Jamie Moyer, Jered Weaver Hurl Phils, Angels to Victories

Players of the Day for Friday, May 7, 2010 American League Out of last place, the LA Angels may be making some progress toward the top of the AL West standings. After Friday's 8-0 whitewash of the Mariners (losers of 7 straight and now occupying last place in the division), the Angels are 3 1/2 behind the Rangers and 2 1/2 back of the second-place A's. At 13-18, LA still has a long way to go before earning any level of respect, but Jered Weaver's, latest, a 3-hit, no-run, 7 1/3 inning stint, is a huge positive for the struggling squad. Weaver was not by any means dominant, throwing 117 pitches and walking three batters, but he battled and kept the Mariners off the scoreboard while his teammates scored 4 runs in each of the 1st and 4th innings. Pitching with a huge lead, Weaver was able to mix up his pitches and keep Seattle's hitters in check as he improved his record to 4-1, with an ERA on 2.66 and a solid 1.05 WHIP. Weaver struck out 7, giving him 47 in 44 innings this season. He was 10th in the AL in 2009, fanning 174 batters. National League Other than Troy Glaus, the Atlanta Braves simply couldn't touch ageless Jamie Moyer Friday night. Glaus registered the only two hits against the 47-year-old hurler, who became the oldest player in the history of baseball to throw a shutout, bettering the old mark - set by Phil Neikro back in 1986 - by nearly a year. After Glaus got the Braves' first hit with a single to start the second inning, Moyer got Matt Diaz to ground into a double play and proceeded to set down the next 16 batters in order. Glaus had his other single to open the 8th inning, but was forced out at second. Moyer finished the inning, getting the next two batters on fly balls and got through the 9th without incident. Moyer struck out 5 and didn't walk any batters. Thanks to the second inning DP, he faced 28 batters, one over the minimum, for the 7-0 Phillies' win, keeping them 2 games ahead of the Mets in the NL East. Moyer improved his record to 4-2.

Andre Ethier Finishes Brewers with Grand Slam; Guerrero, Hamilton Lead Rangers in 13-12 Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 6, 2010 American League When the Texas Rangers acquired Vladimir Guerrero (left) from the Angels in the off-season, they added more power to one of the most productive lineups in the majors and that worked out just fine for them as the free-swinging Guerrero belted an 8th-inning, game winning home run in a wild 13-12 win over Kansas City. The homer was Guerrero's 5th of the season, and second of the game, belting a 2-run shot with Josh Hamilton (right) aboard in the 6th after driving in a run with a sac fly in the third, netting him 4 RBI for the game. Batting just in front of him was Hamilton, who singled, doubled and homered, his solo shot coming just before Guerrero's game winner, tying the score at 12-12 in the 8th. Hamilton drove in 3 runs and crossed the plate 4 times. He has 17 RBI; Guerrero leads the team with 23. Beating the Royals snapped a two-game losing streak for the Rangers, keeping them tied in first place in the AL West with the A's, at 15-14. Seattle and the LA Angels are both languishing, 3 1/2 back. National League Scuffling along in last place in the NL West, the situation could have gotten worse on Thursday for the Dodgers were it not for a struggling Milwaukee bullpen and a timely grand slam off the bat of Andre Ethier. The Dodgers (12-16) were nursing a 3-1 lead into the 9th, but Jonathan Broxton couldn't get the job done, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs which allowed Milwaukee to tie the game at 3-3. It was Broxton's 2nd blown save of the season, but he was bailed out in the bottom half of the frame as LaTroy Hawkins only managed to get one out while loading the bases on two singles and a walk before Ethier came to the plate. With a runner at third and one out, Ethier was just trying to get a good swing on the ball, but he got it all, sending his 10th homer of the season over the center field wall for a sweet ending and a 7-3 win. The last-inning win came after the Dodgers had dropped the first two games of their home series with the Brewers. Ethier, who singled earlier in the game, finished 2-for-4, raising his league-leading batting average to .371. The homer put him in a tie for the NL lead in that department, with Arizona's Kelly Johnson. His 4 RBI gave him the outright league lead with 30, 4 better than Atlanta's prize rookie, Jason Heyward.

Lackey Shuts down Former Team; Orlando Cabrera Walks Off Mets

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 5, 2010 American League During the off-season, John Lackey took the free agency route from the West coast to the East, going from the LA Angels - where he had been a starter for all of his 8-year major league career - to the Red Sox. On Wednesday, the 6'6" righty got the chance to welcome his old teammates into Fenway Park and he made the most of it, limiting the Angels to 2 hits over 7 innings in a 3-1 Boston win. Lackey allowed one earned run, ironically off the bat of the Angels worst hitter. Third baseman Brandon Wood, batting .185 in the #9 slot, took one of Lackey's mistakes over the Green Monster in left field for a solo homer. That was just about the only mistake Lackey made on the day, improving to 3-1, walking 2 and striking out 4. The only other hit he allowed was a leadoff single in the second by Kendry Morales. The Sox surely need Lackey's strong arm as they chase the Rays and Yankees in the AL East race. Boston trails Tampa Bay by 6 1/2. The Yankees are in second place, one game behind the Rays. LA might end up with regrets over letting their ace go. The Angels are struggling, at 12-17, three games behind the A's in the AL West. National League Cincinnati shortstop Orlando Cabrera has been around. In 16 major league seasons, the sure-handed fielder has played for 7 different clubs, the last six years in the American League. Now back in the NL, where he began his career with the Montreal Expos, Cabrera is still proving a valuable commodity in the field as well as at the plate. In Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Mets, Cabrera provided the winning margin with his 3rd homer of the year, a tenth-inning walk-off solo shot to left off Mets' reliever Pedro Feliciano. Cabrera was the first batter Feliciano faced, and his last. Cabrera went 3-for-5, having hit a pair of singles before his heroic game-ender. In the 4th inning, he singled home the Reds second run. Cincy's win kept them in second place in the Central, 4 games behind the Cardinals, 4-0 losers to Philadelphia. In the AL East, the Mets dropped to 1 1/2 behind the Phillies.

Ryan Sweeney 5 RBI Dumps Rangers; Ryan Braun Powers Brewers Past Dodgers

Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 4, 2010 American League Life in the AL West is confusing, for now. The only team with a record above .500 is the Texas Rangers, though they are just 14-13 after dropping a 7-6 decision to the A's Tuesday in Oakland. The A's are hot on their heels, just 1/2 game back, at 14-14. The two teams play the rubber game of their three-game series on Wednesday. Tuesday's fracas was as close as the final score indicates, as the A's tried their best to give away an early 5-0 lead when the Rangers scored 4 runs in the third inning. Oakland responded with 2 more in the 4th to complete their scoring, and the bullpen managed to hold the Rangers to just 2 more runs for the duration. Keying the Oakland offense was Ryan Sweeney, who drove in 5 of the 7 A's runs with a two-run homer in the 1st, a two-run single in the 2nd and another run-scoring single in the 4th. Sweeney finished 3-for-4, bumping his average to .303. The homer was his first of the season, not unusual for him, as he's hit only 13 in 1047 major league at-bats. Sweeney does have 16 RBI thus far, putting him on pace for 90 or more, depending on how many games he plays. National League At 18-9, the St. Louis Cardinals have not only the best record in the NL Central division, but the best in the league. Their hot start has afforded them a 5-game lead on Cincinnati and Chicago (both 13-14). Another game and a half back are the Milwaukee Brewers, who took the first of their three-game series in LA with an 11-6 win over the Dodgers. The win was just the third for the Brewers in their last 8 outings, keyed by an 8-run 2nd inning. Ryan Braun provided the key bases-loaded double that plated 3 runs, then scored when Prince Fielder socked his third homer of the season. That caused LA starter Clayton Kershaw to be relieved of his duty, allowing 7 runs on 5 hits in just 1 1/3 innings. Braun tripled and scored again in the 4th, and reached on a fielder's choice in the 8th before scoring for the third time. Both times, Braun was driven home by Casey McGehee, who is having an awesome start to his first full season as the Brewers' full-time 3rd baseman (.304, 5, 21). Braun leads the Brewers with 23 RBI and a .356 batting average. The Brewers improved to 11-15.