Albert Pujols, Andrew Heaney Lead Angels over Dodgers; Jason Marquis Hurls Reds past Blue Jays in Montreal

Players of the Day for Friday, April 3, 2015

Grapefruit League

Jason Marquis

Despite indications to the contrary, there are still baseball fans in Montreal - at least 46,314 of them, not to put too fine a spin on it. That's how many turned out to see the Reds defeat the Blue Jays, 2-0, inside climate-controlled Olympic Stadium.

Mark Buehrle and Jason Marquis put on a fine pitching duel to start the game. Buehrle allowed three hits over four innings, but Marquis was truly masterful, allowing no runs on one hit over a five-inning span, striking out three.

Marquis, who missed all of last season due to injury, appears fully repaired. He's thrown 31 innings of exhibition ball this Spring, allowing 22 hits and 10 earned runs, posting a respectable ERA of 2.80. He'll be in the Reds' starting rotation when the regular season opens this coming week.

While the two teams combined for just 10 hits, fans were appreciative, many sporting gear bearing the insignia of the Montreal Expos, the team that was moved from Canada in 2004 to become the Washington Nationals.

Skip Schumaker doubled in the game's only runs in the eighth inning.

Pujols: Slam

Cactus League

Heaney: No Hits

David Freese smacked a two-run homer in the second and Albert Pujols added a sixth-inning grand slam, the two long balls more than enough to support the 5 1/3 innings of no-hit ball from Angels starter, Andrew Heaney, who got the win in LA's 6-0 whitewash of the Dodgers.

Heaney walked three, but struck out just as many, getting his first win of the exhibition season. He was surely trying to impress the team's coaches, as the fifth spot in the rotation has yet to be filled, and he's one of a few players getting a look.

Heaney went 0-3 for the Marlins last season, making five starts, but his performance was less-than-impressive, putting up an ERA of 5.83.

Until Friday, his stats this Spring were also poor. He finishes up with a record of 1-2 and a 7.03 ERA. The Angels may not use a fifth starter until sometime later in the month.

For Pujols, the slam was his fifth homer of Spring. He has 19 RBI in 20 games.

Last season, his third in an Angel uniform, Pujols hit .272 with 28 HR and 105 RBI.

Jason Marquis Looks Good in Rebound with Reds; Casey Sandler Leads Pirates to 1-0 Win over Toronto

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 8, 2015

Grapefruit League

Casey Sadler

After reaching the playoffs in 2014, the Pittsburgh Pirates are looking forward to another strong season, and, if the kind of pitching they got last year and in their 1-0 win over Toronto Sunday, translates into the regular season, they're a good bet to be playing ball in October.

Pittsburgh brought one of their top prospects, Casey Sadler, to the mound as the starter against the Blue Jays and the 6'4" righty didn't disappoint, throwing three hitless innings, fanning three without allowing a walk.

Sadler has been honing his stuff in the minors since 2010, having his best season last year, going 11-4 with Indianapolis in the International League (AAA). While he's considered one of th Pirates' best hurlers, he'll have a tough time breaking into the starting rotation, but should see some time with the big club in 2015.

Stolmy Pimental, who followed Sadler in the fourth, took the win. The Pirates are 3-2 this Spring, with all their wins coming on the road.

Cactus League

Jason Marquis

Taking all of 2014 off while recovering from Tommy John surgery, 36-year-old Jason Marquis is making a strong impression on his new teammates, the Cincinnati Reds, as he picked up his second win in as many starts, tossing three innings of no-hit ball in the Reds' 10-1 romp over Seattle. The veteran struck out three and did not allow a walk.

Marquis has had his share of travels, having pitched for Atlanta, St. Louis, Colorado, the Cubs, Arizona, Minnesota, and San Diego since breaking into the majors in 2000.

Lifetime, Marquis is 121-114 with a 4.46 ERA, and, while some may believe his best years are behind him, the miracle surgery that is known as Tommy John's, has revitalized many an aging arm and the Reds are betting that he'll be a welcome addition to their starting rotation, one which had its share of problems last year.

The Reds hit three homers off Seattle pitchers, putting the game away with a six-run outburst in the eighth, evening their record at 3-3.

Byrd's Bombs Ground Angels; Marquis Tosses 2-Hit Gem

Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 30, 2009 American League The battle for the AL West is being won by the Angels, but after Tuesday's 9-5 win by the Rangers, there's a palpable feeling that the war has just begun. Having taken the first of their three-game series, 5-2, on Monday, the Angels had assumed a 2 1/2 game lead in the division and was looking to add to it. Enter Marlon Byrd, the unheralded outfielder who's become a regular since Josh Hamilton was sidelined due to injury. All Bryd did was single-handedly smash the Angels' with a pair of home runs - a two-run shot in the first inning and a three-run bomb in the 4th - the latter of which turned a 4-3 Texas lead into an insurmountable 7-3 edge. Byrd, always an asset in the field, has been a solid contributor at the plate for the Rangers, batting .286 with 7 homers and 39 RBI. The win closed the gap on the Angels to 1 1/2 games with the rubber game of the series tonight at Arlington. National League Sooner or later somebody's going to toss a no-hitter, and it will probably come from the National League, where there have been numerous close calls of late. The most current was Tuesday's complete game, two-hit shutout by Jason Marquis, as Colorado topped the Dodgers, 2-0, evening their three-game series at a game apiece and making the NL West race - which looked like a Dodger runaway a month ago - more interesting every day. Marquis (10-5) was a mound model of efficiency, using just 86 pitches (66 strikes) to cut down the Dodgers without issuing a walk. While Marquis fanned just three, he did record 17 outs on ground balls, at one point - between the 2nd and 8th inning - set down 18 straight batters and didn't allow a runner to even reach second base. Becoming the first National League pitcher to reach 10 wins, he bested Dodger ace Chad Billingsley (9-4), who was also seeking the same honor. The Rockies have won 21 of their last 25 games and have drawn to within 7 1/2 games of the front-running Dodgers. The Giants, currently lodged in second place, have won 3 straight, 8 of their last 11, and are just 6 games behind LA. NOTES: While those Western division races are heating up, the AL East is rounding into mid-summer form, thanks to the last place Baltimore Orioles, who battered Boston's bullpen for 10 runs in the largest comeback in O's history. Down 10-1 entering the bottom of the 7th, the O's exploded for 5 runs in each of the 7th and 8th innings to top the BoSox, 11-10. Boston's loss was New York and Tampa Bay's gain, with the Yankees and Rays pulling to within 2 1/2 and 4 games respectively. The Yankees have won 6 straight while the Rays are on a 7 game roll.

Scott Keeps Raking for O's; Marquis Blanks Padres

Players of the Day for Friday, May 30, 2009 American League Baltimore's Luke Scott has broken out in a big way. On Friday, Scott led the O's to their fifth straight win, a 7-2 thumping of Detroit, currently the AL Central Division leader. Scott pounded a grand slam in the 3rd inning and a solo homer in the 5th - both off Tiger starter Dontrelle Willis - to amass five more RBI (27 on the year), adding a single to complete a perfect 3-for-3 night at the plate. Scott's six-game hitting streak includes these numbers: 13-for-19 (.684), 6 home runs, 14 RBI, 10 runs. He's raised his batting average from .264 to .336. Pretty good. National League Things haven't gone very well for the Colorado Rockies in 2009, having won just 19 games this season while losing 28, dropping them to last place in the NL West. Starter Jason Marquis, however, is having a stand-out year, having accounted for more than a third of all Rockies' wins, hiking his record to 7-3 on Friday with an 8-inning shutout performance over the Padres for a 3-0 win. Making efficient use of his 106 pitches, Marquis scattered 6 hits, walked 4 and struck out 6. Now with his 4th team (Atlanta, St. Louis and Chicago were the first three), Marquis retains a winning profile at 86-73 lifetime.

Blaylock Drives Rangers; Marquis, Spilborghs Star for Rockies

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 2, 2009 American League Hank Blalock whacked a three-run homer in the third inning and doubled home another run in the 4th as the Texas Rangers got all of their runs in a 3-run 3rd and 6-run 4th inning, holding off the White Sox for a 9-6 win. Blalock delivered with his 7th home run of the season and his 4 RBI gave him 18. The win helped the Rangers (11-12) hold onto second place in the wide-open AL West, where they trail the Mariners by 2 1/2 games. The Angels and A's are just one game behind Texas. National League Jason Marquis (left) worked every out and Ryan Spilborghs (right) provided most of the offense as the Colorado Rockies cruised to a 5-1 win at San Francisco. Marquis (4-1) had his best outing of the season, with a complete-game decision in which he allowed just 5 hits and a walk. The sole San Francisco run came on the only extra-base hit of the game - Pedro Sandolval's second-inning solo homer. Marquis struck out 4, got 14 gournd outs and 9 by fly balls. When the Rockies were batting, Ryan Spilborghs was doing most of the damage from the leadoff spot, hitting a solo homer in his first at-bat, drawing a walk and scoring in the third, belting a two-run homer in the fifth inning and singling and stealing second in the 9th, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs.

Ortiz Homer Helps Dice-K, Red Sox; Marquis Blanks Pirates, 1-0

Wednesday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League David Ortiz (right) singled twice, doubled, crunched his 9th home run of the season and drove in 3 runs to support starter Daisuke Matsuzaka en route to his 4th win and a 9-3 triumph over slumping Toronto. The Blue Jays have lost 8 straight, while the Red Sox have won 6 of their last 7, providing a 6-game bulge over the now-2nd place NY Yankees (16-16). Ortiz' 3 RBI moved him into a tied for 3rd in the AL with Chicago's Magglio Ordonez with 28. The Angels' Vladimir Guerrero is next with 30. They are all chasing NY's Alex Rodriguez, who leads the majors with 39. Mike Sweeney belted his 4th home run, snapping a 2-2 deadlock in the 8th inning to give the Kansas City Royals a 3-2 win over the visiting Angels. There hasn't been much to cheer about in KC lately. The Royals have won just 5 of their last 16 games and are an AL-worst 11-23, already 10 1/2 games back of AL Central-leading Cleveland. The loss dropped Oakland to 16-16, a game behind LA in the AL West, with Seattle 1/2 back of the Angels. Other AL Scores Baltimore 1 Tampa Bay 0, 10 innings - A. Huff GW HR (4) Seattle 9 Detroit 2 NY Yankees 6 Texas 2 - D. Jeter, 2-3, 3 RBI, SB (3), .362 leads AL LA Angels 3 Cleveland 2 Chicago White Sox 6 Minnesota 3 - T. Hunter, 23-gm. hitting streak National League Jason Marquis (right) twirled a perfect game into the 6th inning and finished with a 3-hit, complete game, 1-0 shutout over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, keeping the Cubs in 2nd place, 6 1/2 behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. Marquis, 5-1, beat the Pirates in his last start (May 2, 7-1) and hasn't allowed a run in 16 consecutive innings. He got just enough offense from Alfonso Soriano, who homered to lead off the game against hard-luck loser Tom Gorzelanny, who lasted 7 innings. Soriano extended his hitting streak to 17 games and teammate Derrek Lee stretched his to 16 straight with a 4th inning single. Right now, there seems to be no stopping the Milwaukee Brewers. On Wednesday, the NL Central upstarts competed a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 3-1 win, their 6th straight. The win was their 9th in 10 games on their just-completed home stand. After a day off Thursday, the Brewers head to New York to face the Mets. Reliever Francisco Cordero picked up a save for the 5th day in a row, giving him a major league best 15. Cordero has been lights out, not allowing an earned run until two nights ago, when the Nationals touched him up for one in the 9th inning of the Brewers' 6-4 win. Regardless, Cordero has allowed only 4 hits over 16 2/3 innings while walking 7 and striking out 16. His key numbers border on the absurd: 0.54 ERA and 0.66 WHIP. The Brewers lead their division by 6 1/2 games. Braves 3 Padres 2: John Smoltz outdueld ex-teammate Greg Maddux to earn his 5th win against one loss and keep the Braves tied with the NY Mets atop the NL East.

Get your game on with free, customizable Fantasy Baseball from FOX Sports.

Smoltz worked 7 innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs. Smoltz, who turns 40 on May 15, did not walk a batter and struck out 7, getting win #198 of his outstanding career, all of it with the Braves. As he approaches his 200th win, it should be remembered that Smoltz missed all of 2000, then spent 2001-2004 as Atlanta's closer, racking up 154 saves. Maybe Ryan Howard needs to come in off the bench. Howard's 7th inning pinch hit grand slam erased a 3-0 Diamondbacks lead and led the Phillies to a 9-3 win at Arizona. The shot was Howard's 6th of the year and his 2nd in the last 3 games. After a painfully slow start, Howard may be getting into a groove of sorts. While he's still batting only .204, he's still be somewhat productive, having driven in 23 runs. Other NL Scores Houston 3 Cincinnati 2 - L. Berkman, HR (5), A Dunn, HR (10) St. Louis 9 Colorado 2 - Cardinals, 4-2 last 6 gms. NY Mets 5 San Francisco 3 LA Dodgers 5 Florida 3 - Dodgers lead NL West by 2 gms.