Juan Pierre, John Mayberry Help Phils Dominate Reds; Ryan Dempster, Texas Drop Orioles

Players of the Day for Monday, August 20, 2012

American League

Ryan Dempster

Since being acquired by the Rangers in a late July trade with the Chicago Cubs, Ryan Dempster has not always lived up to expectations.

In two key starts - against the Angels and Yankees - Dempster both times allowed nine hits and eight earned runs, evincing considerable consternation among the Texas brass and Ranger fans.

Monday's effort was a bit closer to what was expected: Dempster allowed four hits and only one earned run over eight solid innings, guiding the Rangers to a 5-1 win over the wild card-contending Orioles.

Fanning six while walking two, Dempster picked up his second win as a Texas Ranger, getting the three-game series with the visiting O's off to a strong start.

The win improved the Texas lead in the AL West to six games over Oakland. The A's dropped a 7-2 decision to the Twins.


National League

Sooner or later, somebody was going to cool off the Reds; suitably, the reigning NL East champion Phillies did it with a barrage of 15 hits in a 12-5 stomping to open a four-game series in Philadelphia.

John Mayberry

After Cincinnati opened up a 5-3 lead with three runs in the top of the fifth, the Phillies dashed the hopes of their visitors with four runs in the bottom of the inning and three more in the sixth, putting the game away early.

Juan Pierre

John Mayberry and Juan Pierre were the slugging stars for Philadelphia. Mayberry went 3-for-5 with two singles, and a sixth inning home run, driving in three and touhing the plate three times.

The speedy Pierre was 3-for-4, with a pair of singles and a double, two stolen bases, three runs and an RBI, raising his batting average to .312, though he doesn't have enough at-bats (311) to qualify amongst NL batting leaders.

Despite the loss, the Reds maintained their 6 1/2 game lead over the Pirates in the NL Central as Pittsburgh lost, 3-1, at San Diego.

The Reds, who had won three in a row and eight of their last nine before hitting the road to Philly, will try to get back on track when the series resumes Tuesday night.

Pierre Leads White Sox over Orioles; Pujols Powers Cards Past Brewers with 28th Homer

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 11, 2011

American League

Pierre: Speedy

It was an odd game at Camden Yards, in which all of the runs were scored in the first three innings.

The Chicago White Sox will take it, though, beating the Orioles, 6-3, to remain four back of Detroit in the AL Central, while inching closer to second place, just a game behind the Indians, as Detroit avoided the sweep in Cleveland with a 4-3 win.

Juan Pierre got the White Sox going in the first inning, leading off the game with a scratch single into shallow center, then coming around to score on a home run by Alexei Ramirez. The Sox would add two more in the inning for a quick, 4-0, lead.

After doubling and being stranded in the second, Pierre completed the scoring for the White Sox in the third inning, singling in a pair of runs with his third hit in as many innings. He stole second after that, but was again stranded as Chicago built a 6-0 lead.

The O's countered with three runs off Mark Beuhrle in the bottom of the 3rd, but that was all they'd get. Pierre finished with a 3-for-5 night at the plate, two RBI, a run and his 19th stolen base. He needs 11 more swipes to have 30 or more steals in 11 consecutive seasons. Pierre stole 68 bases last year.

National League

Pujols: 28 HR

Across the country, Arizona scored seven of their eight runs in the 8th, 9th and 10th innings, rallying from a 5-1, 7th-inning deficit to defeat the Houston Astros, 8-5 in 10, hanging onto first place in the NL West and increasing their lead to a full game over the idle Giants, but it was the Albert show in St. Louis that grabbed the headlines.

In danger of being swept by the Brewers and falling six games behind Milwaukee in the Central division, Albert Pujols got his best lick in early of Brewers' starter Yovani Gallardo, socking his 28th home run of the season in the first inning, a solo shot that tied him for the HR lead in the National League with teammate Lance Berkman.

Pujols singled home a run in the 5th and later scored, putting the Cardinals ahead for good in their 5-2 win over the first place Brewers. Going 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, Pujols was all business, helping the Cards cut Milwaukee's lead to four games in the division race.

Chris Carpenter gave up two runs in the 1st, but scattered 10 hits over eight innings to even his record at 8-8.

Sabathia Blanks A's 2-0; Pierre Leads Dodger Comeback

Players of the Day from Wednesday, May 14, 2008 American League Cleveland took back first place in the AL Central on the strength of starter C. C. Sabathia's arm. The burly lefty shut out Oakland on 5 hits, leading Cleveland to a 2-0 win. Sabathia won his second straight (both at home) to improve to 3-5 on the season, fanning 11, which gave him the AL strikeout lead at 57, to more than injured Blue Jay Roy Halladay. It was Sabathia's first shutout and first complete game of 2008. Notes: Rays Remain: The Tampa Bay Rays stayed in first place in the AL East, despite dropping a 2-1, 10 inning decision to the Yankees last night as the Red Sox fell, 6-4, to Baltimore. It was Boston's 4th straight loss. Boston was cruising along with a 3-0 lead in the 6th, but Baltimore scored twice in the bottom of the inning and Jay Payton's grand slam in the 7th put the BoSox away. Payton, who has played for 6 different teams in his 11 years as a pro, totaled 5 RBI on the night. National League The LA Dodgers are just trying to keep pace with the runaway leader in the NL West, Arizona, and every win is important. On Wednesday, Juan Pierre led the way for LA, going 3-for-5, with key hits - an RBI single in the seventh and a two-run double in the ninth, as the Dodgers came back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat Milwaukee, 6-4. In addition to driving in important runs, Pierre also swiped his 14th base of the season and scored the final run of the game. The Dodgers remained 4 1/2 behind Arizona, and increased their lead over the third-place Giants to 4 games. Notes: Berkman first to forty. Houston's Lance Berkman is on pace for a triple crown season. Last night he tied Philly's Chase Utley for the league lead in homers with 14 and drove in 2 runs, making him the first player to reach 40 on the season. Normally, his .388 batting average would lead the league, but Chipper Jones is hitting an astronomical .418. Berkman is second.

A-Rod Blasts a Pair; Pierre Swipes Two

Friday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League It's becoming something of a worn out record, butAlex Rodriguez (right) continues to have a month of April like none ever seen. Last night in Boston, A-Rod homered twice off Red Sox starter Curt Schilling - a solo shot in the 4th and a 3-run blast in the 5th - to pad his major league-leading totals to 12 HR and 30 RBI. Rodriguez' heroics were not enough, however, as the Sox punished relievers Mike Myers, Luis Vizcaino and Mariano Rivera for five runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on to win, 7-6. Rivera was touched up badly, especially on Coco Crisp's two-run triple to tie the game and Alex Cora's single which plated Crisp with the game-winner. It was Rivera's 2nd blown save this week. As for Mr. Rodriguez, he's drawn within 2 home runs and 5 RBI of the all-time marks for April and has 9 games left in the month, 5 of them against Boston. The Red Sox head down to New York for a three-game set next weekend. A-Rod's next home run will tie him with Ken Griffey, Jr. for the most hit in April by an AL player. He needs 2 to tie Albert Pujols 14, set last season, for most in either league. If he stays really hot, A-Rod has a shot at Rudy York's AL record of 18 in any month, set in August 1937 or the major league record of 20 held by Sammy Sosa from June of 1998. The RBI record of 35 in April set by Juan Gonzalez in 1998, seems all but certain, though the record for any single month is probably a bit too much to ask, even of Rodriguez. According to Baseball Almanac, Sam Thompson of Philadelphia (NL) set the all-time mark with 61 ribbies in August, 1894 and the AL record is held by Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, who had 53 in August, 1939. A-Rod is almost certain to add another Yankees' name to some records list... his own. Rookie Travis Buck drove in 5 runs with a bases-loaded double and two-run home run in 3 at-bats to help the Oakland A's wallop Texas, 16-4 in Arlington. Leadoff man Shannon Stewart had 2 hits in 4 at-bats, one a 3-run homer. He tallied 4 RBI and scored twice. The A's have won 4 straight and lead the AL West by 2 games. Sidney Ponson isn't likely to remain in the Twins rotation with many more outings like last night's in Kansas City. The big man lasted only 4 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and 6 earned runs en route to an 11-7 beating by the 5-11 Royals. If Ponson - who's now sporting an ERA of 9.39 - can't get by these guys, what good is he? Other AL Scores Chicago White Sox 5 Detroit 4 - B. Jenks, save (5) Baltimore 5 Toronto 4 - M. Mora, 2-run HR (4) Cleveland 4 Tampa Bay 3 - T. Hafner, GW single 9th. LA Angels 8 Seattle 4 - V. Guerrero, 3-5, HR (4) National League Bradon Looper turned in a solid outing, allowing just one run on 5 hits in a 2-1 win over the Cubs, stopping St. Louis' losing streak at 4. LA center fielder Juan Pierre (right) swiped two more bases, went 3-4 and scored 3 runs in the Dodgers' 10-2 home win over Pittsburgh. Pierre has 7 steals, one behind NL leader Jose Reyes of the Mets. The 12-5 Dodgers lead the NL West by 2 games. The Atlanta Braves took a slim 1/2 game lead in the NL East as Tim Hudson shut out the Mets over 8 innings on 5 hits and 2 walks. The New Yorkers scored 3 in the ninth, but it wasn't close to being enough as the Braves won the first game of the series, 7-3, at Shea. Hudson improved to 3-0 on the season, lowering his ERA to 0.62. San Diego got great starting pitching from Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez drove in 4 runs and scored 2, including his 4th homer, a 3-run shot, as the visiting Padres toppled the Rockies, 11-1. Young (2-1) went 7 innings, allowing just 4 hits and the only run of the game in the 2nd inning, while striking out 7. Other NL Scores Washington 6 Florida 5, 14 innings - Marlins, 6th straight loss Cincinnati 2 Philadelphia 1, 10 innings - K Loshe, 7 IP, 0 ER. San Francisco 4 Arizona 2 Houston 6 Milwaukee 5 - P. Fielder, 3-run walk-off HR (2)