Ramirez Drives in 4 for Cubs; Cabrera Bangs 2 Homers in Tiger Win

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 8 American League It's a good thing the Detroit Tigers picked up Miguel Cabrera last season, because he was one of the few bright spots on this aging roster. Last season, Cabrera batted .292 with 37 homers and 127 RBI, the homers and ribbies were tops for the team. Cabrera is picking right up where he left off, blasting a pair of homers in Wednesday's 5-1 win over Toronto, accounting for all but one of the Tigers' runs. With a three run shot in the first inning and a solo blast in the 5th, Cabrera single-handedly grounded the Blue Jays, and got the Tigers their first win in three tries this season. He also added a single, going 3-for-4, upping his batting average to .700, with 7 hits in 10 at-bats. National League Scoring 4 runs in each of the first two innings, the Chicago Cubs were well on their way to an 11-6 win over Houston and a 2-1 record in the NL Central, tied for first with the Pirates (you won't see that very often this year). Aramis Ramirez, who contributed to the outburst with RBI singles in the first and second, added a couple more in the 5th, when he doubled home Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome, making the score 10-4. Ramirez added another single, going 4-for-5 with 4 RBI on the night.

Beckett, BoSox Top Rays; Jimenez Shuts Out D-Backs

Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 7 American League Josh Beckett is back and in mid-season form, or so it would seem to the reigning AL champions, Tampa Bay. Beckett stymied the Rays on 2 hits over 7 innings, fanning 10 while allowing just one run. Boston won their home opener, 5-3, with Jonathan Papelbon picking up the save. Beckett was able to relax after his teammates built a 4-1 lead in the 3rd inning and he had all of his stuff working including a nice moving fastball. Boston's burly starter struck out Tampa strongman, Carlos Pena, three times and was ahead in the count on almost every batter he faced. National League When the season started, Ubaldo Jiménez was a .500 starter, with 16 wins and 16 losses, but, following his 7 shutout innings in Colorado's 3-0 win over Arizona, he looks to become better than that as the 2009 season progresses. Jimenez was in complete control Tuesday night, allowing 4 hits and 3 walks over 7 strong innings, striking out 8 D-Backs in the process. The Rockies' rightie reached the upper limit of his pitch count, throwing 107 pitches, 61 for strikes, but the Colorado relief corps of Manny Corpas and Huston Street mopped up with an inning of work each.

Lind's 6 RBI Powers Jays; Ramirez Slam Lifts Marlins

Players of the Day, Monday, April 6 American League Not known for amazing power, Tornoto's Adam Lind put on a little bit of a show in the Blue Jays' opening day, 12-5 win over visiting Detroit. The 3rd-year outfielder was in the starting lineup as DH, and he came through with 4 hits, one of them a 3-run, 4th inning blast which put the Blue Jays ahead 9-1. Lind singled in the first, driving in a pair of runs, and drove in another in the 8th inning to give his 6 RBI on the day. National League Hanley Ramirez picked right up where he left off last season, leading the Florida Marlins to a 12-6 home opening victory of the Nationals with a double and grand slam homer. Ramirez doubled in a run and scored in the 3rd inning, then finished off Florida's scoring with his slam in the 6th inning. Last season, Ramirez batted .301, with 33 homers and 67 RBI. Looking to improve on those numbers, he's off to a great start this season.

Lowe Stifles Phillies in Season Opener

Player of the Day from Sunday, April 5 Derek Lowe (right) pitched 8 solid innings for his new team, the Atlanta Braves, and got enough offense to propel the Braves to a 4-1 win over the 2008 World Series champion Phillies in the MLB opener. Lowe dominated from the mound, allowing just 2 hits over 8 innings before giving way to reliever Mike Gonzalez, who surrendered the only Phillies run of the game on an RBI single by Jayson Werth. Keeping the ball down in the strike zone consistently, Lowe induced a barrage of grounders from the usually-potent Phillies - 13 in total, getting 7 more outs on fly balls and 4 on strikeouts.