Chris Davis 4-for-4 in Oriole Loss to Rays; Gio Gonzalez Homers for Nats, Blanks Marlins

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 3, 2013

American League

Chris Davis did everything he could to deliver an Oriole victory, but, the Baltimore pitching staff could not contain Tampa Bay hitters, as the Rays won in the ninth inning, 8-7.

Davis: 4-4, HR 4RBI

Davis went 4-for-4, starting things off with a three-run, first-inning homer, then adding two doubles and a single, driving in four total and scoring twice. The O's exchanged lead with the Rays until tying the game at 7-7 in the ninth, before Matt Joyce led of the bottom of the inning with a game-winning, walk-off homer for the win.

The homer was Davis' second in as many games. His seventh-inning, three-run blast in Tuesday's opener for both teams propelled the Orioles to a 7-4 victory.

The O's and Rays meet again on Thursday in the rubber game of the the three game series. Game time is 3:10 pm EDT at Tropicana Field.

National League

Gio Gonzalez

Miami may have made wholesale changes to their roster during the off-season, but, against the Washington Nationals, they have proven impotent, being shut out for the second straight game as Gio Gonzalez stymied them over six scoreless innings and three relievers finished the job in a 3-0 shutout.

The Marlins were blanked by Stephen Strasburg and the relief staff on Monday; both teams took a day off Tuesday.

Gonzalez surrendered two hits and two walks without yielding a run, fanning five. He also belted a solo homer in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie with Marlin starter Kevin Slowey.

The Nats are 2-0 and tied with Atlanta and the Mets atop the NL East. Miami, along with the Phillies, are 0-2.

Miami will again attempt to score off the Nats' pitching staff Thursday at 4:05 pm. Jordan Zimmermann goes to the mound for Washington.

Yu Darvish Comes Within One Out of Perfect Game for Rangers; Madison Bumgarner Blanks Dodgers

Players of the Day for Tuesday, March 2, 2013

American League

Darvish: near-perfect

Praise for Texas pitcher Yu Darvish was over the top last season as the 6'5" Japanese phenom made his US debut, putting up a record of 16-9, with a 3.90 ERA over 29 starts.

Darvish, apparently ready to exceed expectations this year, went to the mound on Tuesday for the Rangers and was completely untouchable for 8 2/3 innings, throwing a perfect game until Houston's Marwin Gonzalez slapped a single up the middle - right between Darvish's legs, in fact - breaking up the attempt at perfection.

After throwing 111 pitches, the lone hit prompted a move to the bullpen, Darvish replaced by Michael Kirkman, who was nicked for a single by Jose Altuve before getting JD Martinez looking to end the game.

Darvish struck out a career high 14 in the 7-0 Texas win. Ian Kinsler socked a two-run homer in the seventh to break open the 1-0 game. Elvis Andrus and Lance Berkman each had three hits in four at-bats.

National League

Madison Bumgarner

After Clayton Kershaw threw a four-hit shutout in the season opener for the Dodgers on Monday, it was payback time for the Giants as the West coast rivals played game two of their three-game series in Chavez Ravine.

Madison Bumgarner responded for the world champions, blanking the Dodgers over eight innings before Sergio Romo mopped up with a hitless ninth inning for the 3-0 San Francisco win.

Hitting his marks with outstanding control, Bumgarner threw 76 of 101 pitches for strikes, fanning six. He also aided his cause by driving in a run in the seventh inning on a fielder's choice after singling to left in the fifth.

Bumgarner was 16-11 with a 3.34 ERA in 22 starts for the Giants last season.

Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw Hurl Mariners, Dodgers to Opening Day Victories

Players of the Day for Monday, April 1, 2013

American League

Felix Hernandez

After Texas and Houston kicked the 2013 regular season off on Sunday night, nine more AL teams took to the fields across America. Four more - Cleveland, Toronto, Baltimore, Tampa Bay - will open their seasons on Tuesday.

In Oakland, Felix Hernandez got off to a strong start, notching his first win with a strong starting performance in the Mariners' 2-0 win.

The 2010 Cy Young award winner was in mid-season form, throwing 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball on three hits, striking out eight, issuing one walk. A trio of relievers followed Hernandez to the mound, keeping the A's hitless over the final 1 1/3 innings.

Disappointing as the loss was for the hometown fans, they can take solace in the fact that they won't be seeing Mr. Hernandez again on Seattle's trip to the bay area. The A's will try to even up the score on Tuesday at 7:05 pm PDT.

National League

Kershaw: 0ER, CG, 7K

All fifteen NL teams opened their regular seasons on Monday (the Reds hosted the Angels in an interleague game).

While there were some stellar performances, such as Stephen Strasburg's seven scoreless innings or Bryce Harper's two home runs in Washington's 2-0 win over Miami, but nobody had the kind of day that Clayton Kershaw did, as he led the Dodgers to a 4-0 victory over NL West rival, San Francisco.

The NL 2011 Cy Young winner, Kershaw was in top form, dueling with the Giants' Matt Cain in Los Angeles. Both starters were putting up goose-eggs, but after six innings and 93 pitches, Cain was done. George Kontos came on the the Giants and set down the Dodgers in order in the seventh, but, in the eighth, Kershaw led off with his first major league homer, a towering 414-foot blast to dead center field that unknotted the scoreless tie.

After the Dodgers scored thee more runs in the inning, Kershaw returned to the mound and continued to mow down the Giants, finishing up with a four-hit, complete game win, fanning seven without walking a batter.

Kershaw threw 65 of 94 pitches for strikes. The Giants and Dodgers renew their rivalry on Tuesday, at 7:10 pm Pacific time.

Justin Maxwell, Rick Ankiel Power Houston over Texas in AL Debut

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 31, 2013

American League

Justin Maxwell

Switching from the NL Central to the AL West seems to agree with the Houston Astros... well, at least for one game.

Rick Ankiel

The Astros - who spent most of this century (and much of the last one) in the cellar of the NL Central, are now an AL team and they celebrated the fact by whipping the Texas Rangers, 8-2, opening the 2013 MLB regular season.

Center fielder Justin Maxwell tripled twice in three at-bats, driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice. Well-traveled Rick Ankiel delivered a three-run, sixth-inning, pinch-hit homer to fuel the Astros to their first win in the AL.

Ankiel's played with St. Louis (both as a pitcher and an outfielder), Washington and now with Houston. Maxwell was also with the Nationals, playing a total of 107 games for them in 2009 and 2010. He spent 2011 in the minors and played 124 games with Houston least season.

Starter Bud Norris (1-0) took the win. Matt Harrison, the Texas starter, was saddled with the loss, allowing six hits, three walks and five earned runs, despite striking out nine.

12 games are slated for Monday's "official" opening day.

National League

There were no National League games scheduled on Sunday.