Matt Kemp Leads Dodger Rout Of Pirates; Francisco Lindor's 2 HR, 7 RBI Leads Indians

Players of the Day for Monday, July 2, 2018

American League

Lindor 2HR, GS, 7RBI

While LeBron James may have abandoned Ohio for the West coast, the Cleveland Indians are running away with the AL Central. Their 9 1/2 game lead over second place Detroit is easily the biggest edge in the majors. Atlanta 3 1/2 game margin over Philadelphia in the NL East, comes in a distant second.

Maintaining their lead as the Tigers won 3-2 in Toronto, Cleveland got a monster game from leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor in their 9-3 win at Kansas City.

The two-time all star socked a grand slam in the fourth inning, following up with a three-run dinger in the sixth for a two homer, seven RBI night at the plate.

Last season, Lindor sizzled, batting .273 with 33 homers and 89. This year looks to be even better. Lindor has 23 home runs, has driven in 55 runs and is batting a solid .298.

Cleveland has won 10 of their last 14. Game two of the series will start Tuesday at 8:15 pm EDT.

National League

Kemp: 5-5, HR, 4R, 4RBI

Struggling to stay competitive in the NL Central, the oars were out of the water on the Pittsburgh Pirates' ship in the opener of a three-game series at Los Angeles.

While Dodger starter Alex Wood held the Pirates to one run over the first six innings, his teammates were battering the Pittsburgh pitching staff, scoring at will in a 17-1 romp.

Matt Kemp tied a career best with five hits in as many at-bats, ripping three singles a double and his 15th home run of the season, driving in four, scoring four times.

Kemp struggled through three years in San Diego and Atlanta, but was traded back to the Dodgers after the 2017 season and seems to be flourishing in the LA sun. He's batting .323 (4th in the NL) with 15 homers and 55 RBI (6th) and is one of the main reasons the Dodgers are challenging for the lead in the NL West.

Coupled with Arizona's 6-3 loss to St. Louis, Monday's win left the Dodgers 1 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks.

The Pirates, however, have been heading in the opposite direction, losing eight of their last 12, facing nine games off the pace in the Central division.

Game two of the series is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:10 pm PDT.