Vernon Wells Has 5 RBI in 20-Hit Angels Attack; Jeff Niemann, Chris Gimenez Lead Rays to Win

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 11, 2012

Niemann: 3 IP, 0 H

Grapefruit League

Jeff Niemann threw three perfect innings and Chris Gimenez drove in the game-winner with a single in the bottom of the ninth as Tampa Bay downed Pittsburgh, 4-3, in exhibition action.

Chris Gimenez

Niemann struck out three in his second Spring start. Entering his 4th full year in the bigs, Niemann has a career record of 38-23 and was 11-7 last season.

Primarily a catcher, Gimenez carries a .171 batting average over 97 games in a three year career.

The win was just the third of the Spring for the Rays, against six losses. Detroit leads the Grapefruit League with a 6-1 record.

Wells: HR, 5 RBI

Cactus League

The Angels offense seems to be in good early form, banging out 20 hits in a 17-2 romp over Cleveland.

Vernon Wells and Mark Trumbo hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning. Wells also singled in four at-bats, driving in five runs, scoring twice.

Wells hit 25 home runs for the Angels last year, but batted only .211 and drove in 66 runs.

Montero Doubles Three Times for Arizona; Vernon Wells Bangs Pair of Homers; Jeter within 6 of 3000, but Injured

Players of the Day for Monday, June 13, 2011

American League

With only three scheduled games, Monday was something of a slow day in the American League, though the LA Angels made the most of it by topping Seattle, 6-3, as the two teams opened a three-game series in the Pacific Northwest.

Vernon Wells,
a sub-.200 hitter?

There's still a pennant race in the West, but the Angels have recently fallen a bit behind. With their win on Monday, they are 32-36, 4 1/2 games back of the Rangers, who lead Seattle by two. Oakland, losers of nine of their last 10, have fallen out of it, now a full eight games off the pace.

Angels' hopes were buoyed by finally getting some production out of Vernon Wells, the erstwhile star from Toronto who is batting just .196 this season. Wells cashed a pair of home runs in the win, a solo shot in the 3rd and a two-run job in the 7th which broke a 3-3 tie and chased Seattle starter, Jason Vargas.

Granted, Wells has only played in 41 games this season, missing most of the month of May on the DL, but he's failed to crack the .200 mark since a 1-for-4 effort opening day against the Royals. His 2-for-4 output on Monday is the closest he's been to the .200 plateau since April 1.

National League

Miguel Montero

Arizona catcher Miguel Montero spanked doubles in his first three at-bats, leading the Diamondbacks to a 12-9 win at Florida.

Montero started off the game with a bases-loaded double in the first, clearing them for three of his four RBI. In the 3rd, he doubled home Stephen Drew and in the 4th he doubled and scored, putting the D-Backs up by an 11-3 score.

The Marlins tried to cut into the lead, but eventually came up just a little short, even though the Florida bullpen held Arizona scoreless after the 4th inning.

After losing the opener of the series on Friday, Arizona bounced back for three straight wins over the Marlins, cutting the Giants' lead in the NL West to 1/2 game. Florida, meanwhile, has gone from hot to not, following up a 6-3 road trip with a horrific 1-10 home stand, falling 7 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the East, and giving up second place to the Braves, who are just 2 1/2 behind.

JETER 3000 WATCH: Fans tracking Derek Jeter's path to 3000 hits will have to wait a little longer. After recording hit number 2994 with a first inning single in the Yankees' 1-0 loss to Cleveland on Monday, Jeter left the field in the 5th inning, limping down the first base line on a routine fly out, heading straight to the dugout in obvious pain.

He failed to come out to the field in the Yankees' 6th and has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 (the least severe) strain of his right calf. He's already been scratched from the lineup for Tuesday's opener with the Rangers, the start of a three-game series, but, unfortunately, the end of the Yankees' current home stand. Jeter will not likely be placed on the DL, though there's no immediate timetable for his expected return to action.

The Yanks go on the road for six interleague games (Cubs, Reds) before returning to Yankee Stadium for a pair of three-game sets with the Rockies and Brewers, so it's conceivable that the rabid New York fans may get to see him crack the 3000-hit mark at home, should he miss, say, five or six of the next nine games.

Wells Crushes Two for Toronto; Renteria Goes 5-for-5

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 7, 2010 American League The questions surrounding Vernon Wells' power stroke persisted through the 2009 season and into the Winter and Spring. Wells, considered a power hitter capable of knocking in 100 runs and putting 25 or more balls over various outfield walls, but last season he only hit 15 home runs and drove in a paltry 66, his lowest totals since becoming a full-time player in 2002. Maybe the needling from the press or the rumor mill got to Wells, because it appears he's recovered the power. In Toronto's 7-4 win at Texas Wednesday night, Wells broke a 3-3 tie with a 2-run blast in the 5th, then added an insurance run with his second homer of the night (and third of the season), a solo shot to left field. He also scored a run in the 4th, after being hit by a pitch, and another in the seventh, coming around the bases after a one-out walk. Wells crossed the plate 4 times on his 2-for-3 night, with 3 RBI. Two games into the season, Wells is batting .714.

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National League

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Here's a batting average you don't see very often: .727, but that's what Edgar Renteria is hitting after going 5-for-5 in San Francisco's 10-2 victory at Houston. Renteria's hits were all singles, but that's probably not bothering him, because the Giants are 3-0, in first place in the NL West and leave Houston with a sweep of their season-opening series. Renteria did score one run and drove in two. He's had 11 at-bats this season, banging out 8 hits in those trips to the plate - seven singles and one double. The Columbian-born shortstop is not unused to carrying a high batting average. In 15 seasons, he's finished four of them with an average over .300 and is a career .288 hitter.

Ramirez Delivers for Cubs; Burrell Bombs Dodgers; Wells Whacks BoSox

Players of the Day from Saturday, August 23, 2008 American League Toronto, 12 1/2 back in the AL East, may not catch the Red Sox or the Yankees, but they're certain to add some drama to the pennant proceedings. On Saturday, Vernon Wells led a 16-hit, 11-0 rout of Boston with 4 hits in 5 at-bats, including a solo and 2-run homer, scoring four times and driving in three. Wells has played in only 76 games this season, having spent most of May and July on the DL, but with him playing regularly, the Jays are a threat every time they take the field. They are 8-3 since August 11, taking 3 each from Detroit and Boston and two of three from the Yankees over that span. Notes: With Boston struggling with the Blue Jays, Tampa Bay knocked off the White Sox, 5-3 and improved their lead in the East to 5 1/2 games. The Yankees won, but are still 10 1/2 off the pace. Minnesota lost to the Angels, 7-5, but retained their 1/2 game lead in the Central. LA leads the West by 16 games and has shrunk their magic number to just 18. Boston leads the White Sox by 1/2 game in the wild card. National League The Chicago Cobs have plenty of big bats in their lineup, including the one carried by Aramis Ramirez, who blasted a pair of 3-run homers as the Cubs beat up the Nationals, 9-2. A mainstay in the Chicago lineup since being traded by the Pirates midway through the 2003 season, Ramirez has 22 homers and 90 RBI. He's driven in more than 100 runs five times. With 30+ games remaining, it's a good bet that 2008 will mark the sixth time. The win by Chicago kept them 4 1/2 clear of 2nd place Milwaukee, 6-3 winners over Pittsburgh. St. Louis, desperately chasing in third place, dropped an 8-4 decision to Atlanta and is 8 games back. In the East, Pat Burrell was keeping the Phillies in the hunt, driving in five runs with a single, double and 3-run homer in Philadelphia's 9-2 downing of the Dodgers. With the Mets losing to Houston, 8-4, Philly closed to within 1 1/2 games of the East division leader. Florida continues in third place, 6 games out. Notes: Arizona knocked off Florida, 7-1, and with Philly's help, improved to a 3 game edge over LA in the West. The Diamondbacks and Marlins have split the first two games of their three-game set, with the rubber game tonight at Arizona.