Spilborghs Leads Rockies in 12-3 Win; Derek Holland Throws Second Straight Shutout

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 14, 2011

American League

Derek Holland

Picking right up after the all star break where they left off, the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to eight straight with a 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Rangers scored single runs in each of the first three innings and starter Derek Holland made them stand up, tossing his second straight shutout, extending his personal scoreless streak to 18 innings.

Holland gave up just five hits, walked one and struck out eight en route to his eighth win against four losses. The Texas lefty was perfect through five innings and needed 119 pitches - 79 of them for strikes - to record his third complete game and third shutout of the season.

Oddly enough, Holland's scoreless streak began following his worst outing of the season, a July 2nd start against the Marlins in which he lasted only 2/3rds of an inning, surrendering four hits, two walks and five earned runs.

The Rangers have used their win streak to hold off the Angels, winners of four straight. Texas leads the AL West by 1 1/2 games. The Seattle loss was their sixth straight, dropping them 8 1/2 games off the division pace.

National League

Ryan Spilborghs

Ryan Spilborghs made the most of his start in center field for the Rockies, replacing Carlos Gonzalez, who has been sidelined with a deep bone bruise in his right wrist, though the Rockies' regular center fielder is not a candidate for the disabled list.

Spilborghs entered the game with only 152 at-bats and a .217 batting average, but his 4-for-6 performance improved him to .234. Spilborghs, batting in the leadoff spot, spearheaded a 12-3 Colorado win by homering in the 1st inning, singling in and scoring a run in the 4th, singling and scoring again in the 6th and knocking a bases-loaded double in the 7th to drive in two more runs. He also swiped second base in the 4th inning and led a 20-hit Colorado attack.

At 44-48, the Rockies can't waste any time in trying to make up ground in the NL West, where they are in third place, 8 1/2 games behind the Giants. Arizona holds second place, 3 1/2 back.

Pitching and Prince Fielder Lead NL to Second Straight All Star Victory

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 12, 2011

82nd All Star Game

The National League had boasted about its pitching, with good reason, but it was Prince Fielder's three-run homer in the 4th inning that boosted the NL to their second straight All Star win and home field for the NL entrant in this season's World Series.

Fielder's three-run
shot carries NL.

Roy Halladay set the tone for the Nationals, setting down all six of the batters he faced over the first two innings. His teammate, Cliff Lee, surrendered the only run of the game for the AL, a towering 4th inning solo shot off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez, who just a year ago would have been in an NL uniform.

Fielder did his damage in the bottom of the same inning, following singles by Carlos Beltran and Matt Kemp, with a booming belt to dead center field which hit the top of the wall and careened off a back wall of a private box and back onto the field. No doubt about it, Fielder's hit was a goner, and the NL never looked back.

The score could have been worse than the 5-1 final. Cubs' shortstop Starlin Castro stole second and third base in the bottom of the 5th, only to be gunned down at the plate on a nifty bare-handed snatch and throw by Jordan Walden on a Ricky Weeks chopper.

Walden could not get out of the inning unscathed, however, as Weeks stole second and scored on Andre Ethier's scratch single to right. The NL added another run in the 7th on Pablo Sandoval's screaming ground rule double into the left field corner, which plated Houston's Hunter Pence from second base.

The win was the the second in a row for the National League after losing 12 straight - plus one tie - from 1997 through 2009. The NL last strung together wins in 1994, '95 and '96. Fielder was named the All Star Game MVP, the first ever for a player from the Brewers. His homer was also a first in an All Star Game by a Milwaukee Brewer.

With World Series home field secured for the NL for a second straight season, maybe some of the defections on the AL side - like Justin Verlander, Derek Jeter, C.C. Sabathia and Felix Hernandez - will think twice next year about declining a fan vote or a roster selection.

In a related note, Mets' closer Francisco Rodriguez was dealt to Milwaukee for two players to be named later.

Sabathia Tosses Four-Hit Shutout; Raul Ibanez Drives in Six as Phillies Hammer Braves

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 10, 2011

American League

C.C. Sabathia

Despite his sparkling 13-4 record and 2.72 ERA, C.C. Sabathia won't be going to the All-Star Game. He was not voted in by the fans and not picked as a substitute, though he was offered a position - ironically, to replace the man he beat on Sunday, 1-0, James Shields.

Sabathia will instead be taking his family to the Bahamas for a few days, which was his plan all along.

The two hurlers - Sabathia and Shields - locked into a scoreless duel from the start until throwing errors - one by outfielder B.J. Upton and the other by Shields himself - allowed Robinson Cano to score the game's only run in the bottom of the 7th inning.

Sabathia took advantage of the lonely run and shut the Rays down in order in the 8th and 9th innings, completing the four-hit shutout, the 16th of his career. Walking only one batter, Sabathia struck out nine and was in complete control throughout.

The win kept the Yankees within a game of the red hot Red Sox, who have won six straight, and dropped Tampa Bay six games off the pace in the AL East.

Have a nice time in the Bahamas, C.C. See you after the break.

National League

Raul Ibanez

After splitting the first two games of their NL East showdown series, the rubber game between the Braves and Philadelphia was all Phillies, all the time, as Raul Ibanez led a 20-hit attack in Philly's 14-1 slaughter of second place Atlanta.

Ibanez went 2-for-5, smashing his 8th home run to cap a six-RBI game. The three-run blast came after he was credited with an RBI in the 3rd inning on Dan Uggla's throwing error and had sinlged home two runs and scored in the Phillies' 6-run 7th.

For Ibanez, his big day was just part of a rebirth of sorts, having been moved to 5th in the batting order - behind Ryan Howard - after the Phillies let go of Jayson Werth in the off-season. With 47 RBI thus far, Ibanez is on track for one of his best seasons in years and the Phillies are happy to have his bat in the lineup on a regular basis.

As all major league teams break for the All Star Game, Philadelphia holds a 3 1/2 game lead over Atlanta in the division.

Jeter Goes 5-for-5, Rolls Past 3000 Hits; Harang, De La Rosa Shine in 1-0 Dodger Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 9, 2011

American League

At exactly 2:00 pm EDT, #2, Derek Jeter took a 3-2 pitch from Tampa Bay starter David Price and deposited it in the stands beyond the Yankee Stadium wall in right-center field for his second hit of the game.

Jeter joins 3000 club

There was nothing particularly special about the 3rd inning homer - Jeter had homered 236 times before - except that it was the sparkling shortstop's 3000th career hit, a level reached by only 27 players prior to him. The fans at Yankee Stadium were sent into delirium at the feat and his teammates mobbed him as he crossed home plate.

After singling to lead off the 1st inning with hit #2999, and having tied the game at 1-1, there seemed to be nothing more for Jeter to do that would make his special day any more meaningful, but the thrills were just beginning.

In the 5th, Jeter doubled to lead off the inning and came around to score on Curtis Granderson's single, tying the game again at 3-3. Later in the inning, Robinson Cano's sac fly put the Yankees up, 4-3, as Granderson touched home.

Jeter singled again in the 6th, but the Yankees failed to score. In the top of the 8th, Tampa tied the game again, at 4-4. In the bottom of the frame, Eduardo Nunez - the heir apparent to Jeter's shortstop position - doubled to lead off the inning and was advanced to third on Brett Gardner's sacrifice bunt.

Already having gone 4-for-4, Jeter stepped up to the plate and to the moment, delivering a signature ground single through the middle of the drawn-in infield for the 5-4 game winner after Mariano Rivera retired the Rays in routine 1-2-3 fashion in the 9th.

Five hits in five at-bats, plus a stolen base, two runs and two RBI, including the game winner, was how Derek Jeter signed him name into the 3000-hit club, tying Roberto Clemente at 3000 and surging past him into 27th on the all-time list at 3003.

It was not just a special day; it was an incredible day for Derek Jeter, the fans and for baseball, because there is no more a stand-up player in the game today than Jeter, the permanent Yankee, the modest, soft-spoken fellow who always seems to be in the thick of the action with the clutch hit or the fielding gem.

After all the great Yankees before him - Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jackson - Jeter stands alone as the only Yankee to ever reach the storied 3000-hit plateau. Further, Jeter becomes only the second shortstop to make the list, joining the legendary Honus Wagner (3420). Of players to homer for their 3000th hit, he joins Wade Boggs (a Yankee in his later years) as the only ones to do that, and Craig Biggio is the only other player to have gone 5-for-5 in the game in which 3000 hits was achieved.

Jeter is the 11th player to get all 3000 hits with one team, a list punctuated by Stan Musial, who had 3,630 hits for the St. Louis Cardinals, Carl Yastrzemski (3,419 for the Red Sox) and Cal Ripken (3,154 for the Orioles).

As he contends through the remainder of the season, Jeter will pass by some great hitters in the 3000-hit club. Al Kaline in next in line at 3007, followed by Wade Boggs (3010), Rafael Palmiero (3020), Lou Brock (3023), Rod Carew (3053), Ricky Henderson (3055) and Craig Biggio (3060). It's a stretch, but Jeter could pass Dave Winfield at 3110 for #19 on the career list, though that is maybe a story for next season.

Jeter has joined truly elite company with his milestone achievement. Hats off to number 2, the Yankee captain, shortstop Derek Jeter.

National League

Rubby De La Rosa

San Diego starter Aaron Harang was not at all pleased when he was pulled after six innings. After all, he was pitching a no hitter. The issue was the pitch count, which had already reached 95. Besides, the opposing pitcher, Rubby de La Rosa of the Dodgers, had only allowed one hit and the score was tied 0-0.

Harang sat, as did De La Rosa after six scoreless innings, allowing just the sole hit and four walks, while fanning eight. Harang had walked three and struck out six.

Aaron Harang

The relievers for the Padres and Dodgers each pitched no hit ball until the Dodgers went to bat in the 9th, still hitless, but, with two out in the frame, Luke Gregerson allowed the first Dodger hit of the game, a double by Jose Uribe, and then gave up the game winner, a single by Dioner Navarro, for the walk-off, 1-0, Dodger win, their third straight shutout victory.

The low-hit game - just three total - was the fewest allowed in a nine-inning game this season and harkens back to September 9, 1965, when Cubs LHP Bob Hendley pitched a one-hitter at Dodger Stadium and Sandy Koufax beat him, 1-0, with a perfect game.