Giancarlo Stanton Belts 2 HR In Miami Win; Carlos Correa, Houston Bomb Boston, 12-2

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 28, 2017

American League

Correa lashes Red Sox

In what very well could be a preview of the ALDS, Houston smashed Boston, 12-2, in the opener of a four-game series at Fenway Park.

The Astros trail Cleveland by one game in the race for the league's best record. The team with the best mark in the regular season has home field advantage throughout the playoffs and will face the wild card team in the opening round of the playoffs. As it stands, Houston would host Boston in a best of five divisional series, so the spanking taken by the Red Sox should prove a warning to the Boston faithful.

With the Yankees losing to the Rays, 9-6, Boston's magic number was reduced to one, the Yankees missing a golden opportunity to close the gap on the Red Sox, who lead the AL East by three games. With three games remaining, a Boston win or a Yankee loss would secure the division title.

Carlos Correa led the Astros' 17-hit assault on seven Boston pitchers with four of his own, scoring three times and driving in three with a pair of singles, a double and a two-run homer - his 24th - in four at-bats.

Correa, who was the 2015 Rookie of the Year and an all star in 2017, is batting .315 with 84 RBI.

Boston hosts Houston Friday at 7:10 pm ET in game two of their season-ending series.

National League

Stanton: 59 HR, 129 RBI

Back home in Miami, Giancarlo Stanton was back in his best groove, swatting a pair of home runs in the Marlins' 7-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Stanton, chasing Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, has already surpassed all non-steroid-era National Leaguers in the category of most home runs in a single season. His homers on Thursday were his 58th and 59th.

Stanton socked a solo shot in the fourth and followed up with a two-run dinger in the eighth inning. He also singled and scored three times. His total of 129 RBI has him tied with Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the National League and major league lead. Nelson Cruz leads the AL with 117.

Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs for the Yankees in 1927, a record that lasted 34 years, until another Yankee, Roger Maris broke the record with 61 in 1961. It is worth noting when Ruth set the mark, the regular season consisted of 154 games. When Maris did it, teams played 162.

Stanton will have three more chances to hit even more baseballs into the far reaches of Marlins Stadium. Miami hosts the Braves for the final three games of the season. Friday's game is scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.