City of the Day

Bayamon, PR. 18 Players, 7 Active. First Player: Jimmy Rosario (1971-1976).

The second largest city in Puerto Rico, adjacent to San Juan, has produced 18 major leaguers in the past 41 years. Jimmy Rosario was the first in 1971, finishing his brief, 114 game career with a home run and a .216 average. Jaime Navarro, a pitcher for Milwaukee and Chicago in the '90s, was the first successful player from Bayamon. In his 1989 rookie year, he was 7-8 with a 3.12 ERA. By 1992, he was 17-11 with a 3.33 ERA over 34 starts. He posted another great year in 1995, when he was 14-6 with a 3.28 ERA in his first season with the Cubs. Over his 12-year career, he was 116-126 with a 4.72 ERA. In 1999, Jose Molina debuted for the Cubs, and has hit 33 home runs with a .237 average in 725 games since, mostly serving as a backup. Felipe Lopez debuted in 2001 and earned a Silver Slugger in 2005 by hitting 23 home runs and batting .291 with 15 stolen bases for Cincinnati. Perhaps the greatest player to come out of Bayamon was Yadier Molina, a four-time All Star who also has four Gold Gloves. Always known as arguably the top defensive catcher in the league, Molina, the younger brother of Jose and Bengie Molina, broke out with the bat in 2008 by hitting seven home runs and batting .304. In 2011, he had his best offensive season by hitting 14 home runs and batting .305. This year, he's on pace to be even better, having hit 15 home runs and batting .303 in just 86 games. Omir Santos is another catcher from Bayamon, and is best known for his time with the Mets, when he hit seven home runs and batted .260 in just 96 games. 

News

Diamondbacks traded Ryan Roberts (6 HR, 34 RBI, .250 AVG, 6 SB, age 31) to the Rays for minor leaguer Tyler Bortnick (4 HR, 48 RBI, .253 AVG, 23 SB at AA, age 25).

Red Sox traded Brent Lillibridge (0 HR, 2 RBI, .165 AVG, 7 SB, age 28) to the Indians for minor leaguer Jose De La Torre (8-1, 2.91 ERA, .216 BAA at AA and AAA, 3 saves, age 26).

Newly acquired third baseman Hanley Ramirez went 2-4 with a triple and an RBI in his Dodgers debut.

Mets traded Omar Quintanilla (1 HR, 4 RBI, .257 AVG, 0 SB, age 30) to the Orioles for cash considerations.

Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia broke his hand and is out for six weeksAstros lost their 9th straight game.

A's and Reds won their seventh straight games.

Ryan Roberts gives Tampa Bay the infield help they were desperately seeking, and at a relatively low cost. "Tat-Man", who after gaining popularity with a 19 home run, 18 stolen base 2011 for Arizona, struggled this season and was designated for assignment before being traded to the Rays. He played third base and homered in his first game as a Ray. So far, with Reid Brignac and Will Rhymes toiling at AAA Durham, Sean Rodriguez batting .210, Brooks Conrad hitting .140, and Evan Longoria on the DL, Ryan Roberts is a breath of fresh air for the Tampa Bay infield. 

Bortnick is a speedy infielder who can also hit for contact. He has stolen 131 bases in 160 attempts (82 percent success rate) over his four year minor league career, including 84 between 2010 and 2011. His .306 average at High Class A Charlotte in 2011 proved a career high, though he has struggled with the bast this season, hitting .253. Upon his trade to Arizona, he was promoted to AAA Reno, and was 0-1 with a walk in his debut.

Game Scores

Nationals (58-39) beat the Mets (47-51) 5-2.

Rangers (58-39) beat the Red Sox (49-50) 5-3.

Yankees (59-39) beat the Mariners (43-57) 5-2.

Phillies (45-54) beat the Brewers (44-53) 7-6 (10 innings).

Rays (51-47) beat the Orioles (51-47) 10-1.

Cardinals (52-46) beat the Dodgers (53-46) 3-2 (12 innings).

Braves (54-44) beat the Marlins (45-53) 7-1.

Rockies (37-60) beat the Diamondbacks (49-49) 4-2.

Pirates (55-42) beat the Cubs (40-57) 3-2.

Top Scorer: A's beat the Blue Jays 16-0.

Standings

AL East: Yankees (59-39, .602 WPCT). AL Central: Tigers and White Sox (53-45, .541). AL West: Rangers (58-39, .598).

NL East: Nationals (58-39, .598). NL Central: Reds (58-40, .592). NL West: Giants (55-43, .561).

AL Wild Cards: A's (53-44, .546) and Angels (54-45, .545). NL Wild Cards: Pirates (55-42, .567) and Braves (54-44, .551).

Bottom Team: Astros (34-65, .343). Longest W Streak: A's and Reds, 7 games. Longest L Streak: Astros, 9 games.

League Leaders

Offensive: AVG: Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), .369. Home runs: Adam Dunn (White Sox), 30. RBI: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), 82. Stolen bases: Mike Trout (Angels), 31.

Pitching: Wins: David Price (Rays), 14. K's: Stephen Strasburg (Nationals), 151. ERA: Johnny Cueto (Reds), 2.23 (133.1 innings, 33 earned runs). Saves: Jim Johnson (Orioles), 30.

Top Performers

Offensive: Jesus Guzman (Padres): 3-4, 2 home runs (6), 3 RBI, 3 runs, AVG up .010 from .241 to .251, hitting streak to 2 games (5-7, .714 AVG).

Pitching: Stephen Strasburg (Nationals): Win (11-4), 7 innings, 1 earned run, 4 hits, no walks, 11 K's (151), ERA drop: 0.09 runs from 2.85 to 2.76.

Worst Pitching Performance: Ricky Romero (Blue Jays): Loss (8-7), 1.1 innings, 8 earned runs, 4 hits, 6 walks, 1 K (85), ERA jump: 0.53 runs from 5.22 to 5.75.

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman