Yu Darvish Fans 12 in Texas Victory; Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel Notches 30th Save

Players of the Day for Friday, July 18, 2014

American League

Darvish Ks 12

Swinging some heavy bats, the Toronto Blue Jays just couldn't seem to get around on the Rangers' Yu Darvish, who fanned 12 in 6 2/3 innings for his ninth win against five losses, as Texas topped the Blue Jays, 5-1, in Toronto.

Texas scord two runs in the fifth and put up a three-spot in the seventh as Darvish was cruising through the Toronto lineup, which didn't get to him until the bottom of the seventh, when they scored their only run of the game. The Texas bullpen mopped up, taking the first of the three-game series, but the win won't help the Rangers much, as they trail Oakland in the West by 21 games.

Kimbrel: 30 Saves

Toronto fell into a tie for second with the NY Yankees in the East, four games behind division-leading Baltimore.

National League

Atlanta opened the second half of the season in strong fashion, taking over sole possession of first place in the East with a 6-4 win over the visiting Phillies.

With the Nationals dropping a 4-2 decision to Milwaukee, the Braves have a one-game lead over Washington with the Mets seven back and Miami 8 1/2 out.

Closer Craig Kimbrel earned his 30th save, giving him the major league lead. The Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal has 29. Fernando Rodney of Seattle leads the AL with 27.

Kimbrel needed just 13 pitches to get through a perfect ninth inning, fanning two of the three batters he faced.

Game two of the three-game series starts Saturday at 7:10 pm ET.

Royals Snap 12-Game Losing Streak as Billy Butler, Alex Gordon Star; Jonny Venters, Craig Kimbrel Hurl Braves Past Dodgers

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 25, 2012

American League

Kansas City is still in last place in the AL Central, but at least they've stopped losing, for now.

Billy Butler

The Royals - which started the season 3-2 - snapped a 12-game losing streak with a convincing 8-2 win over Cleveland, avoiding being swept for a fourth straight series.

Kansas City's losing streak took no particular form. When they scored a lot of runs, the pitching didn't hold up, and when the pitching was solid, the hitters had an off day.

Alex Gordon

On Wednesday, the Royals put together timely hitting - getting eight runs from 11 hits - as Billy Butler led the charge with a pair of homers, his third and fourth of the season, socking a two run shot in the first inning to start the scoring and smacking a solo blast in the ninth to complete it.

Alex Gordon also played a key role, going 3-for-5 with a couple of singles and a three-run, ninth-inning home run that put the game on ice. Gordon had three RBI and scored twice.

The Royals finish their series in Cleveland on Thursday before heading to Minnesota for a three game weekend set.


National League

Atlanta scored three runs in the top of the ninth to upend the LA Dodgers for the second straight time, winning by a 4-2 score and taking the final two games of their three-game series.

Criag Kimbrel

Jonny Venters

The Braves didn't have much luck against Ted Lilly, the Dodger starter who went seven innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run, but the Atlanta bullpen did their job. Jonny Venters (2-0) got the win after striking out the side in the eighth and Craig Kimbrel picked up his seventh save - tying him for the NL lead with LA's Javy Guerra, who was victimized by the Braves, allowing five hits and three runs in just a third of an inning - his second blown save opportunity of the season.

After the Braves took the lead, Kimbrel struck out the first two batters in the ninth, then got Dee Gordon to ground to third for the game-ending out. Kimbrel has appeared in eight games, allowing only one earned run on six hits overall, striking out 14 in eight full innings. Venters has been even better in the set-up role, fanning 15 batters in 7 2/3 innings without surrendering a run.

The Braves have won seven of their last nine, but continue to chase the Nationals in the NL East. They remained 2 1/2 back, as Washington won their fourth straight, beating San Diego, 7-2.

Floyd, Lillibridge Lead White Sox over Rangers; Red-Hot Braves Sweep Arizona

Players of the Day for Sunday, August 22, 2011

American League

Floyd has 5 Wins
in last 7 starts.

The Detroit Tigers spent the weekend solidifying their lead in the AL Central by taking three straight from second place Cleveland to establish a 4 1/2 game working margin while the White Sox became a viable contender, taking two of three from Texas - including Sunday's smashing 10-0 victory - to close to within five games of the lead.

Lillibridge: 11 HRs

Chicago starter Gavin Floyd (11-10, 4.45) has come alive at the right time for the charging Sox, earning decisions in six of his last seven starts - five of them wins. His latest trip to the mound resulted in seven innings of shutout work, allowing the Rangers just three hits and a walk, fanning six.

Brent Lillibridge, who, since 2009, has played every position except catcher and pitcher for the White Sox, went 3-for-5 with his 11th home run, driving in two runs and scoring twice to pace the Chicago offense.

Listed at 5'11", 185 pounds, one would not expect Lillibridge to offer much in the way of power, but this season's homers have come off of 159 at-bats. He's having a banner year statistically, with a .346 on base percentage, .509 slugging percentage and an .856 OPS.

The White Sox don't face the Tigers until September 2nd, when they open a three game series in Detroit. Chicago hosts Detroit in another three game set, September 12-14.

National League

Gonzalez: Solo HR

Hudson: 7 scoreless

Milwaukee continued to be the hottest team in the majors, completing a three game sweep of the Mets with a 6-2 win in New York - the 22nd win their last 25 games - but the Atlanta Braves have been putting together a nice run of their own, completing a weekend, three game sweep of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, sending the Arizonans to their fifth straight loss, in a 1-0 nail-biter.

Tim Hudson scattered three hits and three walks over seven scoreless innings, striking out seven for his 13th win against seven losses. Jonny Venters gave up a hit in the eighth, but kept the lead for his 27th hold, and Craig Kimbrel earned his MLB-Best 39th save, giving up a hit and a walk in the ninth, but striking out the three other batters he faced. Kimbrel's three Ks gave him 101 on the season, in 62 2/3 innings.

Kimbrel: 39 Saves

The Braves' exceptional pitching made the third inning, solo homer off the bat of Alex Gonzalez stand up for Atlanta's fourth straight win and 11th in their last 14 outings.

Venters: 27 Holds

Atlanta has cut slightly into Philadelphia's NL East lead, closing to within 5 1/2 games and maintaining a nearly insurmountable eight-game lead over the Giants and 8 1/2 over the Cardinals in the wild card race.

The Diamondback loss cut the lead over the Giants to just 1 1/2 games, but the Giants haven't exactly helped themselves, losing three of their last five and five of their last seven.

Atlanta will have every opportunity to catch the Phillies over the next two weeks, as they play their next 13 games against the Cubs, Mets, Nationals and Dodgers prior to a three game series with the Phillies beginning September 5th.

Ricky Romero Goes Distance, Shuts Out Oakland; MIke Minor, Craig Kimbrel Shut Down Giants

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 18, 2011

American League

Another season of frustration in Toronto heads into the final stretch, as the Blue Jays once again find themselves in the lower tier of the AL East division, 12 games behind the first place Yankees despite riding a three-game win streak that has them at 64-60.

Ricky Romero

Opening a four game series in Oakland, Ricky Romero was on the mound for the Jays, displaying his enormous talent with a three-hit shutout of the A's, as Toronto built him a sizable lead and eventually prevailed, 7-0.

Improving to 12-9 with his fifth straight win, Romero gave up a couple of walks and struck out six A's. It was his fourth complete game and second shutout of the season, needing just 111 pitches to go the distance.

With an ERA of 2.73, Romero give the Blue Jays hope for the future. Just three years into his major league career, Romero is poised to possibly become one of baseball's elite hurlers.

His emergence would be a boost, since Toronto has plenty of power in its lineup. Their 145 homers have them tied with Texas with the third most in the AL. The Yankees lead the league with 163 bombs; the Red Sox are second, at 150.

National League

Minor: 9 Ks

Chipper Jones' 5th inning solo homer off San Francisco starter Tim Lincecum was all the Atlanta pitching staff needed to take the finale of their four game series against the Giants, 1-0, winning three of four and cementing themselves as the front-runner in the wild card race and a formidable foe come the playoffs.

Kimbrel: 37 Saves

Atlanta starter Mike Minor out-dueled Lincecum, delivering six scoreless innings before giving the ball over to the bullpen, which blanked the Giants on one hit the rest of the way.

Minor allowed four hits and a walk, striking out nine Giants. The Braves fanned 12 would-be hitters in the game.

Eric O'Flaherty worked a solid 7th inning, allowing just one hit. Johnny Venters got through the 8th without surrendering a hit and Craig Kimbrel fanned two in a perfect 9th inning for his league-leading 37th save. Kimbrel has struck out 96 batters in 60 2/3 innings. Both he and Minor are rookies on a very youthful Atlanta staff.