Mitch Haniger, Denard Span Power Mariners Past Astros; Hunter Renfroe Slam Toasts Brewers In 8-4 Padres Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 9, 2018

American League

Haniger: 4-5, HR, 2 RBI

Losers of seven of their last nine, the situation was critical as Seattle opened a four-game series in Houston with the division-leading Astros against former Cy Young award winner, Justin Verlander.

It didn't take long for the Mariners to revive hope, as Mitch Haniger led off the game with a home run - his 19th of the year. The next man up, Denard Span, tripled and was waved home on Jean Seguara's ground rule double. Seguara scored on Nelson Cruz's single, putting the Mariners up 3-0 before Houston even had a chance to respond.

Span: 3-for-3, HR, 2RBI

In the second, Haniger doubled, Span knocked him in with his ninth homer, and Segura smacked a solo shot, making it 6-0.

Verlander was pulled after two brutal innings, giving up seven hits, throwing just 54 pitches.

Haniger knocked in another run in the sixth with a single, finishing 4-for-5 with two RBI. Span went 3-for-3 with a pair of ribbies. Both players scored twice en route to a huge, 8-6 triumph.

The win left the M's seven games back in the NL West. Houston leads Oakland by 4 1/2.

Game two of the series is Friday, 8:10 pm EDT.

National League

Renfroe's Slam Sinks Brewers

San Diego scored six runs in the ninth, overwhelming the Brewers, 8-4, in the finale of a three-game series in Milwaukee.

The key hit in the rally came off the bat of Hunter Renfroe, who socked a grand slam off Joakim Soria, changing the scoreboard from 4-3, Brewers to 7-4, Padres.

San Diego, well out of post-season consideration, took two of three from the Brew crew after taking the last game over the Cubs in Chicago, 10-6.

Renfroe, in his third season with the Padres, has 12 homers and 39 RBI in 72 games.

The loss dropped the Brewers two back of the Cubs in the Central.

San Diego returns home to host the Phillies on Friday; Milwaukee starts an eight-game road trip against the Braves, Cubs, and Cardinals.

Francisco Lindor, Indians Win 19th Straight, 11-0; Denard Span, Giants Hand Dodgers 11th Straight Loss

Players of the Day for Monday, September 11, 2017

American League

Lindor: 3B, 4 RBI

The Indians won their 19th straight in dominant fashion, dumping the Tigers, 11-0, in the opener of a three-game series in Cleveland.

While starter, Carlos Carrasco, was blanking Detroit on seven hits over six innings, fanning nine for his 15th win against six losses, Francisco Lindor was stoking the offense, going 2-for-4 with a single, triple and four RBI.

Lindor's three-bagger came with the bases full in the second inning, clearing the deck en route to a five run frame.

He scored in the fourth after singling when Jose Ramirez socked a two-run homer. His forth RBI came in the fifth inning on a fielder's choice.

Lindor is batting .275, with 29 homers and 77 RBI, astounding for a leadoff hitter. Riding a five-game hitting streak, Lindor is 10-for-21 (.476) with three home runs and seven RBI over that span.

Cleveland's streak has pushed their led in the AL Central out to 13 1/2 games over Minnesota. With 18 games to play, their magic number to clinch the division is five.

The Indians will be looking for their 20th straight win - which would tie the 2002 Oakland A's for the fifth-longest MLB winning streak - on Tuesday in game two (7:10 pm ET). The 1884 St. Louis Maroons and Providence Grays each won 20 games that season. The longest winning streaks of all time are:

1. 1916 NY Giants (26)
2. 1880 Chicago White Stockings (21)
2. (tie) 1935 Chicago Cubs (21)

National League

Span: HR, 3 RBI

The LA Dodgers' losing streak reached 11 straight on Monday with the Giants hosting another loss for the NL West leader in an 8-6 nail-biter.

The Giants took a 4-0 lead into the fourth, but the Dodgers tied the game with four of their own. The game was also tied at five and six before the Giants punched through single runs in the sixth and seventh and the bullpen held the Dodgers off the board in the final three innings.

Denard Span singled, homered, drove in three runs and scored twice, the second time he crossed the plate supplied an insurance run in the seventh inning on a Buster Posey double.

Span's home run was his 14th. He's batting .268 with 41 RBI.

LA's 11th straight loss marked the longest losing streak for the club since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in 1958. The first place team has lost 16 of their last 17 after reaching their zenith at 91-36 on August 25th with a 3-1 win over Milwaukee. What was projected to be a 110+ win season has morphed into a titanic struggle for wins down the stretch. Losing to the last place Giants, 36 games off the pace at 57-89, shows the depth of the Dodger desperation.

The Dodgers are still nine games up on Arizona in the division. The Diamondbacks lost to Colorado, 5-4, on Monday.

The streak surpassed a pair of 10-game LA losing streaks in 1961 and 1992. In 1944, Brooklyn lost 16 straight games.

LA will try to end their skid Tuesday in game two of the three-game series at san Francisco's AT&T Park. Game time is 10:10 pm ET.

Ian Desmond, Denard Span, Wilson Ramos Lead Nats in 14-1 Rout of Mets; Nick Franklin's Two Homers Power Mariners

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 28, 2013

American League

In the blink of an eye, the Oakland A's have turned a close race in the AL West into a runaway, winning three in a row while the Texas Rangers have lost four straight, opening a six-game lead.

Nick Franklin

Further back, struggling to keep up, are the Seattle Mariners, completing a 2-2 split with the Twins with a 6-4 win on Sunday.

The mariners were fueled by Nick Franklin, their rookie second baseman, who socked a pair of homers and drove in four runs to help turn back the Twins.

After Michael Saunders hit a solo shot to tie the game at two, Franklin's first blast came in the fourth inning, a three-run belt that put the Mariners ahead for good. In the seventh, Franklin launched his second homer of the game, a solo job which completed the scoring after Minnesota had drawn to within a run.

Adding a single, Franklin finished with a 3-for-4 game. Over the last eight games, Franklin has hit safely in six, popped four homers and driven in 12 runs. Now, if the A's would only lose a few games, Seattle might make up some ground in the division.

National League

Ian Desmond

The Mets were getting a little too close for the second-place Washington Nationals, so they took the initiative, taking three of four over the weekend, culminating with a powerful, 18-hit, 14-1 victory on Sunday at Nationals Park.

Denard Span

Beating up on five Mets hurlers, the brunt of the attack came from the six, seven and eight hitters in the lineup who together accounted for ten hits and ten RBI.

In the six hole, Ian Desmond went 4-for-4 with two singles, a pair of doubles, three runs and two RBI. Right behind him, Denard Span was also 4-for-4, rapping out three singles and a two-run homer, scoring three times and driving in three.

Wilson Ramos

Batting in front of the pitcher is usually not a position where one sees a lot of good pitches, but Wilson Ramos saw a few he liked, going 2-for-4, including a third-inning grand slam. Ramos scored twice and had five RBI.

Even with the win, the Nationals have their work cut out for themselves as August rapidly approaches. The Braves completed a three-game sweep of St. Louis with a 5-2 victory Sunday night, leaving Washington 8 1/2 games back, the largest lead in any major league division.

Today's Trivia: Since 2000, who is the only player to lead the NL in doubles for a season more than once? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Ted Williams drove in 1839 runs in a 19-year career, but Stan Musial, who played three more seasons than Williams, tops him with 1951, sixth all-time.

Dan Haren, Denard Span Pace Nationals; Chris Tillman Stymies Angels in 5-1 Baltimore Victory

Players of the Day for Thursday, May 2, 2013

American League

Chris Tillman

Baltimore began a West coast swing in positive fashion, topping the LA Angels, 5-1, as Chris Tillman sparkled on the mound.

Holding the Angels scoreless though eight innings, Tillman turned the ball over to closer Jim Johnson, who fanned two in the final frame, but also gave up Albert Pujols' fifth homer of the season, a solo shot that avoided the shutout.

Tillman gave up just three hits, but threw 114 pitches, prompting the manager Buck Showalter to call on the bullpen. walking two and striking out three, Tillman improved to 2-1, lowering his ERA to a reasonable 3.63. The win was Tillman's second straight, after an 0-1 beginning on four starts. He's been notably better in his last three outings, allowing just three earned runs over the past 20 2/3 innings. His eight innings against the Angels was his longest outing of the season, a positive for the O's.

Baltimore kept pace with Boston in the East division, where they trail the Red Sox by 3 1/2 games. In second place are the Yankees, 2 1/2 out. The 10-18 Angels are seven games out in the West. They are 6-7 at home, one of four AL teams with losing home records. The others are Cleveland, Houston and Toronto.

The win was the opener of a our game set in LA, which resumes Friday at 7:05 PDT.

Dan Haren

National League

Denard Span went 3-for-4, singling and scoring in the first inning and driving in a pair of runs in the second and those runs were all washington starter, Dan Haren, would need, as the Nationals defeated the Braves, 3-1, closing out their four game series in Atlanta with a 2-2 split.

Denard Span

Haren gave up four hits, keeping the Braves off the board until the seventh inning, when he allowed Atlanta's only run of the game, a two-out solo homer off the bat of Dan Uggla.

Haren lasted eight innings, striking out four and walking one to even his record at 3-3. The win moved the Nationals closer to the Braves in the NL East, where they trail Atlanta by 2 1/2 games.

Rafael Soriano worked the ninth inning for his ninth save of the season, allowing one single, but no further damage.

Leadoff hitter, Span, who was on base four times in the win, has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.

Washington heads to Pittsburgh for a three-game weekend series while the Braves finish up a seven-game home span with three games against the Mets, beginning Friday.

Central Stage: Span Puts Twins Back on Top; Pujols Pounds Pair as Cards Reclaim Lead

Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 29, 2010 American League Triples are pretty rare. Most players hit one or two a season, if any. Minnesota's Denard Span kept Detroit right fielder Magglio Ordonez busy by hitting three triples in one game, tying a modern major league record and leading the Twins back into possession of first place in the AL Central with an 11-4 win. Span added a single, going 4-for-4 with a walk, drove in five runs and scored twice. He tripled to lead off the bottom of the 1st and scored, singled and scored in the 3rd, tying the game at 3-3, then tripled in two runs in the 4th and smacked his third three-bagger with the bases-loaded in the 5th. By the time he was done, Span and the Twins had turned a 3-2 deficit into a 10-3 lead. To cap off the night, Jim Thome - who hit his first triple in seven years the night before - smacked his 572nd career home run, a 7th-inning solo shot, putting him one behind a Twins legend - Harmon Killebrew - for 10th place all-time. The Twins and Tigers have split the first two games of their series. First place in the division will be temporarily decided Wednesday, when the two teams meet in the rubber game. National League With Felipe Lopez on base (4-for-5, 3 runs) just about every time Albert Pujols stepped the the plate, Arizona hurlers had no choice but to pitch to him, and Mr. Pujols delivered in three out of four occasions, staking starter Adam Wainwright to a comfortable lead and an 8-0 Cardinal win. Pujols belted two homers, one in the 3rd inning and another in the 5th, both times with Lopez on board, and drove Lopez in again in the 6th with a slightly more pedestrian approach, doubling to left and later scoring on a wild pitch. Pujols went 3-for-5, with two homers (18), three runs and five RBI, giving him 57 on the year. Now third in the league in both home runs and RBI, Pujols led the Cards back into first place place in the NL Central, 1/2 game ahead of the Reds, with the rest of the division lagging far back. Milwaukee is 8 games off the pace; the Cubs are 9 back. Wainwright (11-5) went 6 1/3 innings, blanking the Diamondbacks on 5 hits, walking three and fanning seven. Hamilton Extends: Josh Hamilton singled n his second at-bat, extending his major league-best hitting streak to 22 games in Texas' 6-5 loss at LA. Despite the loss, the Rangers still maintain a 3 1/2 game lead on the Angels in the AL West.

Cards Clinch Central; Span Lights Up KC; Escobar, Braves Keep Winning

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 26, 2009 American League The Minnesota Twins continued their heated pursuit of Detroit in the AL Central on Saturday with an 11-6 win at Kansas City, the 11th Twins' win in their last 12 games. Minnesota trails Detroit by 2 games in the division thanks to inspired play from a bevy of young, talented players, such as leadoff hitter and center fielder Denard Span. A second-year player, Span broke open a 2-2 game with a bases-loaded triple in the 3rd inning and was just getting warmed up. He eventually finished his day 4-for-5, with 6 RBI and a run scored. The 6 ribbies are a career best for Span, a .311 hitter this season, who's scored 88 runs and swiped 22 bases. The Twins finish off their series with Kansas City tonight before heading to Detroit for a crucial four-game series that will decide the division. National League The hottest team in the National League over the past three weeks has been the Atlanta Braves, now just 2 1/2 games behind the Colorado Rockies in the wild card race and 5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East. Atlanta won for the 13th time in their last 15 games on Saturday, knocking of the Nats, 11-5 for their 5th straight win. The Braves gained a game in both races as the Rockies and Phillies were losers on the day. Leading the way for the Braves was Yunel Escobar, the slick-fielding shortstop, who singled home the first two runs of the game in the first inning and added an RBI double in the 9th as the Braves erupted for five runs to put the game away. Escobar, a 26-year-old, from Havana, Cuba, is batting a respectable .299 with 14 home runs and 74 RBI. The Braves should manage to keep the wild card race interesting until the final games of the season. After they finish their series with the Nationals on Sunday, they head back to Atlanta for a 7-game stand to close out the season. Three games with the Marlins precede four with the last-place Nationals. NOTES: The St. Louis Cardinals clinched the Central Division with a 6-3 win over Colorado and can now play spoiler as they face the Rockies once more on Sunday. The Cardinals are the first in the majors to clinch a division title, their first since 2006, when they went on to win the World Series. Adam Wainwright took the win, his 19th of the season. He and the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia, who beat the Red Sox, 3-0, each have 19 winas and are the only pitchers with a chance to win 20. Sabathia's effort - 1 hit, 2 walks and 8 Ks over 7 innings - was good enough to put the Yankees within 1 game of clinching the AL East pennant and 100 wins for the season, tops in the majors. The Yanks can do both against their most hated rivals, the Red Sox, tonight in the Bronx. The game was originally scheduled for the afternoon, but was switched to an 8:00 pm start and a national broadcast on ESPN when it appeared to be a game which would draw great interest. The Yankees haven't won their division since 2006.

Fielder Carries Brewers; Span's 5-for-5 Paces Twins over Tigers

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 8, 2009 American League Following a 10-8 win Friday night, the NL Central-leading Tigers were looking to take their second straight at home from the 3rd-place Twins. Justin Verlander sought his 13th win, but it was not to be, as Denard Span went 5-for-5, scored three times and drove in a run, in an 11-0 Minnesota rout. Span led off the game with a double and scored on Joe Mauer's 20th home run. The Twins roughed up Verlander and two relievers, with every batter getting at least one hit. Span, after his game-opening double, singled four more times, upping his average to an even .300. Span has rocked Detroit pitchers, going 10-for-11 in the first two games of the series. Carl Pavano (10-8), in his first start since joining the Twins, pitched brilliantly, allowing 5 hits and no runs over 7 innings, strking out 5 without allowing a walk. The Twins, who finish the 3-game set in Detroit Sunday afternoon, continue to hang in the NL Central race, 4 1/2 games behind the Tigers. Their win helped the White Sox close to within 2 games of Detroit after the Sox came from behind to defeat Cleveland, 8-5. National League Though the Milwaukee Brewers are only a .500 team (53-53), 5 games out in the NL Central and 6 back in the wild card chase, Prince Fielder isn't giving up. The burly first baseman is having his usual outstanding season, chasing Albert Pujols for the NL RBI title. In Saturday's 12-5 thrashing of the Astros, Fielder was on his game, mashing a single, double and his 27th homer of the season, driving in three runs and scoring twice over 6 at-bats. Fielder's 98 RBI are second in the majors behind Pujols, who reached the 100-mark for the season with a 3-RBI double in St. Louis' 5-3 win over Pittsburgh. Pujols becomes the only player in major league history to have 100 or more RBI in each of his first nine seasons. Fielder, only 25, can be proud of his numbers. In three full seasons and thus far in 2009, he has 141 home runs and 410 RBI. His .303 batting average this season is 20 points higher than his career mark. NOTES: The Yankees took their third straight from the Boston Red Sox, as C.C. Sabathia dominated Boston hitters. The Yankees have now blanked the Sox for the last two games, a total of 24 straight innings, after Friday's 15-inning marathon and Saturday's shutout. The series concludes with the Yanks looking for the sweep with Andy Pettitte on the mound to face Boston's Jon Lester Sunday night. New York has opened a 5 1/2 game bulge on the Red Sox, who are in jeopardy of losing second place to the Rays, who are just 1 1/2 behind them. The Angels beat Texas, 3-2, opening back up a 4 1/2 game edge over the Rangers. The Dodgers lost their second straight and San Francisco won, closing to within 5 1/2 games of LA, the closest anyone has been to the division leaders since May. Following Sunday's series-ender with Atlanta, the Dodgers head up the coast for a three-game set at San Francisco, which could mark a turning point in the division. Philadelphia lost their second straight to the Marlins, who are now 5 back, with Atlanta 1/2 game behind them, in the East. The Cardinals and Cubs both won, so St. Louis retains a 1-game lead in the Central.

Span's 4 Hits Lead Twins over BoSox; Arroyo, Bruce Lead Reds' 4th Straight

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 27, 2009 American League The Minnesota Twins helped the Yankees tie Boston for first place in the AL East, knocking off the Red Sox, 4-2, as leadoff hitter Denard Span went 4-for-4 and scored twice. The win was Minnesota's second straight over the Red Sox, who had seized control of the division just days before. Third place Toronto has lost 9 in a row. Meanwhile, the Twins have taken over second place in the AL Central, 3 1/2 behind Detroit. Span, who, in his second year in the majors, has been in the leadoff spot most of the season for the Twins and is batting .316 with 11 steals and a .409 on-base percentage. National League While the Cardinals were taking over first place in the NL Central with a 3-2 win over Milwaukee, the Cincinnati Reds have quietly snuck into second place, just 1/2 behind the Brewers and 1 1/2 back of St. Louis, winning their 4th straight, 6-1 over Houston, as Bronson Arroyo (left) pitched a complete game for his 7th win against 3 losses and Jay Bruce (right) provided the bulk of the offense. Arroyo needed just 92 pitches to put away the inept Astro offense, sending Houston to their 7th straight loss. Allowing just 5 hits and one earned run, Arroyo was in complete control, walking one and striking out three. Bruce was far and away the hitting star of the night, smashing a solo shot in the 4th inning, a 2-run-shot in the 6th and delivering a run-scoring triple in the eighth inning to complete his 3-for-4, 4 RBI night. Bruce, in his second season as the Reds' regular right fielder, is off to a solid start with 14 home runs and 29 RBI, though his batting average is a touch low, at .241. The Reds will have every opportunity to take control of the division over the next week. After a day off Thursday, they travel to Milwaukee for a 3-game weekend series, then, on to St. Louis for a four-game deal with the Cards. NOTES: Randy Johnson (4-4) earned his 299th career victory, holding the Atlanta Braves in check over 6 solid innings, yielding just 3 hits and one earned run without walking anyone and striking out 5, including Chipper Jones three times. The Giants won the game, 6-3, setting up Johnson's chance at 300 for Wednesday in Washington against the punchless Nationals. While the Big Unit would prefer to pitch at home -where all four of his wins this season have come - he couldn't have hoped for a weaker offensive team to go against.