Catchers Rule: Carlos Corporan Leads Astros over Yankees; Wilin Rosario Sends Rockies Back to First in NL West

Players of the Day for Monday, April 29, 2013

American League

Carlos Corporan

With the worst record in the American League, Houston began their series in New York with the Yankees on a solid note, hammering starter Andy Pettitte for 10 hits and seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings en route to a smashing, 9-1, romp.

Houston's breakout was powered by catcher Carlos Corporan, wo went 4-for-5 with a pair of singles a double and his first homer of the year, four RBI and two runs. Corporan doubled in a pair of runs and scored in the Astros' three-run first, then greeted reliever Adam Warren with his two-run blast in the fifth inning, which essentially put the game away.

The win was Houston's eighth against 18 losses. They still remain at the bottom of the AL West standings, 8 1/2 games behind Texas. New York fell another 1/2 game behind idle Boston. the Red Sox lead the second-place Yanks by three games.

Corporan has only played in eight games this season, but made a strong impression on the Big Apple crowd. He is batting .360.

Wilin Rosario

The Yankees will try to even the series at 7:05 pm EDT Tuesday night.

National League

In Los Angeles, the Rockies opened their series with the Dodgers tied with Arizona for the NL West lead. After nine innings of a relentless 19-hit assault and a 6-4 San Francisco win over the Diamondbacks, they returned to sole possession of first place with a 12-2 whipping of LA.

Colorado rang up all 12 of their runs in the first five innings while their starter, Tyler Chatwood, stifled the Dodgers over six innings, allowing five hits, no walks, fanning five.

Catcher Wilin Rosario broke out the good wood, going 3-for-4 with his third homer in the last four games, a couple of singles, three runs and three RBI. Lately on a tear, Rosario has nine hits in his last 16 at-bats, raising his average to .350, fifth-best in the NL.

Rosario has seven homers and 19 RBI, both numbers in the league's top ten.

Colorado now has a one game lead over Arizona, but the division race is heating up quickly. The Giants are two games back with the Dodgers 3 1/2 off the lead. Game two in LA is slated for a first pitch at 7:10 pm Pacific time.

Carlos Corporan Blasts a Pair as Houston Downs Detroit; Leonys Martin Heroic in Texas Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, March 21, 2013

Grapefruit League

Corporan: 2HR, 3RBI

The Houston Astros displayed a rare show of home run power Thursday, and they did it against one of the game's top hurlers.

At the Tigers' exhibition home in Lakeland, Florida, Houston mashed the Tigers, 7-2, smacking four homers, three of which came against Tiger ace, Justin Verlander.

Matt Dominguez, Brandon Laird and Carlos Corporan connected off of the Detroit starter, who allowed four runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings of work. Corporan set off his second bomb of the day in the seventh inning against reliever Al Albequerque.

Corporan added a single to go 3-for-4 with two runs and three ribbies.

The Astros have a gaggle of catchers in camp, but Corporan - who has major league experience, may be the one to snag the starting job. He's batting .370 with his two homer and has seven RBI in 12 games.

Cactus League

Martin, 3-5, 4RBI

After singling twice, Leonys Martin came to the plate with the bases chock full of Ranger teammates in the bottom of the ninth and delivered a double to left field, clearing the bases to produce a 10-9 comeback win for Texas over the LA Angels.

Martin had earlier singled in a run in the second inning, when the Rangers plated six, and singled again in the fifth, his two-bagger giving him four RBI in a 3-for-5 effort and a serious shot at replacing the departed Josh Hamilton in center field. Hamilton, who socked a fourth inning solo homer - could only watch as his potential replacement played hero for his former team.

A Ranger farmhand, Martin played in 32 games for Texas in 2011 and 2012, but only put up a .204 average. Currently, with a full-time major league job in front of him, he's making the most of his playing time, with a .378 average and 11 RBI in 19 games. Martin is 25 and a native of Cuba.

The Rangers, who banged out 17 hits, improved their Spring record to 13-12.