Players of the Day for Friday, April 30, 2010
American League
While the Rays were losing, 3-2, to Kansas City, the Yankees were making hay against the White Sox, beating the windy city invaders by a
6-4 score. The Yankees win and Rays loss tightened the race in the AL East down to a 1 1/2 game lead for Tampa Bay.
Leading off and leading the way for the Yankees was 10-time all star shortstop
Derek Jeter, who got the Yanks back into the game after Chicago had taken an early 4-2 lead. Jeter came to the plate with 2 out in the bottom of the 5th and Brett Gardner on second and delivered his 4th home run of the season, tying the game at 4-all.
In the 7th inning, Jeter again got to the plate, this time with a pair of runners aboard, and smacked a triple to right scoring two and providing the Yankees with the winning margin. Jeter scored twice and drove in four runs, going 3-for-4 on the night.
Jeter, who finished last season 3rd in hitting with a .334 average, is off to a hot start, batting .330 over his first 21 games.
National League
That other New York team, the Mets, won their 8th straight on Friday, taking a poke at the reigning NL champion Phillies with a
9-1 thrashing, which improved their edge over the Phillies to 1 1/2 games, though another surprise, the Nationals, took over second place in the division, a game behind the Mets.
The game was the first of a three-game set in Philly, and the Mets got off to an early 3-0 lead on 2nd-inning home runs by David Wright and Jeff Francoeur. Philly scored what became their only run of the game in the bottom of the 2nd.
Catcher
Rod Barajas extended the lead with the first of two solo homers in the 5th inning, doubled home two more runs and scored in the 7th and hit his second solo shot in the 9th, just for good measure. Barajas was 3-for-4, with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI.
The Phillies could muster only 4 hits off mets' starter Jonathon Niese, and had two more hits against a pair of Met relievers.
While the Rays were losing, 3-2, to Kansas City, the Yankees were making hay against the White Sox, beating the windy city invaders by a 6-4 score. The Yankees win and Rays loss tightened the race in the AL East down to a 1 1/2 game lead for Tampa Bay.
Leading off and leading the way for the Yankees was 10-time all star shortstop Derek Jeter, who got the Yanks back into the game after Chicago had taken an early 4-2 lead. Jeter came to the plate with 2 out in the bottom of the 5th and Brett Gardner on second and delivered his 4th home run of the season, tying the game at 4-all.
In the 7th inning, Jeter again got to the plate, this time with a pair of runners aboard, and smacked a triple to right scoring two and providing the Yankees with the winning margin. Jeter scored twice and drove in four runs, going 3-for-4 on the night.
Jeter, who finished last season 3rd in hitting with a .334 average, is off to a hot start, batting .330 over his first 21 games.
National League
That other New York team, the Mets, won their 8th straight on Friday, taking a poke at the reigning NL champion Phillies with a 9-1 thrashing, which improved their edge over the Phillies to 1 1/2 games, though another surprise, the Nationals, took over second place in the division, a game behind the Mets.
The game was the first of a three-game set in Philly, and the Mets got off to an early 3-0 lead on 2nd-inning home runs by David Wright and Jeff Francoeur. Philly scored what became their only run of the game in the bottom of the 2nd.
Catcher Rod Barajas extended the lead with the first of two solo homers in the 5th inning, doubled home two more runs and scored in the 7th and hit his second solo shot in the 9th, just for good measure. Barajas was 3-for-4, with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI.
The Phillies could muster only 4 hits off mets' starter Jonathon Niese, and had two more hits against a pair of Met relievers.
Notes: Randy Johnson tied Roger Clemens for second place on the career strikeout list, fanning 9 Giants in Arizona's 4-3 home loss. San Francisco completed a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks by scoring single runs in the 8th and 9th innings, after Johnson had left the game with a 3-2 lead. It was Arizona's 4th straight loss, though they continue to lead the NL West as the 2nd-place Dodgers have also dropped 4 in a row.
Johnson, who had taken second place on the strikeout list last season only to see Roger Clemens pass him while he sat on the disabled list, was unimpressed by the feat. Clemens, now retired, and he both have 4672 Ks with no chance of ever catching all-time leader Nolan Ryan, who struck out an amazing 5714.