Pierre Leads White Sox over Orioles; Pujols Powers Cards Past Brewers with 28th Homer

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 11, 2011

American League

Pierre: Speedy

It was an odd game at Camden Yards, in which all of the runs were scored in the first three innings.

The Chicago White Sox will take it, though, beating the Orioles, 6-3, to remain four back of Detroit in the AL Central, while inching closer to second place, just a game behind the Indians, as Detroit avoided the sweep in Cleveland with a 4-3 win.

Juan Pierre got the White Sox going in the first inning, leading off the game with a scratch single into shallow center, then coming around to score on a home run by Alexei Ramirez. The Sox would add two more in the inning for a quick, 4-0, lead.

After doubling and being stranded in the second, Pierre completed the scoring for the White Sox in the third inning, singling in a pair of runs with his third hit in as many innings. He stole second after that, but was again stranded as Chicago built a 6-0 lead.

The O's countered with three runs off Mark Beuhrle in the bottom of the 3rd, but that was all they'd get. Pierre finished with a 3-for-5 night at the plate, two RBI, a run and his 19th stolen base. He needs 11 more swipes to have 30 or more steals in 11 consecutive seasons. Pierre stole 68 bases last year.

National League

Pujols: 28 HR

Across the country, Arizona scored seven of their eight runs in the 8th, 9th and 10th innings, rallying from a 5-1, 7th-inning deficit to defeat the Houston Astros, 8-5 in 10, hanging onto first place in the NL West and increasing their lead to a full game over the idle Giants, but it was the Albert show in St. Louis that grabbed the headlines.

In danger of being swept by the Brewers and falling six games behind Milwaukee in the Central division, Albert Pujols got his best lick in early of Brewers' starter Yovani Gallardo, socking his 28th home run of the season in the first inning, a solo shot that tied him for the HR lead in the National League with teammate Lance Berkman.

Pujols singled home a run in the 5th and later scored, putting the Cardinals ahead for good in their 5-2 win over the first place Brewers. Going 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, Pujols was all business, helping the Cards cut Milwaukee's lead to four games in the division race.

Chris Carpenter gave up two runs in the 1st, but scattered 10 hits over eight innings to even his record at 8-8.

McCutchen, Pirates Blister Giants, 9-2; Jason Kipnis 5-for-5 in Cleveland Win; Uggla Streak Reaches 31

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 10, 2011

American League

Jason Kipnis

One might suspect that the Cleveland Indians have heard enough about how they're folding under pressure, can't win the AL Central and so forth. The Indians have responded by winning two straight against the division-leading Tigers including Wednesday's 10-3 blowout victory.


With one game left in the series, the Tigers have seen their lead shrink back to just two games over the Indians, with the White Sox lurking, just four out.

In Wednesday's romp, much of the offensive damage was delivered by rookie second baseman Jason Kipnis, who went 5-for-5 with three singles, a double and a home run, scoring four times and driving in three runs.

Having been called up only recently, Kipnis has played in just 16 games, but has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 and is sporting a .295 batting average and has six homers. Kipnis has filled a hole not only at second base, but also as the number two hitter in the lineup.

The Indians will go for the three game sweep Thursday night in Cleveland.

National League

Andrew McCutchen

The Pirates may have faded recently, but they're taking out their anger on the San Francisco Giants, taking two of three from the NL West contenders and knocking them out of first place after Wednesday's 9-2 win.

Jonathan Sanchez, the Giants' starter making his second start since coming off the DL, was hammered by the Pirates, allowing four hits, four walks and four earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings. Sanchez had allowed seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Phillies on August 5.

Andrew McCutchen had one of the stranger stat lines for a leadoff hitter, going 1-for-1 with four runs, two RBI and a pair of stolen bases. McCutchen walked three times, including a base on balls to lead off the game, later scoring - after swiping second - to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. His only hit happened to be a home run off Sanchez with a runner aboard in the 3rd inning.

The Pirates remained 10 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the Central division, as the Brewers won their 7th straight. The Giants' loss dropped them 1/2 game behind Arizona in the West.

STREAKS: Atlanta's Dan Uggla went 3-for-5 in the Braves' 6-2 win over the Marlins, extending his consecutive game hitting streak to 31 games, the longest in the majors this season. Amazingly, Uggla is batting only .224, but that's quite an improvement over the .173 batting average when he began his streak.

Shields, Longoria Keep Rays in Wild Card Hunt; Justin Upton Leads Arizona in Comeback Win; Uggla Hit Streak at 30

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 9, 2011

American League

Tampa Bay fell out of contention in the AL East right after the all star break when they lost none of 13 games to the Red Sox, Yankees, Royals and A's.

Shields: 4th Shutout

Since then, they've played better, recently winning four of their last six. Though they still trail the Red Sox by 11 games, they are within 8 1/2 of the Yankees, losers of three straight but the current wild card leader.

Tuesday, James Shields pitched a 6-hit shutout and Evan Longoria drove in all of Tampa Bay's runs in the 4-0 victory.

Longoria: 4 RBI

Longoria singled in a pair of runs in the first inning and socked his 17th home run of the season in the sixth inning with one aboard to complete Tampa's scoring.

It was more than Shields would need, as he dominated the Royals, giving up three walks while fanning eight. Shields threw 75 of 117 pitches for strikes and improved to 11-9 with a stellar 2.80 ERA. It was his 8th complete game and 4th shutout of the season.

National League

Upton: .296 BA

Arizona keeps battling in the NL West, where they trail the Giants by 1/2 game, looking to upend the reigning world champions and take the division.

Tuesday's 9-7 win over Houston was emblematic of the fire the team has when facing adversity.

Down 7-1 after just four innings, the Diamondbacks scored for runs in the 5th and four more in the 6th to take a 9-7 lead and held on with two more in the 8th.

Justin Upton, enjoying a remarkable season at the plate and in the field, went 3-for-5, with his 23rd home run - a two-run blast - a double and a single, scoring three times and driving in four runs in the come-from-behind triumph.

Upton carries a .296 batting average and leads the Diamondbacks with 72 RBI. The Giants maintained their slim lead in the division with a 6-0 win over Pittsburgh.

STREAKS: Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to 30 games with an infield single - his only hit in six at-bats - tying him with LA's Andre Ethier for the longest hit streak of the season. Uggla will try to make it 31 straight when the Braves take on the Marlins in the finale of their three game series Wednesday night.

A troubling streak is developing for Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. One of the finest closers ever to step up a mound has been beaten in his last two appearances. On Sunday, the Red Sox victimized Rivera with a run in the 9th inning, winning it in the 10th, 3-2, and on Tuesday, Rivera gave up two runs to the Angels with the game tied 4-4 in the 9th when Bobby Abreu took hi deep with two outs and a man aboard for the 6-4 win. Sunday was Rivera's fifth blow save of the year, and Tuesday's loss was his second against one win.

Book of David: Ortiz 4-for-5 in Boston Comeback Win Over Twins; Wright Powers Mets Late-Inning Surge

Players of the Day for Monday, August 8, 2011

American League

David Ortiz

Felling pretty good about themselves after taking two of three from in Yankees over the weekend, the Boston Red Sox arrived in Minnesota for a three game series with the Twins on Monday with a one game lead over New York in the AL East.

Right from the start, it seemed to be a good night for David Ortiz, who scored the first Red Sox run in the top of the second after leading off the inning with a single.

Minnesota scored three runs in the bottom of the 2nd, then added single runs in the 4th and 5th, to put the Twins up 5-1, but that all changed in the 6th, as the Red Sox plated four in the inning, two of them on Ortiz 22nd homer of the season.

Ortiz scored the go-ahead run in the 8th after doubling to lead off that inning, but the Twins countered with one of their own in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game at six-all.

Undeterred, Ortiz singled home Darnell McDonald with another go-ahead run, and Jerrod Saltalamacchia doubled home another for the 8-6 win, which stood up when Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 25th save with a perfect 9th inning, including two Ks.

Ortiz finished the night at 4-for-5 with two singles, a double and a homer, three runs and 3 RBI, giving him 74 on the season. He raised his batting average to a very solid .295.

The comeback victory increased the Red Sox lead in the East to 1 1/2 games. Minnesota fell 10 1/2 behind the idle Tigers in the Central.

National League

David Wright

With both Jose Reyes and David Murphy missing after injuries in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Atlanta, the situation seemed bleak for the Mets, who have been suffering through another injury-plagued season.

One player who missed significant time is all star third baseman David Wright, who has been on quite a tear since returning from the DL on July 22nd. In the 16 games he's played since then, he's had 10 multiple-hit games, four homers and 18 RBI, so the Mets are fortunate to have his bat back in the lineup.

The Mets got off to a good start, with solo homers by Angel Pagan in the 1st inning and Jason Bay in the second. Wright launched a 2-run shot in the 3rd to put the Mets ahead 4-1, but Mike Pelfrey couldn't hold the lead as the Padres scored three runs in the 6th to tie the game.

Adding four more in the 8th, San Diego took an 8-4 lead, but the Mets were just getting started. After getting back two runs in the 8th, Wright got them to within one run with an RBI single in the 9th, and scored the game winner when Lucas Duda knocked in Justin Turner and Wright with a one-out single after the two baserunners had advanced to second and third on a wild pitch.

The 9-8 walk-off win left the Mets 9 games behind Atlanta in the wild card race and kept the Padres, who just completed a sweep of the Pirates, in last place in the NL West.

STREAKS: In Atlanta's 8-5 win over Florida, Dan Uggla legged out an infield hit in the 5th inning to extend his hitting streak to 29 games, one shy of Andre Ethier's 30-game streak earlier in the season, which is the longest of the season. Uggla will get a chance to tie Ethier for the longest hit streak of 2011 when the Braves take on the Marlins in Miami Tuesday night.