(AP)

The pitch seemed to have a purpose when Cole Hamels hit Bryce Harper in the back with it during the first inning Sunday night. Later on, after the Philadelphia Phillies had beaten the Washington Nationals 9-3, Hamels admitted that it did. As quoted by reporter Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Hamels said:

"I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it."

By admitting to hitting a player on purpose, Hamels probably faces a five-game suspension by Major League Baseball, the net result of which probably will be having a future start pushed back one day. So, no real penalty for him, aside from a small fine.

Watch the HBP

Harper winced briefly after getting hit,  but he otherwise did the right thing by just walking to first base. But while Harper later said he didn't have a problem with Hamels' throw, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo had a much different take than his phenom player.

Here's what Rizzo said when Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post got him on the phone Monday morning:

When the Baltimore Orioles ran out of pitchers Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, they turned to designated hitter Chris Davis — who hadn't pitched since junior college six years ago. Amazingly, Davis came through, throwing 90 mph fastballs and 83 mph splitters to help beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 in 17 innings, rescuing the O's in a game that had seemed endless.

"I seriously don't know what happened," MASN's Roch Kubato quoted Davis as saying.

[Also: Teammates prank Albert Pujols after his first homer of season]

At the plate, Davis went 0 for 8 with five strikeouts, but he also pitched two scoreless innings — getting two strikeouts there, as well — to become the first AL position player to get a victory as a pitcher since Rocky Colavito in 1968. And that's just one of many remarkable historical footnotes in the longest and wackiest game of the season so far. How wacky?

Everyone was waiting for Albert Pujols to hit his first home run as a Los Angeles Angel.

But only a trio of teammates were actually around to congratulate him when he finally did it.

In a well-timed bit of cold shoulder comedy, most of the Halos headed into the clubhouse so Pujols would return to an empty dugout instead of a celebration. Only Mike Trout, Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo — who were already on the field — gave Pujols an initial round of high fives after he ended his season-long drought with a blast off Toronto's Drew Hutchison in the fifth inning of Sunday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Watch as Pujols gets the rally monkey off his back:

_

The dugout evacuation was apparently the brainchild of Torii Hunter, who quickly pushed his teammates toward the doorway as Pujols rounded the bases. But they returned once Pujols barreled toward the clubhouse in search of more people to party with.

In an argument between players with a combined age of 89 years, Jamie Moyer of the Rockies and Chipper Jones of the Braves snapped at each other Saturday night in Colorado. Jones, 40, later told reporters that Moyer, 49, accused him of stealing signs in the fifth inning as he led off second base before relaying them to Brian McCann in the batter's box. He also called Moyer "paranoid."

Jones added that the spat was a motivating factor for the Braves in their 13-9 comeback victory at Coors Field. Reporters could not get a comment about the incident from Moyer, but Chipper — who collected a hit in each of his next two at-bats and drove in five runs on the night — had some doozies via MLB.com.

"That was all on Jamie Moyer," Jones said. "He woke a sleeping giant tonight. He started chirping and it went all downhill from there. He accused me of relaying a sign down 6-2 with a 3-0 count to Brian McCann. I have never relayed a sign to anyone while I'm on second base."

Update: As reported by Mark Bowman of MLB.com on Twitter on Sunday, Chipper was still steaming at Moyer after the game:

Chipper said he told a couple Rockies he would discuss things w/ Moyer if he wanted to meet him in the hallway last night. — Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 6, 2012

And there was more:

Pujols asks teammate Maicer Izturis what he should do on the bench. (AP)The Los Angeles Angels gave Saturday night off to slumping slugger Albert Pujols, and his replacement responded by giving his team its first home run by a first baseman all season. It figures.

Considering the Angels still owe Pujols most of the $240 million contract he signed in the offseason, there's no reason to think that Mark Trumbo will turn into another Lou Gehrig and Pujols will become a modern-day Wally Pipp, whom the Iron Horse famously replaced.

Still, Wally Pippujols has a certain ring to it.

And Scioscia must consider his one-night stand without Albert a success. The Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 behind nine strikeouts over eight innings from left-hander C.J. Wilson. Rookie outfielder Mike Trout had two hits, including a home run, and DH Kendrys Morales went 3 for 5 in the cleanup spot. Trumbo, who has been trying to convert to third base with very shaky results, added his fourth home run of the season, upping his batting average to .297. That's pretty much how they drew it up in spring training — except for Pujols' massive slump and the Angels having a record of 11-17.

Angels fans booed Pujols throughout Friday's game, and afterward Pujols said they had reason to, and that he was a "big boy" and could take it. He said little after manager Mike Scioscia made out the Angels lineup card without Pujols in it for the first time this season. When approached by reporters before the game, the three-time NL MVP indicated he also was taking a night off from talking.

''Go ask the manager, not me, guys. I don't make the lineup.''

Scioscia said he wanted to give Pujols, who is batting .194 with no home runs 27 games into his new life with the Angels, some time to clear his head:

(AP)

As all baseball fans know, Cinco de Mayo is the day we celebrate Mayo Smith, a former major league manager best known for being the skipper of the 1968 Detroit Tigers. That team — which included pitchers Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich, along with sluggers Norm Cash, Al Kaline, Bill Freehan and Willie Horton — won 103 games during the regular season and beat the St. Louis Cardinals of Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Steve Carlton in the World Series.

Though he reportedly was viewed at the time as kind of boring — colorless like mayonnaise, if you will — Smith led a fascinating life in baseball, which was detailed wonderfully in a SABR biography written by Dave Raglin.

My favorite personal nugget: His full name was Edward Mayo Smith, but he went by his middle name, which one of his grandmothers picked because she had been a patient at the Mayo Clinic. No kidding.

Probably his most crucial decision as manager was to start Mickey Stanley at shortstop during the '68 Series in order to get Kaline's bat in the lineup in the outfield. The thing was, Mickey Stanley wasn't a shortstop.

Gregor Blanco may never run his way into a full-time role with the San Francisco Giants, but he's already running his way into the hearts of the team's fans with his entertaining speed.

Sometimes, though, that speed can work against the 28-year-old outfielder. Witness this lowlight play of the day as Blanco goes from first to third and his legs get caught up underneath him.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone stumble rounding second like that and recover in such a smooth way. It's almost as if he wanted to throw a bit of challenge into the whole play and decided to insert a headfirst slide halfway to third. Can we please get the scoring from our judges?

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(Getty Images file photo)When it comes to sports-centered fashion statements, basketball sneakers are king.

New Era baseball caps, however, can't be far behind when it comes to ubiquity. The 59/50 caps are a part of everyday life, whether it's for someone supporting their local nine or someone looking to complete an outfit.

Because people wear the hats for a variety of reasons, I had always wondered what the top 10 best-selling caps list looked like. After all, this isn't like the best-selling NFL jersey list, which is largely dominated by success on the field. A different set of factors including colors, street influence and pop culture references can shoot a hat into the best-selling category.

Our friends over at Cardboard Connection recently obtained a list of the 10 best-selling New Era caps in 2011, which we confirmed with the company. Before we get to the top 10, a couple of thoughts about the teams that aren't listed.

• The most conspicuous absences are two classics: The Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers didn't make the top 10. While it's easy to figure why Cubs sales have sagged, the Tigers won a division title in 2011 and still have that Kid Rock/Eminem/Ty Cobb street cred. Maybe the addition of Prince Fielder will push them into the field next year?

• On-field success also didn't translate to bigger sales for the Texas Rangers or Milwaukee Brewers. I've never been a big fan of the Rangers "T," but you would have figured that two straight World Series trips and playing in such a populated market would've made a difference. As for the Crew, they keep drawing 3 million to Miller Park every year and it seems like everyone's wearing the old ball-and-glove cap each time I visit.

• We don't have access to the least-selling hats, but that would be an interesting list to view. I'd also be interested in knowing how team merchandisers view a spot at the bottom. Does that translate into uniform and logo changes?

OK, on to the 10 best-selling New Era hats for 2011: