Padres Blast Cardinals, 12-4, on Yangervis Solarte's 6 RBI; Doug Fister Fires 1-Hitter As Boston Downs Cleveland

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 22, 2017

American League

After Boston scored a run in the top of the first inning, Cleveland leadoff hitter, Francisco Lindor, responded with a home run off Red Sox starter, Doug Fister.

While the run may have given the Indians cause for early confidence, as it turns out, Lindor's homer would be the only hit Cleveland would muster against the Boston as the Red Sox wrecked the Indians, 9-1.

Fister: 1-hitter

As the Sox piled up the runs, Fister tossed a one-hitter, allowing a couple of walks, issuing a free pass in the first to Edwin Encarnacion and another to Brandon Guyer, leading off the fifth. In the second, Fister hit Bradley Zimmer with a pitch, but in that case and in the fifth, he was bailed out by a double play.

Having sufficiently settled in, Fister didn't allow a baserunner after the fifth, setting down the last 13 Cleveland batters in order. The 6'8" right-hander needed 114 pitches for his eighth career complete game and the first this season, fanning six and facing two over the minimum. After such a solid performance, one can only question why the 33-year-old is only 3-6 with a 4.78 ERA.

Fister started the 2017 season with the Angels. The Red Sox acquired him off waivers in June to replace David Price in the rotation. He's started eight games for the Sox, with three appearances out of the bullpen. Recently, however, he has come around, winning three of his last four starts. He's 2-1 against the Indians over that span.

In his ninth season, Foster is 80-82 with a 3.64 ERA.

Boston's win evened the series between the division leaders, both up by 4 1/2 games, Cleveland over Minnesota and Boston ahead of the NY Yankees. Game three of the four-game set is Wednesday night at 7:10 pm ET at Cleveland's Progressive Field.

Solarte: 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI

National League

The St Louis Cardinals were dealt a blow to their playoff hopes by visiting San Diego as Yangervis Solarte led the Padres to a 12-4 rout at Busch Stadium.

In five at-bats, Solarte doubled twice and busted his 14th home run of the season, driving in six runs, more than enough for the five Padres pitchers used in the rout. Oddly enough, starter Clayton Richard worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs, but Craig Stammen, who retired just one batter in the bottom of the sixth, received the win after the Padres exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh.

Prior to that, Solarte had provided all the San Diego runs, knocking in three in the third with a bases-loaded double and driving in another in the fourth, with his second two-bagger. His two-run home run in the eighth capped off his night and completed San Diego's scoring.

The Padres, completely out of it, 33 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West (it could be worse, the Giants are 40 1/2 back), pushed third place St. Louis to 4 1/2 behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Milwaukee is second in the division, 2 1/2 off the pace. The loss was the Cardinals' third straight, leaving them five games behind the Rockies for the second wild card, but only 1/2 ahead of the surging Miami Marlins.

St. Louis will attempt to stop the bleeding when they host the Padres in game two of the three-game series, Wednesday at 8:15 pm ET.

Marcus Stroman's 3-Hit Shutout Lifts Blue Jays over Cubs; Doug Fister Blanks Braves over Seven in Nationals' Win

Players of the Day for Monday, September 8, 2014

American League

Marcus Stroman twirled a three-hit shutout over the visiting Cubs Monday, as the Blue Jays tied the yankees for second place in the AL East with an 8-0 whitewash over Chicago.

Marcus Stroman

Stroman, a rookie out of Medford, NY, allowed just three harmless singles, struck out eight and didn't issue any walks. After giving up a leadoff single in the second inning - subsequently erased by a double play - Stroman didn't allow another hit until there were two out in the eighth, retiring 19 straight batters. A one-out single in the ninth was the only other hit.

At 10-5, Stroman appears to be one of the better young pitchers in the majors. With a 3.53 ERA, he's struck out 97 in 114 2/3 innings.

The Jays trail the Orioles - 4-0 winners at Boston Monday - by 10 games in the division and are five games behind Seattle for the second wild card spot, but it's a crowded bunch chasing Oakland (the #1 wild card) and Seattle. Detroit and Cleveland are ahead of the Blue Jays and the Yankees are tied with them. The remaining schedule is interesting for Toronto. Despite six games against the Orioles, they play four at New York, followed by hosting the Mariners for four straight, September 22-25.

The Jays host the Cubs in game two of their three-game series Tuesday at 7:07 pm EDT at the Rogers Center in Toronto.

National League

Doug Fister

The Washington Nationals are streaking toward the post-season, taking down second place Atlanta, 2-1, Monday, in the opener of a three-game series in the nation's capitol.

Doug Fister (13-6, 2.53) blanked the Braves over seven innings before taking a seat on the bench. Fister allowed just two hits and three walks, striking out three. He threw 71 of 104 pitches for strikes.

Ty Clippard and Matt Thornton combined to allow the Braves a run in the eighth inning, but Drew Storen made sure they would get no more, striking out the side in the ninth inning for his third save of the season. Storen, who was the Nationals' closer in 2011, appears poised to take back his former role heading toward the post-season, having earned saves in each of his last two outings.

The Nats now have an eight-game lead on the Braves in the NL East, their magic number down to 12. They are also one game behind the Dodgers for the best record in the league, which would give them home field throughout the playoffs.

Game two of the series is Tuesday, at 7:05 pm EDT.

Doug Fister Blanks Mets over Seven as Nationals Take Command in NL East; A's, Josh Donaldson Snap KC Win Streak at Eight

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 12, 2014

American League

Donaldson: 2HR

Stopping Kansas City's winning streak at eight, the Oakland A's abused KC starter Jeremy Guthrie and reliever Bruce Chen for 20 hits in an 11-3 romp.

After Guthrie had allowed 11 hits and six runs, Aaron Crow came on to get one batter to end the fifth. Chen worked the rest of the game, already out of hand.

Josh Donaldson drove in a pair of runs off Guthrie with a single and a sac fly and made sure to disrespect Chen, hitting solo homers in the seventh and eighth innings. Donaldson went 3-for-5 with four RBI, scoring three times.

The A's maintained their 3 1/2 game lead over the Angels in the West, while KC held onto their slim lead in the Central, holding off the Tigers by 1/2-game, as Detroit lost their second straight at Pittsburgh, 4-2. The Tigers have lost four in a row.

Tied at a game apiece, the four game series between the A's and Royals resumes Wednesday at 8:10 pm in Kansas City.

Fister: 7 scoreless

National League

While the Dodgers were bopping the Braves 4-2, Doug Fister was leaving Mets all over the bases in a 7-1 Nationals win, allowing seven hits and stranding all of them as he shut out the Mets over seven innings for his seventh win in his last nine starts, boosting his season record to 12-3.

Fister, who joined the Nationals this year after two seasons in Seattle and two in Detroit, has been on a roll, allowing just two earned runs in his last four starts, spanning 28 1/3 innings. He's currently on a scoreless streak of 14 1/3 innings.

On Tuesday night, Fister threw 107 pitches and bore down when he had runners on base, stranding single runners in the second, fourth and fifth innings, and leaving two aboard in each of the sixth and seventh.

The Nationals advanced another game on second place Atlanta and now lead the East division by five games. Miami is six back.

Game two of the three-game series at Citi Field in New York starts at 7:10 pm EDT on Wednesday.

Doug Fister Fires Shutout of Twins, Tigers 1/2 Back; Mat Latos Leads Reds to Clinch in NL Central

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 22, 2012

American League

In the race for the American League Central division, the Detroit Tigers have been on the heels of the White Six for the past two months, but on Saturday, they came as close to first place as they could without actually tying Chicago.

Doug Fister

Doug Fister fired a shut out of the visiting Twins, 8-0, allowing seven hits while striking out seven with no walks, going the distance for the second time this season, throwing the first shutout of his major league career, which began in 2009 with Seattle.

Fister (10-9) needed 117 pitches to finish of the Twins, winning for the third time in his last four starts and getting the Tigers to within 1/2 game of the Sox, who were downed by the Angels, 4-2 for their fourth straight loss.

Having a game in hand (81-70 to 80-70 for Detroit), the Tigers are a win away from getting the lead outright, should Chicago stumble in their series finale at Anahiem Sunday afternoon.

The AL East continued to provide excitement galore as the Yankees won their seventh straight, a 14-inning, 10-9 decision over the A"s that has New York a game in front of the Orioles, winners of six straight.

The O's topped Boston, 9-6, in 12 innings and are two games ahead of the A's in the wild card race. Consequently, the A's are 2 1/2 up on the Angels for the second wild card and 3 1/2 ahead of the Rays.

National League

Mat Latos

The Giants and Red both clinched their respective divisions on Saturday and now can vie for home field advantage in the upcoming National League playoffs

With their magic number down to six, the Washington Nationals lead in the overall standings with a 92-59 record. The Reds, after their 6-0 shutout of the Dodgers, are 1/2 game behind, at 92-60, with the Giants, despite winning six straight, looking like they'll finish with the third-best record in the league. They are currently 89-63.
.
The Red accomplished the clinching moment off Mat Latos' eight innings of scoreless work from the mound, allowing six hits while fanning seven and walking none. Aroldis Chapman worked a hitless, scoreless ninth to preserve the win.

Latos is having a excellent season, with a 13-4 record, 3.60 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

Tigers Take Game Three of ALCS, 5-2; Texas Leads, Two Games to One

Players of the Day for Tuesday, October 11, 2011


American League

Tigers 5 Rangers 2

Miguel Cabrera homered, doubled and drove in two runs to back the pitching of Doug Fister and get Detroit their first win in the ALCS over the Texas Rangers.

Doug Fister

Miguel Cabrera

With the series in Detroit for games three, four and five, the Tigers have the opportunity to not only even the series but also to eliminate the Rangers' home field advantage, if they sweep the home games. They got off to a good start on Tuesday with a needed win. A loss would have put them down three games to none and essentially guaranteed the series to the Rangers.

Fister, who gave up hits to the first three Texas batters he faced, worked out of a jam in the first inning, getting a double play off the bat of Michael Young, then striking out Adrian Beltre to end the inning with only one run allowed. Victor Martinez evened things up at 1-all with a leadoff homer in the Tigers' 4th. Cabrera doubled home a run in the 5th inning, and, after the Tigers scored two more in the 6th, adding the finishing touch with a leadoff homer in the 7th.

Meanwhile, Fister was mowing down Rangers with inside pitches and jam shots. The 6'8" right-hander struck out three, didn't issue a walk and allowed just two runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings. Fister, acquired before the trade deadline from Seattle - where he was 3-12 - went 8-1 swn the stretch for Detroit and has two post-season wins to boot.

The series resumes on Wednesday afternoon, at 4:19 in Detroit. Matt Harrison faces the Tigers' Rick Porcello. Both starters were 14-9 during the regular season.

National League

The Brewers and Cardinals took Tuesday off as the NLCS heads to St. Louis for games three, four and five. Start time for game three is 8:05 pm EDT. A pair of aces - Yovani Gallardo for the Brewers and Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals - face off in a crucial test as the series is tied at a game apiece.

Rookie Doug Fister Wins Game Five, Sends Tigers to ALCS; NL in Dual Game Five Showdown Friday

Players of the Day for Thursday, October 6, 2011

American League

Tigers 3 Yankees 2

Detroit's Doug Fister shut down the vaunted Yankee offensive machine over the first five innings of their game five showdown, limiting the Bombers to one earned run on five hits, walking two and striking out four.

Doug Fister: Rookie
Game Five Winner

First inning, back-to-back home runs by Don Kelly and Delmon Young off Yankee starter Ivan Nova gave Fister a working margin of two runs before he even set foot on the mound, and the rookie hurler responded with a solid, pressure-packed performance.

The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the 4th inning, but Fister responded, getting Russell Martin and Brett Gardner to pop out on successive at-bats.

When the Tigers scored another run in the top of the 5th, the Yankee response was a solo homer off the bat of Robinson Cano. Max Scherzer replaced Fister on the mound to open the 6th inning, got through that, but was lifted for Joaquin Benoit after Derek Jeter's one out single in the 7th.

After allowing consecutive singles to Curtis Granderson and Cano, Benoit struck out Alex Rodriguez with the bases loaded, but forced in a run, walking Mark Teixeira to cut Detroit's lead to a single run. Benoit reared back and got Nick Swisher to strike out, ending the threat.

In the 8th, all the Yankees could muster was a two-out single from Brett Gardner, and Jose Valverde came on for a perfect 9th inning, sending the Yankees home and the Tigers to the AL Championship Series with the Texas Rangers. The game ended when Valverde struck out Alex Rodriguez. It was A-Rod's third whiff of the game and sixth of the series, in which the slugger went 2-for-18 (.111) with no homers and three RBI.

Mark Teixeira, the slugger batting behind Rodriguez, had an equally-non-productive series, going 3-for-18 (.167) with no home runs and just one RBI.

Standouts for the Yankees were Brett Gardner (.418), who drove in a team-high six runs but did not steal a base. Gardner tied the A's Coco Crisp for the league lead in steals with 49 during the regular season. Jorge Posada had the highest average (.429) for the Yankees, but failed to drive in a single run.

The Tigers were led by Delmon Young, who socked three solo homers, and the unassuming Don Kelly, who had a hit in each of the final four games, going 4-for11 (.364) with two RBI and three runs.

Magglio Ordonez was the best hitter in the series, going 5-for-11 for a .455 batting average.

The seven game series to determine the AL entrant to the World Series between the Tigers and Rangers begins Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

National League

There were no National League games as the four playoff participants prepared for critical game five match-ups on a winner-take-all Friday.

Arizona is at Milwaukee for a 5:07 pm EDT start, while the Phillies host the Cardinals at 8:37 pm EDT.

Tigers Clinch Central Division with 4-1 Win; David Wright Homers Twice as Mets Bludgeon Braves, 12-2

Players of the Day for Friday, September 16, 2011

American League

The Detroit Tigers clinched their first Central division title in franchise history, getting a superb mound performance from a key acquisition, Doug Fister, who stymied the Seattle Mariners on three hits over eight innings, for a 4-1 win.

Doug Fister

It was Detroit's first division title since taking the AL East in 1987, prior to the leagues going to a three-division set-up in 1994. MLB had been a two division format since 1969, but the Tigers when the leagues further realigned in 1994, Detroit stayed in the East. In 1998, Detroit moved into the Central as expansion provided the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays. Milwaukee moved from the AL Central to the NL Central, allowing Detroit to switch divisions.

The Tigers came from well back early this season to steamroll the rest of the Central. Their lead over second place Cleveland is 13 1/2 games, the largest in the majors. In late August, the Tigers began to heat up, winning 10 of 13 to finish the month. September began with a loss to Kansas City, but then the Tigers won 12 straight, including taking three from Cleveland and six from the White Sox during that stretch. Their loss to Oakland on Thursday was just their second during September.

Valverde: 45 Saves

During their 12-game win streak, Fister and Justin Verlander each recorded three wins. Fister, who was acquired from Seattle just prior to the July 31 trading deadline with a record of 3-12, reeled off six wins against just one loss in nine starts for the Tigers.

In Friday's clincher, after putting the Tigers in a 1-0 hole after surrendering a solo home run to Josh Willingham, Fister gave up a single to Endy Chavez, but then proceeded to set down 17 straight batters. The A's didn't get a hit until David DeJesus stroked a two-out single in the 7th. Jose Valverde allowed the only other A's hit - a leadoff single by Coco Crisp - in the ninth, but stranded him there, getting the final three outs in order for his league-leading 45th save.

Fister did not allow a walk and struck out five, registering his fifth straight victory.

In the battle for the wild card, Boston topped Tampa Bay, 4-3, to inch away to a four game lead over the Rays. The Sox and Rays play two more at Fenway Park this weekend. The Yankees lost to Toronto, 5-4, which slimmed their lead to 3 1/2 over Boston in the division.

In the West, the Angels lost to Baltimore and the Rangers fell to Seattle. keeping the Texas lead at 3 1/2 games.

National League

David Wright

In a game that may turn out to be significant in terms of standings and pennant races, the Mets - after being criticized for "mailing it in" as a six game losing streak culminated in a 10-1 loss to the Nationals Thursday night, banged out 20 hits to down the Atlanta Braves, 12-2 with David Wright continuing a strong second half, belting two home runs and driving in five runs in a 3-for-6 night at the plate.

The win has no significance for the Mets, well out of the pennant race since the All Star break, but tightened up the wild card scenario as the Braves desperately try to hold off the charging Cardinals and Giants, recently the league's two hottest teams.

While the Braves were being pummeled, the Cardinals took down the Phillies, 4-2, in 11 innings and the Giants clobbered Colorado, 9-1, shrinking Atlanta's wild card lead to 3 1/2 over St. Louis and 5 over San Francisco. The Cardinals, winners of eight of their last 10, remain mired 5 1/2 behind the Brewers in the Central division. Milwaukee won, 6-3, at Cincinnati to maintain their edge.

In the West, Arizona suffered a 2-0 setback at San Diego, which allowed the Giants to creep to within six games of the Diamondbacks. The Giants have won six straight.