eason. It was Smiths third straight game with a home run and he finished with four RBI.I dont swing 3-0 very often but sometimes you want to take a chance and see what happens, Smith said.Wilson failed to record an out in the fourth before getting pulled. It was his shortest outing of the season as a

CHICAGO -- While the Los Angeles Angels stumbled, Mike Trout soared again.Just too good to ignore.Trout won the AL MVP award Thursday for the second time in three years, and Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was voted NL MVP in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.To win it one time, its hard to do, Trout said. Twice, I guess you saw my emotions tonight, it was something special.While the Angels finished fourth in the AL West, Trout was his usual brilliant self. The center fielder batted .315 with 29 homers, 100 RBI and 30 steals. He scored 17 percent of Los Angeles runs, the highest percentage for an AL player since Rickey Henderson with the 1985 New York Yankees.Trout, who was a unanimous winner in 2014, had finished second in three of the past four years. He becomes the first MVP from a losing team since Alex Rodriguez for Texas in 2003 and just the fifth player ever to accomplish the feat, joining Hall of Famers Ernie Banks (1958 and 1959), Andre Dawson (1987) and Cal Ripken (1991).At the end of the season a lot of people were asking me about the same question, you know, if your team has a losing record is it going to hurt you in the MVP? Trout said. With this MVP this year, I guess it doesnt matter.Bryant hit .292 with 39 homers and 102 RBI in just his second year in the majors, helping the Cubs to their first World Series title since 1908. The No. 2 overall pick from the 2013 draft becomes just the sixth player to win rookie of the year and MVP in one or consecutive seasons.This year has certainly been one of the best years of my life, said Bryant, who is set to get married in January. I mean winning a World Series, now this, its just icing on the cake.The Las Vegas native is the first NL MVP from the Cubs since Sammy Sosa in 1998 and the eighth player from the club to win the award since 1935. The once-forlorn franchise enjoying its best run in decades also had two of the top MVP candidates, with first baseman Anthony Rizzo finishing fourth.Voting by BBWAA members was completed by the start of the playoffs.If it wasnt for Anthony and his protection and guidance, I wouldnt have won this award, Bryant said. I mean he texted me and I said the same thing to him, I said if it wasnt for you I wouldnt have been able to do this.Bryant was a runaway winner, grabbing 29 of 30 first-place votes and 415 points. Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, who batted .347 for the NL East champions, was the runner-up with the other first-place vote and 245 points. Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was third after he was the unanimous winner of the NL Rookie of the Year award on Monday.Seager will look to follow in Bryants footsteps next year.Bryant was the unanimous NL Rookie of the Year after he hit .275 with 26 homers and 99 RBI last season. Bryant joins Dustin Pedroia (2007-08), Ryan Howard (2005-06) and Cal Ripken (1982-83) as the only players to go Rookie of the Year-MVP in consecutive seasons. Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Fred Lynn (1975) are the only players to win the awards in the same year.Kris is just an impressive young man in every aspect, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said. (He) is very mature, professional, light-hearted, but serious at the same time. Hes just kind of a dream player for any organization.Trout received 19 first-place votes and 356 points. Mookie Betts, who batted .318 with 31 homers, 113 RBI and 26 steals in 158 games for the Boston Red Sox, was second with 311 points, and AL batting champion Jose Altuve of Houston was third. Retiring Red Sox slugger David Ortiz got one first-place vote finished sixth in his final year in the majors.A well-deserved honor for a player that puts his name in the MVP conversation year in and year out, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said in a release. Mike is the consummate team player and deserves every accolade he receives on the field just as he should off of it for the person he is.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Pirates Jerseys China . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Custom Pirates Jerseys . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. http://www.custompiratesjersey.com/custom-willie-stargell-jersey-large-77t.html . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Authentic Custom Pirates Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Custom Pirates T-shirts . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. SEATTLE -- All the reports from the minors said Mike Zunino was making the changes the Seattle Mariners wanted to see. His power was still there, but the strikeouts were down and the pitch recognition was improved.Now back in the majors, Zunino provided a promising glimpse on Saturday night of what the Mariners hope is an improved version of the former first-round pick.Zunino homered twice in his first game of the season, Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith both hit three-run home runs, and the Mariners slugged past the Baltimore Orioles 12-6 on Saturday night.Adam Lind had four hits including a solo homer as the Mariners won for the sixth time in eight games and took their third straight from the AL East leading Orioles.Its always exciting to get back. Obviously how last year ended isnt how you write it up. Theres been a lot of work put into it and just to get the opportunity to come back and do that, that was a lot of fun, Zunino said. To come in and have that type of game was even better.Cruz staked Seattle to a 3-0 lead with his 21st homer of the season in the first inning off Baltimore starter Tyler Wilson (4-6) and Zunino extended it to 5-0 in the second on a two-run shot in his first at-bat of the season after being called up from Triple-A Tacoma earlier this week.Zunino, a former first-round pick by the Mariners, was rushed to the majors early in his career and his hitting suffered, bottoming out last year when he hit .174 in 112 games. Seattle spent the offseason retooling Zuninos approach at the plate, but the goal was to keep him at Triple-A for most of the season.When backup catcher Steve Clevenger suffered a broken bone in his hand earlier this week, a move needed to be made and Zunino was the obvious choice. He lined a 1-2 curveball from Wilson out in the second inning then drove the first pitch from reliever Mychal Givens in the sixth.Perhaps most impressive of his three times on base, Zunino walked in the eighth laying off borderline pitches he went after in the past.Its not easy to go back to the minor leagues and work on things and have a good attitude about it, Seattle managerr Scott Servais said.dddddddddddd. Happy for him and a big night no doubt. Wasnt expecting two home runs but well take it.Cruzs homer was estimated at 459 feet and landed above the bullpens in deep left-center and the five home runs helped Seattle move into second in the majors with 122, trailing only Baltimore.Smith ended Wilsons night with a three-run shot in the fourth, getting the green light on a 3-0 pitch for his ninth homer of the season. It was Smiths third straight game with a home run and he finished with four RBI.I dont swing 3-0 very often but sometimes you want to take a chance and see what happens, Smith said.Wilson failed to record an out in the fourth before getting pulled. It was his shortest outing of the season as a starter.Hes not as quite as crisp as he was . Hes just not carrying the same crispness he had earlier in the season, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.The offensive outburst gave leeway for Seattle starter James Paxton when he struggled in the later innings. Paxton (2-3) was dominant for four innings, but couldnt make it out of the sixth after allowing five base runners in the inning. Tom Wilhelmsen got a pop out from Adam Jones with the bases loaded to escape the sixth.Chris Davis had three RBI, including a two-run homer in the seventh off reliever Nathan Karns.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: Showalter sounded pessimistic that RHP Darren ODay (hamstring) would be able to throw a bullpen session when the Orioles are in Los Angeles early next week. ODays been on the disabled list since June 3.Mariners: LHP Charlie Furbush threw a simulated game as he continues his recovery from shoulder problems. Furbush will likely be sent out on a rehab assignment soon.UP NEXTOrioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7) goes for his third straight victory. Jimenez gave up one run in five innings in his last start against San Diego.Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6) starts the finale of the four-game series. Iwakuma threw 6 2/3 innings in his last start to get the win. ' ' '