Halladay 1-Hits Yanks; Ludwick Foils Pirates

Players of the Day for Friday, September 4, 2009 American League Riding a 7-game win streak he Yankees weren't too concerned about having to face Toronto starter Roy Halladay again. In fact, the last time they faced the Blue Jay ace, they roughed him up for 10 hits and 5 runs, knocking out three homers in a 5-3 win. Naturally, Halladay had other ideas, especially since he'd been on the losing end of his last three starts. The result was vintage Halladay and an end to the Yankees' current reign of terror. Halladay tossed a complete game, one-hitter, striking out nine and walking three to improve to 14-8 and bring his ERA back down to 2.98. The only hit came off the bat of Ramiro Pena, the #9 hitter, who was in the lineup at shortstop, giving Derek Jeter a night off. Toronto won, 6-0. It was Halladay's 6th complete game of the season and second shutout. As far as winning his second Cy Young award is concerned, Halladay is still in the running with about five starts remaining. National League The St. Louis Cardinals are on cruise control, 11 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Cubs in the NL Central, their magic number is already down to 17 and it's not even Labor Day. Even on a night in which one of their ace starters, Adam Wainwright, gets blown out, allowing 9 hits and 6 runs in just 5 innings, the hitters take up the slack, especially Albert Pujols (43rd home run, 3 RBI) and Ryan Ludwick, who went 5-for-5 with a pair of homers and a double, driving in 5 runs and scoring 3 times as the Cards trumped the Pirates, 14-7. Ludwick, who's been sharing outfield time with Colby Rasmus and Matt Holliday, still has impressive numbers: 20 HR, 86 RBI and a .276 batting average.

Thames, Thomas Terrifying Tigers; Ludwick Carries the Load for Cards

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 12, 2009 American League At the All-Star break, the Tigers own a 3 1/2 game lead over the white Sox in the AL Central after scuttling the Cleveland Indians, 10-1. Justin Verlander earned his 10th win against 4 losses with 7 innings of shutout ball, but the victory belonged to two part-time players, Clete Thomas (left) and Marcus Thames (right) who victimized Cleveland pitchers all afternoon. Thomas was the most destructive force in the Tiger lineup, going 3-for-4 with a single, triple and home run, five RBI and a pair of runs scored. Thomas has played in just 37 games in 2008, and Sunday's was his most productive. In just 127 at-bats, Thomas has produced: 5 homers and 23 RBI. Thames showed the poise and steadiness that may eventually earn him a starting job in Detroit or elsewhere, knocking 4 hits in 4 at-bats (3 singles, double), scoring three times and driving in one. Like Thomas, Thames has had limited playing time. In 125 at-bats he has 9 homers and 22 RBI. Contributions from these players has been key in Detroit's rise to the top and certainly will be a factor the rest of the season. National League After splitting both their 4-game series and Sunday double-header at Wrigley, the Cardinals retained their 2 1/2 game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central and stayed 3 1/2 ahead of the third place Cubs. The Cards dropped the first game, 7-3, but came back in the nightcap, winning 4-2, as Adam Wainwright imporved to 10-5 and Ryan Ludwick accounted for all of the Cardinal runs. Ludwick went 2-for-4 in the opener, but neither scored nor drove in any runs. He continued to bear down in the later game, going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of 2-run homers, his 14th and 15th of the season. That was all the cards needed as Wainwright allowed just 2 earned runs over 8 innings and Ryan Franklin picked up his 21st save by striking out the side in the ninth. NOTES: Division leaders stretched out heading into the mid-season break. The slimmest lead is in the AL West, as the Angels have the Rangers by 1 1/2 games. Boston leads New York by 3 in the East after the Yankees were swept three straight by the Angels; Detroit is 3 1/2 up on Chicago in the Central. In the NL, Philly is up by 4 over the Marlins; the Cards are 2 1/2 to the good over the Brewers and the Dodgers upped their lead in the West to 7 with a win at Milwaukee. Current wild card leaders are the Yankees (51-37) and Giants (49-39). The Red Sox have the best record in the AL at 54-34. The Dodgers lead the majors at 56-32.

Thames Hammers Brewers; Ludwick, Rasmus Lead Cards

Players of the Day for Friday, June 19, 2009 American League The Tigers beat back the Brewers, 10-4, in a rain-shortened, 7-inning affair in Detroit which featured a pair of two-run home runs by one of baseball's hardest-hitting batters, the seldom-used Marcus Thames. Thames got the scoring started with a bomb in the first with Curtis Granderson aboard and capped the night with a another mash in the seventh, this time with Miguel Cabrera on base. Having played in just 19 games this season, Thames has 3 homers in his 54 at-bats. He missed much of the season with a strained rib cage and has suffered assorted injuries in his five years in the bigs. When he's otherwise healthy or in the lineup, he's a bona fide masher. Of his 327 career hits, almost half - 163 - have been for extra bases. Thames has knocked 67 doubles, 3 triples and 93 home runs in his major league days. The Tigers remained 2 games ahead of the Twins in the AL Central with the win, their second straight and first in their weekend series hosting the Brewers. National League Colby Rasmus (left) went 4-for-5 and Ryan Ludwick (right) smashed his first career grand slam as the Cardinals downed the Royals, 10-5, in Kansas City. Rasmus doubled and stroked three singles, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs as the Cards pounded out 14 hits. Ludwick only had one hit in his four at-bats, but it was a big one, produced after the KC brain trust decided to walk Albert Pujols to load the bases in the third inning. Ludwick's four-run blast was just the first of three homers in the frame. After his bomb, Rick Ankiel and Kahlil Greene hit back-to-back solo shots. With Milwaukee losing to Detroit, the Cardinals gained to within 1/2 game of the NL Central leaders. By the end of the weekend, the Cardinals, who play KC twice more, may find themselves atop the division. NOTES: Break up the Nats! The Washington Nationals took the final two games of their series with the Yankees and went up to Toronto on Friday to take the opener of their three-game series, 2-1, in 11 innings. It marked the second time this season that the Nationals have won 3 straight, the other back in May, when they took the finale in LA and then went to Arizona to take the first two games of their series. If the Nats win on Saturday, it will be the longest winning streak of their season. Meanwhile, a couple of teams that are truly hot reside in - of all places - the NL West, for years one of the weakest divisions in baseball. The Rockies won their 3rd straight and 14th of their last 15, with a 7-3 win over Pittsburgh. Colorado is finally over the .500 mark, at 34-33, 9 1/2 behind the Dodgers in the division. Just ahead of them, the San Francisco Giants - 8 games back - have been pretty good since late May, posting a 16-9 record recently to put themselves into at least a widl card contending position and with a possibility of running down the Dodgers.

Kubel Slams, Hits for Cycle; Ludwick Blasts a Pair as Cards Fold

Players of the Day for Friday, April 17, 2009 American League Just a few days ago, Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers accomplished the rare feat of hitting for the cycle. As of Friday night, he became ancient history as Minnesota's Jason Kubel turned the trick in the Twins' 11-9 slugfest over the LA Angels. Kubel got things going early with an RBI double in the 1st inning. In the third, he singled and moved to second on Justin Morneau's ground out, but was gunned out at the plate trying to score. Kubel tripled and scored in the 6th inning, tying the score at 3, but the best was yet to come. After the Angels scored 5 in the 7th and one more in the 8th to take a 9-4 lead, the Twins cut the lead to 9-7 when Kubel appeared at the plate with the bases loaded and the game on the line. Kubel launched his second homer of the season deep to right, giving him the game-winning grand slam, the cycle, 5 RBI and a pair of runs scored. National League It's easy to overlook some of the players on St. Louis' roster as most of them pale by comparison to the incomparable Albert Pujols, but Ryan Ludwick, who routinely bats behind Pujols, is making a name for himself in his third year in a Cardinal uniform. After hitting 14 homers in limited action in 2007, he followed that up with 37 for a full season in 2008. This year, he's off to a grand beginning, and in Friday's 9-8 loss to the Cubs, he belted a pair of bombs along with a single in five at-bats, drove in 4 runs and boosted his batting average to .405. Ludwick has 4 homers and 10 RBI thus far in 2009.

Ludwick Rakes Reds; Sabathia Shuts Out Twins, 1-0

Players of the Day from Monday, June 10, 2008 American League C. C. Sabathia (4-8), who has had his share of struggles and hard luck, put together a stellar mound performance on Monday night, hurling his third complete game and second shutout of the season, shutting down the Twins, 1-0, in the opener of a three-game series in Cleveland. Sabathia used 106 pitches - 77 going for strikes - over the nine innings, allowing just five hits and no walks. He stuck out five Minnesota batsmen. The win allowed Cleveland to gain a game on both the Twins and White Sox, though they are still 7 1/2 behind Chicago and one back of Minnesota, which has now lost 6 straight. The Sox lost for the first time in 8 games, as the Tigers cut them down, 6-4. Notes: The Rangers' Michael Young extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a sixth inning single in Texas' 6-5 win over Kansas City. The Royals blew a 5-1 lead, allowing the Rangers to score 4 times in the 8th and once in the ninth when Ian Kinsler scampered home from third on a passed ball by Royals' catcher John Buck. All five runs scored by the Rangers were unearned. Young is batting .308. His hit streak is the longest in the majors this season. National League Ryan Ludwick struck out in his first at-bat on Monday night, but after that all he did was hit, knocking a single, a pair of doubles and a solo homer as the Cardinals engulfed the faltering Reds, 7-2. His 4-RBI evening gave him an even 50 on the season, good for 4th in the league behind Adrian Gonzalez (57), Lance Berkman (56) and Chase Utley (56).

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The Cardinals' win kept them 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and five clear of 3rd place Milwaukee. Notes: The East is not looking so sweet for two perennial contenders, the Braves and the Mets. Both are playing less than .500 ball, and are respectively 6 1/2 and 7 1/2 off the pace set by the Phillies, with Florida just three behind Philly in second place.

Lester No-Hits Royals; Ludick On Fast Track for Cards

Players of the Day from Monday, May 19, 2008 American League Last year at this time, Jon Lester was recovering from Lymphoma cancer and working to get back to the Red Sox. Twenty-two regular season starts later - with a World Series clinching win thrown in for good measure - Lester came all the way back and then some, no-hitting Kansas City for a 7-0 Boston triumph and a personal victory for one of baseball's truly great guys. Lester walked just two batters while striking out nine in a yeoman performance, throwing 130 pitches. Lester was perfect much of the game, setting down 20 straight batters from the 2nd through the 8th innings. Our hat's off to Jon Lester, who's proven to be not only a survivor, but a champion.

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Notes: Lester's win improved his record to 3-2. He's been no-decisioned in 6 of 11 starts this season. Flashing back to reality, the Red Sox win - their 4th straight - was necessary to keep them in first place as the Tampa Bay Rays beat Oakland, 7-6, in 13 innings, and are lurking just a game back. National League Ryan Ludwick is having a career year, helping the St. Louis Cardinals stay challenge in the NL Central. in Monday's 8-2 win at San Diego, Ludwick cracked his 12th home run (a two-run, first inning job) in the first inning, singled and scored in the 5th and doubled home another run in the 6th.

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After missing all of 2006 and finding his way in a career-high 120 games in 2007 - batting .267 with 14 homers and 52 RBI - Ludwick has become a reliable cleanup hitter behind Albert Pujols, batting .350 with 12 homers and 32 RBI, all top 10 numbers. His .772 slugging percentage is second in the league behind Houston's Lance Berkman. Notes: While the Cardinals won their third straight, the Padres continued their season from hell with their third consecutive loss. At 16-30, they have the worst record in the majors, along with the lowest batting average, .235 and lowest RBI total, 145.