Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 1, 2019
American League
It must be in the genes.
On Tuesday night, in an otherwise meaningless game, the Toronto Blue Jays knocked off the Baltimore Orioles, 8-5. While the two teams have only next season to look forward to, rookie Cavan Biggio made the most of it, hitting for the cycle, driving in four runs.
Biggio, son of Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio, began putting together the historic night in the third inning, with a two-run homer that gave Toronto a 3-2 lead. After singling in the sixth inning, he doubled, stole third and scored on a sac fly to tie the game at 4-all in the eighth. Finally, in the ninth, after Justin Smoak put the Blue Jays up, 5-4, Biggio legged out a triple that plated two more runs and came home to score on a Baltimore error.
Biggio's father, Craig, hit for the cycle in 2002. Cavan's cycle was the first ever in the 27-year history of Baltimore's Camden Yards. Batting a mere .230, Biggio has 14 homers and 42 RBI in 313 at-bats. He's also swiped 10 bases and scored 58 runs.
In the wild card race, the Oakland A's have taken the initiative, winning their last seven of eight, with a 2-1 gut-check win over the Royals. The win left them two games up on Tampa Bay, 7-5 losers to the Dodgers in LA.
The Indians are 1/2-game behind Tampa, but have 11 games left, as opposed to just 10 for the Rays and A's.
Already in a good spot, the A's have the lightest schedule remaining, hosting one more game with the Royals, then three with Texas. They finish on the road, playing two with the Angels, then four at Seattle.
Cleveland finishes up its home schedule with two more against Detroit, then three with the Phillies. On the road the final six games, they visit the White Sox for three and end in Washington against the Nationals.
The Rays have a tough week ahead. After one more in LA, they return home for four games with Boston and two against the Yankees. Their season ends with three in Toronto.
National League
In a game that more than likely knocked the Diamondbacks completely out of playoff contention, the Miami Marlins put a 12-6 hurting on Arizona, with Miguel Rojas driving in six runs, fueling the effort.
Rojas doubled three times and singled in six at-bats. In the third inning, he stroked a double to left center, driving in the first run of the game, then, after grounding out in the fourth, he came to the plate with the bases loaded and cleared them with a double to left field. He singled in two more in the seventh. For good measure, he doubled again in the ninth, but was left stranded as he was after each of his four hits.
For the Diamondbacks, the loss was their eighth in the last 10 games, sending them 5 1/2 behind the Cubs and Brewers, who are tied for the second wild card. With just 10 games remaining, Arizona would have to leapfrog the Phillies, Mets and either the Cubs or Brewers to take a wild card and that's unlikely.
The Brewers appear to be in the best position for either a wild card or the NL Central crown. Their 3-1 win over San Diego Tuesday was their 11th win in their last 12 games. With the Cubs dropping a 4-2 decision to the Reds, the Brewers and Cubs are two games behind St. Louis in the division, after the Cardinals lost, 6-2, to the Nationals.
Washington has a 1 1/2-game lead in the first wild card position and finishes up their three-game series with the Cardinals Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis. Max Scherzer goes to the mound for the Nets, with Adam Wainwright going up the hill for St. Louis.
The Cardinals and Cubs have the toughest roads to the playoffs, playing each other seven times in the closing days. Milwaukee has two more home games with the Padres, then three at home against the Pirates. They finish the season on the road, with three games each in Cincinnati and Colorado.
Washington has the most exotic down-the-stretch schedule after finishing up in St. Louis. They have Thursday off and play three over the weekend in Miami. Then they return home for an eight-game home stand, playing the Phillies five times before ending the regular season hosting Cleveland for three games. The Phillies are still on the fringe of the playoff picture, but the Indians are likely to still be in the AL wild card race until those final games.
American League
It must be in the genes.
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| Biggio hits for cycle |
On Tuesday night, in an otherwise meaningless game, the Toronto Blue Jays knocked off the Baltimore Orioles, 8-5. While the two teams have only next season to look forward to, rookie Cavan Biggio made the most of it, hitting for the cycle, driving in four runs.
Biggio, son of Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio, began putting together the historic night in the third inning, with a two-run homer that gave Toronto a 3-2 lead. After singling in the sixth inning, he doubled, stole third and scored on a sac fly to tie the game at 4-all in the eighth. Finally, in the ninth, after Justin Smoak put the Blue Jays up, 5-4, Biggio legged out a triple that plated two more runs and came home to score on a Baltimore error.
Biggio's father, Craig, hit for the cycle in 2002. Cavan's cycle was the first ever in the 27-year history of Baltimore's Camden Yards. Batting a mere .230, Biggio has 14 homers and 42 RBI in 313 at-bats. He's also swiped 10 bases and scored 58 runs.
In the wild card race, the Oakland A's have taken the initiative, winning their last seven of eight, with a 2-1 gut-check win over the Royals. The win left them two games up on Tampa Bay, 7-5 losers to the Dodgers in LA.
The Indians are 1/2-game behind Tampa, but have 11 games left, as opposed to just 10 for the Rays and A's.
Already in a good spot, the A's have the lightest schedule remaining, hosting one more game with the Royals, then three with Texas. They finish on the road, playing two with the Angels, then four at Seattle.
Cleveland finishes up its home schedule with two more against Detroit, then three with the Phillies. On the road the final six games, they visit the White Sox for three and end in Washington against the Nationals.
The Rays have a tough week ahead. After one more in LA, they return home for four games with Boston and two against the Yankees. Their season ends with three in Toronto.
National League
In a game that more than likely knocked the Diamondbacks completely out of playoff contention, the Miami Marlins put a 12-6 hurting on Arizona, with Miguel Rojas driving in six runs, fueling the effort.
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| Rojas: 4-for-6, 6 RBI |
Rojas doubled three times and singled in six at-bats. In the third inning, he stroked a double to left center, driving in the first run of the game, then, after grounding out in the fourth, he came to the plate with the bases loaded and cleared them with a double to left field. He singled in two more in the seventh. For good measure, he doubled again in the ninth, but was left stranded as he was after each of his four hits.
For the Diamondbacks, the loss was their eighth in the last 10 games, sending them 5 1/2 behind the Cubs and Brewers, who are tied for the second wild card. With just 10 games remaining, Arizona would have to leapfrog the Phillies, Mets and either the Cubs or Brewers to take a wild card and that's unlikely.
The Brewers appear to be in the best position for either a wild card or the NL Central crown. Their 3-1 win over San Diego Tuesday was their 11th win in their last 12 games. With the Cubs dropping a 4-2 decision to the Reds, the Brewers and Cubs are two games behind St. Louis in the division, after the Cardinals lost, 6-2, to the Nationals.
Washington has a 1 1/2-game lead in the first wild card position and finishes up their three-game series with the Cardinals Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis. Max Scherzer goes to the mound for the Nets, with Adam Wainwright going up the hill for St. Louis.
The Cardinals and Cubs have the toughest roads to the playoffs, playing each other seven times in the closing days. Milwaukee has two more home games with the Padres, then three at home against the Pirates. They finish the season on the road, with three games each in Cincinnati and Colorado.
Washington has the most exotic down-the-stretch schedule after finishing up in St. Louis. They have Thursday off and play three over the weekend in Miami. Then they return home for an eight-game home stand, playing the Phillies five times before ending the regular season hosting Cleveland for three games. The Phillies are still on the fringe of the playoff picture, but the Indians are likely to still be in the AL wild card race until those final games.
