The following is how area players are doing in Major League Baseball.
Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 2002) infielder, Pittsburgh Pirates — Sanchez continued his stellar season with his sixth home run of the year on Wednesday night.
It was a tie-breaking shot at Turner Field against the host Atlanta Braves that led the Pirates to a 5-4 victory.
On the game, it was his only hit in a one-for-four performance, as his average dropped to .347. It's still tops in the National League batting race.
Sanchez has gone 18 for his last 44 (.410 average), but even those numbers are a bit deceiving, as he's garnered only two hits in his last four games.
Prior to that, he put together three monster games, going nine for 13 before the last four games have seen him slow down.
For the year, he's notched 154 hits in 444 at bats with 69 runs, 66 RBI and 44 doubles.
His 44 doubles are tied for the Major League lead with Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young.
It's the batting-title chase that is garnering the most attention, though, and it's heating up down the stretch. Sanchez's biggest adversary is Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who's hitting .341.
Jason Hirsh (St. Francis High, 2000) starting pitcher, Houston Astros — The 6-foot-8, 250-pound rookie had the worst outing of his first three Major League starts on Tuesday in the Astros' 14-0 loss to National League Central rival Cincinnati.
Hirsh allowed 10 earned runs, nine hits and five walks in just 2 2/3 innings pitched.
After the game, Hirsh left the locker room without talking to the media, reportedly drawing the ire of Houston General Manager Tim Purpura, Houston Manager Phil Garner and his teammates. It came after he'd already been reprimanded earlier in the week for being tardy to the clubhouse.
Hirsh, who had previously built up a great reputation with the media from Glendale to Texas, apologized for leaving early, telling MLB.com, "That's not the kind of guy I am."
Hirsh is now 1-2, with 12 innings pitched in his three starts.
He's given up 19 hits, 17 earned runs and six homer runs, as he's tallied a 12.75 earned-run average. His most positive number is the 11 strikeouts he's tallied, nearly one per inning.
Mark Loretta (St. Francis High, 1989) infielder, Boston Red Sox — The former Golden Knight took a break from the starting lineup Wednesday night in the Red Sox game against the host Los Angeles Angels.
Heading into the game, the Red Sox (69-56) had dropped six straight, with five of those losses coming to the hated New York Yankees (75-49), who own a 6 1/2 game lead in the American League East.
Loretta, despite his team's woes, did well against the Yankees, going nine for 22 in the five-game series with three runs scored and four runs batted in.
Loretta's hitting .306 and has notched 156 hits in 509 at bats with 64 runs and 50 RBI. Those 156 hits were sixth in the majors and fifth in the American League, heading into Wednesday night.
