Jesse Litsch Clicks for Blue Jays; Chris Heisey Showing Power for Hit-Happy Reds

 Players of the Day for Sunday, March 20, 2011

American League

Jesse Litsch

Jesse Litsch missed most of 2009 and came back in 2010 after having Tommy John surgery, going 1-5 for the Blue Jays. But, judging by his work in Toronto's 3-0 win over the Twins on Sunday, the operation and some additional time off seems to have been a successful remedy.

Litsch earned his second win of the exhibition season with 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out seven Minnesota batsmen.

A starter with the Jays in 2007 and 2008, Litsch went 20-18 over two seasons before the arm problems began. The ext two seasons were a lost cause, but he looks like a solid addition to the Blue Jays rotation, which is already in pretty good shape with Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil and Brandon Morrow.

National League

Chris Heisey

The Reds finished 2010 with one of the best-hitting teams in the majors, and they seem to be on a similar path as they tune up for the 2011 campaign.

Leading the charge to become a regular in a crowded outfield is Chris Heisey, who is batting .325 with 4 homers and 10 RBI this Spring. On Sunday, Heisey went 3-for-6 falling just short of the cycle with a single, triple and home run, 2 RBI and 2 scores as the Red outslugged fellow Central Division foe, Milwaukee, 9-8.

Heisey played in 97 games last season, batting .254 with 8 homers but only 21 RBI. With his power numbers up, he could challenge Drew Stubbs for the starting job in center field or fill in at either of the other two outfield positions.

Litsch Shutout Competes Sweep of Twins; Parr a Braves Star

Players of the Day from Thursday, September 4, 2008 American League The Minnesota Twins will be more than happy not to be seeing the Toronto Blue Jays again this season. On Thursday, Jesse Litsch tossed a 4-hit, complete game shutout, finishing the season sweep (6-0) of the Twins with a 9-0 win. Litsch (10-8) fanned three and walked a pair of batters. He had plenty of support as the Blue Jays banged out 17 hits. Every player with a plate appearance had at least one hit. The loss left the Twins 1 1/2 back of the White Sox in the Central and 5 1/2 behind Boston in the wild card chase. Notes: The Rays avoided being swept at home with a 7-5 win over the Yankees. They lead the Red Sox by 3 1/2. In the West, the Angels beat Detroit, 7-1, dropping their magic number to six. National League A name to watch in 2009 is James Parr, who made his first appearance in his initial start for the Atlanta Braves a winning one, shutting out Washington on two hits over six innings as Atlanta topped the Nationals, 2-0. Parr threw 59 strikes out of his 101 pitches, walking 3 and striking out 3 while earning the win. Notes: In the only NL game involving any of the contenders, San Diego stopped Milwaukee, 5-2, handing the Brewers their 4th straight loss.