Mookie Betts Helps Red Sox Overcome Orioles, 10-8; Miami's Giancarlo Stanton Socks 55th Home Run

Players of the Day for Monday, September 18, 2017

American League

Betts: 93 RBI

The two main wild card contenders - the Yankees and the Minnesota Twins - were embroiled in battle resulting in a 2-1 win for New York, the Boston Red Sox held their edge in the AL East over the Yanks with a 11-inning, 10-8 victory at Baltimore over the Orioles.

Baltimore built a 5-0 lead, roughing up Boston starter, Doug Fister, for five runs on four hits and five walks in the first two innings. In the band-box that is Camden Yards, no lead is safe, especially when the game is only two innings old and the opponent is the Red Sox. 19 pitchers would eventually go to the mound - 10 for the Sox; nine for Baltimore - before this event was over, ended by rookie Andrew Benintendi's 11th-inning single that plated the winning runs.

Prior to that climactic conclusion, however, Mookie Betts provided four of the comeback runs for the Red Sox. In the fourth, Betts singled home the first Boston run, then, capping a six-run fifth inning that put the Red Sox up 7-6, Betts delivered a bases-loaded double that sent three teammates across home plate.

Both teams would score more, getting eventually to an 8-8 game in the seventh inning and proceeding to extra frames.

Betts' four RBI gave him 94 on the year, along with 22 homers and a .263 average.

The win kept Boston three games up on the Yankees in the division and they'll try to keep that edge or advance it when they play game two of the three-game series at Baltimore, Tuesday at 7:05 pm ET

National League

Stanton: 55 Home Runs

With many teams having Monday off, the only really meaningful game of the day was Milwaukee's 3-0 win over Pittsburgh, keeping the Brewers within shouting distance of the Cubs in the NL Central and the Rockies in the wild card race. Milwaukee trails the Cubs by 3 1/2 and the Rockies by two games.

In Miami, Giancarlo Stanton was the center of attention as he continued his assault on stadium dimensions with his 55th home run of the year, a massive, 455-foot blast to center that scored three runs.

The homer put the Marlins ahead, 5-1, in the fourth. The Mets had no answers as the game turned into a 13-1 rout for the Marlins.

Stanton singled in another run in the fifth inning, improving his RBI total to 117 on the season, second in the NL to the 125 of Colorado's Nolan Arenado. The Miami slugger also scored three times, upping his run total to 115, second to another Colorado player, Charlie Blackmon, who leads the majors with 131.

Both the Mets and Marlins have been eliminated from playoff contention. They play game two of the series Tuesday, 7:10 pm ET.