Juan Soto Helps Washington Rip Rockies, Sending NL Into Chaos; Miguel Andujar Breaks DiMaggio Record As Yankees Down Red Sox

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 29, 2018

American League

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?

Andujar breaks NY record

Thanks to rookie third baseman, Miguel Andujar, part of him, at least, has gone down a memory hole as Andjusr shattered a record held since 1936 by the Yankee Clipper.

Andujar lashed a pair of doubles and drove in two runs as the Yankees defeated Boston, 8-5, at Fenway Park. DiMaggio's Yankee rookie record of 44 doubles in a season was broken as Andujar hit one on Friday to tie it and upped his total to 46 with his two doubles Saturday.

Andujar should easily capture the AL rookie of the year award.

The Yankees set a major league record in the win. With home runs by Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton, they surpassed the record set in 1997 by the Seattle Mariners for most home runs by a team in a single season. The previous record was 264, which was tied when Aaron Judge launched the last of four Yankee homers Friday night. The new record of 266 - to which the Yankees can add on Sunday in their regular season finale - also includes a footnote. The Yankees became the first team to get at least 20 home runs from each of the nine batting positions when Gleyber Torres broke the record with his fourth-inning smash.

The Yankees and Red Sox complete the regular season Sunday at Fenway.

National League

Soto: 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI

The Washington Nationals aren't headed to the post-season, but, in the best baseball tradition, they played spoiler on Saturday by hammering the Colorado Rockies, 12-2, sending the NL West into a tie for first place between the Rockies and Dodgers. Los Angeles defeated the Giants, 10-6, leaving the two teams at 90-71 each with one game left to play.

Rookie outfielder, Juan Soto, got the Nationals on the bard early, knocking in two runs with a double in the first inning. From there on, the Nationals continued to pour it on, racking up 18 hits against five Colorado pitchers as the game got away.

Soto drove in two more runs, one with a solo homer in the fifth (his 22nd), and another on a ground out in the eighth inning. His four RBI gave hime 70 on the year. Soto's numbers, which include a .294 batting average, make him the leading candidate for rookie of the year.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, St. Louis was eliminated from the wild card race, despite their 2-1 win over the Cubs in Chicago. With Milwaukee downing Detroit, 6-5, that left the Cubs and Brewers tied for the lead in the NL Central, at 94-67.

With the Atlanta Braves having already clinched the NL East, the other four post-season positions are up for grabs. The Cubs host St. Louis, the Rockies host Washington, LA is at San Francisco and Milwaukee hosts Detroit. The games are all the last of the regular season for the teams involved. If ties are produced in either division, an additional playoff game would be needed to determine the winner. Either the Cubs or Brewers will host the wild card game against the second place team in the West, either the Dodgers or Rockies.