The Sports Mac: The Daily Fives For September 8th, 2010

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

 

1. The Phillies retake the lead in the NL East for the first time since May 30, 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 one-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 No. 3 in the new AP poll, but they do pick up seven 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 eighth 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 sixth as Colorado hung on for the win to keep pace in the NL West.

3. Padres 2, Dodgers 1: San Diego got its runs early, and a great performance from Mat Latos to hold onto its 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 ninth, and had the tying run at the plate before securing the win.

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

 

Top Five Performances From Yesterday

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

Top Five Events To Follow Today

 

1. MLB: Marlins (70-68) at Phillies (80-60), 7:00 PM: Philadelphia tries to hold onto its small half-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 its 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 gain on the Yankees 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 sixth 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))

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com