J.D. Martinez, Boston Tear Up Nationals; Chris Taylor, Max Muncy Propel Dodgers Past Pirates

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 3, 2018

American League

Martinez: Plenty of pop

Boston leads the Yankees in the AL East by one game with the best record in the majors at 58-29.

A large contributor to their success has been the play of right fielder, J.D. Martinez, who is tearing up the major leagues, leading in home runs (26), RBI (71) with a .325 average, fourth in the AL and sixth overall.

In Boston's 11-4 Tuesday thumping of Washington, Martinez drove in a pair with a single as the Red Sox blew the game open with six fifth-inning runs. He capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth, sending the home town fans away unhappy.

The win was Boston's ninth in their last 12 games, and sent Washington to their fourth straight defeat and 17th in their last 23.

The series wraps up on Wednesday at the odd 11:05 am EDT game time, as Nationals' Park will be readied after the game as the staging area for the Capitol's 4th of July fireworks.

National League

Max Muncy

In their relentless pursuit of first place Arizona (4-2 winners over St. Louis), he LA Dodgers banged out six home runs against the visiting Pirates for an 8-3 victory in game two of their three-game series.

Chris Taylor

Five of those long balls were given up by Pirates' starter, Ivan Nova, who was rocked for nine hits and seven earned runs over five-plus innings, the final insult delivered by Yasmani Grandal with none out in the sixth.

Chris Taylor fell a single short of hitting for the cycle, with a double, triple and a two run homer. Max Muncy singled and swatted a pair of home runs - both solo shots - in four at-bats, putting his season's total at an even 20, with 38 RBI.

Muncy, acquired from Oakland in 2017, didn't get into the Dodgers lineup until mid-April, but he's proven to be a gamer, capable of playing multiple infield positions (mostly second and third base). He's been solid in 63 games this season.

The Dodgers will be looking for a sweep on Wednesday. Game time is 5:10 pm PDT.

Chris Taylor, Kenley Jansen Power 3-1 Dodger Win, Force Game Seven With Astros

Players of the Day for Tuesday, October 31, 2017

World Series

Taylor: RBI Double

Chris Taylor's sixth-inning double off Houston starter, Justin Verlander, sent Austin Barnes to the plate, tying the game at a run apiece in game six of the World Series. Chase Utley moved to third on the play, and scored when Corey Saeger nearly left the yard, lifting a long fly ball to the wall in right field. Josh Reddick calmly made the catch, but had no chance to get Utley, who tagged up and scored on the sac fly.

Jansen: 2IP, 0H, 3K, 0ER

An inning later, an ebullient Joc Pederson added insurance with a solo home run and closer Kenley Jansen made the runs stand up with two perfect innings in relief for the 3-1 victory over Houston, tying the series at three games each, setting up a fitting final game seven.

Houston's only run came in the third inning on a home run by George Springer, his fourth of the series, but that was all the Astros could produce, despite scoring chances in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Taylor's double was his only hit of the game. He's batting .259 with three homers and seven RBI in the post-season. Jansen, who was saddled with the loss in game five, was nothing short of brilliant, throwing 18 of 19 pitches for strikes against the six batters he faced, striking out three. It was Jansen's second save of the series and fifth in the post-season. Jansen was tied with Colorado's Greg Holland for the National League regular season lead in saves with 41.

The baseball season will officially end sometime late Wednesday night at the conclusion of game seven. First pitch is slated for 8:09 pm ET at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Manny Machado Grand Slam Lifts O's Over Angels; Chris Taylor Leads Dodgers To 5th Straight

Players of the Day for Friday, August 18, 2017

American League

Machado: 3HR, GS, 7RBI

Baltimore remained a serious contender in the wild card hunt with a wild, 9-7 win over the LA Angels on Manny Machado's dramatic, walk-off grand slam, his third home run of the game.

Machado socked a two-run homer in the third inning, adding a solo shot in the fifth, but his power display still wasn't enough, as the Orioles went scoreless in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, trailing the Angels at Camden Yards, 7-5.

In the ninth, Angel reliever Yusmeiro Petit got one out, but left with runners aboard first and second for Kenyan Middleton. After allowing a single by Tim Beckham to land the bases, Machado continued his mashing, sending the ball deep into the center field stands to the cheers of the partisan Baltimore crowd.

Machado, who drove in seven of Baltimore's nine runs, has been on a tear in August. Riding a six-game hitting streak, the Oriole third baseman is batting .360 for the month, with eight home runs and 28 RBI. He has 26 home runs and 81 RBI after a slow start.

The win put the Orioles two games behind the Angels, who are currently tied with the Twins for the second wild card. The Yankees lead the wild card standings by 3 1/2 games.

Baltimore can do itself more good in games two and three of their series with the Angels. Game two is scheduled for Saturday night, a 7:05 pm ET start.

Taylor: 4-for-5, 2 RBI

National League

Just in case the LA Dodgers need extra hitters in their already power-laden lineup, the team that's leading the NL West by a shocking 19 games activated slugger Adrian Gonzalez for the disabled list on Friday, where he's been since June 11.

In his first at-bat in his first game back, Gonzalez lashed a double and scored for LA on Chris Taylor's second inning double as part of a four-run rally that put the Dodgers on a path to an 8-5 win over the homesteading Tigers.

While Gonzalez went hitless the rest of the game, Taylor, batting from the leadoff spot, Taylor would produce three more hits, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and a pair of singles, two RBI, a run and his 14th stolen base of the season.

In his first full season with the Dodgers (traded from Seattle last season), Taylor has become the go-to utility fill-in, playing left and center field, shortstop, second, and third base at various times this year. On Friday, Taylor was at short for the fifth time this season. On the year, he's batting .310, with 17 home runs, 58 RBI and 69 runs.

The Dodgers, winners of five straight, play game two of the three-game series in Detroit Saturday at 4:05 pm ET.

Ricky Nolasco Shuts Out Mariners In 4-0 Angels' Win; Rich Hill, Chris Taylor Lead Dodgers Past Padres

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 1, 2017

American League

In his 12 seasons as a major leaguer, Ricky Nolasco has been around, playing for no less than five different teams, but the last time he's finished with a winning record was when he went coastal in 2013, logging a 13-11 record playing for the Marlins (5-8) and Dodgers (8-3).

Nolasco: CG Shutout

At 4-9, Nolasco may or may not finish over .500 this season, though his last two outings argue that he's headed in the right direction. On June 26, Nolasco threw five scoreless innings against the Dodgers in a 4-0 win. On Saturday, he upped his scoreless inning string to 14 with a complete game shutout, as the Angels moved a game over .500 (43-42) with another 4-0 win, this time over the visiting Mariners.

Scattering a mere three hits over the nine frames, Nolasco needed struck out seven and didn't issue a walk. All the Mariners could muster in terms of offense were three harmless singles, one each in the second, fifth and eighth innings. Only one runner even made it to second base. Nolasco is 112-112 in his MLB career.

The win didn't help the Angels in the West division standings as the Astros rallied for a 7-6 win over the Yankees, but the Angels are only a game out of the second wild card slot behind the Yankees (+2), Rays, and Twins.

Being early July, it's probably premature to be looking at wild card standings, though in the case of the AL West, Houston's 13 1/2 game lead does appear insurmountable. Nolasco and his Angels may be prudent to keep trudging forward, especially with Mike Trout due to return shortly from the 10-day disabled list.

Hill: 7 IP, 0 ER, 11 K

Evening the series at a game apiece, the Angels and Mariners play the rubber game Sunday, at 12:37 PT.

National League

Taylor: Grand Slam

Opening the month of July as hot as they ended June, the LA Dodgers won their third straight with a 8-0 whitewash of San Diego.

While his teammates were building a healthy lead, Dodger starter Rich Hill was blanking the hapless Padres over seven innings.

Hill struck out 11, walked one, allowed four hits, throwing 69 of 92 pitches for strikes. After Chris Taylor swatted a grand slam in the top of the seventh, Hill returned for one more frame and then headed to the bench. Taylor finished 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBI.

With the huge lead, Brock Stewart worked a hitless eighth and ninth innings for the win, which kept the Dodgers 3 1/2 ahead of the Diamondbacks in the NL West. Hill improved to 5-4, dropping his ERA to 4.00.

LA will be seeking the three-game sweep of the Padres when they return to Petco Park Sunday, 1:40 pm PT.