Billy Butler Leads KC Slug-fest over Angels; Chone Figgins 4-for-4 in Marlins' Victory

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 10, 2013

Grapefruit League

Chone Figgins

Breaking out the good wood with 15 hits, the Miami Marlins improved to 6-7 in Grapefruit League play with a 10-2 victory over NL East rival, Atlanta.

Leading the Marlins charge was transplanted infielder, Chone Figgins, a long-time fixture in the AL West, first with the Angels and most recently (2010-2012) with the Mariners, with a 4-for-4 effort - all singles - a pair of runs and two RBI.

Figgins, traded to the Marlins in the off-season, appears to be a solid candidate for the starting spot at second base, though he's also played third in the past. The hot corner will likely fall to either Kevin Kouzmanoff or Placido Polanco, players with a bit more pop than the singles-hitting Figgins.

Figgins is batting .333 thus far in the exhibition season.

Cactus League

Billy Butler

Like a 70s radio show, the hits just keep on coming for the amazing Kansas City Royals, this time belting out 18 hits in a 17-11 win over the power-packed Angels, who socked four homers but committed six errors - three by catcher Hank Conger - in defeat.

Billy Butler, the regular DH for the Royals, rapped out a pair of singles and a double in four at-bats, scoring three times and driving in four runs.

The 7,417 fans in attendance were treated to an offensive fireworks show which included a combined 33 hits and at least one run scored in each inning, though the Royals had theirs in bunches, scoring five in the fourth and piling on seven in the sixth.

Butler is batting .387 with 11 RBI. The Royals have lost just once in 14 games and have a three-game lead over 11-5 Seattle in the Cactus league standings.

Figgins Leads Angels to 4th Straight; Webb Wins 15th

Players of the Day from Thursday, July 31, 2008 American League Often forgotten in the galaxy of star, Angels' leadoff hitter Chone Figgins is often the man who gets the offense started. On Thursday, Figgins was at his best, rapping out 4 singles in 5 at-bats, stealing a base, scoring three times and driving in a run as the Angels continued their Eastward swing undefeated, topping the Yankees, 12-6. The Angels began their trip by dropping the Red Sox three straight times, and opened their 4-game series with the Yankees with a win. The Angels have won four straight, 8 of their last 10 and lead the AL West by 12 1/2 games.

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Figgins, who missed part of the season on the DL, has 79 hits in 71 games for a .285 batting average, with 21 steals and 41 runs scored. Notes: The Yankees' loss left them 4 1/2 behind Tampa Bay in the AL East, in third place. Sandwiched in between are the Red Sox, 3 games behind. Minnesota beat Chicago, 10-6, and are just 1/2 game behind the white Sox in the Central. National League Brandon Webb became the first 15-game winner in the majors, outdeuling Derek Lowe, as Arizona topped the Dodgers, 2-1. Webb (15-4) allowed 6 hits and one earned run over 8 innings, fanning 6 and walking just one batter. Lowe (8-9) lasted just 6 1/3 for LA, and took the loss, dropping the Dodgers 2 games behind the Diamondbacks in the NL West race. The two teams have three more games in LA through Sunday. Notes: The Cubs completed their 4-game sweep of Milwaukee with an 11-4 win. The Brewers were just a game back when the Cubs came to town on Monday. By Thursday night, they were 5 back, tied with the Cardinals for second place. The Phillies won their fifth straight, 8-4, over Washington, to improve their lead in the NL East to a full game over the Mets and 1 1/2 over the Marlins.

Indians down Detroit in 11; Howard Power Raises Hope in Philly

American League Detroit 5 Cleveland 6, 11 innings - Casey Blake's solo homer in the bottom of the 11th finished off a come-from-behind victory for the Indians over 2nd place Detroit, reducing Cleveland's magic number to 7 and reestablishing a 5 1/2 game lead over the Tigers. The win came on the opener of a 3-game series with the Tigers, the final meeting between the two top teams in the AL Central. Baltimore 5 NY Yankees 8 - Hideki Matsui hit his 24th home run, a solo shot in the 3rd inning that gave the Yankees the lead for good as New York closed to within 3 1/2 games of first place Boston in the East. The Yankees also opened up a 3 1/2 game lead on Detroit in the wild card race as the Tigers fell at Cleveland. Tampa Bay 7 LA Angels 10 - Chone Figgins (right) spearheaded an 18-hit onslaught by the Angels with a triple and two singles in five at-bats as the Angles reduced their magic number to 5. Figgins, who usually bats leadoff in the lineup, drove in a pair of runs and boosted his batting average to .347 over 105 games, a career high. Other AL Scores Boston 1 Toronto 6 Chi White Sox 11 Kansas City 3 Texas 4 Minnesota 5 Seattle 4 Oakland 0 National League Philadelphia 13 St. Louis 11 - Ryan Howard (right) blasted his 39th and 40th home runs of the season, the latter a grand slam, and drove in five runs as the Phillies nearly blew an 11-run lead but held on for the win. With the Mets losing at Washington, Philly is now just 2 1/2 games behind the NL East leaders, with less than a dozen games left in the regular season. While the Mets were losing their 4th straight, the Phillies are on a 5-game win streak and remain 1 1/2 back of San Diego in the wild card race. Pittsburgh 0 San Diego 3 - The Padres amped up the pressure on Arizona in the West, as rookie Jack Cassel got his first major league win, scattering 8 hits over 6 innings in just his second career start. The Padres are just one game behind the Diamondbacks. Both teams have 67 losses, but Arizona has played two more games than the Padres. The D-Backs have 11 games left to play, San Diego has 13 remaining. Milwaukee 6 Houston 0 - Rookie Yovani Gallardo (9-4) blanked the Astros on 7 hits over 8 innings, keeping pace with the Cubs, who lead the Brewers by one game in the Central division. The Cubs have a bit of an upper hand in the division, as they have already played two more games than the Brewers and have a lighter schedule down the stretch. As in the West, both teams have identical numbers in the loss column, 72. Other NL Scores Florida 6 Atlanta 11 NY Mets 4 Washington 12 Cincinnati 6 Chi Cubs 7 San Francisco 8 Arizona 5

Holliday Socks for Rockies; Figgins Has Angels Flying

Congratulations to Tony Gwynne and Cal Ripken Jr., inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, NY. American League Detroit 4 LA Angels 13 - Chone Figgins (right) stroked three singles in five at-bats, scored three runs, drove in another and stole his 27th base as the Angels stomped the Tigers, sweeping the 3-game series in Anahiem by a combined score of 34-13. The Angels scored in double digits in each game, leaving the Tigers' staff in tatters. Figgins has been on a tear of late, hitting safely in 13 of his last 14 games and raising his batting average from .300 to .337 during the span. The Angels remain four goods to the good on Seattle in the West, while Detroit continues to cling to a 1/2-game lead in the AL Central. As Detroit has lost 5 of their last 6, the Indians have accommodated by losing 5 of their last 7. Oakland 10 Seattle 14 - Adrian Beltre singled in one run and drove in three more with his 16th homer, keeping the Mariners 4 games behind LA in the AL West. Other AL Scores Minnesota 4 Cleveland 1 Toronto 4 Chi White Sox 1 Texas 0 Kansas City 10 - Royals win 4th straight Boston 2 Tampa Bay 5 - D-Rays end 8-game losing streak NY Yankees 10 Baltimore 6 - J. Damon, 3-5, 2 RBI, 4 runs National League LA Dodgers 6 Colorado 9 - Matt Holliday homered for the 4th time in his last 6 games and drove in 3 runs, giving him 84 for the year, putting him in the middle of the RBI fray with Ryan Howard and Carlos Lee, both of whom have 86. The Rockies took 2 of 3 from LA and are now just 3 1/2 games back in the wild NL West. LA and Arizona are on top with San Diego 1/2 back. San Diego 18 Houston 11 - Mike Cameron hit a two-run homer, doubled twice, drove in 3 runs and scored 3 times as the Padres pounded out 18 hits. Every position player had at least two hits, except #8 batter Geoff Blum, who had just one. Milwaukee 5 St. Louis 9 - Over in the NL Central, the heat is on the Milwaukee Brewers after losing three of four to the Cardinals over the weekend. Once again, the main protagonist for the Cards - now just 6 games back - was Albert Pujols who busted the game open with a 3-run double in the 8th. Chi Cubs 6 Cincinnati 0 - Carlos Zambrano improved to 14-7 with a 2-hit blanking of the Reds over 7 1/3 innings, drawing the Cubs to within 1/2 game of Milwaukee. Atlanta 14 Arizona 0 - Tim Hudson allowed just 3 hits over 7 innings and Chipper Jones drove in five hits with a bases loaded double and a pair of sac flies. Jones was efficient to the extreme, finishing the night officially with one hit in one at-bat. Other NL Scores Washington 0 NY Mets 5, 5 innings Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 5 - Phillies remain 3 12 back of NY Florida 8 San Francisco 5

Bonds on the Brink; Cleveland Closes In

American League Minnesota 4 Cleveland 10 - Jhonny Peralta hit a 3-run and a 2-run homer as Cleveland routed the Twins and drew to within 1/2-game of the AL Central leading Tigers. The Indians have been hanging tough while the Twins have now lost 5 straight and 8 of their last 10 and are 9 off the pace. Detroit 6 LA Angels 11 - Chone Figgins went 4-5 with a pair of doubles, scored twice and drove in a run as the Angles retained their lead in the AL West at 4 games, while endangering the Tigers' hold on the Central lead. The Angels scored 6 in the first and 2 more in the 2nd inning and coasted to a remarkably easy win. Other AL Scores NY Yankees 2 Baltimore 4 - Yankees trail Boston by 8 games Boston 7 Tampa Bay 1 - T. Wakefield, W (12-9), 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K Texas 1 Kansas City 6 Toronto 3 Chi White Sox 4 Oakland 1 Seattle 7 - Mariners snap 7-game losing streak National League Florida 10 San Francisco 12 - Barr Bonds was walked four times after banging home run #754 off rookie starter Rick Vanden Hurk. Bonds is now one shy of tying Hank Aaron for the all-time home run record. Bonds' 1st inning blast was also his 20th of the season, marking the 19th time he has hit at least 20 homers in a season. The Marlins have lost 5 straight. Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 8, 8 innings - The Phillies took over second place in the NL East by percentage points as Jamie Moyer allowed 6 hits and no earned runs over 7 innings in the rain-shortened event. With the Mets and Braves both losing, Philly is now 4 games out. Other NL Scores Atlanta 7 Arizona 8, 11 innings - D-Backs, 7 straight wins Washington 6 NY Mets 2 Chi Cubs 4 Cincinnati 5 San Diego 9 Houston 4 Milwaukee 12 St. Louis 2

Maine Slows Minny; Figgins' 6th Hit Grounds Astros

American League Sam Perlozzo was fired on Monday by the Orioles, becoming the first manager casualty of the season. Bullpen coach Dave Trembley, who has served as a minor league manager in the organization, will be the interim manager. Former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi is being rumored to be on the short list for a full-time replacement. Under Perlozzo, the O's were 29-40, in last place in the AL East, 15 1/2 behind the Boston Red Sox. LA Angels 10 Houston 9 - The series between the LA Angels and Houston Astros has already produced plenty of fireworks. Chone Figgins (right) went 6 for 6, his last hit - a triple - driving in the game's winning run. Figgins, who also stole a base, scored once and drove in 3. He is 36-for-79 (.456) over his last 17 games and the perfect night raised his batting average from .258 to .284. Not a bad night. Houston's Mark Loretta was 4-5 with 3 RBI and teammate Craig Biggio went 1-6 to get within 10 of 3000. The Angels simply won't slow down. So far in June they are 12-4 and Monday's win was their 3rd straight. They began the season 6-9, ending a 6-game losing streak on April 18. Since then, they've gone 39-17 (.696) and lead the AL West by 6 games over the A's, and have the best home record in baseball at 25-9. Cleveland 10 Philadelphia 1 - The Indians rocked Philly starter Cole Hamels (8-3) for 6 runs on 8 hits over 5 innings and retained their slim one game lead over Detroit in the AL Central. Kelly Shoppach, batting 9th, clubbed a 3-run homer off Hamels and added a run-scoring double in the 6th inning, finishing his night 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI. The Phillies dropped to 3 back of the NL East-leading Mets. Other AL Scores Chi White Sox 10 Florida 6 - J. Thome, HR (9), 3 RBI (27) Oakland 6 Cincinnati 1 - J. Blanton (W, 7-4) 8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K National League NY Mets 8 Minnesota 1 - The Mets banged out 15 hits and John Maine (7-4) shut down the Twins on 5 hits over 7 1/3 innings, giving up just one earned run. The Mets stayed 1 1/2 clear of the Braves in the NL East. Detroit 9 Washington 8 - The Tigers nearly blew an 8-run lead as closer Todd Jones allowed 5 hits and 3 runs before finally getting the last out with runners on the corners. Carlos Guillen singled, doubled and hit a solo homer in 4 at-bats, scoring twice and driving in 3 runs for the Tigers. Detroit remained a game behind Cleveland in the AL Central race. Atlanta 9 Boston 4 - It was another Schilling shelling in Atlanta as the Braves roughed up starter Curt Schilling for 10 hits and 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings.

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It was the second straight tough outing for Schilling (6-4), who pitched a 1-hitter on June 7, but allowed 5 earned on 9 hits over 5 innings vs. Colorado in his next outing, June 13. Catcher Brian McCann doubled home a run in the 4th and smacked a 3-run homer in the 5th, ending the night for Schilling. Coco Crisp went 4-4 for the Red Sox, with a pair of solo homers. Other NL Scores Tampa Bay 10 Arizona 2 - D-Backs trail Padres by 1 1/2 in NL West Milwaukee 5 San Francisco 4 - P. Fielder, HR (26), F. Cordero, S (26) Kansas City 5 St. Louis 3 Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5 Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3 Total: AL: 75 NL: 61 Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.