Mitch Moreland, J.D. Martinez Lead Red Sox Past Houston; Justin Turner 4-for-5 In Dodger win At Colorado

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 9, 2018

Moreland: Game-winner

American League

J.D. Martinez socked a three-run homer and drove in four runs and Mitch Moreland singled home the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth as Boston snapped Houston's seven-game winning streak in the finale of a three-game series between division leaders at Fenway Park Sunday night with a 6-5 win.

Martinez: 40 HR, 121 RBI

After putting the Red Sox ahead 2-1 in the third inning with a sac fly, Martinez extended the lead with his 40th home run, spiraling the shot over the Green Monster in left field in the fifth. The Astros rallied to tie the game at 5-all, but Mitch Moreland, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, got to the plate with two aboard and two out in the ninth and plated pinch-runner Tzu Wei Lin with a walk-off single.

The win expanded Boston's lead over the Yankees in the AL East to 8 1/2 games while thinking Houston's edge over Oakland to 2 1/2 in the West. The Yankees lost in Seattle, 3-2. Oakland powered past Texas for a 7-3 win, their fourth straight and sixth in their last seven games.

The home run by Martinez left him one behind Oakland's Khris Davis in the AL HR tally, and upped his major-league-leading RBI total to 121.

On Monday, Houston opens a series in Detroit and the Yankees play at Minnesota. Boston and Oakland have the day off.

National League

Justin Turner stroked four hits in five at-bats, drove in two runs and scored twice as the Dodgers dogged the Rockies in Denver, 9-6.

Turner: 4--for-5, 2 2B, HR

Turner, whose .314 batting average would have him in the heart of the NL batting race if he had the requisite plate appearances, socked his 14th home run and added a pair of doubles and a single as the Dodgers reached to within 1/2-game of the division-leading Rockies.

LA's win also kept them very much alive in the wild card race, one game behind St. Louis for the second spot. Milwaukee holds the top position, 2 1/2 better than the Cardinals and 3 1/2 up on the Dodgers.

Banging out 14 hits, the Dodgers took two of three over the Rockies.

The Dodgers head to Cincinnati on Monday for the opener of a three-game series. The Rockies remain home, hosting the Diamondbacks.