Paul Goldschmidt, Kendrys Morales Each Homer Twice As Arizona Downs Rockies, Toronto Rocks Tampa Bay

Players of the Day for Friday, May 5, 2017

American League

Kendrys Morales

Having gotten off to an 11-2 start, the worst of any major league team, Toronto still finds itself mired in last place in the AL East due to a combination of poor play and injuries to key players, such as Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson.

One player who hasn't been injured and is having a decent season is Kendrys Morales, who helped the Blue Jays defeat the Rays, 8-4 with a pair of home runs and five RBIs.

Down 3-1, Morales got the Jays even with a two-run blast in the seventh, then helped put the game out of reach with a three-run homer, highlighting a five-run eighth inning.

The home runs were numbers five and six for Morales, acquired from Kansas City during the off-season, and the five RBI gave him an even 20 on the year. Toronto took the opener of their three-game series in Tampa and will try to make it two straight when the teams meet on Saturday. Game time is 4:10 pm.

While the Blue Jays are still just 10-19, once they get healthy, they will probably make it tough on the front-runners in the AL East and throughout the majors.

National League

Paul Goldschmidt

It should come as no surprise that Paul Goldschmidt is among the NL leaders in RBI. After all, he's driven in 205 runs in the past two seasons and has been an all-star for Arizona each of the past four seasons.

On Friday, Goldschmidt cranked out a pair of home runs (#6 and #7) against the Rockies and drove in another run with a single, as Arizona pulled to within 1/2 game of first place Colorado with a 6-3 victory.

The game was the first of a three-game series in Denver, but Goldschmidt took advantage early on, socking a solo shot in the first inning, then adding a three-run belt in the third, putting Arizona up 5-0. In the seventh, Goldschmidt knocked in his fifth run of the game with a single to center, plating David Peralta.

Finishing 3-for-3 with a walk, Goldschmidt raised his average to .330, good for eighth in the National League. His 26 RBI are fourth-best in the NL.

The Rockies will try to retain first place when they meet the Diambondbacks in game two, Saturday night at Coors Field. First pitch is slated for 8:10 pm ET.