Jeff Francoeur Leads Amazing Royals to 4th Straight Win; Aaron Hicks, Joe Mauer Power Twins

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 24, 2013

Grapefruit League

Mauer: 6RBI

Minnesota pummeled the Blue Jays, 14-5, as Joe Mauer socked a first-inning, three-run homer and Aaron Hicks went 4-for-4 and scored three runs, raising his batting average to .350.

Hicks: 4-4, 3R

Mauer, who won the AL batting tittle in 2006, 2008 and 2009, is certain to be the Twins' starting catcher once again, while Hicks, who spent last season at AA New Britain, appears to be headed to the center field job vacated by departed Ben Revere, who moved over to the Phillies in the NL.

Mauer added a double to finish 2-for-3 with six RBI and is batting an even .400 in eight Spring training games.

Cactus League

Kansas City just keeps rolling along with a .778 winning percentage atop the Cactus League standings.

Jeff Francoeur

The Royals, perennial cellar-dwellers of the AL Central division, have been nothing short of spectacular this Spring, though one can only wonder how long the aura of invincibility will last once the games actually count.

Kansas City dumped the White Sox, 8-2, for their fourth straight win, improving their record to an outstanding 21-6, 3 1/2 games better than their nearest competition, the Seattle Mariners.

Jeff Francoeur delivered a pair of doubles in four at-bats, driving in two runs to spearhead the Royals' attack. A seven-year veteran, Francoeur, who spent five seasons in the National League with Atlanta and the Mets, starts his third season as a Royal. Starter Jeremy Guthrie took the win, throwing six innings, allowing two runs on six hits while fanning eight.

Francoeur Keeps Royals in First Place; Rolling Rockies Rack Up 7th Straight

Players of the Day for Friday, April 15, 2011

American League

Jeff Francoeur

Right now, the AL Central is completely upside down from the way the division finished in 2010. The Minnesota Twins are in last place, five games out, the Tigers 2 1/2 back and the White Sox trail Kansas City and Cleveland by two games.

Kansas City and Cleveland? Yes, that's right. The two teams that finished at the bottom last season are on top this time. The Indians topped the Orioles, 8-2, and Kansas City slipped by Seattle, 6-5, to keep the two teams knotted with identical 9-4 records.

The Royals were led by off-season acquisition Jeff Francoeur, who singled home a run in the first inning, then homered - with Billy Butler aboard - in the 3rd, and later singled and scored another run in the 5th.

It was a very productive night for the transferee, who went from the Mets to Texas in September and wound up on the Royal roster this season. He went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and scored twice. The utility outfielder is batting .327 with 11 RBI.

National League

Jhoulys Chacin

At 11-2, the Colorado Rockies are off o the best start in franchise history and hold a 4-game lead over the rest of the NL West.

On Friday, they won their 7th in a row, getting a six-hit shutout from Jhoulys Chacin, who improved to 3-0 as the Rockies topped the Cubs, 5-0.

For Chacin, who became a starter just last season, posting a 9-11 record, it was his first complete game and initial shutout of his brief career, scattering six hits while fanning seven and walking two.

It was also the first complete game shutout at Coors Field since July of 2008. The Rockies are 4-1 at home and an astounding 7-1 on the road. Chacin has a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings.

Francouer an Able Addition for Rangers; Votto Still in MVP Hunt as Reds, Phillies Clinch Ties

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 26, 2010

American League

Having already clinched the AL West, the Texas Rangers let their subs have a go at it on Sunday, the result being a scary, 22-hit, 4 home run, 16-9 victory over the Oakland A's.

Mitch Moreland hit two homers and drove in five runs; David Murphy socked a homer and drove in four, but the best performance was by recently-acquired Jeff Francouer, who smacked a home run, went 4-for-6 and drove in four runs.

Francouer was a deft pick-up by the Rangers, who may need some extra help in the outfield or as a DH or pinch-hitter in the post-season. Josh Hamilton, the Rangers' regular left/center fielder, has been sidelined since the first week of September with back spasms, but is expected to make his return the last weekend of the regular season.

In the meantime, Francouer has played exceptionally well, batting .385 with two homers and 11 RBI in ten games. The Rangers will finish the season with the third-best record of the three division winners, which means they will likely end up playing the winner of the AL East - either the Yankees or Rays - in the first round of the playoffs.

National League

The Padres are probably pleased to be see Cincinnati move on past San Diego. Even though the Padres took two of three from the likely NL Central champs, the wins were hard-earned, both by 4-3 scores, but Sunday produced a blowout for the Reds in a 12-2 rout.

Joey Votto, still slugging and vying for the NL MVP award, stroked his 37th home run in the first inning and singled home two more runs in the 8th, as the Reds clinched at least a tie with St. Louis in the division while dropping the Padres 1/2 game behind the Giants in the NL West.

Votto is still in the midst of a triple crown chase which nobody will win. He's batting .326 - second to Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez - his 37 homers are tied for second with Adam Dunn, both chasing Albert Pujols, who smacked his 42nd of the season on Sunday. Votto's 111 RBI are third-best in the league, behind Pujols (116) and Gonzalez (114).
Between these three top sluggers, the MVP vote figures to be one of the closest in memory. Even though Votto may not lead te league in any single category, he will have the advantage of playing for a playoff team, which Pujols and Gonzalez are unlikely to attain.

PENNANT NOTES: The Reds and Phillies are each guaranteed at least a tie for their respective divisions. The Phillies, despite losing on Sunday, also are assured a playoff spot. No team can match their record, even if they lose all of their remaining six games. They need one more win or an Atlanta loss to secure the division, same as the Reds, with the Cardinals chasing.

The Rockies are clinging to faint hope now, losing, 4-2, to the Giants and falling 4 1/2 games off the pace. San Diego has a four-game lead over them for the wild card, with Atlanta also seeking it, 1/2 game behind the Padres. The Rockies have seven left to play, but any combination of three losses or three wins by the Padres or Atlanta would eliminate them mathematically.

In the AL East, the Yankees may have ended the nightmare scenario with a 4-3, 10-inning win over the Red Sox Sunday night. The Sox had taken two straight from the Yanks and remained alive for the wild card, but Sunday's win turned those hopes into despair. The best the Red Sox can do now is tie for the wild card, but the Yankees would have to lose all six of their remaining games and the Red Sox would need to win seven straight, including the final three games of the season, against New York at Fenway, a scenario very unlikely to occur.

With the Yankee win and the Rays falling to Seattle, 6-2, Tampa leads by just 1/2 game in the division.

Francoeur Powers Braves with 7 RBI; Ibanez on a Tear for M's

Saturday's Players of the Day, April 12, 2008 American League Seattle's take two straight from the Angels, due in large part to the hitting exploits of Raul Ibanez. The Mariners' rock-solid outfielder tripled and homered in four at-bats, driving in three runs in Seattle's 8-3 win over Los Angeles on Saturday. On Friday, Ibanez smacked two long balls and added a double in 4 at-bats, driving in 3 as the Mariners rolled to an 8-5 win. Some day, Ibanez will hit a single, and maybe then he'll have a shot at the cycle.

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Notes: The amazing Orioles continued to lead the AL East with a 3-2 win at Tampa. Boston topped New York and Toronto beat Texas to keep pace. Over in the Central, the Tigers - whom many picked to win the World Series - have secured the worst record in baseball after two weeks at 2-9. What makes matter worse for the Tigers is that their losses have not even been close, like last night's 7-0 whipping by the White Sox. Detroit could only muster a pair of singles off 3 Chicago pitchers. The Tigers' average loss is a 7-2 score. In their nine losses, they've been outscored 63-21. National League Atlanta took their second straight over the struggling Washington Nationals by a 10-2 score, as Jeff Francoeur drove in seven runs with a pair of homers (2-run and 3-run) and a 2-run single in five at-bats. An iron-man type of player, Francoeur has played in every game this season and all 162 the past two years. He's had 100+ RBI every year since becoming a regular, with 103 in 2006 and 105 in 2007. He should see plenty of good pitches this year, batting regularly behind slugger Mark Teixeira. Notes: The Nationals loss to Atlanta was their 9th in a row. Meanwhile the Arizona Diamondbacks won their 8th straight with a 10-3 romp over Colorado.

A-Rod Blasts 6th Homer; Francoeur, Hudson Pace Braves

Tuesday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League New York Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez (right) walloped his 6th home run of the season - a 2-run shot - in the 1st inning to start the Yankees' 10-1 rout of the Twins at Minnesota. Rodriguez' 6 homers and 13 RBI lead the majors. Starter Andy Pettitte earned his first win of the season, blanking the Twins on 4 hits over six innings. Pettitte struck out 3 and issued just 1 walk. Boston's Jason Varitek rapped a fifth inning double and stroked a pair of singles to drive in 3 runs and score another in the Red Sox' 14-3 pounding of visiting Seattle. The Sox scored in each of the first 5 innings and banged out 14 hits against the Mariners. Nate Robertson improved to 2-0 and the Tigers won their third road game of the season with a 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Robertson worked 7 1/3 innings, allowing just 4 hits, 1 walk and 0 earned runs while striking out 5. Closer Todd Jones pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 4th save. Jones has yet to allow an earned run this season. The Cleveland Indians got their first home win of the season, but they did it in Milwaukee. After having their games snowed out for four straight days, MLB moved the Indians-Angels series to Milwaukee, which the Indians will call home for at least the next two days. Their 7-6 win over the Angels was produced in part by home runs by catcher Kelly Shoppach (a 2-run shot in the 1st) and Casey Blake, who launched a solo homer to left field in the 3rd inning. Gary Sizemore walked three times and stole 3 bases, but failed to figure in the scoring. Center fielder David DeJesus tripled and singled twice in KC's 6-3 win at Toronto. DeJesus drove in 1 run and scored twice in 5 at-bats, boosting his batting average to .375. The Rangers and Devil Rays each banged out 12 hits, but Texas scored 12 to Tampa Bay's 9 for the home win. The Rangers' Frank Catalanotto homered, tripled, singled, drove in 4 runs and scored one. National League Atlanta's Jeff Francoeur (right) blasted a 2-run double in the 5th inning and a 3-run homer in the 8th to pace the Braves to an 8-0 whitewash of Washington, the Nationals' 6th home loss in 7 tries. Starter Tim Hudson struck out 7, walked 1 and allowed just 3 hits over 7 innings. Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer in the 7th and a 2-run shot in the ninth, but his efforts fell just short as San Francisco won 6-5 at San Diego. Armando Benitez, who gave up the 2-run shot, worked the whole 9th, got his 2nd save but boosted his ERA to 7.71. Brett Tomko pitched 6 innings of 1-hit ball, striking out 9, but didn't figure in the decision as the Dodgers won 2-1 over Colorado at LA.