Jose Ramirez Socks Two HRs As Cleveland Dumps Baltimore; Johnny Cueto Hurls Giants Past Angels

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 22, 2018

American League

Ramirez: 2 HR 3 RBI

With the Twins losing three straight and Cleveland triumphant in their last two, the Indians are back where they feel most comfortable, in first place in the AL Central division.

In Sunday's 7-3 win at Baltimore, Manny Machado smashed two solo homers off Cleveland starter, Cory Kluber, but Cleveland third baseman, Jose Ramirez, also socked a pair, as Cleveland pieced together the win and a 1 1/2-game lead over Minnesota in the division.

Ramirez had a solo shot in the third, and provided some breathing room with a two run homer in the ninth. The score was 4-3 before Ramirez struck.

The two homers gave Ramirez seven on the season, but his .236 batting average has limited him to just 12 RBI. Last season, he whacked 29 homers and drove in 83 runs, batting .318.

If Ramirez is beginning to heat up, the rest of the division - and the league - should be on notice.

Having taken two of three in Baltimore, the Indians and Orioles will complete their four-game series on Monday at 7:05 pm EDT.

Cueto: 6 IP, 2 H 0 ER, 7 K

National League

San Francisco hasn't gotten off to the best of starts (9-12), but the team took a collective step in the right direction, winning two of three against the Angels in LA, their first series win of the season.

Sunday's 4-2 victory was the product of starter Johnny Cueto, who held the Angels scoreless over six innings as the Giants forged a 3-0 edge.

Victimized by his own team's lack of hitting and porous bullpen work, Cueto's 0.35 ERA is tops in the majors, but Sunday's win was just his second of the season.

In his first 2018 start, on March 30, Cueto one-hit the Dodgers for seven innings, but he didn't get a decision in the 1-0 win as the Giants scored after he had departed. On April 17, his seven-inning, two hit, 11 strikeout performance was wasted as Arizona's Patrick Corbin matched him with a one-hitter and the Diamondbacks scored the only run of the game in the eighth inning.

Johnny was luckier on Sunday, as his teammates backed him with three runs in the third and one in the fifth inning. The bullpen nearly gave it away, surrendering two runs in the eighth.

Striking out seven, Cueto threw 64 of 98 pitches for strikes and got first pitch strikes on 18 of the 23 batters he faced. The two hits he allowed were singles and he walked a pair.

The Giants head home Monday to meet up with the Washington Nationals. Game time is 7:15 pm PDT.