Alcides Escobar Leads Royals to 14-2 Wreck of Blue Jays in ALCS; Daniel Murphy Homers Again as Mets Take 3-0 Lead over Cubs in NLCS

Players of the Day for Tuesday, October 20, 2015

American League

Escobar: 4 RBI

Despite Toronto's 11-8 win in game three, the ALCS seems destined to be in the hands of the Kansas City Royals, who took a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the best of seven series with a 14-2 mashing of the Blue Jays Tuesday at Toronto's Rogers Centre.

Leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar paced the Royals, going 2-for-3 with a pair of sac flies and a ninth inning single that plated the final two Kansas City runs. Escobar drove in four runs.

Escobar singled in the first and was aboard for Ben Zobrist's homer as the Royals pounded knuckballer, R.A. Dickey for four first inning runs.

Dickey lasted only until two down in the second inning, allowing an Alex Rios solo homer, which ended his mound appearance. It didn't get much better as the Royals ripped through six Toronto relievers, adding four runs in the seventh, three more in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Murphy: 5 games, 5 HR

Toronto now faces elimination in Wednesday's game five at the Rogers Centre. Start time is 4:07 pm EDT.

National League

Daniel Murphy was at it again, homering for the fifth straight game, and so were the players batting immediately in front and back of him, as the 2-3-4 Mets batters were a combined 8-for-14 and scored all five of the Mets runs in a 5-2 game three win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Murphy, David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes backed the pitching of Jacob deGrom, who tossed seven innings, allowing just four hits, two of them solo homers by Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber, which were the only runs the Cubs would score on the night.

Both Cespedes and Wright had two singles and a double. Wright scored three runs; Cespedes drove in two. Murphy went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. His solo homer in the second put the Mets ahead 2-1.

The win put the Mets in the enviable position of being up three games to one in the best of seven NLCS, with the chance to put the hopes of generations of Cubs' fans to rest for another season on Wednesday. Game time is 8:07 pm EDT in Chicago.

Alcides Escobar Powers Royals to First Place in AL Central; Travis Snider Paces Pirates over Tigers, 11-6

Players of the Day for Monday, August 11, 2014

American League

With a 3-2 win over visiting Oakland, the Kansas City Royals won their eighth straight and took over first place in the Central division by 1/2 game over the slumping Tigers.

Alcides Escobar

Detroit lost the opener of a three game series in Pittsburgh, 11-6. It was Detroit's third straight defeat.

The quiet hero for Kansas City was shortstop Alcides Escobar, usually noted for his slick fielding, who came through with a pair of two-out RBI singles, the last of which put the Royals on top to stay, 3-2.

With two aboard in the second inning, Escobar singled home Alex Gordon, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead. Oakland tied the game in the third inning, but Escobar came through again in the seventh, singling up the middle to plate pinch-runner Norichika Aoki with what proved to be the game winner.

Wade Davis fanned two in the eighth for his 25th hold and Greg Holland picked up his league-leading 35th save with a scoreless ninth.

Despite the loss, the A's still lead the Angels in the AL West by 3 1/2 games.

The two teams play game two of their four-game series Tuesday at 8:10 pm EDT at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

Snider: 2HR 4RBI

National League

Keeping pace in the torrid NL Central is no easy task, but the Pirates appear to be up to it, taking the first of a two-game series over the Tigers by an 11-6 score to retake second place in the division from St. Louis, 6-5 losers to Miami. Milwaukee leads the Pirates by 2 1/2 games with St. Louis another 1/2 game back.

Going 3-for-5 with a double and two home runs, Travis Snider provided the fuel for Pittsburgh's offense, driving in four runs and scoring three times.

Snider's second-inning, two-run blast put the Pittsburgh lead at 8-1. In the ninth, Snider launched a 433-foot solo bomb to straightaway center, completing the scoring.

The two teams combined for 28 hits - 14 apiece - but the Pirates made better use of their at-bats with runners on base.

Game two of the series begins 7:05 pm EDT Tuesday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Erik Kratz Powers Phillies over Braves; Alcides Escobar Scores 4 as Royals Keep Winning

Players of the Day for Friday, March 22, 2013

Grapefruit League

Kratz, 3-4, HR, 3RBI

Phillies' catcher Erik Kratz isn't exactly a household name, but the Atlanta Braves got to know him a little better on Friday, as the journeyman receiver went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, his second homer of the Spring, three RBI and two runs as the Phillies slipped past the Braves, 7-6.

At 12-13, the Phillies aren't exactly tearing up the Grapefruit League, but Kratz, who's spent a decade in the minor league, is making an impression that could land him the backup job behind starter Carlos Ruiz.

Kratz played in 50 games for the Phillies last season, technically making him a second year major leaguer, but those ten years of minor league play have given him experience at the plate and behind it, handling pitchers of all variety.

Cactus League

Escobar: 2-2, 4R

Kansas City continues to amaze fans in Arizona, leading the Cactus League by 1 1/2 games with a 19-6 record.

On Friday, the Royals did it again, winning their second straight, with a 14-hit attack that resulted in a 13-9 victory over the Angels.

Alcides Escobar, the likely starter at short when the regular season starts, didn't club any homers or drive in any runs, but he did reach base safely four times - two walks and two singles in two official at-bats - steal a base and score four runs.

Escobar, who started playing full time for the Brewers in 2010 and has been a mainstay of the Royals infield the past two seasons, really came into his own in 2012, batting .293 with 177 hits and 35 stolen bases.

Always a slick fielder, Escobar has honed his skills at the plate over the past few years, currently batting .279 in 15 Spring games.