Tampa Bay's Chris Archer, Detroit's Alfredo Simon Hurl Matching One-Hitters

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 20, 2015

American League

Alfredo Simon

Chris Archer

With Alfredo Simon's 1-Hit shutout of the Rangers, the Detroit Tigers find themselves just 3 1/2 games behind the LA Angels for the second wild card slot in the American League.

Detroit's 4-0 win came in the opener of a four-game series in Detroit and was the Tigers' third straight victory, having taken down the Cubs in a two-game set earlier in the week.

While the wins over the Cubs were largely due to an offensive explosion - of which the Tigers are supremely capable - Thursday's win was the product of Simon's dominance from the mound, in which he did not allow a base hit until Rougned Odor's double with two outs in the fifth inning. After walking Will Venable, putting runners at first and second, Simon got out of trouble by striking out Chris Gimenez, one of five strikeouts on the night.

In the sixth, Simon walked Shin-Soo-Choo, but he was erased by an inning-ending double play, after which Simon completed the game without allowing another hit.

The Tigers made up a game on the Angels, who lost to the White Sox, 8-2. Detroit continues its homestead with game two of the series with the Rangers, Friday at 7:08 pm EDT.

American League

Since there were no notable National League performances on Thursday, Tampa Bay's 1-0 win over Houston deserves notice, as Chris Archer twirled a one-hitter against the Astros.

As solid as he's been most of the season - despite the obvious lack of run support from the light-hitting Rays - Archer improved to 11-9 on the year, walking the first batter he faced, Jose Altuve (eventually thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning), but not allowing a hit or a baserunner until Colby Rasmus singled to open the fifth inning.

Following the only hit of the game for Houston, Archer set down the next 15 Astros in order to complete his first shutout of the season.

Having a memorable season, Archer's 2.77 ERA is fifth-best in the league, and his 205 strikeouts are second only to Cleveland's Chris Sale, who has 208.

The win left the Rays 8 1/2 out in the AL East, and just three games behind the Angels in the race for the second wild card.

Tampa Bay's ten-game road trip continues Friday when they open a three-game series with the A's. Game time is 7:05 PDT.

Alfredo Simon Stops Rays in 1-0 Tiger Victory; Mets Rangers Close Spring with 4-4 Tie on Anthony Recker's 9th Inning Slam

Players of the Day for Saturday, April 4, 2013

Simon: 1 Hit

Grapefruit League

The Tigers and Rays finished up the exhibition season with a 1-0 win for Detroit in which there were only a combined six hits between the two teams.

Detroit had four of them, one a solo homer by Victor Martinez, his second-inning shot scoring the only run of the game.

The Rays managed only two hits, and just one off starter, Alfredo Simon, who worked five innings, didn''t allow any walks, struck out three and threw 37 of 50 pitches for strikes.

The Reds traded right-hander Simon to the Tigers during the off-season for 2013 first-round Draft pick Jonathon Crawford, and infielder Eugenio Suarez.

Recker: Grand Slam

So far, the trade has received mixed reviews from Tiger management. In seven Spring starts Simon is 2-2, with a 4.55 ERA. He is expected to bolster an already deep Detroit staff ad Saturday's effort was a positive development.

Cactus League

Maybe this is how exhibition season should end.

Down 4-0 in the ninth, the Mets rallied to put three men aboard for catcher, Anthony Recker, who - fittingly, on the day before Easter - took an offering from a fellow named Jesus (Texas reliever, Jesus Pirela) and deposited the ball over the center feild wall for a grand slam and a 4-4 tie with Texas.

The Rangers failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, leaving the 12,000+ faithful at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with a less-than-satisfied feeling.

With the regular season beginning on Sunday, with one game - the Cubs vs. Cardinals - there was no point in prolonging the end of Spring training, the players itching to get the regular season underway as much as the impatient fans.

For the Mets, and Recker, who played 58 games last season behind the plate for New York, the finish left them with a 19-12 mark. The Rangers ended up 9-19.