Baker Goes 8 Scoreless for Streaking Twins; Victorino Powers Phils to 6-Game Lead

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 18, 2011

American League

Baker: 8 Scoreless

Slowly but surely, the Minnesota Twins are getting themselves back into the AL Central race. On Friday, they got all-star catcher Joe Mauer back from the DL after he missed 56 games, and on Saturday, Scott Baker ruled the bump, delivering eight innings of shutout ball for a 1-0 Minnesota win, their sixth straight.

Baker batted with San Diego's Tim Stauffer, whose only mistake was to Danny Valencia, who deposited one of Stauffer's pitches into the stands beyond left-center field, producing the only run of the game.

Meanwhile, Baker was chucking peas, allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out 10 Padres.

Minnesota's win did not get them out of last place, but, combined with Kansas City's 5-4 loss at St. Louis, left them tied for the bottom spot with the Royals, eight games out. The Twins will go for the sweep of San Diego, Sunday in Minnesota.

National League

Arguably carrying the best pitching staff in the majors, the Phillies have opened up the largest lead in the bigs - six games - over Atlanta in the NL East.

And not only do the Phillies boast prodigious pitching, but they can also have their bats do the talking, as Shane Victorino proved in their 5-1 win over the Mariners.

Victorino: a single
short of the cycle.

Victorino went 3-for-4 on the day, driving in all but one of the Philly runs, as he nearly went for the cycle.

After walking in his first at-bat, the center-fielder tripled with two outs in the 3rd inning, but was stranded. After grounding out in the 5th, Victorino came back with a bases-loaded, ground rule double in the seventh, plating a pair of runs, and then smacked his 8th home run of the season, accounting for two more runs.

His effort was more than enough for emergency starter Vance Worley and a trio of relievers.

INTERLEAGUE TALLY: The AL took eight of the 14 interleague games on Saturday, expanding their lead of the NL to 37-33.

Baker Mows Down Rays; Denorfia May Fit Into Padres' Plans

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 21, 2010 American League Minnesota is shaping up for another run at the AL Central, which they stole last season from Detroit in a one-game playoff. On the minds of many a Minnesotan is how well the young arms in their rotation will fare, but they needn't worry about Scott Baker, who looks like he's ready for opening day after shutting out the Rays for five innings, allowing just one hit and a walk, fanning three. The Twins didn't really need as powerful a performance as they got from Baker, as they scored 5 runs in the first inning and were up 9-0 after four en route to a 12-3 win. In four starts this Spring, Baker is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA. Last season, Baker was a bulwark for the Twins, completing 200 innings and posting a record of 15-9. National League San Diego desperately needs some hitting, though you wouldn't know it from the way they manhandled the Rangers Sunday, knocking them around to the tune of a 14-5 beating. Within the 16-hit attack was one Chris Denorfia, released by the A's, invited to attend the Padres Spring training and signed to a minor league contract, with three hits in five at-bats, one a triple, plus three RBI, 2 runs scored and his 4th stolen base of the Spring. Hitting a respectable .385, Denorfia is battling a handful of players for outfield positions with the Padres, but he has one great advantage: he is equally at home be it in right, center or left. Also, his speed makes him a leadoff candidate in the batting order. With a .278 lifetime average in 100 major league games, Denorfia could fit right into San Diego's lineup and provide some timely hitting and a burst of speed from time to time. MLB Preview: Atlanta Braves The Braves have fallen on lean times of late, as Florida and especially the Phillies seem to have taken the NL East as their own. In 2005, the Braves won the division, but since then have finished 3rd, 3rd, 4th and 3rd, but this year may have put together a squad that can challenge in the division again. As usual, the Braves will have plenty of live arms in their rotation. Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson provide a nice balance of youth and experience, and should keep opposing hitters guessing, particularly if Lowe comes around big. The fifth spot in the rotation still looks to be up for grabs, but Atlanta has some options, especially in their farm system. The bullpen should be solid in the late innings, with Takashi Saito or Kenshin Kawakami setting up closer Billy Wagner. Around the horn, the infield of Troy Glaus, Omar Infante, Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones should be solid defensively and capable of providing quality offense at the plate. Escobar continues to develop into an exceptional hitter, with his home runs and RBI increasing each of the last three seasons. Glaus and Jones should provide some power, though less than other clubs, but the Braves have a real treat in Brian McCann behind the plate. He's averaged over 20 home runs and 90 RBI over the past three seasons. In the outfield, Nate McLouth fit nicely into center field after arriving from Pittsburgh last season. He has all the tools, and could be on the verge of a breakout season. Flanking him are Matt Diaz in right and Melky Cabrera - from the Yankees, via free agency - in left. This is a good, young outfield, an area not necessarily of strength, but one where there are few worries. If everything falls into place for Atlanta, they could be back in the playoffs for the first time in five years, which might make the oddsmakers in Vegas look prescient as they have them pegged at a mere 12-1 to win the World Series.

Carpenter Hammers Reds; Baker Cooks Tigers; Rockies Are Wild

Players of the Day for Thursday, October 1, 2009 American League Staving off elimination once more, the Minnesota Twins topped the Detroit Tigers in the finale of their four-game series with an 8-3 victory, earning a split and leaving the final playoff spot still undecided. Scott Baker gave the Twins the opportunity, working 5 strong innings. Baker (15-9) gave up 5 hits while walking 3. The Tigers scored an unearned run in the second inning, but the Twins were busy building a 4-1 lead after 4 and expanding it to 8-1 with a 4-run outburst in the top of the 8th. Baker struck out 3 and Minnesota used five relievers to secure the win. Detroit has three games remaining with the White Sox in Detroit. The Twins head back to the Metrodome to fill out the remaining schedule - three games with the KC Royals. Detroit leads the Twins by 2 games with 3 remaining. National League Chris Carpenter made the most of his final start of the season for St. Louis. Not only did the righty work five scoreless innings for his 17th win against just 4 losses, but he added some punch at the plate in the Cardinals' 13-0 tour de force. Not only did Carpenter gave up three hits, strike out six and walk one batter in his five-inning stint, his three plate appearances netted him 6 RBI with a grand slam homer in the 2nd and a two-run double in the 5th. Carpenter, along with teammate Adam Wainwright and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum, are the leading candidates for the NL Cy Young award. The win for the Cards was their 91st of the season, but they still trail Philadelphia and Los Angeles for the best record - and home field advantage - in the league. With three games remaining, the race is tight. LA leads at 93-66; Philly is a game back at 92-67, and the Cardinals one more behind at 91-68. NOTES: The Colorado Rockies secured the wild card slot in the National League with a 9-2 win over the Brewers, setting the stage for an intriguing 3-game series in Los Angeles with the Dodgers over the season's final weekend. Despite taking the wild card, the Rockies may not be completely satisfied with their position, two games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. The Rockies need a sweep of the three games to take the division, while the Dodgers need just one win to complete their dominating season. They've led the division continuously since June, only to watch their lead diminish gradually over the last two months as the Rockies caught fire. The two teams seem headed in opposite directions. The Rockies have won four straight; the Dodgers have been on the opposite side of the score their last four.

Baker 1-hits Royals; Delgado breaks out

American League Kansas City 0 Minnesota 5 - Twins' starter Scott Baker (right) worked a perfect game through 8 innings, but then gave up a walk to Jose Batista to open the 9th and gave up a single with one out in the inning to Mike Sweeney and settled for a perfectly respectable one-hit complete game shutout. Baker (8-6) mowed down the Royals on 111 pitches, throwing an incredible 81 for strikes. Texas 6 LA Angels 7, 10 innings - The Angels are now up 6 1/2-games in the AL West as they won their 5th straight, improving their home record to 45-20, tops in the majors. Howie Kendrick singled home Garret Anderson with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th with his 3rd hit and 3rd RBI of the game. Other AL Scores Kansas City 9 Minnesota 4 Baltimore 9 Boston 8 - O's end 9-game skid Tampa Bay 9 NY Yankees 1 Chi White Sox 5 Cleveland 8 Seattle 5 Toronto 7 - Mariners lose 7th straight Detroit 4 Oakland 5, 10 innings National League NY Mets 7 Atlanta 1 - Carlos Delgado (right) socked a 3-run homer off Atlanta's Tim Hudson and John Maine stymied the Braves on 3 hits over 7 innings, giving up just 1 earned run as the Mets snapped their 5-game losing streak. New York dropped Atlanta to 5 1/2 games back in the NL East while maintaining their 2-game lead over Philly. Delgado also doubled and scored in the 9th while Jose Reyes doubled, homered and stole his MLB-best 73rd base. Cincinnati 5 St. Louis 8 - Rick Ankiel's 6th inning grand slam erased a 4-3 Cincinnati lead as the Cardinals closed in on the Cubs in the NL Central. St. Louis is 2 games back and 1/2 behind 2nd place Milwaukee in the division. LA Dodgers 4 San Diego 6 - The Padres took over first place in the NL West by .001, winning for the 8th time in the last ten games. The Dodgers trail both San Diego and Arizona by 4 games. Other NL Scores Houston 6 Chi Cubs 1 Philadelphia 9 Florida 2 San Francisco 3 Washington 2 Pittsburgh 2 Milwaukee 3 Colorado 7 Arizona 3, 10 innings