Gary Sanchez Homers Twice As Yankees Even Series With Boston; Gerrit Cole Stymies Indians In Houston Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, October 7, 2018

Sanchez: 2 HR, 4 RBI

American League

Yankees 6 Red Sox 2

Gary Sanchez socked a pair of homers and drove in four runs as the Yankees evened their series at Boston at a game apiece. After Aaron Judge homered in the first, Sanchez belted a solo shot in the second to put the Yankees up 2-0. With New York leading, 3-1, in the seventh, Sanchez delivered the kill shot, blasting a three-run, 479-foot bomb to center field. Judge and Giancarlo Stanton were aboard for the ride.

Masahiro Tanaka picked up the win for the Yanks, allowing one run on three hits over five innings. Boston starter, David Price, lasted just 1 2/3 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits and a pair of walks.

The series shifts to New York on Monday for game three.

Cole: 7 IP, 1 ER. 12 K

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Astros 3 Indians 1

Gerrit Cole spun magic on the mound as Houston took a two-games-to-none lead over the visiting Cleveland Indians in the AL divisional series, working seven innings for the win.

Cole allowed a mere three hits and one run, fanning 12 without surrendering a walk. Cole threw 70 of 98 pitches for strikes, most of which the Cleveland batters could not handle, their only run coming on a third inning solo home run by Francisco Lindor. After the Lindor homer, Cole retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced, striking out the side in the fourth and fanning two each in the fifth and sixth innings.

Alex Bregman homered for the second straight game, socking a solo shot in the seventh inning. Marwin Gonzalez went 4-for-4 and drove in two runs with a double in the sixth that gave Houston a 2-1 lead.

Houston will be seeking a sweep of the five-game series when the teams meet Monday in Cleveland for game three.


National League

There were no games in the National League on Saturday. The Dodgers lead the Braves, two games to none, and the Brewers have the same edge over the Rockies.

Both series continue Sunday, with the Dodgers at Atlanta (8:07 pm ET) and the Brewers at Colorado (4:37 pm ET). A win by either Los Angeles or Milwaukee would constitute a sweep of the best-of-five series.

Christian Yelich Leads Brewers Over Cards, Closes Gap On Cubs; Gary Sanchez Powers Yankees Past Rays

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 25, 2018

American League

Sanchez: 2-for-4, HR, 4RBI

Yankees' catcher, Gary Sanchez, broke out of a mammoth slump with a three-run homer and an RBI single as the Yankees improved their chances of hosting the AL wild card game with a 9-2 victory at Tampa Bay.

Sanchez capped a seven-run third inning uprising by the Yankees with his 17th home run, then singled home Giancarlo Stanton in the fifth.

Entering the game, Sanchez was 1-for-27 over his last eight games, his average dropping to a pathetic .180.

The win moved the Yankees 2 1/2 games better than the A's in the wild card race. Oakland lost, 10-8, in 11 innings at Seattle on Chris Herrmann's two-run, walk-off homer.

The Yankees have five games left to play, Oakland, four. New York needs any combination of two wins or two Oakland losses to wrap up the top wild card and home field for the single elimination playoff game.

The Yankees - winners of four of their last five - play game three of their four-game set at Tampa Wednesday at 7:10 pm. Oakland wraps up its series in Seattle on Wednesday.

National League

Yelich: 3B, HR, 6 RBI

With the regular season expiring on Sunday, there were some big changes in National League division and wild card races, most of them centered on Milwaukee's 12-4 thrashing of the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Christian Yelich - in search of his first batting title - banged out two big hits for the Brewers and drove in a career-high six runs. In the fourth inning, Yellich's bases-loaded triple blew open the game, putting the Brewers up by a 6-0 score. The Brewers added one in the fifth and two in the eight before Yelich struck again in the ninth, this time clearing the wall in center field with his 33rd home run, a three-run shot, putting him among the leaders with 33 homers and 104 RBI.

The way Yelich has been going in September, the batting title may not be all he's going to get. A trip to the playoffs is a virtual lock and an MVP award could be in his bright future. Yelich leads the league in batting with a .321 average, his 33 homers are three behind leader Matt Carpenter, with a logjam of players in the mix. Four have 34 homers, and five - including Yelich - have 33. His 104 RBI is good for fourth, behind Chicago's Javier Baez's 110. Jesus Aguilar and Nolan Arenado each have 105.

The September numbers for Yelich are off the charts. He's batting .346 (28-for-81) with seven homers and a whopping 28 RBI.

Milwaukee (91-67) now leads Colorado by 3 1/2 games for the top wild card. St. Louis (87-71) dropped a half-game behind Colorado for the second NL wild card after the Rockies routed Philadelphia 10-3. Better yet for the Brewers was Pittsburgh's 6-0 win at Chicago. Chris Archer blanked the Cubs for six innings and a pair of relievers finished them off. That left the Brewers 1/2 game behind the Cubs in the division race with four games to play. The Cubs (91-66) have five games remaining.

After taking the first two in St. Louis, Milwaukee will be looking for the series sweep when they take the field in St. Louis, Wednesday, 7:00 pm EDT.

In the West, Colorado is now in the second wild card spot, 1/2 game ahead of the Cardinals, but also trail the Dodgers by a mere 1/2-game in the division race. LA dropped a 4-3 decision at Arizona.

Reds, Scooter Gennett Wreck Dodgers, 10-6; Gary Sanchez Powers Yankees Past Twins

Players of the Day for Monday, September 10, 2018

American League

Sanchez: 3-for-5, HR, RBI

J.A. Happ blanked the Twins for six innings and Gary Sanchez went 3-for-5 with his second home run since returning from the DL as the Yankees moved closer to the post-season with a 7-2 win at Minnesota.

Sanchez broke a scoreless tie with his 16th home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning, then singled and scored as the Yankees piled on six runs in the seventh. The Yankee catcher doubled in the eighth, but was left stranded along with Giancarlo Stanton, who had walked before him, when Greg Bird, the only Yankee regular without a hit, struck out to end the inning.

The win kept New York three games ahead of the Oakland A's in the wild card hunt. The A's had the day off and are in control of the second position, 7 1/2 games better than Tampa Bay and Seattle.

New York also has faint hopes of catching the Red Sox in the East division. Boston was idle on Monday and leads the race by eight games.

Game two of the Yankees' series in Minnesota is Tuesday, 8:00 pm EDT.  New York is 5-0 against the Twins this season.

National League

Gennett's .320 leads NL

Taking control of the National League batting race, Scooter Gennett lashed four singles, drove in three runs and scored twice, guiding the Cincinnati Reds to a 10-6 victory over the visiting LA Dodgers.

Gennett, in a fight for what could be his first batting title, broke away from Milwaukee's Christian Yellich, who went 1-for-4 in the Brewers' 3-2 win over the Cubs. Yellich is batting .315. Gennett's four hits raised his average to .320, tops in the league.

While Gennett was beating up LA hurlers, the Dodgers watched their playoff hopes diminish slightly as the Cardinals came from behind to defeat the Pirates, 8-7, putting them two games up on the Dodgers in the second spot of the wild card race. Colorado thumped Arizona, 13-2, extending its NL West lead to 1 1/2 games over LA. Third place Arizona is 3 1/2 off the pace.

Monday's contest was the first of a three-game series in Cincinnati. Game two is Tuesday at 6:40 pm EDT. The Dodgers have lost all five games with the Reds this season.

Zack Wheeler Pitches Mets To 8th Straight Win; Yankees Even Series In Boston As Gary Sanchez Homers Twice

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 11, 2018

American League

Sanchez: 2B, 2HR, 4RBI

Heading into his third start of the season, Boston hurler David Price hadn't given up a run, blanking the Tampa Bay Rays in back-to-back seven inning stints.

In a New York minute, the Yankees put an end to that streak, scoring four runs in the first inning on their way to a 10-7 win at Fenway Park, evening their series with Boston at a game apiece.

Giancarlo Stanton tripled in the first pair of runs; Gary Sanchez brought Stanton home with a bomb over the Green Monster, a 432-foot belt that set the tone for the night. Price finished the inning and was not seen again.

Sanchez, however, was not quite finished, doubling and scoring in the third prior to homering again with a man aboard in the fourth.

Beyond the Yankee onslaught, the game also featured a grand slam by Boston's J.D. Martinez and a bench-clearing brawl in the seventh inning after Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly plunked Tyler Austin in retaliation for a hard slide by Austin earlier in the game. Keely, Austin, Yankee reliever Tommy Kahnle, and third base coach Phil Kevin were all ejected.

With the series squared and Boston's eight-game winning streak over, the Yanks and Sox will finish off the series Thursday at 7:10 pm EDT. Boston remains in first place in the division, with a 9-2 mark. The Yankees are 6-6.

Wheeler: 7IP, 2H, 1ER, 7K

National League

Starting the season off by taking two of three from the Cardinals at Citi Field, the New York Mets were just getting warmed up.

Since that opening series, the Mets haven't lost, winning their eighth straight Wednesday night with a 4-1 win over the Marlins at Miami.

Doing it with a combination of solid pitching and timely hitting, the Mets came through for starter Zack Wheeler after being held hitless for six innings by Maimi starter, Jarlin Garcia.

Wheeler surrendered a first-inning solo homer to the second hitter he faced, Miguel Rojas, but settled in, giving up just one more hit and a walk, fanning seven over seven innings. Pulled in the top of the seventh for pinch hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, Wheeler got the win when Gonzalez mashed a two-run homer and the Mets added two more in the frame.

Having missed all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Wheeler returned to start 17 games for the Mets in 2017, going 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA, but his first start of the new season was very encouraging, ensuring he'll see the mound more often.

With the win, the Mets maintained a 3 1/2-game lead over the Braves in the NL East. After a day off Thursday, they open a weekend series at home with the Brewers on Friday.

Gary Sanchez Powers Yankees Past Pirates; Ryan O'Hearn Lifts Royals Over Dodgers

Players of the Day for Thursday, March 15, 2018

Grapefruit League

Sanchez: HR, 2B, 5 RBI

With the addition of Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees may establish this season one of the best middle lineups in the history of baseball, and one which could be together for quite some time, considering the ages of Aaron Judge (25), Stanton (28) and catcher Gary Sanchez (25), who will - in varying order - be the two, three, four or five hitters in New York's impressive lineup.

In their 9-5 victory over visiting Pittsburgh, Sanchez was in the cleanup spot, behind Judge and Stanton, and he took the opportunity to drive in five runs with a three-run belt in the third inning, following up with a two-run double in the fourth.

Smooth-swinging Sanchez is batting a solid .370 this Spring, with three dingers and nine RBI. Last season, his first full year as the starting catcher, despite missing 30-40 games, Sanchez was on the mark with 33 home runs and 90 RBI, numbers he will almost certainly challenge this year.

The the win kept the Yankees on pace with the Astros and Marlins. Houston leads the Grapefruit League by one game over Miami, with the Yanks another half-game back.

Cactus League

O'Hearn: 3-3, 2HR, 5RBI

Fantasy owners take note: Kansas City may have a diamond in the rough with slugging Ryan O'Hearn, a left-handed first baseman who could add some serious pop to the Royals' offense this season.

O'Hearn, who spent the past four years bounding around the minor leagues, last season made it to AAA Omaha in the Pacific Coast League, knocking out 18 home runs with 53 RBI in 114 games.

Listed at third on the depth chart behind Lucas Duda and Hunter Dozier, O'Hearn has a very good chance of significant playing time, either at first or as a DH.

In Thursday's 19-hit, 14-8 win over the Dodgers, O'Hearn was able to show off some of his muscle early in the game, socking a three-run homer in the first inning as the Royals built a six-run inning.

After the Dodgers responded with three of their own in the bottom frame, O'Hearn again provided some lift with a two-run homer. He later singled, but was stranded, finishing the day with a 3-for-3 effort, two runs and five RBI. His homers were his second and third. He's batting a cool .400 with a .464 OBP.

The win evened KC's record at 10-10, dropping the Dodgers to an 11-9 mark.

Cubs Stay Alive In NLCS As Javier Baez Socks A Pair; Gary Sanchez, Masahiro Tanaka Lead Yankees To 3-2 Edge In ALCS

Players of the Day for Wednesday, October 18, 2017

American League

Tanaka: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER

Masahiro Tanaka blanked Houston for seven full innings and catcher Gary Sanchez homered and singled in four at-bats, driving in two runs as the Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the ALCS with a 5-0 whitewash of the Astros in game five.

Sanchez: 2-4, 2 RBI

After keying Tuesday's thrilling 6-4 victory, Sanchez was again at the center of the action, singling in Chase Headley in the fifth and socking a solo homer in the seventh to complete the scoring for the Yanks.

After going 0-for-11 in the first three games of the series, Sanchez raised his game, going 3-for-7 with a home run and five RBI in the last two games.

Tanaka out-dueled Houston starter Dallas Keuchel, who defeated him in game one. Keuchel was touched-up for four runs on seven hits, lasting just 4 2/3 innings. Tanaka earned his second win in three post-season starts this year, fanning eight and walking one. His ERA over 20 innings is a sparkling 0.90.

Game six is back at Houston on Friday at 8:08 pm ET. The Yankees can advance to the World Series with a win, while Houston hopes to extend the series to a game seven.

National League

Baez: 2 HRs

The LA Dodgers took their first loss of the post-season, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Cubs at wrigley Field in game four of the NLCS.

The Cubs staved off elimination with a solid pitching performance from Jake Arrieta (6 2/3, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 9 K) and solo homers from Willson Contreras and Javier Baez, who stroked two for Chicago, one in the second and another in the fifth, which turned out to be the game-winner.

After going 0-for-20 in the post-season, Baez got off the slump with a pair of long balls.

The Cubs still have their backs to the wall in game five, Thursday at 8:08 pm ET in Chicago. The Dodgers need one more win to advance to the World Series.

Yadier Molina Drives In 5 As Cards Sweep Pirates; Nats Clinch; Gary Sanchez Leads Yankees Over Rangers

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 10, 2017

American League

Sanchez: 2HR, 4R, 2RBI

The Yankees have a 3 1/2 game hold on the first wild card spot, but they are clearly intent on gaining a more secure spot in the post-season, taking two of three from the Rangers with a 16-7 thumping in the series finale.

Coupled with Boston's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay, the Yankees trail the Red Sox by 3 1/2 games in the AL East.

Fueling New York's offense has been a primary focus of Gary Sanchez. The second-year catcher doubled and smacked a pair of home runs in the win, driving in two runs and scoring three times as the Yankees tore up Texas starter A.J. Griffin and three subsequent relievers with 18 hits, including the two bombs by Sanchez and a pair of round-trippers by Aaron Judge, who leads the league with 41.

Sanchez, who missed a month earlier in the season due to injury, has 30 homers and 83 RBI. He hit 12 in August alone and drove in 26 runs last month. Sanchez had to sit out three games recently, serving a suspension for a fight in Detroit a few weeks back. His two homers were his first of September. He has a five-game hitting streak and is batting .400 so far this month.

The Yankees got a break in the schedule thanks to Hurricane Irma. Baseball executives moved the three-game series originally scheduled to be played at Tropicana Field in Tampa to the Mets' Citi Field facility. The series opens Monday at 7:10 pm ET. New York has won six of their last eight.

National League

Molina: HR, 5 RBI

While the Brewers were completing a three-game sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the St. Louis Cardinals were happy to remain tied for second place with Milwaukee, winning their third straight as well, sweeping the Pirates at Busch Stadium with a 7-0 whitewash.. Both the Brewers and Cardinals trail the Cubs by a mere two games in the NL Central, the one division race that is still wide open.

Michael Wacha blanked Pittsburgh over eight innings on five hits, fanning seven while issuing no walks. More than enough offense was supplied by the incomparable Yadier Molina, who tied a career best with five RBI, driving in three with a home run in the third inning after singling home the first St. Louis run in the first.

Completing his 2-for-3 day at the plate, Molina launched a sac fly in the seventh inning, completing the scoring for the game. Reliever Jon Gant allowed one hit, but held the Pirates scoreless in the ninth.

Having his usual solid season, the 35-year-old veteran catcher is batting .280 with 17 home runs, 72 RBI, and eight stolen bases.

With the race tightening in the division, the Cardinals are having a September to remember, winning eight of their last ten. Milwaukee is 5-4 for the month, the Cubs, 4-6, and in danger of losing their grip on first place.

St. Louis gets a day off Monday before hosting the Reds for three games. After that, the Cubs come to town for three in a series crucial to both teams.

CLINCHER: With a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia and Miami's 10-8, 11-inning loss to Atlanta, the Washington Nationals became the first team in the majors to clinch a post-season berth, clinching the NL East division.

With 19 games remaining and a 20-game lead on the Marlins, the Nationals punched their ticket to October with three weeks left to play.

Rookie Phillip Ervin Stars As Reds Top Cubs, 13-10; Yankees Sweep Mets On Gary Sanchez 5 RBI

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 17, 2017

Sanchez: HR, 5 RBI

American League

The Yankees completed the four-game sweep of the Mets in their home-and-home subway series with a 7-5 victory as catcher Gary Sanchez drove in five runs with his 22nd home run and a two-run single.

Sanchez gave the Yanks an early leg up with his first inning, three-run blast, then tacked on two more in the four-run fourth inning with his two-run single.

Luis Severino improved his record to 10-5 with 6 1/3 innings of work, allowing four hits and one unearned run, striking out nine. Former Yankee Curtis Granderson belted a ninth inning grand slam off Yankee reliever Bryan Mitchell to cut into the lead late.

With the win, the Yankees are four game behind the Red Sox in the AL East and hold a 3 1/2 game lead for the wild card. They head to Boston for the start of a three-game series Friday. Game time is 7:10 pm ET.

National League

Ervin: HR, 4 RBI

To get an idea of how competitive the NL Central is, consider the four-game series just concluded in Chicago between the first place Cubs and last place Reds. Taking the first and third games by scores of 15-5 and 7-6, the Cubs had the opportunity to take the series, three games to one, as the Reds won game two by a 2-1 score.

It was not to be, however, as the Reds pummeled starter Jon Lester for nine second inning runs. Though the Cubs would actually tie the game 9-9 in the fifth, Reds rookie, Phillip Ervin, stroked his second home run in as many days in the seventh, bringing home two and a lead the Reds would not relinquish en route to the 13-10 victory.

Ervin, in his first major league start, also singled and doubled, accounting for four RBI, and scored three times, including the final Cincinnati run, in the ninth. Other than the home run, Ervin's two hits both came in the nine-run second, singling in the second run and doubling home the ninth.

Apparently having seen enough of Ervin's batting prowess, Cubs' reliever Raisel Iglesias walked him to open the ninth. After moving to second on a sac bunt, Ervin scored on Jose Peraza's infield single.

With only eight at-bats in the majors, Phillip Ervin may be on his way to better things the remainder of this season and into next. The 25-year-old is sporting a .500 batting average with two homers and five RBI.

Having played with five minor league squads since 2013, Ervin is a hitter with power, socking 50 home runs with 259 RBI since 2013. He was recently promoted to the Reds from AAA affiliate Louisville in the International League.

The result of the game left the Cubs with a one game lead over the Brewers and 1 1/2 over the Cardinals. The Reds are in last place in the division, 13 games back. The Cubs host three games with Toronto over the weekend before taking to the road on Tuesday, the first stop, Cincinnati.

Gary Sanchez Homers Twice As Yanks Bomb Red Sox; Arizona's Chris Iannetta Delivers 7 In Rout Of Padres

Players of the Day for Thursday, June 8, 2017

American League

Sanchez: 2 HR, 5 RBI

While Michael Pineda was keeping the Boston Red Sox off the base paths, allowing no earned runs on four hits over seven innings, fanning eight, his battery-mate was doing all the scoring the Yankees would need in a 9-1 rout.

Taking the rubber game of their three-game series, catcher Gary Sanchez was busy providing souvenirs to the outfield seating patrons with a pair of home runs.

Sanchez, who missed nearly a month in April, socked his seventh and eight bombs of the season - both of Boston starter David Price - a three-run homer in the third and a two-run blast in the fifth. Sanchez earlier scored the first of the Yankee runs by walking and scoring on a Brett Gardner single in the opening frame.

The win cemented New York's position as the top team in the AL East division, leading the Red Sox by three games and Baltimore by 3 1/2. The Yankees host Baltimore in the opener of a three-game series on Friday, 7:35 pm ET. The Red Sox also head home, to host three with the Detroit Tigers.

National League

With a record of 37-25, trailing the Rockies by two games in the NL West, it's safe to say the Arizona Diamondbacks are for real.

Iannetta: 3-for-5, 7 RBI

One would get no dispute from division rival San Diego, who just dropped three straight to the Diamondbacks, losing the finale by a whopping 15-3 margin.

Doing more than his fair share of the damage was catcher Chris Iannetta, who went 3-for-5, scored three times and knocked in seven runs.

The Padres actually held a 3-2 lead after four innings, but that was before Iannetta began his batting barrage. In the fifth, Iannetta launched his eighth homer of the year, with a man aboard, putting Arizona up, 4-3. In the middle of a six-run sixth, he belted a bases-loaded double to right, and, in the eighth, Iannetta doubled again, this time plating a pair.

The victory was the third straight over San Diego, which Arizona won by a combined score of 32-9.

Arizona hosts NL Central leader Milwaukee Friday in the opener of a three-game series. Game time is 6:40 pm PT.