Brewers Bounce Back vs. Cubs On Christian Yellich HR; Brendan McKay Leads Rays Over Jays

Players of the Day for Friday, September 6, 2019

American League

McKay fanned 7 vs. Jays

There are no superstars on the Tampa Bay Rays. Most baseball fans would be hard-pressed to name three or four of their starting position players. As for pitchers, the Rays use them all, deploying a new approach, using an "opener" instead of a starter, who normally will pitch just one or two innings.

The strategy has worked so well for the Rays that other teams have adopted it, along with Tampa Bay's infield shifts. Most of the Rays' radical style has come from their upstart manager, Kevin Cash, who's guided the Rays since 2014 and has them in the top wild card position this season.

Tamps won for the eighth time in its last nine games, setting the tone with opening pitcher, Brendan McKay, who allow just one hit and fanned seven in 3 2/3 innings, en route to a 5-0 win over the visiting Blue Jays.

McKay has worked just 39 1/3 innings, but has struck out 48. Like most Tampa hurlers, the 23-year-old lefty is employed in a variety of situations.

Tampa Bay is a game up on Oakland in the wild card race, with Cleveland next, 1 1/2 out.

The Rays will look to take their third straight from Toronto on Saturday. The four-game series concludes Sunday.

National League

Yelich Socks 44th HR

Don't go sticking a fork in the Milwaukee Brewers just yet. They're not done.

Bouncing back with a 7-1 win over the Cubs after losing the first of their four-game series, 10-5, Milwaukee remained very much alive in the wild card chase, though time is running out on all teams, with three weeks and roughly 20-23 games remaining.

Zach Davies held the Cubs to one run over five innings, and Christian Yelich ripped his 44th home run of the season to power the victory.

Yelich's three-run homer in the third off Chicago starter, Cole Hamels, put the Brewers up, 3-1. They added another run in the frame and posted single runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth.

Yelich also singled twice, remaining within striking distance of the league lead in batting. At .326 - the exact average with which he took the NL batting title in 2018 - he's fourth, toiling Washington's Anthony Rendon, who leads with a .338 average. Yelich is tied with LA's Cody Bellinger in the home run race. Both are one behind Mets' rookie Pete Alonso, who has 45 blasts.

The Brewers are four games behind the Cubs in the race for the second wild card, and are tied with the Phillies and Mets, each with identical 72-68 records. Arizona, winners of 10 of their last 11, is in the best position, trailing the Cubs by 2 1/2 games.

Game three of the Cubs-Brewers series is slated for a 7:10 pm start, Saturday in Milwaukee.

Brewers Top Nats in 14, Christian Yelich Homers Twice; Rays Win In 13 Thanks to Ryan Yarbrough, Michael Brosseau

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 17, 2019

American League

Yarbrough: 6 1/3 scoreless

With fewer than 40 games left to play, Tampa Bay probably isn't going to catch the Yankees in the AL East, but they they do have their sights set on a wild card spot. The Rays are in the #2 spot, one game behind Cleveland, after their 1-0, 13-inning win over Detroit and some help from the Yankees, who dropped the Indians, 6-5, on Saturday.

Brosseau: game-winner

In a game which yielded fewer hits than innings, Ryan Yarbrough fanned 10 and allowed three hits over 6 1/3 innings, followed by a parade of five Tampa hurlers who didn't allow the Tigers another his for the next 6 2/3 innings.

Tiger starter, Jordan Zinmmerman, gave up just one hit in five innings, but his effort went for naught. In the bottom of the 13th, Michael Brosseau laced a drive to the warning track in the right-center gap that plated Eric Sogard with the game-winner.

Tampa Bay took the win after dropping a 2-0 decision in the series opener with the visiting Tigers. The teams will play the rubber game at 1:10 pm ET Sunday.

The Rays have won 13 of their last 17, and have just a 1/2-game advantage over the Oakland A's, who have taken down the Astros three straight, including Saturday's 8-4 victory. Oakland has drawn within 6 1/2 of the Astros in the West. Boston remains alive in the wild card, but are 6 1/2 games behind the Rays.

National League

Yelich: 5-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI

Locked into the fierce National League wild card struggle, the Brewers and Nationals played the second of a three-game series Saturday in Washington.

Following a relatively mundane, 2-1, win by the Nationals on Friday, game two was a baseball extravaganza, featuring 19 pitchers, 11 home runs, and 38 hits in a 14-inning, 14-13 Milwaukee win.

Eric Thames provided the winning blow, with a two-run homer in the top of the 14th inning. His only hit of the day was enough to hold off the Nationals in the final frame, in which Adam Eaton scored an unearned run, but that was all they would get off Brewer reliever, Junior Guerra, who picked up the win (7-4).

Ironically, the loss was saddled by Washington's Javy Guerra (1-1), who fanned five over three innings of work, but surrendered four hits and three earned runs. The two Guerra's are unrelated. Junior hails originally from Venezuela while Javy is Mexican.

While Thames' blast proved decisive, it was Christian Yelich who provided much of the opportunity. Yelich went 5-fot-6 with a pair of home runs, three singles, four RBI and three runs. He singled in two runs in the third and socked solo homers in the ninth and 13th innings.

His effort put him atop the NL batting leaders at .333 ad tied him with LA's Cody Bellinger with 41 home runs. His 89 RBI are close to the leaders. Currently, Freddie Freeman (Atlanta), Eduardo Escobar (Arizona) and Josh Bell (Pittsburgh) are tied for the lead at 98.

The game's result left the Nationals clinging to a 1 1/2-game edge in the wild card with the Cubs holding the second spot. Philadelphia and Milwaukee are a game behind Chicago, the Mets two back, the Giants 2 1/2 out.

With the series tied at a game apiece the Nat and Brewers will wrap it up Sunday at 1:35 pm ET.

NOTES: YES, HE DID IT AGAIN. Aristides Aquino homered again, his 11th in his first 17 games. Oddly enough, Aquino stuck out in his one 2018 at-bat, but has been sensational this season, batting .345 with 22 RBI.

Yankees' Mike Tauchman Belts a Pair In Baltimore; Christian Yelich Homers Twice as Brewers Top Pirates

Players of the Day for Monday, August 5, 2019

American League

Tauchman socks 2 HRs

After dusting off the Red Sox four straight in New York, the Yankees opened a three-game series down the road in Baltimore and did what they usually do when in Maryland, pummel the last place Orioles, winning with a barrage of home runs, 9-6.

Wracked with injuries, the Yankees have relied on call-ups from their AAA affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for healthy bodies. One such player is Mike Tauchman, an accomplished outfield who is also proving that he can handle a bat pretty well.

Tauchman belted two of the Yankees' five home runs, a solo shot in the sixth and a two-run blast in the ninth. Tauchman also singled, going 3-for-4 on the night.

As a frequent fill-in, Tauchman is batting .294 with nine homers and 34 RBI in 170 at-bats.

The victory was the sixth straight for the Yankees, who lead the AL East by nine games over Tampa Bay. The Orioles host game two of the series Tuesday night, 7:05 pm ET.

National League

Yelich: 39 HRs leads MLB

Christian Yelich bookended a pair of solo home runs - one in the first inning and another in the ninth - taking over the major league lead with 39, helping the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.

Yelich also singled twice, boosting his batting average to .336, locking him into a battle with the Met's Jeff McNeil and LA's Cody Bellinger.

The win snapped a four game losing streak for Milwaukee, including being swept by the Cubs in Chicago over the weekend, leaving the Brewers four games out in the NL Central, behind the Cubs and the Cardinals, who are 2 1/2 off the pace.

While Milwaukee's recent woes haven't knocked them completely out of contention in the division, the Brewers now sit fourth in the wild card, two games behind the Nationals and Phillies, currently sharing the top spot.

Yelich, meanwhile, is backing up his 2018 NL MVP award with another outstanding season. In addition to his 39 homers, he's driven in 74 runs and has a solid shot at repeating as the league's batting champion.

Milwaukee will look to make it two straight in Pittsburgh when they face the Pirates, Tuesday, 7:05 pm ET.

Christian Yelich Leads Brewers Over Rockies; Max Muncy's 3-Run Homer Enough For Dodgers' Win Over Braves

Players of the Day for Thursday, October 4, 2018

National League

Yelich stars again

Milwaukee's 3-2 win over Colorado took 10 innings but when Mike Moustakas singled home the game winner, guess who scored the winning run?

Who else? It was none other than Christian Yelich skipping home run Milwaukee's third run after he had walked to open the inning, took second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on Curtis Granderson's fielder's choice.

Not only did Yelich reach base safely four of the five times he appeared at the plate, he was also responsible for the Brewers' first two runs, socking a third-inning, two-run homer which, until the ninth inning, had held up.

The Rockies plated a pair of runs in the ninth inning to tie the game, but Yelich and Moustakas made sure their hard work didn't go for naught.

The win gives the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series, with game two slated for Friday, 4:15 pm ET.

Muncy: 3-run homer

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In Los Angeles, the Dodgers grabbed game one from the visiting Braves, 6-0.

Max Muncy's three-run homer in the second inning provided more than enough runs for LA, as Hyun-Jin Ryu worked seven scoreless innings, giving up just four hits, fanning eight Braves.

Muncy had 35 homers and 79 RBI during the regular season. Braves hurlers couldn't deal with the second year first baseman, walking him the other three times he appeared at the dish.

Game two is Friday, 9:37 pm ET.

American League

There were no games in the American League on Thursday. The two division series open on Friday with Cleveland at Houston at 2:05 pm ET and the Yankees at Boston at 7:32 pm ET.

Christian Yelich Leads Brewers Over Cards, Closes Gap On Cubs; Gary Sanchez Powers Yankees Past Rays

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 25, 2018

American League

Sanchez: 2-for-4, HR, 4RBI

Yankees' catcher, Gary Sanchez, broke out of a mammoth slump with a three-run homer and an RBI single as the Yankees improved their chances of hosting the AL wild card game with a 9-2 victory at Tampa Bay.

Sanchez capped a seven-run third inning uprising by the Yankees with his 17th home run, then singled home Giancarlo Stanton in the fifth.

Entering the game, Sanchez was 1-for-27 over his last eight games, his average dropping to a pathetic .180.

The win moved the Yankees 2 1/2 games better than the A's in the wild card race. Oakland lost, 10-8, in 11 innings at Seattle on Chris Herrmann's two-run, walk-off homer.

The Yankees have five games left to play, Oakland, four. New York needs any combination of two wins or two Oakland losses to wrap up the top wild card and home field for the single elimination playoff game.

The Yankees - winners of four of their last five - play game three of their four-game set at Tampa Wednesday at 7:10 pm. Oakland wraps up its series in Seattle on Wednesday.

National League

Yelich: 3B, HR, 6 RBI

With the regular season expiring on Sunday, there were some big changes in National League division and wild card races, most of them centered on Milwaukee's 12-4 thrashing of the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Christian Yelich - in search of his first batting title - banged out two big hits for the Brewers and drove in a career-high six runs. In the fourth inning, Yellich's bases-loaded triple blew open the game, putting the Brewers up by a 6-0 score. The Brewers added one in the fifth and two in the eight before Yelich struck again in the ninth, this time clearing the wall in center field with his 33rd home run, a three-run shot, putting him among the leaders with 33 homers and 104 RBI.

The way Yelich has been going in September, the batting title may not be all he's going to get. A trip to the playoffs is a virtual lock and an MVP award could be in his bright future. Yelich leads the league in batting with a .321 average, his 33 homers are three behind leader Matt Carpenter, with a logjam of players in the mix. Four have 34 homers, and five - including Yelich - have 33. His 104 RBI is good for fourth, behind Chicago's Javier Baez's 110. Jesus Aguilar and Nolan Arenado each have 105.

The September numbers for Yelich are off the charts. He's batting .346 (28-for-81) with seven homers and a whopping 28 RBI.

Milwaukee (91-67) now leads Colorado by 3 1/2 games for the top wild card. St. Louis (87-71) dropped a half-game behind Colorado for the second NL wild card after the Rockies routed Philadelphia 10-3. Better yet for the Brewers was Pittsburgh's 6-0 win at Chicago. Chris Archer blanked the Cubs for six innings and a pair of relievers finished them off. That left the Brewers 1/2 game behind the Cubs in the division race with four games to play. The Cubs (91-66) have five games remaining.

After taking the first two in St. Louis, Milwaukee will be looking for the series sweep when they take the field in St. Louis, Wednesday, 7:00 pm EDT.

In the West, Colorado is now in the second wild card spot, 1/2 game ahead of the Cardinals, but also trail the Dodgers by a mere 1/2-game in the division race. LA dropped a 4-3 decision at Arizona.

Christian Yelich Hits For Cycle Again Vs. Reds; Daniel Vogelbach's Pinch-Hit Grand Slam Carries Mariners Past Astros

Players of the Day for Monday, September 17, 2018

American League

Vogelbach slams Astros

At 6'0", 250 pounds, 25-year-old Daniel Vogelbach can put a charge into a baseball.

On Monday, the rookie first baseman unleashed a shot that sent Houston fans home unhappy, launching an eighth-inning grand slam that eviscerated the Astros' 1-0 lead and kept Seattle's slim post-season hopes alive with a 4-1 victory at Houston.

Vogelbach, a call-up a various points this season, socked his second homer in as many nights. On Sunday, he crushed a two-run shot in Seattle's loss to the Angels. On the year, he has four home runs and 13 RBI in 72 at-bats. In 84 games with triple-A Tacoma this season, Vogelbach mashed 20 homers with 60 RBI.

The rookie's rocket shot - a lifting liner to right-center - probably won't matter in the wild card race. The Mariners fell apart in late August and early September when they lost 12 of 19 games. They trail the Athletics by seven games for the second wild card but have only 12 games remaining. The A's were idle Monday.

Seattle continues its three-game series with the Astros on Tuesday. Game time is 8:10 pm EDT.

National League

Yelich: 2nd cycle of season

Every baseball season has its own special moments. In the ongoing series between the Reds and Brewers, fans have the opportunity to see the batting title disputed in real time as the two leading hitters, Cincinnati's Scooter Gennett and Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, ply their trades in each at bat.

In Monday's 8-0 Milwaukee whitewash, the drama was palpable. While the Brewers ran up the score, Yelich thrived at the plate while Gennett saw his lead whittled away as the night progressed.

While Gennett finished the game 1-for-3, Yellich had a monumental night at the plate, going 4-for-4, hitting for the cycle, driving in four runs. Yelich, who has been in the hunt for the batting title since the all star break, singled in the first inning, doubled in the third, socked a two-run homer in the fifth, and capped off his night with a two-run triple in the sixth.

Having already completed the cycle and the game in hand, Hernan Perez pinch-hit for Yelich in the eighth.

Yelich's cycle was the second time he's done it in three weeks, both times against the Reds. He went 6-for-6 in a 13-12 comeback victory on Aug. 29 at Cincinnati, making him the fifth player to turn the trick twice in one season -- and first in Brewers history. He's also the only player in major league history to hit for the cycle twice in one season against the same team.

Yellich still has his work cut out for him as concerns the batting title. Gennett still leads, but by the narrowest of margins. His average is .318182 (175-for-550), compared to Yelich's .317757 (170-for-535).

After finishing July with a 15-game hitting streak, Yellich has carried a big bat through August and into September, batting .307 in August and .321 so far this month. On the season, he has 31 homers and 93 RBI, making him a prime candidate for MVP honors.

Milwaukee's win kept them firmly in the cat bird's seat, 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the NL Central, but also leading the wild card by three games over the Cardinals and 3 1/2 over the Rockies. The series with the Reds continues Tuesday and Wednesday in Milwaukee with the post-season and the batting title on the line.

Christian Yelich Leads Brewers In Chase of Cubs; Mike Trout 5-for-5 As Angels Whip White Sox

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 8, 2018

American League

Trout: 5-for-5, 2HR, 5RBI

Even though the Angels are out of contention for the post-season, Mike Trout is still putting up some impressive numbers.

Trout went 5-for-5 with two home runs, five RBI and three runs as the Angels defeated the White Sox, 12-3. Trout's homer was his 33rd of the season. He is batting .316 with 68 RBI. The LA outfielder is fourth in the AL in batting and tied for sixth in home runs with Giancarlo Stanton and Francisco Lindor.

Elsewhere, the west division leader, Houston, won their seventh straight, knocking off Boston at Fenway Park for the second straight game, 5-3. The Astros can't seem to shake off the A's, who have won three straight and are 3 1/2 back in the division. The Yankees were also winners on Saturday, defeating the Mariners in Seattle, 4-2. New York is 7 1/2 behind the Red Sox in the AL East and holds the top spot in the wild card race, 3 1/2 better than the A's.

Houston wraps up it's series in Boston, and the Yanks will be looking to sweep the Mariners Sunday.

National League

Yelich: .316, 28HR, 86RBI

Much like the famous line from the movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the Chicago Cubs may be looking over their shoulders at the Milwaukee Brewers, asking, "who are those guys?"

After dropping two games to the Washington Nationals, the Cubs' lead in the NL Central has dwindled to 2 1/2 games after Christian Yelich and the Brewers defeated the Giants, 4-3.

Who is Christian Yelich? He's the Brewers' 26-year-old left fielder who just happens to be second in the league in batting at .316 (behind Cincinnati's Scooter Gennett, .317), with 28 homers (tied for 11th with teammate Travis Shaw) and 86 RBI (tied for 9th with Philadelphia's Ryhs Hoskins).

Yellich and Shaw both homered in the Milwaukee win, backing 5 2/3 shutout innings by starting pitcher, Gio Gonzalez (8-11). It was Gonzalez's first start for the Brewers after his separation from the Washington Nationals.

The Brewers have taken two straight at home from the Giants and will be looking for the series sweep when they take the field Sunday at

Stephen Piscotty Drives In Five As A's Drop Mariners; Milwaukee Retakes Second Place As Christian Yelich Socks Grand Slam

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 2, 2018

American League

Piscotty: 2 HR, 5 RBI

Stephen Piscotty smacked a pair of home runs, propelling the Oakland A's to an 8-2 victory over the visiting Seattle Mariners.

The win earned a 2-2 split between the AL West rivals and helped the A's keep pace with the Astros, 4-2 winners over the Angels Sunday. Oakland trails Houston by 2 1/2 games. Seattle is eight games back. With the Yankees losing 11-7 to Detroit, Oakland picked up a game in the wild card chase. They are 4 1/2 behind the Yankees, in the second wild card spot.

Piscotty got the A's on the board in the fifth, tying the game with a solo shot. A sac fly in the sixth made the score 5-1 and his three-run belt in the eighth finished off Oakliand's scoring. Piscotty's five RBI upped his season total to 64. The homers were numbers 20 and 21 for the A's right fielder.

Oakland remains home on Monday, welcoming in the Yankees for a three game series which may impact the wild card race significantly. Game one is scheduled for a 4:00 pm EDT start.


National League

Yelich: Grand Slam

Just five days after hitting for the cycle, Milwaukee's Christian Yelich helped the Brewers retake second place from St. Louis with a grand slam in a 9-4 victory at Washigton.

Yelich got to the plate with the bases full in the fifth inning, after the Brewers had already plated three runs in the frame on Keon Broxton's three-run blast.

Yelich's .316 batting average is second best in the National League behind Cincinnati's Scooter Gennett's .319. The Brewer's outfielder has 27 home runs and 81 RBI on the year. The grand slam was the first of his career.

Milwaukee's win boosted the team past the Cardinals in the NL Central, five games behind the Cubs. Milwaukee also took over the top wild card slot as St. Louis lost to the Reds in 10 innings, 6-4.

The Brewers head home Monday for the first of three critical games with the Cubs. Game time is 2:10 pm EDT.

Christian Yelich Hits For Cycle In Wild Brewers Win; Ryan LaMarre Leads White Sox Past Yankees

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 29, 2018

LaMarre: 3-for-4, HR, 4RBI

American League

The Yankees schedule the past three weeks couldn't have been much easier, but somehow the Chicago White Sox nearly swept them, taking two of three at Yankees Stadium with Wednesday's 4-1 victory.

While Reynaldo Lopez (5-9) was holding the Yanks to one run on five hits over seven innings, Ryan LaMarre was taking care of business at the plate, driving in all four Chicago runs.

LaMarre doubled twice and homered in four at-bats. In 16 games with the White Sox he's batting .364 with two homers and seven RBI.

The 26-year-old had already played for Cincinnati, Boston, Oakland and Minnesota over four years before joining the White Sox mid-season.

Chicago is hopelessly out of contention, but the Yankees dropped back to 7 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East. With both Oakland and Seattle losing, New York still has a comfortable, 4 1/2-game bulge over the A's in the wild card race. Seattle is 10 games back.

The Yankees host four games with Detroit beginning Thursday.

National League

Yelich hits for cycle

The 11,777 fans who went out to see game two of the three-game series between the Reds and Brewers at Great American Ball Park certainly got their money's worth for the price of admission.

After a 27-minute rain delay to start the game, they witnessed a 10-inning, 13-12 win by the Brewers featuring a combined total of 36 hits, scoring in every inning except the third and ninth, and Christian Yelich going 6-for-6 while hitting for the cycle.

The Brewers won it when Jesus Aguilar socked a solo homer in the top of the 10th and Erik Kratz singled home Hernan Perez. They needed both runs because Brandon Dixon hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning.

Yelich did everything besides throw batting practice. In the first inning, he singled and scored. In the second, he legged out an infield single. His two-run homer in the fifth gave the Brewers a short-lived 4-3 lead. Yelich doubled in the sixth and tripled in the seventh inning, driving in Lorenzo Cain, to complete the cycle. In the ninth, he got his sixth hit, another infield single, finishing with three RBI and two runs. He also played both left and right field.

Yelich, 26, came to Milwaukee from Miami following the 2017 season. He's leading the National League with a .319 batting average, to go with 26 home runs, 75 RBI and 14 stolen bases.

Milwaukee's win moved them to within five games of the Cubs in the central division. St. Louis is 4 1/2 back in second place and also holds the top wild card slot.

The Brewers will look to take the series when they meet up with the Reds on Thursday. Game time is 12:35 pm EDT.

Ehire Adrianza Leads Twins Over Orioles; Christian Yelich Keeps Brewers On Top Of Cactus League

Players of the Day for Saturday, March 24, 2018

Grapefruit League

Ehire Adrianza

In 2017, the Twins were one of the surprise teams, hanging close enough in the AL Central to capture a wild card berth into the playoffs. Minnesota was almost even with the Indians until the tribe went on their record-setting winning streak in September, leaving the Twins 17 games back.

Minnesota still has the makings of a contender despite a lackluster Spring. Their 12-4 romp over the Orioles on Saturday evened their record at 13-13.

Getting the Twins off to a fast start was shortstop Ehire Adrianza, with a solo homer in the first inning, followed by a two-run double in the second, both hits coming off Baltimore starter, Chris Tillman, who was rocked for six earned runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Adrianza has limited major league experience, but is likely to be riding the Minnesota bench during the regular season as a utility infielder, part-time starter, pinch runner and pinch-hitter. After parts of four seasons with San Francisco, the 28-year-old Venezuelan played 70 games with Minnesota in 2017, batting .265 with two home runs and 24 RBI, but, more importantly, stole eight bases in nine attempts.

Cactus League

Chris Yelich

With a 10-5 road victory over Oakland, the Milwaukee Brewers moved one step closer to cementing themselves as the best team in Arizona this Spring.

The win kept them two games ahead of a trio of pursuers - San Diego, Cleveland, and the Cubs - with three games left to play before breaking for the regular season.

The Brewers took little time to take the edge over the A's, as leadoff batter Christian Yelich whacked a solo home run to start the game and followed up with a bases-loaded double in the second inning, clearing the deck for a 4-0 lead. The next batter, Lorenzo Cain, singled Yelich home for a 5-0 advantage and the rout was on.

Yelich, who is carrying a .356 preseason average, finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs. Traded from Miami to Milwaukee in the off-season, Yelich will likely start in center field for the Brewers, the same position he held in Miami. An all-purpose player, Yelich can hit leadoff or just about anywhere else in the lineup. A career .290 hitter over five seasons, Yellich last year socked 18 home runs and drove in 81 with 16 stolen bases.