Francisco Lindor 4-for-5 As Indians Whip Blue Jays; Nick Markakis Helps Atlanta Overcome Arizona

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 6, 2018

American League

Lindor: 4-5, 2HR, 4RBI

The only game in the American League was Cleveland's 9-4 win at Toronto.

Francisco Lindor set the tone early, leading off the game with his 32nd home run of the season. In the third, he stroked another solo shot for a 2-0 Cleveland lead. The Blue Jays eventually took the lead, 4-3, but Lindor's two-run single in the fifth had the Indians back on top.

In the ninth, Lindor singled again - his fourth hit of the game - and scored on Jason Kipnis' three-run homer.

Lindor, 24, is already in his fourth full season in the majors and is about to set new career marks. In 2017 he batted .273 with 33 homers and 89 RBI. This year he's at .289 with 33 HRs and 84 RBI. In 2016 and again in 2017, Lindor scored 99 runs. He already has crossed home plate 117 times this season, tops in the majors.

The Indians extended their major-league-best lead in the AL Central to 16 1/2 games over the Twins. Their magic number to clinch the division is 8.

Game two of the four-game series in Toronto is scheduled for Friday at 7:00 pm EDT.

National League

Markakis: 4-5, 2 RBI

There were only three games played in the National League Thursday. The Cubs outlasted the Nationals, 6-4, in 10 innings, the Padres downed the Reds, 6-2, and the Braves blew a 4-0 lead only to come back for the win in 10 innings, defeating the Diamondbacks, 7-6, on a wild pitch by Yoshihisa Hirano.

Dansby Swanson scampered home with the winning run in the top of the 10th. Reliever Brad Brach worked a hitless bottom of the frame, earning his first save for Atlanta.

Nick Markakis earns the star for Player of the Day, going 4-for-5 with two RBI, boosting his batting average to .309. He is tied for fourth in batting in the NL with Milwaukee's Lorenzo Cain.

Atlanta's win snapped a three-game skid, keeping them in first place in the NL East by 3 1/2 over the Phillies.

The Braves and Diamondbacks resume the four-game series with game two in Phoenix, Friday, 9:40 pm EDT.

Matt Kemp Leads Dodger Rout Of Pirates; Francisco Lindor's 2 HR, 7 RBI Leads Indians

Players of the Day for Monday, July 2, 2018

American League

Lindor 2HR, GS, 7RBI

While LeBron James may have abandoned Ohio for the West coast, the Cleveland Indians are running away with the AL Central. Their 9 1/2 game lead over second place Detroit is easily the biggest edge in the majors. Atlanta 3 1/2 game margin over Philadelphia in the NL East, comes in a distant second.

Maintaining their lead as the Tigers won 3-2 in Toronto, Cleveland got a monster game from leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor in their 9-3 win at Kansas City.

The two-time all star socked a grand slam in the fourth inning, following up with a three-run dinger in the sixth for a two homer, seven RBI night at the plate.

Last season, Lindor sizzled, batting .273 with 33 homers and 89. This year looks to be even better. Lindor has 23 home runs, has driven in 55 runs and is batting a solid .298.

Cleveland has won 10 of their last 14. Game two of the series will start Tuesday at 8:15 pm EDT.

National League

Kemp: 5-5, HR, 4R, 4RBI

Struggling to stay competitive in the NL Central, the oars were out of the water on the Pittsburgh Pirates' ship in the opener of a three-game series at Los Angeles.

While Dodger starter Alex Wood held the Pirates to one run over the first six innings, his teammates were battering the Pittsburgh pitching staff, scoring at will in a 17-1 romp.

Matt Kemp tied a career best with five hits in as many at-bats, ripping three singles a double and his 15th home run of the season, driving in four, scoring four times.

Kemp struggled through three years in San Diego and Atlanta, but was traded back to the Dodgers after the 2017 season and seems to be flourishing in the LA sun. He's batting .323 (4th in the NL) with 15 homers and 55 RBI (6th) and is one of the main reasons the Dodgers are challenging for the lead in the NL West.

Coupled with Arizona's 6-3 loss to St. Louis, Monday's win left the Dodgers 1 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks.

The Pirates, however, have been heading in the opposite direction, losing eight of their last 12, facing nine games off the pace in the Central division.

Game two of the series is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:10 pm PDT.

Francisco Lindor Leads Cleveland To 5th Straight Win; Jose Martinez Drives In Six As Cards Drub Reds, 13-4

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 12, 2018

American League

Lindor: 2-4, HR, 3R, 3RBI

Winning their fifth straight, he Cleveland Indians completed a four-game home sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 9-3 laugher over their AL Central opponents.

Francisco Lindor socked his initial home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning to get the Indians started, then doubled in a pair of runs before scoring on Jose Ramirez's two-run homer, putting Cleveland up 6-0.

In the fourth, Lindor was hit by a Michael Fulmer pitch, loading the bases, eventually scoring the last of Cleveland's runs.

Fulmer didn't get an out in the fourth, and was responsible for eight earned runs, officially over three innings.

Instrumental to Cleveland's success the past few seasons, Lindor belted 33 home runs and drove in 89 runs last season, mostly from the leadoff position in the Indians' lineup.

The Indians remain tied with Minnesota for the division lead, 3 1/2 ahead of the Tigers and White Sox. Toronto comes to visit for a three game series starting Friday at 7:10 pm EDT.

National League

Opening a four-game series in Cincinnati, the St. Louis Cardinals got off to a flying start with a 13-4 romp over the Reds, highlighted by a six-RBI effort by second-year star, Jose Martinez.

Martinez: 4-6, HR, 6RBI

Marinez singled in the first to put get the Cards on the board, drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth to tie the score at 4-4, socked a solo homer in the seventh and doubled in both the eighth and ninth innings, driving in two in the eight and one more in the ninth.

Batting .364 with three home runs and 14 RBI (second in the majors behind Pitssburgh's Gregory Polanco, 15), Martinez is proving that he's a major leaguer for the long run.

Making a bid for rookie of the year in first full season, Martinez batted .309 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI in 109 games for the Cardinals in 2017.

St. Louis, along with the rest of the division is chasing Pittsburgh in the NL Central. St. Louis is 3 1/2 back, the Cubs three behind and Milwaukee in second place, 2 1/2 behind the Pirates. Cincinnati is off to a horrific start, seven games out with a 2-10 record.

Game two of the series is Friday at 6:40 pm EDT at the Great American Ball Park.

Francisco Lindor's Grand Slam Leads Cleveland Comeback; Justin Turner Drives In 5 As Dodgers Take Game 1

Players of the Day for Friday, October 6, 2017

American League

Houston took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five ALDS with their second straight 8-2 win over Boston. Carlos Correa socked a two run homer off Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz and plated two more with a seventh inning double.

Jose Altuve, who belted three home runs in the first game, went 2-for-3 and is batting .714 in the series.

In Cleveland, the Indians rallied from an 8-3 fifth inning deficit to defeat the New York Yankees in 13 inning, 9-8, taking a two-games-to-none lead in their best-of-five series.

Lindor: Grand Slam

The Yankees mostly built their lead off ace starter, Cory Kluber, who lasted just 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits, including a two-run homer by Gary Sanchez in the first innings and an Aaron Hicks three run belt in the third.

Starlin Castro drove in another run in the four-run third. Greg Bird ripped a two-run home run down the left field line to increase the lead to 8-3 in the fifth.

The large lead did the Yankees no good. Francisco Lindor delivered a grand slam in the sixth inning to cut the lead to one run, and Jay Bruce tied the game with a solo shot over the high left field wall in the eighth.

Neither team could muster another run until the 13th inning, when Dean Betances opened the inning by walking Austin Jackson, who promptly stole second. The next batter, Yan Gomes, singled home the game-winner. Game finished 2-for-5, including a key double in the sixth, which kept Cleveland's inning alive for Lindor's eventual slam.

Lindor's home run was his first and only hit of the series, but by no means a fluke. A dangerous hitter, Lindor had 33 home runs and 89 RBI during the regular season.

The series shifts to New York on Sunday, with the Yankees facing elimination in game three, as do the Red Sox in their series with Houston. New York hosts Cleveland Sunday at 7:38 pm ET. Earlier, the Red Sox host the Astros at 2:38 in legendary Fenway Park.

National League

Justin Turner got the Dodgers' post-season started off with a blast, specifically, a three-run, first-inning home run off Arizona starter, Taijuan Walker, who lasted just one inning, giving up four runs. The Dodgers piled on for a 9-5 victory in game one of the NLDS.

Turner: 3-5, HR, 5 RBI

Turner also singled home another run in the fourth inning and completed the Dodgers' scoring with an RBI single in the ninth, totaling five RBI in a 3-for-5 effort. One of the best hitters in the majors, Turner batted .322 during the regular season, tied for second in the NL with Washington's Daniel Murphy. The home run was the third in post-season play for Turner. In 60 post-season at-bats, Turner is batting .383 with three homers and 17 RBI, suggesting that the 32-year-old infielder may possibly be the new "Mr. October."

Clayton Kershaw took the win for LA, holding the Diamondbacks to one run over the first five innings, but giving up three solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings before hitting the shower. J.D. Martinez touched one off in the sixth. Ketel Marte and Jeff Mathis went back-to-back in the seventh, ending Kershaw's night.

LA has a 1-0 lead in the series, which continues Saturday in Los Angeles at 9:08 pm ET.

In the other NLDS, Chicago's Kyle Hendricks held the Washington Nationals scoreless on two hits over seven innings as the Cubs took game one, 3-0. Hendricks squared off with Stephen Strasberg, both pitchers putting zeroes on the scoreboard until the Cubs broke through for two runs in the sixth.

Washington hosts the Cubs in game two, Saturday, at 5:38 pm ET.

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.

Danny Salazar, Francisco Lindor Produce 2-1 Cleveland Win Over Jays; Ryan Braun Powers Brewers To 9-8 Victory

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 22, 2017

American League

The Al Central is turning out of be one of the best divisional races in the majors as the Cleveland Indians - hoping to repeat their 2016 run to the World Series - lead the Twins and Royals by 1 1/2 games.

Salazar: 7IP, 1H, 0ER

All three contenders were winners on Saturday, with the Indians taking a 2-1 win in 10 innings over visiting Toronto.

Cleveland got the best from starter Danny Salazar, who one-hit the Blue Jays through seven innings, after Kevi
n Pillar singled to open the third inning, Salazar induced a double play from the next batter, Ryan Goins, then proceeded to retire the next 13 batters he faced, striking out eight in the process and issuing no bases on balls.

Lindor: Game-winning HR

No Toronto runner advanced to second base while Salazar was throwing, but in the eighth, Andrew Miller served up a home run ball to Justin Smoak, tying the game with the Blue Jays' only run.

On the offensive side, Francisco Lindor scored both of Cleveland's runs, scoring on an Edwin Encarnacion ground out in the fourth inning and belting a game-ending, solo homer (his 15th) to lead off the bottom of the 10th, served up by reliever Danny Barnes.

Cleveland will be seeking a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays Sunday. Game time is 1:10 pm ET.

National League

Braun: 3-3, HR, 4 RBI

Ryan Braun went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four with a single, double and his 15th home run, stole a base and scored from first on errors by Tommy Joseph and Howie Kendrick as the Milwaukee Brewers held on for a 9-8 victory at Philadelphia.

For the most part, the game was not as close as the final score indicates. Milwaukee blew an 8-1 lead in the seventh inning as the Phillies rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh and three more in the eighth, tying the game, before Domingo Santana knocked in Hernan Perez with the winning run in the top of the ninth.

Braun's fifth inning home run was his 12th, a two-run belt. The 33-year-old left fielder missed nearly a month of playing time due to injury, but has been in the lineup regularly since late June.

Milwaukee's win evened the series at a game apiece and kept the Brewers one game in front of Chicago in the Central division, which has tightened recently. The Pirates are three back, with the Cardinals 4 1/ games off the pace.

The rubber game of the series is Sunday, 1:35 pm ET at Citizens Bank Park.

Francisco Lindor Lifts Indians; Reds' Brandon Finnegan Tops Phillies

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 5, 2017

American League

Defending AL champion Cleveland won its third straight without a loss, topping the Rangers, 9-6, to complete the opening series sweep at Arlington.

Lindor: 2HR, GS, 5RBI

The bulk of the offense was carried by shortstop Francisco Lindor, who belted a pair of homers and drove in five runs with a solo shot in the sixth inning of Cole Hamels and a grand slam in the ninth off Sam Dyson, which brought the Indians back from a 6-5 deficit, to victory.

Lindor got to the plate in the ninth with the bases chucked, after Carlos Santana had walked in the first run of the frame for the Indians. The third year shortstop lifted a ball into the right field stands and circled the bases, his teammates awaiting him at the dish with congratulations.

Lindor has played all of his major league games with the Indians, batting .313 as a rookie in 2015 and .301 with 263 total bases last season, making the all-star team.

After a day off Thursday, Cleveland will look to extend their winning streak when they open an interleague series in Arizona on Friday.

Finnegan: 1 hit over 7

National League

After a full season as a starter for the Cincinnati Reds in 2016, Brandon Finnegan figures to fit right in with the Reds for the rest of the 2017 campaign.

In his first start of the season, Finnegan was on fire, allowing just one hit over seven scoreless innings as the Reds evened their record at 1-1 by blanking the Phillies, 2-0.

Finnegan got off to a somewhat shaky start, walking Howie Kendrick and allowing a single to Maikel Franco. But, as it turned out, that was it for the punchless Phillies. Finnegan set down the next 18 batters in order before exiting after completing the seventh inning, fanning nine and throwing just 88 pitches.

The 23-year-old lefty was 10-11 with a 3.98 ERA in 2016.

The Reds and Phillies will complete their three-game series in Cincinnati with the rubber game Thursday afternoon. Game time is 12:35 pm ET.