Grand Slam Heroes: Carlos Santana Drives Indians Past Twins; Lane Thomas Delivers for Cardinals

Players of the Day for Sunday, August 11, 2019

American League

Santana: Slam in 10th

Posting a 21-9 mark since the all star break, the Cleveland Indians tied the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central with a 10-inning, 7-3 win in the conclusion of their series in Minneapolis.

Thanks to a Carlos Santana grand slam in the top of the 10th, the Indians took three of four from the Twins. Minnesota has been the division's top team since late April, but their advantage has steadily dwindled in the second half.

Santana's game-winning slam was his 25th home run of the year. Earlier, he had walked and scored in the first inning and singled in another run in the third.

The Indians head home to start a three-game series with Boston on Monday, while the Twins have Monday off, traveling to Milwaukee for two games with the Brewers, Tuesday and Wednesday.

National League

Thomas' Slam Lifts Cards

Getting some much needed help from rookie call-up, Lane Thomas, St. Louis completed a sweep of the Pirates, rallying to take their third straight with an 11-9 win Sunday at Busch Stadium.

Lane Thomas, who has spent most of the season at AAA Memphis, socked a bases-loaded homer in the seventh, giving the Cardinals a 9-8 lead. Dexter Fowler added a two-run shot in the eighth, padding the Cardinals' lead.

Earlier, Thomas had tripled in the fourth, plating Paul DeJong. His five RBI gave him 10 total, in just 22 major league at-bats. The rookie center fielder is batting .364.

The win boosted the Cardinals into second place in the Central division, as Milwaukee dropped a 1-0 decision to Texas. St. Louis is two games behind the Cubs in the division, with Milwaukee another 1/2-game back.

The Cardinals start a six-game road trip on Tuesday, playing two at Kansas City, prior to a four game set in Cincinnati.

Cleveland Tops Twins, 8-1, On Carlos Santana's 2 HR; Reds Top Cubs As Luis Castillo Throws 6 Shoutout Innings

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Santana: 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R

American League

A crucial series began Tuesday in Minnesota as the Twins hosted the Indians in the first of three.

Cleveland starter, Danny Salazar, allowed a run in the second, but that was equalled in the fourth when Carlos Santana belted the first of his two home runs.

As Salazar steadied and continued to dominate, allowing the lone run over seven innings, the Indians continued to tack on runs, culminating in Santana's second homer of the game, a two-run belt in the ninth for the 8-1 victory and a six game lead over the Twins and Royals in the AL Central division.

Santana was on base all five times he appeared at the plate. He walked in the second and fifth innings, and singled in the seventh, scoring on Austin Jackson's three-run homer. Santana has 18 home runs and 63 RBI.

Minnesota will try to even the series on Wednesday when the teams take the field at 8:10 pm ET.

National League

Castillo: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER

If the Chicago Cubs wish to defend their World Series title, they'll have to start winning games in bunches, because the Cardinals and Brewers don't seem to be going away in the contentious NL Central.

Cincinnati got six innings of two-hit, shutout ball from starter, Luis Castillo, who took the win, as the Reds downed the Cubs, 2-1, in game two of their four-game series at Wrigley Field.

Castillo, a rookie, surrendered just two singles and a pair of walks, striking out seven for his second win against five losses. A trio of relievers finished up for the Reds, who are out of contention in both the division and the wild card.

The Cubs remained 1 1/2 in front of the Cardinals and Brewers in the division as St. Louis took a 10-4 loss at Boston and Milwaukee defeated Pittsburgh, 3-1, tying the Cardinals for second place.

Game three of the series is Wednesday, at 8:05 pm ET in Chicago.

STREAKING: Giancarlo Stanton homered in his sixth straight game, but the Miami Marlins fell to the San Francisco Giants, 9-4. Stanton's third inning solo shot off Madison Bumgarner was his 44th of the season, leading the majors. Stanton has 11 homers in his last 12 games, and 23 in the last 35 and is two games shy of tying the major league record, homering in eight straight games, held jointly by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987), and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993).

Stanton has 94 RBI on the year, second in the NL to Colorado's Nolan Arenado (101).

Starlin Castro Deals Cards Loss with 6 RBI in Cubs Win; Carlos Santana's Slam Keeps Cleveland Playoff Hopes Alive

Players of the Day for Friday, September 18, 2015

American League

Castro: 2 HR, 6 RBI

Santana: Grand Slam

With the chance of reaching the playoffs still alive and well, the Cleveland Indians pounded White Sox starter, Chris Sale, with a six-run third inning, all of the runs unearned, capped by a grand slam by Carlos Santana.

Sale eventually worked seven innings and took the loss (12-10), as the Tribe cruised to a 12-1 win in the opener of a three-game series in Cleveland.

The win left the Indians three games behind Houston for the second wild card spot, and just two games behind the twins, the three teams vying for the final post-season berth in the AL.

The Yankees, despite a 5-1 loss to the Mets in the opener of their three-game subway series at Citi Field, have the first wild card in sight, leading Houston by four games.

Cleveland returned to .500 with the victory, at 73-73, and will face the White Sox at Progressive Field in game two, Saturday at 7:10 pm EDT.

National League

Beware the Cubs.

After taking three of four in Pittsburgh, winning the final three games of their four-game series, the Chicago Cubs returned home to welcome in their next victim, the St. Louis Cardinals, greeting the current NL Central leaders with an 8-3 stomping, courtesy of six RBI from second baseman, Starlin Castro.

Helping the Cubs to a 3-0 lead with an RBI single in the first, Castro later broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning with a two-run homer, followed the next inning with a three-run blast that put the game away, the Cubs winning their fourth straight, in the process, closing the gap on the Pirates in the wild card race to a mere one game as Pittsburgh lost to Zack Greinke and the Dodgers, 6-2.

The Cubs are just six games behind the Cardinals, the Pirates, five out, though time is of the essence, with just 15 games remaining on the regular season schedule.

The Cardinals used eight pitchers in the game, the Cubs, seven, even though only 15 hits were produced by both teams, the Cardinals getting only five base hits.

Game two of the three-game series will start Saturday at 1:05 pm EDT, the Cubs hoping that later in the day the Dodgers will knock down the Pirates once again, and, with a win, Chicago will be tied for second place in the division and for the wild card.

Josh Harrison Leads Pirates with Four Hits; Carlos Sanata Keeps Cleveland Hopes Alive

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 27, 2013

American League

Santana: 2HR

Losers of three straight to the Royals and in danger of falling out of third place in the AL Central, the Cleveland Indians muscled up and avoided the sweep with a 10-3 victory Sunday in Kansas City.

Led by Carlos Santana, the Indians hammered out 15 hits against five Royals' pitchers. Santana continued to swing the bat at a orrid pace, belting a pair of home runs and driving in four. He added a single to go 3-for-3, extending his hitting streak to seven games.

Over that span, Santana has been on fire, going 15-for-27, with six homers and 10 RBI.

With the Tigers losing Sunday to the Angles, 2-1, the Indians find themselves 6 1/2 games back of the division leaders, with KC anchored in between, five out.

Josh Harrison

National League

Highlighting a 16-hit barrage, Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison banged out four hits in six at-bats, including a solo home run, a double and a pair of singles, dring in two and scoring twice.

Batting in his customary leadoff position, Harrison tormented Colorado pitchers, stealing a pair of bases in the 7-5 Pirate win.

The victory kept the Pirates from being swept in the three-game series at Colorado and kept them in third place in the NC Central, three games behind division-leading Milwaukee, 2-0 losers to the Mets.

St. Louis won, 1-0, over the Cubs, as Adam Wianwright became the major league's first 13-game winner. The Cardinals are a solid second in the division, two games behind the Brewers.

Carlos Santana, Michael Bourn Lead Indians into Playoffs; Pittsburgh gets Top Wild Card as Neil Walker, Marlon Byrd Lead Six HR Attack

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 28, 2013

American League

Michael Bourn

Michael Bourn and Carlos Santana each delivered clutch, two-out hits to drive Cleveland to their ninth straight victory and secure at least a tie for a playoff spot with a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Carlos Santana

While Scott Kazmir was fanning 11 and holding the Twins to one run over six innings, Santana socked a two-run homer in the fourth inning, followed by Bourne's two-out triple in the fifth that drove in a pair. Bourne later scored on a jason Kipnis single to complete the scoring for the Indians.

The win, coupled with Tampa Bay's 7-2 loss at Toronto and Texas' 7-4 win over the Angels put Cleveland in the driver's seat entering the last day of the regular season. Cleveland has a one-game lead over both the Rays and Rangers, who are now tied for the second wild card spot.

All three teams close out their seasons on Sunday. Tampa Bay takes the field in Toronto at 1:07 pm EDT, the Indians go for their 10th straight win and the sweep of the Twins at 2:10 pm EDT and the Rangers and Angels mix it up at 3:05 pm EDT in Arlington, Texas.

AL Wild Card Standings (through 9/28)

Team	GB
Cleveland	+1
Tampa Bay	--
Texas	--

National League

The Pittsburgh Pirates rocked Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo, socked six home runs and grabbed the top wild card spot in the National League with an 8-3 victory over the Reds.

Neil Walker

Marlon Byrd

Marlon Byrd homered and singled twice in four at-bats, drove in two runs and scored twice; Neil Walker mashed a pair of solo home runs - his 15th and 16th - as the Pirates hammered Arroyo for eight hits (five of them homers) and six runs over 4 2/3 innings.

Winning their second straight in their season-ending series at Cincinnati, the Pirates earned the right to host the one-game wild card playoff on Tuesday, October 1. Despite the loss, the Reds are still in the playoffs, taking the second wild card spot.

The series - and the season - wraps up today for both teams at 1:10 pm EDT at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

Today's Trivia: Who was the last Cincinnati player to win either the Cy Young or MVP Award? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: The Pirates were last seen in the playoffs in 1992, when they won what was then the NL East.

Will Middlebrooks, Carlos Santana Star in 13-0 Romps by Boston, Cleveland; Matt Carpenter Leads Cardinals over Giants

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 7, 2013

American League

Carlos Santana

Will Middlebrooks

If you're in a 13-run club pool, you got a double dose on Sunday, as the Indians dumped Tampa Bay and Boston wrecked Toronto by identical 13-0 scores.

Each game produced a no-doubt-about-it player of the day, splitting the AL variety of the award.

At Tropicana Field in Tampa, as the Indians banged out 17 hits, Carlos Santana went 5-for-5 with two doubles and two singles, capping off his night with a ninth-inning, two-run homer off Rays' reliever, Fernondo Rodney. Santana drove in three runs and scored three times.

In Toronto, the Red Sox took over sole possession of first place in the AL East with their 13-0 rout, spearheaded by third baseman Will Middlebrooks' 4-for-4 performance, which included three home runs and a double, resulting in four RBI and four runs scored.

National League

Playing the rubber game of their three-game series in San Francisco, the St. Louis Cardinals made an early season statement to the defending world champs with a resounding, 14-3, victory.

Matt Carpenter

After the Giants nicked starter Adam Wainwright for two runs in the bottom of the third, St. Louis bats exploded for nine runs in the top of the fourth, chasing Giants' starter, Matt Cain after just 3 2/3 innings.

Matt Carpenter got to the plate twice in the inning, singling with a man aboard and later scoring, just moments before he went plate-ward again, delivering a two-out, bases-loaded singled which plated two more runs and sent Cain to the showers.

In the seventh, Carpenter doubled with two outs, driving in Jon Jay, later scoring on Adam Craig's single, finishing up a 3-for-5 effort with three runs and three RBI.

St. Louis took the final two games of the series after losing the opener, leaving both teams with 3-3 records. Carpenter ended the day with a .320 batting average.

Two HR, 5 RBI by Carlos Santana Lifts Cleveland; Allen Craig leads Cardinals over Cubs

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 23, 2012

American League

Back in June, the Cleveland Indians were leading the AL Central ad looking like one of the surprise teams of 2012.

Guess again. The Indians went into a tailspin just prior to and after the all star break that sent them plummeting to the bottom of the division, where they currently reside, 18 1/2 games behind the White Sox.

Santana: 2HR, 5RBI

Pitching was the big problem for the Indians, with the second-worst ERA in the majors (4.81, worst in the AL and, in all of MLB, better than only Colorado's 5.30), but they cannot complain about their catcher, Carlos Santana, who, in his second full year in the majors, is having a solid season, batting .257 (19 points above 2011's .239), with 18 homers (tied for fifth in the AL among catchers) and 75 RBI (third among AL catchers) after going 3-for-6 with a pair of long balls and five RBI in Cleveland's 15-4 rout of Kansas City.

Santana scored three times, totaling 69 runs for the season, second most of AL catchers, behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer (78).

In the pennant and wild card races, little changed on Sunday. The Yankees and Orioles both lost, leaving the Yanks with a one game lead. The White Sox lost their fifth straight, but still lead the Tigers in the Central by one, as Detroit dumped both ends of a double header to Minnesota.

Texas continues to lead Oakland in the West by four games, both teams losing on Sunday.

In the wild card, the Orioles are a game up on Oakland for the two spots available. The A's lead the Angels by 2 1/2 and the Rays by 3 1/2.

National League

In the National League, all that remains of the season is determining the winners of the East division, where the Nationals lead Atlanta by 4 1/2 games, and the wild cards, currently Atlanta and St. Louis, with the Braves six up on St. Louis and the Cardinals three ahead of LA and 3 1/2 up on Milwaukee.

Allen Craig

While the Dodgers and Brewers both won on Sunday, so did the Cardinals, knocking off the Cubs, 6-2, taking two of three in their series in Chicago.

First baseman Allen Craig, whose been on a tear of late, went 3-for-4 with a pair of ribbies in the win. Over his last ten games, Craig is batting .372 (16-for-43) with two homers, sixteen runs and 13 RBI.

Just like last season, the Cardinals are heating up at the right time, winning six of their last seven with just nine games left. St. Louis has three series remaining: three at Houston, followed by three games at home with Washington and three home games with the Reds, the final two series providing possible previews to the post-season, as the Reds have already clinched the Central and Washington's magic number is down to just six.

Santana's Five RBI Not Enough Against Rangers; Gallardo, Braun Lead Milwaukee Uprising

Players of the Day for Friday, August 5, 2011

American League

Carlos Santana and the Cleveland Indians built a 6-1 lead over the Rangers in just the first two innings of their game at Texas. Unfortunately for them, baseball games generally last nine innings, though in this case, the Rangers eventually emerged victorious in 11.

Santana: 5 RBI

Getting the Indians off to a flying start, Santana socked his 17th home run off Texas starter Derek Holland, a three-run shot in the first inning.

In the second, Santana cranked a double to center field, driving in two more runs as part of a three-run inning, knocking out Holland after just 1 2/3rd innings. A solo homer in the third inning by Shelley Duncan put the Indians up 7-2, but the Rangers eventually came back to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th on Michael Young's two-run homer and win it in 11, 8-7, when Elvis Andrus scored from second base on Josh Hamilton's infield single.

Santana finished 2-for-4 with five RBI, all in the first two innings of the game. The Cleveland backstop has been on a two-game tear, homering and driving in three runs in Thursday's 7-3 win over the Red Sox, but the Indians have been sliding, winning just three of their last ten games and falling four behind Detroit in the AL Central.

Texas managed to hold their one-game lead over the Angels in the West. The Angels have won seven of their last ten.

National League

Gallardo: 13 Wins

The Milwaukee Brewers won for the ninth time in their last 10 games, as Yovani Galardo allowed just one run over eight strong innings, winning his 13th against seven losses in the Brewers' 8-1 romp in Houston.

Braun: .329 BA

Gallardo allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out 6, tying Arizona's Ian Kennedy for second in the NL with 13 wins. Roy Halladay leads the league with 14 victories.

At the plate, Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 with a double and two singles, scoring twice, driving in a run and swiping his 20th base. Braun is challenging for the league batting crown with a .329 average, right behind Jose Reyes of the Mets, who leads, at .336.

The Brewers maintained their three-game bulge over St. Louis in the Central division, which has quickly become a two team affair. The slumping Pirates - losers of eight straight - have fallen eight games off the pace and Cincinnati is 8 1/2 back.