Three Mike Lowell Doubles Ignite Red Sox; Ubaldo Jimenez Notches 6th Win for Rockies

Players of the Day for Monday, May 3, 2010 American League Doubles are nice. Players love hitting them almost as much as home runs. Stroking a double into either of the outfield gaps or down the lines is a nice feeling. Doing it three times in a game usually translates into being named Player of the Day, and that's just what the Red Sox's Mike Lowell did on Monday as Boston clobbered the Angels, 17-8. Lowell went 4-for-4 with a walk, so reached base safely in all 5 plate appearances. His barrage began with a single in the second 2nd inning, though he was forced out at second on a fielder's choice. He came up again in the third, this time with two aboard, whom he plated with a drive deep to center field for his first double and 2 RBI. After taking a walk in the 4th inning, Lowell smacked his second and third two-baggers in the 6th and 7th, driving in a run and scoring each time. By the time he crossed the plate in the 7th, the Red Sox were well on their way to the 20-hit, 17-run outburst. Lowell drove in four runs and scored twice, as his teammates added four homers and four doubles of their own. Lowell has only played in 13 games this season, though he's likely to begin seeing more playing time as Boston desperately needs an RBI bat like his. He has 12 hits in 40 at-bats (.300) and 8 RBI. National League San Diego still leads the NL West, though their lead is a slim one game over the Giants. Three back are the Colorado Rockies, at 13-13, thanks largely to Ubaldo Jimenez, who has accounted for nearly half their wins, getting his 6th without a loss in Colorado's 5-2 win over the first-place Padres. Jimenez threw 120 pitches over 7 complete innings to nail down the win, allowing one earned run on four hits and 2 walks while striking out a season-high 13 batters. The baker's dozen of Ks earned him the top spot in the NL strikeout race. Jimenez leapfrogged past 11 other hurlers, including Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Chris Carpenter, Dan Haren, Josh Johnson (42), Tim Lincecum (43), to top them all with 44. Jimenez also leads the league in wins (6) and is tops among NL starters with a ridiculous 0.87 ERA, qualifying him for the early-season pitching triple crown.

Teixeira 4-for-5 in Yankee Win; Victorino Slams Santana, Mets; Ethier on Triple Crown Tear

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 2, 2010 American League The Yankees keep winning, but so does Tampa Bay. Even though the Yanks clobbered the White Sox, 12-3, on Sunday, they weren't able to gain any ground on the first-place Rays, who dropped the Royals, 1-0. New York remains 1 1/2 games off the AL East lead. Notable in the Yankees' win was the effort of Mark Teixeira, who has gotten off to a very slow start this season. Teixeira banged out 4 hits in 5 at-bats - 3 singles and a double - drove in a pair of runs and scored twice as New York took two of three from the White Sox. Slow might be overstating the kind of beginning Teixeira has had to open the 2010 campaign. Prior to his 4-hut outburst, he was batting just .157 with 2 homers and 10 RBI. He now has his batting average up to .189. National League Baseballs were flying over stadium walls with regularity on Sunday, as three players had two apiece in their games. Andre Ethier (left) hit a two-run shot and a solo variety, adding an RBI single for a 3-for-5 day with 4 RBI, as the Dodgers sliced up the Pirates, 9-3. Ethier is leading the league in hitting (.365), RBI (26) and his 9 homers are tied with Mark Reynolds and Kelly Johnson for the NL lead. Hanley Ramirez blasted a pair of 2-run shots and added a single, also going 3-for-5 with 4 RBI in the Marlins' 9-3 win over Washington, pushing the two teams into a tie for 3rd place in the NL East, 1 1/2 behind the Phillies. Chicago beat Arizona, 10-5, thanks largely to Alfonso Soriano's two 2-run homers. Soriano added a double to complete a 3-for-4 effort with 4 RBI. But in Philadelphia, Shane Victorino (right) hit only one homer, but his was a 4th-inning grand slam off Johan Santana, that turned a 5-4 Mets lead into an 8-5 Phillies advantage. Two batters later Chase Utley delivered a 2-run homer, sending the Mets' ace to an early exit. It was the worst out of the Santana's career, allowing 8 hits, 2 walks and 10 earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings. Victorino added a single to go 2-for-5 for the night as the Phillies took back first place in the NL East with an 11-5 win. His 5th homer accounted for 4 RBI, pushing his total to 22 on the year, which isn't too bad for a guy who's been batting in the leadoff spot much of the season.

Markakis Drives in 5 as O's Beat Boston; Halladay Stumps Mets on 3-Hitter

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 1, 2010 American League Nick Markakis has been hitting well of late, and maybe that's one of the reasons his Baltimore Orioles have won 3 of their last 5, and two straight, after a disastrous 3-16 start. Markakis scored his 6th multiple-hit game in his last nine, taking advantage of Daisuke Matsuzaka's first 2010 start by banging out a pair of RBI singles in his first three at-bats. When he scored on Matt Weiters 5th-inning 3-run homer, Matsuzaka was gone, but Markakis returned an inning later with two aboard and took a Tim Wakefield - who had relieved Dice-K - offering over the Camden Yard right field wall for a three-run homer. Ty Wiggington launched a pair of solo homers, giving the O's four for the game in a 12-9 win. Markakis finished up 3-for-4 with 5 RBI and 2 runs, boosting his batting average to .302. The O's will be looking for the sweep on Sunday against the flagging Red Sox. National League The Mets are still in first place in the NL East, but their lead is only 1/2 game after Roy Halladay stopped their winning streak at 8 and moved the Phillies past Washington, back into 2nd place in the division. The Nationals dropped a 7-1 decision to the Marlins. Halladay was in complete control throughout the game, and didn't allow a hit or a walk over the final 5 innings, throwing a 3-hit, one walk complete game shutout, his second of the season, upping his record to 5-1 as the Phillies cruised to the 10-0 victory. The Phillies roughed up Mets' starter Mike Pelfrey with a 6-run 4th inning, capped by Shane Victorino's 3-run homer. The two teams play the rubber game of their 3-game set Sunday night in a nationally-televised (ESPN) cable broadcast. NOTES: While Roy Halladay was his usual exceptional best, Giants' hurler Matt Cain may have actually been better, as he shut down the Rockies on 1 hit and 3 walks over 8 solid innings, putting down the last 15 batters he faced in order. Troy Tulowizski's leadoff double in the 4th was the only hit off Cain, who got his first win of the season. Cain finally put up a W in his fifth start, though his other outings were all good. He's 1-1, with a 2.84 ERA and a WHIP of 1.01. The Rockies managed a run off Guillermo Mota in the 9th, but it wasn't nearly enough, as the Giants won for the 4th time in the last 5 games, 6-1.

All About New York: Jeter Powers Yankees; Barajas Lifts Mets to 8th Straight

Players of the Day for Friday, April 30, 2010 American League While the Rays were losing, 3-2, to Kansas City, the Yankees were making hay against the White Sox, beating the windy city invaders by a 6-4 score. The Yankees win and Rays loss tightened the race in the AL East down to a 1 1/2 game lead for Tampa Bay. Leading off and leading the way for the Yankees was 10-time all star shortstop Derek Jeter, who got the Yanks back into the game after Chicago had taken an early 4-2 lead. Jeter came to the plate with 2 out in the bottom of the 5th and Brett Gardner on second and delivered his 4th home run of the season, tying the game at 4-all. In the 7th inning, Jeter again got to the plate, this time with a pair of runners aboard, and smacked a triple to right scoring two and providing the Yankees with the winning margin. Jeter scored twice and drove in four runs, going 3-for-4 on the night. Jeter, who finished last season 3rd in hitting with a .334 average, is off to a hot start, batting .330 over his first 21 games. National League That other New York team, the Mets, won their 8th straight on Friday, taking a poke at the reigning NL champion Phillies with a 9-1 thrashing, which improved their edge over the Phillies to 1 1/2 games, though another surprise, the Nationals, took over second place in the division, a game behind the Mets. The game was the first of a three-game set in Philly, and the Mets got off to an early 3-0 lead on 2nd-inning home runs by David Wright and Jeff Francoeur. Philly scored what became their only run of the game in the bottom of the 2nd. Catcher Rod Barajas extended the lead with the first of two solo homers in the 5th inning, doubled home two more runs and scored in the 7th and hit his second solo shot in the 9th, just for good measure. Barajas was 3-for-4, with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. The Phillies could muster only 4 hits off mets' starter Jonathon Niese, and had two more hits against a pair of Met relievers.