Francoeur Powers Braves with 7 RBI; Ibanez on a Tear for M's

Saturday's Players of the Day, April 12, 2008 American League Seattle's take two straight from the Angels, due in large part to the hitting exploits of Raul Ibanez. The Mariners' rock-solid outfielder tripled and homered in four at-bats, driving in three runs in Seattle's 8-3 win over Los Angeles on Saturday. On Friday, Ibanez smacked two long balls and added a double in 4 at-bats, driving in 3 as the Mariners rolled to an 8-5 win. Some day, Ibanez will hit a single, and maybe then he'll have a shot at the cycle.

Advertise on Blogs
Choose your own colors, dates and message for maximum impact.
dtmagazine.com/advert.html

Notes: The amazing Orioles continued to lead the AL East with a 3-2 win at Tampa. Boston topped New York and Toronto beat Texas to keep pace. Over in the Central, the Tigers - whom many picked to win the World Series - have secured the worst record in baseball after two weeks at 2-9. What makes matter worse for the Tigers is that their losses have not even been close, like last night's 7-0 whipping by the White Sox. Detroit could only muster a pair of singles off 3 Chicago pitchers. The Tigers' average loss is a 7-2 score. In their nine losses, they've been outscored 63-21. National League Atlanta took their second straight over the struggling Washington Nationals by a 10-2 score, as Jeff Francoeur drove in seven runs with a pair of homers (2-run and 3-run) and a 2-run single in five at-bats. An iron-man type of player, Francoeur has played in every game this season and all 162 the past two years. He's had 100+ RBI every year since becoming a regular, with 103 in 2006 and 105 in 2007. He should see plenty of good pitches this year, batting regularly behind slugger Mark Teixeira. Notes: The Nationals loss to Atlanta was their 9th in a row. Meanwhile the Arizona Diamondbacks won their 8th straight with a 10-3 romp over Colorado.

Pena Blasts Rays Past O's; Hudson is Lights Out for Braves

Players of the Day for Friday, April 11, 2008 American League If you're looking for action, look no further than the AL East. While the Yankees and Red Sox squared off in Beantown, the division-leading Orioles were visiting Tampa Bay, where Carlos Pena was making life difficult for Baltimore pitchers. Pena homered in the first and the seventh innings, a two-run and a three-run shot, respectively, drawing the Rays and O's even at 5-5. But, when the slugger came up with the bases loaded in the 8th, he walked, forcing in the game-winning run. Tampa tacked on four more for a 10-5 win, but clearly Pena was a force with which the O's could not reckon. In five plate appearances, Pena homered twice and walked twice. The two dingers gave him the AL lead, at 5, and his 6 RBI also tied him for AL top honors with Toronto's Vernon Wells, at 12. Notes: Chien-Ming Wang became the first AL pitcher to record 3 wins, hurling the Yankees past Boston, 4-1, with a complete-game, two-hit effort. Wang didn't walk a batter and the only run came on a J.D. Drew 5th inning bomb. National League Known for its versatile and successful pitching staff, Tim Hudson is making Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzoni proud these days. On Friday night, the veteran pitched one of his best games ever, allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks over 8 innings in a 3-0 blanking of the Washington Nationals. Hudson stuck out 5 and got 12 more outs on ground balls, needing only 96 pitches (64 for strikes) to get his 2nd win of the season against no losses. Hudson's 2.14 ERA is nice, but the 0.67 WHIP over 21 innings thus far in the season, is eye-catching. Notes: Still streaking. Hudson's shutout over Washington was the Nats' 8th straight loss. Out West, Arizona improved to 8-2 and a 2 1/2-game lead in the division with their 7th straight win, an 8-2 romp over Colorado.

Young Guns: Tampa's Jackson, Giants' Correia Post Zeroes

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 10, 2008 American League It was widely reported in off-season baseball circles that the Tampa Bay Rays were building a contender. Well, they're still a game under .500 at 4-5, but looking better thanks to starter Edwin Jackson, who tossed 8 innings of 2-hit, shutout ball at the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, resulting in a 7-0 win for Tampa and Jackson's second victory against no losses on the season.

Fish , Hunt Ducks and Waterfowl Lake Manitoba Narrows
Golf, Fish Walleye , Fall Duck Hunting at Resort Lake Manitoba Narrows Home Cottage Lot.

fishlakemanitobanarrows.com

Last year, Jackson went 5-15 with an ERA of 5.76 in his first full season as a starter, though he did register a complete game shutout in the process of learning the AL hitters. He's off to a fine start in '08, with an ERA of 0.64 and an 0.93 WHIP. National League All of a sudden the Giants have pitching? That's positive, because they really don't have much else. Last night, reliever-turned-starter Kevin Correia blanked the St. Louis Cardinals for 7 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks while fanning 4. A trio of relievers finished the job in a 5-1 San Francisco win, their third straight. To say that the Giants are offensively-impaired would be kind. Through 10 games they've scored 25 runs (2.5 per game) and have won their three latest by a combined score of 9-3. Correia evened his record at 1-1. Notes: Streaking: The Arizona Diamondbacks are on a 6-game win streak as they prepare tp host Colorado this weekend in a three-game set beginning Friday. The Nationals have headed in the opposite direction with their 7th straight loss. They've been swept by St. Louis and, most recently, Florida. The Nats host a 3-game series with the Braves starting Friday.

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.