Edinson Volquez Throws No Hitter For Miami Over Arizona; Angels' Albert Pujols Swats 600th Home Run

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 3, 2017

Pujols joins 600 club

American League

Albert Pujols reached one of the great milestones in all of sports, swatting his 600th home run on Saturday in an Angels' 7-2 victory over Minnesota.

Not only was the homer the stuff of legend, but it happened to be the ultimate in long balls, a fourth-inning grand slam that broke the game wide open for the Angels.

As the ninth player to hit 600 homers, Pujols joins some of baseball's greatest hitters in the hallowed 600 club, including Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), and Willie Mays (660).

A major leaguer since 2001, Pujols is also approaching some other strong career marks in his sixth season with the Angels after playing his first 11 in St. Louis. He has 1859 RBI and 2876 hits. Pujols is currently 13th all-time in RBI, but not for long. His next run driven in will tie him with Mel Ott in 12th. Considering that the 37-year-old will play at least another season, he has a legitimate chance of becoming the fifth player in MLB history to amass 200 RBI.

Third among active players in hits (Adrian Beltre, 2950; Ichiro Suzuki, 3042), Pujols is tied with Mel Ott at #43 all-time, and on the move. 300 hits - a level reached by just 30 players - is also well within his reach.

The win left the Angels in second place in the West, 12 1/2 behind the Astros, who have spurted away again, winning their ninth straight on Saturday in a 6-5 win at Texas. Minnesota, despite the loss, remains in first place in the Central division, a game to the good on Cleveland. LA hosts the Twins Sunday at 3:37 pm ET in the series finale. Minnesota leads, two games to one.

National League

Volquez hurls no-hitter

Tossing the first no-hitter of 2017, Edinson Volquez surprised the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 3-0 win for the Miami Marlins.

Played before a crowd of 21,548 at Marlins Stadium in Miami, Volquez entered the contest with a 2-7 record, not exactly a stellar grade for a major league starter.

But, as the game unfolded, Volquez was displaying the kind of stuff he had when he was a top hurler in 2008 when he went 17-6 for Cincinnati.

It wasn't until the fifth inning that the Diamondbacks even had a baserunner. Volquez walked Jake Lamb, but was aided by a double play, as he was in the eighth, when he issued his only other walk, to Chris Hermann.

Thus,Volquez faced the minimum 27 batter, fanning the final three in the ninth to complete the gem, striking out 10 and needing just 98 pitches (65 for strikes).

In support, the Marlins scored a run in the fourth inning and added two more in the eighth, improving to 23-31 while dropping the Diamondbacks 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the West, at 34-24.

The two teams will complete the four game series Sunday at 1:10 pm ET. Miami leads the series, two games to one.

Edinson Volquez Leads Royals to Game One Win over Toronto in ALCS

Game One Winner Volquez

Players of the Day for Friday, October 16, 2015

American League

Kansas City took game one of the ALCS, whipping the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-0.

The homestanding Royals got six shutout innings from starter, Edinson Volquez, who allowed two hits and four walks before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson and Luke Hochevar each tossed an inning of scoreless ball to finish off the Jays.

Volquez, who threw 200 innings during the regular season, compiling a 13-9 record, struck out five and threw 111 pitches.

Game two of the best-of-seven series is slated for a 4:07 pm EDT start time, Saturday in Kansas City.


National League

There were no NL games Friday. The NL Championship series begins Saturday at Citi Field in New York where the Mets (winners in five games over the LA Dodgers) host the Cubs (four-game winners in NLDS over St. Louis) in a best-of-seven series. Game one begins at 8:07 pm EDT.

Edinson Volquez Tosses One-Hitter for Padres; David Price, B.J. Upton Lead Rays to Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 19, 2012

American League

Volquez: 1-hitter

In San Diego, Alexi Amarista opened the Padres' first inning with a double. The next batter, Logan Forsythe, singled him home and that was about it, as Houston hurler, Lucas Harrell, gave up just two more hits over seven full innings, but San Diego starter, Edinson Volquez, proved even better, protecting the slim lead with a complete game one-hitter as the Padres triumphed, 1-0.

Volquez (6-7) allowed the one hit to Matt Downs with two down in the fourth. Other than three walks, Volquez was pretty magnificent, throwing 75 of 117 pitches for strikes and striking out five for his first major league shutout.

Despite playing for a team that's 16 games under .500 and 13 games out in the NL West, Volquez is having a solid year, sporting a 3.34 ERA and striking out 109 batters in 121.1 innings.

The Padres are in fourth place in the division, just 2 1/2 games ahead of last place Colorado. The win was the third straight for the Padres, who lost the opener of their four game series with the Astros, but won the remainder.

National League

B.J. Upton

David Price

Tampa Bay, trailing the Yankees by 9 1/2 games, may not win the AL East, but they are mired in a seven-team shootout for the two wild card slots. Currently, the Angels are leading the pack, but the Rays are just two back after B.J. Upton and David Price led them to a 6-0 victory over Cleveland - another team in the wild card mix - earning a split in their series, two games apiece.

Upton went 3-for-5, two doubles and a single, and plated three in the sixth inning when he doubled with the bases loaded. He later scored, giving Price more than enough runs to support his seven inning, two-hit effort for his league-leading 13th win.

Price, who's suffered defeat only four times this season, walked three and struck out seven, in the process lowering his ERA to a very respectable 2.64, fourth-best among AL starters.

The Rays next host Seattle for three games before embarking on a nine-game road swing that will take them coast-to-coast, from Baltimore to LA and then on to Oakland.

Reid Brignac Stuns Yanks; Edinson Volquez Returns for Reds

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 17, 2010 American League Reid Brignac wasn't supposed to be in the lineup for the second of a three-game tilt with the Yankees, but his two homers and five RBI from the #9 spot in the order provided Tampa Bay with some surprise offense and a 10-5 win at New York. After Carlos Pena drove in evan Longoria with a double in the first, Brignac kept things going for the Rays in the 2nd inning with the first of his two bombs to right field, a two-run shot off Yankee starter A.J. Burnett, which did more damage than just the pair of runs. Following the inning, an angry Burnett slammed into a double door leading to the Yankee clubhouse, cutting both hands on the plastic lineup card holders attached to the doors. He was bandaged to start the third, but plunked Longoria, who scored again on a Pena single. Burnett was removed by manager Joe Girardi, the misfortune exacerbated by the fact that the Yankees had pulled to within one run (3-2) on Brett Gardner's 2-RBI single in the 2nd. After B.J. Upton made the score 5-2 with a sac fly in the 5th, Brignac put the game away with his second homer, this one a three-one belt, upping the lead to 8-2. Brignac was inserted in the lineup due to the absence of regular second baseman, Sean Rodriguez, who was a late arrival, attending to matters related to the flooding of his Redington Beach condo. It was Brignac's best game as a pro, going 3-for-5 with the two homrs, 5 RBI and 2 rruns. The win sliced the Yankee lead in the AL East to just two games over the Rays. After winning Friday's game in dramatic fashion, the teams will play the rubber game of the series Sunday. National League Finally returning after Tommy Jorn surgery to make his first start of the season, Edinson Volquez sparkled for the Reds as they rode his 6 innings of 3-hit work to an 8-1 win over Colorado. There was some skepticism after Volquez allowed a leadoff double to Dexter Fowler and an RBI single by Carlos Gonzalez in the first inning, but he retained composure, got out of the inning without further damage and proceeded to mow down the Rockies, striking out fur of the next six batters he faced, an fanning nine overall. After a two-out single by Clint Barmes, Volquez didn't allow another hit, yielding only a pair of walks to Rockies' second baseman, Jonathan Herrera. With Volquez slcing through the Colorado batting order, the Reds regulars were doing what they do best, piling up the runs. Though they only had five hits for the entire game, four of them were home runs, one each by Brandon Phillips and Jonny Gomes, and two by Drew Stubbs. All but Gomes' solo shot came off Rockies' starter Jorge De La Rosa, who walked five and surrendered seven runs, six of them earned. The return of Volquez to the Cincinnati rotation could not have come at a more opportune time for the Reds as they try to hold off the St. Louis Cardinals, reigning champs in the NL Central. St. Louis trails Cincinnati by just 1/2 game. The Reds have won two straight, but the Cardinals have won four in a row.

Greinke, Butler Lead Royals; Volquez Paces NL Whitewash Trio

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 29, 2009 American League There haven't been many household names coming out of Kansas City lately, but here are a couple you may want to put on a short list. Zack Greinke (left) earned his major league best 5th win - without a loss - going 7 strong innings in KC's 11-3 win over Toronto. First baseman Billy Butler (right) did a good deal of the damage at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a single, double and pair of homers, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored. Greinke allowed 5 hits and two earned run in his outing, fanning 8. He leads the majors in ERA (0.50), wins (5) and is tied with Mets' starter Johan Santana in strikeouts with 44. The Royals remain tied for first place in the AL Central with Detroit and the White Sox at 11-10. National League Three teams were held scoreless in the NL on Wednesday, the result of some exceptional mound work around the league. In Cincinnati, Edinson Volquez (right) allowed just one hit and one walk over 8 innings, striking out 6, as the Reds topped Houston, 3-0. Volquez improved to 3-2. The Cubs clobbered Arizona, 10-0, as Doug Davis (2-3) allowed 2 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings, and Milwaukee's Yovani Gallardo (3-1) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out 11 in Milwaukee's 1-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Volquez Blanks Phillies; Tribe's Garko Plates 6

Players of the Day from Wednesday, June 4, 2008 American League Sometimes, all you need are singles to be a star. All Ryan Garko did Wednesday night was stroke four singles in six at-bats. Because there were so many of his teammates on base all night, Garko finished with 6 RBI in Cleveland's 15-9 win at Texas. The Indians banged out 17 hits. Ben Francisco, who had five of them, was driven home three times by Garko. The Rangers weren't exactly stoned at the plate either. Michael Young extended his hitting streak to 20 games. Ian Kinsler stretched his to 19 straight. The four-game series, which concludes tonight, has already been a pitcher's special kind of hell. The two teams have combined for 92 hits and 65 runs in the first three games. Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia and the Rangers' Kevin Millwood will try to stymie the bats in the series finale Thursday. Lots of luck! Notes: Shortstop Michael Young's 3-for-5 effort raised his batting average to an even .300. The first four hitters for Texas are all at that level or better. Leadoff man, Ian Kinsler is at .310, then Young, #3 hitter Josh Hamilton is batting .327, and Milton Bradley is at .328 in the cleanup spot. National League Edinson Volquez shut out the Phillies (one of the best hitting teams in the league) on two hits over seven innings as the Reds topped the Phillies, 2-0. Volquez, who threw 113 pitches, walked two and struck out 8, improving his record to 8-2. His ERA dropped to a microscopic 1.32. A rookie, Volquez has not allowed more than 2 earned runs in any of his 12 starts this season. On Wednesday, he was helped by some timely hitting and baserunning as Brandon Phillips scored both runs on a pair Joey Votto doubles. In the 7th innings, Phillips walked, stole second and scored the game's first run when Votto doubled. In the ninth, Phillips singled, again stole second and Votto doubled him in again. Votto's doubles and Phillips' single were the only hits of the night by Reds batters. Notes: Milwaukee's Corey Hart delivered a 4th inning, inside-the-park home run in the Brewers' 10-1 win last night over Arizona. Hart had already driven in a run in the 3rd with a single, and tallied 4 RBI for the night. The Brewers scored all 10 run in the first four innings. Milwaukee, desperately trying to catch the Cubs, have won six straight. Chicago's 9-game win streak was snapped last night in a 2-1 loss at San Diego.