Players of the Day for Monday, September 9, 2019
American League
On Sunday, the Astros hammered the Mariners, 21-1 and on Monday, opened a four-game series with the A's, in Houston, so, OK, maybe the score would be a little closer.
It was, but not by much. Houston clobbered Oakland, 15-0, putting themselves that much closer to the AL West pennant and showing the wild card contender what they might be dealing with should they reach the playoffs.
The Astros belted seven home runs, all but one coming in the first two innings, as Houston built an 11-0 lead. Zack Grienke, the Houston starter, was the beneficiary of the big advantage, tossing six innings of shutout ball to go 5-1 in an Astros uniform.
Robinson Chirinos and Yordan Alvarez each socked two home runs. While Alvarez was banging out solo shots, Chirinos was doing it with men aboard, mashing a two-run homer in the first and a three-run rip in the seventh. His single in the second innings plated another run, giving him six RBI for the game.
The win left Houston with a 10 1/2 game lead over the A's and a magic number of seven to clinch the division for the third straight season. Game two is set for 8:10 pm ET, Tuesday, in Houston.
National League
With three weeks left in the regular season, the wild card race in the National League is shaping up for excitement.
In New York, two contenders for the second and final wild card spot took to the field as the Mets opened a huge four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Jacob deGrom was at his best for New York, tossing seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing in one run in the Mets' 3-1 victory, pulling them closer to the pack and to Arizona. Striking out 10, deGrom surrendered Arizona's only run in the fifth inning, when Wilmer Flores went deep for his eighth home run of the year.
Seth Lugo also came up big, fanning four in a hitless six-out save spanning the final two innings.
Aiding the cause was rookie sensation Pete Alonso, who cranked out a pair of solo homers. Alonso leads the league in home runs, with 47 and is fifth in RBI at 109. No rookie has led the National League in home runs since Ralph Kiner socked 23 for Pittsburgh in 1946. Only five players have led their league in home runs in their rookie season, the most recent being Aaron Judge, who hit 52 for the Yankees in 2017.
The Mets gained to within four games of the Cubs for the second wild card, but they have plenty of competition. The Brewers are two games back, the Diamondbacks, 2 1/2, the Phillies, three out. Washington leads all, two games up on Chicago.
The Mets host Arizona Tuesday in game two of the series at Citi Field, starting at 7:10 pm ET.
American League
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| Chirinos: 2 HR, 6 RBI |
On Sunday, the Astros hammered the Mariners, 21-1 and on Monday, opened a four-game series with the A's, in Houston, so, OK, maybe the score would be a little closer.
It was, but not by much. Houston clobbered Oakland, 15-0, putting themselves that much closer to the AL West pennant and showing the wild card contender what they might be dealing with should they reach the playoffs.
The Astros belted seven home runs, all but one coming in the first two innings, as Houston built an 11-0 lead. Zack Grienke, the Houston starter, was the beneficiary of the big advantage, tossing six innings of shutout ball to go 5-1 in an Astros uniform.
Robinson Chirinos and Yordan Alvarez each socked two home runs. While Alvarez was banging out solo shots, Chirinos was doing it with men aboard, mashing a two-run homer in the first and a three-run rip in the seventh. His single in the second innings plated another run, giving him six RBI for the game.
The win left Houston with a 10 1/2 game lead over the A's and a magic number of seven to clinch the division for the third straight season. Game two is set for 8:10 pm ET, Tuesday, in Houston.
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| deGrom: 7IP, 3H, 1ER, 10K |
With three weeks left in the regular season, the wild card race in the National League is shaping up for excitement.
In New York, two contenders for the second and final wild card spot took to the field as the Mets opened a huge four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Jacob deGrom was at his best for New York, tossing seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing in one run in the Mets' 3-1 victory, pulling them closer to the pack and to Arizona. Striking out 10, deGrom surrendered Arizona's only run in the fifth inning, when Wilmer Flores went deep for his eighth home run of the year.
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| Alonso's 47 HRs lead NL |
Aiding the cause was rookie sensation Pete Alonso, who cranked out a pair of solo homers. Alonso leads the league in home runs, with 47 and is fifth in RBI at 109. No rookie has led the National League in home runs since Ralph Kiner socked 23 for Pittsburgh in 1946. Only five players have led their league in home runs in their rookie season, the most recent being Aaron Judge, who hit 52 for the Yankees in 2017.
The Mets gained to within four games of the Cubs for the second wild card, but they have plenty of competition. The Brewers are two games back, the Diamondbacks, 2 1/2, the Phillies, three out. Washington leads all, two games up on Chicago.
The Mets host Arizona Tuesday in game two of the series at Citi Field, starting at 7:10 pm ET.
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