Cubs Rip Padres Behind Javier Baez's 5 RBI; Jake Bauers Powers Tampa Bay's 19-6 Rout Of Twins

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 14, 2018

American League

Bauers: rookie on a tear

Chasing both the Red Sox and Yankees in the LA East, Tampa Bay hopes the momentum they've built up to close out the first half carries over to the remainder of the season.

The Rays pounded out 20 hits and scored in bunches to down the Twins, 19-6, Saturday, notching its sixth win in the last eight games.

Tampa scored four runs in the fourth inning and five in each of the seventh, eighth, and ninth.

Contributing in a major way was first baseman Jake Bauers, who drove in four runs with a double and home run in five at-bats, scoring four runs, one in each of the innings in which the Rays scored.

Called up in early June, Bauers has shown rapid improvement, especially in recent games. In his last seven games, Bauers has gone 11-for-28 (.393), with three homers, nine RBI, and 11 runs.

The Rays and Twins finish off the first half in the series finale, Sunday at 2:10 pm EDT in Minnesota.

National League

Baez: 71 RBI leads NL

While the Milwaukee Brewers were losing five straight and six of their last seven, the Chicago Cubs took advantage of the situation and took over first place in the NL Central, winning five of their last seven and going 11-3 since June 28.

Saturday's 11-6 triumph at San Diego left the Cubs with a 1 1/2 game lead in the division.

Led by second baseman Javier Baez, the Cubs took their second straight over the Padres and appear headed in the right direction as the all star break approaches.

Baez ripped a double in the fifth inning to increase Chicago's lead to 5-2. His three-run homer in the ninth - his 19th of the season - put the game completely out of reach.

Baez, who at 25 is already playing his fifth season in the majors, is emerging as one of the brightest young stars in either league. After batting .273 with 23 home runs and 75 RBI in 2017, Baez is approaching those numbers through just more than half of 2018, batting .293 with 19 dingers and 71 RBI. His RBI total has him tied with Cincinnati's Eugenio Suarez for the league lead.

Baez and his fellow Cubs will be looking to end the first half with a sweep of the Padres when they take the field in San Diego, Sunday, at 1:10 pm PDT.