deGrom Fans 13 as Mets Take Down Dodgers in Game One; Ben Zobrist, Royals Rally Past Astros

Players of the Day for Friday, October 9, 2015

American League

Zobrist: game-winning RBI

Al Playoffs continued on Friday with two games in the ALDS. In the early game, it took the Texas Rangers 14 innings, but they finally defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4, taking a two games to zero edge back home to Arlington for game three on Sunday.

The later game saw a rally by the Royals erase a 4-2 Houston lead with two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh for a 5-4 victory as KC's relief star held off the Astros in the final innings.

Ben Zobrist (2-for-4) had the key hit in the seventh inning, driving in Yunel Escobar with the game-winning run with a sharp single to left center.

After Johnny Cueto was touched up for four early runs, he settled down and blanked the Astros through the fourth, fifth and sixth before Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madsen and Wade Davis kept Houston off the basepaths on one hit over the final three innings. KC and Houston are tied a game apiece with the series heading to Houston for game three on Sunday.

deGrom: 7IP, 0ER, 13K

National League

A pair of NL divisional series began on Friday, with the Cardinals putting a stop to the Cubs in a big way, blanking Chicago, 4-0, behind seven scoreless innings from John Lackey, who allowed two hits, fanned five and issued one walk. Trevor Rosenthal allowed a walk and a hit in the ninth, but picked up the save, giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Game two is Saturday at 5:30 pm ET in St. Louis.

The final game of the evening was a pitching matchup between there-time Cy Young Award winner, Clayton Kershaw and up-and-coming Mets' starter, Jacob deGrom, the victory going to the visiting New Yorkers as deGrom tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and a walk, fanning 13 for a 3-1 Mets' win.

DeGrom got support on a fourth-inning solo homer from Daniel Murphy and a single that delivered two runs off the bat of David Wright in the seventh. The Dodgers picked up a run in the eighth on a single by Adrian Gonzalez (who struck out three times versus deGrom), but the rally was stifled by Jeurys Familia who worked four outs for the save.

Game two of the series is slated for a 9:00 pm ET start in Los Angeles.

Carlos Pena, Ryan Roberts and Ben Zobrist Key Rays Comeback Win over Angels; Chris Young Powers Arizona over Astros

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 18, 2012

American League

Taking their third straight from the LA Angels, the Tampa Bay Rays strengthend their hold on the top wild card spot with a come-from-behind, 10-8 victory that may have dealt a death blow to the Angels' post-season hopes.

Carlos Pena

Down 8-0 after just three innings, the road-tested Rays used six different pitchers after starter Alex Cobb couldn't get out of the third inning, allowing all eight runs on 12 hits, including home runs by Albert Pujols and Mike Trout.

While the bullpen heroes were blanking the Angels over the final 6 1/3 innings, the Rays' regulars were banging out the hits, scoring seven times in the fifth inning, tying the game in the sixth when Ryan Roberts scooted home on a Jose Lobaton sacrifice fly, and winning the game on Carlos Pena's two-run, pinch hit homer in the eighth.

Ryan Roberts

It was Pena's only at-bat of the game, though a most meaningful one, perhaps the biggest hit for Pena and the Rays of the season. Roberts' contribution was significant, scoring twice on a 2-for-4 night. Ben Zobrist keyed the sixth inning rally with his only hit in five at-bats, a bases-loaded double that sent all three runners home.

Ben Zobrist

A true team effort, nine different Rays scored for the Rays. Roberts was the only player to touch home plate twice.

The Rays have won three straight and eight of their last ten to take the wild card lead by a game over the Orioles and 1 1/2 over the A's, both of which were winners on Saturday. Tampa Bay and Baltimore each picked up a game on the East division leading Yankees, who fell to Boston, 4-1. New York leads the Rays by five and the O's by six games.

The Angels and Rays wrap up their series at 3:35 pm EDT on Sunday with the Rays seeking a four-game sweep. The Angels have fallen eight games behind Texas in the West and 4 1/2 behind the Rays in the wild card, wiht the O's, A's and Tigers ahead of them.


National League

Chris Young singled twice, doubled and socked his 13th home run of the season, driving in three runs with a 4-for-5 effort with two runs scored to lead the Diamondbacks to their third straight win, a 12-4 romp over the hosting Astros that included a nine-run fifth inning.

Chris Young

Houston was leading, 3-1, after four innings until Arizona sent nine men to the plate in the fateful fifth that featured three walks an error and was capped by Aaron Hill's three run homer. Hill had walked and scored earlier in the inning.

Arizona remained five games back in the NL West as the Giants and Dodgers both won on Saturday. San Francisco leads LA by a slim 1/2 game.

The West appears to be an all-or-nothing division, especially for Arizona, with three team vying for the title with little hope of the second place team earning the second wild card slot. Atlanta leads the wild card card chase with the Pirates four games back in the second spot. LA is 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh, the Cardinals another 1/2 game behind LA and the Diamondbacks four games behind St. Louis.

Arizona will be seeking a sweep of the Astros Sunday at 2:25 pm EDT. Following Houston's 82nd loss of the season against just 39 wins - easily the worst record in the majors - the Astros fired manager Brad Mills, hitting coach Mike Barnett and first base coach Bobby Meacham.

Zobrist Slam Downs Red Sox; Karstens Shuts Out Astros, 4-0; Pirates Take First Place

Players of the Day for Friday, July 15, 2011

American League

Ben Zobrist

If there's one thing the Tampa Bay Rays don't want, it's to become irrelevant to the outcome of the AL East race, especially with first place Boston in town for a three game series, so, with David Price on the bump, they looked to open the second half with a home win.

Iy didn't exactly turn out as planned, but the Rays got their win, despite four Red Sox homers, offset mostly by a Ben Zobrist grand slam.

The Rays jumped all over Boston starter Andrew Miller, scoring seven runs over the course of the first three innings, all charged to Miller.

Zobrist got things started when he and Evan Longoria walked in the 1st, with Zobrist scoring on B.J. Upton's one- out single.

In the 2nd, Zobrist came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out, unloading off Miller with the grand slam to left, putting the Rays up, 5-1. In the 3rd, Zobrist again got to the plate with nowhere to put him, but reliever Alfredo Aceves walked him, was Zobrist walked in his 5th RBI of the night.

Tampa would survive the four home runs (all solo shots except for Marco Scutero's 2-run blast in the 7th) for the 9-6 win, getting to within five games of the Sox, with the Yankees failing to take advantage, remaining 1 1/2 back after two consecutive losses in Toronto.

National League

Jeff Karstens

There were at least two things well known about the NL Central this season. One was that the division was likely to be a multiple-team scramble; the second was that the pirates were loaded with young talent, but that's been the case for most of the past decade of discomfort in Pittsburgh.

Normally, the Pirates would win some, lose more, and finish near or at the bottom of baseball's most competitive division. This is not a normal season, however, as the 48-43 Pirates took over first place by percentage points over the 49-44 Cardinals, thanks to Brandon Phillips' 9th inning homer, which gave the Reds a 6-5 win, and Jeff Karstens' 5-hit, complete game shutout, as the Pirates beat Houston, 4-0, the seventh win in their last nine outings.

Karstens, 8-4, locked down the punchless Astros, getting 14 of the first 15 Houston batters in order and cruised to the victory without allowing a walk, fanning two, for his fourth straight win and fifth in his last six starts.

His teammates supported his mound efforts with a run in the 1st, two more in the third and another in the 8th. It was Karstens second career shutout and his first since 2008.

The Pirates lead in the division, their first after the all star break since 1997, is tenuous. They are tied in the standings with St. Louis, with Milwaukee 1/2 game off the pace and the Reds lurking, three games back.

Pittsburgh fans better enjoy it while it's there. After their three-game series with Houston ends, the Bucs close out July with 13 straight games against the Reds, Cardinals, Braves and Phillies. If they're still even close to the lead on August 1, that will be something to shout about.

Zobrist Leads Rays Past Orioles; Utley Rounding Into Form after DL Stint

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 11, 2011

American League

With all the hubbub over bean-ball between Boston and New York, the Tampa Bay Rays have managed to quietly stay just behind the two leaders of the AL East, in third place, two games behind the Yankees and four back of the Red Sox.

Ben Zobrist

After being shut out in Baltimore Friday night, the Rays struck back with a 7-5, 11-inning win over the O's on Saturday.

Of 15 hits collected by the Rays, four each came off the bats of Casey Kotchman and Ben Zobrist, and, while Kotchman drove in a pair of runs, Zobrist made the most of his three doubles and one single, scoring four times, including the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th.

His three two-baggers giving him 20 on the year, Zobrist is tied with Carlos Quentin of the White Sox for third in the AL, behind Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez, both of whom have 21.

National League

Chase Utley

The Phillies managed to maintain their two-game lead over the Braves in the NL East with a 7-1 home win over the Cubs, as Cliff Lee turned in one of his better performances of the season and Chase Utley, recently returned from the DL, went 2-for-5 with a double and his second home run of the year - a two-run shot - driving in four of Philadelphia's seven runs.

Cliff Lee

Utley's return to form has been a gradual one, though he seems to be coming around just fine, having hit safely in seven of his last eight games. With only 66 at-bats, his average is rising quickly, up to a fairly pedestrian .242, though just a week ago, it was at .195.

As for Lee, who improved to 6-5, he stymied the Cubs on four hits, issuing a pair of walks while striking out seven over eight innings, giving up one harmless run in the 3rd inning. With some hitting support, Lee's record could be better, as his ERA is a solid 3.41, to go with a 1.21 WHIP.

JETER 3000 WATCH: Going 0-for-5 in NY's 4-0 win over Cleveland, Jeter remains nine hits short of the 3000 plateau and with just five games remaining on the current home stand, may not get to the mark in front of Yankee fans.

The Yanks have two more against the Indians and then a three=game series with the Rangers before heading off to Chicago, then Cincinnati, for a pair of three-game, interleague series.

Ten RBI for Ben Zobrist in Double Header; Berkman Adds Depth to Cardinal Attack

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 28, 2011

American League

Ben Zobrist

Ballplayers live for driving in runs. Getting hits is nice, but hitting with runners on base, in scoring position, is what it's all about.

An RBI per game would break records. Getting three or four in a game is outstanding, but what Ben Zobrist of the the Tampa Bay Rays did on Thursday was off the charts.

Zobrist drove in eight runs in the first game of a double header and, for an encore, knocked in two more as the Rays took a pair from the struggling Twins, 15-3 and 6-1.

The start of the first game was fairly routine, though the Rays hit home plate twice, one run driven in by Zobrist on a single to right. But that was just the beginning of the onslaught and Zobrist's record day.

He hit a three-run homer in the sixth, doubled in two more in the 8th and doubled again in the 9th, driving in two more runs, finishing with an amazing line stat: 4-for-6, with a home run, two doubles, two runs and eight RBI.

After that, one would think Minnesota might have chosen to pitch around Zobrist, but he went 3-for-4 in the second game, with another homer and a double, scored twice and drove in two more runs, pushing his RBI total for the day to 10 and vaulting himself into the league lead with 25 on the season and into a tie for second in home runs with seven, one behind Toronto's Jose Bautista.

The two Tampa wins extended their winning streak to five straight, putting them 1 1/2 games behind the division-leading Yankees in the AL East. The Twins dropped into a tie with the White Sox for last place in the Central, seven games behind the streaking Cleveland Indians.

National League

Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman spent most of his major league career toiling in the relative obscurity of Houston. Last season, he took the free agency route to New York in late July, though the Yankees didn't use him very much and eventually shuffled him off to the National League's Cardinals.

Manager Tony LaRussa and the St. Louis brass have been more than content with the slugger's performance thus far. Berkman is batting over .400 and, together with Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols, creates a pitcher's nightmare in the middle of the Cardinal lineup.

The Cardinals took a one-game lead in the NL Central with an 11-7 win at Houston, and Berkman made sure his former team would regret letting him go.

Berkman went 4-for-5, crashed a pair of homers, doubled, scored three times and drove in five runs. In the just-completed three-game series at Houston, Berkman went 8-for-14 and drove in seven runs. It's safe to say he made his point to his former team.

Berkman's .410 batting average is second in the NL to teammate Matt Holliday (.433). He's also second in home runs with 8, and RBI with 22.