Evan Longoria, Logan Morrison Power Rays Past O's; Justin Turner 3-for-5 In Dodger Win Over Rockies

Longoria: 4 RBI

Players of the Day for Friday, June 23, 2017

American League

Persistence is a word best describing the Tampa Bay Rays. While the Red Sox and Yankees battle for the lead in the AL East, Tampa Bay has managed to claw their way to within 2 1/2 games of the division co-leaders.

While the Rays' record of 40-36 is not outstanding, the AL East is highly competitive, so 90 wins could take the division. Tampa took another step in that direction Friday night, working 176 pitches from Baltimore hurlers into a 15-5 victory at Tropicana Park.

Morrison: 22 HR, 54 RBI

The Rays only had 11 hits overall, but took advantage of eight walks and two Oriole errors. Evan Longoria was 1-for-3 and drove in four runs, singling in two in the first, knocking a sac fly in the second and drawing a bases-loaded walk in the fourth.

Logan Morrison homered (22), tripled, scored three times and drove in three runs as the Rays piled on the Baltimore pitching staff, the worst in the majors, with a cumulative 5.20 ERA. Starter Ubaldo Jimenez was touched up for nine earned runs on seven hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings.

Morrison's 54 RBI ranks third in the AL; he's second in homers behind New York's Aaron Judge (25).

The win was the third straight for the Rays, Tampa will be looking to send Baltimore to its fourth straight loss when the teams meet for game two of the three-game series, Saturday, 4:10 pm ET.

National League

Turner: .392 BA

Justin Turner keeps getting his reps and the LA Dodgers keep churning out wins.

Turner was 3-for-5 (two singles and a double), raising his batting average to .392, driving in a run and scoring one in support of Alex Wood, who allowed one run on three hits over six innings for his eighth win without a loss as the Dodgers won their eighth straight in a 6-1 win over Colorado.

Turner's impressive average won't show up atop the NL leader board because he's shy of the needed plate appearances for qualification. He needs 233 (3.1 per team game) and currently has 215. He keeps getting closer every day.

LA's home win increased their lead over the Rockies and Diamondbacks (6-1 losers to the Phillies) to 2 1/2 games. LA has the best home record in the majors, at 30-10.

Game two of the showdown series in LA is set for Saturday night, 7:10 pm ET.

Madison Bumgarner Goes Yard Twice As Giants Fall to D'Backs; Rays' Evan Longoria Victimizes Yankees Again

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 2, 2017

American League

Evan Longoria

The NY Yankees may have been the best team in Spring Training, but it certainly didn't translate well into games that actually count.

In MLB's first regular season game, the Yankees got whipped by a team that's always been trouble for them, and, by a player that's been a thorn in the collective Yankee sides since he came onto the scene in 2008, third baseman, Evan Longoria.

In the first inning, Longoria knocked in leadoff DH (seriously, who but Tampa uses the DH as their leadoff guy?) Corey Dickerson with a Sac fly, and, as Yankee ace Masahiro Tanaka struggled along, socked a two-run line-shot homer into the left field corner of Tropicana Field, putting the Rays ahead 5-2. Tampa had scored two earlier runs in the first on Logan Morrison's two-run double, and Morrison added a solo shot in the third to make it 6-2 helping the Rays cruise to the 7-2 blowout.

Tampa Bay starter, Chris Archer, yielded two runs on seven hits over seven innings. The Rays and Yankees resume their three-game series on Tuesday, at 7:10 pm ET.

National League

Madison Bumgarner hit the record books hard on Sunday, but his imprimatur will be for his efforts at the plate, not for his prowess on the mound.

Bumgarner Homers Twice

Bumgarner pitched well enough to win but didn't, leaving the game after giving up three runs in the sixth inning, which tied the game at 3-3. Prior to his departure, however, MadBum, as some call him, socked a fifth-inning solo homer to put the Giants briefly ahead, 2-0, and came back to bat in the top of the seventh and did it again, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to stroke two homers on opening day.

The last Giant pitcher to even hit a homer on opening day was Johnny Antonelli, in 1956.

While his exploits at the plate will forever be recorded in the annals of baseball history, the 11 strikeouts he recorded in San Francisco's 6-5 loss at Arizona won't likely receive much notice.

The Giants and Diamondbacks resume their four-game series on Tuesday night.

Evan Longoria, Jose Lobaton Keep Rays' Hopes Alive in 5-4 Win; Michael Wacha Forces Game 5 for Cardinals; Juan Uribe Homers to Lead Dodgers into NLCS

Players of the Day for Monday, October 7, 2013

American League

Evan Longoria

Jose Lobaton

Evan Longoria tied the game at 3-3 with a three-run homer and pinch-hitter Jose Lobaton delivered a walk-off, game-winning home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Rays to a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox, keeping the Rays alive in the ALDS.

Tampa Bay lost the first two games of the best-of-five series in Boston and were in danger of elimination, as Boston forged a 3-0 lead until Longoria's blast in the fifth inning.

The Rays took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth, but Boston quickly re-tied the game with a single run in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the frame, Boston reliever Koji Uehara seemed to have things well in hand, retiring the first two batters in order, but surrendered the bomb to Lobaton, forcing a game four, Tuesday, 8:37 pm EDT at Tropicana Field.

Michael Wacha

In Detroit, the Oakland A's took a 2-1 lead with a 6-3 victory over the hometown Tigers. Game four is Tuesday at 5:07 pm EDT.

National League

Rookie hurler, Michael Wacha, took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, spoiled when Pedro Alvarez socked a solo homer to put the Pirates down 2-1 against the Cardinals in game four of the NLDS. Wacha would not face another batter, manager Mike Matheny opting for his bullpen, which got the final five outs of the game without incident, evening the series at two games apiece and forcing a decisive game five in St. Louis on Wednesday night (8:07 pm EDT).

Juan Uribe

Matt Holliday's two-run homer in the fifth inning provided the winning runs for the Cardinals' 2-1 victory. Wacha was 4-1 in nine starts during the regular season for St. Louis and took the win in his first post-season appearance.

In Atlanta, the Braves were eliminated by the LA Dodgers, three games to one, when Juan Uribe touched off a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning, sending the Dodgers into the NL Championship Series with a 4-3 victory.

Dodger starter Clayton Kershaw pitched well for six innings on three days' rest, allowing just three hits, but the Dodgers surrendered two unearned runs. Reliever Brian Wilson took the win and Kenley Jansen struck out the Braves in order in the ninth for his first post-season save.

Today's Trivia: After the Yankees, what AL team has won the most World Series? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Juan Marical and Fergie Jenkins were pitchers who liked to finish what they started. Marichal had 244 complete games in 16 seasons; Jenkins, 267 in 19 seasons.

David Price, Evan Longoria Lead Rays into Playoffs with 4-2 Win at Texas

Players of the Day for Monday, September 30, 2013

American League

David Price

Tampa Bay put its best pitcher on the mound and defeated the Texas Rangers in a one-game tie-breaker, getting a seven-hit complete game from David Price while Evan Longoria went 3-for-4 to pace the Rays' offense in a 4-2 victory.

Evan Longoria

Price (10-8) threw 81 of 118 pitches for strikes, fanned four and walked one. Both runs were earned, the Rangers able to muster only single runs in the third and sixth innings.

Longoria singled, doubled and socked a two-run homer in the third inning, which gave the Rays a commanding 3-0 lead at the time, but the Rangers could not break through against Price, who was aided by stellar defensive play behind him.

Moving on to the wild card playoff Wednesday in Cleveland, the Rays have won nine of their last 11, while the Indians have won 10 straight.

Game time for the "win or go home" Wednesday night game in Cleveland is 8:07 pm EDT.

National League

There were no NL games on Monday. The Cincinnati Reds visit the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tuesday at 8:07 pm EDT. Johnny Cueto (5-2, 2.82) goes to the mound for the Reds against Francisco Liriano (16-8, 3.02) for the Pirates.

Today's Trivia: Who won the NL Cy Young award four straight years, from 1999 to 2002? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Justin Verlander was AL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and won both the Cy Young and MVP awards in 2011.

Brian McCann Leads Braves over Giants; On a Tear, Evan Longoria Powers Rays past Jays

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 9, 2013

American League

Evan Longoria

With Boston and Baltimore losing, and the Yankees finishing up a three-game series in Colorado with a victory, there's suddenly a three-way tie for first place in the AL East. While the focus will surely be on these three contenders, lurking 4 1/2 games back are the Tampa Bay Rays, who earned a 2-2 split with last place Toronto, beating the Blue Jays, 5-4, in 10 innings.

Evan Longoria has been a force with which to reckon of late, batting a robust .411 over his last eight games. In Thursday's win, Longoria went 3-for-5, with two doubles, an RBI and two runs, the last score being the game-winner, as he trotted home from third base on a bases-loaded walk to Luke Scott issued by Toronto reliever, Brad Lincoln, with two down in the bottom of the 10th.

Longoria got the Rays scoring started with a first inning RBI double, later scoring on Matt Joyce's single to put the Rays up, 2-0.

The Rays begin hosting a three-game series with San Diego on Friday. After that, they welcome in the Red Sox Tuesday through Thursday of next week.

National League

Brian McCann

In San Francisco, the Giants and Braves opened a four-game series between respective division leaders, but the result left the home team in a tie for first place in the West as the Braves took a 6-3 decision.

Catcher Brian McCann, starting in just his third game of the year, went 3-for-5, with his first homer of the season and three RBI.

His tw-run homer in the second inning put the Braves up, 2-1; in the fifth, McCann beat out an infield hit, scoring Freddie Freeman from third to increase the Braves' lead to 5-3.

McCann, who started the season on the disabled list while rehabbing after surgery to his left shoulder, solidifies the already-deep Atlanta lineup with a proven run-producer. He's hit at least 21 homers in six of his seven full seasons with the Braves and has driven in at least 67 runs each season, with a high of 94 in 2009.

A six-time all-star, McCann has five hits in 13 at-bats (.308).

The Braves held their two-game edge in the East over Washington with the win, while the Giants fell into a tie with Arizona, winners of four straight, in the West.

Today's Trivia: Among active players, which pitcher is the career win leader? (answer tomorrow)

Agony in Atlanta, Bummer in Beantown as Cardinals, Rays Win Wild Cards

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 28, 2011

American League

It was only fitting that Boston's September swoon get all the way to two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning before finally slipping away. The Red Sox bullpen had been in a sorry state of affairs month-long, and the season ended with closer Jonathan Papelbon hunched on the mound, watching helplessly as Nolan Reimold slid into home plate with the winning run for Baltimore, sending the Red Sox to their ninth loss in its last 11 games.

Moments later, Evan Longoria snuck a line drive over the short wall just inside the left field foul pole to complete a miraculous comeback from a 7-0 deficit to defeat the New York Yankees and capture the AL Wild Card. Boston would head home to witness the playoffs as spectators after going 7-20 in September, blowing a nine-game lead in the wild card card race.

The Rays and Red Sox entered the final day of the regular season tied for the final playoff spot, and, for a while, it appeared as though the Red Sox would hang on t a 3-2 lead in Baltimore as the Yankees were putting a hurting on Tampa, leading the Rays, 7-0 through eight innings.

It was not to be. While the Rays were scoring six runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to tie the Yankees at 7-7, the Red Sox and Orioles sat through a long rain delay in Baltimore, stopping their game in the middle of the seventh inning.

Longoria: 2 HRs send
Rays into playoffs

Boston's relievers clung to the 3-2 lead until the ninth when Papelbon came on for the save. After getting two outs in order, Papelbon surrendered a two-strike double to Chris Davis, followed by a ground rule double to center by Reimold that tied the game. When Robert Andino stroked a single to left that eluded a sliding Carl Craford, Reimold circled third and headed for the plate.

It wasn't close. The collapse was complete, the drama ended, as the Orioles won, 4-3.

The crowd at Tropicana Field erupted into a loud cheer when they saw the final score go up on the scoreboard. Evan Longoria stepped to the plate with the bases empty and one out in the bottom of the 12th inning. Earlier, Longoria socked an 8th inning three-run homer to get the Rays to within a run of the Yankees, as they scored six times in the frame. Dan Johnson hooked a drive just inside the right field foul pole with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

Longoria connected off the 11th Yankee pitcher of the night, Scott Proctor. His screaming line drive cleared the short wall in left field and his teammates greetd him at home plate as he rounded the bases with the walk-off, 8-7 winner, and a trip to Texas for the Rays, to face the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

Tampa Bay will travel to Texas to face the Rangers in the first of their five game series beginning Friday afternoon at 5:07 pm EDT. The Yankees will host Detroit on Friday to begin their five game series with the Tigers. Game time is 8:37 pm EDT.


National League

Carpenter's 2-hit
shutout wins wild card

The National League offered just a little less drama. The Cardinals and Braves entered the day tied for the wild card spot, but St. Louis jumped all over Houston early, scoring five runs in the first inning to back the two-hit shutout thrown by Chris Carpenter in their 8-0 victory, securing at least a one-game playoff with the Braves.

Carpenter (11-9) was brilliant, throwing 76 of 105 pitches for strikes, walking one and striking out 11.

For most of their game, it looked as though the Braves would survive against the Phillies and face the Cards on Thursday, but the Phillies chipped into their 3-1 lead with a run in the 7th and tied it on Chase Utley's sac fly in the 9th.

The game wore on into the 13th inning, the Phillies having used nine pitchers. The Braves' eighth pitcher, Scott Linebrink, took the mound to start the 13th, but, after getting one out, walked B. Schneider and then got Jimmy Rollins to fly out to center for the second out. Chase Utley singled, sending Schneider to third and Hunter Pence delivered a single to right, plating Schneider with the go-ahead run.

Atlanta went meekly in the bottom of the inning. Chipper Jones struck out swinging for the first out, but Dan Uggla walked to give the Braves hope. The next batter, Freddie Freeman, grounded into a game-ending 3-6-3 double play, ending the Braves' season with a 4-3 loss, sending the Cardinals into the playoffs.

Atlanta's September was nearly as ugly as that of the Red Sox. The Braves won nine games but lost 18 during the month, surrendering a September 6th, 8 1/2 game lead to the Cardinals, who closed out the season with a 16-5 run.

St. Louis will play at Philadelphia on Saturday to open their five game series. Milwaukee hosts West division champion Arizona in the other five game series, also beginning on Saturday. Game times have yet to be announced.

Pablo Sandoval Hits for Cycle; Rays Club Red Sox, 9-2, to Open 4-Game Series

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 15, 2011

American League

B.J. Upton

Tampa Bay headed into Boston for a four game series with the Red Sox on Thursday, intent on running down the wild card leaders as the weather turned autumn-like while the pennant races were becoming more heated. After one game, the Rays find themselves a little closer to their goal, having dusted the Sox, 9-2, to pull back to within three games.

B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria provided the bulk of the offensive production, each player going 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Upton's 3rd inning single plated John Jaso with the Rays' first run and Longoria upped the Tampa lead to 4-0 with his 27th home run, a three-run job that put the Rays well in front and set the tone for the series.

Evan Longoria

Following Casey Kotchman's two-run homer in the 6th, Upton responded with one of his own in the 7th and Kotchman drove in his third run with a single later in the inning to complete the Rays' scoring onslaught. Kotchman was 2-for-4.

Casey Kotchman

The Rays now trail the idle Yankees by 7 1/2, with Boston within their sights, 4 1/2 back. New York 's magic number to clinch the division is 10.

Elsewhere, the Tigers gained a tie for the Central division even though their 12-game win streak ended in Oakland with a 6-1 loss to the A's. Texas beat Cleveland, 7-4, handing the Indians their third straight loss, while the White Sox lost at Kansas City, 7-2, their fifth consecutive defeat.

The Indians would have to win all of their remaining 15 games to tie the Tigers, though the Tigers would have to lose all 12 of the games left on their schedule. The best the White Sox could do is fall a game short.

With Texas winning and the Angles having the night off, the Rangers' lead in the West expanded to 3 1/2 games, though the way Texas has been going, the Angels probably have a better shot at the wild card. They are four back of Boston and one behind the Rays in that race.

National League

Seven games back with just a dozen left to play, the Giants have little hope of catching Arizona in the NL West, but at least Pablo Sandoval gave their fans something to cheer about, hitting for the cycle as San Francisco upended the Rockies, 8-5, in Denver.

Pablo Sandoval

Sandoval homered in the first, doubled in the second, singled in the fifth and legged out a triple in the sixth to become the second player this season to accomplish the batting rarity. Milwaukee catcher George Kottaras did it against Houston less than two weeks ago, on September 3. Sandoval was issued an intentional walk in the eighth.

The Giants have won five straight and hope to catch the Diamondbacks for the division title, though time is running short and the schedule is not kind. The win in Colorado was the start of a ten-game road show for the Giants, which will culminate with a three game series at Arizona next weekend. The Giants close out the regular season with three games against the Rockies in San Francisco.

In the NL East, the Phillies took two from Florida, 3-1 and 2-1, to improve their division lead over Atlanta to 12 games and cut their magic number down to just one. There was no action in the Central, as the Cardinals and Brewers both had the day off.

Longoria Drives in Five for Streaky Rays; Fielder, Brewers Win Wild One over Mets

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 20, 2011

American League

Longoria: 4 RBI

Hellickson: 8 scoreless

Winning their fourth straight, the Tampa Bay Rays are acting as though the AL East and wild card races are still up for grabs. Despite trailing the Yankees by eight games in the division and the Red Sox by 7 1/2 in the wild card, the Rays pounded Seattle, 8-0, while the two teams they're chasing lost by identical 9-4 scores.

Evan Longoria delivered the opening salvo for Tampa, belting his 20th home run of the season with one aboard in the first inning. The Rays scored three more in the third, and Longoria completed the Tampa scoring with a two-run single in the three-run eighth.

The Rays banged out 13 hits in supports of Jeremy Hellickson's eight innings of shutout work. Hellickson allowed six hits and a walk, punching out five on strikes as he improved his record to 11-9 and lowered his ERA to 3.02.

The Rays will go for the sweep of Seattle Sunday afternoon in Tampa.

National League

The hottest team in baseball right now is the Milwaukee Brewers, who have won eight of their last 10 and 21 of their last 24, an amazing run, but what may be equally amazing is how they managed to blow a 7-1 lead to the Mets, then came back to win it in the ninth inning.

Fielder: 96 RBI

The Brewers built their big lead on home runs off Mets' starter Chris Capuano, who surrendered seven runs - five earned - over 5 2/3 innings. Ryan Braun got things started with a two-run blast in the first, followed by Prince Fielder's 28th of the season, a three-run shot in the third, and added two more in the 6th off Yunieski Betancourt's two-run job.

The six-run lead was not enough to stave off a two inning rally by the Mets, who put up five runs in the 7th - three of them off former Met Francisco Rodriguez - and three more in the 8th to forge a 9-7 lead.

Striking back in the top of the ninth, Milwaukee loaded the bases off Jason Isringhausen, who walked mark Kotsay to force in a run, then Fielder followed with a seeing-eye single to right, which tied the game. Casey McGehee cued a ball between second and first for two more runs, producing the 11-9 final score.

Fielder's four RBI gave him 96, tying him with Ryan Howard for the NL lead. His 28 homers have him in the midst of a four-way battle for the HR crown. Albert Pujols leads the NL with 30, followed by Dan Uggla and Mike Stanton, each with 29.

Coupled with the Cardinals' 3-0 loss to the Cubs, the Brewers are cruising to the title in the NL Central with an 8 1/2 game lead.

Shields, Longoria Keep Rays in Wild Card Hunt; Justin Upton Leads Arizona in Comeback Win; Uggla Hit Streak at 30

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 9, 2011

American League

Tampa Bay fell out of contention in the AL East right after the all star break when they lost none of 13 games to the Red Sox, Yankees, Royals and A's.

Shields: 4th Shutout

Since then, they've played better, recently winning four of their last six. Though they still trail the Red Sox by 11 games, they are within 8 1/2 of the Yankees, losers of three straight but the current wild card leader.

Tuesday, James Shields pitched a 6-hit shutout and Evan Longoria drove in all of Tampa Bay's runs in the 4-0 victory.

Longoria: 4 RBI

Longoria singled in a pair of runs in the first inning and socked his 17th home run of the season in the sixth inning with one aboard to complete Tampa's scoring.

It was more than Shields would need, as he dominated the Royals, giving up three walks while fanning eight. Shields threw 75 of 117 pitches for strikes and improved to 11-9 with a stellar 2.80 ERA. It was his 8th complete game and 4th shutout of the season.

National League

Upton: .296 BA

Arizona keeps battling in the NL West, where they trail the Giants by 1/2 game, looking to upend the reigning world champions and take the division.

Tuesday's 9-7 win over Houston was emblematic of the fire the team has when facing adversity.

Down 7-1 after just four innings, the Diamondbacks scored for runs in the 5th and four more in the 6th to take a 9-7 lead and held on with two more in the 8th.

Justin Upton, enjoying a remarkable season at the plate and in the field, went 3-for-5, with his 23rd home run - a two-run blast - a double and a single, scoring three times and driving in four runs in the come-from-behind triumph.

Upton carries a .296 batting average and leads the Diamondbacks with 72 RBI. The Giants maintained their slim lead in the division with a 6-0 win over Pittsburgh.

STREAKS: Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to 30 games with an infield single - his only hit in six at-bats - tying him with LA's Andre Ethier for the longest hit streak of the season. Uggla will try to make it 31 straight when the Braves take on the Marlins in the finale of their three game series Wednesday night.

A troubling streak is developing for Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. One of the finest closers ever to step up a mound has been beaten in his last two appearances. On Sunday, the Red Sox victimized Rivera with a run in the 9th inning, winning it in the 10th, 3-2, and on Tuesday, Rivera gave up two runs to the Angels with the game tied 4-4 in the 9th when Bobby Abreu took hi deep with two outs and a man aboard for the 6-4 win. Sunday was Rivera's fifth blow save of the year, and Tuesday's loss was his second against one win.

Longoria Keeping Rays in Race; Shierholtz Leads Giants in Extra Innings; Jeter Within Three

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 6, 2011

American League

Evan Longoria

While the Yankees and Red Sox continue to slug it out atop the AL East (Yanks lead by 1/2 game), the Tampa Bay Rays have quietly kept pace and are just four games out after whipping the Twins, 12-5, Wednesday night.

Having lost the first two games of the series to the Twins, the Rays responded, avoiding the series sweep thanks to Evan Longoria, who went 3-for-6 and provided key offense in the late innings.

With the score tied 5-5 in the 8th, Logoria, with his second hit of the night, singled in the go-ahead run and later scored as the Rays plated four in the inning. In the 9th, Logoria topped off his night and put the game away with a three-run homer, his 11th.

Longoria has picked up the pace of late with three homers and 15 RBI in his last ten games. The Rays travel to New York for a four-game series with the Yankees, preceding the all star break.

National League

Nate Schierholtz

Normally, the San Francisco Giants rely on excellent starting pitching and usually aren't too worried about the San Diego Padres, but after consecutive 5-3 losses to the fourth place Padres, the Giants saw their lead in the NL West dwindle to just one game over the Diamondbacks entering Wednesday's games.

It looked like another bad night for the Giants by the sixth inning, as starter Madison Bumgarner allowed nine hits and five runs for a 5-3 Padres lead, but Pablo Sandoval doubled in a pair of runs to tie the game and send it to extras.

Both bullpens were unflappable until the bottom of the 13th, when Nate Schierholtz ended it with his second home run of the game, a solo shot to right for the walk-off, 6-5 Giants' victory.

Schierholtz had earlier doubled and smacked a two-run homer in the 4th inning. He finished with three hits in six at-bats, three RBI and two runs in the comeback win. Coupled with Arizona losing to Milwaukee, 3-1, the Giants increased their lead to two games in the division.

JETER 3000 WATCH: The Yankees couldn't muster much offense, scoring all of their runs in the 9th inning, losing the series finale at Cleveland, 5-3. Jeter went 1-for-3, banging a double eyond the reach of Indians right fielder Austin Kearns in the 8th, putting him within three hits of the historic mark.

The Yankees return home on Thursday for a four-game set with the Rays, the final series before the all star break. Ticket prices have spiked in New York since the all star shortstop came off the DL three days ago. The average price for the Saturday game - the third in the series - reached $194 in secondary markets, with the Thursday, Friday and Sunday game prices not far behind.

Romero Shuts Out Cards; Longoria Bangs a Pair; Reyes Runs Wild; Halladay Gets 10th Win

Players of the Day for Sunday, June 26, 2011

American League

Evan Longoria

Tampa Bay pounded out 19 hits and scored 7 runs in the final two innings as they grounded the Houston Astros, 14-10. The top three hitters in the lineup, Johnny Damon, Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria had 11 hits between them with Longoria going 4-for-6 with a double, two homers - his 8th and 9th - three runs and five RBI.

Longoria's numbers (.253, 9, 33) are down this season due to having missed almost all of April due to injury, but he's coming around fine, with 8 hits, 3 homers and 10 RI in his last three games.

Ricky Romero

The Rays trail the Yankees by two games in the AL East and Boston by 1 1/2.

In St. Louis, Ricky Romero evened his record at 7-7 with a four-hit, 5-0, shutout of the Cardinals. It was Romero's sixth career complete game and second shutout. He walked two and struck out five, using 106 pitches to get the much-needed win for the Blue Jays, who have fallen seven games off the pace in the AL East, though they are playing .500 ball, at 30=9-39.

National League

Roy Halladay picked up his 10th win of the season against three losses, leading the first place Phillies to a 3-1 win over Oakland. It was Hallady's fifth complete game of the season, despite not having thrown a shutout.

Roy Halladay

It wasn't the prettiest performance by the two-time Cy Young award winner, who scattered eight hits and only struck out four batters, though he did not issue any walks. Halladay is second in the NL in strikeouts, with 123, behind Clayton Kershaw's 128. He is also tied for wins with Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens.

Jose Reyes

The Phillies have the largest lead in the majors, a five-game bulge over Atlanta.

Down in Texas, the Mets won their second straight after dropping the opener of the series, whipping the Rangers, 8-5. Jose Reyes continued his remarkable season, going 4-for-5 with an RBI a stolen base, three runs and his 14th triple of the year, easily tops in the majors.

Reyes leads the NL not only in triples, but also in hits (113), runs (61) and batting average (.341).

INTERLEAGUE TALLY: The AL continued to stretch its narrow lead on the NL, winning eight, while the NL won six, putting the AL up by four, at 86-82.

Longoria Provides Power for Rays; Kershaw, Hudson Are Mound Kings

Players of the Day for Monday, June 20, 2011

American League

Evan Longoria

Even though they've won four straight, Tampa Bay can't seem to pick up any ground on the Yankees or Red Sox, remaining 4 1/2 behind the front-running Sox and three games back of their New York rivals.

Still, Tampa has gotten itself into a contending position since the return of their all-star thrid baseman, Evan Longoria, who missed much of April, and has struggled to regain his award-winning form.

In Monday's 8-4 win at Milwaukee, some of that old spark showed up, as Longoria singled in a run and scored in the 7th inning, then proceeded to belt a three-run homer that completed Tampa's scoring and put the game out of reach.

The homer was only Longoria's 6th of the season and just his second in June. The power outage has been a concern for the Rays, because Longoria average 27 homers in his first three seasons.

National League

Kershaw's 2-hitter
tamed Tigers

Clayton Kershaw notched his seventh win against three losses, hurling a masterful 2-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over Detroit.

Kershaw didn't allow a hit after the 4th inning, setting down 17 of the last 18 batters he faced, walking one. He ended the game with a flourish, striking out the side in the 9th. Kershaw fanned 11 for the game, giving him the NL lead in Ks, with 117, leading Roy Halladay (114) and Cliff Lee (111), but his was only one of two impressive performances by National League starters.

Hudson's 2-run
homer won the game

In Atlanta, Tim Hudson shut out the Toronto Blue Jays for eight innings, allowing only two hits, walking one and striking out eight.

While Hudson's mound heroics were worthy of note, his plate appearance in the bottom of the 7th inning provided the winning runs for the Braves, as he blasted a two-run homer for the 2-0 Atlanta win.

Hudson retired 20 straight batters from the 2nd inning through the 8th, but walked the leadoff hitter, Mike McCoy, in the 9th and then gave up his second hit of the game, a single by Yunel Escobar. That's when closer Craig Kimbrel was summoned from the bullpen. He promptly struck out the next three batters, getting his 20th save of the season, tying him with Brian Wilson of the Giants for the second most in the league. Colorado's Huston Street leads with 21.

INTERLEAGUE TALLY: The National League managed to pick up four wins on Monday, but fell further behind as the AL teams won six, expanding their lead to 54-40.

Longoria Forces Game Five; Phillies Complete Sweep; Giants Take 2-1 Edge

Players of the Day for Saturday, October 10, 2010

American League

Ardent fans of the Tampa Bay Rays knew they would not go down without a fight, even after dropping the first two games of the best-of-five ALDS to the Rangers, and so, with Evan Longoria going 3-for-4 and powering a two-run homer in Sunday's 5-2 triumph at Texas, it's on to a decisive Game Five, Tuesday, back at Tropicana Field in Tampa.

The Rays jumped on Texas starter, Tommy Hunter, early, when Carlos Pena tripled and scored on an Ian Kinsler error. In the 4th, Hunter was knocked out on two earned runs. Again it was Pena, doubling in Longoria, who had himself doubled to lead off the inning. Pena later scored on B.J. Upton's double.

Hunter finished the inning, but was replaced by Derek Holland in the fifth, who sandwiched two outs around a Ben Zobrist single before giving up Longoria's homer, his first of the series.

Tampa's Wade Davis held the Rangers scoreless through five, but surrendered two runs without getting anybody out in the 6th. However, the Tampa Bay bullpen made certain that was all the Rangers would get, allowing one hit and no runs getting the final 12 outs.

Game Five is set for Tuesday at 8:07 ET. Starters are a rematch of Game One: Cliff Lee for the Rangers vs. David Price of the Rays. The winner will host the Yankees in the best-of-seven league championship series, slated to begin Friday, October 15.

National League

The Phillies are headed back to the NL Championship Series for the third straight season, hoping to make their third consecutive World Series appearance.

After knocking off the Reds in three straight, Philly looks to be the team to beat as their trio of starters - Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels - are easily the best three starters of any team remaining.

On Sunday, Hamels dusted off the Reds with a 5-hit, complete game shutout that finished off the sweep with a 2-0 win.

Hamels wasn't as good as Halladay, who pitched a series-opening no-hitter, but he came close, allowing five hits and no walks while whiffing nine Reds batters, including Scott Rolen three times.

The Phils got their two runs on an unearned run in the second inning and a 5th inning solo homer by Chase Utley off Reds' starter Johnny Cueto, who pitched well in defeat.

Hamels threw 119 pitches, but will have plenty of time to rest up for his next start, which is certain to be at least a week from Sunday, as the NLCS will begin in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 16, against either the Braves or Giants.

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The San Francisco Giants took a two-games-to-one lead over the Atlanta Braves in the best-of-five National League Division Series Sunday, topping the Braves, 3-2, on a game marred by three costly errors by Atlanta second baseman Brooks Conrad.

Eric Hinske's two-run homer in the 8th, Aubrey Huff getting the only RBI by a Giant in the 9th to tie the game and Conrad's final foul-up to allow the winning run overshadowed a stellar pitching performance by the Giants' Jonathan Sanchez.

Sanchez held the Braves scoreless for 7 1/3 innings, when he was lifted for reliever Sergio Romo after allowing just his second hit of the game, a one-out single to Alex Gonzalez. Romo proceeded to nearly lose the game, giving up a two-run shot to pinch-hitter Hinske.

Sanchez worked a no-hitter into the 6th, when Brian McAnn singled, but finished with no decision, despite allowing just one run on two hits and a walk, striking out 11 Braves in the process.

Conrad, forced into duty due to season-ending injuries to both Chipper Jones and Martin Prado, bobbled a grounder in the first, dropped a pop-up in the fifth and eventually let the winning run score by allowing a Buster Posey ground ball through his legs with two out in the 9th inning.

The Braves, one out away from taking a 2-1 lead in the series, now find themselves facing elimination with a roster decimated by injuries. Besides Prado and Jones being long gone, closer Billy Wagner is also kaput, after he suffered a strained left oblique in Saturday's 5-4 win. Wagner has been taken off the playoff roster, so, if the Braves win the series, he will not be eligible for the best-of-seven series against Philly, though he would be eligible to return if the Braves reach the World Series, though that's a scenario in serious doubt.

Wagner had already stated that this season would be his last, joining manager Bobby Cox in retirement at the end of this season, which, for the Braves, could be Monday night, when they host the Giants in Game 4 of the series at 7:37 pm ET, facing elimination.

Longoria Batters Rangers as Rays Sweep; Rollins Rips Giants

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 18, 2010 American League Visiting Tampa Bay did not turn out to be a walk on the beach for the Texas Rangers, though the pitching staff and most of the infielders got to know Tampa's third baseman, Evan Longoria, a whole lot better. Longoria absolutely wore out the Rangers over their three game series, all wins by the Rays, going 7-for-12 (.583) with a home run, three doubles, a triple and eight RBI. After beating the Rangers two straight, Longoria made sure of the sweep by going 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, a sac fly and four RBI, helping lead the way to an 8-6 victory. The home run was his 16th of the season and Longoria's RBI total has now reached 80, good for 10th in the league, one behind Josh Hamilton and two ahead of Minnesota's Jason Kubel. Longoria is also batting .293 and has swiped 15 bases in 18 attempts. While the Rangers could afford the three straight losses, remaining eight games in front of both the Angels and the A's in the AL West, the Rays continue to battle the Yankees for control of the AL East. Tampa has won five straight and remain tied with New York atop the division, 5 1/2 in front of Boston. National League Even though the Atlanta Braves won their fourth straight Wednesday night, topping Washington, 3-2, the Phillies aren't letting them get too far ahead in the NL East standings. Philadelphia won its fourth straight with an 8-2 beating of the Giants, to remain 2 1/2 games behind the division leaders and seem to have their sights set on taking the division for the fourth straight season. At the top of Philly's batting order, Jimmy Rollins continues to be a catalyst for winning in the city of brotherly love. Rollins went 3-for-5 against the Giants, smacking a three-run homer and a triple, stealing two bases, driving in three runs and scoring twice. His three-run blast in the 4th inning put the Phillies up 5-1. Starter Joe Blanton managed 6 1/3 innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen, which made quick work of the Giants in the latter innings. Three relievers no-hit San Francisco over the final 2 2/3 frames. The Phillies have taken the first two of their three-game set from the visiting Giants, winning the opener, 9-3, and, with Wednesday's win, assuming a two game lead over San Fran in the wild card race, but Philly's aims reach well beyond second best in their division. The Braves and Phillies will not meet until September 20, when the Braves head to Philadelphia for a three-game showdown. The two also meet on the final three days of the regular season in Atlanta, beginning October 1st. As for the Giants, their loss dropped them six games behind the Padres in the NL West, making the wild card the preferred path to the playoffs for the Bay area team.

Evan Longoria Keeps Rays on Top; Johnny Cueto 1-Hits Pirates

Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 11, 2010 American League Some players get hot; others, like Evan Longoria, simply hit a certain stride and keep on going. After a pretty fair start, which had the 3rd baseman batting .297 with 3 homers and 13 RBI, Longoria has brought it up a notch against opposing pitchers. Over this last 16 games, he's hit .359, with 5 home runs and 16 RBI, getting his 8th home run of the season as the Rays improved their lead over the rained-out Yankees with a 7-3 win at LA. Already leading 2-0 in the 5th inning, Longoria knocked home Jason Bartlett with the Rays' 3rd run of the game. In the 6th, he launched home run #8, with two men aboard, upping his RBI total to 29, good for second place in the AL behind Miguel Cabrera (33). The Rays continue to hold onto the best record in the majors, at 23-10. They also have, by far, the best road record, 14-4, and will put that to the test Wednesday night in their rubber game against the Angels, who took the series opener by a 5-4 score in 11 innings. National League Other than a third inning single to Ronnie Cedeno, Johnny Cueto didn't give the Pittsburgh Pirates anything, twirling a 1-hit gem as the Reds topped their NL Central rivals by a 9-0 score. When Cedeno came to the plate again in the 6th inning, Cueto plunked him, making him not only the only Pirate to reach base, but the only one to do so twice. As luck would have it, Cedeno never made it to second base - nobody did - as he was thrown out attempting to steal by catcher Ramon Hernandez. (No wonder Cueto plunked him; who tries a two-out steal when you're down 3-0?) Cedeno led off the 9th inning, and this time, Cueto wasn't kidding around. The only batter with whom he had an issue, Cueto set him down on strikes, then proceeded to finish off the final two batters without incident. Of his 102 pitches, 67 went for strikes. Cueto was very judicious in getting his men out. He nailed down 8 on strikes, another 8 on ground balls and 11 by air. The win was only Cueto's second of the season, against one loss. He carries a 4.07 ERA, but what's important is that the win was the Reds' 4th straight, quietly inching them to within 2 games of division-leading St. Louis. At 18-15, the Reds join the Cards as the only NL Central teams with winning records. Cincy is 3 games ahead of 3rd place Milwaukee.

Longoria Has the Stroke; Ageless Moyer on Target

Players of the Day for Friday, March 26, 2010 American League Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria hit his third homer of Spring and added two singles for a 3-for-4 effort with 2 RBI, scoring 3 times, as the Rays downed Toronto in a 14-10 slug-fest. One of the best young power hitters in either league, Longoria finished the 2009 campaign with 33 bombs and 113 RBI. He seems to be picking up where he left off, having driven in 6 runs over his past four games. This will be Longoria's thrid season in the majors. National League There was a so much talk about Jamie Moyer's ability to contribute at age 46 last year that he wasn't even on the Phillies' world Series roster, but, oddly enough, the Phils kept the ageless one on for another go 'round in 2010. Now 47, Moyer is performing like a fine wine, getting better with age. On Friday, he shut down the Yankees on one hit over 6 2/3 innings, helping the Phillies to a 3-0 win over the team that stood between them and a second straight championship. Moyer fanned six and hasn't walked a batter this Spring. In 11 2/3 innings, he's allowed just 6 hits and 1 earned run, for an ERA that has manager Charlie Manuel smiling: 0.77. Moyer is 258-195 with a 4.22 ERA lifetime and is 42-29 in three seasons with the Phillies. Maybe he's a keeper?

Longoria Rips Red Sox; Saunders Outduels Greinke; LA's Stults Blanks Giants

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 9, 2009 American League In the AL on Saturday, two players exhibited the kind of performance worthy of POTD status, so we present them both: Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria continues to prove that his outstanding rookie season of 2008 was certainly no fluke. Though the Rays are still under .500 (15-17), Longoria brought the wood with him in Tampa's 14-5 plastering at Boston. After starting the Rays' scoring with a two-run homer in the 1st inning, Longoria capped a 6-run uprising in the 5th inning, doubling home another pair and later scoring, walked and scored in the 6th and finished the scoring for the Rays with a sac fly in the 7th inning. 2-for-4, 3 runs, 5 RBI adds up to a pretty good night. Longoria's 44 RBI leads the majors and his 11 home runs leave him two behind teammate Carlos Pena's 13. Across the country in Anaheim, the Angels figured out a way to beat KC's Zack Greinke (6-1). Start with a third inning double by Gary Matthews Jr., a sacrifice bunt moves him to third and a Chone Figgins sac fly gets him home. Oh, and have your starting pitcher, Joe Saunders (5-1), toss a five-hit, complete game shutout, striking out 6 and giving up just one walk. That's what it took, because Greinke, under any other circumstances, wins the game. He went the distance, allowing just 4 hits, no walks and the one earned run. But last night, Saunders was just a little bit better, resulting in a 1-0 Angels win. National League Out in Chavez Ravine, Eric Stults (4-1) was doing his best to keep the Dodgers in first place in the NL West with a 4-hit, complete game shutout over northern rival San Francisco. Stults didn't necessarily have to be a good as he was, getting plenty of plate support in LA's 8-0 win. While Stultz's numbers aren't all that great (3.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP), he does produce wins, having gotten a positive decision in 4 of his 6 starts this season. Saturday's win evened his lifetime record at 8-8. NOTES: The red-hot NY Mets won their 6th straight Saturday, tying for first place in the NL East with the Marlins, 1/2 game ahead of the Phillies. On the not-so-hot side of the ledger are the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have dropped seven straight, and the Seattle Mariners, who after a hot start have given up their AL West lead to the Rangers and Angels. Texas leads the division by 1/2 game over LA. The Mariners are 1 1/2 back.

Slam Dance: Longoria, Theriot Blast Off

Players of the Day for Friday, May 1, 2009 American League Four-run homers were the order of the day in both leagues on Friday's menu. In Tampa, Evan Longoria launched a 5th inning, bases-loaded round-tripper in a 6-run Rays' uprising, highlighting a 6-2 beat down of the Boston Red Sox. It was the second straight win over Boston, who came into Tampa riding an 11-game win streak, but Longoria and his teammates have made sure to slow Boston's momentum. The grand slam was Longoria's only hit in three at-bats, but it extended his recent hitting and RBI streak to five straight games. The Tampa third baseman has driven in 12 runs over that span and is hitting .364 for the year. He has 7 homers and his 28 RBI leads the AL. National League The Cubs usually get their long balls from Alfonso Soriano or Aramis Ramirez, but with the bases stuffed in the 6th inning Friday night, light-hitting shortstop, Ryan Theriot steeped to the plate and promptly belted his first home run of the season and just the 8th of his 5-year major league career. His bomb - his only hit in 5 at-bats - turned a 5-2 Florida lead into a 6-5 Cubs advantage. Chicago added a pair of runs in the 7th and Florida got one in the 9th for an 8-6 Chicago victory. The win evened Chicago's record at 11-11, 5 games back in the NL Central. For the Marlins, the loss was their 8th in their last 11 games. Despite that horrible run, they remain 2 games to the good over Philadelphia in the NL East.

Garza, Longoria Bury BoSox; Cantu Continues Hot Streak

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 30, 2009 American League Matt Garza (left) took a perfect game into the seventh inning and worked into the 8th, one-hitting the Red Sox as his Tampa Bay teammates piled up the runs in a 13-0 Rays victory. Garza (2-2) allowed an infield single by Jacoby Ellsbury to lead off the 7th. Other than that dribbler, he was lights out, later giving up a walk, but striking out ten in a dominating performance. Garza threw 108 pitches, of which 75 went for strikes. Leading the 18-hit Tampa attack was third baseman Evan Longoria (right), who opened the scoring with a first-inning, bases-loaded double off Boston starter Josh Beckett, and later singled and smacked a solo home run, driving in 4 runs and scoring three times. National League Jorge Cantu continued his hot hitting as the Florida Marlins topped the Cubs, 8-2, in 10 innings. Cantu got the Marlins on the scoreboard with a solo homer in the 7th inning, and doubled home three more as Florida struck for 6 runs in the top of the 10th. Over the last three games, Cantu has been on fire, going 6-for-10, stroking four home runs while piling up 10 RBI.