Robinson Cano's 6 RBI Tame Tigers, Mariners Win, 9-6; Paul Goldschmidt Drives Home 4, Arizona Downs Rockies, 10-3

Players of the Day for Thursday, June 22, 2017

American League

Cano: 2HR, Slam, 6 RBI

With the Astros blowing away the opposition in the race to the AL West title - Houston won its 50th game Thursday, a 12-9 win at Oakland - there's growing attention to the wild card race. Essentially, any team with a .500 record, or close to that, is in the hunt, and that list includes the Seattle Mariners.

Seattle - 23-14 at home - stuck its head above breakeven with a 9-6 win over visiting Detroit. As the Astros are 12 1/2 ahead of the second place Mariners, the wild card has some appeal. At 38-37, Seattle is fourth, behind Boston, Tampa Bay, and Minnesota.

Robinson Cano was primarily responsible for Seattle's victory, socking a pair of home runs - numbers 12 and 13 - with six RBI. Cano belted a two-run shot in the third inning, putting Seattle up by a 5-1 score, but the Tigers clawed their way back, scoring a pair of runs in the fifth, cutting the Mariner lead to 5-3.

Cano put any thoughts of a comeback to rest in the seventh, when he slugged a grand slam, clearing the wall in right field. The Tigers scored three more, but Cabo's blasts were too much to overcome, sending Detroit to its sixth consecutive loss. The sweet-swinging second baseman - a career .306 hitter - is batting .284 with 48 RBI.

Seattle swept the four games from the Tigers and have won five straight as they prepare for a three-game visit from the Astros starting Friday at 10:10 pm ET.

National League

Goldschmidt:
64 RBI leads NL

In the dogfight that is the NL West, Arizona took it to the home-standing Rockies for the second straight time, taking the series at Coors Field, two games to one with a 10-3 pasting of Colorado.

Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with a pair of singles and his 17th home run, driving in four runs to take over the NL RBI lead with 64, displacing teammate Jake Lamb (61). Goldschmidt's 18th homer put the Diamondbacks up by a 9-1 tally in the fourth inning. The game was out of hand early as Arizona swamped the Rockies with a run in the second and four runs in the second and third innings.

A lock for his fifth straight appearance in the all star game, Goldschmidt is having an MVP season, batting .335 (4th in the NL). His home run total is tied with four other players, eighth overall.

The win was Arizona's 12th in their last 14 and tied them with the Rockies for second place in the division. The Dodgers lead by 1 1/2 after completing a four-game sweep of the Mets with a 6-3 win.

Arizona should have every opportunity to continue their red hot play. The team heads home Friday for a 10-game home stand, playing four with the Phillies, followed by three with St. Louis and three with Colorado before heading to LA for three games against the Dodgers, starting July 4.

The Rockies open a three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angles Friday night, 7:10 pm PT.