Bronson Arroyo Sharp for Reds; C.C. Sabathia Dominates O's; Don Kelly Sends Detroit to 2-0 Lead over A's; Tyler Moore Downs Cardinals

Players of the Day for Sunday, October 7, 2012

American League

Don Kelly

ALDS: Detroit 5 Oakland 4 - Detroit took a 2-0 lead over Oakland in the best-of-five series when Don Kelly drove a ninth-inning, one-out ball to center field, his sac fly plating Omar Infante with the game-winning run.

Kelly's bases-loaded shot broke a 4-4 tie and sends the series to Oakland on Tuesday for game three, the A's facing elimination. Kelly scored the tying run on a wild pitch after being put in to run for Delmon Young in the eighth.

ALDS: NY Yankees 7 Baltimore 2 - C.C. Sabathia got all but the final out, working 8 2/3 innings in the opener of the ALDS in Baltimore.

C.C. Sabathia

Sabathia gave up two runs in the third, but otherwise was in control throughout, scattering eight hits and a walk while striking out seven. It was Sabathia's eighth post-season win against four losses dating back to 2001.

After the Orioles took a 2-1 lead, the Yankees tied the game on Mark Teixeira's single in the fourth, scoring Alex Rodriguez. Russell Martin opened the top of the ninth with a solo homer and the Yankees pild on four more runs in the innings, breaking a tight game wide open.

The series resumes Monday at Camden Yards at 8:07 pm EDT.


National League

Tyler Moore

NLDS: Washington 3 St. Louis 2 - Pinch hitting rookie Tyler Moore drove in a pair of runs in the top of the eighth, turning around a 2-1 deficit and providing the winning margin in game one of the best-of-five divisional series.

Gio Gonzalez was erratic for the Nationals, but, despite walking seven batters, he allowed only one over five full innings. The Cardinals scored their two runs in the third inning, on a wild pitch and a sac fly.

Game two is set for Monday at 4:37 pm EDT. Washington sends Jordan Zimmermann to the mound to face the Cardinals' Jaime Garcia.

Bronson Arroyo

NLDS: Cincinnati 9 San Francisco 0 - Bronson Arroyo pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and the Cincinnati hitters battered the Giants for 13 hits, taking a 2-0 lead in the divisional series.

Arroyo worked a perfect game into the fifth inning, giving up a two-out single to Brian Belt. His only other flaw was a two-out walk to Buster Posey in the seventh inning, before finishing up the frame by getting Hunter Pence on a harmless fly ball.

Ryan Hannigan drove in three runs with a pair of singles to pace the Reds' offense. San Francisco got only two hits off Arroyo and a pair of relievers.

Cincinnati will host game three on Tuesday, at 5:37 pm EDT and will also be the site of games four and five, if necessary.

Mark Teixeira Powers Yankees over Red Sox; Bronson Arroyo Twirls 3-Hitter Against Padres

Players of the Day for Friday, July 6, 2012

American League

The Yankees continue to lead the AL East by 5 1/2 games over Baltimore after their 10-8 win at Boston Friday night.

Mark Teixeira

Scoring five runs in the first inning off starter Josh Beckett, the Red Sox responded with five of their own in the bottom half off Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda.

In the middle of the offensive outburst was Mark Teixeira, who singled in a pair of runs in the first inning and scored. In the seventh, with the Yankees trailing 7-6, he fueled a four-run rally with a triple to the deepest part of Fenway - the "triangle" - driving in two more runs. He trotted home when Raul Ibanez doubled to right field in the decisive frame, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBI, giving him an even 50 ribbies on the year.

The game was the opener of a four-game series at Boston. The loss sent the Red Sox back to 8 1/2 games off the Yankees' pace. The teams play a day-night double-header on Saturday and will be the featured ESPN game, Sunday night at 8:00 pm EDT.

National League

Arroyo: 3-hitter

Obviously, giving up the NL Central lead to Pittsburgh earlier this week didn't sit well in Cincinnati, but the Reds, after losing three straight, improved to 4-5 on their brutal 11-game West coast road trip with a 6-0 win at San Diego, picking up a game on the front-running Pirates.

The Reds trail by one in the division after Bronson Arroyo's 3-hit gem stopped the losing streak. Arroyo (4-5) walked one and whiffed eight, getting his first shutout and complete game of the 2012 season.

Protecting a 1-0 lead produced in the first inning, Arroyo allowed only one base runner to reach second. The Reds finally gave him some breathing room when they scored two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth on two-run homers by Ryan Hanigan and Todd Frazier.

Arroyo threw 72 of 110 pitches for strikes in his 13th career complete game and fifth shutout. The Reds wrap up their road trip Saturday and Sunday in San Diego, leading up to the all star break.

Shields Tosses 5th CG as Marlins Sink Deeper; Arroyo Keeps Reds Close

Players of the Day for Sunday, June 19, 2011

American League

James Shields

Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse for the Florida Marlins, along came the Tampa Bay Rays and starting pitcher James Shields to put the final nail in the coffin that is the month of June.

Florida had been rolling along in May, but have won just one game in June - and they've been beaten in just about every imaginable way - but Shields and the Rays did it by shutting down the Florida hitters in a 2-1 win, Florida's 10th straight loss.

The Marlins got on the board in the first inning, scoring an unearned run on a Gaby Sanchez sac fly, but that was all they would get off Shields, who tossed his fifth complete game of the season, limiting the Marlins to a mere four hits while fanning 10.

Including the sac fly, Shields didn't allow another base hit until the 5th inning, setting down 12 straight. He issued no walks, and threw 79 of 110 pitches for strikes, extending his record to 7-4. Having an amazing season, Shields is tied for second with Seattle's Felix Hernandez in strikeouts with 108, both trailing Justin Verlander, who has 110. Shields is also third in ERA, at 2.40 and he has the sixth-best WHIP in the AL, at an even 1.00.

The Rays continue to chase Boston and NY in the AL East, trailing the Red Sox by 4 1/2 and the Yankees by three games. As for the Marlins, manager Edwin Rodriguez tendered his resignation before the game, which was the 18th loss in 19 tries in June.

Rumor has it that 80-year-old Jack McKeon will return to manage the Marlins while a full-time manager is sought. McKeon took a struggling Marlins squad all the way to the World Series in 2003, beating the Yankees to claim the world championship.

National League

Bronson Arroyo

Cincinnati keeps hanging around in the NL Central, looking for their opportunity to take over the division they won last season. The Reds trail the Brewers and Cardinals by two games after beating Toronto, 2-1, at home on Sunday.

Getting nine hits but scoring just two runs was all the Reds' hitters could produce, but it was enough for Bronson Arroyo to even his record at 6-6, as he went eight innings, allowing only an Aaron Hill 5th inning solo homer to blemish the scoreboard.

Arroyo gave up five hits total, walked one and struck out five as the Reds avoided the sweep in their interleague series with the Blue Jays. Toronto took the first two games of the series, 3-2 and 4-0.

INTERLEAGUE TALLY: Winning only three games on Sunday, the National League fell well behind the AL, which won 11 out of 14 games to take a 48-36 advantage on the season. Teams will be moving to new locales on Monday, with a few taking a day off. Some of the more interesting match-ups include the Yankees at Cincinnati, the Cubs at the White Sox and Tampa Bay at Milwaukee.

On Tuesday, Minnesota opens a three-game series at San Francisco. The Giants are clining to a 1/2 game advantage in the NL West, while the Twins are finally out of last place in the AL Central, having won seven in a row.

Arroyo, Gomes Power Reds; Matsui Belts Two in Yankee Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 13, 2009 American League The Yankees have the look of a team itching to clinch their division title. They've won 3 straight, 10 of their last 11 and are 21-4 since the all star break. One of the reasons the Yankees are playing so well is the steady play of right fielder Hideki Matsui, who has 19 home runs and 58 RBI to go with his .268 batting average. After winning 6 of 7 on their most recent home stand, the Yanks headed to Seattle for a three-game set with the Mariners and started out in usual Yankee fashion with an 11-1 win. C.C. Sabathia improved to 13-7 with 8 innings of 3 hit work, allowing just the one run while fanning 10. Matsui delivered a healthy share of the offense, going 4-for-5 with a pair of two-run home runs, 5 RBI and 4 runs. The Yankees suddenly have opened up the largest divisional lead in the majors, at 6 1/2 games over the second place Red Sox, who are now being mentioned as the leader of the wild card race. Just half way through August and Yankee fans are starting to calculate magic numbers. (Incidentally, it's 41.) National League The Cincinnati Reds fell out of contention for any post-season play form July 20 to August 4, when they lost 14 out of 15 games to the Dodgers, Cubs, Rockies and Padres (the Cubs beat them 5 straight times in two separate series), but they can certainly play the spoiler role down the stretch with players like Bronson Arroyo (left) and Jonny Gomes (right). In Cincy's 7-0 win over the Nationals, Arroyo didn't need very much offense as he stymied the Nats on 2 hits, a walk and a hit batsmen. Arroyo struck out just 3, but didn't allow a single runner to reach second base and finished strong, getting the last nine batters in order for the complete game shutout, his second shutout and third complete game this season. Arroyo is 11-11 with a 4.74 ERA. With Arroyo in complete control of the Nationals' hitters, Gomes made the most of his 4 trips to the dish, whacking three home runs, one each in the 2nd, 4th and 6th innings, the first two, two run shots and the third a solo blast. Gomes' 5 RBI gave him 33 with 14 home runs in just 166 at-bats.

Span's 4 Hits Lead Twins over BoSox; Arroyo, Bruce Lead Reds' 4th Straight

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 27, 2009 American League The Minnesota Twins helped the Yankees tie Boston for first place in the AL East, knocking off the Red Sox, 4-2, as leadoff hitter Denard Span went 4-for-4 and scored twice. The win was Minnesota's second straight over the Red Sox, who had seized control of the division just days before. Third place Toronto has lost 9 in a row. Meanwhile, the Twins have taken over second place in the AL Central, 3 1/2 behind Detroit. Span, who, in his second year in the majors, has been in the leadoff spot most of the season for the Twins and is batting .316 with 11 steals and a .409 on-base percentage. National League While the Cardinals were taking over first place in the NL Central with a 3-2 win over Milwaukee, the Cincinnati Reds have quietly snuck into second place, just 1/2 behind the Brewers and 1 1/2 back of St. Louis, winning their 4th straight, 6-1 over Houston, as Bronson Arroyo (left) pitched a complete game for his 7th win against 3 losses and Jay Bruce (right) provided the bulk of the offense. Arroyo needed just 92 pitches to put away the inept Astro offense, sending Houston to their 7th straight loss. Allowing just 5 hits and one earned run, Arroyo was in complete control, walking one and striking out three. Bruce was far and away the hitting star of the night, smashing a solo shot in the 4th inning, a 2-run-shot in the 6th and delivering a run-scoring triple in the eighth inning to complete his 3-for-4, 4 RBI night. Bruce, in his second season as the Reds' regular right fielder, is off to a solid start with 14 home runs and 29 RBI, though his batting average is a touch low, at .241. The Reds will have every opportunity to take control of the division over the next week. After a day off Thursday, they travel to Milwaukee for a 3-game weekend series, then, on to St. Louis for a four-game deal with the Cards. NOTES: Randy Johnson (4-4) earned his 299th career victory, holding the Atlanta Braves in check over 6 solid innings, yielding just 3 hits and one earned run without walking anyone and striking out 5, including Chipper Jones three times. The Giants won the game, 6-3, setting up Johnson's chance at 300 for Wednesday in Washington against the punchless Nationals. While the Big Unit would prefer to pitch at home -where all four of his wins this season have come - he couldn't have hoped for a weaker offensive team to go against.