Dexter Fowler Leads Cardinals Win Over Reds; Austin Jackson 4-for-5, Indians Drop Angels, 6-3

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 19, 2017

American League

Jackson: 4-for-5

Not only have the Cleveland Indians set an American League record with 22 straight wins and captured the AL Central, now they appear comfortable to play spoiler, as they topped the LA Angels, 6-3, in the opener of a three-game series on the coast.

The Angels have been tailing the Twins for the better part of the last four weeks for the second wild card spot. With Minnesota losing to the Yankees, 5-2, the Angels could have gotten to within 1/2 game of the cherished spot, but Cleveland and Austin Jackson had other ideas.

Jackson singled four times in five at-bats, drove in a run and scored another, helping the Indians to their third straight win after Kansas City ended their record win streak this past Friday. In a season shorted by injury, Jackson, when healthy, has been top-notch, batting .316, with 79 hits in 250 at-bats.

The fleet outfielder who broke in with the Tigers, is in his eighth season, and may be reaching his full potential. With the Indians heading to the playoffs, his timing could not be better.

LA's loss left them 1 1/2 games behind the Twins in the wild card race. The Yankees hold the #1 position, six games to the good over Minnesota.

Game two of the series is Wednesday, 7:00 pm PT.

Fowler: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI

National League

It's not often that a player homers to tie a game, drives in the go-ahead run and then scores what turns out to be the winning run, but that's exactly what Dexter Fowler did to keep the St. Louis hopes alive in an 8-7, 10-inning win over Cincinnati.

Fowler socked his 17 home run of the season in the eighth inning. The solo shot tied the game at six apiece. After a scoreless ninth, Fowler came to the plate again in the 10th with Kolton Wong on base, delivering a double that plated the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Paul DeJong singled Fowler home, putting the Cards by by a 8-6 score.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Reds got closer on a scooter Gennett solo home run, but that was all they could muster, the Cardinals taking the first of three in Cincinnati.

Fowler, taken from the Cubs in the off-season, went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs. He has been a welcome addition to the Cardinals this season, batting .266 with 57 RBI in 109 games.

While the Cardinals were successful in staying alive, they remain six games behind the Cubs in the NL Central and trail second place Milwaukee by 2 1/2 games. Both the Cubs and Brewers were winners on Tuesday. Colorado, holding the second wild card, fell to San Francisco, 4-3, leaving them just a game up on Milwaukee with the Cardinals 3 1/2 back.

St. Louis will have opportunity down the stretch as they host Chicago for four games and then Milwaukee for three to close out the regular season, but they have to keep pace in order to have a chance.

Game two of the Cards' series with the Reds is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:10 pm ET in Cincinnati.