Cantu, Willingham, Rosales Power Wins

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 11, 2010 American League Leading 3-1 through 6 innings, Joe Saunders and his LA Angel teammates were cruising along, seeking a win over the upstart Oakland A's, who have taken the AL West lead hostage in the opening week of the season. The Angels have won the division three years running, and were eager to resume their rightful place atop the standings. This was the third game of the series, and

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But then came the 7th inning and a little-known utility infielder named Adam Rosales, who had already made his mark, hitting a solo homer in his first at-bat of the game - and the season - in the 2nd inning. By the time Rosales came to the plate in the 7th, Saunders would be headed for the showers, allowing three straight hits without getting an out. Kevin Jepsen relieved the starter and got one out before Rosales came up and singled home two more runs, putting the A's ahead, 4-3. From there, the A's would tack on 5 more runs, including a walk to Rosales that forced in one run. For his first appearance this season, Rosales made the most of it, going 2-for-3 with a home run and 4 RBI, one which stemmed from the bonus base on balls. With the 9-4 win, the A's remained in first place with a 5-2 record. The Angels dropped to last, along with the Mariners, at 2-5.

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National League Normally, choosing a Player of the Day isn't a very complicated matter... and then there are days like Sunday. Albert Pujols shows off on national TV with a pair of homers and a single, 4 RBI in 5 at-bats, but, the Cardinals lose to Milwaukee, 8-7. Earlier in the day, Roy Halladay pitches his first complete game win as a National Leaguer, allowing 7 hits while fanning 8 as the Phillies slip by Roy Oswalt and the winless Astros, 2-1. The only run of the game is unearned, and it's Halladay's errant throw to first which causes it. Uh-uh. Out in Arizona, the Diamondbacks score 13 runs in the 4th inning en route to a 15-6 win over the Pirates. Catcher Chris Snyder hits a two-run homer and a bases-loaded double, drives in 5, scores twice, but, it was, after all, a rout over one of the worst teams in the league. Pablo Sandoval goes 3-for-4 with a triple and a homer, drives in 2 runs, scores three as the Giants improve to 5-1 with a 6-3 win over Atlanta. Now, we're getting somewhere. In the end, it turned out to be a tie. Florida's Jorge Cantu (left), who belted a 3-run homer in the 4th inning, and capped off his night with a 7th inning two-run double which turned a 5-4 Dodger lead into a 6-5 Marlins win. Cantu was 2-for-4 with 5 RBI, including the game-winner. We also tip our cap to Washington's Josh Willingham (right), who drove in all five runs in the Nationals' 5-2 win over the Mets. Willingham launched a grand slam in the 1st inning and doubled home another run in the 4th. Washington's pitching staff made his runs hold up. The Nationals - and this may be the last time this season this statement is valid - are one of 5 NL teams with winning road records.

Sabathia Flirts with No-Hitter; Rookie Heyward Blasts for Braves

Players of the Day for Saturday, April 10, 2010 American League

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The Yankees and Rays have each won the AL East over the past two years - the Rays in '08, the Yanks in '09 - so the rivalry produces some interesting games, but Saturday's 10-0 whitewash by the Yankees was no contest as C.C. Sabathia flirted with a no-hitter into the 8th inning. Sabathia, who walked 2 and struck out 5, set down the first 12 Rays in order before walking Evan Longoria to open the 5th. Longoria stole second and eventually advanced to third with two outs, but Sabathia struck out Pat Burrell to end the inning. It wasn't until there were two outs in the 8th that Sabathia finally gave up a hit, a line single to left by former teammate Kelly Shoppach. The burly lefty - perennially among the league leaders in innings pitched - was lifted for a reliever because of a high pitch count, it being only his second start of the season. In picking up his first win of the year, Sabathia threw 111 pitches, 69 of them for strikes.

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National League On of the most-highly touted rookies to hit the big leagues this season is Atlanta right fielder Jason Heyward, who hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat and went 2-for-5 in his first game with the Braves. Since then, Heyward has had to adjust to reality, going just 1-for-12 over his next three games. Until Saturday, that is. Facing the 4-0 Giants, Heyward and the Braves fell behind, 1-0, but tied it on Heyward's solo homer in the sixth. The rookie also singled home a run in the 7th and singled and scored in the 9th as Atlanta beat the Giants, 7-2. His 3-for-3 performance, 2 runs and 2 RBI upped his batting average from an anemic .176 before the game, to a respectable .300 after it. This early in the season, Heyward is carrying rookie of the year credentials with 2 homers and 6 RBI.

Cruz a Force for Rangers; De La Rosa 1-Hits Padres

Players of the Day for Friday, April 9, 2010 American League At 2-2, the Texas Rangers aren't exactly where they'd like to be, especially since the team in front of them in the AL West is the 4-1 Oakland A's, and not the Angels, who have started off 2010 with a 1-4 record. Texas has been trying to run down the Angels in the division for the past three years, to no avail, but they've got all the players in place to make a serious run at the division crown this season.

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One of those players is outfielder Nelson Cruz, who, after 3 years in the bigs, finally got a chance to play full time last season and produced 33 homers and 76 RBI. This season, he's off to a great start, batting .500 after gathering three hits in the Rangers' 6-2 win over Seattle. Cruz singled twice and hit his third homer of the season in the 4th inning - a solo shot which tied the game at one. His single in the 6th inning drove in another run, for a 3-for-4, 2-RBI, 2-run night at the plate.

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National League Everybody in the NL West is chasing the 4-0 San Francisco Giants, but the Rockies got an exceptional outing from their #4 starter on Friday night as Jorge De La Rosa blanked the Padres on one hit over seven powerful innings. De La Rosa, who walked just one batter and hit another, set down the first eight Padres in order and allowed the only runner to get past first base in the 4th inning when he plunked Kyle Blanks, gave up his only hit to Chase Headley, sending Blanks to third. He finished strong, however, retiring Scott Hairston to end the inning and then proceeded to mow down the next nine batters he faced before being lifted for a reliever to open the 8th. The 7-0 win evened the Rockies' record at 2-2. Clint Barmes cracked a 3-run homer in the 8th inning for Colorado. NOTES: It didn't take long for each team in the majors to lose at least one game, except for the San Francisco Giants, who are 4-0 out of the gate after Aaron Rowand knocked home Jose Uribe with the game-winner in San Francicsco's home opener against Atlanta, 5-4 in 13 innings. Widely believed to have the best pitching staff in the majors, the Giants have allowed a cumulative 10 runs over 40 innings thus far in the season, for a sparking 2.25 ERA.

Belliard, Dodgers Sock Pirates; Cabrera Wrecks KC

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 8, 2010 American League It didn't take long for Miguel Cabrera to forget about the sorry end to last season and begin bringing the big lumber to the plate. Already locked into what is shaping up to be one of the best pennant races in the majors, the Tigers are tied with the Indians in second place at 2-1, a half-game behind 3-1 Minnesota and the a game ahead of the White Sox, at 1-2. Cabrera had two hits in each of his first two games, and doubled his total with a 4-for-5 performance in Detroit's 7-3 win over Kansas City. After singling twice and being left stranded, Cabrera connected on his 2nd homer of the season in the 8th, a 3-run shot that turned a 2-1 Tiger deficit into a 4-2 lead that Detroit would not relinquish. He also singled home another run in the 9th, giving him 4 RBI on the night. Cabrera has 8 hits in 14 at-bats, for a splendid .571 batting average.

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National League This season, the Dodgers aren't sporting the look of so many successful LA teams which won with pitching and defense. No, the 2010 Dodgers are built for power and they showed some of it off last night by hammering the Pirates, 10-2. Pittsburgh took the first two games of the series from the Dodgers, so all they accomplished was not getting swept, but the rest of the league should take notice that they banged out 16 hits, 13 of them by the first five batters in the lineup. Getting the most mileage from his plate appearances was Ronnie Belliard, batting 5th, who went 3-for-5, scored twice, drove in 4 runs and fell just a single short of hitting for the cycle. Belliard homered in the 5th with a man aboard, drove in another run in the 7th with a triple and plated one more with a double in the 9th.