Oakland Secures Cactus League Crown Behind Scott Kasmir and Billy Butler; Ervin Santana Sharp as Twins Fall to Boston

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 2, 2015

Grapefruit League

Ervin Santana

Ervin Santana must have figured he'd given his team a reasonable shot at winning their game with the Boston Red Sox. After all, he'd held Boston scoreless over the first five innings on one hit, walked just one batter and struck out a pair while his Twins' teammates had put two runs on the scoreboard.

All of that changed as soon as his replacement hit the mound, the Red Sox exploding for seven runs in the sixth inning, getting six of them off J. R. Graham, who allowed six hits in 1/3 of an inning, and the other off Nick Burdi, who got the last two outs of the inning, but not before giving up a two-run homer to Mike Napoli.

Thus, Santana, who has had a solid Spring, was denied his fourth win against one loss. Santana got no decision, but, he appears ready for the regular season. In five starts, he's tossed 19 innings, allowing just four runs, for an ERA of 1.89.

His teammates seem to need a bit more seasoning. After the 8-5 defeat by Boston the Twins are 12-15, while the Red Sox have improved to 16-11 and are just 1/2 game behind the Blue Jays and Mets, both 18-12.

Santana spent the first eight years of his major league career with the Angels, then went to Kansas City in 2013, before heading to Atlanta, where he was 14-10 last year. The Twins acquired the 6'2" right-hander in the off-season.

Cactus League

Butler: New A.

Kazmir: Sharp.

The Oakland A's claimed the Cactus League crown with an 8-2 win over the Giants on Thursday, but, instead of doing so amidst the desert breezes of Arizona, the finalized the deal at the Giants' home field, at AT&T Stadium in San Francisco, where an estimated 41,581 watched the A's capture the first of what they hope will be many flags this year.

Scott Kazmir looked good in his final tune-up prior to the regular season, allowing one run on four hits over six innings. He did not issue any walks, nor did his strike out any of the opposition.

Billy Butler went 3-for-5, including his fifth homer of the exhibition season, and drove in a pair of runs, giving him 15 RBI this Spring.

Kazmir is starting his second season with the A's. Last year he was 15-9 with a 3.44 ERA. Butler figures to be the primary DH for the Athletics. He was snatched away from Kansas City this off-season, after having spent his entire, eight-year career with the Royals.

The win was the ninth straight for the A's, who hold a 2 1/2 game edge on Kansas City with just two games left to play.

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With the start of the regular season, significant changes are coming to Baseball On Deck.

Instead of daily posts featuring players of the day, the format will change to a main, once-weekly post, on Mondays, in which various players of the week will be presented. Each league will feature an infielder and outfielder of the week, along with starting pitcher of the week and reliever of the week for both the American and National leagues. A special category for DH of the Week will also be part of the new mix.

Interim posts - between Mondays - will appear on an ad hoc basis, along with presentation of streaks, notable stats and other stories of note. These changes will allow Baseball on Deck to become more focused on the larger scope of the season while also providing a more literate interpretation of events.

During the season special attention will be given to the standings and schedules of contending teams, as well as expanded coverage during the pennant races in September and the playoffs and World Series in October.

These changes will begin shortly. Saturday and Sunday will be the final posts in the current Players of the Day format, but opening week of the regular season will feature daily, or nearly daily, posts. The first major post in the new, expanded format will be Monday, April 13.

Rays Blow 7 Run Lead, Lose Game 5, 8-7

Players of the Day from Thursday, October 16, 2008 ALCS: Boston 8 Tampa Bay 7 J.D. Drew (R) hit a two-run homer in the 8th inning to draw the Red Sox to within a run, and then singled home Jason Bay with the game-winner in the bottom of the 9th, as the Boston Red Sox stared down elimination and turned a 7-0, 7th inning deficit into a dramatic, 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Scott Kazmir (L) tossed 6 innings of shutout ball and the Tampa Bay Rays continued their long-ball assault against the Red Sox, pounding out 3 more homers. The Rays wasted no time at all getting to Game 1 winner Daisuke Matsuzaka. B.J. Upton (R) launched a two-run homer over the Green Monster in the first inning, and, in the third, Carlos Pena blasted another two-run homer to right, followed immediately by Evan Longoria's solo shot - his 4th home run in consecutive games, a rookie and major league record - and the Rays seemed to be on their way. Hideki Okajima settled the Rays down for a couple of innings, blanking them in the 5th and 6th, but in the 7th inning, the wheels nearly came completely off Boston's beleaguered bandwagon. Manny Delcarmen started his mound stint by walking the first two batters in the inning, Jason Bartlett and Akinori Iwamura. Closer Jonathan Papelbon was summoned from the Boston bullpen. While Papelbon was focused on pitching to Upton, the baserunners pulled off a double steal, putting the runners on second and third base. They scored easily when Upton doubled to the left-center gap. 7-0, Rays, and the Boston faithful began heading for the exits of fabled Fenway Park. Once Kazmir was off the mound, however, the wheels did come off for the Rays, as the Red Sox responded with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning off reliever Grant Balfour, three of them on David Ortiz's home run, just his second hit of the series. Fans scrambled back into their seats. In the 8th, Dan Wheeler gave up the 2-run homer to Drew, making the score 7-6. And when Coco Crisp singled home Mark Kotsay from second, the game was tied at 7-all. J.P. Howell went to the mound in the ninth, but, after getting two quick outs, surrendered a single to Kevin Youkilis, who moved to second on Longoria's throwing error. After issuing an intentional pass to Jason Bay, Drew came through once more, lashing a single to right which easily plated Youkilis with the game-winner. Notes: It was a collapse of magnificent proportions for the youthful Rays, who were on the verge of heading to the World Series. The decision to pull Kazmir, who was pitching brilliantly, has to be questioned, as does the insertion of Wheeler to start the 8th. The Rays and Red Sox will have a day off to think things over prior to game 6 at Tropicana Field on Saturday. Starting time is 8:07 pm ET. Josh Beckett gets the call for Boston, against the Rays' James Shields.

Cubs Clinch Central; Dodgers Inch Closer; Rays Reach First Playoff Berth

Players of the Day from Saturday, September 20, 2008 American League Scott Kazmir (12-7) shut out the Twins n five hits over 6 innings, ensuring Tampa Bay's first ever appearance in the post-season while dampening Minnesota's playoff hopes as the Rays dropped the Twins, 7-2 The Rays wrapped up at least a wild card spot, but reman focused on winning the AL East. With Boston losing 6-3 to Toronto, they lead the Red Sox by 2 1/2 games and have reduced their magic number to clinch the division to 7. Notes: The White Sox didn't take advantage of Minnesota's loss, dropping a 5-2 decision at Kansas City. Chicago still leads the Twins by 2 1/2 in the Central. Their magic number is 6. National League Mark DeRosa singled and scored on Aflonso Soriano's bases-loaded single in the first, doubled in a run and scored the game-winner in the 4th as the Cubs clinched the NL Central with a 5-4 win over St. Louis. Chicago clinched the division for the second straight year and, in all likelihood, will have home field advantage throughout the league playoffs. In the year marking the hundredth anniversary of the Cubs' last world series championship, the Cubs have the best record in the National League and is the first team to clinch a division title. Notes: The Phillies beat back the pesky Marlins, 3-2, ending their nine-game winning streak, and, when the Mets lost to Washington, 4-2, took back first place in the NL East by 1/2 game over New York. The Marlins are 5 1/2 back. Milwaukee continued to unwind down the stretch, losing their second straight game at Cincinnati, 4-3, dropping 2 1/2 games behind the Mets in the wild card race. The Brewers have lost 15 of 19 in September. Taking one step closer to the NL West title, Los Angeles reduced its magic number to 5 with a 10-8 win over San Francisco. Manny Ramirez homered twice and drove in five runs in the LA win. The Dodgers continue to lead the Diamondbacks - 5-3 winners at Colorado - by 3 1/2 games. Since joining the Dodgers in late July, Ramirez is batting .404 with 16 home runs and 49 RBi in 47 games.