Maikel Franco Homers, Drives in 4 For Phillies; Andrew Cashner Hurls Orioles to 5-2 Win Over Yankees

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 5, 2018

National League

The name Maikel Franco may not be a household word, but the 25-year-old third baseman is becoming pretty well known around Philadelphia and among National League pitchers for his power hitting prowess and obvious baseball talents.

Franco: 3-for-4, HR, 4RBI

In Thursday's 5-0 shutout over the visiting Marlins, Franco delivered all but one of the Phillies runs, singling in the first two in the first inning and knocking in the last two in the seventh with a two-run homer, his first of the year. In between, Franco tripled but was left stranded in the fifth.

While Franco was driving in runs, starting hurler, Nicholas Pivetta was mowing down Marlins, fanning nine in 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and no runs for his initial win of 2018.

Franco is in his fifth season with the Phillies, making an impact the last two, with a combined 49 homers and 164 RBI in 2016 and 2017.

The Phillies won for just the second time this season, against four losses, but for a team that was among the worst in the majors, the future looks brighter. They'll get a day off Friday and get back to action against the Marlins on Saturday at 6:05 pm EDT.

American League

Cashner: 6IP, 2H, 1R, 5K

There's been plenty written and spoken about the mighty lineup the Yankees have assembled this season, but Andrew Cashner managed to keep the "Baby Bombers" in check, earning his first win of the season as Baltimore scored five runs in the seventh for a 5-2 win in the first of a four game series at Yankee Stadium.

Cashner dueled with Yasahiro Tanaka for six full innings, finally giving up an opposite field solo home run to Aaron Judge in the sixth to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. After the O's put up a five-spot in the top of the seventh, manager Buck Schowalter went to his bullpen, as Cashner had thrown 100 pitches, allowed just two hits, walked three and struck out five.

Michael Givens allowed a run in the seventh, but Darren O'Day shut the door and Brad Brach worked a hitless ninth for his first save of the year.

Cashner is 1-1, adding a much-needed bit of depth to the Orioles' rotation. He's a veteran of eight seasons, with the Cubs, Padres, Marlins, and most recently, the Rangers, where he went 11-11 with a 3.40 ERA in 28 starts.

The Orioles won just their second game of the season, with four losses, while the Yankees dropped to 3-4. Both teams are trailing the 6-1 Red Sox.

Game two of the four-game series starts Friday at 7:05 pm EDT.

Will Middlebrooks, Andrew Cashner Power Padres; Jordany Valdespin, Reid Brignac Wreck Mets in Marlin Win

Players of the Day for Monday, March 9, 2015

Brignac

Grapefruit League

Valdespin

Before some Mets' batters had even gotten to the plate, the Marlins had already put up nine runs on their NL East foes, scoring six in the second and three more in the third inning. The players doing the bulk of the damage were fresh faces on the Miami roster, Jordany Valdespin and Reid Brignac.

Valdespin, who started with the Mets and played in 54 games for the Marlins last season, singled and tripled in four at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Brignac, who spent last season in Philadelphia, went 3-for-4 (all singles) also driving in three and scoring twice.

When it was all said and done, the Marlins pasted the Mets, 13-2, improving to 3-2 for the Spring while dropping the Mets to a 3-4 mark.


Cactus League

Cashner

Middlebrooks

Will Middlebrooks socked a three-run, second inning homer in support of three innings of no-hit ball from Andrew Cashner as the San Diego Padres evened their record at 3-3 and sent the Cubs to their fifth straight defeat of the spring without a win with a 6-3 victory.

Cashner blanked the punchless Cubs over the first three innings, walking one, while striking out a trio. After going 10-9 in 2013 with the Padres, Cashner dipped to a 5-7 mark over 19 starts in 2014, though his ERA dropped to a very respectable 2.55. He's expected to remain in the San Diego starting rotation.

Middlebrooks, who spent the last three seasons playing part-time for the Boston Red Sox, is looking to catch on as the regular third baseman with the Padres and he's off to a good start with a .400 batting average in two games. The Texas native needs to work on his plate demeanor, as his batting average has gone from .288 in 2012, to .227 in 2013, to a scary .191 last season.

Homers by Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera Power Tigers over Twins; Andrew Cashner Tosses 2-Hit Shutout over Phillies

Players of the Day for Monday, September 15, 2014

American League

Miguel Cabrera

Torii Hunter

Breaking a 6-6 tie in the top of the ninth inning, Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera socked back-to-back homers to give Detroit a 8-6 win at Minnesota in the opener of a three-game series with the Twins.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Tigers, who have regained control of the AL Central after yielding the lead to Kansas City in August. Coupled with the Royals' 4-3 win over the White Sox, Detroit holds a 1 1/2 game edge in the division.

Game two is Tuesday at 8:10 pm EDT.

The other two divisions of the AL are nearly decided as both the Angels and Orioles won on Monday, the Angels topping Seattle - and sending the Mariners further down the standings in the wild card hunt - 8-1, while Baltimore took care of second-place Toronto with a 5-2 win over the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Baltimore's victory opened a three-game series with Toronto and set the stage for a possible clinching of the division on Tuesday, when the two teams meet for game two at 7:05 pm EDT. Baltimore's magic number is now one; LA's is three, as the A's are 10 1/2 back and were idle on Monday.

The A's have a one-game edge over KC for the first wild card. Seattle trails KC for the second wild card by two games. Toronto, Cleveland and New York are further back with fading hopes of reaching the post-season. The Yankees - 1-0 losers at Tampa Bay Monday - were officially eliminated from the AL EAst race.

National League

Cashner: 2H ShO

Andrew Cashner (4-7, 2.20) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, eventually settling for a two-hit shutout for the Padres in a 1-0 win over the visiting Phillies Monday night.

Cashner walked one (Chase Utley in the fourth), fanned seven and threw 68 of 92 pitches for strikes. Domonic Brown bunted his way on with one out in the fifth, but was quickly erased on an inning-ending double play. Marlon Byrd's leadoff single in the eighth inning was the only other hit for the flat-lining Phillies.

The shutout was the second of the season for the San Diego hurler. Cashner shut out the Tigers on one hit back on April 11.

Elsewhere, division leaders LA and Washington were both winners; the Cardinals maintained a 3 1/2 game lead over the Pirates in the Central. Both the Cards and Pirates were idle on Monday.

In the only significant wild card action, San Francisco dropped its third straight, losing, 6-2, at Arizona. The Giants still hold a 2 1/2 game edge over the Pirates in the wild card. Pittsburgh is 1 1/2 in front of Milwaukee for the second wild card slot. The Brewers were also off Monday.

Rays Hand Rangers 7th Straight Loss as Wil Myers Leads 6-2 Victory; Padres' Andrew Cashner Tosses One-Hitter at Pirates

Players of the Day for Monday, September 16, 2013

American League

Wil Myers

It what may turn out to be an extended preview of the one-game playoff between wild card teams, the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays began a four-game series Monday at Tropicana Park where the Rays had the edge, coming away with a 6-2 victory.

While the Rangers can boast about playoff experience, their roster loaded with veterans, a couple of big differences in the game were provided by youthful Rays, as Alex Cobb struck out ten and allowed just two earned runs over eight innings and rookie Wil Myers went 2-for-4 with a double, his 13th home run, two scores and three RBI.

Myers got the Rays on the board first, with a solo shot in the second inning, then put the Rays back in front, 2-1, in the fourth, scoing on a sac fly by Desmond Jennings. He also delivered a two-run double in the decisive fifth inning when the Rays plated four, taking the lead for good and giving their starter some breathing room.

The Tampa Bay win put the Rays in the enviable position of claiming the first wild card, a game better than the Rangers, who now have lost seven straight in a mid-September collapse.

Game two of the series is slated for 7:10 pm EDT in Tampa.

AL Wild Card Standings

Team	GB
Tampa Bay	+1
Texas	--
Cleveland	-1/2
Baltimore	-2
NY Yankees	-2 1/2
Kansas City	-2 1/2

National League

Andrew Cashner

For Pittsburgh, the road to the playoffs is definitely not a straight one. The Pirates remained tied for first place in the NL Central with the Cardinals as both they and St. Louis went down in flames on Monday.

St. Louis dropped a 6-2 decision in Colorado, while the Pirates were being limited to one hit by journeyman hurler, Andrew Cashner, en route to a 2-0 San Diego win that was Cashner's first complete game shutout in a three-year major league career.

Cashner had a perfect game spoiled by Jose Tabata, who singled leading off the Pirate seventh, but was erased an out later when Andrew McCutchen grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Cashner maintained his cool, setting down the final six in order, completing the one-hitter by pitching to the minimum 27 batters. He did not walk anyone, nor were there any errors, passed balls, wild pitches or hit batsmen. Improving to 10-8 on the year, Cashner threw 67 of 97 pitches for strikes. He struck out seven, got 13 hitters on fly balls and seven on grounders.

Pittsburgh will try to get a few more hits when they host the padres in game two of the four-game series, Tueday night at 7:05 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: The 2004 and 2005 World Series were both won 4-0 by the AL teams. Which teams were they and which NL teams did they defeat? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Lou Gehrig is fifth all-time in on-base percentage, at .4474. Ty Cobb is ninth (.4330) and Jimmie Foxx 10th, at .4283.