Martin Maldonado Powers Houston Back Into 1st Place; Clay Buchholz, Paul Goldschmidt Lead Arizona Past Angels

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 22, 2018

American League

Houston took back sole possession of first place in the AL West with a 10-7 win at Seattle while the A's were losing, 4-2, to Texas.

Martin Maldonado

The Astros nearly gave the game away. After leading 8-0 after four, they allowed the Mariners to score multiple runs and end the sixth inning down 9-7. Tyler White, who was 3-for-5, socked a solo homer in the ninth to finish the scoring.

Martin Maldonado, acquired from the Angels in late July, singled, doubled and homered in four at-bats, leading the Astros with three RBI. In August, Maldonado is hitting .303, with three homers, eight RBI and 11 runs.

Houston had been stumbling with two of its stars, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, on the bench earlier in the month, but both have returned to the 2017 champs. The Astros are just 9-9 in August, but have won two straight and three of their last four. They open a three-game series at the LA Angels Friday.

National League

Paul Goldschmidt

Arizona won its third straight, knocking off the visiting LA Angels, 6-1, maintaining a 1 1/2-game lead over the Rockies in the NL West. Colorado took down the Padres, 6-2.

On the mound, Clay Buchholz was solid, hurling seven innings of shutout ball for his seventh win against two losses.

Clay Buchholz

Buchholz, who spent much of the season on the DL, won for the sixth time in his last seven starts, allowed four hits, no walks, and struck out seven.

Offensively, Paul Goldschmidt got the Diamondbacks started with his 29th homer of the season in the first inning, a two-run shot. He later added a single and double, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two RBI.

The Diamondbacks have won six of their last seven and are beginning to open some space in the contentious division race. The Dodgers, 3-1 losers to the Cardinals, are in third place, 4 1/2 games back.

Arizona has Thursday off and hosts a three-game series with Seattle over the weekend.

Clay Buchholz Goes Three Hitless Innings in Red Sox Win; Nolan Arenado Drives Rockies to First Win of Spring

Players of the Day for Saturday, March 7, 2015

Buchholz: 3 hitless

Grapefruit League

The Boston Red Sox evened their Grapefruit League record at 2-2 with a 4-2 win over Minnesota, as Clay Buchholz got his Spring off to a solid start with three innings of hitless ball. Buchholz, hampered last season by injury which limited him to an 8-11 record - his worst as a major leaguer - struck out four while issuing just one walk.

Boston, which was one of the weaker offensive teams in the 2014 campaign, scored all of their runs in single fashion, getting one tally in each of the third, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. David Ortiz and newly-arrived Pablo Sandoval each had one RBI in the win.

Buchholz finished last season with a 5.34 ERA, but enters the new year with a solid record of 66 wins versus 44 losses.

Cactus League

Arenado: 3-run HR

Getting their first win of the year after three consecutive losing efforts, the Colorado Rockies are giving Nolan Arenado a close inspection after the got them off to a hot start with a three-run, first-inning homer.

The Rockies staff didn't help matters much, giving up late runs, but Colorado held on for the 7-5 victory over the Cubs (0-3).

Arenado, who played in 111 games last season for the Rockies, hit 18 homers and drove in 61 runs as their regular third baeman for much of the season.

He looks to have the spot in hand for the 2015 season, and will likely bat in the high middle of the lineup, possibly filling the #3 spot, ahead of slugger Justin Morneau.

Adding a double and scoring, Arenado went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs.

In 244 games, Arenado has produced a .278 batting average over two seasons.

Matt Holliday Powers Cards to Top in NL Central; Pablo Sandoval, Hunter Pence Rip in 15-5 Giants' Win; Clay Buchholz Goes Distance

Players of the Day for Sunday, August 31, 2014

American League

Buchholz: 3-hit ShO

Sadly, Clay Buchholz's 3-hit shutout of the Rays will not be remembered in the annals of great Boston performances, as the Red Sox have long since fallen out of contention, their 60-76 record leaving them 19 1/2 back and in last place in the AL East.

Buchholz did everything right in Boston's 3-0 victory, getting 23 first-pitch strikes on the 29 batters he faced, throwing 69 of 98 pitches for strikes, fanning six without walking a batter.

It hasn't been the best of season for either the Red Sox or Buchholz, who improved to just 6-8 while lowering his ERA to 5.40.

Buchholz allowed hits in the first, fourth and sixth inning, but, after Jose Molina singled, leading off the sixth, Buchholz mowed down the remaining Tampa hitters in order, getting the last 12 in a row, to finish with a flourish.

Elsewhere in the division, Baltimore extended their lead - the largest in the majors - to nine games over the Yankees with a 12-8 win over the Twins while the Bombers were losing to Toronto, 4-3. In case anyone wants to start counting, the Orioles' magic number to clinch the AL East outright is 19.

Hunter Pence

National League

Matt Holliday

It's getting crowded at the top in the NL Central, West and wild card races.

The Giants completed the three-game sweep of the Brewers with a 15-5 trouncing, pounding a parade of weary Milwaukee pitchers for 16 hits and five bases on balls, dropping the Brewers into a tie for first place in the Central division with the Cardinals, 9-2 winners over the Cubs.

Pablo Sandoval

Leading the Giants were Hunter Pence, who singled, doubled twice, tripled, drove in two runs and scored three times in five at-bats, and Pablo Sandoval, who went 3-for-3 with a single, triple and a two-run homer, driving in three. Both players scored three times in the rout, the Giants' sixth straight win, leaving them 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the West but atop the wild card race, with a game edge over either the Brewers or Cardinals. Atlanta trails San Francisco by 2 1/2 in the wild card. Pittsburgh is three out.

In St. Louis, the Cardinals rode the bat of red-hot Matt Holliday, who singled, homered, doubled and drove in four runs in the Cardinals second straight win over the Cubs, splitting the series, two games apiece.

Holliday homered twice on Saturday, has four homers in his last five games and has nine RBI in just his last two games. He has 16 homers and 78 RBI on the season. He's hit safely in nine of his last ten games, going 13-for-40 (.325) with 16 RBI.

As the calendar turns to September, on Monday, all NL contenders oen three-game series. St. Louis stays home to host the Pirates, Milwaukee heads to Colorado, the Brewers go to Chicago to play the Cubs, while the Dodgers host NL East-leading Washington.

The Giants could end the day riding an eight-game win streak, as they will be finishing a game with the Rockies that was suspended with the score tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth inning, from May 22, prior to their regularly-scheduled start. The additional game due the Giants could - in the case of a win - put additional pressure on the Dodgers and the teams battling for the wild card.

Mike Napoli, Clay Buchholz Throttle Blue Jays in 10-1 Win; Jordan Zimmermann Blanks Braves on Two Hits

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 1, 2013

American League

Mike Napoli

When the season opened, a lot of people were hyping the Toronto Blue Jays as the new power team in the AL East, but, the pundits and prognosticators may have been sleeping on the Red Sox. With a versatile lineup and a capable pitching staff, Boston has risen to the top of the heap in the division, with a two-game lead over the Yankees, while the Blue Jays have fallen to the bottom, 9 1/2 games back after Boston throttled them, 10-1, to even their three-game series at a game apiece.

Clay Buchholz

The addition of slugging catcher/DH/first baseman, Mike Napoli, has been a godsend for the Sox. Napoli was 3-for-4 with a double, a pair of homers, four RBI and three runs in the Boston victory. Napoli's homers - his fifth and sixth of the season - were of the epic variety, at 467 and 472 feet, fueling the Boston offense in the rout. His four ribbies gave him the major league lead, at 31, two better than Detroit's Miguel Cabrera.

While the regulars in the lineup were racking up 15 hits off the Toronto staff, Boston starter, Clay Buchholz becamse the first pitcher in the majors to win six games (6-0), holding the Blue Jays to two hits over seven full innings of scoreless ball, walking three and striking out eight.

The 19-8 Red Sox hold the best record in either league. Their series at Toronto finishes up on Thursday, at 7:07 pm EDT.

National League

Jordan Zimmermann

In the first two games of their four-game home series against the Washington Nationals, the Braves came away winners both times, but the Nats turned the tables on them Wednesday night in a game which produced only five hits between the two teams.

Atlanta's Paul Maholm and Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann were locked in early on, but a two run homer by Ian Desmond in the fourth inning produced the only runs of the game, as Zimmermann held the Braves to two hits over eight innings, getting his fifth win against one loss, tying him for the NL lead in victories with St. Louis' Lance Lynn, a 4-2 winner over Cincinnati.

Zimmermann gave up a two-out single to Justin Upton in the first and a one-out double to Maholm in the third. After that it was lights out for the Braves, as Zimmermann set down the next 17 straight, striking out the side in the fifth. He finished with a season high eight Ks and did not issue any walks in the 2-0 victory.

The eight scoreless innings dropped Zimmermann's ERA to 1.64, fourth in the NL.

Rafael Soriano set the Braves down in order in the ninth for his eighth save.

The Nationals will try to even the score in the series and close the 3 1/2 game gap in the standings with the Braves in the series finale, Thursday night at 7:10 pm EDT.

Buchholz Four-Hit Shutout Keeps Red Sox in Hunt; David Freese Homers Twice, Leads Cards over Astros

Players of the Day for Thursday, June 7, 2012

American League

Adrian Gonzalez doubled home a pair of runs in the first inning and that was more than Clay Buchholz would need to end the Red Sox's seven-game home drought to the Orioles in a 7-0 romp.

Clay Buchholz

The Sox added a pair of runs in each of the second and third innings, and one more in the seventh for good measure, avoiding the sweep while keeping up the pressure in the contentious AL East.

With Baltimore losing and Tampa Bay winning, 7-3, over the Yankees, the Rays and O's are once again tied for the top spot in the division. The Yankees are 1/2 game back, Toronto two down and the Sox, despite being in last place, are a mere three games out.

Buchholz (6-2) needed no help form the Boston bullpen, going the distance with a four-hit gem, walking one while fanning six.

It was the right-hander's fourth career complete game and third shutout, his second straight win and clearly his best start of the season. Buchholz has not been in the best of form, carrying an ERA of 5.77, even after the shutout.


National League

Freese: 2HR GS 6RBI

Houston scored single runs in both the first and second innings, but their lead was short-lived, as the Cardinals put up three in the top of the third and piled it on, en route to a 14-2 victory over the home-standing Astros.

David Freese drove in six runs with a grand slam homer in the seventh inning and a two-run bomb in the ninth to lead the charge. Freese has 12 homers on the season. Carlos Beltran delivered his NL-best 16th fence-clearer of the year with a solo shot in the fifth.

St. Louis starter Lance Lynn, who allowed those two early Houston runs, settled in and worked six innings, walking a pair, but striking out 11 for his ninth win, tying Mets' knuckleballer, R.A. Dickey, or the league lead.

By taking the final two games of their three-game series in Houston, the Cardinals drew to within two games of front-running Cincinnati in the NL Central division. The Reds dropped a 5-4, 10-inning decision to the surprising Pirates, who are tied with the Cards in second place.

Boston rookie no-hits O's; Mets top Braves again

American League Baltimore 0 Boston 10 - Less than a week ago, Clay Buchholz was pitching for Pawtucket in the International League. On Saturday night, he became the toast of the American League. Buchholz (right), in just his second major league start, twirled a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles, who lost for the 10th time in their last 11 games and were also recent victims of a 30-3 whipping by the Texas Rangers, so the rookie picked the right night and the right team for his best stuff. The rookie, now 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, wasn't overpowering, but changed speeds well and followed the game plan of catcher Jason Varitek nearly flawlessly, striking out 9 and walking 3 batters. Buchholz was called up on Saturday when teams were allowed to expand their rosters. According to manager Terry Francona, he'll probably stick with the big club for a while. Tampa Bay 6 NY Yankees 9 - Alex Rodriguez socked his major league-leading 45th home run in the first inning - a 2-run job - and added a 2-run double in the 4th to pad his MLB-best RBI total to 129. He also singled, going 3-4 for the night. New York continues to chase Boston in the East, 5 games back, but they now have a 2-game edge in the wild card standings as Seattle has lost 8 straight. Chi White Sox 0 Cleveland 7 - While the Mariners have been a picture of collapse, the Indians have been exactly the opposite, winning 9 in a row and opening up a 5 1/2-game lead on Detroit in the Central. Paul Byrd blanked Chicago with a his second 4-hit complete-game shutout in less than a month. Bryd (14-5) matched his effort of August 6 at Minnesota, when he shut out the Twins, 4-0. Other AL Scores Kansas City 4 Minnesota 6 Seattle 1 Toronto 2 Texas 7 LA Angels 6 Detroit 6 Oakland 1 National League NY Mets 5 Atlanta 1 - A couple of guys named Carlos led the Mets to their second straight win over the fading Braves. Carlos Beltran (right) went 3-4 with a solo homer - his 26th - and scored three times, and Carlos Delgado homered for the 2nd straight game (21), driving in 2 runs. The Mets increased their lead over Philly to 3 games and dropped the Braves to 6 1/2 back. The Mets will try for the sweep on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta. Pittsburgh 3 Milwaukee 12 - Kevin Mench singled, doubled and homered in 3 at-bats, scored four times and drove in 3 runs as the Brewers banged out 15 hits to remain 1 1/2 back of Chicago in the NL Central. Cincinnati 3 St. Louis 11 - The Cardinals made it back to the .500 mark again, and stayed 2 games behind the Cubs. Former pitcher Rick Ankiel went 3-4, drove in 3 runs, scored twice and is batting .354. LA Dodgers 0 San Diego 7 - Jake Peavy struck out 9 and blanked the Dodgers on 2 hits over 7 innings to improve his record to 16-5 and drop his ERA to 2.10, best in the majors. The Padres remained .001 ahead of the Diamondbacks in the NL West race. Colorado 7 Arizona 13 - Arizona scored 12 runs in the first three innings and never looked back. Tony Clark stroked a 3-run homer in the second inning and drove in two more with a single in the third to help keep the D-Backs even with the Padres. Other NL Scores Houston 3 Chi Cubs 4 Philadelphia 6 Florida 12 San Francisco 1 Washington 4