex Rios

Rios singled home the White Sox's first run of the game in the opening inning, after the Angels had scored one in the top of the frame. He scored on A.J. Pierzynski's three-run blast later in the inning.

In the seventh, Rios connected off Zach Grienke with a solo shot, putting the Sox down by a run. Chicago tied the game on DeAza's ground rule double which plated Alexei Ramirez.

Neither team was able to score again until the tenth inning, when Rios went yard again, scoring himself and pinch runner Jordan Danks on a walk-off rip to center field.

Rios finished 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBI, the win keeping the White Sox 2 1/2 games up on the Detroit Tigers, who defeated Cleveland, 10-2.

The Angels dropped another game further off the pace being set by the Rangers in the West. Texas leads the A's by 4 1/2 and the Angels, losers of three straight, by six.


National League

Buster Posey

Angel Pagan

Leading a three-way race for the division crown in the NL West, the San Francisco Giants put on their best offensive showing of the year, blasting the Colorado Rockies, 16-4, as the trailing Dodgers and Diamondbacks each won, keeping the Giants' slim lead at 1/2 game over LA and two ahead of Arizona.

Their highest scoring output of the season was spearheaded by Buster Posey, who had four hits in five at-bats, including his 15th homer, a three-run shot to go with his three singles. Posey had four RBI in the contest.

Angel Pagan collected a single, double and triple in four at-bats, scored four times and drive in a run as the Giants opened the three game series in Colorado with a needed win.

The Rockies and Giants play again on Saturday night with a day game on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Dodgers host the Cubs while the Diamondbacks play at Philadelphia.

Mike Trout, Albert Pujols Lead 13-0 Rout of Tigers; Buster Posey Drives in 5 as Giants Pad NL West Lead

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 17, 2012

American League

Trout's .355 leads AL

Winning the second game of their four game series at Detroit, the LA Angels banged out 18 hits, including four home runs, for a lopsided, 13-0 win, evening the series at a game apiece.

Albert Pujols

Rookie Mike Trout continues to blaze away, going 4-for-6, including his 13th home run of the year, a second inning, two-run blast. Trout's .355 batting average easily leads the league (Joe Mauer is second at .333), and his three runs scored upped his total to 64, puttin him in fourth place behind a trio of players with 65.

Albert Pujols chipped in with his 16th home run, a solo shot, scored three times and had two RBI, going 3-for-4 in the game.

The Angels continue to chase the Rangers, though it seems every time LA wins, so does Texas, whose lead in the AL West is still 5 1/2 games following their 6-1 win at Oakland.

National League

Outside of Tim Lincecum's problems (he's 3-10 with a 5.93 ERA), everything is going just swimmingly in San Francisco.

Posey: 3-5 5 RBI

The Giants opened a three-game set in Atlanta on Tuesday and quickly cooled off the ret-hot Braves, who had won eight straight, with a 9-0 victory.

While Barry Zito was moving down the Braves, allowing just three hits over seven innings, Buster Posey was busy clearing the bases, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a single, driving in five runs.

Posey doubled home the game's first run in the opening inning, drove in another with a single in the third, then busted loose with a bases-loaded double in the fourth inning, driving in three more, as the Giants broke the game open with six runs.

Posey is having a solid season, batting .302 with 52 RBI.

The win was the Giants' fourth straight. At the same time, the Dodgers have lost four in a row and now trail San Francisco by three games in the NL West.

The Braves and Giants will have at each other in the second game of the series, Wednesday night at 7:10 pm EDT.

Avila Has 5 RBI to Pace Tigers over Baltimore; Posey Leads Giants Past Padres

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 6, 2011

American League

Alex Avila

Suffering their first defeat of the season in a 7-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers, the Orioles find themselves tied for first place in the AL East with Toronto, thanks mostly to the #8 hitter in the Tiger lineup, catcher Alex Avila.

A native of Hialeah, Florida, Avila put on his own version of bird-killing, smacking a two-run double in the second inning, a two-run homer in the 4th, and capping off the night with a run-scoring single in the 8th.

With the exception of Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez's back-to-back jacks in the 5th inning, Avila accounted for all of Detroit's runs on a breakout night with 3 hits in four at-bats and five RBI.

With the AL East upside down, further notice that baseball is only one week into the current season was provided by the Central division, where Kansas City leads Cleveland and Chicago by 1/2 game. Meanwhile, Texas is off to a 6-0 start in the West.

National League

Buster Posey

Buster Posey is proving that his NL Rookie of the Year award was no fluke even though the San Francisco Giants haven't exactly looked like defending world champions.

San Francisco got its second win of the season against four losses, leaving the Giants in last place in the NL West as they topped the Padres by an 8-4 score.

Posey knocked his first homer of the season off San Diego starter, Tim Stauffer, in the opening inning, driving in Aubrey Huff from second. Huff had doubled after Freddy Sanchez's one-out triple got Stauffer into immediate trouble.

Working with a lead, the Giants put the game away with a 4-run sixth inning. Posey singled in a pair of runs, giving him 4 RBI on the night. He added anothre single to go 3-for-5, raising his batting average to .320.

Baseball Begins Anew; Giants, Posey Drop D-Backs

Players of the Day for Friday, February 28, 2011

National League

Buster Posey picked up right where he left off last season for the World Champion San Francisco Giants. In the first game of Spring Training, Posey led the Giants to a 7-6 win over Arizona, going 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored.

Posey, who batted .305 with 18 homers and 67 RBI in 108 games after a call-up in May, provided a big bat in the middle of the Giants' suspect lineup that propelled the team to World Series glory. Posey was named NL Rookie of the Year by various organizations and is viewed as one of the top three or four catchers in the league already.

American League

There were no American league games played on Friday.

Beginning Monday, February 28, check this space daily for previews of all 30 MLB teams and their prospects for success in 2011. Monday, we begin with the reigning world champions, the San Francisco Giants.

Buster Posey Busts Up Brwers; Freddie Garcia Continues on Comeback Trail

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 7, 2010 American League With the distinct possibility that they could be losing Jake Peavy for the remainder of the season, the Chicago White Sox know that every game is important as they attempt to keep pace with Minnesota and Detroit in the hotly-contested AL Central. After Peavy was forced to leave Tuesday's game after only 1 2/3 innings, the Sox patched together a 4-1 win thanks to yeoman work from their bullpen, getting the better of Angels' ace, Jered Weaver. Wednesday night, the mound belonged to Freddy Garcia, who stumped the Halos on 5 hits over six innings, walking two, striking out six. The Angels only run of the game came in the fifth, off Garcia, though it was unearned. The 5-2 victory earned Garcia his 9th win of the season, against 3 losses, looking more and more like the AL Comeback Player of the Year. Garcia was just 3-4 with the White Sox last season. With Detroit beating Baltimore, 4-2, and Minnesota losing to Toronto, 6-5, the White Sox took over second place, a game behind the Tigers, with Minnesota 1/2 game behind them. The Sox win was their 4th straight, and their third straight over the Angels, who continue to struggle along in second place in the AL West, now falling 5 1/2 behind the Rangers. National League While the media has dubbed 2010 "the year of the pitcher," others are calling it the "year of the rookie," as a slew of first-year players have made sizable impacts on the game. One such player is San Francisco catcher Buster Posey, who came into the league without nearly the fanfare of Jason Heyward or Stephen Strasburg, but is making his presence felt day by day. In Wednesday's 15-2 crushing of Milwaukee, Posey broke out the big wood, hitting a two-run homer and a grand slam, along with a pair of singles, going 4-for-4, with 3 runs and 6 RBI, making the win one of the easiest ever for starter Time Lincecum, who improved to 9-4, giving up 4 hits and one earned run over 7 innings, fanning 10. The Giants, in 4th place, five back of San Diego in the NL West, started July on the tail end of a seven-game losing streak, but since have won four of five, including their last three straight. The division still largely up for grabs with the Dodgers and Rockies tied for second, both three games behind the Padres, San Fran remains within striking distance. Posey, who got a late start to his inaugural season, has five homers and 19 RBI in 34 games, carrying a solid .331 batting average.