Ludwick Rakes Reds; Sabathia Shuts Out Twins, 1-0

Players of the Day from Monday, June 10, 2008 American League C. C. Sabathia (4-8), who has had his share of struggles and hard luck, put together a stellar mound performance on Monday night, hurling his third complete game and second shutout of the season, shutting down the Twins, 1-0, in the opener of a three-game series in Cleveland. Sabathia used 106 pitches - 77 going for strikes - over the nine innings, allowing just five hits and no walks. He stuck out five Minnesota batsmen. The win allowed Cleveland to gain a game on both the Twins and White Sox, though they are still 7 1/2 behind Chicago and one back of Minnesota, which has now lost 6 straight. The Sox lost for the first time in 8 games, as the Tigers cut them down, 6-4. Notes: The Rangers' Michael Young extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a sixth inning single in Texas' 6-5 win over Kansas City. The Royals blew a 5-1 lead, allowing the Rangers to score 4 times in the 8th and once in the ninth when Ian Kinsler scampered home from third on a passed ball by Royals' catcher John Buck. All five runs scored by the Rangers were unearned. Young is batting .308. His hit streak is the longest in the majors this season. National League Ryan Ludwick struck out in his first at-bat on Monday night, but after that all he did was hit, knocking a single, a pair of doubles and a solo homer as the Cardinals engulfed the faltering Reds, 7-2. His 4-RBI evening gave him an even 50 on the season, good for 4th in the league behind Adrian Gonzalez (57), Lance Berkman (56) and Chase Utley (56).

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The Cardinals' win kept them 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and five clear of 3rd place Milwaukee. Notes: The East is not looking so sweet for two perennial contenders, the Braves and the Mets. Both are playing less than .500 ball, and are respectively 6 1/2 and 7 1/2 off the pace set by the Phillies, with Florida just three behind Philly in second place.

Griffey Mashes #600; Navarro a Sweet Find for the Rays

Players of the Day from Monday, June 9, 2008 American League Ken Griffey Jr. became the 6th player in major league history to hit 600 home runs, launching a first-inning blast off Marlins' starter Mark Hendrickson into the right field stands. Jerry Hairston was on third when Griffey hit the historic homer, giving the Reds a 2-0 lead and starting a 9-4 rout of Florida by the Reds.

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The home run was Griffey's only hit of the night. He finished 1-for-4 with 2 RBI. It was just his 7th home run of the season and his 28th and 29th RBI. Griffey joins Sammy Sosa, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds as the only players to reach the 600 HR plateau. Notes: Cincy split the 4-game series with the Marlins by find themselves in last place in the NL Central, 9 1/2 games behind the Cubs. With #600 out of the way, could Griffey be headed for a trade? Seattle has been mentioned, though other teams which might be looking for an extra left-handed DH or outfielder include Cleveland, Toronto and Baltimore. While Griffey would likely want to be traded to a contender, that may not happen. He and his swing would be a nice fit for the compact dimensions of Camden Yards. The O's could definitely use a boost, but do they have what the Reds need - young, starting pitching? Daniel Cabrera or Garrett Olson come to mind. The Blue Jays have even more to spare. Stay tuned. National League Just what do the Rays have in young catcher Dioner Navarro? It's somewhat early to say, but Navarro, a solid plate presence with occasional power is batting .347 through 42 games as Tampa Bay's #1 backstop.

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In the opener of their three-game series with the Angels, Navarro led the charge to a 13-4 Rays romp with a single, a pair of doubles and his third homer of the season in 5 at-bats, driving in four runs and scoring three times. Whatever the Rays see in Navarro, it's definitely working for them. Notes: Despite their loss on Monday, the Angels still hold a 4-game lead on the A's in the West, with Texas 7 back. The Mariners have dropped out of it completely, 15 1/2 games off the pace. Meanwhile, the White Sox won their seventh straight, sending the 2nd place Twins to their 5th straight loss, 7-5, and opening up the largest lead in the majors, 6 1/2 games. The Sox have built their lead by beating up on divisional opponents, posting a 21-8 mark in that regard.

Swisher Swats Twins; Ramirez' 2 HR Lead Florida Past Reds

Players of the Day from Sunday, June 8, 2008 American League Nick Swisher cracked a three-run homer in the second inning and doubled home another and scored in the fifth as the White Sox buried Minnesota, 12-2.

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It was the third straight game in which the Sox scored 10 or more runs against the Twins, having won 10-6 on Friday and 11-2 on Saturday. The four-game series concludes Monday in Chicago. Notes: Joe Crede continues to swing a hot bat for the White Sox. After homering twice in each of the first two games of the series, he singled and doubled in 4 at-bats Sunday, driving in two and scoring twice. In his last four games, Crede is 10-for-12 with 5 homers and 12 RBI. His power burst has helped the White Sox to six straight wins and a 5 1/2-game lead over Minnesota in the Central. National League Hanley Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a pair of 2-run homers in Florida's 9-2 romp past the Reds. Ramirez, who bats leadoff for the Marlins and plays shortstop, boosted his batting average to an even .300. The Marlins remain 3 1/2 behind the first-place Phillies in the NL East. Notes: Ken Griffey Jr. continues to experience frustration at the plate as no pitcher wants to serve up the 600th gopher ball for Junior. In Sunday's game he went 0-1 with a pair of walks before being pulled in the 7th for a rest. Griffey has been at 599 and counting since May 31. The Reds conclude a four-game series at Florida on Monday before returning home for a three-game set with the Cardinals, Tuesday through Thursday. If Griffey doesn't get #600 in one of those games, Cincinnati fans may be in for a treat as the Boston Red Sox come to town on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the second round of interleague play.

Damon Ties Records with 6 Hits; Martin, Kemp Power Dodgers over Cubs

Players of the Day from Saturday, June 7, 2008 American League so many players had big nights on Saturday, it was tough to pick just one for POTD in the AL, but Johnny Damon's 6-for-6 performance took the prize as the Yankees outlasted Kansas City, 12-11, in the Bronx. Damon's six hits - five singles and a double - tied both the Yankees' and AL records for hits in a game. Setting Damon's feat apart was his ninth inning single which plated Wilson Betemit with the winning run. Damon drove in four runs total, scored once and stole a base as well.

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Nearly outdoing the Yankee outfielder was KC's Jose Guillen, who hit a two-run homer in the first, singled in another run in the third and blasted a grand slam in the 7th, which, at the time, gave the Royals a 10-6 lead. Guillen finished 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored and seven RBI. Notes: Also putting up big numbers Saturday were Baltimore's Jay Payton (2 singles and a double, five RBI in a 9-5 O's win over Toronto), Edgar Renteria (3-for-4 with a grand slam in Detroit's 8-4 win over the Indians) and Joe Crede, who followed up his 2-homer night on Friday with a pair of 3-run blasts Saturday to propel the White Sox to an 11-2 thrashing of the Twins. It was not a good night to be on the mound in the AL. National League Russell Martin (left) singled twice and homered, driving in three runs, and teammate Matt Kemp singled and cranked a three-run homer in the 7th to send Cubs' starter off the mound and into a rage, as the Dodgers dropped the Cubs for the second straight night, 7-3. Both Kemp and Martin also added a stolen base each, furthering Zambrano's (8-2) frustration. Notes: Complicating matters for the Cubs was St. Louis' 8-4 win over the Astros, which put the Cardinals just 2 1/2 behind Chicago in the Central division. The Phillies won their third straight to maintain their 3 1/2-game lead over Florida in the East. The D-Backs won as well, keeping the Dodgers 4 behind in the West.