CJ Wilson Blanks Mariners, Angels Clinch AL West; Charlie Blackmon, Justin Morneau Bury Dodgers in 16-2 Rout

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 17, 2014

American League

CJ Wilson

Struggling to keep pace with Oakland and Kansas City - the co-leaders in the wild card race - the Seattle Mariners managed just one hit off Angels' starter, CJ Wilson, and two relievers in a 5-0 Angels win that clinched the AL West division.

Wilson (13-9) worked over the Mariners' lineup for the first seven innings, allowing the one hit - a two-out single in the fifth by Justin Smoak - walking two and fanning seven.

Having thrown 95 pitches, Wilson turned the ball over to reliever Joe Smith for a perfect eighth inning. Huston Street closed out the game by getting the Mariners in order in the ninth, sparking a celebration over the West division title, the team's first since 2009, breaking a string of four years in which the Angels, longtime leaders in the division, did not make it to the post-season.

LA has a three-game edge over Baltimore for the best record in the AL, which, if they maintain it, would give them home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

In the wild card race, Kansas City won, 6-2, over the White Sox, while the Oakland A's fell to Texas, 6-1, creating a tie for the league's two wild card spots. Seattle is two games back and the only team with a realistic chance of catching either of the two current leaders. Cleveland is five games out; the Yankees and Blue jays are six games back. All of the teams still in contention have 11 games remaining on the regular season schedule.

The Royals are just 1/2 game behind the Tigers in the Central, so Detroit and the Royals could swap places any number of times during the rest of the season.

National League

Charlie Blackmon

Justin Morneau

Clinging to a slim lead in the division, the LA Dodgers' road to the NL West title hit something of a speed bump Wednesday in Denver, as the Colorado Rockies banged out 21 hits in a 16-2 win.

Leadoff hitter, Charlie Blackmon, went 5-for-5 (all singles), scored four times and drove in a pair of runs. First baseman, Justin Morneau, was 3-for-4, with a double, home run, single and a sac fly, driving in six runs.

On the season, Blackmon has 18 home runs and 70 RBI. Morneau has 16 dingers and 79 RBI.

The defeat was the second straight for the Dodgers, and cut their lead in the division to just two games over the Giants, who took a 4-2 win at Arizona.

It's too early to start looking at magic numbers for the Dodgers, as they could still be caught by the Giants and pushed into the wild card maze. The same is true for St. Louis, which holds a 2 1/2 game lead over the Pirates in the Central.

San Francisco holds a 2 1/2 game edge on the Pirates for the first wild card. Likewise, Pittsburgh leads Milwaukee by 2 1/2 games for the second, and final, wild card spot.

Morneau Blasts a Pair to Defeat Yankees; Matt Cain Runs Scoreless Streak to 18 Innings, Giants Win in 11

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 18, 2012

American League

Justin Morneau spent most of last season on the DL, playing in just 69 games and hitting only four homers, by far his lowest total since becoming a full-time player in 2004.

Justin Morneau

The time off seems to have been worthwhile, because in Minnesota's 6-5 road win over the Yankees, Morneau delivered two balls into the right field seats, helping build a lead that led to victory.

In the first inning, Morneau capped a four-run inning off starter Hiroki Kuroda with a two-run blast and followed up with a solo shot in the fifth - again off Kuroda - that put the Twins up, 6-4. Derek Jeter's ninth inning solo homer saved the lead, but was not enough, sending the Yanks to their second loss in three games against Minnesota.

Morneau finished 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in three. His pair of homers gives him four on the season, the same number he hit all of last year.

The Twins and Yankees conclude their four game series Thursday night.


National League

Cain: 2 hits over 9
innings, no decision

Cliff Lee and Matt Cain were locked into an outstanding pitching duel, neither hurler allowing a run in the Giants' 1-0, 11-inning win over visiting Philadelphia. Lee went 10 innings, allowing seven hits while striking out seven without a walk, but Cain (1-0) was even better over nine innings, giving up just two hits and a walk, fanning four.

The Giants, without bullpen ace Brian Wilson, who has been lost for the season with ligament damage to his right elbow, used four relievers in the 10th and 11th, Clay Hensley picking up the win with 1/3 of an inning to close out the Phillies in the 11th before Melky Cabrera drove home Brandon Belt with one out in the bottom of the inning.

Cain's mound command could not have been better, even though he received no decision for his work. After the fifth inning, which ended in a double play, Cain did not allow a hit or walk a batter. It was his second straight shutout performance, running his string of scoreless innings to 18. On Friday the 13th, Cain pitched a one-hitter for a 5-0 win over Pittsburgh. Over the past two games, Cain has allowed just three hits and one walk, striking out 15.

The Giants took two of three from the Phillies in the three-game series, improving to 6-6. The Phillies, last year's NL East champs, are 5-7, last in the division, 4 1/2 games behind streaking, 10-3, Washington.

Aroldis Chapman Goes Five Scoreless for Reds; Justin Morneau, Luke Hughes Power Twins in 19-4 Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, March 24, 2012

Grapefruit League

Justin Morneau

Due to a variety of injuries, concussion symptoms and operations, Minnesota's Justin Morneau, the AL MVP in 2006, played in just 81 games in 2010 and 69 in 2011. In Saturday's 19-4 wipeout of Tampa Bay, Morneau had his all-star swing working as he belted a two-run and a three-run homer in his two at-bats, his first two wall-clearing shots of the spring.

Luke Hughes

Morneau, who normally hasn't produced much in terms of hitting or positive outlook in his previous spring seasons, is still batting just .154, but the power stroke seems to be coming back.

Luke Hughes, a utility infielder who played sparingly for the Twins in 2011, is looking more like a keeper for the major league club after going 5-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI.

Primarily a second baseman, Hughes played both second and short in Saturday's breezy win.

Minnesota banged out 18 hits - 10 for extra bases - against the Rays, pounding starter Jeremy Hellickson for 11 hits and 10 earned runs in three innings.

Cactus League

Aroldis Chapman

Cincinnati is hoping to fit flame-throwing Aroldis Chapman into their starting 2012 rotation and after Saturday's 6-0 whitewash of the Padres, that plan appears to be on track.

Chapman started and pitched five innings of shutout ball, allowing four hits while fanning five with a walk. His pitches were clocked in the mid-to-upper 90s, offering San Diego hitters little chance at the plate.

In 54 appearances last season with the Reds, Chapman went 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 71 strikeouts. Control has been a concern for the hard-throwing lefty, whose pitches have been occasionally clocked at over 100 MPH since he exploded onto the scene with the Reds in 2010. Last year he issued 41 walks in 50 innings, but through four appearances this spring, he's issued only two free passes in 12 innings.

Jason Giambi Homers Three Times; Justin Morneau Leads Twins to Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 19, 2011

American League

Justin Morneau

Things have not exactly gone the way the Twins would have liked in 2011, but they managed to take two games at Oakland, beating the A's 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday, then winning, 12-1, for the two-game series sweep on Thursday.

With Joe Mauer on the disabled list for an extended period, production has been well off the usual pace for the regulars, but the Twins unloaded 16 hits on a quintet of A's pitchers, with Justin Morneau leading the way.

Struggling with a .245 batting average, Morneau socked just his second home run - a two-run shot - of the season in the third inning, and also singled, doubled and scored twice in the rout.

At 15-27, the Twins still have the worst record in the AL, and remain 11 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the Central division.

National League

Jason Giambi

At the age of 41, Jason Giambi doesn't get much playing time, but he appears to be gearing up for an extended trip as the DH once interleague play gets underway, beginning - on a limited basis - on Friday.

Giambi belted three home runs and drove in all of the Rockies' run in a 7-1 victory at Philadelphia.

A three-run shot in the first was followed by two-run homers in the 3rd and 5th innings, as the Rockies earned a split in their brief, two-game series with the front-running Phillies.

Colorado continues to dog the Giants in the NL West, who remain 1/2 game in front of the Rockies after defeating the Dodgers, 3-1.

Morneau a Quiet Superstar; Harden Hurls Cubs Into First

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 26, 2009 American League Some players make a lot of noise and others, like Minnesota's Justin Morneau, just quietly do their job, racking up huge stats. On Sunday, Morneau was at his best again, smacking a pair of home runs to lead the Twins to a 10-1 win over the Angels, avoiding being swept and halting a four-game skid. Morneau launched a two-run shot in the 1st inning and added a solo blast in the 7th, retaking the AL lead from Tampa's Carlos Pena, with his 25th and 26th. Now in his 7th season in the majors - all with Minnesota - Morneau is on track to have his best season yet. Having already won the MVP award in 2006 with a .321 batting average, 34 homers and 134 RBI, Morneau numbers after 98 games - .315, 26, 82 - stack up very favorably. With the win, Minnesota moved to within 4 games of the Tigers in the AL Central as the White Sox won, 5-1, at Detroit. The Sox avoided a four-game sweep and clawed to within 2 games of Detroit. LA leads Texas by 3 1/2 in the West. National League While St. Louis was dropping a 9-2 decision to the Phillies, Rich Harden was pitching the Cubs into first place in the NL Central. Harden allowed a two-out solo homer to Joey Votto in the first inning and then proceeded to set down the next 16 batters he faced before leaving after six innings. The Cubs managed a 5-2 win over the Reds for their 4th straight victory and a 1/2 game lead in the division. Harden fanned 8 and didn't walk a batter, improving to 7-6 on the year, throwing 61 of 90 pitches for strikes. NOTES: Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, Sunday; Henderson on his first ballot and Rice on his 15th and final chance. Henderson is baseball's all-time theft leader, with 1406, and also the all-time runs leader, with 2295. Rice, who played his entire career in a Red Sox uniform, is the only player in MLB history with at least 35 homers and 200 hits in three consecutive seasons, accomplishing the feat from 1977 to 1979. Rice batted .298 with 382 homers and 1451 RBI over a 16-year career.

Rodriguez Breaks Saves Mark; Morneau Ties Hamilton; Lincecum a Cy Young Candidate

Players of the Day from Saturday, September 13, 2008 American League Justin Morneau has been on an RBI tear. On Saturday, he ran down Texas slugger Josh Hamilton to tie for the AL RBI lead with a pair of RBI in each of the Twins' wins over Baltimore, topping the Orioles 12-2 in the opener and 12-6 in the nightcap. Morneau has driven in 15 runs in his last 8 games, He and Hamilton have 124 each. Hamilton has no RBI over his last six games. The twin killing of the O's put Minnesota into a tie with the White Sox, who have been rained out for two straight days. They will play a double-dip with the Tigers on Sunday. In the East, the Rays split two with the Yankees, as did Boston with Toronto. The Red Sox trail the Rays by 2 games in the division, but have a 5-game bulge over both Chicago and Minnesota in the wild card. Notes: Of course, out West, the Angels have already sewn up the division, but some unfinished mound work was taken care of as the Angels beat Seattle, 5-2, with Francisco Rodriguez earning his record-breaking 58th save, topping the major league mark of 57, set by Bobby Thigpen of the White Sox in 1990. Rodriguez' appearance wasn't his prettiest. Despite allowing a walk and a hit, K-Rod kept the Mariners off the board, getting two of the three outs in the ninth via strikeouts. National League Tim Lincecum isn't about to concede anything, especially not the Cy Young award. The NL competition is pretty much down to just him and Arizona's Brandon Webb, but Lincecum (17-3) boosted his stock considerably with a 4-hit, 12 strikeout, complete game shutout over the Padres on Saturday, as the Giants won, 7-0, at San Diego. Considering that Lincecum has accounted for 1 of every 5 Giants wins this season and also leads the NL in strikeouts (237) and ERA (2.43), he's going to be considered right up there with Webb, the NL's only 20-game winner. As for the NL West pennant race, the Dodgers continued to separate themselves from the competition, winning their 4th straight and 13th of their last 14 with a 5-1 triumph at Colorado. The Diamondbacks lost to the Reds, 3-2, and now trail by 4 games. The Dodgers' magic number is 11. Notes: In the Central, the Cubs and Astros were shut down again due to Hurricane Ike. At least two of their 3-game series is now scheduled for Sunday and Monday in Milwaukee. The 3rd game will be played at the conclusion of the regular season, if necessary. That game may not be needed, as the Brewers dropped their second straight to the Phillies, 7-2. The Brewers are now 6 games behind the Cubs. In the East, the Mets split with Atlanta, so the Phillies gained to within 2 1/2 games of the lead, but the Phillies are also just 2 games behind Milwaukee in the wild card race. The Phillies and Brewers play a double-header today in Philadelphia.

Loney Leads LA to 8th Straight; 4 More for Morneau

Players of the Day from Sunday, September 7, 2008 American League Justin Morneau drove in 4 runs with a triple and a pair of sac flies, but it wasn't enough to keep the Twins from losing to Detroit, 7-5. Morneau has driven in 4 runs in 3 of his last seven games, giving him 117, just 7 behind league leader Josh Hamilton of Texas. The loss was made more palatable by Chicago losing to the Angels, 3-2, which kept the Twins 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox in the Central. Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 55th save in that game. He is now just 2 shy of the all time single-season saves record. LA's magic number for clinching the West is now 3. Notes: Boston beat Texas, 7-2, and the Rays lost 1-0 at Toronto, shaving Tampa's lead to a mere 1 1/2 games. The Blue Jays passed the Yankees in the standings and are now 9 1/2 back as they won their 8th straight. They are having a major impact on the AL races, and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season. After taking the final two games of their series at New York, the Jays went home and swept the Twins and Jays. This week includes four games at Chicago and four more at Boston. Their season extends with 3 games at home vs. Baltimore, then Boston and NY. The close out with 3 in Baltimore. National League A two-run single in the 1st and a sac fly in the 6th inning were all James Loney needed to match Arizona's output as the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks, 5-3, completing a 3-game sweep, winning their 8th in a row and extending their lead in the NL West to 1 1/2 games. While the Dodgers have been on fire, the D-Backs have been languishing in a 2-6 slump, watching their 4 1/2 game lead vanish in just over a week. Notes: The Phillies and Mets split their day-night double header, so the Mets remain two games in front in the East. In the Central, both the Cubs and Brewers were beaten on Sunday, keeping the Cubs 4 games to the good with the Cubs still staring down a season-ending stretch of 4 games at NY, followed by 3 at Milwaukee.

Ethier High Fives LA Past D-Backs; Morneau Slam Boosts Twins

Players of the Day from Friday, September 5, 2008 American League Marcus Thames hit the first of his two solo homers in the top of the fifth inning, making the score Minnesota 2, Detroit 1, but Justin Morneau changed everything in the bottom half of the frame with his 22nd home run - a grand slam that propelled the Twins to a 10-2 romp over the Tigers. Morneau's 4 RBI moved him into second place in the AL RBI race, behing Texas' Josh Hamilton, who has 121, but whose pace has slowed significantly in recent games. Hamilton has driven in just 10 runs in his last 21 games. The White Sox beat the Angels by an identical 10-2 score, keeping Chicago 1 1/2 games ahead of the Twins. The Angels' magic number was reduced to 5, however, as the 2nd place Rangers lost to Boston, 8-1. Notes: The Red Sox moved to within 2 1/2 games of the Rays, who were losing to the red-hot Blue Jays, 6-4. Toronto has won six straight. National League Andre Ethier was perfect at the plate, with two singles, two doubles and a home run in 5 at-bats, as the Dodgers took the first game of their critical series with Arizona, 7-0. Ethier drove in five of LA's 7 runs while Derek Lowe was blanking the Diamondbacks over 8 innings on 2 hits. Chan Ho Park finished the job with a perfect night inning from the mound. The win tightened the NL West race to just 1/2 game as LA has won six stright to close the gap on Arizona. Colorado still lurks, just 5 back. The Dodgers and D-Backs play two more in LA, Saturday and Sunday. Notes: The Cubs lost their sixth straight, extending their longest losing streak of the season. The dropped a 10-2 decision at Cincinnati while the Brewers were beating San Diego, 3-2, in 11 innings to close the gap to just 4 games. In the East, the Phillies took down the Mets, 3-0, closing to within 2 games of the division leaders. Brett Myers hurled 8 innings of shutout ball and Brad Lidge came on in the 9th for his 34th save.

Sabathia's 1-Hitter a No Hitter?; Morneau Keeps Twins Ticking

Players of the Day from Sunday, August 31, 2008 American League Justin Morneau Is the big bat in the Minnesota's lineup, and he proved his value with his 21st home run and 4 RBI as the Twins thumped the A's, 12-4. The win kept the Twins 1/2 game back of the white Sox, who finally beat the Red Sox taking the third game of their series with Boston, 4-2, to avoid the sweep. That game also upped the Rays' lead over Boston in the East to 5 1/2 games. Boston's lead in the wild card is down to 2 1/2 over Minnesota. Notes: It's almost officially over for the Yankees. After Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays beat them 6-2 on Sunday, New York is 6 1/2 behind Boston and running out of time with just 25 games left on the schedule. National League C. C. Sabathia has been sensational pitching for the Brewers since July, but on Sunday, he was incredible, but, in the end, a little angry. The only hit (if you can call a 52-foot dribbler to the right of the mound a hit) against him was a ball Sabathia flubbed, never even getting off a throw. The Brewers beat Pittsburgh, 7-0, but have issued an official protest, saying the scorer should have called Andy LaRouche 5th inning hit an error. Whatever the outcome, Sabathia improved to 9-0 with the Brewers, striking out 11 and walking 3 batters. The Brewers closed to within 5 games of the Cubs, who were losing to the Phillies, 5-3, while the Mets were beating Florida, 6-2. The Mets remained a game ahead of Philly. Notes: The Dodgers closed to 2 games behind the Diamondbacks with an 8-1 win over Arizona, roughing up Brandon Webb, who was in search of his 20th win.

Pujols Powers Cardinals, Morneau's 5 RBI Crushes Rangers

Players of the Day from Saturday, July 19 2008 American League Justin Morneau hit a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning, driving in three runs, then blasted a two-run homer (15) in the 6th to lead the Twins to a 14-2 rout of the Texas Rangers. Morneau is second in the AL in both batting and RBI, at .325, with 73 driven in. With the White Sox being belted, 9-1, by Kansas City, the Twins closed the gap to 1/2 game in the Central division race. The Tigers continue to taunt their fans, losing an 11-10, 10-inning game to the Orioles - their second straight loss to the O's - to drop 7 1/2 off the pace. Notes: The Angels knocked off Boston for the second straight day, handing Josh Beckett his 6th loss against 9 wins. The key blow was pinch-hitter Erick Aybar's bases-loaded triple in the 7th inning that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead, which is how the game ended. Beckett, who had been cruising, was stung for all four runs in the 7th. Vladimir Guerrero led off the inning with his 16th homer before the Angels loaded them up for Aybar's heroics. Both the Rays and Yankees won, so Tampa Bay now has a 1 1/2 game lead on Boston, with the Yankees 5 1/2 back. New York's 4-3, 12-inning win over the A's was a small favor to the Angels, improving their AL West lead to 8 games. If the Angels can bring in guys off the bench who hit 3-run triples off one of the game's best pitchers, just how good are these guys? National League St. Louis crept to within 2 games of Central division-leading Chicago with a come-from-behind 6-5 win over San Diego. Cardinals' starter Todd Wellemeyer allowed five runs over the first three innings, but gave the Padres no more, as he and four relievers blanked San Diego's hitters on five hits the rest of the way. In the fifth inning, Albert Pujols smacked a bases-loaded double to get the Cards back to within 5-3 and then scored on Rick Ankiel's single. An inning later, Pujols knocked in what would prove to be the game winner with a single that plated Brendan Ryan.

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Continuing to close in on league-leader Chipper Jones (.374), Pujols went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, upping his batting average to .359. Houston's Lance Berkman is third at .343. Notes: With the Cubs losing their third straight, 4-1, at Houston, and Milwaukee winning their fourth straight, 8-5, at San Francisco, the Brewers are also closing in, now just 3 games back.

Morneau's 5th Hit Tames Tigers; Howard Decks Cards with a Pair

Players of the Day from Thursday, July 10, 2008 American League Justin Morneau went 5-for-5 on Thursday, and though his big night at the plate didn't add up to much in the boxscore, his last hit, a solo homer in the 11th inning, provided the winning margin as the Twins topped the Tigers, 7-6. Morneau had three singles, a double and the game-winning homer, but only drove in one run and scored twice as the Twins nearly squandered a 15-hit attack. The win was huge for Minnesota, as the White Sox were losing, 4-1, at Kansas City. Those results left the Sox with a 2 1/2 game lead over the Twins and 7 over the Tigers in the Central. Notes: The Cleveland Indians ended their 10-game losing streak with a 13-2 breakout against the suddenly struggling Rays, losers of 4 straight. While the Indians are out of the AL Central race, Tampa Bay's lead over Boston has shrunk to 1 1/2 games, with the Yankees lurking, 6 1/2 back. National League Ryan Howard took over the NL home run lead with a couple of bombs (#s 26 and 27) in Philly's 4-1 win over St. Louis. Howard also increased his lead in the RBI column, driving in 3, to give him 83. Houston's Carlos Lee is second with 72.

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The Phillies haven't exactly been a model of consistency lately, going 9-15 since June 14, and with the Mets and Florida both winners on Thursday, their lead remains at a slim 1 1/2 games over both. Notes: With the Cardinals losing, Milwaukee took over second place in the Central with an 11-1 win over Colorado. The Brewers are 4 games behind the Cubs, with the Cardinals 4 1/2 back. In the West, Arizona got to .500 (46-46) with an 11-inning, 7-5 win over Washington and established a 1-game lead over LA as the Dodgers dropped an 11-inning, 5-4 decision to the Marlins.

Lester Beats Cancer, Indians; Rockies Rally Past Padres

American League Boston 6 Cleveland 2 - Jon Lester (right) returned to the mound for the first time in nearly a year, picking up where he left off after being diagnosed and beating lymphoma - with a win. Lester's rookie season was cut short by the disease last season, but last night he returned triumphant in life and in the game he loves. Lester was solid, allowing just 5 hits and 2 earned runs over 6 innings - both of the runs coming via Grady Sizemore's 3rd inning home run. His teammates stake him to a 5 run lead with 4 in the 1st and another run in the 2nd. Lester walked 3 and struck out 6, a performance that will surely keep him in the Boston rotation. NY Yankees 9 Kansas City 2 - While the Sox were celebrating Lester's return, the Yankees were busy winning for the 9th time in 11 games since the All-Star break. Every hitter in the lineup had at least one hit, and Alex Rodriguez reached 100 RBI with a run-scoring single in the 9th inning. And it's only July. Roger Clemens earned career win #351, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits over 7 innings of work. The Yankees remain 7 1/2 behind the first-place Red Sox. Detroit 9 Chi White Sox 6 - Four different Tigers - Curtis Granderson, Ivan Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez and Placido Polanco - each had 3 hits, but Granderson drove in four runs and scored twice with a single, double, and his 17th home run of the season - a solo shot which led off the game. The Tigers increased their AL Central lead over Cleveland to 2 games. Minnesota 4 Toronto 6 - All of the runs in this contest came via the long ball. Frank Thomas hit a pair of 2-run jobs off starter Johan Santana and Justin Morneau drove in three with his 27th and 28th. Reed Johnson and Alex Rios knocked solo shots for the Blue Jays while Torii Hunter added his 21st - another solo job - in the 9th inning. Other AL Scores Seattle 7 Texas 8 - S. Sosa, 2-4, HR (15), 5 RBI (69) Oakland 12 LA Angels 6 - M. Ellis, 3-5, 2 HR (11), 3 RBI (45) National League San Diego 5 Colorado 7 - Colorado scored five times in the 8th inning to overtake the Padres and remain 5 1/2 behind Los Angeles in the NL West. Matt Holliday (right) stroked a 3-run homer - his 17th - to tie the game, followed by Brad Hawpe delivering a two-run blow for the winning margin. LA Dodgers 10 Houston 2 - Jeff Kent went 4-4 with a pair of doubles, drove in 2 runs and scored another as the Dodgers pulled 2 games clear of the Padres. The Dodgers have the best road record in the National League, at 27-20, and have owned Central division foes, compiling a 16-7 record against them. Milwaukee 1 Cincinnati 2, 12 innings - To the delight of Cubs' fans everywhere, Javier Valentin stroked a pinch-hit run-scoring single in the bottom of the 12th, giving the Reds the win over first-place Milwaukee. The main beneficiary of the Reds' success, however, was the second place Cubs, which picked up 1/2 game on the Brewers and are now just 3 games back and only 2 behind in the loss column. Chicago begins a 3-game set at St. Louis Tuesday night. Other NL Scores Florida 3 Arizona 4 Atlanta 4 San Francisco 2

Bye-Bye Yankees; Cubs Keep Closing on Brewers

American League Tampa Bay 14 NY Yankees 4 | Chi White Sox 3 Boston 10 Sometimes, there's just such peculiar symmetry to this game that one marvels at it's serendipity. It was just at the stroke of 9 pm on the East coast, when, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Coco Crisp rapped a 3-run triple, turning what was a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead for the Red Sox. At nearly the same moment, Dioner Navarro launched a grand slam into Yankee Stadium's right field stands, giving the Devil Rays a 9-0 lead. The season for the Yankees was thus officially ended. Boston won, the Yankees lost, and the Al East was - for all intents and purposes - decided, in just a few minutes of play, more than two full months before the season is officially set to end. Julio Lugo added a grand slam for the Red Sox in the 8th to seal the deal. Let's face it. The Yankees just don't have the pitching to remain competitive with Boston. If the Sox play just .500 ball the rest of the way, they'll finish at 90-72, meaning the Yankees would have to finish up 42-26 (.620). It could happen, but it's not likely. The Yanks are also in grave danger of missing the post-season altogether. New York is six games behind Seattle, and the Mariners are 1 1/2 back of Cleveland in the wild card race. The Yankees could pass one of them by, but getting past both is unrealistic. It's over Yankees fans. Better luck next year (if you can resign A-Rod, that is). Kansas City 10 Detroit 2 - Rookie Billy Butler went 4-5 and drove in 4 runs as the Royals won their 3rd straight. Cleveland 3 Texas 2 - Rookie starter Fausto Carmona (12-4) threw 8 innings of shutout ball, allowing just 3 hits while fanning 7 as the Indians closed the gap between them and 1st place Detroit to one game in the AL Central. Closer Joe Borowski made it interesting, allowing a run on two hits, a walk and two errors in the ninth, finally getting the last out with the bases full of Rangers. LA Angels 5 Minnesota 7 - Justin Morneau (right) singled and drove in three runs with his 26th home run as the Twins ended their 3-game losing skein. The loss by the Angels allowed the Mariners to close to within 1 game of first place in the AL West. Seattle 4 Toronto 2 - Adrian Beltre socked a 2-run homer to lift the Mariners over Toronto and get to within one game of AL West leader Los Angeles. Beltre has 5 homers and 13 RBI in his last 11 games. J.J. Putz picked up his 29th save, tops in the AL. Other AL Scores Baltimore at Oakland - E. Bedard, W (9-4), 11 K National League Arizona 2 Chi Cubs 6 - Aramis Ramirez (right) stroked a 3-run homer and singled in another run to lead the Cubs over stumbling Arizona. The Cubs have won 12 of 16 in July and continue to gain on Milwaukee. The D-Backs are going completely in the other direction, having lost 12 of 16 in July. San Francisco 8 Milwaukee 4 - Later in the night, Milwaukee lost for the 9th time in 16 tries in July. Their loss, coupled with the Cubs' win, trimmed the Brewers' lead to a mere 2 1/2 games. Colorado 3, Washington 1 - Aaron Cook hurled 7 innings of shutout ball on 4 hits and the Rockies hung tough in the NL West race, tying Arizona for 3rd place, 4 1/2 behind LA and San Diego. Other NL Scores Cincinnati 2 Florida 10 - M. Cabrera, 2-4, HR (23), 3 RBI (69) Houston 2 Pittsburgh 1 - R. Oswalt (W, 9-6) 6 IP, 7 H, 1ER St. Louis 4 Atlanta 2 NY Mets 4 LA Dodgers 1 - O. Perez, W (9-6) 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 8 K Philadelphia 7 San Diego 4 - C. Utley, HR (17), 2 RBI (81) leads NL

Windy City Massacre; Griffey ties Robinson with #586

American League Minnesota 20 Chi White Sox 14 - You're supposed to win games in which you score 14 runs, but, for the White Sox, this is the kind of season it's been. The Twins and Sox combined for 39 hits and Chicago committed 5 errors in this season's highest scoring game. How about some highlights. Torii Hunter would normally be getting high fives for his 2 doubles and 18th home run in 4 at-bats, but he only drove in 3 and scored the same number. Joe Mauer went 4-6 (all singles), but crossed the plate 4 times and drove in 5. The hitting star for the Twins was Jason Kubel, who knocked a grand slam, hoisted 2 sac flies and singled to drive in 7 runs, going 2-3. The Sox' #8 hitter, Alex Cintron, did some damage, going 3-4 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored, but it was not nearly enough. Jon Garland (6-6) took the loss, allowing 11 hits and 3 walks for 12 runs in just 3 1/3 innings, though winning pitcher Scott Baker didn't fare much better, giving up 9 hits and 7 earned over 5 innings. Between the two teams, there was scoring in every inning. Minnesota scored in all but the 6th and 9th, while the White Sox put numbers on the board in every inning except the 1st and 4th. As if that wasn't enough, the game was only the first half of a double header. Minnesota 12, Chi White Sox 0 - Justin Morneau slammed three home runs - giving him 23 for the year - and drove in 6 as the Twins completed the sweep of the double bill at Chicago. Morneau's big night at the plate overshadowed a fine pitching performance by Matt Garza, who hurled 6 innings of shutout ball on five hits. Adding his two game totals together, Morneau was 6-10, scored 6 runs and drove in 9, numbers that normally would be a great week. LA Angels 9 NY Yankees 14 - It seems like Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez is just fine. To the dismay of pitchers around the AL, Rodriguez came back after missing a game to bop his 29th home run of the season, score three times and drive in a pair of runs as the Yankees outslugged the Angels. A-Rod was injured in a collision with Justin Morneau in a Monday game and had to leave that contest early.

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On Tuesday and Wednesday, he matched up a pair of 0-4 efforts, before taking Thursday off. Seems like the rest helped. Boston 2 Detroit 9 - In a potential playoff matchup, the Tigers banged out 15 hits against Boston starter Julian Tavarez and three other pitchers to take the first game of the series handily. Marcus Thames drove in five runs with a grand slam and sac fly. The Tigers took over first place in the AL Central by .002 over the Cleveland Indians, losers at Toronto. Seattle 7 Oakland 1 - Adrian Beltre went 5-5, with 2 doubles and 2 homers, driving in 3 runs and scoring twice as the Mariners continued to dog the Angels in the AL West. Seattle closed to within 3 1/2 games of first place. Other AL Scores Cleveland 6 Toronto 8 - V. Wells, 2-4, HR (13), 3 RBI Tampa Bay 6 Kansas City 5 Baltimore 3 Texas 4, 10 innings National League NY Mets 0 Houston 4 - Wandy Rodriguez (6-7), pitched his best game of the season, blanking the Mets on 4 hits in a complete game victory. Rodriguez struck out 8 and issued only 1 walk. Rookie Hunter Pence continued his hot hitting, going 2-4 to get to .347, right behind league leader Matt Holliday at .349. Arizona 1 Cincinnati 8 - Ken Griffey Jr. (right) smacked a 2-run homer in the 5th inning, giving him 23 on the year and 586 for his career, tying him with Frank Robinson for 6th place on the all-time homers list. Milwaukee 6 Washington 2 - Ryan Braun hit a pair of solo homers and Milwaukee increased its lead over the Cubs to 5 1/2 games in the NL Central. Philadelphia 6 Colorado 7, 11 innings - Yorvit Torrealba singled home Garrett Aktins with the winning run as the Rockies got back to .500 at 43-43 and closed to within 5 1/2 of the NL West lead as the Padres, Dodgers and Diamondbacks all lost. The Rockies battled back from a 6-1 deficit in the fifth inning scoring 2 in the 6th and one in each of the 7th, 8th and 9th. Other NL Scores San Francisco 4 St. Louis 3 Chi Cubs 4 Pittsburgh 8 - Pirates, 4 straight wins Atlanta 7 San Diego 4 - Braves, 3 straight wins Florida 6 LA Dodgers 5, 10 innings

Morneau Walks Off Milwaukee; Gonzalez Paces Padres

American League Cleveland 5 Atlanta 2 - With a win on Sunday, the Atlanta Braves could have drawn to within 1/2-game of the Mets, but Fausto Carmona and the Cleveland Indians had other ideas. Carmona blanked the Braves until the top of the 8th, when they touched him for a couple of runs, but by then it was too late. Cleveland had already scored all of their runs in the 5th and 6th innings. Carmona improved to 8-2, and Joe Borowski picked up his 20th save in the 9th. Cleveland remained a game ahead of Detroit in the AL Central as the Tigers were winners on Sunday as well. Minnesota 10 Milwaukee 9 - Justin Morneau (right) homered with no outs in the bottom of the 9th to seal a key win for the Twins, keeping them within striking distance of the Tigers and Indians, 5 1/2 off Cleveland's pace. Morneau doubled earlier, scored 3 times and drove in 3 in 3 at-bats. Lou Ford singled and doubled, driving in 4 runs to lead the attack. The home run by Morneau was his 20th of the season. Arizona 6 Baltimore 4 - Arizona completed the 3-game sweep at Baltimore and moved past the Dodgers into 2nd place in the NL West, a game back of San Diego. Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder hit solo home runs for the Diamondbacks, and starter Brandon Webb picked up his 7th win against 3 losses. With interleague play continuing this week, the Diamondbacks return home for a lengthy home stand, hosting Tampa Bay and Baltimore before 4 games with the Dodgers next week. Boston 9 San Francisco 5 - The Red Sox completed the sweep of the Giants at Fenway Park and remain 8 1/2 better than the Yankees in the AL East. Barry Bonds hit home run 748 to move within 7 of tying Hank Aaron's career mark. NY Yankees 8 NY Mets 2 - Alex Rodriguez socked his MLB-best 27th home run and added 3 RBI to give him 73, as the Yankees took 2 of 3 from the visiting Mets and won for the 11th time in their last 12 days. Rodriguez is on a breathtaking pace that would give him 63 homers and 174 RBI, that would rank as one of the greatest single seasons ever. St. Louis 10 Oakland 6 - Ryan Ludwick hit a go-ahead 3-run homer in the 7th, added a 2-run single in the 8th, scored 3 times and drove in 5 as the Cardinals scored in double-digits for the second straight game. The Cards hammered Oakland 15-6 on Saturday and took 2 of 3 with Sunday's win. Once again, St. Louis is tied for 2nd in the NL Central with the Cubs. Both teams trail Milwaukee by 6 1/2 games. The A's fell further behind the Angles in the AL West. They are now 6 games back. Other AL Scores Washington 4 Toronto 2 Kansas City 5 Florida 4 National League San Diego 11 Chi Cubs 3 - Adrian Gonzalez (right) doubled 3 times and hit a solo home run in 5 at-bats, scoring 4 runs and driving in 3, Mike Cameron blasted a pair of homers, scored 3 times and drove in 3, and Khalil Greene knocked a 3-run home and drove in another run with a single as the middle of the Padres' lineup accounted for 10 of San Diego's runs. Greg Maddux improved to 6-3 with 6 innings of work and the Padres remained a game better than Arizona and 1 1/2 to the good on the Dodgers in the NL West Detroit 7 Philadelphia 4 - Magglio Ordonez went 2-3 and drove in 3 runs and Justin Verlander improved to 8-2 as the Tigers kept pace, 1 game behind Cleveland, in the AL Central. Ordonez is batting .371, tops in the majors, with 64 RBI, 2nd behind the Yankees Alex Rodriguez. Houston 10 Seattle 3 - Mike Lamb smacked a 1st inning grand slam and doubled in another run in the 3rd inning to lead the Astros to a sweep of the visiting Mariners, who dropped to 7 games behind the LA Angels in the AL West. The Astros are 8 back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 8 Chi White Sox 7 Tampa Bay 7 Colorado 4 Texas 11 Cincinnati 4 - A. Dunn, 3-4, 2 HR (19), 3 RBI (46) LA Angels 10 LA Dodgers 4 - Angels take 2 of 3, lead AL West by 6 games Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. Interleague Scoreboard: Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6 Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4 Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5 Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2 Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6 Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8 Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5 Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8 Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9 Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5

Morneau Out of Park Twice; Lopez is Grand for Nats

Tuesday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Justin Morneau (right) blasted a 2-run homer in the 4th inning and a 3-run shot in the 5th to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 7-1 win at Texas. Morneau, last season's AL MVP, also singled to go 3-4. Torii Hunter also added his 11th home run of the season, a 2-run job in the 8th in support of starter Johan Santana. The Minnesota ace worked 7 innings, allowing one earned run on Sammy Sosa's 10th homer. Santana gave up just 4 hits, walking 2 while striking out 13. Jim Thome went 3-3 with a single, a 2-run double in the 2nd and a 3-run home run (7) in the 4th inning to lead the White Sox to a 10-4 win over visiting Oakland. The win was the 2nd straight for the Sox over the A's, who will complete their 3-game set on Wednesday. Thome, who spent most of May on the DL, has started the last 2 games at DH. The Sox have won 3 straight overall and trail Cleveland by 3 1/2 games in the hotly-contested AL Central. Other AL Scores

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LA Angels 6 Detroit 3 - J. Lackey (W, 7-3), Angels up 5 1/2 in AL West Boston 7 NY Yankees 3 - M. Ramirez, 3-run HR (7) Toronto 6 Baltimore 4 - Blue Jays tied for 2nd in AL East with NY Seattle 5 Tampa Bay 2 Kansas City 4 Cleveland 3 - Royals 7-3 last 10 National League Ken Griffey Jr. hit career home run #573 - tying him with Harmon Killebrew for #8 all-time - but Washington's light-hitting 2nd baseman, Felipe Lopez (right) had a bigger blast with his 3rd home run of the season (and 59th of his career) in the Nationals' 8-4 win at Cincinnati. Lopez snapped a 4-4 tie with a grand slam in the 8th inning after driving in a run with a double in the 3rd and another on a ground out in the 5th, for a 3-6, 5 RBI night with 2 runs scored. The win was Washington's 6th on the road this season, against 16 losses, still the worst road record in the majors. The Reds dropped into last place in the NL Central, 10 games back of Milwaukee. Other NL Scores Florida 5 Philadelphia 3 Atlanta 8 NY Mets 1 - Braves trail NY by 1 1/2 in NL East St. Louis 9 Pittsburgh 4 San Francisco 4 Houston 2 - B. Bonds, 0-2, no HRs in last 12 games San Diego 5 Chicago Cubs 1 - J. Peavy (W, 6-1) 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Colorado 3 Arizona 1 LA Dodgers 3 Milwaukee 2 - R. Wolf (W, 6-3), LA maintains 1/2-gm. lead over Padres in NL West

Morneau Walks Off D-Rays; Rollins Bombs Can't Stop Glavine

Thursday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Justin Morneau (right) drove reliever Brian Stokes' 9th inning offering over the wall in left field for a walk-off home run as the Twins won at home over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3-2. It was Morneau's 3rd homer of the season and came with nobody on and no outs in the bottom frame. Last year's AL MVP, Morneau is off to a reasonably good start, batting .250 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI. Plate Struggles in Kansas City: The Royals are off to another poor start, and most of the blame can be placed firmly on the middle of the batting order, which has failed to produce any kind of consistent offense. Through 10 games, the 3-7 Royals are averaging just 3.1 runs per game, and while they haven't been shut out yet, they've scored just 1 run in four games, the latest being last night's 12-inning 2-1 loss at Baltimore. The prime suspects for the Royals' sluggish bats are the regular 3-4 hitters, Mark Teahen (5-30, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .167) and Mike Sweeney (4-24, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .167). Rookie third baseman Alex Gordon (3-33, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .091) is doing a credible plate impersonation of reliever Tom Gordon thus far. He hasn't panned out, though the Royals are hoping for betting things. Seriously... Cleveland leadoff man Grady Sizemore is sizzling at the plate with a .364 batting average and 4 home runs in just 6 games. His latest - a solo shot in the 6th - helped the Indians to a 4-2 win over the Angels last night in Milwaukee, the unofficial home of the Indians while snow played havoc at Jacobs Field, and gave Cleveland a 2-1 edge in their series with the Angels. In addition to his homer, Sizemore was also aboard for Travis Hafner's 3-run shot in the 8th, his 1st of the year. Sizemore has scored 9 times and stolen 3 bases thus far. Sponsor: Box scores, stats and more: MLB at Yahoo Sports National League Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins (right) touched up Mets' starter Tom Glavine with a solo home run to lead off the game and a 2-run shot in the second inning, but it was all the offense the Phillies could produce as Glavine allowed only 2 other hits through 6 innings of work and the Mets won at Shea, 5-3. Rollins, who said back in January that he considered the Phillies the "team to beat" in the NL East, has tried his best to back up those words. He's batting .278 with 5 home runs, but not getting much support from the rest of the lineup, especially last season's NL MVP, Ryan Howard, who's hit just one dinger this season and is batting .212. The Phillies are 2-7. The other headline for this game was the showdown of 40+ pitchers, Glavine and the Phillies' Jamie Moyers. Glavine got the bragging rights and the win and is now just 8 shy of 300 for his career. Last night's was his 50th win as a Met. He won 242 games with the Braves from 1987-2002, winning 20 or more in a season 5 times. Maybe the Nationals just have to get out of RFK Stadium. They opened the season with a 9-game home stand and promptly lost 8 of those games, but turned things around last night in Atlanta as starter Jason Bergman blanked the Braves on 1 hit over 6 innings en route to a 2-0 road win. Bergman did not figure in the decision, as 3 relievers finished up what he started. Sponsor: Baseball history comes alive at Baseball Almanac