Nate McLouth's Grand Slam Boosts Orioles over Mariners; Miami's Jose Fernandez, Logan Morrison End Cleveland's Eight Game Win Streak

Players of the Day for Friday, August 2, 2013

American League

Chris Davis hits lots of home runs. Nate McLouth, not so many, but it was McLouth's grand slam that lifted the Orioles to an 11-8 victory over the visiting Seattle Mariners.

McLouth: Grand Slam

McLouth unleashed his bases-loaded belt to right-center in the sixth inning, after the Mariners had scored two runs to cut Baltimore's lead to one run, 7-6. Davis hit his 40th earlier in the game, a solo shot in the third inning. Ryan Flaherty added a solo homer in the fourth.

McLouth also singled and scored in the first inning on Adam Jones' double, setting the tone for the game. Seattle never led, though they did hit four homers and cut the lead to one run on two separate occasions.

The win boosted Baltimore's hopes in the AL East, where Tampa Bay and Boston suffered losses on Friday. The Orioles trial the Red Sox by 4 1/2 games. Tampa Bay is one game out.

Seattle will try to even the score with the O's Saturday night at 7:05 pm EDT.

National League

Fernandez: 14 Ks

Somebody had to put a stop to Cleveland's eight-game winning streak. It just so happened the the players turned out to be on the worst team in the National League.

Morrison: 4-5, 4RBI

Rookie phenom, Jose Fernandez, shut out the Indians over eight innings and Logan Morrison drove in four runs to lead the Miami Marlins to a 10-0 triumph.

Fernandez (8-5) allowed just three hits over his eight innings of work, setting a career mark with 14 strikeouts. He didn't walk a batter, but didn't finish the game because of a high pitch count (108). Still, Fernandez is making a case for rookie of the year honors. He is fifth in the league in ERA, at 2.54 and his 138 Ks are the ninth-most in the league and he's gaining quickly. Over his last three starts - all wins - he's fanned 35 batters in 23 innings.

Logan Morrison provided more than enough firepower for Fernandez, going 4-for-5 with two singles, a double and a triple, two runs and four RBI. Morrison has only played in 37 games for the marlins this season, but is making his case to be their full-time first baseman.

Cleveland's loss was a gift for the Tigers, who won their sixth straight and lead the Indians by three games in the AL Central. Kansas City also saw their nine game win streak go by the boards, losing to the Mets, 4-2, in 11 innings. KC is 7 1/2 back.

The Marlins are 43-65, at the bottom of the NL East. They'll try to make it two straight against the Indians Saturday, at 7:10 pm EDT in game two of their three-game series in Miami.

Today's Trivia: Who holds the MLB record for fewest hits per nine innings for a single season (5.261)? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Roger Clemens - then with the Houston Astros - allowed 6.43 hits per nine innings to lead the NL in 2005.

Nate McLouth, Miguel Gonzalez Lead Orioles; Homer Bailey Goes Six Scoreless for Reds

Players of the Day for Saturday, March 30, 2013

Grapefruit League

Miguel Gonzalez

Wrapping up exhibition season, the Orioles celebrated their Grapefruit League championship by pounding on the Mets in a 7-1, 1-hit victory.

Nate McLouth

Nate McLouth socked a pair of solo homers to supply more than needed runs for starter Miguel Gonzalez, who gave up the only hit by the Mets, a single by Marlon Byrd, who came around to score on Ruben Tejada's sacrifice fly.

Gonzalez worked the first five innings, fanning five while issuing just the one hit and one walk. Five Oriole relievers proceeded to the mound thereafter to finish off the Mets - and Spring training - in hitless fashion.

The Orioles finished up with a 19-9 record, 2 1/2 games better than the Tigers and Braves.

Bailey: 6IP, 1H, OER

Cactus League

Cincinnati didn't have a very successful exhibition season in terms of wins (13-20), but they managed to finish up in good style, with a 7-0 blanking of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Homer Bailey worked six innings for the victory, his second win with one loss, shutting out the D'Backs on one hit while striking out seven

Baily had a modestly successful 2012 with the Reds, going 13-10 in 33 starts. His 3.38 ERA spanned 208 innings. He is expected to have another solid season as the Reds try to win the NL Central again. They won it by nine games over the Cardinals in 2012.

Saturday marked the end of Spring Training for all major league clubs. On Sunday, the Rangers visit Houston to kick off the regular season as the Astros have defected from the NL Central to the AL West, so it's an AL opener.

The Astros haven't been competitive in the NL Central for the better part of two decades, so they were the likely team to be booted from the NL to even up the leagues at 15 teams each, with five teams in each division. Houston, with its record of fantastic failure in the NL, can now begin to set records for mediocrity in the AL West. We wish them luck.

More clubs will be in action on Monday, April 1, with 12 games on what is the official opening day.

Ortiz Pounds Three-Run Blast; McLouth in Mid-Season Form for Atlanta

Players of the Day for Monday, February 28, 2010

American League

Notorious for slow starts, David Ortiz may have gotten the message from the fans and the front office in Boston. The slugging 1st baseman/DH belted his first home run of the Spring, a three-run, third inning blast that got Boston on the board in their 7-6 win over the Twins.

"Big Papi," as he is known to his fans and teammates, also singled, going 2-for-2. Ortiz has had slow starts each of the past two years and was actually benched for a short time last season before he started producing.

National League

On the last day of February, Atlanta's Nate McLouth was playing like it was the first day of July as the Braves wiped the Astros, 13-3, for their initial Grapefruit League victory.

McLouth went 2-for-2, with a single, double and a stolen base, scoring three times and driving in a pair.

After joining the Braves mid-season in 2009 from the Pirates, McLouth batted only .190 in 85 games in 2010.

Santiago's 4-for-4 Puts Tigers on Top; McLouth Powers Pirates

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 17, 2009 American League The Tigers took a 1-game lead in the AL Central with an 11-7 win over Oakland on Sunday, but it wasn't the usual sluggers at the top of the order who delivered the goods. Down in the #8 spot, utility infielder Ramon Santiago put on a hitting clinic with two singles, a triple and a three-run homer, four RBi and 3 runs. Santiago, who is used as a replacement for second baseman Placido Polanco or shortstop Adam Everett, may be playing his way into a permanent lineup spot. In just 54 at-bats, Santiago has 19 hits, 3 homers, 19 RBi and is hitting a very respectable .352. National League Despite beating up on the Rockies in an 11-4 win Sunday, the Pirates are back where they've spent much of the decade, last place in the NL Central. One bright spot for Pittsburgh is center fielder Nate McLouth, who began his major league career as a leadoff hitter because of his blinding speed. Pirates' management soon discovered that McLouth was much more than just a speedster, and moved him into the power positions in the lineup. He responded with 26 homers and 94 RBI in 2008, and is off to a solid start in 2009, with 7 dingers and 28 ribbies. On Sunday, batting out of the three hole, McLouth hit a solo homer in the third, and then led a 10-run 7th-inning with a single, driving in two, scored, and later doubled, plating the final Pirate tally. McLouth's night was 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and a pair of runs scored. McLouth still has that blazing speed, though he's stolen only 5 bases this season without being caught. In his short career, he's only been thrown out 5 times in 67 steal attempts.

Pudge Drives Detroit to Victory; McLouth Rallies Bucs Past Dodgers

Players of the Day for Monday, April 14 American League Though the Tigers are off to the worst start of any team in the majors, they still possess a lineup capable of hammering opponents into submission. Such was the case last night as Detroit won for only the third time in 13 games this season, rallying past Minnesota, 11-9, thanks to the late-inning surge by Ivan Rodriguez and his teammates. Down 9-4 in the bottom of the seventh, Rodriguez connected on his first home run of the year, a leadoff solo shot off reliever Matt Guerrier. Though the Twins' reliever retired the next three batters, the 8th inning would be his - and the Twins - undoing. The Tigers unleashed an offensive assault which sent 10 men to the plate in a six-run eighth-inning, highlighted by Pudge's 2-run triple which tied the game. Rodriguez scored the go-ahead run on Jacques Jones' sac fly and the Tigers added one more for good measure. Pudge finished the night 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. National League The Pittsburgh Pirates may want to reconsider batting Nate McLouth in the leadoff spot, especially after his 3-run, 9th inning home run sent the Pirates to a 6-4 comeback win over the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night. McLouth, a part-time player over the last three seasons with the Pirates, has been their leadoff man all of 2008. His dramatic home run - his only hit of the night - extended his season-long hitting streak to 13 games, and despite batting leadoff, leads the Pirates with 14 RBI. He's tied with teammate Xavier Nady for second in the league RBI standings, both trailing Arizona's Mark Reynolds by one.