Tampa Bay Routs Nats on Blake Snell's 1-Hit Effort; Ozzie Albies Leads ATL over Reds in 11

Players of the Day for Monday, June 25, 2018

American League

Snell, 7IP, 1H, 0ER, 10K

Following a rough start to the season, the Tampa Bay Rays may be one of the better teams in the second half.

Winners of four straight, including a weekend sweep of the Yankees and Monday's 11-0 whipping of Washington, the Rays are just under .500 at 38-40.

In the rout of the Nationals, a couple of notable developments included a second-inning grand slam by Kevin Kiermayer, who remains mired in a slump (.147) after coming off the disabled list last week. Catcher Wilson Ramos had additional motivation for a pair of homers against the team that traded him over the off-season, but the show was stolen by starter, Blake Snell, who twirled a one-hitter over seven innings for his 10th win against four losses, the performance all but assuring him a spot on the AL all star team.

Snell, who walked the first two batters he faced - Trey Turner and Bryce Harper - settled in to retire the next 18 straight, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The bid was ended on Anthony Rendon's double to left. Snell walked two more batters in the inning, but a double play helped him out of the jam and kept Washington off the scoreboard. He fanned 10, including five straight at one point, striking out the side in the fourth.

A third year starter for Tampa Bay, Snell has lifetime marks of 21-19 with a 3.14 ERA, but this season he's blossomed, dropping the ERA to 2.31 in 17 starts, with 113 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP. He's tied for third in the league with Toronto's J.A. Happ at 10 wins, is fourth in ERA and is tied with Cleveland's Cory Kluber for 7th overall in strikeouts.

The Rays host the Nationals in game two of the series, Tuesday, at 12:10 pm EDT.


National League

Albies: 3-6, 2 2B, HR

Opening their three-game home series with the Reds in winning style, Ozzie Albies launched a game-winning homer in the bottom of the 11th off Cincinnati reliever, Dylan Floro, for a 5-4 win.

The smash was not the only contribution Albies made in the game. He started the Braves' scoring in the first with an RBI double, bringing home Ender Inciarte. He scored later in the frame, putting the Braves up by a 2-0 score.

A fifth-inning double helped the Braves load the bases and score another run, though the bullpen would eventually allow the Reds to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The two teams went through a total of 11 relievers before Albies ended the affair with his shot to right, his 17th.

The leading vote-gatherer for second basemen in NL all star balloting, Albies is batting .269 with 46 RBI on the year. A second-year player, Albies batted .286 in 57 games with the Braves n 2017.

Game two of the series is slated for a 7:35 pm EDT start Tuesday night in Atlanta.