Spilborghs Leads Rockies in 12-3 Win; Derek Holland Throws Second Straight Shutout

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 14, 2011

American League

Derek Holland

Picking right up after the all star break where they left off, the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to eight straight with a 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Rangers scored single runs in each of the first three innings and starter Derek Holland made them stand up, tossing his second straight shutout, extending his personal scoreless streak to 18 innings.

Holland gave up just five hits, walked one and struck out eight en route to his eighth win against four losses. The Texas lefty was perfect through five innings and needed 119 pitches - 79 of them for strikes - to record his third complete game and third shutout of the season.

Oddly enough, Holland's scoreless streak began following his worst outing of the season, a July 2nd start against the Marlins in which he lasted only 2/3rds of an inning, surrendering four hits, two walks and five earned runs.

The Rangers have used their win streak to hold off the Angels, winners of four straight. Texas leads the AL West by 1 1/2 games. The Seattle loss was their sixth straight, dropping them 8 1/2 games off the division pace.

National League

Ryan Spilborghs

Ryan Spilborghs made the most of his start in center field for the Rockies, replacing Carlos Gonzalez, who has been sidelined with a deep bone bruise in his right wrist, though the Rockies' regular center fielder is not a candidate for the disabled list.

Spilborghs entered the game with only 152 at-bats and a .217 batting average, but his 4-for-6 performance improved him to .234. Spilborghs, batting in the leadoff spot, spearheaded a 12-3 Colorado win by homering in the 1st inning, singling in and scoring a run in the 4th, singling and scoring again in the 6th and knocking a bases-loaded double in the 7th to drive in two more runs. He also swiped second base in the 4th inning and led a 20-hit Colorado attack.

At 44-48, the Rockies can't waste any time in trying to make up ground in the NL West, where they are in third place, 8 1/2 games behind the Giants. Arizona holds second place, 3 1/2 back.

Tigers, Cabrera Top Angels; Spilborghs Slams Giants

Players of the Day for Monday, August 24, 2009 American League Extending their narrow lead in the AL Central with a 10-7 victory over the Angels, the Detroit Tigers - with a little help from the Red Sox, who downed Chicago, 12-8 - are now 3 1/2 in front of the White Sox and 4 1/2 ahead of the Twins. In what was billed as a pitchers' duel between Detroit's Justin Verlander and LA's Jered Weaver, the two teams combined for 27 hits and 18 runs, with the Tigers keying off the 3-for-5 effort by Miguel Cabrera, who doubled home a run in the 1st, smacked a two-run homer in the 5th and doubled home two more in the Tigers' 7-run 6th inning. A four-time all star (Florida, 2004-07), Cabrera led the AL in homers last year with 37, and has left the yard 26 times this season, helping him to 80 RBI and a stunning .341 batting average. The slugging first baseman appears on his way to his 6th consecutive 100+ RBI season and first taste of the post-season in the AL. National League In Colorado, the sky's the limit when it comes to balls leaving the building, and Ryan Spilborghs proved the point with emphasis as his 14th-inning grand slam sent the Giants to their third straight loss at Coors field, even after scoring 3 runs in the top of the inning. After pitcher Adam Eaton (who also earned the W) walked, forcing in a run to cut the lead to 4-2, Spilborghs made the most of his trip to the dish with his blast to right, his 7th homer of the year, walking off with a 6-4 win. A part-time player of great importance to the Rockies, Spilborghs is of vital importance to the Rockies, both as a pinch hitter and a steady outfielder. In Monday's game, he started in left field and ended up in right. In 286 at-bats this season, Spilborghs has driven in 44 runs. The win was the third straight for the Rockies after dropping the first game of their series with the Giants and it gave them a 4-game edge over San Fran in the wild card race. The Giants are just 1/2 game ahead of Atlanta and 1 1/2 better than Florida in the wild card standings. NOTES: With many teams traveling on Monday, there wasn't much movement in the standings, except in the National League, where the Rockies appear to be rolling. They are now also just 3 games behind the Dodgers for the NL West lead, and begin a three-game series in LA beginning Tuesday. A Colorado sweep would leave the two teams deadlocked for the division. The key series in the AL also begins Tuesday, as the Rangers visit the Yankees for three games while Boston continues its series with the White Sox.

Blaylock Drives Rangers; Marquis, Spilborghs Star for Rockies

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 2, 2009 American League Hank Blalock whacked a three-run homer in the third inning and doubled home another run in the 4th as the Texas Rangers got all of their runs in a 3-run 3rd and 6-run 4th inning, holding off the White Sox for a 9-6 win. Blalock delivered with his 7th home run of the season and his 4 RBI gave him 18. The win helped the Rangers (11-12) hold onto second place in the wide-open AL West, where they trail the Mariners by 2 1/2 games. The Angels and A's are just one game behind Texas. National League Jason Marquis (left) worked every out and Ryan Spilborghs (right) provided most of the offense as the Colorado Rockies cruised to a 5-1 win at San Francisco. Marquis (4-1) had his best outing of the season, with a complete-game decision in which he allowed just 5 hits and a walk. The sole San Francisco run came on the only extra-base hit of the game - Pedro Sandolval's second-inning solo homer. Marquis struck out 4, got 14 gournd outs and 9 by fly balls. When the Rockies were batting, Ryan Spilborghs was doing most of the damage from the leadoff spot, hitting a solo homer in his first at-bat, drawing a walk and scoring in the third, belting a two-run homer in the fifth inning and singling and stealing second in the 9th, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs.

Greinke Blanks Yanks; Spilborghs, Rockies Bust Braves

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 9, 2008 American League Yankees haters rejoice! The Kansas City Royals have taken two straight from the Bombers, including last night's 4-0 whitewash thanks to the super performance of starter Zack Greinke who scattered six hits and a pair of walks over 8 innings to pick up his second win of the season. Greinke, the Royals true staff ace, is sporting some impressive numbers, including a 0.60 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. In 15 innings, he's allowed just 12 hits and one run, walking 4 and fanning 5. Notes: Jason Kubel went 2-4 with a grand slam a single and a sac fly, amassing 6 RBI in Minnesota's 12-5 win at Chicago. National League The Colorado Rockies got their offense going, maybe because they inserted Ryan Spilborghs into the #5 slot behind Matt Holiday. The three Atlanta pitchers who faced the fill-in outfielder didn't find much success as Spilborghs went 3-for-5, scored three times and drove in five runs, three of which came on an 8th inning blast into the center field seats which sealed the Rockies' 12-6 win over Atlanta. Notes: Jonathan Sanchez, a middle reliever turned starter in 2008, pitched a six-inning gem, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 10 Padres, but failed to pick up his fist win of the season as the Giants waited until the bottom of the ninth to score the game's only run, knocking of the padres for the second straight day, 1-0.