Brandon McCarthy Shuts Out Mariners on Three Hits; Pirates Win On Grand Slam by Derrick Lee

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 3, 2011

American League

Brandon McCarthy

While the teams vying for post-season play were busy beating each other's brains out, one of the best pitching performances of the season was taking place in Oakland, where starter Brandon McCarthy pitched his fourth complete game and first shutout of the season in Oakland's 3-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

McCarthy, who went on the disabled list back on May 18 with a 1-4 record, has come back in the second half to win seven of ten decisions. He was re-activated on the 4th of July, losing to the Mariners, 2-1, but earned wins in his next four decisions.

This was McCarthy's third start of the season against Seattle, and this time he left nothing to chance, setting down the first 11 batters in order, finishing with a 3-hit shutout, walking none while whiffing 10. The win avenged an April 21 loss to the Mariners, where he was out-dueled by M's starter Felix Hernandez in a 1-0 loss.

McCarthy (8-7) threw 114 pitches - 78 for strikes - lowering his ERA to a respectable 3.41.

National League

The season's second half hasn't been particularly pleasant for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but for the Cubs, Saturday's 7-5 loss was a reminder of just how bad their who year has been.

Derrek Lee

Leading 5-3 heading into the 9th, the Cubs called on closer Carlos Marmol to finish things up, but Marmol proceeded to make a mess of his opportunity, getting two outs but allowing a single and two walks to load the bases for former Cub, Derrek Lee, who drove one over the ivy in left field for a game-winning grand slam.

The shot was sweet for Lee, who also singled twice in five at-bats, because it was his first game back from the DL, which was caused by being hit on the wrist by Marmol back on August 3rd. Lee drove in the Pirates' first run of the game with a single in the 1st inning. He had five RBI for the game.

The Pirates acquired Lee from the Orioles at the end of July, when they were still in the hunt in the NL Central division, but they sorely missed his bat after Lee played just five games with them.

For Marmol, it was his 9th blown save of the season, tops in the majors.

Dempster, Lee Author 3-0 Cubs Win Over Dodgers; Guerrero Lights Up Royals

Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 25, 2010 American League Rolling right along, the Texas Rangers widened their lead in the AL West to three games over the A's, with an 8-7 win at Kansas City. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz both bashed solo homers, but Vladimir Guerrero belted a pair of two-run bombs and doubled home Ian Kinsler with what would prove to be the winning run in the 7th inning. Guerrero tallied five RBI, which vaulted him past Evan Longoria, Jose Bautista and Miguel Cabrera into first place in that category with 42 on the year. He's also batting a robust .347, second in the league (Justin Morneau leads at .381) and his 12 homers are good for 4th on that list. The Rangers acquired Vlad via free agency from the Angels during the off-season and haven't regretted the move for a moment. A big-time slugger who's become a fairly permanent DH, Guerrero, at 35, is quietly creeping up the career home run list. With 419, he's sixth among active players and 42nd all-time. League MVP in 2004, Guerrero has never led the league in homers, RBI or batting average, but he's putting up Triple Crown-like numbers this season. National League Ryan Dempster (left) allowed just three singles and a base on balls over 8 scoreless innings and Derrek Lee (right) went 3-for-3 and accounted for all of the Cubs' runs with a 6th-inning RBI single and a two-run homer in the 8th as Chicago won their third straight, downing the visiting Dodgers, 3-0. Dempster needed just 104 pitches (64 for strikes) to keep the usually-potent LA lineup in check, fanning seven and never allowing anyone past second base. From the 4th through the 8th inning, Dempster was untouchable, retiring the final 13 batters he faced in order. Carlos Marmol pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 10th save of the season. Dempster is 3-4 with a 3.31 ERA. For Lee, it was one of his best games in what otherwise has been a disappointing season. He entered the game batting just .218, and the home run was just his 6th of the season. Lee has only 23 RBI, which is still third best on the team. Alfonso Soriano leads the Cubs with 27; Marlon Byrd is second with 26. That kind of underperforming offense and spotty pitching has the Cubs still under .500, though at 22-24, they are actually just 4 games behind NL Central co-leaders, Cincinnati and St. Louis. QUICK HITS: Jon Lester allowed Tampa Bay just one hit over 6 innings, striking out 9 and walking 5, and a trio of relievers didn't give them as much as a single over the final three innings, as the Red Sox took the measure of Tampa Bay for the second straight night with a 2-0 win. Boston downed the Rays 6-1 on Monday and will go for the sweep of the AL East leaders on Wednesday. Willy Aybar had the only hit of the game for the Rays.

O's Pie Goes Cycling; Lee Cashes In 7 as Cubs Romp

Players of the Day for Friday, August 14, 2009 American League This was an upset bunch of birds. The Baltimore Orioles, stuck in their usual spot in last place n the AL East, took out some of their angst against the LA Angels on Friday, knuckling them, 16-6. Pounding Angels' starter Jered Weaver for 8 earned runs (6 in the 1st inning) on 9 hits and 3 walks, Weaver went to the showers after just 3 1/3, right after allowing a key element of Felix Pie's hitting for the cycle, a solo homer. Pie went 4-for-5, capping his day with a 2-run triple in the O's 7-run 7th inning. Pie, a lanky, (6'2", 170 lbs.), fleet-footed outfielder who joined the Orioles in the off-season after two years with the Cubs, isn't your typical hit-for-the-cycle kind of guy. He's batting only .254, with 3 home runs, 3 triples and 5 doubles and has played in just 68 games this season. The loss by the Angels didn't hurt, as they retained their 4 1/2 game lead over the Rangers in the West, as Texas fell to Boston, 1-0. While the Angels are almost a lock for the post-season, it looks like there may be better days ahead for Mr. Pie and the Orioles. National League Derrek Lee had a big day as the Cubs scored 4 runs in the 1st and 10 in the 2nd inning, completely outclassing the Pirates by a 17-2 score. In three official at-bats, Lee singled, walked home a run and twice delivered bases-loaded doubles to drive in 7 runs and lead the Cubs to the win, emphatically snapping a 5-game losing streak. The Cubs trail St. Louis by 4 1/2 games in the NL Central and are 4 back of Colorado in the wild card, so the players and coaches may have been feeling a bit of desperation. With two more games against the Pirates this weekend at Wrigley, the Cubs are still very much alive in both races.

Lee's 7 RBI Lifts Cubs; Abreu Keeps Angels on Top

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 2, 2009 American League The LA Angels weren't happy about dropping two of three to the Rangers, leaving Arlington, Texas with a slim 1/2-game lead in the AL West, but Bobby Abreu made sure they'd remain ahead of the idle Rangers, knocking a pair of homers in LA's 5-2 victory over Baltimore. Abreu, signed as a free agent from the Yankees in the off-season, has been a key player for the Angels, especially considering all the injuries this season, and on Thursday he proved his worth, driving in all but one of the Angels' runs. After launching a solo homer in the 4th, Abreu returned in the 5th to blast a three-run homer, his 6th of the year. Despite the lack of long-ball power, Abreu has been a consistent run-producer in LA, knocking in 48 thus far in 2009. The win put LA a full game ahead of the Rangers in the division. National League They may not be the best teams in the majors, but the six NL Central squads are certainly providing an exciting pennant race for all fans involved. The Pirates trail the division, 6 games back, but after that, no team is further then 3 games out (Astros). Right in the middle of this mess are Lou Piniella's Chicago Cubs, who had the pleasure of knocking off division-leading Milwaukee, 9-5, Thursday, courtesy of Derrek Lee's 7 RBI effort. The game kicked off a four-game series in Chicago between the Brewers and Cubs, so Lee's power burst couldn't have come at a better time for the Cubs, who have once again reached the .500 mark, at 38-38, 2 1/2 games behind the Brewers and Cardinals. Lee got the Cubs on the board early with a 3-run homer in the first inning, and followed that up with a grand slam in the 4th which blew the game open. The Cubs did not score again after Lee's second home run. The 7 RBI were a career high for Lee, who had 14 homers and 48 RBI to go with a .285 batting average. The crucial series continues in Chicago on the 3rd, 4th and 5th, all day games.

Slowey Shuts Out Sox; Lee's Bat Keys Cubs Win

Players of the Day from Monday, July 27, 2008 American League Minnesota's Kevin Slowey (7-7) tossed his third complete game and second shutout of the season, downing the first place White Sox, 7-0. Slowey allowed just 6 hits and one walk, striking out 5. The Twins' win tightened the race in the AL Central to 1 1/2 games, with the Tigers lurking, 6 1/2 back, as they dropped a 5-0 decision at Cleveland.

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Notes: The Rays, Red Sox and Yankees all lost, so the AL East standing stayed the same as on Sunday, with the Rays 1 up on Boston and 3 ahead of the Yankees. California's lead in the West bulged to 11 1/2 games as they topped Boston, 7-5, and both the Rangers and A's lost. National League Derrek Lee made the most of his 5 at-bats on Monday, rapping two singles and a go-ahead double in the 9th, driving in three runs as the Cubs topped the Brewers, 6-4, in the opener of their 4-game series at Milwaukee. Lee and the Cubs have been aided by the return of leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano, winning four of six since he came off the DL, July 23. Soriano was 2-for-4 with a double and a solo homer. He scored three runs. The Cubs earned some breathing room with the win, upping their lead over the Brewers to 2 games with St. Louis 4 games back. Notes: Florida topped the Mets, 7-3, while the Phillies were idle, leaving New York with a 1/2 game lead over the Phillies and 1 ahead of the Marlins. Arizona, LA and Colorado all lost on Monday, leaving the standings unchanged.

Mariners lose 9th straight; Lee caps Cubs comeback

American League Seattle 4 Toronto 6 - A week ago, the Seattle Mariners were challenging for the AL West lead. Now they trail the Yankees by 2 games in the wild card standings and have fallen 6 1/2 behind the Angles in their division.

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The Mariners open a critical 3-game series in New York on Monday. Detroit 7 Oakland 8. 10 innings - The Tigers blew a 7-0 lead and lost for the 10th time in their last 16 games, remaining 5 1/2 behind Cleveland in the AL Central and 3 games behind the Yankees in the wild card. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 8 NY Yankees 2 Chi White Sox 8 Cleveland 0 Baltimore 2 Boston 3 - Red Sox open up 6 game lead on Yankees Kansas City 8 Minnesota 1 Texas 8 LA Angels 7 National League Houston 5 Chi Cubs 6 - The Cubs rallied from a 5-1 deficit, capped by Derrek Lee's (right) 2-run homer in the 8th inning. The win enabled Chicago to maintain their leads over Milwaukee and St. Louis, both of whom won. Chicago is up by 1 1/2 over the Brewers and 2 games over the Cardinals. NY Mets 3 Atlanta 2 - Tom Glavine held the Braves to 1 run over 7 innings and David Wright delivered a 2-run homer as the Mets completed the 3-game sweep and dashed the post-season hopes of the Braves, leaving them 7 1/2 back in the division and 6 1/2 out of the wild card. Philadelphia 6 Florida 7 - The Mets opened up a 4-game lead on the Phillies, as Florida won for the second straight day. Miguel Cabrera socked his 31st home run and drove in run #94 on the season. LA Dodgers 5 San Diego 0 - Chad Billingsley (10-4) blanked the Padres on 4 hits over 7 innings as the Dodgers picked up a game on both San Diego and Arizona. The Dodgers are 4 games back of the virtual dead heat in the West. Other NL Scores San Francisco 1 Washington 2 Pittsburgh 4 Milwaukee 7 - P. Fielder, HR (40), 2 RBI (99) Cincinnati 2 St. Louis 3 Colorado 4 Arizona 3

Beckett Goes to 6-0; Brewers Complete Rout of Cardinals

Wednesday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Josh Beckett (6-0) became the first pitcher in the majors to reach 6 wins as the Red Sox handed a 6-4 decision to the visiting Oakland A's. Beckett allowed 4 earned runs on 6 hits over 7 innings, striking out 7 and yielding a pair of walks, but his teammates did enough at the plate to keep their ace undefeated in 2007 and boost their AL East lead to 4 1/2 games over Toronto. Torii Hunter extended his hitting streak to 17 games, but the Minnesota Twins' bullpen gave away a 4-3 decision at Tampa Bay, Closer Joe Nathan allowed 2 runs in the 9th to tie the game and reliever Matt Guerrier gave up the game winner in the 10th. Hunter did what he could, going 3-5 with a 2-run homer (6), a pair of singles and a stolen base. Gary Sheffield cracked his 3rd home run of the season, drove in a pair, scored and stole a base in a 4-4 performance Wednesday night, powering the Tigers to a 3-2 win over the visiting Orioles and a sweep of their 3-game series. Sheffield, who was batting just .119 on April 21, has been on a tear since, going 14-34 (.412) in his last 9 games. Other AL Scores Seattle 3 Chicago White Sox 2 Kansas City 3 LA Angels 1 Cleveland 7 Toronto 6, 11 innings - J. Peralta, 3-run HR (6) NY Yankees at Texas, Ppd. National League The Milwaukee Brewers and reigning world champion St. Louis Cardinals continue to head in opposite directions. On Wednesday, the Brew Crew completed a 3-game sweep of the Cards, with an odd 4-0 win. The Brewers got only 4 hits and their starter, Chris Capuano left the game with a knee injury after 3 innings, but relievers Carlos Villanueva and Matt Wise pitched the final six innings without allowing a Cardinal run. Villanueva gave up just 2 hits in 4 innings and Wise finished the 8th and 9th with one-hit work. The Brewers outscored the Cardinals 23-3 in the 3 game series. The 10-16 Cardinals dropped into sole possession of last place in the NL Central with their 5th straight loss, 7 1/2 back of the 1st place Brewers, who have won 4 in a row and lead the division by a solid 5 games over the Reds. One - and maybe the only - bright spot for the fading Cards is Albert Pujols' 11-game hitting streak. The 1, 2 and 3 hitters in the Cubs lineup did all the damage and Jason Marquis allowed just 4 hits and a walk over 8 innings as the Chicago Cubs won, 7-1 at Pittsburgh. Alfonso Soriano went 3-5 with a solo homer, double and single and scored twice.

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#2 hitter Ryan Theriot was 3-4 with a pair of doubles, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. Following him was red-hot Derrek Lee who raised his batting average to .415 with a single and his 17th double of the season, plating 2. Lee is having an incredible season thus far. Not only has he reached base in all 26 games, he's doubled in 8 straight and is riding an 11-game hitting streak. Teammate Soriano has a 12-game streak going. Earlier in the day the Cubs completed Tuesday's suspended game with an 8-6 win to take 2 of 3 from the Pirates. The LA Dodgers got 6 innings of 3-hit ball from spot starter Mark Hendrickson and beat the Diamondbacks 2-1 for the second day in a row to take control in the NL West by 1 1/2 games. Hendrickson, who has replaced injured Jason Schmidt in the rotation, won for the 2nd time in 3 starts without a loss. He struck out 7, walked 1 and did not allow a runner past second base. An NBA refugee, the 6'9" Hendrickson is sporting an ERA of 1.30 with a 0.69 WHIP. He spent parts of 1996-2000 with the NBA's 76ers, Kings, Nets and Cavaliers, but has officially ended his basketball career, much to the delight of the Dodgers organization. Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones both extended their hitting streaks to 12 games as the Atlanta Braves turned back the visiting Phillies, 4-3, keeping the Braves 1/2-game ahead of the Mets atop the NL East. Barry Bonds smacked career home run #743 and delivered a 2-run single to lead the Giants to a 5-3 win over visiting Colorado. Bonds is just 12 shy of Hank Aaron's all-time mark of 755 and tied for 2nd in NL homers with Philly's Jimmy Rollins at 9. Atlanta's Chipper Jones leads the league with 10 long balls. Colorado's Matt Holliday went 0-3, halting his 14-game hit streak. Other NL Scores NY Mets 6 Florida 3 - O. Perez (W, 3-2), 10 Ks Houston 3 Cincinnati 1 - R. Oswalt (W, 4-2), 8 IP 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, A. Dunn, HR (8) San Diego 7 Washington 3 - Nationals, 9-19, 1-6 vs. NL West

Derrek Lee at .406; Jeter Hit Streak Reaches 18

Tuesday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Travis Hafner got Cleveland started with a 2-run shot in the 3rd, then Jhonny Peralta (right) doubled home two more and cracked a 3-run homer in the 5th - his 5th - to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 12-4 win over visiting Toronto. Trott Nixon had a 3-run homer in the eighth, added a single and scored 3 times as the Tribe maintained a 1 1/2 game lead over Minnesota and Detroit in the AL Central. C.C. Sabathia improved to 4-0, allowing just 3 earned runs - all on solo homers - on 4 hits while fanning 9. Sabathia worked 6 innings and did not walk a batter. The woes for the Yankees continue even when they win. On Tuesday, rookie Phil Hughes worked a no-hitter into the 7th at Texas, but was forced to leave with a pulled hamstring. Mike Myers and Luis Vizcaino finished what Hughes started though Myers allowed a run as the Yankees won, 10-1.

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Most of the NY offense came from the 6 and 7 hitters, as Jorge Posada singled, doubled twice, drove in a pair and scored 3 times, while right behind him in the lineup, Robinson Cano had 2 singles and 2 doubles in 5 at-bats, drove in 3 and scored twice. Shortstop Derek Jeter extended his major league-leading hitting streak to 18 games with a single in the 3rd inning. The Yankees also ended a streak of 10 games in which they used 5 or more pitchers. With a 4-2 lead at Fenway, Boston's usually reliable Jonathan Papelbon entered in the top of the 9th, looking to put away the Oakland A's for the night. Bubba Crosby and rookie Travis Buck had different ideas, as Crosby singled to open the inning and Buck followed with a bomb to right field, tying the game. In the 10th, the A's finished off the comeback against Brendan Donnelly, as Dan Johnson doubled home Mike Piazza. Huston Street pitched a hitless bottom of the inning for his 7th save and the 5-4 A's win Other AL Scores Detroit 5 Baltimore 4 - P. Polanco, 4-5, GW RBI Minnesota 9 Tampa Bay 1 - S. Ponson (W, 2-3), T Hunter, 16-gm hit streak LA Angels 7 Kansas City 5 - V. Guerrero, 1st inn. GS HR (8), F. Cordero, S (10) National League Matt Holliday extended his NL-leading hitting streak to 14 games as his visiting Colorado Rockies stoned the Giants, 9-6. Holliday singled, doubled and rocked his 4th homer of the season, drove in 4 runs and scored twice, improving his batting average to a red-hot .395. While Holliday is hot, the Cubs' Derrek Lee (right) is hotter... Lee went 3-4 in a suspended game at Pittsburgh - which will resume at 12:35 p.m. EDT on Wednesday - to boost his MLB-best batting average to .406. Lee had a pair of doubles and a single though he didn't figure in the scoring. The game was suspended due to rain with the Cubs clinging to a 6-5 lead with the Pirates due to bat in the bottom of the 7th. Ken Griffey Jr. homered, singled twice, scored 2 and had 2 RBI in 3 at-bats and teammate Adam Dunn was 2-4 with a double, and a 3-run homer (7). Dunn scored 3 times and also stole his 5th base of the season as the visiting Reds routed Houston 11-2. San Diego starter Chris Young improved to 3-2 on the season with a commanding 3-hit, 3-0 shutout over the visiting Washington Nationals. Young walked 3 and struck out 8 in 8 innings. Trevor Hoffman worked the 9th for his 7th save. J. J. Hardy went 4-5 with a pair of doubles, drove in 2 and scored twice as the Milwaukee Brewers kept Cincy and Pittsburgh (pending the result of last night's suspended game) 4 games back in the NL Central with a 12-2 thumping of the slumping St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night. The Brewers have had their way with the Cards, beating them 7-1 on Monday and can sweep the 3-game series with a win this afternoon in Milwaukee. The Cardinals have lost 4 straight and are tied for last place in the division with Houston, 6 1/2 back. Other NL Scores Seattle 5 Chicago White Sox 2 - R. Sexson, HR (4) Florida 5 NY Mets 2 - C. Delgado, career RBI 1300 Philadelphia 6 Atlanta 4 - C. Hamels (W, 3-1) LA Dodgers 2 Arizona 1 - B. Penny, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, no dec.; LA 1/2-gm. NL West lead