Reds, Scooter Gennett Wreck Dodgers, 10-6; Gary Sanchez Powers Yankees Past Twins

Players of the Day for Monday, September 10, 2018

American League

Sanchez: 3-for-5, HR, RBI

J.A. Happ blanked the Twins for six innings and Gary Sanchez went 3-for-5 with his second home run since returning from the DL as the Yankees moved closer to the post-season with a 7-2 win at Minnesota.

Sanchez broke a scoreless tie with his 16th home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning, then singled and scored as the Yankees piled on six runs in the seventh. The Yankee catcher doubled in the eighth, but was left stranded along with Giancarlo Stanton, who had walked before him, when Greg Bird, the only Yankee regular without a hit, struck out to end the inning.

The win kept New York three games ahead of the Oakland A's in the wild card hunt. The A's had the day off and are in control of the second position, 7 1/2 games better than Tampa Bay and Seattle.

New York also has faint hopes of catching the Red Sox in the East division. Boston was idle on Monday and leads the race by eight games.

Game two of the Yankees' series in Minnesota is Tuesday, 8:00 pm EDT.  New York is 5-0 against the Twins this season.

National League

Gennett's .320 leads NL

Taking control of the National League batting race, Scooter Gennett lashed four singles, drove in three runs and scored twice, guiding the Cincinnati Reds to a 10-6 victory over the visiting LA Dodgers.

Gennett, in a fight for what could be his first batting title, broke away from Milwaukee's Christian Yellich, who went 1-for-4 in the Brewers' 3-2 win over the Cubs. Yellich is batting .315. Gennett's four hits raised his average to .320, tops in the league.

While Gennett was beating up LA hurlers, the Dodgers watched their playoff hopes diminish slightly as the Cardinals came from behind to defeat the Pirates, 8-7, putting them two games up on the Dodgers in the second spot of the wild card race. Colorado thumped Arizona, 13-2, extending its NL West lead to 1 1/2 games over LA. Third place Arizona is 3 1/2 off the pace.

Monday's contest was the first of a three-game series in Cincinnati. Game two is Tuesday at 6:40 pm EDT. The Dodgers have lost all five games with the Reds this season.