Sabathia, A-Rod Lead Yanks to 4th Straight; Colorado Score Nine in 9th to Cut Cards, Gonzalez Stars

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 6, 2010 American League Tuesday night in Oakland, the Yankees showed once again why they are the world champs. They have players who, like horses with back class, can rise up on occasion with big games. Two such players on the Yankee roster are C.C. Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez. After giving up a run in the first inning, C.C. Sabathia (left) allowed no more as the Yankees rode his 7 2/3 strong innings and two homers by Alex Rodriguez (right) to a 6-1 win over the Oakland A's, keeping their tight grip on first place in the AL East. Sabathia scattered 7 hits, striking out 10 and issuing 3 walks. It wasn't his best outing of the season, but he worked out of trouble almost every inning, earning his 11th win against 3 losses. It was his 7th straight win. As for A-Rod, he belted his third grand slam of the season after the bases were inadvertently loaded in the 3rd inning when Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch and awarded first base. Rodriguez also knocked a solo shot to center in the 6th inning to give him 15 homers on the year. A-Rod's slam tied him for 2nd all-time with Manny Ramirez at 21, two behind another special Yankee player, Lou Gehrig. Rodriguez has 597 homers total, and may be at 600 before the All Star break, where he will again appear, this time as a reserve. Winning their fourth straight, the Yankees lead Tampa Bay (also on a 4-game win streak) by two games in the division. Slumping Boston is 3 1/2 back. National League It was quite the comeback in Colorado, as the Rockies rallied for nine runs in their final at-bat to stun the St. Louis Cardinals, 12-9. Chris Ianetta, who came on to pinch hit in the 7th inning, driving in a run on a fielder's choice, got the 9th off to a big start with a 3-run homer, clearing the bases. The game ended when Seth Smith cleared the fences with two aboard off reliever Ryan Franklin, who gave up both homers, only recording one out in the worst appearance of his career. In the middle of it all was left fielder Carlos Gonzalez, kind of the Alex Rios of the Rockies, having a quietly sensational season, with a .303 batting average, 15 homers and 55 RBI. Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the 3rd inning to get the Rockies on the board, and added a double and two singles in six at-bats. His final hit of the night was a single to right, plating Dexter Fowler with Rockies' run number eight. Gonzalez came around to score the tying run on Jason Giambi's single and watched from the dug out as Smith homered to complete the most unlikely comeback of the season. Interestingly, neither Gonzalez nor Rios (.299, 14 HR, 47 RBI, 22 SB) were named to the NL All Star team as reserves by manager Charlie Manuel.

Joey Votto Hammers Two Homers vs. Mets; Carlos Quentin Bangs a Pair for ChiSox

Players of the Day for Monday, July 5, 2010 American League Carlos Quentin continues to produce for the WhiteSox, bashing a pair of homers and driving in three runs in Chicago's 9-2 win over the Angels. Quentin, who struggled at the start of the season, is making up for lost time. The two homers in Monday's game gave him seven over his last 13 games and upped his RBI total to a respectable 53. With the Tigers winning over Baltimore and the Twins idle, Detroit has - for the moment - taken over first place in the AL Central, with the Twins 1/2 back and the White Sox only a game out. Opening their four-game series with a win over the Angels, the Sox are in the midst of what should be one of the best pennant races in the majors. For LA, the loss was another missed opportunity to gain ground on the Rangers, who continue to lead them by 3 1/2 games. Texas lost, 9-3, to Cleveland on Monday. National League The Reds have won five of their last six, are in first place (by two games over the Cardinals) and Joey Votto leads the National League in home runs with 21. So why isn't Votto on the All Star team? Well, he plays first base, a position long-dominated by Albert Pujols. Then there's Philly's Ryan Howard and Milwaukee's Prince Fielder who also ply their trades at first base. So, Votto is the 4th best first baseman in the league, maybe, but he does have more homers than any of them (Pujols has 20). Votto took some of his frustration out on the NY Mets, banging a pair of long balls - both solo shots - to give him the NL lead as the Reds beat up Mike Pelfrey and downed the Mets, 8-6. Votto also doubled and walked in 4 at-bats, scoring three times and driving in two. His 59 RBI leads the Reds and is tied for 4th in the NL, with Ryan Howard.

Hunter Dynamic in Angels Win; Stubbs, Janish Punish Cubs

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 4, 2010 American League Selecting the Royals at Angels as ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball presentation seemed a bit odd, unless you are a network executive looking to pump up the ratings for the All Star game and the Home Run Derby which precedes it. ESPN execs got a little more than they bargained for, as Torii Hunter provided one of the best performances in a single game this season. As expected, the Angels clobbered the Royals, 11-0, as Joel Pineiro blanked them for the first seven innings, while Hunter smoked them with a three-run homer in the 3rd, a two-run job in the 7th, and capped it off with a two-run single in the 8th inning. Hunter finished the game 3-for-4, with three runs scored and seven RBI. The homers were Hunter's 13th and 14th, helping to up his RBI total to 60, along with a solid .294 average. Coupled with the Rangers' loss to the White Sox, the win drew the Angels back to within 3 1/2 games of Texas in the AL West. National League Wrapping up a four-game series with the Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds played most of the game without star first baseman Joey Votto, who was ejected in the first inning for arguing balls and strikes. No problem. The Reds banged out 16 hits, 7 of them homers in the 14-3 romp Paul Janish (left) was inserted in place of Votto and played third base, with Miguel Cairo moving over from third to first. Janish only went 4-for-4 with three singles and a two-run homer, driving in three runs and scoring three times. Janish wasn't alone in his plate exploits. Of the seven bombs belted by the Reds, three of them came off the bat of Drew Stubbs (right), who, for some reason is batting 8th. Stubbs belted a pair of solo shots - one in the 3rd and one in the 9th - sandwiching a 7th-inning, three-run blast in between. Stubbs was 3-for-5, with five RBI and three runs scored. Just imagine what the NL Central leaders would have done with Votto in the lineup. Taking three of four in the series, the Reds outscored the Cubs 30-8, and lead the Cardinals in the NL Central by 1 1/2 games.

Gardner Slam Lifts Yanks; Rollins Sparks Phillies to Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 3, 2010 American League With Boston and Tampa Bay refusing to go away, the Yankees need every game to be a winning effort, so, after losing 6-1 to Toronto on Friday, the Yanks were feeling a little pressure with the Red Sox just 1/2 game back and Tampa 2 behind. The opening inning didn't offer a great prospect for success. Andy Pettitte gave up a two-run homer to Jose Bautista, putting New York in an immediate hole. But the Yankees are a resilient bunch with many potent bats. In the bottom of the 3rd, Brett Gardner, the number 9 hitter, singled to start the inning and came around to score as the Yankees loaded the bases and Mark Teixeira doubled home two. Gardner came back to the plate again, this time with the bases chock full of Yankees and pounded a grand slam - the first of his career - to right field. Again the Yankees loaded the bases, and Alex Rodriguez cleared them with a double. By the time the dust had settled, the Yankees would put up 11 runs in the inning. Game over, final: 11-2. Gardner went 2-for-3, scored twice and drove in four runs, all on the big knock. The Yankees retain the top spot in the AL East, as Boston and Tampa Bay also won. National League The bad news is that Chase Utley is on the bench for the Phillies, but the good news is they do have Jimmy Rollins back at the top of the order. Utley is out 6-8 weeks, undergoing surgery and rehab on his right thumb. Rollins missed most of April and May and the first three weeks of June nursing various injuries. Finally back to full health, Rollins added a spark in the Phillies' 12-4 win over Pittsburgh after the Pirates had take the first two of the four-game series. Rollins singled, doubled and homered in four at-bats, scoring three times and driving in three. In the field, he was part of three Philly double plays. The home run, just his 4th of the season, came with one aboard in the 5th, when the Phillies had already established a huge lead. The Phillies still have a lot of work to do if they expect to win the NL East for a third straight year and attempt to play in their third straight World Series. Atlanta keeps bowling along, with a 3-game lead over the resurgent (and injury-free) Mets. The Phillies are in third place, 5 games back.