Boster Posey Goes 4-for-4 in Giants' Win over Cubs; Brandon McCarthy Tosses 4-Hit Shutout as Yanks Cling to Wild Card Hope

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 21, 2014

American League

McCarthy: 4-Hitter

While Detroit's David Price was holding the Tampa Bay Rays to one hit over eight innings, and losing, The Yankees' Brandon McCarthy was blanking the Astros on four hits and winning, keeping hopes alive in the Bronx.

McCarthy's complete game shutout resulted in a 3-0 win for the Yankees, who avoided the indignity of being swept at home by the second-worst team in the American League (Texas is four games behind Houston in the AL West) losing two straight before McCarthy came to the rescue.

The four-hitter included eight strikeouts and no walks. McCarthy, added to the Yanks' roster in late July, is 5-2 in New York, after going 3-10 in Arizona. It was his first complete game and first shutout of the season. McCarthy has thrown nine complete games and four shutouts in his eight-year major league career.

Posey: 4 Hits

The win left the Yankees tied with Toronto in second place in the AL East, nine games behind the Orioles. They are both four games behind Detroit in the race for the second wild card, though Seattle is just 1/2 game out. Oakland currently has a stranglehold on the #1 wild card. The A's are 5 1/2 ahead of Detroit.

National League

After winning their protest and getting Tuesday's game rescheduled for completion, the Giants ended up losing it, anyway, to the Cubs, 2-1. Following that, however, they managed to win their regularly-scheduled game, 5-3, as Buster Posey went 4-for-4, maintaining their hold on the #2 wild card spot by a game over the Atlanta Braves.

Posey singled, doubled and hit a solo homer - his 14th - but the light-hitting Giants barely took advantage of his success at the plate. The RBI from the home run was his only one of the game, and he scored just twice.

Having taken two of three from the Cubs, the Giants have been victorious in four of their last five and head to the nation's capitol, where they begin a three-game series with the red-hot Nationals on Friday at 7:05 pm EDT

The Nationals have won ten straight - including Thursday's 1-0, walk-off win over Arizona - and lead the NL East by seven games over the Braves.

Brandon McCarthy Shuts Out Mariners on Three Hits; Pirates Win On Grand Slam by Derrick Lee

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 3, 2011

American League

Brandon McCarthy

While the teams vying for post-season play were busy beating each other's brains out, one of the best pitching performances of the season was taking place in Oakland, where starter Brandon McCarthy pitched his fourth complete game and first shutout of the season in Oakland's 3-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

McCarthy, who went on the disabled list back on May 18 with a 1-4 record, has come back in the second half to win seven of ten decisions. He was re-activated on the 4th of July, losing to the Mariners, 2-1, but earned wins in his next four decisions.

This was McCarthy's third start of the season against Seattle, and this time he left nothing to chance, setting down the first 11 batters in order, finishing with a 3-hit shutout, walking none while whiffing 10. The win avenged an April 21 loss to the Mariners, where he was out-dueled by M's starter Felix Hernandez in a 1-0 loss.

McCarthy (8-7) threw 114 pitches - 78 for strikes - lowering his ERA to a respectable 3.41.

National League

The season's second half hasn't been particularly pleasant for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but for the Cubs, Saturday's 7-5 loss was a reminder of just how bad their who year has been.

Derrek Lee

Leading 5-3 heading into the 9th, the Cubs called on closer Carlos Marmol to finish things up, but Marmol proceeded to make a mess of his opportunity, getting two outs but allowing a single and two walks to load the bases for former Cub, Derrek Lee, who drove one over the ivy in left field for a game-winning grand slam.

The shot was sweet for Lee, who also singled twice in five at-bats, because it was his first game back from the DL, which was caused by being hit on the wrist by Marmol back on August 3rd. Lee drove in the Pirates' first run of the game with a single in the 1st inning. He had five RBI for the game.

The Pirates acquired Lee from the Orioles at the end of July, when they were still in the hunt in the NL Central division, but they sorely missed his bat after Lee played just five games with them.

For Marmol, it was his 9th blown save of the season, tops in the majors.

McCann Leads Sweep of Blue Jays; McCarthy's First Shutout Keeps Rangers on Top

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 24, 2009 American League The Texas Rangers retained their 3-game lead in the AL West, getting everything they could out of starter Brandon McCarthy, who threw 124 pitches his his first complete game, 5-0 shutout over Houston. McCarthy scattered nine hits, including 4 from Miguel Tejada, and issued just one walk, pitching out of jams repeatedly. He struck out six, twice ended an inning with runners on second and third bases, and only got the side out in order in the 4th and 8th, improving his record to 4-2. National League The Toronto Blue Jays said goodbye to first place in the AL East Sunday, losing their sixth straight as the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep with a 10-2 win at Turner Field. The Braves won the first two games by one-run margins, but left no doubt in the finale, as Brian McCann led the attack with a pair of homers and four RBI. McCann smacked a solo shot in the first inning, two outs after leadoff hitter Kelly Johnson left the yard, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead. Toronto battled back to tie the game, but the Braves responded with a 7-run 7th, highlighted by McCann's 3-run blast. McCann also singled, finishing 3-for-4, boosting his batting average to .303. NOTES: The Red Sox took over first place in the AL East with a 12-5 thumping of the Mets. They lead the blue Jays by 1/2 game. San Diego won their ninth straight, topping the Cubs - who have lost 7 in a row - 7-2. Only in the NL West can you win nine in a row and just make it to the .500 mark. That's where the Padres reside, at 22-22, in second place, 7 1/2 behind the runaway Dodgers.