Posada's 3-for-5 Lifts Yanks; Zimmerman Leads Nats to 5th Straight

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 6, 2009 American League The showdown in the AL East between the Red Sox and Yankees opened Thursday night at Yankee Stadium, but the rivalry qucikly turned into a laugher as the Yanks pounded Boston starter John Smoltz for eight runs in 3 1/3 innings to win going away, 13-6. Jorge Posada provided the Yankees with a boost, as he singled, doubled and homered in his first three at-bats, snapping out of a 1-for-14 skein, scoring twice and driving in 3 runs, all on his 4th inning homer to center field. Posada, sidelined most of May, has played in just 75 games this season, but walloped his 14th home run and upped his RBI total to 50. The Yankees increased their lead in the division to 3 1/2 games and play the Red Sox three more times this weekend. Idle Tampa Bay dropped another 1/2 game off the pace. They are 6 back. National League The Washington Nationals extended their season-high win streak to five games and Ryan Zimmerman hit safely for the 10th straight game, as the Nats hooked the Marlins, 12-8. Zimmerman finished just a double short of hitting for the cycle, going 4-for-4 with a pair of singles, a triple, and a 2-run homer as the Nationals rallied from a 6-0 deficit for the victory. Zimmerman finished with 3 RBI and 3 runs. He is batting an even .300 on the year, with 23 home runs and 73 RBI. Florida's loss dropped them to 7 games behind the NL East leading Phillies, who got their second straight quality effort from Cliff Lee, beating the Rockies, 3-1. Lee was acquired just before the trading deadline in late July and has already produced two wins for his new team. Florida is now just 1/2 game ahead of the Braves, who lost at LA, 5-4.

Two Thome Homers Lift Sox Past Angels; Happ Stops Rockies on 4 Hits

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 5, 2009 American League The Chicago White Sox is the most enigmatic team in the American League, maybe in all of the majors. Just about the time one would think they're about to fold up their tents and fade into the sunset, they come back and win games they're supposed to lose. Consider that since the all star break the Sox have taken 2 of 3 from Baltimore, 3 of 4 from the Rays, lost 3 of 4 at Detroit, lost 3 straight at Minnesota, and lately have taken 3 of 4 from the Yankees and two in a row from the LA Angels, a team that had won 5 straight and 14 of 17 since the all star break. On Wednesday, it was veteran Jim Thome doing the dirty work for the Sox, crushing a pair of home runs, a solo shot in the 4th inning and a 3-run blast in the 6th that ostensibly put the game away and secured a 6-2 win for Chicago, keeping them one game behind AL Central leader, Detroit. Thome's pair gave him 20 on the year, the 15th time he's hit 20 or more homers in a season. The only year since since 1994 that he did not put 20 or more balls out of major league parks was in 2005, when he was saddled with injuries, played in just 53 games and launched a mere 7 round-trippers. Thome now has 561 career home runs, just two behind Reggie Jackson at #12 on the all time list. He turns 39 on August 27 and has made no mention of retirement. 600 long balls seems to be within his reach should he stay in good health. National League Despite their six-game bulge in the NL East, the Phillies haven't been playing all that well, losing three straight and five of their last six entering Wednesday's meeting with Colorado, but J.A. Happ got the Phillies back on the winning track with his second complete game shutout this season, stopping the Rockies on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out a career high 10 for a 7-0 Phillies whitewash. Happ, a rookie, won his 8th against just 2 losses in 14 starts this season. His ERA continues to flirt with the best in the league, at 2.74, and he's carrying a WHIP of just 1.12, putting him at an elite level in that category for starters. The rebound for the Phillies also was one for Happ, who suffered his only losses in his previous two starts. With the Phillies cruising toward another NL East crown, fans are certain to see more of Mr. Happ this fall. NOTES: The Cardinals and Cubs remain knotted atop the NL Central, both being shut out on Wednesday - St. Louis by the Mets and Chicago by the Reds.two teams that have fallen off the pace since the break. Milwaukee got back at the Dodgers with a 4-1 win while the Giants retook 2nd place in the division - 6 games back - and the top spot in the wild card chase. In the AL, the Angels continue to lead by 4 1/2 over the Rangers despite losing two straight to Chicago, and the Yankees opened up a 2 1/2 game lead on the Red Sox thanks to the Rays, who have taken two in a row from Boston. The Rays are right in the thick of it again, having won three straight and five of their last six. Tampa gets Thursday off as they travel to the coast for three each with Seattle and LA. Meanwhile, the Red Sox head to Yankee Stadium for a four-game showdown with the Bombers. New York has yet to beat the Red Sox in 8 tries this season.

Markakis Spoils Washburn's Detroit Debut; Pujols, Kemp Mash Opponents

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 4, 2009 American League Jarrod Washburn, acquired by the Tigers from Seattle last week, was supposed to fill out the Tigers' rotation, but, in his first start for Detroit, Washburn was roughed up by the Baltimore Orioles and especially by Nick Markakis, who singled in a run in the first inning and helped send Washburn to the showers with a two-run homer - his 13th - in the top of the 6th which gave the O's a 5-1 lead. The Orioles went on to an 8-2 victory, ruining Washburn's debut and helping to narrow Detroit's tenuous lead in the AL Central. As both the White Sox and Twins were winners on Tuesday, Detroit now holds a 1 game lead over the Sox and a 2 1/2 game edge over Minnesota. As for Markakis, he also doubled in his five at-bats, scoring twice and driving in three runs. He's batting an even .300 with 76 RBI after the nice effort. He's also riding a 7-game hitting streak, which is not unusual for the O's outfielder. He had a 17-game hitting streak earlier in the year which ended May 2. National League The monumental feats of Albert Pujols (left) cannot be understated, but Matt Kemp's (right) night at the plate in LA's 17-4 beating of the Brewers was equally impressive, so the two share Tuesday's POTD honors. Pujols, the leader in practically everything under the sun, tied the National League record for grand slams in a season, previously held jointly by Ernie Banks and Jim Gentile, with his fifth, in the 10th inning of St. Louis' 12-7 victory over the Mets. The Cardinals had taken the lead when Mark DeRosa was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Next up was Albert the Great, who ensured the Cards a win with his 36th home run of the season, clearing the bases with an over-the-wall shot to right-center. Pujols had also homered earlier - a solo shot off Johan Santana in the 8th, as the Cards rallied from a 7-4 deficit. Pujols finished with 4 hits in 5 at-bats, with 3 runs scored and 5 RBI. The major league record for grand slams in a season is 6, held by two AL players, Don Mattingly and Travis Hafner. Pujols will have plenty of opportunities to equal or exceed that as the season grinds on. The win kept St. Louis in a tie for first with Chicago in the NL Central and 5 games clear of both the Astros and Brewers, both losers on the night. Pujols leads the NL in home runs and retook the NL RBI lead from Prince Fielder, upping his total to 97. Fielder has 94. with his .321 batting average - sixth best in the league, Pujols is vying for the very rare triple crown, last accomplished in the NL by another Cardinal, Hall of Famer Joe Medwick, who did it in 1937. The last triple crown winner in the majors was Carl Yastrzemski, who did it in 1967 for the Boston Red Sox. A year earlier, Baltimore's Frank Robinson accomplished the feat. Later, in Los Angeles, Matt Kemp was raking for the Dodgers, matching Pujols in everything but homers, going 4-for-5 with a double, his 15th home run, two singles, 3 runs and 5 RBI. Kemp, who was NL POTD this past Sunday, has been on a legendary tear his last three games, going 9-for-14 with two homers and 11 RBI, raising his batting average to 323. The Dodger win kept them 6 1/2 clear of the Rockies, with the Giants another 1/2 game back. All three NL west leaders were winners on Tuesday. NOTES: In the close-but-no-cigar category, Arizona's Yusmeiro Petit took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, but allowed a single by Ronny Cedeno with no outs in the inning to spoil his bid. He finished the inning, allowing just the one hit and three walks while striking out four. Reliever Leo Rosales mopped up with a perfect ninth inning for the 6-0 win at Pittsburgh.

Barlett, Crawford, Rays 1-2 Punch; Reynolds Having Career Year

Players of the Day for Monday, August 3, 2009 American League No two players better exemplify the importance of the 1 and 2 batters in a lineup more than Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett (left) and Carl Crawford (right). Their enormous talents were on display in Monday's 10-4 Rays win over Kansas City. The pair started right off in Tampa's half of the first inning. Bartlett walked, Crawford singled and both advanced on Evan Longoria's ground out. The solid baserunning paid off when Carlos Pena drove them both home with a 2 RBI single. In the 2nd, with runners on first and second, Bartlett laid down a bunt to load the bases and Crawford delivered with a double plating two more. Before KC knew what was happening, the Rays were up 4-0. As the game progressed, the onslaught continued. Bartlett finished up 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple, 2 RBI and 2 runs. Crawford went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI a run and his league-leading 49th steal, 1 better than Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury. Bartlett and Crawford rank third and ninth in AL batting average, at .337 and .317, respectively. The Rays picked up a half game on the idle Yankees, whom they trail by 5 1/2 games. National League The Arizona Diamondbacks are hopelessly out of contention in the NL West, but the team has hopes that the remainder of this season will prepare then for better things in 2010. One of the reasons for optimism in the desert is the play of third baseman Mark Reynolds, who, in his third full season, is putting up numbers that identify him as a blossoming star. Reynolds mashed a pair of homers - a solo shot in the first and a two-run bomb in the second - to pace the D-Backs to a 6-0 lead, as they held off the Mets, 6-5. Dan Haren struggled through 7 innings to get his 11th win and Chad Qualls picked up his 20th save with a 1-2-3 9th. With his two home runs, Reynolds has put 32 out of ballparks, challenging St. Louis' Albert Pujols for the NL lead. Pujols has 34. Reynolds is also moving up the RBI ladder into a tie for 6th with Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, with 73 on the year. though he is well behind the leaders, Prince Fielder (93) and Pujols (92). NOTES: Milwaukee kept the National League competitive with a 6-5 win over the Dodgers Monday night in LA. Ryan Braun went 4-for-5, with a 3-run homer (his 22nd), as the Brewers remained tied with Houston in third place in the NL Central, 4 games behind the Cardinals and Cubs. With the Dodgers losing for the 7th time in their last 11 outings, the Rockies and Giants continue to entertain thoughts of running down the division leader. The Dodger lead was cut to 6 1/2 as the Rockies won their 4th straight, a 6-4 win at Cincinnati. San Fran dropped 1/2 game behind Colorado, losing, 4-3, at Houston.