Players of the Day for Friday, July 19, 2019
American League
With a 10-5 win over visiting Kansas City, the Cleveland Indians gained another game on Central division-leading Minnesota, as the Twins dropped a 5-3 decision to Oakland Friday night.
Their sixth straight win left the Indians a mere three games off the pace, keyed by rookie center fielder, Oscar Mercado's 5-for-5 effort.
Mercado stroked four singles and a double, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. In 51 games, the fleet 24-year-old, who hails from Tampa, Florida, is batting a brisk .299 with seven homers, 25 RBI, 35 runs and eight stolen bases. Over his last seven games, Mercado has blazed a .455 average with three homers and eight RBI.
Batting second in the order, behind perennial all-star, Francisco Lindor, Mercado has added speed, power, defense and consistency to the Indian offense.
The win came in the opener of a three-game series with the Royals. Game two is Saturday, 7:10 pm ET.
National League
No matter if the score is 1-0 or 19-6, a win is a win in baseball and that's all the St. Louis Cardinals needed Friday night to stay relevant in the wild card and Central division races.
Chalking up a 12-11 win over the Reds in the second of a four-game set at Cincinnati, the Cardinals erased an early 7-0 deficit with 10 runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh. A sore spot all season, the Cardinal bullpen nearly gave it all back, allowing the Reds two runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings.
In the middle of the fray was St. Louis shortstop, Paul DeJong, who doubled, drove in two, and scored in the sixth, then stroked a two-run homer (his 15th) in the seventh.
DeJong has been steady this season, batting .254 with 15 homers and 44 RBI. St. Louis is 6-2 since the all-star break, keeping them close in the Central division. Their win moved them past Milwaukee (a 10-7 loser at Arizona), into second place, 2 1/2 back of the Cubs. They are tied with the Phillies for the second wild card spot, a game behind the Nationals.
Game three of the series starts at 7:10 pm ET, Saturday in Cincinnati.
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| Mercado: 5-for-5 |
With a 10-5 win over visiting Kansas City, the Cleveland Indians gained another game on Central division-leading Minnesota, as the Twins dropped a 5-3 decision to Oakland Friday night.
Their sixth straight win left the Indians a mere three games off the pace, keyed by rookie center fielder, Oscar Mercado's 5-for-5 effort.
Mercado stroked four singles and a double, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. In 51 games, the fleet 24-year-old, who hails from Tampa, Florida, is batting a brisk .299 with seven homers, 25 RBI, 35 runs and eight stolen bases. Over his last seven games, Mercado has blazed a .455 average with three homers and eight RBI.
Batting second in the order, behind perennial all-star, Francisco Lindor, Mercado has added speed, power, defense and consistency to the Indian offense.
The win came in the opener of a three-game series with the Royals. Game two is Saturday, 7:10 pm ET.
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| DeJong: 2-4, HR, 4 RBI |
No matter if the score is 1-0 or 19-6, a win is a win in baseball and that's all the St. Louis Cardinals needed Friday night to stay relevant in the wild card and Central division races.
Chalking up a 12-11 win over the Reds in the second of a four-game set at Cincinnati, the Cardinals erased an early 7-0 deficit with 10 runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh. A sore spot all season, the Cardinal bullpen nearly gave it all back, allowing the Reds two runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings.
In the middle of the fray was St. Louis shortstop, Paul DeJong, who doubled, drove in two, and scored in the sixth, then stroked a two-run homer (his 15th) in the seventh.
DeJong has been steady this season, batting .254 with 15 homers and 44 RBI. St. Louis is 6-2 since the all-star break, keeping them close in the Central division. Their win moved them past Milwaukee (a 10-7 loser at Arizona), into second place, 2 1/2 back of the Cubs. They are tied with the Phillies for the second wild card spot, a game behind the Nationals.
Game three of the series starts at 7:10 pm ET, Saturday in Cincinnati.
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