Rangers Snuff Yankees in Six, Head to First World Series

Players of the Day for Friday, October 22, 2010

American League


Back on their home field at the Ballpark in Arlington, the Texas Rangers eliminated the reigning world champion Yankees and are headed to the World Series for the first time in franchise history with a 6-1 victory in front of a stadium packed with excited fans.

Vladimir Guerrero, traded from the Angles to the Rangers following the 2009 season, paid huge dividends, driving in the first Ranger run on a fielder's choice ground out in the first, and delivered a 2-out double that broke a 1-1 tie and plated two runs in a decisive 5th inning. When Nelson Crus followed with a line drive two-run homer to left center, the Rangers led 5-1 and were on their way.

While the Rangers were piling up the runs, Colby Lewis was calmly working over the Yankee lineup. Lewis worked eight innings, gave up three hits and three walks, striking out seven. The lone run scored off Lewis was sketchy. After Alex Rodriguez doubled to lead off the 3rd inning and moved to third of Lance Berkman's fly to deep right center, the Yankee third baseman trotted home on what was called a wild pitch, though replays clearly showed that the pitch had hit Nick Swisher, who should have been awarded first, keeping Rodriguez at third. There was no umpire meeting or discussion on the field of what was certainly a blown call.

In the end, it amounted to nothing except a slight rise in Lewis' ERA.

The Yankees were out-gunned in the series, displaying a pitching staff about an arm and a half short of championship caliber. Texas outscored them, 38-19, and the Rangers won their four games by margins of 5, 8, 7 and 5 runs.

Texas will have sufficient time to ready their roster and rest their pitchers. The first game of the World series isn't until Wednesday, October 27, to be played at home of the National League champions.

Josh Hamilton, who singled and scored in the first, intentionally walked the next three times he went to the plate in game six, was awarded the MVP. The Texas center fielder batted .350, drove in seven runs and homered four times in the series.

National League

The Phillies and Giants renew acquaintances on Saturday afternoon, 3:57 pm ET, at Philadelphia for game six of the NLCS. San Francisco leads the Phillies, three games to two.

Lincecum Delivers for Giants; Guerrero Leading Rangers to AL West Title

Players of the Day for Friday, September 24, 2010

American League

Is Vladimir Guerrero entirely responsible for the Rangers winning the Al West? It appears that a case could be made that the trade which sent Guerrero from the LA Angels to the Rangers between the 2009 and 2010 season was the magic potion that put the Rangers over the top.

Texas moved closer to clinching the division with a 10-3 win at Oakland, increasing their lead to eight games over the A's, 10 in front of the Angels, dropping their magic number to two.

Here was a win that was largely Guerrero's doing. He hit his 28th home run in the second inning, putting the Rangers ahead, 1-0. After the A's scored to make it a 2-1 game, Guerrero doubled home three runs in the Rangers' 5-run 7th inning to essentially put the game away. He also singled, going 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs.

Batting .303 with 28 homers and 111 RBI, one could easily assume that Vlad was responsible for at least five wins - five wins which the Angels did not achieve. If you take Vlad out of the Rangers' equation and plug him instead into the Angels, subtracting five wins from Texas _ turning those into losses - and adding five wins for the Angels, reducing their losses by the same amount, the two teams would be tied right now.

Five wins? Guerrero was probably worth ten, maybe more, turning his off-season trade into what may go down in baseball history as one of the best/worst deals ever made.

National League

Two time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum hasn't produced the kind of season which would have landed him a third straight Cy Young, but he has come through in the clutch, keeping the Giants in the hunt for either the NL West or the wild card spot.

Lincecum (15-10) twirled a 2-hit gem over eight innings, beating the pesky Colorado Rockies, 2-1, while retaining their 1/2 game lead over the Padres. Lincecum outdueled Colorado starter, Jhoulys Chacin, fanning nine without walking a batter, allowing the Rockies' lone run in the bottom of the 6th inning.

The Giants scored their deuce in the top of the 7th, and Lincecum held the lead until turning the ball over to Brian Wilson, who recorded his 45th save with a perfect 9th inning. Wilson leads the majors in saves, but is just one ahead of San Diego's Heath Bell and Tampa Bay's Rafael Soriano.

Lincecum took over the NL strikeout lead with 220. He currently leads St. Louis' Adam Wainwright and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay - the league two 20-game winners - by seven.

PENNANT NOTES: San Diego won on Friday, remaining 1/2 game behind the Giants, but improved to 1/2 game ahead of Atlanta in the wild card race. The Braves lost their 4th straight, an 8-3 loss to the Nationals, nearly conceding the NL East to the Phillies, winners of their 11th straight. The Phillies' magic number is suddenly just two, while the Braves have gone - in the short span of two weeks - from leading their division to on the verge of being eliminated from post-season play.

The Red Sox took down the Yankees in the opener of their three-game series, 10-8, while the Rays beat the Mariners, 5-3, putting Tampa back atop the AL East by 1/2 game. Boston closed to within 6 1/2 of the Yankees in search of the wild card. They have five games remaining with the defending world champions and need to win them all in order to have any kind of chance.

Guerrero Pounds Angels; Felix Hernandez Stymies Yanks; Furcal Terrorizes Giants

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 30, 2010 American League Winning the AL East is never easy, though this season brings more of a challenge to the World Champion Yankees, as both the Red Sox and Rays seem unwilling to allow New York to repeat. While the Rays were helping themselves, beating Boston, 9-4, both teams got some assistance from Seattle starter Felix Hernandez (left), who went the distance, allowing just two hits in a 7-0 whitewash at Yankee Stadium. Hernandez walked two but struck out 11, shutting down one of the most potent offenses in the league and keeping the AL East race tight. The Yankees lead Boston by one game and Tampa Bay by two. Hernandez recorded his third complete game and first shutout of the season, throwing 117 pitches while improving his record to 6-5. Out on the opposite coast, the Texas Rangers were making sure the Angels understood that trading away Vladimir Guerrero (right) was a bad move, as they took the second game of their three-game set by a 6-4 score after dropping the opener, 6-5 on Tuesday. Guerrero was taking great pleasure in beating up on his former team, going 4-for-4, with a pair of homers, a double, five RBI and two runs. After giving the Rangers a 4-3 lead with a grand slam in the 4th, Guerrero made sure of the win with his 18th blast of the season - an 8th-inning solo shot that gave the Rangers a two-run cushion. The win improved the Texas lead in the division to 4 1/2 games over the Angels, with the A's 10 back and Seattle 14 out. Texas and the Yankees share the best record in the majors, at 47-30. Josh Hamilton extended his major league-best hitting streak to 23 games with an 8th-inning ground rule double in his final at-bat. National League Los Angeles got a solid seven innings from Vicente Padilla (2-2), and completed a three-game sweep of their long-standing rivials, the Giants, in San Francisco, with a resonant 8-2 win. While Padilla was limiting the Giants to three hits over his seven innings, Rafael Furcal was making a shambles of Giant pitching, going 4-for-5 with a two-run homer, two RBI, and three runs. The homer was Furcal's 3rd of the season, and 95th of his career. Besides being close to the 100-homer mark, he's also closing in on 500 RBI, with 490 to date, which doesn't sound like much, but is a solid number for a player who's spent most of his life in the leadoff spot. The Dodger win put them 3 games behind the NL West leading Padres, with the Rockies 5 back and the Giants fading to 4th place, 5 1/2 out.

Dempster, Lee Author 3-0 Cubs Win Over Dodgers; Guerrero Lights Up Royals

Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 25, 2010 American League Rolling right along, the Texas Rangers widened their lead in the AL West to three games over the A's, with an 8-7 win at Kansas City. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz both bashed solo homers, but Vladimir Guerrero belted a pair of two-run bombs and doubled home Ian Kinsler with what would prove to be the winning run in the 7th inning. Guerrero tallied five RBI, which vaulted him past Evan Longoria, Jose Bautista and Miguel Cabrera into first place in that category with 42 on the year. He's also batting a robust .347, second in the league (Justin Morneau leads at .381) and his 12 homers are good for 4th on that list. The Rangers acquired Vlad via free agency from the Angels during the off-season and haven't regretted the move for a moment. A big-time slugger who's become a fairly permanent DH, Guerrero, at 35, is quietly creeping up the career home run list. With 419, he's sixth among active players and 42nd all-time. League MVP in 2004, Guerrero has never led the league in homers, RBI or batting average, but he's putting up Triple Crown-like numbers this season. National League Ryan Dempster (left) allowed just three singles and a base on balls over 8 scoreless innings and Derrek Lee (right) went 3-for-3 and accounted for all of the Cubs' runs with a 6th-inning RBI single and a two-run homer in the 8th as Chicago won their third straight, downing the visiting Dodgers, 3-0. Dempster needed just 104 pitches (64 for strikes) to keep the usually-potent LA lineup in check, fanning seven and never allowing anyone past second base. From the 4th through the 8th inning, Dempster was untouchable, retiring the final 13 batters he faced in order. Carlos Marmol pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 10th save of the season. Dempster is 3-4 with a 3.31 ERA. For Lee, it was one of his best games in what otherwise has been a disappointing season. He entered the game batting just .218, and the home run was just his 6th of the season. Lee has only 23 RBI, which is still third best on the team. Alfonso Soriano leads the Cubs with 27; Marlon Byrd is second with 26. That kind of underperforming offense and spotty pitching has the Cubs still under .500, though at 22-24, they are actually just 4 games behind NL Central co-leaders, Cincinnati and St. Louis. QUICK HITS: Jon Lester allowed Tampa Bay just one hit over 6 innings, striking out 9 and walking 5, and a trio of relievers didn't give them as much as a single over the final three innings, as the Red Sox took the measure of Tampa Bay for the second straight night with a 2-0 win. Boston downed the Rays 6-1 on Monday and will go for the sweep of the AL East leaders on Wednesday. Willy Aybar had the only hit of the game for the Rays.

Andre Ethier Finishes Brewers with Grand Slam; Guerrero, Hamilton Lead Rangers in 13-12 Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 6, 2010 American League When the Texas Rangers acquired Vladimir Guerrero (left) from the Angels in the off-season, they added more power to one of the most productive lineups in the majors and that worked out just fine for them as the free-swinging Guerrero belted an 8th-inning, game winning home run in a wild 13-12 win over Kansas City. The homer was Guerrero's 5th of the season, and second of the game, belting a 2-run shot with Josh Hamilton (right) aboard in the 6th after driving in a run with a sac fly in the third, netting him 4 RBI for the game. Batting just in front of him was Hamilton, who singled, doubled and homered, his solo shot coming just before Guerrero's game winner, tying the score at 12-12 in the 8th. Hamilton drove in 3 runs and crossed the plate 4 times. He has 17 RBI; Guerrero leads the team with 23. Beating the Royals snapped a two-game losing streak for the Rangers, keeping them tied in first place in the AL West with the A's, at 15-14. Seattle and the LA Angels are both languishing, 3 1/2 back. National League Scuffling along in last place in the NL West, the situation could have gotten worse on Thursday for the Dodgers were it not for a struggling Milwaukee bullpen and a timely grand slam off the bat of Andre Ethier. The Dodgers (12-16) were nursing a 3-1 lead into the 9th, but Jonathan Broxton couldn't get the job done, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs which allowed Milwaukee to tie the game at 3-3. It was Broxton's 2nd blown save of the season, but he was bailed out in the bottom half of the frame as LaTroy Hawkins only managed to get one out while loading the bases on two singles and a walk before Ethier came to the plate. With a runner at third and one out, Ethier was just trying to get a good swing on the ball, but he got it all, sending his 10th homer of the season over the center field wall for a sweet ending and a 7-3 win. The last-inning win came after the Dodgers had dropped the first two games of their home series with the Brewers. Ethier, who singled earlier in the game, finished 2-for-4, raising his league-leading batting average to .371. The homer put him in a tie for the NL lead in that department, with Arizona's Kelly Johnson. His 4 RBI gave him the outright league lead with 30, 4 better than Atlanta's prize rookie, Jason Heyward.

Guerrero Drives in 5 Over O's; Rowand, Giants Continue Hot Pursuit

Players of the Day for Monday, August 17, 2009 American League Racing to what appears to be their third straight NL West title, and 5th in the last 6 years, the LA Angels finished off their 4-game series in Baltimore, maintaining their 4 1/2 game lead over the Texas Rangers by beating the O's for the third straight night, 8-5. Driving in 5 runs with a pair of home runs - the 5th and 6th bombs in his last 10 games - Vladimir Guerrero continues to drive the Angels to wins. With the Angels up, 3-2 in the 6th inning, Guerrero launched his first moon shot of the night with one aboard to deep center off starter David Hernandez to put the Halos ahead 5-2. In the next inning, after Nick Markakis narrowed the lead to 5-3, Guerrero teed off again, this time with two on base, sealing the deal for the Angels and a 3-game-to-1 series win. National League While the Dodgers were losing at home to the Cardinals, 3-2, San Fran took advantage, notching a 10-1 win over the injury-ridden NY Mets. Spearheading the attack was Aaron Rowand, who has done everything ask of him for the Giants this season, including leading off the order on many occasions and playing a very steady center field. In this outing, the last of a 4-game series which ended in a 2-2 split, Rowand was down in the 7-hole, though that by no means diminished his effort, as he went 4-for-5, including a solo homer in the 4th, driving in two runs and scoring twice. Rowand and the Giants drew to within 1 game of second place Colorado and 5 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

Guerrero, Angels Hammer O's; Albert the Great Powers Cards

Players of the Day from Wednesday, August 6, 2008 American League Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run homer in the first inning (his 20th) and singled home another pair in the 4th inning as the Angels clobbered the Orioles, 9-4, and improved their AL West lead to 11 1/2 games over the Rangers, who lost at New York, 5-3.

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The A's losing streak extended to 9 games, taking a 5-1 beat at Toronto. Notes: Tampa Bay and Boston both won, so the lead in the East is still 3 games for the Rays, with the Yankees hoping for a break, 6 1/2 back. The White Sox took another swipe at Detroit's post-season hopes, knocking down the Tigers, 5-1, and putting Detroit 8 1/2 back. The loss was Detroit's 6th straight and their hopes of even being the wild card now seem faint, 10 games behind the Red Sox, who are currently the wild card qualifier. The Twins are still in hot pursuit of the White Sox in the Central, one game back after beating Seattle, 7-3. National League It's probably not a good idea to give Albert Pujols any extra incentive to beat you. After all, he's won various awards over his 7+ year major league career, owns a World Series championship ring and has never hit less than 32 home runs or driven in fewer than 103 runs (both last season). So, when Manny Ramirez homered in the 2nd inning and singled in another run in the 3rd, to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead, it obvious Pujols wasn't about to be shown up in his own park. He had already singled and scored in the first inning, but in the bottom of the third he started a two-out St. Louis rally by doubling and scoring. The Cards tied the game with another run in the frame. After the Dodgers went quietly in the 4th, Pujols delivered the fatal blow: a grand slam homer that upped the lead to 7-4. Right after his blast, Ryan Ludwick homered to make it 8-3. Game over. Final score: Cardinals 9 Dodgers 6. Pujols was on base after all five of his plate appearances, singling twice more and taking a walk in the 6th. His .352 batting average is second in the league to Chipper Jones (.369), but that's just more incentive for Albert the Great. Notes: The Cubs and Brewers both won Wednesday, so the Cardinals remain 1/2 game behind Milwaukee and 5 1/2 below the Cubs. In the East, the Phillies scored a 5-0 win over Florida while the Mets were losing, 4-2, to the Padres, leaving Philly 2 1/2 to the good over Florida and 3 better than the Mets. Arizona and LA both lost, so the Diamondback lead remains at 2 1/2 games in the West.

Guerrero Drives Angels to 7-1 Win; Ramirez Homers Twice to Down ChiSox

Players of the Day from Friday, June 20, 2008 American League Don't tell anybody, but the LA Angels are putting together another division-winning kind of season, leading the pesky A's by 3 1/2 games in the AL West, thanks to players like Vladimir Guerrero, who hit a two-run homer - his 11th - in the first inning, singled twice, drove in three runs and scored twice in the Angels' 7-1 win at Philadelphia.

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At 44-30, the Angels have the second-best record in the American League, behind Boston's 46-30. And while they don't dominate in any hitting or pitching categories, they do lead the league in saves at 30, testament to their winning close games. Notes: After dropping five straight and falling to last place in the AL East, the Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons and replaced him with former manager Cito Gaston. That move still didn't help one of the weakest offenses in the league, as Toronto lost to the Pirates, 1-0, in 10 innings. The Jays scratched out only 8 hits in the game, all singles except for Alex Rios' pair of doubles. While Toronto sports the third-best team ERA in the AL at 3.54, they are third-worst in runs scored (297) and RBI (277), ahead of just Seattle and Kansas City. National League Winning teams usually are that way because they win the close ones, and that's exactly what the Chicago Cubs did Friday night in their 4-3 win over their cross town AL rival White Sox. Trailing 3-1 in the seventh, the Cubs tied the game on back-to-back solo home runs by Derreck Lee and Aramis Ramirez, who ended it two innings later with a walk-off shot to center. Lee's home run was his 15th, Ramirez' two blasts give him 12 on the season. The Cubs improved their record in one-run games to 12-11. Notes: Shades of Ernie Banks? Leading the majors in home runs is Dan Uggla, the Florida Marlins second baseman, who belted two on Friday to give him 23 on the season. Uggla, in just his third season, hit 27 in 2006, 31 last year and is on pace for his best effort yet.

Peavy wins 17th; Angels Magic Number is 10

American League LA Angels 10 Baltimore 5 - The Angels have the largest lead in the major leagues, at 9 1/2 games over Seattle, and last night reduced their magic number to 10 with a thumping of the hapless O's. Vladimir Guerrero (right) led a 14-hit Angels attack with a pair of 2-run homers, giving him 24 on the season and increasing his RBI total to 114, third best in the AL. How bad are the Orioles? They've won just 3 times in their last 20 games. That's how bad. Tampa Bay 10 Boston 16 - The Red Sox fell behind Tampa 8-1 in the 4th inning, but rallied past the Devil Rays to even their series at 1-1 and stay 5 games ahead of the Yankees in the division. Mike Lowell went 4-5 and scored 4 times and Kevin Youkilis banged a 3-run double off the left field wall to highlight a 6-run 6th inning. NY Yankees 9 Toronto 2 - With a showdown looming in Boston, the Yankees are the hottest team in the majors, winning their 6th straight and 10th of their last 13. Jason Giambi socked a grand slam to lead the offense as the Yankees improved their wild card lead to 4 games over Detroit. Other AL Scores Cleveland 8 Chi White Sox 3 - Indians have 6 1/2-gm. lead in Central Texas 13 Detroit 6 Texas 1 Detroit 4 Minnesota 6 Kansas City 3 Oakland 7 Seattle 4 National League San Diego 9 LA Dodgers 4 - The Padres moved on everybody Tuesday night, beating their closest pursuer as the D-Backs and Phillies also lost. The win put them 2 1/2 behind Arizona in the division and 2 1/2 ahead of Philly in the wild card race. Jake Peavy (left) became the NL's first 17-game winner, allowing 2 earned runs on five hits over 7 innings. Peavy is looking more and more like the easy choice for the NL Cy Young award, leading the league in wins (17-6), ERA (2.44) and strikeouts (215). Tuesday's win was his 8th in his last nine decisions. St. Louis 2 Cincinnati 7 - Adam Dunn cracked a pair of homers, driving in 5 runs as the Reds dumped the Cardinals. Dunn hit a solo shot in the first inning and banged a grand slam in the 3rd, both of Cardinals' starter Mark Mulder, who lasted only 4 innings in his second start after coming off the disabled list. Mulder's line for the two games is pretty disappointing: 8 IP, 15 hits, 11 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, and an ERA of 12.38. Given every opportunity to get past the .500 mark and take over the NL Central lead, the Cards have lost five straight and are 4 games behind Milwaukee in the division. Milwaukee 6 Pittsburgh 1 - The Brewers took back first place in the Central, grabbing a 1-game lead over the Cubs. Colorado 8 Philadelphia 2 - Matt Holliday (right) took over the RBI leadership in the NL, banging a couple of home runs and driving in 3. Ryan Howard, who had the lead going into the game, went 0-4. Holliday has 116 RBI; Howard, 115. Other NL Scores Washington 8 Florida 13 Atlanta 13 NY Mets 5 Chi Cubs 4 Houston 5, 11 innings Arizona 1 San Francisco 2

Howard's end; Flying Angels sink Mariners

American League LA Angels 10 Seattle 6 - After a disastrous first inning in which starter Ervin Santana gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks and got just one batter out before being pulled, the LA Angels regrouped and came away with an important win. Vladimir Guerrero (right) was 4-5, and drove in 3 runs, two of them in the key 4-run 8th inning. The win puts the Angels 4 games to the good over Seattle in the division and LA can complete the 3-game sweep tonight in Seattle.LA has won 3 straight and 7 of their last 10. What's worse for the Mariners is that not only are they disadvantaged in the division, but the loss helped New York to within a game in the wild card standings. Boston 3 NY Yankees 5 - Johnny Damon got a measure of revenge over his former team with a 2-run, 7th-inning homer that proved to be the winning margin in the opener of the 3-game series. The Yankees trail the Red Sox by 7 games in the AL East. Minnesota 5 Cleveland 6 - The Indians have suddenly opened up a healthy advantage in the Central, whacking the Twins for the second straight night and boosting their lead in the division to 3 1/2 over Detroit and 7 1/2 over Minny. Jake Westbrook (5-7) won for the 4th time in his last 6 starts, scattering 10 hits and 3 runs over 6 2/3 innings. Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore homered for the Tribe. Other AL Scores Tampa Bay 15 Baltimore 8 Detroit 3 Kansas City 6 - Tigers, 16 hits, 13 LOB Chi White Sox 3 Texas 4 Toronto 5 Oakland 4 National League NY Mets 2 Philadelphia 4, 10 innings - After Jimmy Rollins solo homer in the 8th inning, Aaron Rowand's 50-foot dribbler down the third base line brought home Shane Victorino with the tying run. Two innings later, Ryan Howard blasted his 35th home run of the season into the left field stands and the Phillies were within 4 games of the first place Mets. Philly's dramatics overshadowed an impressive pitching performance by Tom Glavine, who blanked the Phillies for the first seven innings. The Phillies have won the first two of this crucial 4-game series, which continues tonight, with Jamie Moyer going for the Phils against the Mets' Oliver Perez. Milwaukee 3 Chi Cubs 5 - The Cubs sent the reeling Brewers down to third place in the Central division, scoring 4 times in the 7th inning to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 advantage. The Brewers' bullpen has been a major factor in their fall from first place. They've lost 5 straight and 11 of their last 14. Since the All-Star break, the Brewers are 16-27, with a horrific 7-17 record in the month of August. They've nearly completely flamed out after leading the division for most of the first half. The Cubs and Brewers have two more in this series, Wednesday and Thursday. St. Louis 7 Houston 0 - Milwaukee's loss was the Cardinals' gain, as St. Louis took over 2nd place in the division and trail the Cubs by just two games. Bradon Looper (11-10) hurled 7 innings of shutout ball against the punchless Astros and Chris Duncan went 3-5 with a 3-run, 1st-inning homer. The Cardinals finally got back to the .500 level, for the first time since they were 6-6 on April 16. They are 64-64. Arizona 4 San Diego 6 - The Padres took their second straight from the Diamondbacks and now trail Arizona by only a game, as they scored 4 times in the 7th to chase Brandon Webb, snapping his 6-game win streak. The Padres find themselves in a very sweet spot with two more games against Arizona in their 4-game series. They have the same number of losses as the D-Backs, but have played two games less, and they also lead the wild card standings by 3 games over Philly and 3 1/2 over the Dodgers. Besides that, they send Greg Maddux, who last week became the only pitcher ever to win 10 or more games in 20 consecutive seasons, to the mound on Wednesday and Chris Young and his 2.12 ERA on Thursday. The Padres are looking mighty solid. Other NL Scores Cincinnati 4 Pittsburgh 6 Cincinnati 2 Pittsburgh 3 Atlanta 3 Florida 4, 11 innings Washington 3 LA Dodgers 4 Colorado 1 San Francisco 3 - Giants, 6 straight wins

Webb's streak at 42 innings; Bad Vlad bounces Boston

American League Detroit 1 NY Yankees 6 - Jason Giambi powered a pair of homers as the Yankees continued the hunt for at least a wild card spot. They trail the Red Sox by 5 games in the division and Seattle by just 1/2 in the wild card, with Detroit another game back. The Tigers are only 1/2-game out of first place in the AL Central. Cleveland 2 Tampa Bay 1 - The Indians took back first place in the division as Paul Byrd (11-5) scattered 8 hits over 6 innings, allowing one lonely Tampa Bay run while striking out 5. Cleveland knocked out 12 hits, including 3 doubles and a triple, but could only muster 2 runs. LA Angels 4 Boston 8 - David Ortiz pounded his 20th home run as the Sox took the first game of the double header between AL Eat and West leaders. LA Angels 7 Boston 5 - Eric Gagne cost the Red Sox a win, giving up three runs in the 9th, the final blow delivered by Vladimir Guerrero (right) who doubled home the tying and winning runs with his 40th double and 95th and 96th RBI. Vlad was bad, falling just a homer short of the cycle, going 3-5 with 3 RBI. Other AL Scores Baltimore 2 Toronto 5 Texas 1 Minnesota 2, 10 innings Kansas City 9 Oakland 2 Chi White Sox 4 Seattle 5 National League Arizona 4 Atlanta 0 - Brandon Webb (13-8) tossed his third consecutive shutout, running his scoreless innings streak to 42, tying Rube Foster for the 12th-longest streak in MLB history. Webb (right) baffled Atlanta's batters on 2 hits, while striking out 6 and issuing just one walk. Webb still has a way to go to reach Orel Hershiser's record of 59 straight scoreless innings, set in 1988, but the win boosted Arizona's lead in the NL West to 4 games over losing San Diego. The Diamondbacks are streaking through August into baseball's final month. Friday was their third straight win and 10th in their last 13 games. St. Louis 1 Chi Cubs 2 - The Cubs are once again in first place in the NL Central, and they got there by beating the team that helped jettison the formerly first-place Brewers. The Cardinals disposed of Milwaukee by sweeping their three-game series before heading to Chicago, and were rudely welcomed by Rich Hill (7-7) who allowed just 3 hits over seven innings. The Cardinals' only run came on Albert Pujols' 26th home run - a solo shot in the 6th, which gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Jacques Jones countered with a 2-run shot in the bottom of the inning, after which neither team could score. The Cubs have a 1/2-game advantage over Milwaukee and lead the Cardinals by 3, though the Cards and Cubs still have three games left in their head-to-head series. Cincinnati 8 Milwaukee 3 - Adam Dunn smacked his 33rd home run and the Reds knocked the Brewers out of first place, handing them their 5th straight loss. NY Mets 6 Washington 2 - Tom Glavine notched career win #301 and Moises Alou homered for the 4th time in his last 5 games as the Mets maintained their NL East lead. Jose Reyes boosted his major league leading stolen base total to 62 with a pair of swipes. Philadelphia 11 Pittsburgh 8 - Pat Burrell singled, doubled and homered, driving in 3 runs and scoring twice as the Phillies outlasted the Pirates in the first of a 3-game series. The Phillies kept pace with the Mets, who are 3 in front, and separated themselves from the Braves, who lost to Arizona. Other NL Scores San Francisco 3 Florida 0 Houston 3 San Diego 1 Colorado 4 LA Dodgers 6

Guerrero, Angels Down Bombers; Reynolds Hot D-Back; Bonds Under Pressure

Friday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Vladimir Guerrero (right) singled and doubled twice in 5 at-bats, scored twice and drove in 2 runs as the LA Angels opened an important 3-game series in NY by whipping the Yankees, 10-6, maintaining their 4-game lead over Oakland in the AL West. The Angels' Orlando Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 15 games, chasing Yankee Derek Jeter, whose 19-game streak is currently the longest in the majors. Jeter singled and scored in 4 at-bats while teammate Alex Rodriguez cracked his major league best 19th home run - a 2nd-inning solo shot off starter Jered Weaver. It's all about Boston - Despite what Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner may think, or hope, the Boston Red Sox continue to pull away in the AL East. On Friday, Daisuke Matsuzaka became the third AL pitcher to reach 7 wins, joining teammate Josh Beckett and the Angels' John Lackey. Dice-K wasn't great, allowing 5 earned runs off 7 hits and 3 walks, but the Sox put a 10-spot on the board, beating the host Rangers, 10-6. Boston, now 32-15, is 10 1/2 games to the good on New York. Other AL Scores Oakland 3 Baltimore 2 - D. Haren (W, 5-2) 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER Cleveland 7 Detroit 4 - Indians take 1/2-game lead on Tigers in AL Cent. Minnesota 4 Toronto 3 Seattle 10 Kansas City 2 - I. Suzuki, 18-gm. hit streak Chicago White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 4 National League Mark Reynolds (right) smacked a pair of homers, tripled, singled twice, drove in 4 runs and scored 4 times in a 5-5 performance as the Arizona Diamondbacks slammed the reeling Houston Astros, 13-3, Friday night. Reynolds, called up recently from AAA Tuscon to replace injured Chad Tracy, is batting .459 in his first 10 games in the majors. The second of a 4-game set at Arizona went pretty much the same way as the first, won by the D-Backs, 9-1 on Thursday. Friday's loss was the Astros' sixth straight. Arizona remains 2 back of the Dodgers in the NL West. Rookie 3rd baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff extended his hitting streak to 8 games with his first major league grand slam in the Padres' 8-4 win over visiting Milwaukee - the first of a 3-game weekend series in San Diego. Kouzmanoff added a double giving him 13 hits in his last 25 at-bats (.520). The Padres remain a game behind the Dodgers in the contentious NL West, while the Brewers - despite losing their last 3 and 10 of their last 14 - maintain a 6-game bulge on the Cubs in the NL Central. What's wrong with Barry? In the first inning of Friday night's 5-3 Colorado win at San Francisco, Rockies' starter Jason Hirsh got himself into a real jam. Randy Winn, the Giants' leadoff hitter, singled and Hirsh then issued walks to Rich Aurilia and Ryan Klesko, loading the bases. Up to the plate strode Barry Bonds, ten homers shy of the all-time record. Hirsh couldn't walk him, nor could he reasonably pitch on the edges. He had to give Barry something hittable. He did, and Bonds grounded into a routine 4-6-3 double play. Winn scored, but the at-bat pointed up the latest baseball banter about the suddenly struggling "King of Swing", who hasn't homered since May 8 - a span of 13 games in which Bonds has played (he sat out games on May 15 and 23, incidentally, both one-sided Giants' wins) - his longest dinger drought of the season. So, what's wrong with Bonds? Could it be a sore hamstring? Or maybe, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests, Bonds is being too passive at the plate and umpires aren't giving him the benefit of the doubt on close pitches. That's a reasonable argument, along with the theory that there isn't a pitcher in the majors who wants to give up another Barry bomb, and they aren't giving him good pitches to hit. But even the best pitchers make mistakes, often when trying to nibble at the corners, and Barry hasn't bashed any of those muffs lately. Over his last 13 games, Barry is just 5-36 (.139) with no RBI and 7 whiffs, mostly on called third strikes. It could be injury or simply a bad slump, but maybe, as Bonds approaches 43 years of age, Father Time is finally slowing him down. All those years Barry wasn't using any performance-enhancing drugs may finally be taking their toll. Of course, there is the pressure of the situation.

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Roughly the same percentage of people who believe Barry used juice also don't want him to reach Aaron's record 755 home run mark - about 70% - but Barry wants it badly and, after all, he is human and is likely to be pressing. But the pressure will not wane. As he gets closer, it's going to get harder - if he gets closer. It's a shame - just 10 home runs from immortality, yet a world away in reality. Fickle fate and his own super-inflated ego may prove to be Barry Bonds' worst enemies. Other NL Scores NY Mets 6 Florida 2 Pittsburgh 10 Cincinnati 4, 10 innings - Pirates score 8 in top 10th Washington 5, St. Louis 4 - LP: A. Reyes (0-8); Cards 5-8 last 13 gms. Philadelphia 8, Atlanta 3 - Phils' Ryan Howard back from DL (1-4, 2 RBI) LA Dodgers 9, Chicago Cubs 8 - J. Kent HR (8), 4 RBI

Fausto Bedevils Twins, 2-0; Vlad Impales Mariners

Thursday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Remember the name Fausto Carmona (right) because you're likely to be hearing it more often as the season progresses. On Thursday, Cleveland's Carmona 4-hit the Minnesota Twins, beating their ace, Johan Santana for the second time in a month and winning his 5th straight (5-1) with a complete game shutout, 2-0, in Cleveland. Over his last five starts, Carmona, who employs a nasty sinker almost exclusively at times, has gone at least 7 innings and allowed no more than 7 hits. Over that span of 38 innings, he's given up only 6 earned runs, dropping his season ERA to 2.55 and his WHIP to 1.14. Thursday's win catapulted the Indians back into first place as the Tigers dropped a pair in Boston and now trail the Tribe by 1 game. Minnesota is fading early, now 7 games off the pace in the AL Central. The 2-0 win also gave the Indians a 3-game sweep over the Twins, in which they outscored them 24-8. Jermaine Dye provided all the offense in the White Sox's 4-1 win over visiting New York. Dye doubled in a run in the 1st, hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd and plated another run with a sac fly in the 4th. That was more than enough for starter Jon Garland (3-2), who worked 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits and 4 walks. Bobby Jenks finished with a hitless 9th inning for his 13th save. The Sox are 3 1/2 back of Cleveland in the AL Central. Sometimes, there's nothing a pitcher can do with Vladimir Guerrero (right) besides marvel at his enormous talent. Such was the case for Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn who gave up Vlad's 10th home run in the first - a two run shot - then a double in the 3rd to drive in another run, leading the Angels to a 7-3 road win and a 3-game lead over the Mariners and A's in the AL West. Guerrero finished 3-5, with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Besides being one of the most feared power hitters in the game, Guerrero is also batting a super .351, third in the AL. His 10 homers and 36 RBI are also currently good for third place. Triple Crown? If anybody can, Vlad's the man. Delmon Young cracked a pair of home runs - a 3-run shot in the 4th and a walk-off game winning 2-run blast in the 10th to pace the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to an 8-6 win over visiting Texas. The homers (#s 5 and 6 for Young) were Young's only hits in his 5 official at-bats. Other AL Scores Boston 2 Detroit 1 Boston 4 Detroit 2 - Red Sox, (28-12), 1st place AL East, 9 1/2-gm. lead Kansas City 7 Oakland 4 - KC takes 3 of 4 in Oakland National League Gabe Gross helped the Brewers avoid a 4-game sweep by the Phillies with a pair of solo home runs in Milwaukee's 3-2 win at Philadelphia, only the 2nd victory in 7 games for the Brewers, who have seen their lead in the NL Central shrinking of late, down to a reasonable 5 1/2 over Houston.

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With interleague play beginning today, the Brewers may be happy to welcome the struggling Minnesota Twins, losers of 3 straight and 8 of their last 10. Other NL Scores Pittsburgh 7 Florida 2 Washington 4 Atlanta 3 NY Mets 6 Chicago Cubs 5 - Mets score 5 in bot. 9th, lead NL East by 1 1/2 San Francisco 2 Houston 1, 12 innings Arizona 3 Colorado 1 Notes: Interleague play starts today, and while there are many detractors, I'm not one of them, as I enjoy seeing the two leagues square off in regional rivalries. Among the more interesting matchups this weekend are the Yankees at the Mets, the Dodgers at the Angels, White Sox at Cubs and Cincinnati at Cleveland. The interleague games will be reported here under our usual National and American League formats using the home teams in respective leagues. That way, you and I will both know who's using a DH and who isn't. (I still don't like the DH, regardless of my non-purist stance concerning Interleague play.)

Mets On Fire: Win 4th Straight in 11-1 Rout of Braves

Friday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops National League After trashing the world champion St. Louis Cardinals in a 3-game set, the NY Mets sauntered into Atlanta and gave the Braves a taste of what the NL East would be like this season. Leadoff man Jose Reyes (right) rapped out a pair of triples and a single in 6 at-bats, drove in 4 runs and scored twice in support of Oliver Perez's 5-hit, 6 K, 7-inning mound work. While Reyes and the other Mets' position players were shredding 4 Atlanta pitchers for 15 hits, Perez was making short work of the Braves at the plate, allowing just one earned run on Jeff Francoeur's first homer of the season. The Mets improved to 4-0, one game ahead of the Braves. Arizona rookie Chris B. Young blasted a 3-run shot in the 6th and added another RBI on a sac fly in the 8th inning, boosting the Diamondbacks to a 7-1 decision over the Nationals at Washington. Young, starting in center field for Arizona, is batting only .176, but has produced 7 RBI on just 3 hits. Opposing pitchers may not want to face Philly's Ryan Howard, but Pat Burrell, who bats behind the 2006 NL MVP will make them pay. Burrell blasted a 3-run homer off Florida reliever Ricky Nolasco in the top of the 7th inning last night to boost the Phillies to an 8-2 win over the Marlins. Nolasco walked Howard with first base open and Shane Victorino on 2nd to face Burrell and the veteran left fielder obligingly deposited the ball in the stands behind left field. Burrell earlier scored in the 2nd and singled in another run in the third. The homer gave him 4 RBI on the night. Cubs' starter Rich Hill was perfect over 5 innings, then allowed a leadoff 6th inning solo homer to Corey Hart, but finished strong, setting down the next 6 batters in order, as Chicago won 9-3 at Milwaukee. Hill allowed only the one hit, no walks and struck out 6 as the Cubs evened their record at 2-2. After dropping 3 straight to the Mets, the St. Louis Cardinals got their first win of the season as Chris Duncan went 3-4 on a pair of doubles, a two-run homer and 3 RBI. The Cardinals handed Houston their 4th straight home loss, 4-2. Jeff Conine's 3-run blast in the 3rd broke a 1-1 tie and the Reds added single runs in the 7th and 8th innings to hand Pittsburgh their first loss of the season, by a 6-1 score. The win earned the Reds a tie with the Pirates for 1st place in the NL Central at 3-1. Colorado's Matt Holliday hit his second home run in as many days helping the Rockies to a 4-3 win at San Diego. Holliday's 2-run shot drove in Todd Helton and gave the Rockies a 4-1 cushion. Khalil Greene's 2-run shot in the 9th nearly spoiled the night for reliever Brian Fuentes, who was awarded the save despite allowing a hit and two runs in the final frame. Brad Penny allowed 10 hits but only 1 run to post a 2-1 win over host San Francisco. American League Vladimir Guerrero (right) cracked a 3-run homer off reliever Jay Witasick in the 7th inning to pace the LA Angels to a 5-3 win over AL West rival Oakland. The blast was Vlad's 3rd of the season (tying him with Cleveland's Gary Sizemore for the AL lead) and boosted his RBI total to a league-leading 9, one ahead of the A's' Mark Ellis. Robinson Tejeda threw 2-hit ball over 7 innings as the Texas Rangers beat the visiting Boston Red Sox, 2-0. Tejeda walked 3 and struck out just one, but threw only 77 pitches for his first win of 2007. The Yankees' Mike Mussina lasted only 4 innings in his 2007 debut, allowing the visiting Baltimore Orioles to ring up 6 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks. The Moose only struck out 4 batters in Baltimore's 6-4 win.