Freddy Garcia Blanks Nationals as Baltimore Wins; Travis Wood's Grand Slam Completes Cubs' Sweep of White Sox

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 30, 2013

American League

At the ripe, young age of 36, Freddy Garcia knows how to pitch in the majors. A veteran of 14 seasons, the lanky Venezuelan has been around, now with his sixth team, the Baltimore Orioles.

Freddy Garcia

Garcia, who hasn't thrown a complete game since 2006 and hasn't pitched a shutout since 2001 (when he threw three), came pretty close Thursday, blanking the Nationals over eight full innings in Baltimore's 2-0 victory, their second straight over the Nats after splitting a pair of games with Washington down I-95 in the nation's capitol earlier in the week.

Garcia (2-2) allowed just three harmless singles - two in the second inning and one in the sixth - struck out six and didn't issue any free passes before giving way to Jim Johnson, who notched his 17 save of the season.

The win kept Baltimore smack in the heat of the AL East race, just 2 1/2 games behind Boston and 1/2 game behind the Yankees, who were swept four straight by the Mets, the first time the Mets have ever swept a series from the Yanks. Tampa Bay is also within range, just three games out.

Baseball gets back to more traditional in-leauge games after four days of interleague contests. The Yankees host the Red Sox, while Baltimore remains at home to host three with the Detroit Tigers, the first game of the series starting Friday at 7:05 pm EDT.

National League

The Chicago Cubs would probably be perfectly content to play the rest of their games this season against their cross-town AL brethren, the White Sox, after taking four straight from them during this week's interleague play.

Travis Wood

The final nail in the coffin for the White Sox was delivered by starting pitcher Travis Wood, who wasn't all that sharp from the mound, but extended a 2-1 Cubs' lead with a grand slam homer in the fourth inning off Sox starter, Jake Peavy.

Wood went six innings, giving up five hits, two walks and two runs, striking out six to improve to 5-3, but his slam was the telling blow in the Cubs' 8-3 triumph. Wood also singled, going 2-for-3 with 4 RBI. The homer was his second of the season.

Even with the four straight wins, the Cubs are still 12 1/2 games out in the NL Central, but at least they have a three-game edge on last place Milwaukee, who have lost six in a row, including being swept four straight by the Twins.

The Cubs remain home, opening a three game series with Arizona starting Friday afternoon at 2:20 pm EDT. The White Sox - 4 1/2 back of Detroit in the AL Central, travel to Oakland for a three-game series with the A's, starting Friday at 7:10 pm PDT.

Today's Trivia: Who was the last American League pitcher to throw more than five shutouts in a single season?

Yesterday's Answer: Babe Ruth's 119 extra base hits in 1921 still stands as the all-time, single-season record.

Buster Posey Busts Up Brwers; Freddie Garcia Continues on Comeback Trail

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 7, 2010 American League With the distinct possibility that they could be losing Jake Peavy for the remainder of the season, the Chicago White Sox know that every game is important as they attempt to keep pace with Minnesota and Detroit in the hotly-contested AL Central. After Peavy was forced to leave Tuesday's game after only 1 2/3 innings, the Sox patched together a 4-1 win thanks to yeoman work from their bullpen, getting the better of Angels' ace, Jered Weaver. Wednesday night, the mound belonged to Freddy Garcia, who stumped the Halos on 5 hits over six innings, walking two, striking out six. The Angels only run of the game came in the fifth, off Garcia, though it was unearned. The 5-2 victory earned Garcia his 9th win of the season, against 3 losses, looking more and more like the AL Comeback Player of the Year. Garcia was just 3-4 with the White Sox last season. With Detroit beating Baltimore, 4-2, and Minnesota losing to Toronto, 6-5, the White Sox took over second place, a game behind the Tigers, with Minnesota 1/2 game behind them. The Sox win was their 4th straight, and their third straight over the Angels, who continue to struggle along in second place in the AL West, now falling 5 1/2 behind the Rangers. National League While the media has dubbed 2010 "the year of the pitcher," others are calling it the "year of the rookie," as a slew of first-year players have made sizable impacts on the game. One such player is San Francisco catcher Buster Posey, who came into the league without nearly the fanfare of Jason Heyward or Stephen Strasburg, but is making his presence felt day by day. In Wednesday's 15-2 crushing of Milwaukee, Posey broke out the big wood, hitting a two-run homer and a grand slam, along with a pair of singles, going 4-for-4, with 3 runs and 6 RBI, making the win one of the easiest ever for starter Time Lincecum, who improved to 9-4, giving up 4 hits and one earned run over 7 innings, fanning 10. The Giants, in 4th place, five back of San Diego in the NL West, started July on the tail end of a seven-game losing streak, but since have won four of five, including their last three straight. The division still largely up for grabs with the Dodgers and Rockies tied for second, both three games behind the Padres, San Fran remains within striking distance. Posey, who got a late start to his inaugural season, has five homers and 19 RBI in 34 games, carrying a solid .331 batting average.

Dodgers Do It; Twins Tie Tigers for AL Central Lead

Players of the Day for Saturday, October 3, 2009 American League In Minnesota, the Twins got past Zack Greinke and the KC Royals, 5-4, while the White Sox were taming the Tigers for the second straight day, as Freddy Garcia mystified the Tigers on 6 hits, allowing only one run over 7 solid innings for the 5-1 triumph. Garcia cut down seven Tiger batters on strikes, throwing 96 pitches (63 for strikes) for the spoiler win. The Twins and Tigers are now tied for the lead in the AL Central, Detroit having folded up down the stretch in the face of Minnesota's relentless pursuit. The Tigers are 0-for-October, having lost three straight, and have only won twice in their last 8 outings. The season comes down to one game for each of the contenders on Sunday, with the Twins hosting the Royals and the Tigers trying to get one win from the White Sox in Detroit. If the Twins and Tigers are still tied after Sunday's games, there will be a one-game playoff to determine the division winner. It's win or go home at this point, as the Red Sox have already secured the AL wild card slot. National League Five was the real magic number in Los Angeles on Saturday. After the Dodgers had lost 5 straight, allowing the Rockies, winners of 5 in a row, to pull to within one game in the divisional standings, LA finally got the win they needed, capturing their second straight NL West title with a 5-0 win over Colorado. Instrumental in securing their playoff position was starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who chilled out the red-hot Rockies on 3 hits over 6 innings, walking 3 and striking out 10. Though he did not receive a decision, Kershaw (12-10) kept the Rockies off the scoreboard in the most critical game of the season for LA. The Dodgers scored all 5 of their runs in a decisive 7th inning, highlighted by Mark Loretta's double which delivered two runs. The Dodgers will face the St. Louis Cardinals in the first playoff round, beginning Wednesday, October 7. The Phillies host the wild card Rockies in the other divisional series