Tim Lincecum No-Hits Padres as Giants Triumph, 9-0; Tampa Bay's Luke Scott is Red Hot

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 13, 2013

American League

Who's the hottest team in the American League?

Luke Scott

Why, that would be the Tampa Bay Rays, who keep closing ground on AL East leader, Boston, evening their series with Houston at a game apiece and winners of 13 of their last 15, Saturday, with a 4-3 win over the visiting Astros.

As hot as the Rays have been, breathing down Boston's back, 3 1/2 games out, the hottest player on the Rays has to be Luke Scott, who pretty much won Saturday's game by himself, driving in three of Tampa's four runs with a two-run homer in the fifth inning and an RBI single in the sixth.

Scott's riding a nine-game hitting streak in which he's gone 14-for-32 (.438), with three homers and eight RBI.

The Rays and Astros will settle their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

Tim Lincecum

National League

Hunter Pence drove in five runs to back the no-hit pitching of Tim Lincecum, as the Giants blasted San Diego, 9-0.

Lincecum, having an off year with just five wins against nine losses, came up with by far his best performance of the season when the Giants needed it; San Francisco is in fourth place in the NL West, trailing Arizona by 6 1/2 games.

Fanning a season-high 13 batters, Lincecum issued four bases on balls and hit one batter. San Diego stranded five base-runners, only one of whom reached second base. Everth Cabrera walked, stole second and moved to third on a Lincecum wild pitch, but was left there as the Giants' hurler got Carlos Quentin to line out to short, ending the threat. At one point, between the second and fourth innings, Lincecum struck out six straight potential hitters, fanning the side in the third.

Lincecum threw an astounding 148 pitches, 96 for strikes. The no-hitter was the ninth complete game and sixth shutout of his seven-year baseball career, all with San Francisco.

Today's Trivia: Who was the last National League player to league the league in RBI three straight seasons? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: The last Al player to lead the league in RBI three straight seasons was Cecil Fielder, who led the league in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

Yasiel Puig Turns Heads as Dodgers Top A's; Luke Scott Slams as Rays Rip Tigers

Players of the Day for Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Grapefruit League

Luke Scott

Luke Scott whacked a grand slam off Detroit starter, Doug Fister, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to an 11-4 victory over the Tigers.

Scott, who also had a double and scored in his only other official at-bat, raised his batting average to .375 in nine exhibition games. Scott's slam was his third homer of the exhibition season, four more of his nine hits have been doubles and he's driving in runs, with eight RBI.

After joining the Rays as a free agent from Baltimore in 2012, Scott produced a disappointing season with a .229 batting average, 14 homers and 55 RBI. He will likely fill the DH slot for the Rays should he continue his progress this Spring.

The Rays improved to 14-9 with the win and trail the Orioles by 1 1/2 games in Grapefruit League standings.

Cactus League

Yasiel Puig

There probably isn't room in the Dodger outfield (Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier) for newcomer Yasiel Puig, but the Cuban right fielder is certainly making his case.

Puig led the Dodgers to a 7-1 win over the Oakland A's Tuesday, as LA banged out 13 hits against four A's hurlers. Puig had four of them in four at-bats, and came up a double shy of hitting for the cycle.

Puig smashed his third exhibition homer, singled twice and tripled, making up for his lack of a double by stealing a base, his fourth swipe of the Spring. He drove in two and scored twice.

With three homers and 10 RBI, Puig has made an impression on LA coaches, going 23-for-46 for a stunning .500 batting average.

Whether he makes the roster or not, Puig is a player to watch as he develops. His only US baseball experience prior to this Spring is 23 minor league games.

Luke Scott Homers Twice, Drives in Seven; Ricky Nolasco on the Cusp

Players of the Day for Monday, March 28, 2011

American League

Luke Scott

Luke Scott entered the exhibition game with Detroit carrying a .185 batting average, two home runs and six RBIs. By the time the Orioles had finished their 18-hit barrage in a 14-9 win, Scott had gotten the batting average up to .207, doubled his home run total and added seven RBI.

Amazing what a grand slam in the first inning and a three-run shot in the second will do for your stats.

It's not that Scott doesn't produce solid numbers. He's averaged 25 home runs and 72 RBI over the last three years. He's also a lifetime .268 hitter, so he just needed some extra time - and maybe a few choice pitches - to get into his groove.

Looks like he found it.

National League

Ricky Nolasco

It took four starts for Ricky Nolasco to notch his first exhibition win, but he was on his game in Florida's 4-1 win over St. Louis on Monday.

Nolasco worked the first six innings, blanking the Cardinals on two hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out three, appearing ready to roll into the regular season.

For the Marlins to have any success, they'll likely need Nolasco to go deep into games and notch double digits in wins, something he's done each of the last three seasons.

In 2008, Nolasco went 15-8 and followed that up with marks of 13-9 and 14-9 in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The righty is right on the cusp of true greatness, but hasn't been able to put together more than a few months of solid pitching at any given stretch. Now in his sixth season, he could have another so-so year or evolve into one of the leagues dominators.

Luke Scott Slams Seattle; Zimmerman Scales Rockies; Latos Tosses 1-Hitter at Giants

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 13, 2010 American League Break up the O's! For the fourth time this season, the Orioles are on a winning streak (2 straight), courtesy of the visiting Seattle Mariners' generous bullpen. After the O's evened their 3-game series with a 5-2 win on Wednesday, Seattle ace Felix Hernandez seemed to have a win pretty well gift-wrapped after holding the O's to one run over 7 innings while his teammates were scoring 5 runs in support. With a 4-run lead, Brandon League came on to start the 8th and that's when the fireworks began. Corey Patterson lifted a fly over the scoreboard in right field to cut the lead to 3, but League came right back and struck out Adam Jones on a swinging third strike wild pitch. Jones scampered down the line, ending up safe at first. Then it really got interesting. Nick Markakis singled to left, with Jones advancing to second. Miguel Tejada grounded into a fielder's choice, with Markakis out at second. Ty Wigginton walked, loading the bases for Luke Scott, who cashed his 6th homer of the season to deep left center, putting to O's up by a run. League got the next two batters, but the damage had been done. Alfredo Simon came on in the 9th to record his 5th save as the O's won, 6-5. Scott's slam upped his RBI total to 14, well below his expectations at this point in the season. He hit 23 homers in 2007 and 25 in 2008, so he's on track to better those totals in 2009, but the batting average has suffered. Despite his homer and earlier single in 4 at-bats, Scott's average is still only .213, part of the reason the O's have struggled so mightily this season. Baltimore looks to extend their streak to 3 games when they host the first of a 3-game series with Cleveland on Friday. A win would equal their longest win streak of the season, when they swept Boston, April 30-May 2. National League Beating the Rockies, 14-6, in 8 innings, the Nationals posted what appears to be a mercy rule score, but the game was actually called due to rain before the final frame. Not that it mattered very much. Washington's back-end relievers have been absolutely nails this season, so the chances for the Rockies to get back into it were roughly slim to none. Colorado pitchers had a difficult time keeping Washington players off the basepaths, especially Ryan Zimmerman, who admittedly wasn't on them all that much, banging a 2-run and a 3-run homer in the 1st and 5th innings, respectively, before driving in another run and scoring as part of a 7-run uprising by the Nats in the top of the 8th. Zimmerman's 3-for-6, 6 RBI, 3 run effort gave the slugging 3rd baseman 8 dingers on the year with 22 RBI and a .319 batting average. Better yet, it kept the Nationals in second place in the NL East, just one game behind the idle Phillies. The Nats banged out 16 hits in the win, the first of a 4-game set at Colorado. Each of the starting position players had at least one hit, except catcher Ivan Rodriguez. San Diego's Mat Latos (right) twirled a 1-hit shutout and singled in the game's only run as the Padres topped the Giants, 1-0, completing the road sweep of their closest competitor in the NL West. with the three-fer, San Diego has opened up a 3 1/2 game lead on San Fran, with the dodgers looming in 3rd place, 5 games back. Latos (3-3) was nearly perfect, setting down the first 15 Giants in order before giving up just the lone single to Eli Whiteside, leading off the 6th inning. After getting the Gaints' catcher on a fielder's choice - which was almost a double play - Latos proceeded to put down the remaining 11 would-be hitters in order without walking a single batter and striking out six overall. QUICK HITS: The Yankees have probably seen enough of Detroit for this season, as the Tigers finished up their 4-game series by blanking them, 6-0, behind a strong 6 1/3 innings by starter Justin Verlander, who walked 4 and fanned 4 while keeping the Yanks off the scoreboard. Two relievers finished up the job, resulting in the Tigers taking 3 of 4 from the World Champs. That outcome pushed the Tigers to within 2 1/2 of Minnesota in the Central while dropping the Yankees 2 games back of Tampa Bay in the East. Both the Twins and Rays, respective division leaders, were idle on Thursday.

Scott Drives in 7 for O's; Zito Delivers for Giants

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 7, 2009 American League After being shut out, 5-0, on Monday, the Orioles' hitters got back at Mariners with a 12-5 rout highlighted by Luke Scott's 3-hit, 7 RBI night at the dish. Scott got things started for the O's in the first inning, lashing a bases-loaded single up the middle to plate the first two runs of the game. In the 6th, with the game tied at three, Scott struck again, this time with a double that brought home two more runs. He later came home on Melvin Mora's single, to up the lead to 7-3. But Scott was hardly finished. In the 7th he cranked out his 17th home run of the season, a 3-run shot that put the game on ice and upped his seasonal RBI total to an even 50. The 3-for-4 effort upped his batting average to .305. With the Angels and Rangers so far splitting their series in Anaheim - and now in a flat-footed tie for first in the division - Seattle remains 3 1/2 off the pace. After finishing up with the O's Wednesday, they host a crucial four-game series with Texas beginning Thursday. As for the O's, they're in their usual spot, dead last in the AL East, 13 1/2 back. National League With all the attention focused on Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito has become somewhat of a forgotten man in the Giants' rotation. It was just a few years back that Zito signed a lucrative deal with San Fran, but since jumping across the Bay from Oakland, Zito has compiled a record of 26-38 and an ERA close to 5.00. On Tuesday, however, there was hope that Zito (5-8) still had what made him such a hot property as he mowed down the Florida Marlins on 4 hits over 8 1/3 innings en route to a 3-0 Giants' win. Allowing just one walk while punching out 6 on strikes, Zito's stuff wasn't exactly electric, but good enough to have Bay area fans buzzing about the prospects of running down the LA Dodgers in the NL West. With a healthy Barry Zito and Lincecum continuing his outstanding season, the Giants could continue to cut into LA's 7-game edge. As it stands right now San Fran is already the leader in the wild card race, a full three games ahead of their closest competitor, Milwaukee. A couple of caveats for the Giants: Randy Johnson, who went on the 15-day DL Tuesday, might be gone longer. He is, after all, 45 years old, but a healthy Big Unit back in time for late August into September couldn't hurt. The other big if is how well Ryan Sadowski will continue to throw. He's 2-0 with an ERA of 0.00, but he's only been on the mound for 13 innings. If the Giants can stay in the hunt until Johnson's return, the sky's the limit.

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.

Baltimore's Scott on Tear; Wolf Claws Cubs in 2-1 Dodger Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 29, 2009 American League Luke Scott provided all the offense necessary in Baltimore's 5-1 win over Detroit with a first inning solo home run and a three-run blast in the 8th. His 4 RBI were sufficient to support the pitching of rookie David Hernández, who picked up his first major league win in his first start, going 5 2/3 innings, on 5 hits, three walks and one earned run. Scott, who is batting a solid .318 in 31 games this season, launched his 7th and 8th homers, upping his RBI total to 22. Over the past 5 games, Scott has been a fantasy owner's dream, going 10-for-16 with 4 home runs, 9 RBI and 8 runs scored. National League Limited action in the National League, with just two games: the D-Backs topped the Braves, 5-2, while in Chicago, the Cubs lost for the 9th time in their last 11 games, while the Dodgers won the 9th in their last 11, beating the Cubs, 2-1, on the strength of Randy Wolf's 7 innings on the mound. Wolf, one of baseball's aging hurlers, will turn 43 in August, but has proven that he can still bring it on occasion, as he did last night, fanning seven while giving up 6 hits and a walk. The only run came in the 8th inning, on a leadoff solo home run by pinch hitter Bobby Scales, which sent Wolf to the showers. Ramon Troncoso picked up the 2-inning save - his third - but just barely, surrendering 3 hits and two walks during his six-out stint. Wolf improved to 3-1, with a 1.11 WHIP and a 2.84 ERA on the season.