Hunter Homers Twice for Halos; Kuroda Near Perfect as Dodgers Tie D-Backs

Players of the Day from Monday, July 7, 2008 American League Throughout their lineup, the Texas Rangers have plenty of big bats, but Ervin Santana, Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter put the game out of reach before most of them even made it to the plate. After 1 1/2 innings, the Angels had already put up 8 runs and Santana was on his way to his 10th win against 3 losses. Hunter singled home a run in the first, and after Guerrero smacked a two-run homer, Hunter followed with a solo shot, adding another in the 7th. Hunter finished 3-for-5, with 3 RBI and 2 runs as the Angels outlasted the Rangers, 9-6. The Angels have a 6-game lead over the A's and are 8 1/2 better than the Rangers in the AL West. Notes:Kansas City avoided being swept, winning the last of their 4-game series with Tampa Bay, 7-4, ending the Rays' 7-game winning streak. The Red Sox won, 1-0, over NY, leaving them 4 back with the Yanks 8 1/2 out. National League The LA Dodgers spent the first half of the season chasing the Arizona Diamondbacks, and on Monday night, rookie starter Hiroki Kuroda finally got them into a tie for first place in the NL West with a sparkling one-hitter as the Dodgers blanked Atlanta, 3-0. Kuroda, who has had flashes of brilliance to offset some truly ugly outings, allowed only a Mark Tiexiera double to open the 8th inning, as he struck out 6 and didn't walk a batter, using just 91 pitches for the complete game shutout. Only six Atlanta batters got the ball into the air, as Kuroda retired 15 on ground outs. Notes: The outing was the second complete game shutout in just over a month for Kuroda. On June 6, he blanked the Cubs on 4 hits. He followed that up with his shortest outing of the season, 2 1/3 innings at San Diego, in which he walked four and allowed 5 hits and six earned runs. His last outing, July 1 at Houston, he worked 7 shutout innings in a 4-1 win. Kuroda is 5-6 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.

Garland Stops Blue Jays, 7-1; Hardy Helps Brewers into 2nd

Garland Stops Blue Jays, 7-1; Hardy Helps Brewers into 2nd Players of the Day from Sunday, July 6, 2008 American League The LA Angels continue to press their edge in the AL West, getting a complete game out of starter Jon Garland as they stopped the sputtering Blue Jays, 7-1. Garland (8-5) allowed just 6 hits, with the only run a solo homer by Rod Barajas in the 5th inning. Garland threw 98 pitches, struck out 3 and didn't walk a batter. With the A's losing 4-3 at Chicago, the Angels now have a 6-game bulge in the standings and are the only team in the AL with winning records at home, on the road and against all three divisions. Notes: Tampa Bay won their 7th straight, 9-2 over KC, while the Yankees downed the Red Sox, 5-4 in extra innings, giving the Rays a 5-game lead in the AL East. In the Central, the White Sox, Twins and Tigers were all winners, but the season looks to be over in Cleveland, as the Indians lost their 8th straight and are apparently sending C. C. Sabathia to Milwaukee in a trade. National League After a slow start, the Milwaukee Brewers have finally caught St. Louis and are in second place with the Cardinals, 3 1/2 behind the Cubs. On Sunday, J. J. Hardy led the Brewers to an 11-6 thrashing of Pittsburgh and a sweep of the 3-game series.

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Hardy spearheaded a 16-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of homers, 4 RBI and 2 runs. The shortstop has been on a tear of late. Over his last 7 games, he's gone 18-for-28 with 6 homers and 12 RBI, with multiple hits in 6 of those 7 games. Notes: Despite dropping their last two, the Phillies still maintain a 2 1/2 game lead over the Marlins in the East. They and the Cardinals are the only teams in the NL with winning records at home, on the road and against each division.

Sonnanstine Trumps Royals; Ankiel Deals for Cards

Players of the Day from Saturday, July 5, 2008 American League While the Red Sox were losing a heartbreaker in New York, 2-1, the Tampa Bay Rays were extending their advantage in the AL East to 4 games as Andy Sonnanstine threw 7 innings of shutout ball as the Rays cruised past KC, 3-0. Sonnanstine (10-3), allowed five hits and a walk while fanning two for his 4th straight win. The Rays have won six straight and have the best record in the majors at 54-32. Notes: Terrible Tigers? Just when the Detroit Tigers seem on the verge of getting into the AL Central race, they lose two straight to Seattle and have fallen 7 off the pace. At least they're not as feeble as the Cleveland Indians, whose front office figuratively threw in the towel by letting word out that star pitcher C. C. Sabathia was on the trading block. The disappointing Indians have lost 7 straight and are 13 1/2 out, in last place in the Central, behind even Kansas City. What a pitiful return for a team which went to the ALCS just last year. National League It's only July, but it feels like September in St. Louis where the Cubs and Cardinals are battling for Central division domination. On Saturday, Rick Ankiel got the Cardinals on the board with a solo home run in the 6th inning, then slapped a based-loaded single to center in the bottom of the 9th, plating the tying and winning runs as the Cardinals beat the Cubs, 5-4.

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Ankiel finished 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and his 18th home run of the season. The win moved the Cardinals back to within 2 1/2 games of the Cubs, after dropping a 2-1 decision on Friday. The two teams play the rubber game of the series Sunday afternoon. Notes: Milwaukee beat the Pirates, 2-1, and are just 3 1/2 behind the Cubs. In the West, Arizona lost for the 4th time in their last 5 games, dropping their second straight to San Diego, 4-2. The Dodgers, meanwhile, resisted the opportunity to take over first place in the division, by blowing a 2-0, 6th inning lead to the Giants, losing, 5-2. They remain 1/2 game back, though the Giants are now threatening, just 4 games out.

Holliday Leads Rockies in 18-17 Win over Marlins; Young, Twins Rock Tribe

Players of the Day from Friday, July 4, 2008 American League The surprising Minnesota Twins simply will not go away in the race for the top spot in the AL Central. On Independence Day, Delmon Young singled twice and hit a three-run homer in five at-bats, scoring three times and driving in four to lead a 15-hit Minnesota attack as the Twins pummeled Cleveland, 12-3. Notes: Coupled with the White Sox's 7-1 loss to Oakland, the win moved the Twins to within 1 game of first place. In the East, Tampa Bay hammered KC, 11-2, while Boston handed the Yankees their second straight loss, 6-4. While the Red Sox remained 3 games behind the Rays, the Yanks dropped into a tie with the Orioles, 9 out. National League In this season's highest-scoring game, Rockies, 18, Marlins,17, Matt Holliday homered twice - the second blast a grand slam - singled and scored the winning run in the 9th, helping the Rockies come all the way back from a 13-4 4th inning deficit. Holliday contributed 5 RBI to the Colorado attack, but certainly wasn't the only star in the lineup. Ryan Spilborghs went 4-for-5, scored four times and had 3 RBI; Clint Barnes also was 4-for-5, while Garret Atkins went 5-for-6 with 3 RBI and 3 runs. For the Marlins, Jorge Cantu was 4-for-5 and scored 4 times, and Cody Ross drove in 5 runs with a pair of singles and a bases-loaded double. Notes: The Phillies benefited from Florida's flop, beating the Mets 3-2 (their 4th straight win), to pull 3 1/2 ahead of the Marlins in the East. The Cubs also increased their advantage to the same margin in the Central with a 2-1 win over the Cardinals. However, in the West, Arizona lost while the Dodgers won, leaving the D-Backs just 1/2 game in front of Los Angeles.