2011 – Former Negro Leagues infielder Emilio Navarro dies at 105 in his native Puerto Rico. He was the oldest living professional baseball player at the time of his death.
3B Pablo Sandoval breaks a bone in his right wrist in San Francisco’s 3 – 0 loss to the Nationals. Sandoval was back to form, hitting .313 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI in the early going, after struggling and finishing the season on the bench in 2010. The extent of the injury will only be revealed in x-rays taken the next day.
Andre Ethier extends his hitting streak to 25 games with a 5th-inning double off Clayton Richard as the Dodgers beat the Padres, 3 – 2, tying Steve Sax (1986) and Paul Lo Duca (2003) for second-longest in team history. Willie Davis, who put together a 31-game streak in 1969, holds the record since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, CA. The news is not all good for the Dodgers, however, as they place 3B Casey Blake on the disabled listwith a staph infection in his left elbow; he undergoes surgery and won’t be back for a month.
The Cleveland Indians are having the best April in the team’s 110-year history as today’s 9 – 5 win over Detroit moves their record to an American League-best 17-8. The key hit today is a walk-off grand slam by Carlos Santana off losing pitcher Joaquin Benoit.
2011 – Ben Zobrist has the best day of his career as he drives in 10 runs in a doubleheader sweep of the Twins by the Rays, 15 – 3 and 6 – 1. Zobrist goes 7 for 10 with 2 homers and 3 doubles in the two games; his 8 RBI in the opener are a team record. Zobrist finishes with 18 RBI in a five-game period, the best by any AL player since Reggie Jackson in 1969. The injury-racked Twins feature a depleted line-up, with emergency starter Anthony Swarzak losing the nightcap and LF Rene Tosoni making his major league debut and getting two hits in the first game.
Chipper Jones drives in three runs in Atlanta’s 7 – 0 win over San Diego, moving past Mickey Mantle on the all-time RBI list with 1,512. Among switch-hitters, only Eddie Murray has more RBI than Jones with 1,917. Tommy Hanson is the winner over Mat Latos, who falls to 0-4.
Justin Smoak, back from the bereavement list following the death of his father, homers and drives in five runs as Seattle routs Detroit, 10 – 1, to earn Erik Bedard his first win since June 7, 2009.
Engel Beltre, an outfielder for the Frisco Rough Riders of the AA Texas League, is caught on tape throwing a trash can into the crowd in response to heckling by fans following manager Steve Buechele’s ejection from a game in San Antonio, TX. Beltre will be handed a 15-game suspension and will also face criminal charges of disorderly conduct for his actions. Two fans are also charged for their role in the fracas, although officials are unable to identify which players also threw bats into the stands.
The Cleveland Indians bang five home runs in a 9 – 4 win over the Royals. Jack Hannahan hits two of the long balls, Shin-Soo Choo has a three-run shot, and Grady Sizemore and Matt LaPorta hit the other homers. Justin Masterson is now 5-0 for the first-place Indians.
The Marlins are quietly off to the best start in franchise history, moving to 15-7 with a 4 – 2 win over the Dodgers. Hanley Ramirez breaks out of a 3 for 28 slump with two hits and two runs scored while Gaby Sanchez homers in support of Chris Volstad. For Los Angeles, Andre Ethier extends his hitting streak to 23 games, the longest-ever in April, with an RBI double in the 1st; teammate James Loney comes into the game hitting .170 but goes 4 for 4 in the first four-hit game of his career.
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