Cleveland Wins 5th Straight on Yan Gomes' Walk-Off Homer; Patrick Corbin Goes Distance for 1st Place Diamondbacks

Players of the Day for Monday, May 20, 2013

American League

Yan Gomes

Having surged to the lead in the AL Central by winning 12 of their last 15 games and their last five straight, the Cleveland Indians completed a four-game sweep of Seattle with a thrilling, 10-8 victory in 10 innings, capped by Yan Gomes' walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the final frame.

A rookie catcher who played 43 games with Toronto in 2012, Gomes elevated his game with two homers (his third and fourth), the first of which was a solo shot in the second inning when the Indians plated four to take an early lead. He also singled, going 3-for-5 on the night.

The Mariners trailed most of the way, but tied the game in the eighth and took a brief lead in the ninth on Endy Chavez's solo homer before Cleveland scored a single run to send it to extra innings.

Seattle re-took the advantage when Justin Smoak belted a 422-foot solo shot with two down in the top of the tenth to lead 8-7.

Batting out of the nine-hole, Gomes appeared at the plate with two aboard and nobody out in the 10th, taking an offering from Seattle reliever, Charlie Furbush, over the wall in left field.

Seattle remained nine game behind the Rangers in the West, while the Indians increased their lead to 2 1/2 games over idle Detroit.

National League

Patrick Corbin

Despite the fact that the season is only 1/4 of the way through, the battle in the NL West has intensified, with three teams within 2 1/2 games of each other and San Diego lurking just 4 1/2 out.

While the Giants were trashing Washington, 8-0, Arizona opened a big, three-game series at Colorado with a 5-1 win in which the Diamondbacks banged out 16 hits, each of the position players getting at least one hit.

The fact that his teammates left 10 runners in scoring position didn't seem to bother starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, who cruised to his seventh win without a loss with his first major league complete game, allowing just three hits, fanning 10 while walking one.

The lone run came in the eighth, after the Diamondbacks had already put up their five runs.

Corbin tied Washington's Jordan Zimmermann for the NL lead in wins, is second in ERA, at 1.44, and upped his strikeout total to 51 with a career-high in the game.

Arizona's win left them a game to the good on the Giants and 2 1/2 ahead of the Rockies. Game two of the series is Tuesday at 8:40 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: Miguel Cabrera's .389 batting average was the highest in the majors since 1994, when the major leagues were led with a .394 average. Who accomplished this hitting marvel?

Yesterday's Answer: The two teammates who had 200 or more hits in 2009 were Derek Jeter (212) and Robinson Cano (204) of the NY Yankees.

Miguel Cabrera's Three Homers Wasted in Tigers' Loss at Texas; Yonder Alonso, Padres Pound Nationals, 13-4

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 19, 2013

American League

Playing in front of a national TV audience on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, Miguel Cabrera put on a power performance, but Adrian Beltre and David Murphy powered Texas to an 11-8 victory, taking their series with the Tigers three games to one.

Miguel Cabrera

Cabrera belted three homers - two solo shots and a two-run bomb - singled in the first inning and walked and scored in the sixth, but his 4-for-4, five RBI effort was for naught as the Rangers rallied from a 4-1 deficit with four runs in the fifth, four more in the sixth and two in the eighth.

David Murphy's three-run homer in the sixth gave Texas a lead they would not relinquish. Beltre had two doubles and went 4-for-5.

The loss for the Tigers left them two games behind Cleveland in the AL Central, while Texas enjoys a 6 1/2 game bulge over Oakland in the West.

Cabrera, who took down the triple crown last season, leads the league in RBI with 47, batting average (.387) and his 11 homers is one behind an AL foursome with 12.

National League

While the Giants, Rockies and Diamondbacks try to sort things out atop the NL West, San Diego continues to make progress on the leaders.

Yonder Alonso

Despite a record of 20-23, the Padres are only 4 1/2 back of Arizona, which held onto a one-game lead despite a 2-1 loss at Miami. Colorado topped the Giants, 6-0, tying the Giants for second place.

San Diego earned a 2-2 split in their home series with the Nationals, banging out 15 hits to take the finale, 13-4.

Unheralded Yonder Alonso singled, doubled and cranked out his sixth homer of the season, scoring three times and driving in a pair of runs. The Padres hammered Washington starter, Dan Haren (4-5), for seven runs on nine hits over five innings.

In his second full year with the Padres, Alonso is having a solid start to his season, batting .289 with 26 RBI.

The loss left Washington 2 1/2 behind the Braves in the East. On Monday, San Diego begins a three-game series with Central division leader, St. Louis.

Today's Trivia: In 2009, Ichiro Suzuki led the majors with 224 hits. He was followed by two players - each with more than 200 hits - who played for the same team. Who were they?

Yesterday's Answer: Albert Pujols took the NL Home Run and RBI titles; his .312 batting average was tied for fifth with teammate Matt Holliday.

David Ortiz Drives in Six as Boston Keeps Pace with Yankees; Joey Votto Leads Reds to 10-0 Thumping of Phillies

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 18, 2013

American League

Ortiz: 2HR, 6RBI

It's not even June, but the Yankees and Red Sox are playing like it's September.

Robinson Cano cracked a pair of homers as the Yankees topped the Blue Jays, but David Ortiz, who's been hotter than Beyonce in spandex, smashed a couple of his own and added an RBI single to drive in six runs, leading the Red Sox past the Twins, 12-5.

The Red Sox won their fourth straight and took the second in a three-game series at Minnesota which concludes Sunday afternoon at 2:10 pm EDT.

Ortiz got the Sox on the board with a three-run crank in the first inning and singled home another run in the third. With Boston leading 7-5, Ortiz put the game away in the seventh inning, with a two-run blast to right field. For good measure, he also walked and scored on a sac fly in the ninth.

Riding a six-game hitting streak, Ortiz is batting .362, which would be second in the league if he had enough qualifying at-bats. He is 10th in RBI with 29, after driving in six on Saturday.

Boston trails the Yankees by one game in the AL East, and has a 2 1/2 game edge over third place Baltimore, which lost its fourth straight, falling to the Rays, 10-6, when closer Jim Johnson couldn't nail down the save.

National League

Joey Votto

Continuing to close ground on the Cardinals in the NL Central, the Cincinnati Reds won for the eighth time in their last 10 games, evening their series at Philadelphia at a game apiece with a 10-0 plundering of the Phillies.

The Reds are just 1 1/2 back of St. Louis after the Cardinals dropped a 10-inning, 6-4 decision to the Brewers.

Joey Votto raised his batting average to .346 - second-highest in the league - with a 4-for-4 effort, socking his sixth home run of the season along with a double and two singles, driving in two and scoring twice. Votto has hit safely in his last seven games.

Bronson Arroyo shut out the Phillies for 7 2/3 innings on five hits, fanning six, while evening his record at 4-4.

The series concludes Sunday at 1:35 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: In 2010, a National Leaguer almost hit for the triple crown, leading the league in home runs (42) and RBI (118), but finishing tied for fifth in batting with a .312 average. Who was this star?

Yesterday's Answer: Washington's Gio Gonzalez led the majors with 21 wins in 2012.

Kelly Johnson Leads Rays in 12-10 Win over Orioles; Paul Goldschmidt Surging as Arizona Ties for NL West Lead

Players of the Day for Friday, May 17, 2013

American League

Kelly Johnson

Opening an important series at Baltimore Friday night, Tampa Bay took a 12-10 win in a game that nearly got away.

Continuing to lurk just behind the leaders in the AL East, the Rays led 12-4 after six innings and had to hold off a furious Oriole rally as the O's put up six runs in the bottom of the eighth.

With Jeremy Hellickson - who still earned the win - blowing up and reliever Kyle Farnsworth unable to get anybody out (three hits, two earned runs), Joel Peralta came on to get the final out in the eighth and shut down the Orioles in order in the ninth.

Despite the theatrics, the Rays emerged a game above .500, 4 1/2 behind division leading New York. Kelly Johnson delivered for the Rays, socking a three-run homer in the third inning, singling home another in the fifth and doubling and scoring a run in the sixth.

Johnson was 3-for-5 with four RBI, with his sixth home run and 23 RBI.

The Rays and Orioles face off in the second game of the series at 4:05 pm EDT at Camden yards. In third place just 2 1/2 back, the O's lead the Rays by two games in the standings.

National League

Paul Goldschmidt

With their third straight win and a 10-9 loss by the Giants at Colorado, the Diamondbacks regained a tie for first place in the NL West with San Francisco.

Paul Goldschmidt led Arizona's 9-2 win at Miami - the opener of a three-game series - with four hits in five at-bats, his third multi-hit game in his last four.

Goldschmidt blasted his 11th and 12th homers of the season in the first and third innings, both coming off Miami starter Kevin Slowey and both with a man aboard. Later, he singled and doubled, scoring both times, as the Diamondbacks padded their lead.

With his recent surge at the plate, Goldschmidt is challenging in the important statistical categories. His .338 batting average is fourth in the league; his 12 homers second-most and he's second in RBI with 35, one behind Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips.

Arizona and Miami meet again on Saturday at 7:10 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: Which starting pitcher led the majors with 21 wins in 2012?

Yesterday's Answer: Hank Aaron was on 21 All Star rosters, one better than Willie Mays and Stan Musial.

Mitch Moreland Lead Rangers in Romp over Tigers; Travis Snider Stars as Pirates Win Third Straight

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 16, 2013

American League

Mitch Moreland

Streaking to a huge lead in the AL West, the Texas Rangers won their third straight on Thursday, opening their four-game series with the Tigers in dominant fashion by pounding ace starter, Justin Verlander, for six hits and eight earned runs en route to a 10-4 thumping.

Verlander didn't make it out of the third inning, lasting just 2 2/3, taken to the woodshed after Mitch Moreland's bases loaded double and Geovany Soto's three-run homer.

Those runs were more than enough for Texas starter Yu Darvish, who improved to 7-1, despite allowing three runs in the third and another in the fourth inning. Darvish cruised after that, going eight full innings.

Moreland doubled again in the fifth to drive in his third run of the game. A mainstay at first base in his third full season with the Rangers, Moreland is on pace for a breakout season. His two hits Thursday upped his average to .298. He's well on his way to shattering his career marks in homers and RBI, with nine and 21. His best was 16 and 51 in 2011.

Seven games up on Seattle in the division, Texas meets Detroit in game two of their series Friday night at 8:05 pm EDT. The series finale will be ESPN's featured Sunday night MLB broadcast.

National League

Travis Snider

While the red-hot Reds won their sixth straight to move to within 1 1/2 of St. Louis in the Central division, the Pirates kept pace with their third straight win, a 7-1 domination of division-rival Milwaukee.

Pittsburgh is just a game behind the Reds, making a serious bid in the NL's most-contentious division.

Francisco Liriano picked up his second win in as many starts, allowing just one run on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. Liriano has just recently come off the DL, but has come back strong, with back-to-back wins.

Travis Snider, who played 50 games with Pittsburgh after his trade from Toronto in 2012, provided solid offense from the two-hole, going 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the sixth.

Snider has been in and out of the Pittsburgh lineup as an outfielder and pinch hitter. His three hits upping his average to .292.

The win closed out a four-game series in Pittsburgh. Milwaukee took the opener, but the Pirates prevailed in the next three.

Today's Trivia: Who is the National League outfielder that holds the record for being on an all star game roster 21 times?

Yesterday's Answer: 20-year-old Matt Kilroy of the American Association's Baltimore Orioles set the standard in 1886 with an incredible 513 strikeouts.