Rangers Hammer Astros, 16-5, AJ Pierzynski 4-for-5; Nate Schierholtz Homers Twice as Cubs Skewer Nationals, 11-1

Players of the Day for Monday, August 19, 2013

American League

A.J. Pierzynski

Texas retained its slim 1/2 game lead over the A's in the NL West, pounding the helpless Astros, 16-5.

Texas catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, drove in four runs and scored twice, going 4-for-5 with a double, home run and a pair of singles.

The Rangers blew the game open early, scoring 11 runs in the third inning in the opener of the three-game series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.

Game two gets underway Tuesday at 8:05 pm EDT.

National League

Who better to put an end to the disastrous season for the Washington Nationals than the Chicago Cubs?

Schierholtz:
3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI

The perennial NL Central laggards ripped the Nats, 11-1, to open a three-game series at Wrigley Field, hounding Washington starter, Jordan Zimmermann for seven hits and eight earned runs over five innings.

Nate Schierholtz led the assault with a three-run, first-inning homer, a run-scoring double in the third and a two-run blast in the seventh inning, totaling six RBI in a 3-for-4 performance.

With Milwaukee's 8-5 loss to the Cardinals, the Cubs are 1/2 game out of last place in the Central, while the Nationals - although technically still in second place in the NL East - are 16 games behind the runaway Braves, 24-35 on the road with just 38 games left on the 2013 slate.

Maybe they should have let Steven Strasburg pitch down the stretch and in the playoffs last season. Teams don't make it into the post-season every year. Roster micro-management is rarely forgiven.

Today's Trivia: who led the American League in home runs more times, Harmon Killebrew or Mickey Mantle? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: While Roger Clemens led the AL in Ks five times, the Big Unit, Randy Johnson led the AL four straight years (1992-1995) with Boston and did the same in the NL with Arizona from 1999-2002, leading the league in strikeouts for his ninth and final time with the Diamondbacks in 2004. His best year was 2001, when Johnson fanned 372 batters, the most in the NL since Sandy Koufax whiffed 382 in 1965.

Rios, Pierzynski Key White Sox Win; Sanchez Drives in 6 for Marlins

Players of the Day for Friday, June 11, 2010 American League Maybe playing against National Leaguers will wake up the White Sox. In their first of fifteen straight interleague games, the Sox showed some sock, as Alex Rios (left) and A.J. Pierzynski (right) led a 16-hit White Sox attack against their crosstown rivals, the Cubs. The pair accounted for half of all the team's hits. Rios singeld three times, smacked a two-run homer, stole a base and scored three times, going 4-for-4, raising his batting average to .322. Rios is having possibly the best all-around season of any major leaguer with 13 homers, 31 RBI, 42 runs, 19 stolen bases and a .967 OPS. Pierzynski had a pair of singles, a double, a solo home run and three RBI for the White Sox, who beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 10-5, for their third straight win. The Sox trail the Twins by 8 1/2 games in the AL Central, and are four games behind second-place Detroit. National League The Florida Marlins may be just 1/2 game out of last place in the NL East, but they're also only 4 1/2 games out of first. With the Phillies suffering from a severe power shortage over the past three weeks, the door to the post-season has been left wide open in the division. Currently led by the Braves, all five teams in the division have aims on the top slot. The last-place Nationals and Marlins are the only teams in the division sub-.500, though just barely. At 30-31, Florida won their second straight, putting on a power display against their in-state foes at Tampa Bay, pounding out a season-high 14 runs in their first of three at Tampa, 14-9. Driving in six of those 14 runs was rookie first baseman Gaby Sanchez, with two singles, two homers and a sac fly in five at-bats. Sanchez accounted for his 6th and 7th long balls of the season, a three-run poke in the 4th inning and a two-run bomb in the 7th. Sanchez is batting .282, with 7 homers and 28 RBI. Teammate Chris Coghlan, who batted in the leadoff spot, just ahead of Sanchez, went 4-for-4, with two singles and two doubles. He crossed the plate 4 times on the day.

Pierzynski Sends Tigers to 0-4 Start; Hall, Owings Share NL Limelight

Friday's Players of the Day American League In the off-season, the Detroit Tigers opened their checkbook and signed 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera. Now that the Tigers are 0-4, fans are thinking they should have picked up some pitching or maybe a veteran catcher like A.J. Pierzynski, who stroked a two-run double in the third and broke a 5-5 tie with a three-run homer in the 7th as the Chicago White Sox caged the Tigers, 8-5. A.J. also doubled in the second inning, scoring on Carlos Quentin's home run. After his 3-5 evening, A.J. is batting a solid .529. National League The game was essentially over after Bill Hall socked a two-run homer in the first and then pounded another 3-run shot to left in the 5th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the visiting San Francisco Giants, 13-4. Hall, however, wasn't finished, stroking a single to right in a 5-run Milwaukee 6th, for his 6th RBI of the game. Hall finished with a pretty good stat line: 3 hits in 5 at-bats, including the pair of dingers, 6 RBI and 2 runs. Not to be outdone, Arizona's Micah Owings worked over the Colorado Rockies for 6 2/3 innings, fanning 9 while allowing just 2 hits and 1 earned run (a Todd Helton solo homer) as the visiting Diamondbacks downed the Rockies, 8-1. Allowing just two walks, Owings recorded a WHIP of 0.60. He's off to a great start in just his second year in the majors. The only thing missing from Owings' performance was a contribution from the plate. Probably the best hitting pitcher in baseball, Owings went 1-4 at the plate. Owings is a career .328 hitter, with 4 homers and 15 RBI in just 64 at-bats.