Players of the Day for Saturday, September 21, 2019
American League
The Oakland A's are serious about making the playoffs.
Winning their fourth straight and 15th in their last 18 games, the A's pounded the Rangers, 12-3, maintaining a two-game lead in the wild card race over Tampa Bay.
Oakland belted out 14 hits and worked nine walks against eight Texas hurlers. Leadoff hitter, Marcus Semien, led the assault, going 3-for-3 with two singles and a home run. He was on base six times, as he walked in his other three plate appearances.
Semien led off the A's first with a single and scored on Matt Olson's single to right. He also walked later in the inning as the A's piled seven runs on the visiting Rangers.
In the second, Semien walked, forcing in a run, then socked his 32nd homer of the year in the fifth inning, a solo shot that put the A's up 10-0. He scored twice and drove in two runs.
Over his last 15 games, as the A's have gone 12-3, Semien has been sensational, batting .371, with six homers and 15 RBI. He's driven in 90 runs this season and scored 119 runs. His totals for batting average, runs, home runs and RBI all all career highs for the seven-year veteran.
Tampa Bay kept pace with the A's winning, 5-4 over Boston. Cleveland dropped a game behind the Rays, losing, 9-4, to the visiting Phillies. Each of the three wild card contenders have seven games remaining.
National League
Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong socked back-to-back 9th inning home runs off Chicago closer, Craig Kimbrel, and the Cardinals took their third straight over the Cubs at Wrigley Field with a 9-8 victory Saturday.
On the wrong end of an 8-7 score after eight innings, St. Louis struck quickly against Kimbrel and the Cubs. Molina led off the inning with his ninth homer of the season, tying the game. DeJong followed with his 28th, a towering 440-foot blast that stood up as the game-winner when Carlos Martinez got the final three outs in the bottom of the frame.
The win left the Cubs stunned with their fifth straight defeat and third straight at the hands of the Cardinals. Chicago fell six games back in the NL Central, and are in danger of being eliminated not just from the division race, but from the wild card as well.
Washington, holder of the top wild card, kept a one-game lead over Milwaukee with a 10-4 win over the Marlins. The Brewers won their fifth straight, dropping the Pirates, 10-1. Chicago trails the Brewers in the wild card race by three games with seven left to play.
The Cardinals, winners of four straight, will be looking for a four-game sweep of the Cubs when the two meet in the series finale, Sunday, 2:20 pm ET.
On the verge of clinching a post-season spot after a three-year playoff absence, St. Louis plays three games in Arizona next week before returning home for a final, three-game series with the Cubs.
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| Semien: 3-3, HR, 3BB |
The Oakland A's are serious about making the playoffs.
Winning their fourth straight and 15th in their last 18 games, the A's pounded the Rangers, 12-3, maintaining a two-game lead in the wild card race over Tampa Bay.
Oakland belted out 14 hits and worked nine walks against eight Texas hurlers. Leadoff hitter, Marcus Semien, led the assault, going 3-for-3 with two singles and a home run. He was on base six times, as he walked in his other three plate appearances.
Semien led off the A's first with a single and scored on Matt Olson's single to right. He also walked later in the inning as the A's piled seven runs on the visiting Rangers.
In the second, Semien walked, forcing in a run, then socked his 32nd homer of the year in the fifth inning, a solo shot that put the A's up 10-0. He scored twice and drove in two runs.
Over his last 15 games, as the A's have gone 12-3, Semien has been sensational, batting .371, with six homers and 15 RBI. He's driven in 90 runs this season and scored 119 runs. His totals for batting average, runs, home runs and RBI all all career highs for the seven-year veteran.
Tampa Bay kept pace with the A's winning, 5-4 over Boston. Cleveland dropped a game behind the Rays, losing, 9-4, to the visiting Phillies. Each of the three wild card contenders have seven games remaining.
National League
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| Molina's HR tied game. |
On the wrong end of an 8-7 score after eight innings, St. Louis struck quickly against Kimbrel and the Cubs. Molina led off the inning with his ninth homer of the season, tying the game. DeJong followed with his 28th, a towering 440-foot blast that stood up as the game-winner when Carlos Martinez got the final three outs in the bottom of the frame.
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| DeJong's HR won game. |
Washington, holder of the top wild card, kept a one-game lead over Milwaukee with a 10-4 win over the Marlins. The Brewers won their fifth straight, dropping the Pirates, 10-1. Chicago trails the Brewers in the wild card race by three games with seven left to play.
The Cardinals, winners of four straight, will be looking for a four-game sweep of the Cubs when the two meet in the series finale, Sunday, 2:20 pm ET.
On the verge of clinching a post-season spot after a three-year playoff absence, St. Louis plays three games in Arizona next week before returning home for a final, three-game series with the Cubs.
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