The Daily Fives - September 8th, 2010

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1.    The Phillies retake the lead in the NL east for the first time since May 30th after defeating the Marlins 8-7 while the Braves lose their second straight to Pittsburgh 5-0.

2.    San Diego wins its second game and maintains its 1 game lead in the NL West after beating the Dodgers 2-1 while the Giants keep pace with a 6-3 win in Arizona.

3.    Trevor Hoffman becomes the first pitcher in MLB history to record 600 saves in a career finishing off Milwaukee’s 4-2 win over St. Louis.

4.    There are reports that the Heisman Trophy Trust will vacate the 2005 award and strip Reggie Bush of the title, but there has been no official decision made yet.

5.    Boise State remains at #3 in the new AP poll, but they do pick up 7 more first place votes than the previous week.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1.    Phillies 8, Marlins 7: A Placido Polanco RBI single in the 8th inning propelled Philadelphia to the win and back into first place in the NL East.

2.    Rockies 4, Reds 3: Miguel Olivo had the game winning double in the bottom of the 6th as Colorado hung on for the win to keep pace in the NL West.

3.    Padres 2, Dodgers 1: San Diego gets their runs early and a great performance from Mat Latos to hold onto their slim lead in the NL West.

4.    Blue Jays 8, Rangers 5: Toronto jumped out to a big lead, but had to hang on after Texas scored two in the 9th and had the tying run at the plate before securing the win.

5.    Mariners 7, Athletics 5: Seattle was cruising before Oakland scored 3 in the 9th and had the bases loaded before David Aardsma came to seal the win for the Mariners.

Top 5 Performances From Yesterday

1.    Vernon Wells, Blue Jays CF: 3 for 3 with 2 HRs and 2 RBIs in TOR’s 8-5 win over TEX

2.    Mat Latos, Padres SP: 1 run on 4 hits with 10 K’s over 7 IP and the victory in SD’s 2-1 win over LAD

3.    Raul Ibanez, Phillies LF: 3 for 4 with a HR and 3 RBIs in PHI’s 8-7 win over FLA

4.    Michael Bourn, Astros CF: 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs in HOU’s 7-3 win over CHC

5.    Carl Crawford, Rays LF: 4 for 4 with 2 RBIs in TB’s 14-5 win over BOS

5 Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1.    Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox SP: 8 runs on 8 hits over 4.2 IP in BOS’ 14-5 loss to TB

2.    Brian Bannister, Royals SP: 7 runs on 8 hits in 2.2 IP in KC’s 10-3 loss to MIN

3.    Carlos Silva, Cubs SP: 6 runs on 9 hits in 5 IP in CHC’s 7-3 loss to HOU

4.    Andre Ethier, Dodgers RF: 0 for 4 with 3 K’s in LAD’s 2-1 loss to SD

5.    Francisco Rodriguez, Angels RP: 4 runs on 2 hits facing 4 batters in LAA’s 6-1 loss to CLE

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

1.    MLB: Marlins (70-68) at Phillies (80-60), 7:00 PM: Philadelphia tries to hold onto their small ½ game lead in the NL East; (Miller (FLA) vs. Hamels (PHI))

2.    MLB: Rangers (75-63) at Blue Jays (72-66), 7:00 PM: Struggling Texas tries to right the ship as their tough road trip continues; (Holland (TEX) vs. Rzepczynski (TOR))

3.    MLB: Rays (84-54) at Red Sox (77-62), 7:00 PM, ESPN: Tampa Bay tries to retake the lead in the AL East; (Garza (TB) vs. Wakefield (BOS))

4.    MLB: Reds (79-59) at Rockies (74-64), 8:30 PM: Colorado looks for its 6th straight win against the NL Central leaders; (Arroyo (CIN) vs. Cook (COL))

5.    MLB: Dodgers (69-70) at Padres (78-59), 10:00 PM, ESPN: San Diego now looks for its third win in a row against the fading Dodgers; (Billingsley (LAD) vs. Luebke (SD))