David Price, Steve Pearce Send Red Sox To Ninth Championship With 5-1 Win Over Dodgers

Players of the Day for Sunday, October 28, 2018

World Series Game 5: Boston Red Sox 5 LA Dodgers 1

Pearce: Series MVP

In a fitting end to the 2018 baseball season, the American League's Boston Red Sox thumped the Los Angeles Dodgers, representing the National League, 5-1, ending the World Series, four games to one.

David Price pitched a solid seven-plus innings for the win, allowing one run on three hits, fanning five and walking three, the sole Dodger run coming on the first pitch Price threw to David Freese to open the bottom of the first inning. Freese blasted a Price fastball into the stands in right field.

For the Dodgers, Freese's homer supplied some hope after Steve Pearce rocked LA starter, Clayton Kershaw, for a two-run home run in the top of the first.

Following Freese's home run and a walk to Justin Turner, Price delivered the best mound effort of the series. Starting with a double play to erase Turner and batter Enrique Hernandez, he then struck out Manny Machado to end the inning with Boston holding a slim, one-run lead.

Price: Game 5 winner

Price allowed a single by Yasiel Puig in the second, and a David Freese triple on a misplayed fly ball by J.D. Martinez in the third, after which he set down the Dodgers in order, retiring 14 straight Dodger batters. He was relieved by Joe Kelly after walking Chris Taylor to lead off the Dodger eighth.

By then, however, the lead had grown to 5-1, on solo homers by Mookie Betts in the sixth, Martinez in the seventh, and a second home run by Pearce. Kelly struck out the side in the eighth, and Chris Sale did the same in the ninth, getting Turner, Hernandez and Machado swinging to close out the game, the series and the 2018 season.

In addition to his game two win, Price won his second game of the series and was 3-1 in the post-season with a 3.46 ERA. Steve Pearce was named World Series MVP. During the post-season, he batted .289 with four homers and 11 RBI. In the five games against the Dodgers, he batted .333 (4-for-12) with three home runs and eight RBI.

The Red Sox won 108 games during the regular season, took out the Yankees in four games in the ALDS, and wiped away the Houston Astros in five games in the best-of-seven AL championship series.

Phillies' Aaron Nola Stops Nationals On Five Hits; David Price Blanks Indians In 7-0 Boston Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 23, 2018

American League

Price: 14-5

David Price needed just 101 pitches to blank the visiting Indians on three hits as the Red Sox earned a split in the four-game series with Cleveland. Price dueled with Cleveland starter, Adam Plutko. When the Sox scored five runs in the fifth inning, Price was able to relax and just mow down the opposition. He finished with seven strikeouts, no walks and his 14th win against a mere five losses as Boston won, 7-0.

The Red Sox lead the AL East by 9 1/2 over the Yankees and the Indians have no worries with a 12 game bulge over Minnesota in the Central division.

Boston heads to Tampa Bay on Friday for a weekend, three-game series with the Rays while the Indians continue their road trip with three games in Kansas City.

National League

Nola: 15-3

Trading away Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams earlier in the week, the Washington Nationals' front office signaled that they were throwing in the towel on the 2018 season. Despite the sentiment, the games still have to be played and the players are still going to put in their best efforts.

Such was the case as the Nats looked to sweep the Phillies, sending their ace, Max Scherzer, to the hill Thursday afternoon. Washington had won two straight and entered the game 7 1/2 off the pace being set by Atlanta in the NL East.

Scherzer pitched amazingly well, making just one mistake, giving up a seventh-inning, two-run home run to Odubel Herrera, one of just two hits allowed by Mad Max. Unfortunately, that one mistake was enough to produce a 2-0 win for the visiting Phillies, as Aaron Nola improved to 15-3 by blanking the Nationals over eight innings on five hits and one walk, fanning nine.

Nola won his third straight in as many starts, dropping his ERA to 2.13, tying him with Scherzer at second in the NL behind Jacob deGrom's 1.71. Nola is also second in the league in win. Scherzer leads with 16.

The Phillies ended a four game skid and head to Toronto for a three-game series with the Blue Jays, starting Friday.

Ryan Braun Belts 9th Inning Homer For Brewers; David Price Blanks Rays In Boston Win

Players of the Day for Friday, March 30, 2018

Price: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 5 

American League

The Red Sox earned win number one of the 2018 season with a 1-0 victory at Tampa Bay, as David Price tossed seven scoreless innings.

Price scattered four hits and fanned five, picking up his first win of the new season, throwing 55 of 76 pitches for strikes.

Price, who was 17-9 in 2016, his first season with the Red Sox, slipped to 6-3 last year, as he had only 11 starts due to injury.

The win evened the Red Sox with the Rays at 1-1 with game three set for Saturday at 6:10 pm EDT and game four Sunday at 1:10 pm EDT. New York leads the AL East at 2-0.

National League

Braun: 1-4, HR, 5 RBI

Ryan Braun got his first hit of the season on Friday, but his timing could not have been better, swatting a three-run homer in the top of the ninth leading the Brewers to an 8-6 win over San Diego.

Trailing 6-3 entering the final frame, the Brewers scored a pair of runs before Braun's blast, leaving San Diego winless in two games and the Brewers with a 1/2-game lead over the Pirates in the NL Central division.

Earlier in the game, Braun drove in two runs, on a ground-out in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the fifth, both times delivering Lorenzo Cain to the plate. The home run upped his RBI total for the game to five.

Struggling through injuries last year, Braun played just 104 games, batting .268 with 17 home runs and 52 RBI, his worst season since 2013, when he played only 61 games.

Milwaukee will be seeking a sweep of San Diego when they take the field in game three of the series, Saturday at 8:40 pm EDT.

David Price Shuts Down Yankees In 3-0 Boston Win; Nationals Win 4th Straight On Daniel Murphy's 2 HR

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 16, 2017

American League

Price: 8 IP, 7 H, 0 ER

After losing the first game of Sunday's double-header 3-0 to the Yankees, the Red Sox turned to David Price as the starting pitcher in the nightcap.

Responding with one of his best efforts of the season, Price blanked the Yanks for eight innings as Boston prevailed, 3-0.

Improving to 5-2, Price, who spent the start of the season on the disabled list and didn't get his first start until May 29, seemed to have found his best form against Boston's most consistent rival. Though he gave up seven hits, Price didn't walk anyone and struck out eight, throwing 75 of 107 pitches for strikes.

The Yankees didn't really connect well. Of their seven hits off Price, six were singles and no runner advanced past second base. Craig Kimbrel came on for his 24th save in the ninth.

The result of the series split, 2-2, left the Yankees and Red Sox where they started prior to the all-star break, with Boston holding a 3 1/2 game lead in the AL East, though Tampa Bay managed to slip past the Yankees into second place, three games behind the Red Sox.

Boston remains home to host Toronto for four games, starting Monday, while the Yankees continue their road trip, landing in Minnesota for a three-game series which also begins Monday.

National League

The Nationals took their third straight in Cincinnati and fourth straight overall, topping the Reds, 14-4, Sunday afternoon.

Murphy's .348 Leads NL

Getting to Cincy starter, Homer Bailey, early was the league's leading hitter, Daniel Murphy, who launched a two-run homer in the opening inning to get the Nationals on the board.

Washington built a 4-0 lead, but the Reds came back with a pair in the third, until Murphy again homered, this time with two aboard, for a 7-2 lead in the fifth. Adam Lind added a two-run homer in the same inning. In the seventh, Anthony Rendon parked a solo shot and Jose Lobaton landed a two-run homer.

Murphy went 3-for-5 on the day with five RBI, upping his average to .348. He leads San Francisco's Buster Posey, at .328.

Washington's win kept them 9 1/2 ahead of Atlanta in the NL East, as the Braves topped Arizona, 7-1, for their third straight victory.

The Nationals will be looking to sweep the Reds when the teams take the field Monday at Great American Ball Park. Game time is 12:35 pm ET.

Blue Jays Top Orioles, David Price Wins 100th Game; Jake Arrieta Notches 18th Win as Cubs Stump D'Backs, 2-0

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 5, 2015

American League

Arrieta: 18-6 Leads MLB

Price: 100th Career Win

Combined with the Yankees 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay, Toronto's 5-1 win over the Orioles allowed the Blue Jays a bit of breathing room atop the AL East, opening a 1 1/2 game lead over New York.

David Price was on the mound for the Blue Jays and he had his good stuff, allowing just two hits, two walks, and no runs until the seventh inning, when he issued free passes to two batters before Caleb Joseph's single drove in Chris Davis from second with the only run for the Orioles.

Price finished up the seventh without further damage with a pair of strikeouts, giving him eight on the day, and did not return for the next inning, but Aaron Sanchez and Brett Cecil pitched the eighth and ninth respectively, Price getting his fifth win as a Blue Jay and upping his record to 14-5 overall. The win was also his 100th in the majors, against 56 losses.

Price is tied for fourth in wins in the AL, is third in ERA, at 2.43, and his 196 strikeouts are fourth-best in the league.

The series tied 1-1, the Blue Jays host Baltimore in the rubber game at 1:07 pm EDT Sunday.

AL NOTE: Boston's David Ortiz socked his 30th home run of the season, bringing his career total to 496. It's also the ninth time Ortiz has hit 30 or more homers in a season. With the Red Sox out of the playoff hunt, Big Papi can be swinging for the fences the rest of the season and could hit the magic 500 mark before turning 40 in November.

National League

Looking better and better as a wild card, the Chicago Cubs notched another win thanks to the golden arm of their ace, Jake Arrieta, who shut out the Diamondbacks over eight innings in the 2-0 Cubs' victory.

Arrieta allowed just four hits, fanning eight without allowing any walks, stretching his streak of not allowing an earned run to 29 innings, including last week's no-hitter against the Dodgers. The Giants scored an unearned run off Arrieta in the sixth inning of Chicago's 8-5 win on August 25.

Since being roughed up in May with a 1-3 mark, Arrieta has been nothing short of brilliant, gong 3-1 in June, 4-1 in July, 6-0 in August, and 1-0 thus far this month.

Arrieta leads the majors in wins, at 18-6, with an ERA of 2.03, second-bast in the league behind Zack Greinke's amazing 1.59. His 197 strikeouts are fourth in the NL.

Chicago will be seeking the sweep of their series with the Diamondbacks Sunday at 2:20 pm EDT.

Blue Jays Win 7th Straight on Justin Smoak Grand Slam, David Price; Stephen Strasberg Returns for Nationals Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 8, 2015

American League

Smoak: Grand Slam

Price: 7 Shutout Innings

New York is in first place in the AL East, but the Toronto Blue Jays are making their stay to the top quite uncomfortable.

Toronto took down the Yankees for the second straight game, blanking them, 6-0, behind stellar pitching from newly-acquired David Price and a grand slam by first baseman, Justin Smoak.

Yankees starter, Ivan Nova, kept the ball game tied at 0-0 through five innings, but got into trouble in the sixth, loading the bases until Smoak unloaded on him for his 10th homer of the season.

Price, confident and dominant throughout, took the four-run advantage and made the best of it, finished after seven complete innings, allowing three hits, three walks, no runs and fanning seven.

Since Price was traded from Detroit to the Blue Jays, he's won both of his starts, allowing six hits and one earned run over 15 innings of work, for an ERA of 0.60.

Strasberg fans 12

Toronto's victory was their seventh straight, and they have closed ranks on the Yankees, now just 2 1/2 games back in the division.

The Blue Jays will have ten more meetings with the Yankees after this series. They look to complete the sweep at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Game time is 1:05 pm EDT.

National League

While the New York Mets overtook the Nationals in the NL East earlier this week, it appears that Washington is not taking matters sitting down.

Stephen Strasberg returned from a stint on the DL on Saturday, turning in a sizzling pitching performance, with seven strong innings in a 6-1 Washington victory.

Strasberg allowed just three hits, one run (a fourth inning solo homer by Nolan Arenado), didn't walk a batter and struck out 12.

It was just what the Nationals needed, coming off a 2-6 slide recently. Meanwhile, the Mets were cooled down by Tampa Bay, taking a 5-4 loss, leaving them a mere 1 1/2 games to the good over the Nationals.

Washington will try to win the rubber game of the series when the two teams meet at Nationals Park, Sunday afternoon at 1:35 pm EDT.

David Price, Evan Longoria Lead Rays into Playoffs with 4-2 Win at Texas

Players of the Day for Monday, September 30, 2013

American League

David Price

Tampa Bay put its best pitcher on the mound and defeated the Texas Rangers in a one-game tie-breaker, getting a seven-hit complete game from David Price while Evan Longoria went 3-for-4 to pace the Rays' offense in a 4-2 victory.

Evan Longoria

Price (10-8) threw 81 of 118 pitches for strikes, fanned four and walked one. Both runs were earned, the Rangers able to muster only single runs in the third and sixth innings.

Longoria singled, doubled and socked a two-run homer in the third inning, which gave the Rays a commanding 3-0 lead at the time, but the Rangers could not break through against Price, who was aided by stellar defensive play behind him.

Moving on to the wild card playoff Wednesday in Cleveland, the Rays have won nine of their last 11, while the Indians have won 10 straight.

Game time for the "win or go home" Wednesday night game in Cleveland is 8:07 pm EDT.

National League

There were no NL games on Monday. The Cincinnati Reds visit the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tuesday at 8:07 pm EDT. Johnny Cueto (5-2, 2.82) goes to the mound for the Reds against Francisco Liriano (16-8, 3.02) for the Pirates.

Today's Trivia: Who won the NL Cy Young award four straight years, from 1999 to 2002? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Justin Verlander was AL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and won both the Cy Young and MVP awards in 2011.

Chipper Jones Leads Braves in 6-0 Kris Medlen Shutout ; David Price Blanks Angels Over Seven

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 16, 2012

American League

The Tampa Bay Rays are back in the playoff picture in a big way following their 7-0 shutout over the fading LA Angels.

Price: 16-4

The Rays are tied with Baltimore for the two AL wild card spots. Both teams trail the Yankees by six games in the AL East and are a game better than Detroit and 1 1/2 up on Oakland in the wild card race.

The hottest team in the American League, the Rays got seven solid innings from 16-4 David Price, who allowed just three hits, struck out six and issued two walks.

The win was the first of a crucial four game series in Los Angeles. The Angels are third in the AL West, seven games behind the Rangers and are struggling to keep pace in the wild card hunt, 2 1/2 behind the current co-leaders.

Price passed the Angels' Jered Weaver for most wins in the majors with 16 and is second in ERA, at 2.39, behind Weaver (2.22) and ahead of Detroit's ace, Justin Verlander (2.46). His 159 strikeouts is good for fifth place amongst AL whiff leaders.

Game two of the series begins Friday night at 10:05 pm EDT.

Editor's Note: It would be nice if Yahoo could update their stats before noon Eastern time the following day. No wonder the stock has been stuck near the bottom of its range for the last four years. The site often carries outdated erroneous information and is bogged down with unnecessary features that hamper load times and overall performance.

National League

Chipper Jones

When it's bobble-head night and it's your head that's bob-bob-bobbling up and down in the stands, what are you supposed to do?

Maybe, do what Chipper Jones did in Thursday night's 6-0 win over the Padres, crack a pair of home runs and delight the crowd with three RBI as you continue your farewell season.

Kris Medlen

Jones, a certain first ballot hall of famer, has already announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2012 season, but he's playing like he has a couple more seasons left in his 39-year-old frame. He's batting .315 - keeping his career average of .304 in good shape - with 12 homers and 53 RBI in 76 games, plus he's helped the Braves into a clear lead for the #1 wild card spot, four games better than the Pirates and four games behind Washington in the battle for the NL East.

Jones will retire with some gaudy numbers - all with the Braves - at the conclusion of this season: his two homers on Thursday give him 2700 hits, 466 home runs and 1614 RBI, currently in the #31 spot all-time. By season's end he'll likely pass Harold Baines and Ernie Banks, moving into the 29th slot for career RBI, right behind another stellar third baseman, Tony Perez, who finished with 1652.

Not to be overlooked on Jones' big night at the plate was Kris Medlen's five-hit, complete game shutout, the first of his career, which consists mostly of appearances out of the bullpen. Medlen fanned six and didn't walk a batter, improving to 4-1 on the year.

The Braves took the final three games in their four-game series with the Padres, limiting San Diego to one run over 27 innings.

Edinson Volquez Tosses One-Hitter for Padres; David Price, B.J. Upton Lead Rays to Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 19, 2012

American League

Volquez: 1-hitter

In San Diego, Alexi Amarista opened the Padres' first inning with a double. The next batter, Logan Forsythe, singled him home and that was about it, as Houston hurler, Lucas Harrell, gave up just two more hits over seven full innings, but San Diego starter, Edinson Volquez, proved even better, protecting the slim lead with a complete game one-hitter as the Padres triumphed, 1-0.

Volquez (6-7) allowed the one hit to Matt Downs with two down in the fourth. Other than three walks, Volquez was pretty magnificent, throwing 75 of 117 pitches for strikes and striking out five for his first major league shutout.

Despite playing for a team that's 16 games under .500 and 13 games out in the NL West, Volquez is having a solid year, sporting a 3.34 ERA and striking out 109 batters in 121.1 innings.

The Padres are in fourth place in the division, just 2 1/2 games ahead of last place Colorado. The win was the third straight for the Padres, who lost the opener of their four game series with the Astros, but won the remainder.

National League

B.J. Upton

David Price

Tampa Bay, trailing the Yankees by 9 1/2 games, may not win the AL East, but they are mired in a seven-team shootout for the two wild card slots. Currently, the Angels are leading the pack, but the Rays are just two back after B.J. Upton and David Price led them to a 6-0 victory over Cleveland - another team in the wild card mix - earning a split in their series, two games apiece.

Upton went 3-for-5, two doubles and a single, and plated three in the sixth inning when he doubled with the bases loaded. He later scored, giving Price more than enough runs to support his seven inning, two-hit effort for his league-leading 13th win.

Price, who's suffered defeat only four times this season, walked three and struck out seven, in the process lowering his ERA to a very respectable 2.64, fourth-best among AL starters.

The Rays next host Seattle for three games before embarking on a nine-game road swing that will take them coast-to-coast, from Baltimore to LA and then on to Oakland.

Eric Hinske's Homer Gives Braves 9-8 win; David Price, B.J. Upton Lead Rays to Sixth Straight

Players of the Day for Friday, May 4, 2012

American League

Price: 5-1

Fans in New York and Boston my not want to face the facts, but the Yankees and Red Sox are struggling to keep pace in the rugged AL East. They are last and second last, 4 1/2 and 7 games behind, respectively, the Tampa Bay Rays, who won their sixth straight, taking a 7-2 victory over Oakland in the opener of their three-game series at Tropicana Field.

BJ Upton

Tampa Bay fell behind early, as the A's scored a run in the first, but the Rays got three runs in the third and four in the second to back the pitching of starter David Price, who worked eight full innings, allowing only the single run in the first, allowing three hits while fanning a season-high 12 batters. Price surrendered only one walk, getting his league-best fifth win (tied with teammate James Shields - 5-0) against one loss.

B.J. Upton was the driving force for the offense, doubling twice in four at-bats, driving in two and scoring a pair of runs. Batting .350, Upton has been stinging the ball, getting 11 hits in his last 26 at-bats, raising his average by 136 points.

The Rays winning streak includes two at Texas and a sweep of the Mariners on their current home stand. They lead the Orioles by 1 1/2 and Toronto by 3 games. The O's have won three straight and Toronto is currently riding a four game winning streak.


National League

There are only three teams with winning road records in the National League: Arizona, St. Louis and Atlanta.

Eric Hinske

The Braves improved to 8-6 on away games, winning 9-8 in 11 innings at Colorado to remain 1 1/2 games back of Washington in the NL East.

Colorado took an early lead with five runs in the first inning, but the Braves battled back, took the lead twice only to see the Rockies tie the game with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Neither team scored in the final three innings, or in the 10th, but Eric Hinske blasted a two-run homer in the top of the 11th to put Atlanta up 9-7. The Rockies responded again in the bottom of the frame, but this time came up short, scoring just one run, as closer Craig Kimbrel struggled to earn his ninth save.

Hinske's homer was one of four hits for the Atlanta outfielder, in six at-bats. In addition to his game-winner, Hinske singled twice and doubled, finishing with three RBI for the game while raising his batting average to .412.

The Braves have two more games at Colorado this weekend.

David Price Blanks Angels; Carlos Gonzalez Bangs a Pair in Colorado Loss

Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 24, 2012

American League

Excepting the West, where the Rangers have a 5 1/2 game lead, the American League division races are up for grabs.

David Price

In the East, the Yankees, Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays are all tied for first place with 10-7 records, while in the Central, there are no games separating Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago, though technically, the Indians have the percentage edge at 9-6 over the 10-7 Tigers and White Sox.

Three teams were held scoreless on Wednesday night. The White Sox were blanked, 2-0, by the A's, and the Yankees were kept from crossing the plate by Texas' Yu Darvish, who fanned 10 in 8 1/3 innings for the 2-0 win, but Tampa Bay's David Price outdid all hurlers, blanking the Angels on five hits for a 5-0 victory.

Price improved to 3-1 with his complete game shutout, the second of his career. He walked one while striking out six, throwing 80 of 119 pitches for strikes. Four Rays - Desmond Jennings, Luke Scott, Carlos Pena and BJ Upton - hit solo homers. Upton added a sac fly RBI in the sixth to complete the Rays' scoring.


National League

Carlos Gonzalez

Carlos Gonzalez is stinging the ball for Colorado, but even his first two homers of the season were not enough to beat the Pirates, as Casey McGahee drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth, giving Pittsburgh a 5-4 win over the visiting Rockies.

Gonzalez hit a pair of two-run homers, providing all the offense the Rockies could muster, belting his first of the season in the opening frame, then putting the Rockies up 4-3 in the eighth with a bomb to center field.

The Pirates, however, scored twice in the bottom of the inning to retake the advantage and Joel Hanrahan worked a perfect top of the ninth for his third save.

Pittsburgh improved to 7-9, while dropping the Rockies back to an 8-8 record. Both teams are struggling to keep pace in their respective divisions. Colorado is tied for third in the West, four games behind the Dodgers, while Pittsburgh is three games back of St. Louis, in 4th place in the Central.

Granderson Gone Wild; Jennings, Price Power Relentless Rays; Diamondbacks Win 6th Straight

Players of the Day for Sunday, August 28, 2011

American League

Curtis Granderson

How special a season is Curtis Granderson having?

Pretty special, it appears, as Granderson homered twice in the nightcap of the Yankees' double-header at Baltimore, socking a three-run homer in the 3rd inning to erase an early 2-0 Baltimore lead, then smashing an opposite field shot in the 7th inning to complete the scoring in New York's 8-3 victory at Camden Yards.

Price: 14 Ks

The first homer tied him with Toronto's Jose Bautista for the AL and major league lead in home runs, the second gave the 185-pound center fielder the outright lead in that category. His four RBI put him ahead of all others with 107. He also leads the majors in runs with 121 and has stolen 24 bases this season.

Granderson's HR and RBI totals are already career bests for the 7-year pro. He's one shy of matching his 2007 total for runs and he'll match his personal best for swipes with two more stolen bases.

With the Yankees splitting with the O's and Boston idle, David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays were keeping pace, 8 1/2 games back, but just 6 1/2 behind the Yankees for the wild card spot.

Desmond Jennings

Price (12-11) set a personal high mark with 14 Ks, shutting out the Blue Jays over seven innings on three hits and two walks as the Rays hammered Toronto, 12-0. Rookie outfielder Desmond Jennings provided early offense, homering to lead off the game and smacking another seat-finder in the 3rd to put the Rays up 5-0.

Jennings also walked and stole second in the 4th and singled home a run and scored in the 9th as the Rays piled on six more runs.

Kennedy: 17-4

National League

Arizona's Ian Kennedy topped all National League pitchers with his 17th win as the Diamondbacks won their 6th straight, defeating the Padres, 6-1.

Kennedy allowed just one run on seven hits over seven stellar innings. He fanned seven and did not issue any walks.

Aaron Hill

While Kennedy was mowing down the opposition, recently acquired second baseman Aaron Hill singled, tripled and homered, driving in three run in five at-bats.

Collin Cowgill

Rookie Collin Cowgill hit his first double and home run, going 4-for-4 with a pair of RBI and two runs.

The Arizona win pushed them to a four-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West. The Giants dropped a 4-3 decision to Houston in 11 innings.

Arizona is one of just three NL teams to have winning records at home, on the road and against all three divisions. The other two both hail from the East: Philadelphia and Atlanta.

David Price Blanks BoSox for 8 as Tampa Wins; Gonzalez, Ianetta lead Rockies Rout

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 17, 2011

American League

David Price

A week ago, the Boston Red Sox were just cruising along, fresh off taking two of three from the Yankees and looking unbeatable in the AL East.

Somebody must have collectively pinched the Boston players, awakening them to the fact that it's only the middle of August, because after taking two straight from the Twins, they lost the series finale and began a little skid in which they've now lost four of six and first place belongs to the Yankees.

With David Ortiz sitting, David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of Boston's weakness, beating them 4-0, to pull to within 8 1/2 of New York and 8 games behind Boston, currently the wild card leader.

Price, in complete control throughout his eight scoreless innings, limited the Red Sox to three hits and three walks while fanning six. His mound work was rewarded by solo homers from Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton. Ben Zobrist bolstered the attack with two RBI.

The Yankees lost, 5-4, in Kansas City, but maintained their 1/2 game edge over Boston.

National League

Chris Iannetta

Carlos Gonzalez

Trailing Arizona by 12 games in the NL West, with the Giants sitting in second place, just 2 1/2 out, the Colorado Rockies probably don't have much chance of making the post-season this year, but they took no time to show the Florida Marlins the kind of offensive fireworks they can produce.

The Rockies scored five first inning runs and scored six more in the third, en route to a thorough, 12-5 rout of the visiting Marlins.

Chris Iannetta socked a bases-loaded double in the first inning for three RBI and singled home another run in the third inning. Carlos Gonzalez singled in a first inning run and scored, then smacked his 20th home run in the third inning, with two men aboard.

The Rockies took two of three from Florida. After a day off Thursday, they open a three-game home series with the LA Dodgers on Friday.

Price Blanks Baltimore, Rays, Yanks Clinch; Bruce Walks-off Astros, Igniting Celebration in Cincy

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 28, 2010

American League

David Price hurled eight innings of shutout ball at the Baltimore Orioles, assuring the Tampa Bay Rays of a spot in the 2010 playoffs with a 5-0 win at Tropicana Field.

Scattering six hits, Price fanned eight while his teammates scored single runs in each of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings, and two in the 5th. Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena hit solo homers for the Rays who will be making their first appearance in the playoffs since 2008, when they won the AL East by two games over Boston and advanced to the first World Series in the history of the franchise, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

The win was the 19th for Price, against 6 losses. He threw 113 pitches, 81 of them for strikes.

In Toronto, the Yankees also clinched a playoff berth, as C.C. Sabathia worked a three-hitter for 8 1/3 innings in New York's 6-1 win over the Blue Jays. Sabathia fanned eight and allowed one earned run, improving his record to 21-7.

The Yankees trail Tampa Bay by 1/2 game in the division. New York has four games left to play while the Rays have five remaining. The wins by the top two teams in the division eliminated the Red Sox from post-season contention. Boston lost to the White Sox, 5-4, finally giving up on their slight chances.

National League

Jay Bruce's 9th inning, leadoff home run sparked a celebration in Cincinnati as the Reds downed the Houston Astros, 3-2, clinching the NL Central for the Reds.

Brandon Phillips singled in Orlando Cabrera to tie the game at two in the 6th inning. The two teams battled scorelessly into the 9th until Bruce's heroic shot over the center field wall.

It's the first time the Reds have reached the playoffs since 1995, when Marge Schott owned and badly mismanaged the team. The futility of fifteen years were suddenly wiped away with one swing of Bruce's bat.

Who the Reds will play in the opening round of the playoffs is still up in the air. The Giants took a two-game lead in the NL West with a 4-2 win over Arizona, while the Cubs dropped the Padres, 5-2 in San Diego.

Atlanta holds a 1 1/2 game lead over the Padres in the wild card chase. The Braves have four more games to play, three of them hosting the Phillies - who've already clinched the NL East with the best record in the league - this weekend. The final series of the regular season opens Friday night. Atlanta has one more game with Florida on Wednesday and a day off Thursday.

The Padres face the Cubs twice more at Petco Park before heading up the coast to play the Giants in a final, three-game series that will decide the champion of the NL West. The Giants play Arizona Wednesday and Thursday prior to the climactic showdown.

David Price Stops Blue Jays; Tommy Hanson Gets Braves Past Mets on 1 Hit

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 1, 2010 American League In his first season as a full-time starter for Tampa Bay, David Price was good, though not great. He finished 2009 with a 10-7 record, passable for any young pitcher fitting into a rotation for the first time. This season, however, Price has been sensational. After laying it all on the line in a 2-1 win over Toronto, Price finds himself in the midst of a tight pennant race with the Yankees and an even tighter push for the AL Cy Young award. Price worked eight strong innings in the win, allowing a single run on four hits and two walks. He struck out seven, improving to 16-6 on the year. Even though he's pitched well and the Rays have won three of the last four games he's started, it was his first win in nearly a month, the last W coming on August 9. But the improvement in Price's overall number is impressive. Beyond the additional six wins this season over last, his ERA is down to 2.92 (4.42 last season) and his WHIP is a respectable 1.24, down from 1.35 in 2009. While his walk total of 67 is still a bit high, his 161 strikeouts have him tied for 8th most in the league with teammate James Shields and the Rangers' Cliff Lee. Price is vying for Cy Young honors with a host of hurlers around the league, including Boston's Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester, the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia, Texas' C.J. Wilson and Oakland's Trevor Cahill. Tampa's win kept them one game behind the Yankees in the AL East. Boston is 8 games off the pace and Toronto all but out of it, 14 games back. National League Atlanta just keeps rolling along, winning their fifth straight with a 4-1 win over the Mets, as Tommy Hanson left after allowing just one hit in seven innings of work. Hanson (9-10) walked just one batter and struck out three. With a three-run lead, manager Bobby Cox decided that Hanson's 96 pitches were enough for the young hurler and pulled him for Jonny Venters in the 8th, who proceeded to allow the only Mets' run of the evening. Billy Wagner worked a perfect ninth for his 31st dave of 2010. The Braves remained three games ahead of the Phillies in the NL East.

Price 4-Hits Blue Jays; Theriot Goes 5-for-6 as Cubs Sweep Brewers

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 25, 2010 American League For the Tampa Bay Rays, the wait for David Price to mature into a quality starter was a short one. Just two years into his major league career (he only pitched 14 innings in 2007 before his World Series heroics), Price is off to a 3-1 start and the Rays have a tight grip on first place in the AL East, 1 1/2 in front of the world champion Yankees. Price had all the goods on Sunday, hurling his first complete game shutout, a 4-hit, 9 K, 6-0 gem over the Toronto Blue Jays in front of the home crowd in Tampa. The 6'6" Nashville native needed just 109 pitches to shut down the Jays, throwing 76 strikes and walking just one batter. After some early struggles, Price settled in, get 12 straight outs from the 3rd inning into the 7th and finishing with a perfect 9th. The win dropped his ERA down to 2.20, along with a 1.05 WHIP. The 6-0 score could have been worse, were it not for the arm of Jose Molina, who threw out 4 runners at second, including the speedy Carl Crawford, twice. Molina's four throw-outs were the most in a single game since 2002. National League Though they are just 9-10, the Cubs find themselves in second place in the NL Central, 2 1/2 back of the Cardinals, the only team in the division with a winning record. Chicago completed a three-game sweep of division-rival Milwaukee, taking the series-ender by a 12-2 score, scoring in each of the first five innings and adding one more run in the 7th. Brewers infielders got to know leadoff hitter, Ryan Theriot, very well, as he went 5-for-6, with 4 singles and a double, scored twice and drove in three runs. Theriot also stole his 5th base of the season, swiping second in the 2nd inning. By the time Theriot and his teammates were through wearing out Milwaukee's pitchers, the game was completely in the hands of the Cubs. Making matters worse for Milwaukee was that they were swept on their home turf, and the scores were embarrassing: 8-1, 5-1 and 12-2. Theriot has had multiple hits in each of his last five games, going 14-for-25 (.560) over that span. Oddly enough, the Brewers had just beaten up on Pittsburgh, 8-0 and 20-0, prior to their series with Chicago.