Chipper Jones Leads Braves in 6-0 Kris Medlen Shutout ; David Price Blanks Angels Over Seven

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 16, 2012

American League

The Tampa Bay Rays are back in the playoff picture in a big way following their 7-0 shutout over the fading LA Angels.

Price: 16-4

The Rays are tied with Baltimore for the two AL wild card spots. Both teams trail the Yankees by six games in the AL East and are a game better than Detroit and 1 1/2 up on Oakland in the wild card race.

The hottest team in the American League, the Rays got seven solid innings from 16-4 David Price, who allowed just three hits, struck out six and issued two walks.

The win was the first of a crucial four game series in Los Angeles. The Angels are third in the AL West, seven games behind the Rangers and are struggling to keep pace in the wild card hunt, 2 1/2 behind the current co-leaders.

Price passed the Angels' Jered Weaver for most wins in the majors with 16 and is second in ERA, at 2.39, behind Weaver (2.22) and ahead of Detroit's ace, Justin Verlander (2.46). His 159 strikeouts is good for fifth place amongst AL whiff leaders.

Game two of the series begins Friday night at 10:05 pm EDT.

Editor's Note: It would be nice if Yahoo could update their stats before noon Eastern time the following day. No wonder the stock has been stuck near the bottom of its range for the last four years. The site often carries outdated erroneous information and is bogged down with unnecessary features that hamper load times and overall performance.

National League

Chipper Jones

When it's bobble-head night and it's your head that's bob-bob-bobbling up and down in the stands, what are you supposed to do?

Maybe, do what Chipper Jones did in Thursday night's 6-0 win over the Padres, crack a pair of home runs and delight the crowd with three RBI as you continue your farewell season.

Kris Medlen

Jones, a certain first ballot hall of famer, has already announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2012 season, but he's playing like he has a couple more seasons left in his 39-year-old frame. He's batting .315 - keeping his career average of .304 in good shape - with 12 homers and 53 RBI in 76 games, plus he's helped the Braves into a clear lead for the #1 wild card spot, four games better than the Pirates and four games behind Washington in the battle for the NL East.

Jones will retire with some gaudy numbers - all with the Braves - at the conclusion of this season: his two homers on Thursday give him 2700 hits, 466 home runs and 1614 RBI, currently in the #31 spot all-time. By season's end he'll likely pass Harold Baines and Ernie Banks, moving into the 29th slot for career RBI, right behind another stellar third baseman, Tony Perez, who finished with 1652.

Not to be overlooked on Jones' big night at the plate was Kris Medlen's five-hit, complete game shutout, the first of his career, which consists mostly of appearances out of the bullpen. Medlen fanned six and didn't walk a batter, improving to 4-1 on the year.

The Braves took the final three games in their four-game series with the Padres, limiting San Diego to one run over 27 innings.

Chipper Jones Goes 5-for-5; Kevin Youkilis Leads White Sox Rout of Texas

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 3, 2012

American League

Kevin Youkilis

Since being traded from the Red Sox to the White Sox, Kevin Youkilis has had to make adjustments, like batting second in manager Robin Ventura's lineup and not having Fenway's Green Monster lurking invitingly out in left field.

After eight games with the White Sox, however, Youkilis put it all together in Chicago's 19-2 pasting of Texas, going 3-for-6 with a pair of singles, his first home run as a member of the White Sox, four RBI and three runs.


The Sox piled on Texas starter Roy Oswalt, dinging him for 13 hits and nine earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Youkilis started the slaughter with a two-run blast in the first inning, followed by solo shots by Adam Dunn (25) and Alex Rios (11).

Youkilis singled in a run and scored in the second and did the same in the fifth inning, as the Sox pounded out a season-high 21 hits.

The win kept the White Sox two games up on Cleveland in the AL Central, while Texas maintained a five game lead over the Angels, who dropped a 9-5 decision to the Indians.


National League

Jones: 5-for-5

Chipper Jones has already announced that he'll hang up the spikes at the end of this season, but in the meantime, he can still swing the bat with the best of them.

Jones went 5-for-5 in Atlanta's 10-3 win over the Cubs, knocking in four runs with a pair of doubles and three singles. Oddly enough, even though Jones was on base all night and the Braves totaled 10 runs, Jones didn't score any of them.

The Braves continue to chase the Nationals and second place Mets in the NL East. They are five back of Washington, and 1 1/2 behind the Mets. Both New York and Washington were winners on Tuesday, so the Braves didn't pick up any ground.

It was the third time Jones has had five hits in a game.

Felix Hernandez One-Hits Twins over 8; Chipper Jones Drives in Five in Braves' Comeback Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 5, 2012

American League

With a roster full of solid young talent, the Seattle Mariners are someday going to look back on the 2012 campaign as a building season. They currently are in third place in the AL West, trailing the Rangers by seven games.

Felix Hernandez

One of the stalwarts on Seattle's retooled pitching staff remains Felix Hernandez, the 2010 AL Sy Young award winner, had electric stuff working for him as he shackled the Twins on one hit over eight innings in a 7-0 Seattle triumph.

With the mariners not scoring until the bottom of the sixth, Hernandez had to be on top of his game and was, setting down the first nine batters he faced until Denard Span got the only Minnesota hit of the game, a single to open the fourth inning.

Hernandez got the next two outs, though Span advanced to third base. After walking the bases loaded with his only two walks of the game, Hernandez induced an inning-ending fly to left from Chris Parmalee, ending the bases-full threat.

It was no contest after that, as Hernadez bulldozed through the next four innings retiring the final 13 batters he faced in order, before turning the ball over to reliever Steve Delabar to mop up in the ninth.

Finishing with nine strikeouts, Hernandez improved to 3-1, taking over the AL lead in whiffed batters with 51.


National League

Chipper Jones has already announced his retirement at the end of the 2012 season, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's taking a season-long, lazy victory lap.

Chipper Jones

Long a mainstay of the Braves' offense, the 40-year-old remains an exceptionally dangerous hitter, as was proven Saturday when he helped Atlanta come back from a 6-0 deficit and defeat the Rockies, 13-9.

Colorado scored four runs in the first inning and two more in the second before the Braves got started. After scoring a single run in the third, Jones doubled home a run in the top of the fifth as Atlanta put two ore on the board.

In the sixth, Jones singled in a pair as the Braves added five more runs to tie the game at eight, he drove in two more with another single as the Braves put up four more runs to take the lead for good. Overall, Jones went 3-for-6, drove in five runs and scored once, the win helping Atlanta keep pace in the NL East, where they trail the Nationals by 1 1/2 games.

It was the second straight win over the Rockies in Colorado, the Braves seeking the series sweep Sunday afternoon.

Nick Blackburn Wins for Twins; Cliff Lee Hurls Two-Hitter; Jones, Schafer Lead Braves

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 16, 2011

American League

Nick Blackburn

Atop the Central division, the Tigers scored a 6-2 decision over Cleveland to take over first place by one game, while at the lower end, Minnesota topped the White Sox, 1-0, furthering the Twins' desire to get back into the race after a forgettable first two months of the season.

Starter Nick Blackburn worked out of repeated jams, allowing eight hits but no runs over eight innings for the Twins, riding Michael Cuddyer's 3rd inning solo home run to his sixth victory over four losses.

Blackburn walked one and struck out just one batter, and Matt Capps earned his ninth save, allowing a hit, but fanning two in a scoreless 9th.

The Twins remain in last place in the division, but are just nine games behind the Tigers. A game in front of them are the Royals, while the White Sox hold third place, 5 1/2 out.

National League

Cliff Lee: Two-Hitter

What's better, a two-hit shutout, five RBI or five hits in a game?

Jones: five RBI

Since the answer is a matter of subjective preference, we present all three, from an entertaining evening in the NL East.

In Philadelphia, Cliff Lee sent the Florida Marlins to their 15th loss in their last 16 games, hurling a two-hit, two-walk complete game shutout in a 3-0 Phillies' win.

Lee threw an incredible 117 pitches for his seventh career shutout, fanning four as he improved to 7-5 on the season.

The win kept the Phillies five clear of the Atlanta Braves, who survived a see-saw battle with the Mets, 9-8, eventually scoring the game-winner on a 10th-inning balk by Mets' pitcher D.J. Carrasco, sending Diory Hernandez, who had replaced Chipper Jones in the 9th inning, to the platter.

Schafer: five hits

Prior to the melodramatic ending, Jones had driven in five runs for the Braves with a first inning ground out, a third inning three-run homer and an RBI single in the 4th. Jones left the game after leaping to field a high chopped by Angel Pagan and throwing wildly to first in the 8th inning. Pagan would eventually score, putting the Mets up 8-6 at the time.

Atlanta tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on Brooks Conrad's two-run homer.

Jordan Schafer had five hits for the Braves, all singles, including his 10th-inning hit that sent Hernandez to third, setting him up to score the winning run.

Markakis, Arrieta Lead Orioles to 7-0 Win; Chipper Jones Has Braves on Warpath

Players of the Day for Friday, June 10, 2011

American League

Jake Arrieta

Languishing in their usual position at the bottom of the AL East division, the Baltimore Orioles are actually not that bad a team. At 30-31, they are only six games behind the front-running Red Sox, and have a better record than five other AL teams. There are signs of good things to come.

Nick Markakis

With Friday's 7-0 whitewash of the Rays, Baltimore won its fourth straight and has a chance to get to .500 with a win Saturday. The victory was nearly the exclusive product of two players. One was starter Jake Arrieta, who shut out the Rays for seven innings, allowing just two hits and three walks.

Arrieta had a no-hitter through five innings spoiled by a double and single to lead off the 6th, the only hits he allowed. An inning-ending double play got him out of the inning without a run being scored. He also struck out the side in the 3rd, even though he only had four Ks for the game. The win improved his record to 8-3, tying him with Boston's Jon Lester for the most wins in the league.

While Jake was throwing up goose eggs on Tampa, Nick Markakis was taking care of the run-producing aspect of the game with a grand slam in the 2nd and a two-run double in the 8th, driving in all but one of the Orioles' runs with two swings of the bat. Markakis, one of many players who got off to abnormally slow starts this season, is batting just .241 with five homers and 25 RBI.

National League

Chipper Jones:
Still swinging at 39

Chipper Jones is alive and well and has the Atlanta Braves challenging for the top spot in the rugged NL East.

Jones socked his 6th home run of the season to help the Atlanta Braves win their fourth straight game and remain two games behind the Phillies in the division.

He also singled twice, drove in two runs, scored three times and stole a base. Not a bad night for a 39-year-old player many expected to call it quits after last season.

Others got involved for the Braves, as they pounded out 14 hits in an 11-4 rout of the punchless Houston Astros. With three more games in Houston over the weekend, the Braves have a prime opportunity to string together more wins and maybe run down the Phillies, who have led the division almost all season.

Jones will keep swinging. One look at his career stats assures that he's a first round Hall of Famer. 442 home runs, 1525 RBI and a career .305 batting average.

JETER 3000 WATCH: After losing three straight at home to the Red Sox, the Yankees took out their frustrations on the visiting Cleveland Indians, piling up 15 hits in an 11-7 win. With everyone swing the bats, Jeter came up with just one hit in five at-bats, leaving him nine away from the 3000 club.

The Yankees have a pair of day games in the Bronx scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, both against the Indians.

Alex Rios, a Stats Star; Chipper Jones Certain to Reach Cooperstown

Players of the Day for Sunday, June 20, 2010 American League Two teams heading in opposite directions finished up their three-game interleague series on Sunday, as the White Sox invaded the nation's capital and swept the Nationals, finishing them off with a decisive 6-3 victory. Earning his 8th win against three losses was Freddie Garcia, looking every bit the part for comeback player of the year. Garcia went 3-4 in just nine starts for the Sox last season, but has regained much of the form that made him an All-Star in 2001 and 2002. While Garcia allowed three earned over six innings, Alex Rios was doing his best to earn some notice in the MVP conversation. Rios doubled and singled twice in five at-bats, scoring a pair of runs, driving in two and swiping his 20th base of the season. Rios' numbers from an all-around basis are phenomenal. He's batting a crisp .317, with 13 homers, 37 RBI, 42 runs and 20 steals. If he can get the RBI totals up a little, he may reach the rarified air at the .300-30-30-100-100 plateau, with a .300 batting average, 30 homers, 30 steals, 100 runs and 100 RBI. He is just about on pace to accomplish what could be one of the rarest statistical feats in baseball. The win for the Sox was their sixth straight, and it was Washington's sixth consecutive loss. Chicago is 5 1/2 behind Minnesota in the AL Central. The Tigers, who trumped the Nats three times earlier in the week, are just 1 1/2 behind the Twins. National League Rumors swirling around Chipper Jones' retirement won't go away, but the guy is a no-doubt first vote Hall of Famer no matter what he does, especially since he's contributing steadily to the resurgence of the Braves in 2010. On Sunday, the Braves increased their lead in the NL East to 2 1/2 games over the Mets with an 8-5 win at Kansas City, for a series sweep and their fifth consecutive win overall. Jones belted a pair of doubles, walked twice, scored twice, drove in three runs and stole a base. The man can still play, so retirement may or may not be in the cards at the end of this season. Besides, he's only 38, so there may be another year or two left in his body. Jones is close to a milestone, that being 1500 RBI. Jones is currently #53 on the list and has 1474, so he'll likely make that number by August, if not sooner. He would then be #51, and have dead aim at #50, the spot held by another familiar Hall of Famer, Mickey Mantle, who ended his career with 1509.

Halladay Shuts Out Royals; Jones Perfect in Braves' 8-7 Win

Players of the Day for Sunday, June 7, 2009 American League Roy Halladay has already won one Cy Young award (2003), and it looks like he's well on his way to a second. In Sunday's 4-0 whitewashing of the Royals, Halladay was on cruise control, scattering seven hits without yielding a walk, striking out six. It was his third complete game and first shutout of the season. Notching his major league best 10th win against just one loss, Halladay helped keep the Blue Jays in the hunt in the AL East, 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees. Halladay's stats are sensational: He hasn't lost since April 21, winning 7 of his last 9 starts. This season, he's lasted at least 7 innings in every start, ranks fifth in the AL in ERA at 2.52, 4th in WHIP at 1.02, 3rd in strikeouts (88) and leads the league in innings pitched at an even 100. National League In Atlanta's wild, 8-7 win at Milwaukee, won by the Braves in come-from-behind fashion with three runs in the 8th inning, Chipper Jones was a force of nature, going 4-for-4, tripling in a run in the first, smacking a solo homer in the 3rd and blasting a three-run shot in the fifth. He also singled in the seventh and was intentionally walked - with runners on first and second - in the eighth inning, completing a perfect night at the plate while amassing 5 RBI. Jones continues to creep up on the leaders in batting average, now tied for ninth with the Cardinals' Raul Ibanez, at .329. Jones won his first batting title last season when he hit .364. His five-RBI afternoon gave him 1402 for his career.

Peralta Stun Yankees; Jones Powers Braves Over D-Backs

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 31, 2009 American League Jhonny Peralta came to the plate in key spots - early and late - and delivered, as the Indians topped the Yankees, 5-4. Peralta singled three times in the Cleveland win, driving in two runs with a bases-loaded hit in the 3rd for Cleveland's first two runs of the game, and, after Mark Teixeira homered and doubled in four runs for the Yanks, tying the score at 4-4, the pesky infielder singled home the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth. He also singled in the seventh, to no avail. A mainstay at short since breaking in with Cleveland in 2003, Peralta set up shop at the hot corner Sunday, as manager Eric Wedge was forced to shuffle his lineup to accommodate for injured center fielder Grady Sizemore, who was placed on the 15-day DL prior to the game. National League Chipper Jones did all of his damage in the first four innings, propelling the Braves to a 9-3 thumping of Arizona. Jones singled in a run in the first inning, stroked a two-run homer in the 3rd, drove in another run and scored in the 4th, helping the Braves build an early 8-0 lead, which became 9-0 an inning later. In his 16th season - all with the Braves - Jones is still one of the most reliable hitters in the game, with a .310 lifetime batting average. So far this season, he's batting .316, with 5 home runs and 21 RBI.

BoSox Sweep Rays on Youkilis' 4 RBI; Chipper Jones has HOF Cred

Players of the Day from Sunday, May 4, 2008 American League Kevin Youkilis has been rock steady for the Red Sox since becoming a full-time starter in 2006. That year he batted .279. In 2007, the average was up to .288, and so far this season, he's poking out hits at a robust .308 clip. On Sunday, Youkilis led the Red Sox to a 3-game sweep over Tampa Bay with a 7-3 win over the Rays. This was a return f the favor, so to speak, of last week's sweep of Boston at Tampa.

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The best part for the BoSox is that they end up 3 games in front of the Rays, O's and Yankees in the AL East. Youkilis doubled twice, hit a solo home run, drove in four runs and scored twice in 4 at-bats on Sunday as the Sox finished off the sweep and laid claim to the top spot in the division. Notes: The Twins expanded their AL Central lead to 1 1/2 games over the White Sox (losers of five straight) with their 5th straight win and a three-game sweep of the Tigers in Minnesota. The Twins beat up on Detroit with 11-1, 4-1 and 7-6 wins. National League Might as well reserve a spot in Cooperstown for Chipper Jones, that is, if he ever decides to retire. Maybe his induction will be somewhere around 2015 or so. Jones is approaching some milestone figures. In his 14th year, all with Atlanta, he's played in 1923 games (2000 this season), has 395 homers and 1326 RBI. An RBI total of 1500 is almost an automatic for the Hall, and, barring injuries, Chipper should top that number by August of 2009. He's never hit less than 20 homers in any season, and has topped 30 nine times. On Sunday, Jones led the Braves to a sweep of the Reds in a 14-7 rout at Atlanta. Chipper went 3-for-6, with a double, his 9th home run of the season and five RBI, giving him 27 for the year, 4 behind Houston's Lance Berkman. Jones leads the majors with a .425 batting average and his 9 homers is third best in the NL. Her's hit safely in all but three games and earlier had a 13-game hitting streak. He's had 2 or more hits 15 times this season. Notes: Arizona finally lost their 10th game (21-10), but the Dodgers had their winning streak snapped at eight by Colorado as the Rockies knocked them down by a 7-2 score on Sunday, leaving the Dodgers 4 games behind the D-Backs in the West. St. Louis leads the Central by 1 1/2 over the Cubs, and Philly is 1/2-game to the good over the Mets and Marlins in the East.

Ramirez Powers BoSox into First; Jones, Smoltz Lead Rout of Marlins

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 17, 2008 American League Manny Ramirez blasted a pair of homers, drove in three runs and scored three times in Boston's 7-5 win at New York, boosting the BoSox into sole possession of first place in the AL East, a -half-game ahead the

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Orioles and one in front of the Yankees. Ramirez hit a solo shot in the second inning, his first at-bat, a two run shot in the 3rd the next time he was at the plate and singled and scored in the 5th, finishing 3-for-5. Ramirez, who hit only 20 homers last season, already has 5 this year and is just five short of 500 for his career. Notes: Home cookin'. Baltimore is 7-2 at home, but just 2-4 on the road. Other than the O's, only Boston, the Yankees, Seattle and Chicago have better than .500 home records in the AL. National League Chipper Jones (left) belted a pair of solo home runs, doubled and singled in four at-bats, driving in 3 and scoring 3 runs in Atlanta's 8-0 drubbing of Florida. By the time Jones had done his damage at the plate, John Smoltz (right) and the Braves were up 6-0, so Smoltz, who allowed only 3 hits and struck out 10, was relieved after completing the fifth inning, earning the win. Smoltz is now 3-0, accounting for half of Atlanta's wins, with an ERA of 0.56 and a WHIP of 1.00. Notes: Ken Griffey Jr. slugged his 596th career home run and third of the season in Cincy's 9-2 thrashing of the Cubs. Colorado's 22-inning, 2-1 win at San Diego was the longest game - by innings - since 1993. It lasted 6 hours and 16 minutes, the longest by far in the majors this season.

Lowell's Big Night; Maine Halts Mets' Skid

American League Cleveland 3 Detroit 12 - The Tigers teed off on C.C. Sabathia to the tune of 7 earned runs on 0 hits over 4 innings, closing the gap on the 1st-place Indians to a single game. Carlos Guillen, Gary Sheffield and Placido Polanco all homered off Sabathia, with Guillen driving in 4 runs and Sheffield three. Justin Verlander (10-3) took the win for the Tigers. Tampa Bay 4 Boston 15 - Boston completed its sweep of the Devil Rays, sending them to their 11th straight loss, the longest losing streak in the majors this season. The Sox were relentless, scoring 13 runs in the first 3 innings and banging out 21 hits for the whole game. Mike Lowell (right) was especially effective, whacking a home run and four singles in 6 at-bats, driving in 5 while scoring 3 times. Coco Crisp hit a grand slam in the 1st. Josh Beckett picked up his 12th win against just 2 losses in his final start before the All-Star game. Baltimore 6 Chi White Sox 11 - Tadahito Iguchi nearly hit for the cycle, with a double, triple and home run in 4 at-bats. Iguchi drove in 3 and scored 3 times. Other AL Scores Minnesota 6 NY Yankees 7 - H. Matsui, GW HR (10) Tampa Bay 4 Boston 15 LA Angels 5 Texas 2 - K. Escobar, W (10-3) Seattle 2 Oakland 3 National League Atlanta 8 LA Dodgers 6 - Chipper Jones became Atlanta's all-time home run leader, belting a pair of solo shots against the Dodgers Thursday night. Chipper hit one in the 6th inning, tying Dale Murphy's mark, and another in the 8th, breaking it. Jones has 15 homers this season and 372 lifetime. The 6th-inning shot broke a 6-6 tie and the 8th-inning dinger was icing on the cake. Atlanta's win was the Dodgers' loss, keeping LA a game back of San Diego in the NL West. NY Mets 6 Houston 2 - John Maine (right) improved to 10-4, striking out 9 over 7 2/3, while allowing 2 runs on six hits and 2 walks. Carlos Delgado went 4-4, as the Mets ended their 4-game skid. Chi Cubs 4 Washington 2 - The Cubs are determined to make the NL Central race interesting, winning for the 8th time in their last 10 games to close to within 4 1/2 of division leader Milwaukee. Milwaukee 3 Pittsburgh 6 - While the Cubs were winning the Brewers were losing their third straight to the lowly Pirates, after winning the first game of the 4-game series. The Pirates beat up on All-Star Ben Sheets, getting to him for 5 runs on 8 hits over 6 innings. Pittsburgh starter, Tom Gorzelanny, close to having an All-Star season himself, got the win, allowing only 3 earned off 4 hits and 2 walks. Adam LaRoche slammed a pair of homers, drove in 3 runs and scored 3. Other NL Scores Florida 3 San Diego 2 San Francisco 3 Cincinnati 6 Arizona 2 St. Louis 3