Dioner Navarro's Three Homers, Six RBI Lifts Cubs; Chris Davis Powers Orioles Past Washington

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 29, 2013

American League

Ryan Zimmerman clubbed three home runs and drove in four, but the Nationals still dropped a 9-6 decision to the Orioles.

Davis' 19 HR leads MLB

That result was largely due to the 4-for-4 effort from Baltimore's Chris Davis, who hammered his 18th and 19th home runs of the season, stroked a pair of singles, drove in three runs, scored three times and led the Orioles to the comeback win.

Davis lifted a solo shot in the fourth inning after singling and scoring in the second, but by the seventh, the O's found themselves staring at a 6-3 deficit. Baltimore rallied for six runs in the bottom of the inning, capped by Davis' two-run homer, cementing his major league homer run lead (Miguel Cabrera is second with 15) while lifting his RBI total to an even 50, second in the AL behind Cabrera's 59. Davis is also second in the league with a .359 batting average, chasing - you guessed it - Miguel Cabrera, who leads the majors, at .368.

Baltimore's win compressed an already-tight AL East race. Boston and the Yankees both lost on Thursday, while Tampa Bay joined the Orioles in the win column. The Red Sox lead is one over the Yankees. Baltimore is 2 1/2 back with the Rays three out.

The interleague series between the Nationals and Orioles concludes Thursday at 7:05 pm EDT at Camden Yards.



National League

Navarro: 3HR, 6RBI

In Chicago, Dioner Navarro had an even better time of it, smashing three out of Wrigley Field, with six RBI, as the Cubs took their second in a row and third straight overall from the cross-town rival White Sox, 9-3, proving that all three-home-run games are not created equal.

Life just kept getting better for Navarro on his epic day. After socking a solo homer in the first, the Cubs' catcher hit a two-run job in the fourth, followed by a three-run blast in the seventh inning. Adding to his effort, Navarro walked and scored one of his four runs in the sixth.

Navarro's outburst doubled his home run production for the season and nearly doubled his RBI total. He has driven in 13 runs, but he's been to the plate just 53 times in 2013.

The Cubs' mini-winning streak has gotten out of last place, by two games over the Brewers, who have lost five in a row. However, the Cobs are still 13 1/2 games behind Central division leading St. Louis.

The home-and-home series finishes at Wrigley on Thursday, as the Cubs host the White Sox for a 2:20 pm EDT start.

Today's Trivia: Who holds the major league record for extra-base hits in a season?

Yesterday's Answer: The New York Mets won the NL pennant in 1973.

Griffey Mashes #600; Navarro a Sweet Find for the Rays

Players of the Day from Monday, June 9, 2008 American League Ken Griffey Jr. became the 6th player in major league history to hit 600 home runs, launching a first-inning blast off Marlins' starter Mark Hendrickson into the right field stands. Jerry Hairston was on third when Griffey hit the historic homer, giving the Reds a 2-0 lead and starting a 9-4 rout of Florida by the Reds.

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The home run was Griffey's only hit of the night. He finished 1-for-4 with 2 RBI. It was just his 7th home run of the season and his 28th and 29th RBI. Griffey joins Sammy Sosa, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds as the only players to reach the 600 HR plateau. Notes: Cincy split the 4-game series with the Marlins by find themselves in last place in the NL Central, 9 1/2 games behind the Cubs. With #600 out of the way, could Griffey be headed for a trade? Seattle has been mentioned, though other teams which might be looking for an extra left-handed DH or outfielder include Cleveland, Toronto and Baltimore. While Griffey would likely want to be traded to a contender, that may not happen. He and his swing would be a nice fit for the compact dimensions of Camden Yards. The O's could definitely use a boost, but do they have what the Reds need - young, starting pitching? Daniel Cabrera or Garrett Olson come to mind. The Blue Jays have even more to spare. Stay tuned. National League Just what do the Rays have in young catcher Dioner Navarro? It's somewhat early to say, but Navarro, a solid plate presence with occasional power is batting .347 through 42 games as Tampa Bay's #1 backstop.

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In the opener of their three-game series with the Angels, Navarro led the charge to a 13-4 Rays romp with a single, a pair of doubles and his third homer of the season in 5 at-bats, driving in four runs and scoring three times. Whatever the Rays see in Navarro, it's definitely working for them. Notes: Despite their loss on Monday, the Angels still hold a 4-game lead on the A's in the West, with Texas 7 back. The Mariners have dropped out of it completely, 15 1/2 games off the pace. Meanwhile, the White Sox won their seventh straight, sending the 2nd place Twins to their 5th straight loss, 7-5, and opening up the largest lead in the majors, 6 1/2 games. The Sox have built their lead by beating up on divisional opponents, posting a 21-8 mark in that regard.

Webb Goes to 8-0; Navarro Slams Jays in 13th

Players of the Day from Thursday, May 8, 2008 American League Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro missed much of April due to injury, but he's making up for lost time in a hurry. On Thursday night, he put the Blue Jays away with a 13th inning grand slam, as the Rays topped Toronto, 8-3.

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The homer was Navarro's first of the season, and it was his third hit of the night. He went 3-for-6, including a double, scored twice and drove in four, improving his batting average to .368. He's hit safely in 12 of the 15 games he's started this season. The win kept the Rays in second place, 3 1/2 behind the Red Sox. Notes: Stride for stride in the West. The A's and Angels are still locked into an early-season death grind for the top spot in the AL West. Neither team saw action on Thursday, so they remain tied at 22-14. The Angels travel to Tampa for a 3-game series with the Rays, while the A's start a three-game set in Texas tonight. National League For Brandon Webb, the season could not have started any better. Webb improved to a major league-best 8-0 last night, pitching his first complete game of the season, as Arizona dumped Philadelphia, 8-3, increasing their own lead in the NL West over the Dodgers to 3 1/2 games while dropping the Phillies out of a first place tie with the Marlins in the East. The two teams spilt their 4-game series, 2-2. Webb had his usual assortment of unhittable stuff, allowing 6 hits and two earned runs. It was the first time this season he didn't walk a batter. Additionally, he was keeping the ball well down in the strike zone, which accounted for his getting 18 outs on grounders. In his sixth full season, Webb has never won 20 games, though he's been on the verge of it. In 2006 he went 16-8 and in 2007 he compiled an 18-10 record. Notes: The Diamondbacks are scoring runs when Webb is on the mound. They've put up 48 in his 8 starts - 6 per game on average - slightly better than their total average of 5.43. They've scored 18 runs in his last two outings.