Third baseman Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays and Jonathan Sanchez of the San Francisco Giants were named the Bank of America Presents the American League Player of the Week for the period ending June 29th. Evan hit .433 (13-30) with five doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI. The 22-year-old rookie posted a .900 slugging percentage along with a .438 on-base percentage. During a three-game Interleague series against the Florida Marlins, Longoria went 7-for-16 with two home runs and six RBI. Then, on June 27th against Pittsburgh, the third overall selection in the first round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft went 4-for-5 with a homer, three RBI and three runs scored. The product of Long Beach State University is batting .270 with 15 home runs and 47 RBI on the season. This marks the first career weekly award for Longoria and he becomes the second Ray to win honors this season, joining pitcher James Shields (4/28). Last week, Sanchez went 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA, tossing 14.2 innings in which he allowed two earned runs on nine hits. The 25-year-old southpaw hurler ranked second in innings pitched and tied for second with 14 strikeouts. On June 24th at Cleveland, the native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico tossed 7.2 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and striking out eight batters. Then, on June 29th at Oakland, Sanchez threw 7.0 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and striking out six. The third-year Major Leaguer has recorded eight strikeouts in three of his June starts (others: 6/2 vs. NY and 6/17 vs. DET) and twice this season has struck out 10 batters (4/9 vs. SD and 4/25 vs. CIN). Sanchez, a first-time weekly award recipient, is 8-4 with a 3.79 ERA with 102 strikeouts in his 102.0 innings across 17 starts this year.

Shortstop Edgar Renteria became the first Colombian-born player to reach the 2,000 hit plateau, according to The Detroit Free Press. "Thank God," Renteria said. "It was a lot of hard work. It is exciting, and I'm proud."

Cleveland Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia (American League) and Florida Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco, who went 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA, and Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, whose four home runs led the National League, have been named the Bank of America Presents the Players of the Week for the period ending June 15th. Last week, Sabathia went 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA, spanning 17.0 innings in his two outings. The 27-year-old lefthander allowed just three runs and one walk while fanning 15 batters. Nolasco tied for the league-lead with two wins and recorded 15 strikeouts in his two starts. The 25-year-old right-hander tossed 14.2 innings and allowed two earned runs on 10 hits. Doumit led the N.L. with his four homers, a .960 slugging percentage and 24 total bases, and tied for the league-lead with eight runs scored. The 27-year-old backstop hit .400 (10-25), drove in seven runs, collected two doubles and recorded a .483 on-base percentage.

Mike Mussina recorded his seventeenth-straight 10-win season on Saturday after helping the Yankees notch an 8-4 victory over the Astros, according to The Associated Press. The Yankees trailed 3-0 after Mussina allowed a three-run homer by Carlos Lee, but New York rallied back as the righty settled down and pitched six strong innings to earn the decision. The victory was the 260th of Mussina's Major League career. He is 10-4 this season with a 3.87 ERA in fifteen starts.

Indians' starter Cliff Lee won his tenth game of the season on Monday night against the Tigers, according to The Associated Press. Lee pitched five innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out five batters on 88 pitches. Cleveland scored eight runs in the first two innings to give Lee tremendous support. Opposing pitcher Dontrelle Willis struggled mightily; he allowed eight earned hits in just 1.1 innings.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th home run on Monday night, becoming the sixth player in history to reach that milestone. The veteran Reds' outfielder homered off Marlins' lefty Mark Hendrickson in the first inning. Griffey joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Sammy Sosa in the 600-homerun club.

Chipper Jones was named the National League's Player of the Week on Monday, with Joe Crede and Milton Bradley sharing the honors in the American League. Last week, Bradley hit .478 (11-23) with five home runs and nine RBI. The 29-year-old outfielder racked up 29 total bases, along with a 1.261 slugging percentage, three doubles, and 12 runs scored. Crede hit .611 (11-18) with two doubles, four home runs, and 12 RBI. The 30-year-old third baseman compiled 28 total bases, along with an A.L.-high 1.556 slugging percentage and nine runs scored. Jones led the N.L. with a .579 (11-19) batting average, a 1.105 slugging percentage, and a .652 on-base percentage, and his 11 hits were tied for the league-lead. The 36-year-old third baseman collected three home runs, a double, six RBI, and four runs scored. On the season, Chipper is batting a Major League-best .420 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI and leads the Majors with 92 hits.

Rangers' shortstop Michael Young extended his hitting streak to 22 games on Saturday despite playing with a broken left ring finger, according to The Dallas Morning News. "I have no concerns ? right now," Manager Ron Washington said Saturday. "As long as he can handle the pain that goes with it, he can play. If anybody can pull it off, Michael can." He left the team's game on Saturday with tightness in his groin, putting his streak in jeopardy. Young's streak ties Jim Sundberg's 1978 streak for the fourth-longest in club history.

Indians' pitcher Paul Byrd notched the 100th win of his Major League Career on Friday night in the team's 4-2 win over the Tigers, according to The Akron Beacon Journal. "Greg Maddux didn't feel any heat from this," he said. "But for me, it's a big deal. I love playing major-league baseball. It's something I always wanted to do since I was a kid. I spent part of the time as a reliever, got released several times, and got claimed on waivers, so this is nice for me." He threw seven innings of two-run ball, allowing just four hits and did not walk a batter.

Braves' third basemen Chipper Jones hit the 400th home run of his career in the team's win over the Marlins on Thursday night, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Just an awesome all-around night," Jones said after becoming the 43rd player in the 400-homer club, doing it in a four-hit performance that raised his batting average to a startling .418. "I guess I've seen every single one of them," said Braves' Manager Bobby Cox, the only manager Jones has played for during a 15-year career. "He's one great player." "I'm sure Dad was bouncing off the walls, and Mom was crying ? Mom will cry at the drop of a hat," Jones said.